As she combed her hair, she really looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t the same naïve girl David took advantage of, and the lessons she’d learned would always stay with her. Even though she trusted Evan more than any other man she’d ever been with, she knew if he cheated she’d be out the door without waiting for an explanation. He wouldn’t crush her. Her heart and body were safe with him, but he also wanted her soul. Could she let him in that far? Would she let him in that far?

She took one last look in the full-length mirror. When she turned to slip on some old lounging pants, she didn’t see her patch. She craned her neck as far as she could in hopes it was still attached to her backside somewhere. When she didn’t find it, she quickly got dressed and went in search of her dirty clothes. She flipped her shorts wrong side out, but it wasn’t there. Even though there wasn’t much to her bathing suit bottoms, she searched those, too. When she didn’t find it in there, she violently shook her towel. Not wanting to overlook it, she laid it out and went over it then flipped it to repeat the search. Not knowing where else it could be, she found her keys in Evan’s pocket and headed for the pool. She heard Nathan ask Evan where she was, and Sam chuckle at Evan’s response of recuperating in his bed. Thinking she had time to look before Evan came to find her, she walked out the doors toward the pool and turned on the flashlight connected to her keyring. She was retracing her steps as best as she could, looking at everything around the pool deck. She was moving the lounger when Evan called her. “Ginger? Darlin’, what are you doing?”

She looked like a deer caught in headlights when she turned to face him. “Looking for something I lost.”

“Out here in the dark? I saw the light through the office window and thought someone was sneaking around. What you looking for? I’ll help you.”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll find it.”

“Gin. What is it?”

She took a deep breath. “My patch,” she said with a resigned sigh.

“Your what?” he asked. His eyebrows almost touched his hairline.

She was down on her knees looking on the ground when she said, “You heard me. My birth control patch.”

“It’s on your hip. I put it there myself yesterday morning.”

“Yeah, well it’s not there now.”

Evan moved around to the side of the chair that matched the hip he put it on. When he squatted down to look underneath he said, “Um, Gin, I think I found it.”

“What?”

“Look, is this it?” He held it on the non-sticky side.

“Oh my God, Evan!” Her hand flew to her mouth. “We’ve had unprotected sex four times!”

“Hey Sug…”

Ginger turned around to see two sets of eyes staring at them, Nathan and Sam. She bowed her head as she shook it. “Maybe we should wait back in the office,” Sam said.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Give me a minute.”

“A minute? You think…”

Evan cut her off with a hand over her mouth. She was still speaking, but no one could make out her words. Nathan and Sam turned to walk back inside as Evan softly said in her ear, “You can walk to our room and we can talk, or I can carry you. Which option do you want, one or two?”

Ginger held up one finger. Evan released her mouth and grabbed her hand. Neither said a word until they were in their room. As soon as the door closed he asked, “How could that’ve happen?”

“I don’t really know. When we moved it I thought it stuck well enough, but maybe it didn’t. I’ve never had this happen before.”

He pulled her close to his body. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I don’t remember seeing it when we took a shower yesterday, but to be honest I wasn’t looking for it either. I should’ve paid better attention.”

“Neither of us was. I can’t believe I never felt it come off, though.”

“What’s next?”

“I’ll see if I can find something on the internet because I can’t call my doctor until Monday.”

“Ginger, I meant it when I said I love you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank you. I love you, too.”

Evan pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. She needed his strength, comfort, and support. “Darlin’, I’m good either way.”

She released his arms from around her back and walked to the other side of the room. When she turned back she said, “You can’t be serious! We haven’t known each other that long.”

“I don’t care. I know what I want, and that’s you. If a baby is a part of that package, he’s a bonus,” he said with a sincere smile.

“Positive?”

“More than positive.” His broad smile was contagious.

“You go talk to Nathan and Sam while I see what I can find out. We can talk more when they leave.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. They’re probably making bets on your level of freak out as we speak.”

“What freak out?”

“Go,” she said. She needed him gone so she could freak out.

“When you’re ready, come to the office.” His lips lingered on her forehead before he left the room.

As soon as the door closed, she quietly cried as she sat on the sofa. What had she done?

Evan was only supposed to be a fling. But she fell in love. Evan said he loved her. David had never said that. Her high school boyfriend did, and she ended up giving him her virginity. Look how that turned out. They were just kids, though. She and Evan were adults, and they’d handle this as adults. He said he wanted forever. She always thought she’d be married before she had children. Oh, God.

Ginger pulled herself together, opened her laptop, and searched her brand of patch. When she found the information on what to do if the patch came off, she took notes so she wouldn’t forget anything. The birth control should’ve been in her system yesterday, but most likely not today. She even chuckled to herself when she thought about how special she’d thought their night was earlier. She thought about Evan’s protective instinct—how much more will he be if she was pregnant? She shook her head and chastised herself for chasing those thoughts until they knew. She closed her laptop and regained control before she went to the office to see what they’d come up with.