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“Um…I guess that depends on what you mean by something,” she whispered, ducking her head.
Her brown hair fell in front of her face, but not quickly enough to hide the blush that filled her cheeks. “Oh my gosh. Did you meet someone while you were there? Is this all because you're pining over a boy?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call him a boy,” she muttered.
“But there was someone?” I asked, reaching out to lace my fingers through hers as I squeezed her hand.
“Mm-hmm,” she confirmed with a slight nod.
I darted a glance at the kids to confirm they were distracted. Gracelynn and Jude were completely absorbed by the cartoon toys coming to life on the screen, and Dakota’s eyes were already drifting shut. With them not paying attention to us, it was safe to ask, “Did he not like you back? Have a girlfriend? What’s the problem?”
Her head jerked up, her eyes widening with horror. “He better not have a girlfriend!”
Bianca’s reaction was too strong for an unrequited crush on a boy she met on vacation. Something had definitely happened, and it was killing her to keep it inside. “You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”
Her shoulders slumped as she sighed. “Yeah.”
“Then fess up, little sis. Maybe I can help.”
“I kinda sorta had a one-night stand with him, without saying a word about how inexperienced I was until after he…um…you know and realized it for himself.”
I had a hard time picturing my innocent little sister having a one-night stand, but I wasn’t going to judge her for it. Logic tended to fly out the window when the heart was involved. If that’s all I could have had with Noah, I probably would have made the same decision. “Wow, okay. Did he react badly?”
The blush in her cheeks deepened. “Ah, no. Not even a little bit.”
Thinking about how strongly Noah had felt about me being a virgin, I smiled and nodded. “Then where did things go wrong?”
“Aiden is super-hot, older than me, and way more experienced.” She peeked at me through her lashes. “I was scared of how awkward it would be in the morning, so I bailed.”
“Oh yeah. That’s not great.” My nose wrinkled as I considered her situation. “But I’m sure he’d understand if you explain, even after this long.”
“I can’t.”
Thinking she was too scared to reach out, I patted her hand and hurried to reassure her. “Of course, you can.”
“No, I mean I literally can’t,” she corrected with a shake of her head. “I have no way to contact him. We didn’t exchange phone numbers, and I don’t even know his last name.”
“You know who could find him, right?” The question was rhetorical, but I answered it anyway. “Dad.”
“Except that’s not an option because finding Aiden isn’t even my biggest problem.” Her hand dropped to her belly. “It turns out I only needed one night with him to wind up pregnant.”
“Oh crap,” I breathed, my eyes widening as I realized how complicated the situation was.
She heaved a deep sigh. “Yeah, if I go to Dad for help, he’d kill Aiden for leaving me pregnant without any way to contact him, even though I’m the one who ran out on him.”
“Not that Dad would want to hear about that part because then he’d have to acknowledge how you got pregnant in the first place,” I muttered, rubbing my hand over my slightly rounded belly. “I’ve been married for four years, and he still cringes when Noah kisses me in front of him.”
“If only I were that lucky.”
I bumped my shoulder against hers and flashed her a soft smile. “On the bright side, at least we can be pregnancy buddies.”
“Good point. That’ll be awesome.” Her excitement was short-lived, and her expression turned anxious. “Unless Dad locks me in my room until my due date.”
I wished I could tell her that wasn’t a possibility, but I didn’t like to lie to my siblings. Instead, I sent a wish into the universe that this Aiden guy would show up soon to sweep Bianca off her feet…before our dad found out she was pregnant.
Epilogue
Noah
“But Daaaaaddy…” Gracelynn looked up at me with her big blue eyes—somehow exactly like her mother’s—swimming with tears. Even at sixteen, she had the puppy dog look down. I firmed my jaw and told myself to be strong, to resist…she would not break me.
A giggle slipped from Samantha’s mouth, and I tossed her a warning glare. She was curled up on the couch and lifted the blanket in her lap up to cover half her face, but her eyes still danced with laughter.
I’d walked into the living room a few minutes ago, and Gracelynn had run up and thrown her arms around me. That always melted my heart. Then when she called me Daddy…my girls had me wrapped around their fingers.
