For his part, Johnny had fit into the Mularkey clan as if he’d been born into it. He’d never admitted it, but Kate was certain that he liked being part of a family again after so many solitary years. Although they didn’t talk about the future, they enjoyed every minute of the present.

But that was all about to change.

Now she was in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Beside her, Johnny lay sleeping. It was just past four o’clock in the morning and already she’d thrown up twice. There was no point in putting off the inevitable any longer.

She peeled the covers back gently, careful not to wake him, and got out of bed. Barefoot, she crossed the thick pad of carpet and went into his bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Opening her purse, she dug through the clutter and withdrew the package she’d purchased yesterday. Then she opened the package and followed the directions.

Slightly less than two hours later, she had an answer: pink for pregnant.

She stared down at it. Her first ridiculous thought was that for a girl who’d dreamed of becoming a mother, she was damned close to crying.

Johnny wouldn’t be happy about this. He was nowhere near ready for fatherhood. He hadn’t even said he loved her yet.

She loved him so much, and everything had been so great for the past few months. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was fragile, this relationship of theirs, that the balance was tenuous. A baby could ruin them.

She hid the package and indicator back in her purse—the extraordinary thing mixed in the ordinary debris of her life—and took a long hot shower. By the time she was dressed and ready for work, the alarm was going off. She went to the bed and sat beside him, stroking his hair as he woke up.

He smiled up at her, said, “Hey,” sleepily.

She wanted to say simply, I’m pregnant, but the admission wouldn’t come. Instead, she said, “I’ve got to go in early today. The Red Robin account.”

He looped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her down for a kiss. When it was over, she meant to ease away. “I love you,” she whispered.

He kissed her again. “And that makes me the luckiest guy in the world.”

She said goodbye as if this were just another in the string of mornings they’d woken up together, and went to work. In her office, she slammed her door shut and stood there, trying not to cry.

“I’m pregnant,” she said to the ad-covered walls.