“I don’t really. But Ryder does. And I like him. An awful lot.”

“Are you in love with him?” Pansy asked.

That word struck a strange sort of terror into the center of Sammy’s chest.

“If ever there were such a thing as soul mates, I think he’s mine. I think we knew each other before we met. I don’t know if that makes sense. I’m sure it doesn’t. We’re that. Whatever that is.”

“That’s nice,” Iris said, far too mildly.

“I don’t know,” Pansy said. “I think you should be in love with the person that you marry.”

“Just because that’s how things worked for you, Pansy, that doesn’t mean that’s how it works for everybody.”

“I know,” Pansy said. “But... Sammy, you’re wonderful and you deserve everything.”

Sammy brushed the feelings off her that settled like an uncomfortable cloak. “Anyway...there can’t be anyone else. Honestly, there never could be. He’s...” They were all looking at her, sadly, meaningfully. And so she twisted her lips into a strange sort of impish smile. “He’s a damn genius in bed.”

“No!”

Pansy threw her hands up and doubled over like she was retching, and Iris put her palm on her forehead.

“He’s ruined me for other men,” Sammy said, nodding gravely to underscore the point.

That was true. More than true.

“Well, I’m very happy for you,” Pansy said, making a mock retching sound again.

“We’ll be fine,” Sammy said. “Nothing is going to change, really. I mean, nothing has changed. Yes, there’s a new...dimension to our relationship.”

“I don’t want to hear about my brother’s dimensions,” Rose said.

“Oh. Big, just so you know. But also, we care for each other. We care deeply. And that is very important. And that’s what’s going to see us through all the changes in life. Anyway, I can’t imagine anything better than being here with all of you, and you being my baby’s aunts.”

That did seem to make everyone happy, and make them forgive her for what she had said about dimensions.

And it gave her the confidence to hope that whatever happened from here would be all right. It had to be. There really wasn’t another option.

CHAPTER TWENTY

EVERYTHING WAS FINE until the vomiting started. And once it started, it was pretty intense. And lasted from the very early hours of the morning, where it woke her from a deep sleep, and Ryder, as well, and carried her through until lunchtime.

It was awful. Truly awful.

And enough to make it so that planning the wedding felt more or less impossible.

Anyway, she felt kind of guilty about the fact that they were going to end up getting married before Pansy and West. They had gotten engaged first after all. But they were having a shotgun wedding.

Of course, she wasn’t sure she was going to make it down the aisle in her present condition.

That, though, was its own gift. This illness. Because she felt horrible. And all of this wasn’t going according to any plan at all.