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"Someone I thought was dead."
Enlightenment dawned in Aiden's eyes. "Wait a second. Is that the same woman you thought you saw before?"
He nodded. "Yeah, it turns out she survived. She's very much alive."
"Well, that's lucky."
"Yeah, lucky," Burke echoed, an odd look in his eyes. "What's her story?"
"Not sure yet. We're going to meet tomorrow, and she'll fill me in."
"Okay, so let's get back to the reason we came down here," Aiden interrupted. "Are you guys in or out?"
"I'm in," he said impulsively, trying to tell himself that the fact that Ria worked at the yacht club had nothing to do with his decision.
"Great," Aiden said with happy surprise. "Burke?"
"Why not? It's been too long since I let you talk me into something stupid, Aiden. I'm overdue."
Aiden grinned. "We're going to have a good time—we'll be the three amigos."
"If you call us that, I'm not going to do it," Burke said with a warning frown.
"Yeah, deal breaker for me, too," Drew agreed.
"Fine," Aiden said. "We should celebrate. Sara is tied up with Emma, so I'm free. Let's go to the bar at the yacht club. The first round is on me."
Chapter Five
Emma walked into the apartment she shared with her fiancé and yelled, "Max?" When there was no reply, she turned to Sara. "He's not here." She held up the bag they'd gotten from the drugstore. "Time for the moment of truth."
Sara looked less than thrilled. "I feel sick to my stomach."
"Could be nerves or morning sickness. Only one way to find out."
"I don't know if I'm ready," she said as she reluctantly took the bag.
"Come on, get it over with, so we know if our next move is a round of drinks or a gallon of ice cream."
"Okay, I'll do it. It's going to be fine, right?"
"Whatever happens," Emma reassured her. "It's not like you're sixteen and knocked up. You're an adult, an attorney, and you're engaged to the love of your life. Everything is good."
"Exactly. Everything is great, but I'm afraid a baby will mess things up. Aiden and I aren't married yet. And we weren't planning on having kids for a while. We wanted to figure out our career plans first. This is going to change everything, and I honestly don't know how Aiden will take it."
The fear in Sara's eyes reminded Emma of the little girl she'd grown up with, the kid who was afraid to do anything wrong for fear her father would hate her even more. Steven Davidson had really done a number on his daughter, and Emma still disliked him for that.
"Aiden isn't your father," she said. "He loves you, and if you're pregnant, he's going to be stunned but thrilled. You always wanted a big family, Sara. Things are going to work out the way they're meant to work out. Now go take the test."
As Sara disappeared into the bathroom, Emma walked into the kitchen. She wanted to have wine and ice cream waiting. Depending on the outcome, they'd celebrate appropriately. As she passed by the kitchen counter, her gaze caught on the big binder she and Sara had put together for their double wedding.
Max and Aiden both joked about the size of that notebook, but she and Sara had had a lot of fun putting together ideas for flowers, cakes, reception sites, and wedding venues. In truth, they'd started planning their weddings when they were twelve years old. Now, the idea of doing it together seemed unbelievable but also a little magical. Last week, they'd finally set the date, picked the church and put down a deposit for a reception in the garden of an old Victorian hotel.
If Sara were pregnant, some, if not all, of their plans would change. It made her a little sad to think they might have to throw out the notebook and start over, but in the end she just wanted to marry Max. She could do that at City Hall and still be happy. Max had her heart, and she had his, and that's really all that mattered.
She moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of white wine. She opened the freezer next and grabbed a quart of ice cream. She set both items on the counter and waited.
A few minutes later Sara came out of the bathroom with a dazed but happy expression in her eyes.
"Well," Emma demanded impatiently. "Wine or ice cream?"
