by Rita Herron
The airline registration attendant gave him and Lance a suspicious once-over. They both looked rough. Lance hadn't slept the night before either, and this morning neither one had shaved or showered.
"Listen, you have to get us on this flight," Lance pleaded. "I don't care if it costs extra; I can't stay in town another minute."
The woman glanced up. "Is there an emergency? Death?"
Lance drummed his hand on the counter. "Not exactly. But please see what you can do."
"I can put you on standby, but I can't assure you that you'll both make the flight."
"Fine," Lance said.
Reid nodded. "No problem. If one of us gets on, take it, Lance. I'll catch the next one."
They turned to take a seat when Reid spotted Lucy and Sophie rushing toward the desk. "Uh-oh."
"Blast it all to hell," Lance muttered. "I can't believe this."
Lucy gave him a scalding look, then jutted her chin and hugged Sophie to her, steering a wide berth past them. Lance cut his eyes away from Sophie, but Reid saw the pain on his brother's face and wanted to choke somebody.
The Virginal Princess and the Virginal Vampiress—how appropriate. He wondered who had thought of the names.
* * *
"Dag-nab it," Lucy muttered. "What the heck are they doing here?"
"Probably the same thing we are," Sophie said in a desolate voice.
Lucy squeezed her sister's hand, worried sick. Sophie looked so pale, and she'd been so quiet, almost emotionless, that she was downright scared her sister had sunk into a trance. She'd have to consult her spell book and see if she could find something to revive Sophie's spirits. Really, she'd feel better if she would scream and yell at her, or cry and throw something, anything but this mind-numbing, pitiful silence.
"Well, if they're on the flight, we'll take the next one." She coached Sophie to the counter. "We have a reservation. I called this morning. Lucy and Sophie Lane."
"I told you not to come back with me," Sophie whispered while the woman checked their IDs.
"You shouldn't be alone right now, Soph."
"But what about the show?"
Lucy laughed. "The understudy is going to take over this week, and Sassafras will be well by Wednesday. Garrison already had a special guest lined up, too, so he'll be fine."
The attendant handed them back their IDs. "You have the last two seats, ladies. Have a nice flight."
Lucy leaned over the counter, pointed to Reid and Lance, and whispered, "Are they on the flight?"
The woman quirked her head sideways. "Standby."
"Good."
"Is there a problem with those men?" the woman asked.
"Actually, I heard them outside talking. They sounded suspicious to me," Lucy answered in a low voice.
Sophie poked her, but she continued. "I think you should have security check them out. They look dangerous, don't you think?"
The woman slid her glasses down her nose and peered over Lucy's shoulder. "Actually, I thought the same thing myself. Maybe I will call."
"Lucy, you are fiendish," Sophie said in a hiss.
"They deserve it." After all, she'd been harassed just because she'd had her Sleepover, Inc., kit with her. The boys should suffer simply for being men.
The woman punched a call button behind the counter and a security guard appeared. Lucy turned and grinned as the guard approached Reid and Lance and escorted them away.
Sophie desperately needed a diet Coke. A migraine had threatened all morning and she was starting to see spots, but had a flashback of the six-pack Lance had given her with the silly balloon dates, and ordered a real Coke instead. She might never be able to drink diet soda again.
While they waited for the flight to board, she and Lucy avoided Reid and Lance. When the boys had returned from security, they'd both looked furious. Reid had started toward Lucy with a threatening gleam in his eyes, but Lance had restrained him, earning another suspicious glare from the security guards.
She supposed she couldn't blame them for being angry, but told herself not to apologize.
Eventually they'd all wound up at the coffee shop, then the rest rooms, and now back in the waiting area. There were two empty seats beside her and Lucy, but Reid and Lance had opted to stand on the far side to avoid being near them.
Let them sit on the floor, for all she cared.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll begin boarding now," one of the airline attendants announced.
"We'll start with all first-class passengers and those who need assistance."
Sophie stared at their ticket and willed the process to move quickly.
Several minutes later she and Lucy had boarded and were settling in when a man and a rail-thin woman across the aisle jumped up. "You have to let us off; we have an emergency."
The chubby man waved his cell phone. "Miss, miss, my son called. They're having their baby and we have to get off the plane!"
The attendant rushed forward and cleared the aisle; the chubby man pushed forward, his wife shrieking, "I'm going to be a grandmother; the baby's two weeks early, but it's coming. Let us through!"
"We have to be there," the man yelled. "I told Geraldina not to push!"
Sophie laughed, but her laughter ended abruptly when Lance and Reid appeared, weaving down the aisle. She glanced at the two now-empty seats across from them and realized the Summers boys were going to nab them.
For the next five minutes she and Lucy combed the aisles, begging someone to change seats, but a teenage sports team who wanted to sit together filled the plane, and the airline attendant gave them the evil eye, her final warning to sit down.
Sophie slumped back into her aisle seat next to Lucy, who took the window, because Sophie got dizzy when she flew and couldn't look outside when the plane was moving. Across from her Lance sat like a pillar of stone, his big hands folded in his lap, his face turned the opposite direction.
She did the same, although she closed her eyes so she wouldn't get motion sick, and hugged her pride. Pride was, after all, the only thing she had left.
Not only did Lance hate her, but she'd upset her mother as well. Maybe she should take that job and leave Savannah forever....
* * *
Three days later Sophie had wallowed in misery until she was tired of hearing her own voice whine. Their special Mother's Day programming was extended for the following week—seeing all the families reunited only reminded her of her own divided one. She'd phoned Deseree a dozen times, but she hadn't answered or returned Sophie's calls. She probably didn't want to talk to her daughter who had treated her own mother so poorly.
Next week would be even more difficult. They were starting the series on weddings, with a featured couple who would marry on the show. Sophie had fantasized about having her own wedding with Lance, but that was merely a fantasy.
She still hadn't returned his shirt.
He had sent a crew to finish the renovations, though, a definite statement that he was finished with her.
And now she had to endure a birthday celebration: the big three-oh.
As soon as she entered the cafe, Maddie enveloped her in a hug. "Happy birthday, Soph."
"I don't feel much like celebrating," Sophie admitted.
"I know, sweetie, but we're going to anyway." Maddie dragged her toward a back table, where she had ordered a pitcher of Cosmopolitans. Sophie plopped down, anxious to have the evening over.
Maddie sipped a glass of water. "You look terrible. We have to do something about it."
"There's nothing to do," Sophie said, "but forget Lance."
"Ahh, you're not giving up, are you?" Maddie asked.
"Don't tell me you have a plan?" Sophie said. "Lance is still seething over the seven-rules-to-trap-a-man thing."
Maddie dipped a chip in the spinach-avocado dip, and Sophie poured herself a Cosmopolitan, then started to pour Maddie one, but Maddie shook her head. "I'm holding off tonight."
"Really, what's up?"
"Little sto
mach bug," Maddie said, although she didn't quite meet her friend's eyes.
"Has it been going on long?"
Maddie shrugged, her cheeks turning pink. "I'm fine, really; it's nothing."
But Sophie knew her friend too well, and she also knew Maddie and Chase had talked about having a baby. She put two and two together. "You're pregnant, aren't you?" Maddie nearly spilled her soda on her blouse. "Uh, whatever makes you think that?"
"You are," Sophie accused. "I can see that light in your eyes. That's great, Maddie!"
Maddie giggled and leaned closer to her. "I know, I'm so excited. I want you to be the godmother, too."
"Oh, I'd be thrilled," Sophie squealed. "Does Chase know yet?"
"Yes, and he's so excited," Maddie whispered. "He wanted to tell everyone, but I'm making him keep it a secret. I don't want Lance and Reid to know just yet, not with..." Maddie lowered her voice, "with everything that's going on."
Sophie squeezed Maddie's hand. "Don't worry, Maddie, I won't tell Lance about the pregnancy. But I can't wait to hold the baby! I can just see the little one now!"
* * *
Lucy couldn't believe her ears. She'd walked in on the tail end of the conversation, but she'd heard Sophie say she wasn't going to tell Lance about the pregnancy, then that she couldn't wait to hold the baby.
Dear God, was Sophie pregnant?
She wouldn't tell Lance. She couldn't wait to hold the baby. What else could she mean?
Now that she thought about it, Sophie had been sick all week, emotional, not eating, even sloughing off her usual intake of soda—no wonder the break with Lance had upset her so badly.
Momentary disappointment trickled through her that Sophie hadn't told her first instead of Maddie, which meant that somewhere deep down Sophie still blamed her for the breakup with Lance. She was also aware that now Sophie was not only alone, but pregnant and alone, and that it was all Lucy's fault for being selfish.
But there was a baby to think about now. A tiny innocent life that had been created in love. And this tiny little life would be her niece or nephew. A niece or nephew she could not let be brought into the world without its father.
Not the way she and Sophie had.
She could barely contain herself from congratulating Sophie, and bragging that she couldn't wait to be an aunt. But both Maddie and Sophie clamed up tighter than a virgin in a male strip club when she approached, shutting her out. After she slurped down most of the Cosmopolitan pitcher—not surprised when Sophie pushed her own away—she gave her sister the gift she'd bought; the number sixty-nine item from her catalog.
"To help you get Lance," she told her. A few minutes later, she hopped a cab. She had made a mess of things before, and it was up to her to fix them now.
After the taxi dropped her off she stood, slightly woozy and light-headed, on Reid's doorstep banging on his door for all she was worth. She could have sworn he'd peeked out the window and seen her, then ducked inside and had refused to answer.
Damn, insufferable, infuriating, rat-fink man. Why God had created that Y chromosome was beyond her.
She banged again, and yelled, cursing him to the moon, then finally took her credit card from her purse and picked the lock. The door screeched open, and she clunked inside, scanning the dim interior as she yelled his name. The apartment reeked of stale pizza and beer. But thankfully she didn't see any woman's lingerie scattered inside.
Reid was slumped on a ratty-looking sofa, surfing the channels. "Where'd a Virginal Princess learn to pick locks?"
"Vegas, where else?"
He flicked her a quick glance, then returned to the TV. Some boring ball game blared from the set. He turned up the sound. "Well, pick your way back out and go on back there."
"Not until you listen to me."
He grunted and started to stand, but she tottered over to him, nearly falling over a pair of smelly tennis shoes. With a sigh, she snatched the remote.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?"
Her bracelets jangled as she waved her arms around. "We have a major crisis. We can't sit back and do nothing."
Reid rested his elbows on his knees and glared at her. "What crisis? Did you lose your spell book?"
"This is not about me. Well, not directly. Actually, it affects both of us, and Lance and Sophie." Lucy rubbed at her head and paced. "No, it's bigger than all of us."
Reid folded his arms. "Lucy, did anyone ever tell you that you talk in circles?"
"Only an idiot wouldn't be able to understand me." She slapped her forehead. "Oh, wait, you're a man; you don't have a brain."
"Maybe if you just came right out and said what you mean..."
"I mean I'm concerned about the baby."
The color drained from Reid's face. He jumped up to grab her arms but swayed. "Oh, my God, you're pregnant?"
Lucy swatted at his hand. "I'm what?"
"You... I... we're—"
Realization dawned and nervous laughter bubbled inside Lucy. "No, Reid, I'm not pregnant."
"Then what baby are you talking about?"
Had she seen a moment of disappointment mingled with the panic? "Sophie and Lance's."
"Sophie and Lance are pregnant?"
"No, you idiot, Sophie is pregnant, and Lance is the father, and the poor kid is going to be an illegitimate baby if we don't do something."
Reid's mouth slacked open in shock. "What?"
"That's right. She'll be teased and called names and wonder why her daddy didn't love her. And who knows, Sophie has two job offers, so she may move away and the baby will never even see his daddy. Not that I could blame Sophie—"
"Just wait a damn minute."
"No, you wait." Lucy shook her finger in his face, her bracelets clattering down her arm. "I know what it's like to grow up without a father, and I won't let my niece or nephew suffer that, especially when I know Sophie and Lance love each other."
Reid's voice turned low, "I thought you didn't want them to be together."
Lucy sighed. "I didn't at first, but like I said, this is bigger than all of us." She snapped her fingers in his face. "Now are you going to stand there on your duff, or are you going to help me?"
* * *
Lance had closed the deal with McDaniels today and should have been celebrating. Instead he was brooding inside his duplex, trying to muster enough energy to work on the budget and forcing himself not to call the foreman of the three-man crew he'd put together to finish Sophie's house, when someone knocked on the door. He ignored it, hoping whoever it was would leave, but seconds later Reid appeared in the den.
"Lance, we have to talk."
Lance looked up from the paperwork on the table. "I'm busy."
Reid yanked out a chair and closed the folder Lance had been staring at for an hour. Reid's face was flushed, his hand shaking. "It's important, bro. I have something to tell you."
"What is it now?" His heart raced, his imagination going wild. "Has something happened to Maddie? Chase?" Sophie, God, no, not Sophie.
"It's about Sophie."
Lance's head swam.
"I just talked to Lucy, and you won't believe this, but Sophie has two job offers and may be moving..."
He hesitated and Lance swayed. "It gets worse, Lance, she may be... may be..."
Lance gripped Reid's collar. "May be what?"
"...well, she's pregnant."
Lance hit the floor with a thud, his last thought before he passed out was that Reid had once again told him something that should have come from Sophie.
Chapter 22
"Why didn't she tell me?" Lance asked from the floor.
Reid had squatted over him with a three-year-old bottle of vinegar, which had definitely woken Lance up, although he still felt too weak to stand. His head spun like a merry-go-round with thoughts of fatherhood and Sophie carrying his baby, and the two of them being together.
Reality intervened, though, like a lightning rod stabbing into the darkness. Sophie might be moving and he w
ould lose her, and he might not ever see his own kid.
Reid shrugged and didn't reply, although Lance knew the answer. Why would she come to him after the way he'd treated her in Vegas? The hurt in her eyes when he'd walked away had haunted him for days. But he'd had a right to be hurt, too....
Reid rubbed a hand over his chin, looking weary. "It's a mess, isn't it?"
"Yeah. A damn mess."
"Women are too much trouble and work."
Lance had certainly never passed out because of one before. "Yeah, trouble and work."
"So what are you going to do, man?"
Lance grabbed the table edge for support, and Reid gave him a hand on the other side, helping him to stand. "I have to see her. I... She's having my baby." He should be furious, he realized, so why was his heart racing and a smile stretching his face? He was going to be a father. Get to ride his kid piggyback, play softball in the backyard, put up one of those silly Slip 'N' Slid thingies that killed the grass...
Reid cleared his throat. "You want me to drive you over?"
"No." Lance searched for his keys on the crowded tabletop. "This is something I need to do alone. Just help me to the truck. I can make it from there."
* * *
Sophie had just settled into Lance's shirt for the night—okay, she hadn't washed it and returned it yet, but she would, she really would—when the doorbell rang. She let Lucy get it, then heard a man's voice.
Lance?
What was he doing here? Had he come to see the renovations?
Maybe he'd come for his shirt.
She clutched the hem of it, not certain she could part with it just yet, when suddenly he appeared at her bedroom door. Lucy, traitor that she was, must have let him in.
"Sophie, I... Can we talk?" He hesitated in the darkened doorway, and she drank in the sight of his big, muscular body filling the space. Memories crowded back, all the sultry touches and kisses, his body pulsing within her...
He moved inside the room then, bringing his masculine scent with him, and she tried to catch her breath. "Lance, I didn't expect you."
"I know." His voice sounded oddly shaky. Moonlight painted shadows across his face, but she saw emotions in his dark eyes, and her heart fluttered in her chest. Had he missed her? Somehow found a way to forgive her?