“What are you going to do?” Luna asked immediately, and drew me into a hug. “Oh my gosh, stop crying. If you cry, I’m going to cry.”

But I couldn’t stop—the tears were cathartic. All the hopes and dreams I’d had about being a mother, all of them, they came rushing back. They weren’t even hopes anymore. This was real. I was actually pregnant.

“Oh my god,” I exhaled. “Oh my god.” I gripped my forehead. “Oh my god.”

“Just sinking in, is it?” Luna asked, and chuckled. “Oh my god is right. This is amazing. I so hoped this would happen for you one day, especially after everything with that other asshole whose name we shall not speak. Hold on, let me get you that nonalcoholic wine.” She rose from the sofa and rushed off to the kitchen, while I sat staring at the pregnancy test.

I turned it over and over, then put it down, picked it up again. I’d keep it forever, as gross as that was, because this was the one thing I’d hoped would happen for me. And believed never would.

What the hell is Noah going to say about this?

Luna bustled back into the living room, carrying two glasses this time—one filled with dark red liquid, and the other with sparkling white. “The red is yours,” she said. “That way, we won’t get them mixed up.”

I accepted the glass from her, and she sat down. We clinked the glasses together, then took a sip apiece.

“So?” Luna asked. “What are your first thoughts as a pregnant woman?”

“That I’ve got a lot of planning to do,” I replied and looked around the apartment. “God, I don’t even have my own place.”

“So? You can stay here until you find another one, even after the baby’s born. You don’t really think I’ll abandon you, do you? I’m not a lowlife.”

“I didn’t think that,” I replied, pressing a hand to my abdomen. My baby. I choked on emotion again. “But I do have to have my own place. We can’t stay here with you forever. We need our own little home, and I’m going to have to figure that out as I go.”

“I have full faith in you,” Luna said. “But don’t you think you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself here? You still have to get through the pregnancy.”

I laughed, joy practically streaming from every part of me. From my pores. No one could take this moment away from me. “I think, the first thing I have to do is get hold of Noah. If he even wants to speak to me after the way I acted.”

“You regret it?”

“It’s still complicated,” I replied, “but doing the right thing by the baby is more important than anything else right now. If I have to go see him at the hospital, I will. I mean, I still have his number, but what if he doesn’t answer?”

“The guy said he loved you, Erika. I’m pretty sure he’ll answer.”

Guilt pricked at my happiness, but I couldn’t focus on the past now, only the future. It wasn’t fair to pressure myself into loving someone who’d hurt me time after time. “When should I do it?” I asked, almost more to myself than to her.

“As soon as you can,” she replied, and grabbed for the handbag I’d dropped next to the coffee table. The one I’d totally forgotten about the minute I’d spotted the test on the coffee table. Luna rummaged around in it and extracted my cell phone from its depths. She handed it over. “He’ll answer, Erika. I swear it.”

I wasn’t as sure, but I unlocked the phone either way. It rang in my hand, and my brother’s number popped up on the screen.

“Wow, that’s not creepy at all,” Luna said.

“Right?” I pressed the green button out of habit, even though I wasn’t exactly excited about talking to Marc right now. We’d been avoiding each other, too, after the altercation at the Radisson. “Hello?”

“Hey, sis, how are you doing?” Marc asked.

“I’m really, really good, actually.” I grinned at Luna, who gave me a double thumbs-up.

“Why?” Marc asked.

“Because I just found out some great news. Anyways, what’s up? Why are you calling?”

“Just to check in with you, see how you’re doing. What’s up with you? You sound different. What good news did you get?” He prattled the questions off.

“I—well, I didn’t want to say this over the phone, but yeah, I just found out I’m pregnant.” The news burst out of me, and I didn’t care about the consequences. Surely, my brother could be happy about this for me. He of all people knew how badly I’d wanted a child, and what I’d gone through with my ex.

The silence on the end of the phone went on for so long, I actually checked whether I’d accidentally hung up.

“Marc?”

He cleared his throat. “I’m here.” A beat. “Who’s the father?”

“Oh, you know, one of the Nicks. Dude, who do you think is the father? I’ve only slept with two guys in my entire life, and one of them was almost a year ago.”

“Speak plainly, Erika. What are you trying to tell me here?” His voice was so serious it harshed my vibe. “You’re telling me that you were dumb enough to get pregnant with Noah Cox’s baby? Is that what you’re telling me?”

My eyes widened. Luna leaned in to listen next to my ear.

“Wow,” I said, “I’m glad I told you. Yes, Noah’s the father, and no I’m not dumb. As you know, I thought I was infertile. This is a miracle, Marc, and one I’m seriously happy about. Can’t you be happy for me?”

“Erika, you can’t be serious. You’re not in a relationship. You’re nowhere near where you need to be financially or otherwise to have a baby. You’re living with your best friend and working at—”

“What’s your point?”

“That you can’t handle this on your own! And I’ll be damned if you’ll ask Cox for help. I hope you’re not planning on going through with this.”

“Go through with this? Can you clarify what you mean by that, brother?” I trembled from head to toe now, the joy having leaked out of me completely. How could he be this person? How could he say any of these things? He was my damn brother. Family. He was supposed to be supportive.

“I mean that you’ve got to get rid of it. Get an abortion so you can carry on with your life. Carry on rebuilding it,” Marc said.

“And an abortion is the best way to do that?” I asked, and Luna gasped beside me, pressing her fingers to her lips. “What an asshole,” she mouthed.

“Yeah, it is. This is a mistake. Do you really want to bring a child into the world on the back of everything that happened between you and Noah? I mean, it’s ridiculous. You can barely support yourself, let alone a child. You’re being super irresponsible, Erika, and frankly, I’m disappointed in you. You can’t do this on your own.”

Fury replaced anger, and I gripped my phone so hard it bit into my palm. “I’m not going to do it on my own,” I snapped. “I have Luna. And once I call Noah, I’m sure I’ll have his help and support too.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me. Noah is the least responsible man I know. Do you really think he’ll step up to the plate? He’ll make you promises, Erika, and then he’ll flake out on you and leave you in the lurch when you need him most. Is that what you want? God knows, I love the guy, he’s a brother to me, but he’s not the type of guy who sticks around in hard times.”

Luna shook her head beside me, still with her hand pressed to her mouth, as if she couldn’t believe what Marc was saying, that he’d even say it out loud. I was with her on that one.

“That’s enough,” I said. “Marc, you happened to call just after I received this news, so I told you about it. I thought it would mean I had a supportive brother on my side, an uncle for my child. I guess I was wrong. If you’ve got nothing constructive to say, then this conversation is over.”

Silence again, this time filled with his heavy breathing.

“Well?” I asked. “Are you going to say anything supportive at all? Congratulations, maybe?”

“No, I’m not going to say a damn thing. You won’t listen to me anyway.” He hung up, and I stared at the phone’s blank screen, fuming so hard smoke should’ve come out of my ears.

“Asshole!” I yelled and cocked my arm back to throw the phone. I controlled the impulse, however, and lowered it slowly to the coffee table. “What an asshole. I can’t believe him.”

“Asshole, indeed,” Luna said, “and totally wrong. He doesn’t know how Noah will react. He doesn’t understand. Are you OK?”

“I’m not sure.” I picked up my nonalcoholic wine and drained the glass. “I mean, that was the last conversation I expected to have right now. I shouldn’t have even bothered answering.”

“How could you have known he was going to be a dick about it?” Luna asked. “You couldn’t have, so I mean, it’s whatever. You have to focus on you and the baby now. Don’t worry about anything else.”

“You’re right,” I replied. “I’m not going to.” I inhaled deeply, sipped some more of my wine. “But I do think I’ll call Noah tomorrow instead of tonight. I just don’t have the energy to deal with another awkward phone call right now.” Or not even a phone call. It would just be me calling Noah to ask him if he’d consider meeting me in person.

And then there’d be us sitting across from each other, face to face, and that would be even more difficult.

“You know what we should do instead of worrying about your moody brother?” Luna asked.

“What?”

“We should shop for baby clothes online. Oh my gosh, and a crib. You have to let me get you a crib. Please, please, please,” Luna whined, and put her hands together, held them in front of her and begged.

I giggled at her enthusiasm. “Deal. But first we’ve got to get some pizza. I am friggin’ starving!” And officially back in a good mood.

I was pregnant, the future was bright, and all the worries I had could wait for tomorrow.