I started to dare to hope that Sam and I might be able to make this work after all. He had worked to find the perfect solution for the restaurant. Maybe he could do the same for the rest of the town’s businesses. I found myself wishing even more fervently that he intended to be a permanent fixture in our lives.

“Did I do good?” Sam asked me, grinning and already knowing the answer.

“You did perfect,” I answered him honestly, rising and intending to give him a kiss on the cheek for his creative solution to our problem. I didn’t get to give him the kiss because as I moved to stand what felt like about 4 gallons of liquid gushed out of me. I froze, in shock.

Jonah had been zooming around with a toy airplane, but he stopped in his tracks, staring at me with a disgusted look on his face. “Did you pee your pants?” he yelled the question.

“No,” I answered. I turned to Sam, my eyes wide with surprise. “I think my water just broke.”

“You’re not due for two more weeks.” Sam stared at me, looking as shocked as I felt. In fact, everyone was staring at me with surprised looks on their faces.

“Well, Peaches doesn’t seem to care,” I told him. “I think we’d better head to the hospital.”

After a stunned moment of pause, the gang all jumped into action. Joe offered to go get the car, so after Sam tossed him the Porsche’s keys, he and Jonah took off at a quick jog. Courtney got on her cell phone to call my doctor. If I hadn’t been so stressed, I would have been touched that she had my OB/GYN’s number programmed into her phone.

Sam and Seth got on either side of me, supporting me as we rode the elevator downstairs and walked back up the pier. They probably looked like perfect, handsome bookends on either side of me, but my mind was too preoccupied to appreciate how the three of us must look.

Joe screeched the car to a stop at the edge of the pier, right as we walked up. “Awesome car!” Jonah gushed as they got out, and Joe tossed the keys back to Sam.

I was concerned about getting the Porsche’s seat all wet, but Seth yanked off his sweatshirt and told me to sit on it. Sam said not to be silly and to get in, so I did, wet butt and all.

Court said they would stop at the house to get my pre-packed bag and be right behind us and then she closed my car door. Sam squealed the tires as we zoomed away. I felt a few pains as we drove, but nothing too bad.