They walked through to the baby store. There were cribs and changing tables, mobiles and teddy bear lamps.

“Come see,” Charity told her, pointing to the left. “There’s a bedroom set I really love. But it’s pretty girly and if we have a boy, I’m not sure it’s appropriate.”

Pia followed her friend to a display done in pale wood. The small nightstand, crib, dresser and changing table were all carved with fairies and angels, the edges scalloped. Pink-and-gold drawer pulls sparkled with a touch of glitter.

“Too girly doesn’t describe it,” Pia said with a grin. “I think it’s great, but you need to make sure you’re having a girl before you get this.”

“It’s too over the top for a boy?”

“It will give Josh a heart attack, and that’s the last thing you want.”

“I know.” Charity sighed. “I had planned not to know the sex of the baby until the birth. I thought that would be fun. I’ve always been such a planner. This seemed like the ultimate in letting go.”

“Then you’re going to have to let go on the furniture selection,” Pia told her. “This is a whole new dimension of girly.”

“You’re right,” Charity said, sounding reluctant. “What are you going to do?”

Pia turned to her. “About what?”

“Knowing the gender of the babies.”

“I haven’t really thought about it.”

“From what I know about IVF, you’re going to have fraternal rather than identical triplets,” Charity said. “Three embryos mean they fertilized three different eggs. That could make things interesting. Does Raoul want to know?”

They hadn’t talked about it, Pia realized. In fact they hadn’t talked much about the babies at all. She didn’t know anything about his thoughts on children, except he wanted them. What were his hopes and dreams for these babies? Did he spank or prefer time-outs? Would he want to know if they were having boys or girls?

She put her hand on the dresser to steady herself. There was more. They hadn’t talked about financials or their goals for their lives. She didn’t know what religion he was, if he opened his presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. They hadn’t even discussed which way to load a dishwasher.

How could she have agreed to marry someone she didn’t know at all? Shouldn’t they have a plan to get to know each other? Of course, she was the same person who had blithely had her friend’s babies implanted into her body without considering the future.

She was going to be the mother of three children. She was going to have to raise them for the next eighteen years. Longer if housing prices kept going up. She could barely take care of herself. There was the whole humiliating relationship failure with Jake, the cat.

“I can’t do this,” she said.

“What’s wrong?” Crystal asked, sounding concerned.

Pia had to get out of there. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.

She glanced at her watch. “I have to go. I have…” Her mind went blank, then rebooted and provided her with the perfect excuse. “I have a city council meeting tomorrow. I need to get back to work and prepare.”

“Me, too,” Crystal told her. “We’re talking about the budget, which is a serious drag. Neither of us can have caffeine. How are we supposed to stay awake?”

Pia was amazed. She must still look and sound normal, when on the inside, she was seconds from a meltdown.

Somehow she made it back to her office. But instead of preparing for the meeting, she stood in her tiny bathroom, her arms braced against the sink.

The obvious question was what had she been thinking. But she knew the answer to that. She hadn’t been. She’d been reacting to the loss of a dear friend. And now that she was pregnant, was she doing her very best to be informed? Had she made even one change in her life to support the babies?

Okay, sure she’d given up alcohol and caffeine and she was taking the vitamins and eating lots of fruits and vegetables. But was that enough? She hadn’t known how many diapers a baby needed a day. She didn’t want to look at furniture or maternity clothes. If Crystal really knew what she was like, she would be horrified to know her future children would be in Pia’s custody. Because for the first time ever, the babies were finally real to her and she was terrified.

THE ENTIRE TOWN TURNED OUT for the auction. Pia stared at the huge crowd and found that being the object of so much male attention was kind of good for her emotionally fragile state.

Since arriving at the convention center, she’d been ogled, had her butt pinched twice and asked out more times than she could count.

There had to be at least three hundred guys milling around the open space and twice that many women. The concession stands were doing a brisk business, which meant plenty of income for the city. All good.

“Hey, pretty lady.”

Pia glanced up from her clipboard and saw a tall, slightly grizzled older man smiling at her. He was missing a couple of teeth and needed a shave.

“You gonna bid on me tonight?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Would that I could,” she said with a heavy sigh. “But I’m pregnant.”

His gaze dropped to her belly and he took a couple of steps back. “I’m not interested in no kids.”

“I hear that a lot.”

The man turned and nearly ran in the opposite direction. Montana hurried up to her.

“This is great. I can’t wait for the talent show. Some guy just felt me up. I should probably be mad, but it’s so strange, it’s almost funny.”

“Give it an hour,” Pia told her. “It’ll get annoying. I’m telling every guy who talks to me that I’m pregnant. It’s very effective.”

Dakota joined them. She had a soda in one hand and popcorn in the other. “The lady with the dancing dog is first up in the talent show. I can’t wait.”

Pia laughed. “This is a serious event, you two. Act accordingly.”

“It’s a woman dancing with her poodle,” Dakota said with a laugh. “I do love this town.”

Pia glanced around at the crowd filling the convention center. Despite the craziness, she loved it, too.

THE NEXT AFTERNOON, PIA managed to sit through the city council meeting without dozing off. Given her wild night at the auction, that was a serious accomplishment.

The performances had gone off on time, the bachelor auction had been nearly orderly. The more attractive men who claimed to have jobs had gone for the most money, and nothing really embarrassing had happened, which meant the media coverage should be relatively benign.

One crisis endured, forty-seven others waiting in the wings, she thought. At least the activities of last night had kept her from dwelling on her inadequacies as a potential mother.

She was trying and that should count, she told herself. As she got more pregnant, she would bond more with the babies. She promised herself she would read more and figure out what she was supposed to do next.

“We’re hoping revenue from the influx of tourists helps,” the city treasurer was saying.

“By tourists she means men,” Mayor Marsha said with a heavy sigh. “Pia, the auction went very smoothly last night. Thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome. I don’t have the money totals yet, but we made a lot. We’re taking costs out of the auction proceeds, and then all the profits go directly to the city.”

“I suppose if we have to be in the middle of this circus, we might as well benefit in some way,” Marsha said. “What’s next?”

Talk turned to budgeting. At one point, Charity tried to stifle a yawn, then caught Pia’s gaze and grinned.

Pia nodded in agreement. Not exactly a topic to keep one up in anticipation. She shifted in her seat, feeling a faint cramping in her stomach. At first she didn’t think anything about it. She listened to the latest information on the cause of the fire at the school and the projections for repair costs.

The cramps increased. She frowned as she tried to remember if her period was due. Usually she noted that on her calendar so she could be prepared with…

Dread swept through her. She wasn’t going to get her period. She was pregnant. She shouldn’t be cramping. Not like this.

“Oh, God,” she breathed, terrified to move, not sure what to do.

Everyone turned to look at her. Another cramp hit her. This one was horrifyingly worse.

Then she felt it. A rush of something liquid. Involuntarily she stood and looked down. Blood pooled in the seat.

Pia began to scream.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

PIA GULPED FOR AIR. Even as she gasped, she choked on a sob. Despite the nurse’s insistence that she had to calm down, she couldn’t stop crying.

The nurse held on to Pia’s hand. “Honey, is there someone I can call? Do you want me to get your mom?”

The irony of the question only made Pia cry harder. Marsha would have phoned Raoul already, and he would get here as quickly as he could. There was no one else.

“I’m fine,” Pia managed.

“You’ve got to quiet down. This isn’t good for you or the babies.”

Babies. Because there were two left. At least that’s what the ultrasound had shown. Only one had been lost.

Pia did her best to slow her breathing. Getting upset only made things worse. She knew that, but she couldn’t seem to control herself. Not when she knew she was to blame.

“Where is she?” a male voice asked from the hallway. “Pia O’Brian. She’s my fiancée.”

“Raoul!”

The nurse left her side and hurried to the open door. “In here.”

Raoul rushed in and raced to her side. “Pia.” He bent over her and took her hand in his, then kissed her forehead. “Are you all right?”

The worry and concern had her crying again. But instead of backing away, he leaned close and wrapped his arms around her.

She cried and cried until she felt empty inside. Until there was no way to find relief.

“I lost one of the babies,” she said, the words hoarse in her swollen throat.

“I know.” He smoothed her hair. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not. It’s not okay. I’m the reason. It’s my fault.” She felt her eyes fill again. Grabbing his hand with both of hers, she stared into his eyes. “It’s my fault. I did this. They were never real to me. I didn’t want to tell you, but they weren’t. I knew in my head I was pregnant, but I didn’t feel it. I wasn’t maternal. The baby knew. It knew and now it’s gone.”

“Pia, no. That’s not what happens.”

“It is. I did it. I was out with Charity yesterday. She wanted to look at maternity clothes and I didn’t. I didn’t want to think about how big I’m going to get, or what’s going to happen to my body. Then I freaked out about the furniture. I didn’t even know how many diapers a baby uses in a week.”

The tears flowed again, trickling down her cheeks. “Crystal trusted me. She trusted me and one of her babies is gone and I can’t fix it. I can’t make it better. I loved her and she believed in me and look what I’ve done.”

Raoul shook his head. He looked uncomfortable and helpless. “Sometimes babies don’t make it.”

She raised her bed a little, so she could see him more easily. “There’s more. I’m the reason.” She swallowed, knowing she had to tell him the truth, even if it meant he would walk away from her forever.

Maybe that would be for the best, she thought, feeling sick to her stomach. Then when the babies were born, he could have child protective services take them from her so she wouldn’t damage them further.

“I got pregnant when I was in college.”

RAOUL DIDN’T WANT TO HEAR anything more. He knew where the story was going, what she was going to say. Anger grew. He pulled his hand back.

Pia was talking. He forced himself to listen, to pretend he wasn’t judging.

“I knew he wouldn’t marry me, and I started…” She gasped for breath. “I started wishing the baby would go away. That’s what I thought in my head. How everything would be better if it just went away.”

She closed her eyes. The tears continued to flow, but they no longer touched him.

“Then it did,” she whispered.

“It didn’t go away,” he said harshly. “You did something.”

She nodded. “I know. The baby knew or sensed and then it was gone. Dr. Galloway said I can’t take responsibility. That not every baby starts out right and when they don’t, nature takes care of things. That’s the medical explanation. The baby wasn’t right. But it wasn’t the baby, it was me.”

He stared at her, confused by what she was saying. “You didn’t have an abortion?”

“What?” Her eyes opened. “No. Of course not. I was figuring I’d give the baby up for adoption. I even had a few brochures. But it was gone, just like today. That’s what I kept thinking. That I was being punished for not wanting that first baby. So I don’t get to have these.”

His anger and sense of betrayal faded as if they’d never been. Shame replaced them—for thinking the worst of Pia. She was nothing like Caro. He already knew that.

He returned to the bed, grateful she hadn’t noticed his retreat, and pulled her close again.

“I’m sorry,” he said, apologizing for his mistake.

“You didn’t do anything.”

He would tell her later, he thought. When she was better.

“Neither did you,” he told her. “You’re not being punished.”