“But we didn’t just… go to bed with each other.”
“I know.” She lifts her shoulders in excitement. “You made a baby.”
“Not intentionally.”
“Maybe not, but they’re on the way now, and the two of you are going to be amazing parents. And I’m going to be the world’s best aunt.”
She really will. Except for one part. “Your brother doesn’t want kids.”
“He may think he doesn’t, but I know he does.”
I roll my eyes. “What makes you think you know what he wants better than he does?”
“Call it a sister’s intuition.” She drops her hands into her lap and sobers. “When are you going to tell him?”
“I—I don’t know. But I have to tell him soon. Right?” I chew on the inside of my cheek. “I guess I should call him.”
“Nope.”
I gape at her. “You don’t think I should tell him?”
“No, of course, I think you should tell him. But I don’t think you should do it by phone. This sort of thing calls for doing it in person.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, he hardly lives in the neighborhood.”
“Details, details. I have a million frequent flier miles. You can use some of mine to get a ticket to Alaska.”
I shake my head. “But won’t he be weirded out if I just show up at his place unannounced?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of those details.” She jumps to her feet and wraps her arms around me. “I can’t believe it. We’re having a baby.”
I give a little laugh then, allowing myself to feel excited and happy for the first time today.
She pulls back slightly. “I have just one question.”
“Just one? I have about a million of them.”
“Well, one for now. There are plenty of other questions we can cover later.” She looks at me closely. “You love him. Don’t you? You have for a long time. Right?”
I nod and swallow past a sudden lump in my throat. “I do. I have.”
“Good.” She gives me another squeeze. “Make no mistake, you and this baby are the best things that has ever happened to Cliff. You’re exactly what he needs.”
EIGHT
CLIFF
I reach into my kitchen cupboard, and I’m annoyed to see that my favorite mug isn’t there.
I glance over at the sink, where it’s still sitting unwashed. I glare at it and grab the other clean mug.
When you live as simply as I do, you really only have two mugs. But when the favorite is dirty, beggars can’t be choosers.
Grumbling to myself, I fill the cup with coffee, and I’m momentarily distracted by the memory of bringing Sophie a cup of coffee in bed before I had to catch my flight back.
She’d looked so beautiful there, curled up in the white sheets of the lodge’s bed. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment as she pulled the sheet up to cover her chest, while her long brown hair fell into waves over her shoulder.
I thought she’d looked gorgeous at the wedding, with her hair swept up and her soft skin on display over the deep cut of the dress’s top. But she looked even better like that. Naked and in my bed.
