We stare at the pregnancy tests on the counter silently.

One is positive.

One is negative.

“Do people usually get false positives?” I ask.

“Do people usually get false negatives?” Mickey counters.

“I think we should go for best two out of three.” Kaija pulls out another test and passes it to me. “Squeeze that urine out, girl.”

I stare down at the test and finally sit on the toilet again. Mickey slides down the wall and sits on the floor. Kai takes up a position inside the tub for some reason.

Long moments pass but I finally get a little trickle going and I sit the test on the counter and pull up my pants, setting the timer on my phone.

“That one’s supposed to be really accurate, so…” Kaija trails off.

“You excited?” Mickey questions, pulling at strings on her ripped jeans.

I think about it, trying to place and separate my feelings.

“Yeah. I think so. A little scared, nervous. This isn’t in any type of plan I had.”

“Obviously.” Kai laughs. “You’ve been officially dating for less than 6 months, you’re unmarried, you haven’t even met his family…You would have never planned this.”

I turn to her, blinking, my eyes welling up. “Well, thank you for that glowing fact analysis.”

“Oh shit.” She strands from the tub. “Key, you really crying?”

“Yes, ass-hat.” I sob, wrapping my arms around myself. Mickey pulls me down to the floor and hugs me, Kaija on my other side.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s all true.” I wipe my eyes, chest heaving.

“Yeah but if there’s anyone who’s going to knock it out of the park even with zero warning, it’s you. Of all of us, nothing is a problem for you that can’t be conquered.”

“But this is a baby.”

“Well, let’s see what the last test says before this turns into Days of Our Lives, okay?”

I swipe my finger across my phone. 3 minutes left.

“Distract me, Mickey. How’s expansion? Did you meet with Nordstrom’s?”

Her pretty face immediately darkens with a scowl. “One of my advisory board members is intentionally making my life difficult and I’m ready to dump him into the Hudson.”

“Need me to encourage him to play nice?” I latch onto the opportunity to think of something else.

“No, he’s just…ugh.” She balls her fists.

“Ugh, huh?” Kaija asks, peering at her. “He’s hot, isn’t he?”

Mickey closes her eyes and leans her head back against the wall with a deep sigh. “The ground sizzles when he walks on it.”

I start giggling, and before long, we’re all laughing so hard that happy tears are rolling down our faces this time.

It’s then that my timer goes off.

“We’ll look together, okay?” Mickey squeezes my hand, and we all raise up on our knees and shuffle towards the counter with our eyes closed.

“1…2…3!” I open my eyes and peer at the test, feeling my stomach drop.

* * *

“We were about to start eating without you.” Dane comes over and pecks me on the lips when we enter the kitchen, then turns back to where he’s taking out condiments and toppings.

“You made the baked potatoes already?” I force a smile.

“Yep, and grilled the vegetable kebabs. And Harlan made the salad. Bread’s in the oven, but it’ll be done in a minute or so.”

“Snagged a domestic man.” Mickey winks at him as she passes.

“I’m useful to have around.” He grins at me and this time, my smile is genuine.

He cocks his head. “You okay?”

“Yeah. We’ll talk after dinner.” I lean up and kiss him softly, running my hand over his chest as I pull away. “I’ll grab the bread and butter it.”

“I’d like to butter your bread.” His eyes twinkle and I swat his chest.

“Behave.”

“I give the orders here, wench.” He backs me up against the counter and I squirm.

“Dane…” I breathe.

“And here we have a male lion, unable to stop himself from going after his female in an unknown habitat.” Harlan affects a fake Australian accent and Kaija bursts out laughing, making Dane roll his eyes and back away from me.

“Who invited you again?” I grab an oven mitt and take out the bread, setting it on the stovetop. Once everything’s done, we carry platters to the dining table and take seats, saying grace.

We eat, we talk, we laugh and almost every-time I happen to glance at Dane, he’s looking at me with that slight sparkle in his eye and an expression that makes me breathless.

He’s such a different man than the one I first met, and I wonder how we get here. I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t expect it at all.

I used to think that was a bad thing.

But maybe sometimes it’s the things you wouldn’t dare to dream of that end up meaning the most.