“I was afraid of losing you, and it was the only way I could think of to stay connected when things ended,” he says. “It was a stupid act of a desperate man. I was willing to do whatever it took to keep you from walking away when this was all over.”

I shake my head at his screwed-up logic.

“That was seriously the worst plan ever. How did you know I wouldn’t have an abortion and never tell you about the baby if I did get pregnant?”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“No, you’re right, I wouldn’t. In any case, it’s a good thing I can’t get pregnant just by missing one little pill. A person would have to be seriously unlucky and the timing would have to be perfect to get pregnant.”

“Or lucky,” he says. “All according to how you want to look at the situation.”

Suddenly I remember the queasiness I’ve been feeling lately and the uncharacteristic emotional state I’m constantly in. Considering our situation, I had attributed it all to stress.

Could I have missed more than one pill around the time when the investigation first started? Since I wasn’t sexually active at the time or even planning to be, I wasn’t really paying close attention.

Can I be pregnant?

“I knew you would be mad,” he says. “I’m sorry. I know it was stupid. But no harm done, right? When we do get ready to have kids, I want a whole bunch. Maybe even an entire motorcycle club, which would be thirteen.”

He stops talking when he sees the overwhelmed look on my face.

“Only when you’re ready, of course,” he continues. “No pressure. Maybe you should forget I mentioned any of this. Show me the tapes again. Let’s talk about something else.”

“And what would happen if your plan had worked and I was pregnant?” I ask casually. “Did you think that far ahead in your grand scheme?”

His face lights up at the thought. “Then I would be the happiest man in the world. And honestly, that’s about as far as I got with the plan.”

I roll my eyes. “Figures.”

“I can see that you need some warming up to the kid idea, so we’ll take our time,” he says. “No rush. If I have you, that’s all that matters. I can wait for as long as you want.”

“I don’t want you to get your hopes up too soon,” I say slowly. “But the dirty deed might have already been done. I haven’t been feeling well and I passed out which was weird.”

Sam’s mouth drops open in shock. For once, he’s speechless.

“Are you saying you might be pregnant?” he finally asks.

“Maybe. I should probably take a pregnancy test.”

His eyes explode back to life. He’s so excited he’s about to jump out of the chair.