My house phone rang and then stopped. I laid my head back on the pillow, and it started ringing again. This time, I leaned up to answer it, but it stopped again. I moved my hand back and it started ringing again. I snatched it from the cradle ready to rip the head off whoever was on the other end.

“What?”

“It’s Mom.”

I let out a sigh; her voice was abrupt. A forewarning that this wasn’t her normal coddle me phone call.

“Family dinner tonight at six at your Uncle’s house.”

“Too tired, don’t feel like coming.”

“You don’t have a choice. Tristan said you either show or he is going to let his brothers use their idea for getting into your house. Soph, don’t play around. You know them. That is Tristan’s way of warning you that you are out of chances.”

“I know. But, Mom, I just . . . I’m not ready.”

“Sweetheart, I suggest you get ready, like, now. For ten years, they’ve been driving me crazy and I kept quiet because you asked me to. But you and I both know that doesn’t work in Greek families, we’re back. They are tired of the secrets. They love you unconditionally, you need to give them the same love in return. If you wanted the ability to keep secrets, you were born in the wrong family. You have four hours.”

I dropped my phone onto the mattress without disconnecting and got out of bed. I was in zombie mode, having been out of commission for hours, which meant it was going to take me four hours just to wake up. I stumbled downstairs to fix myself a bowl of cereal—the first thing I’d eaten since yesterday morning.

I spied my cellphone on my table, the same spot where I had left it yesterday. Pressing the on button, I waited for it to power up while the emptiness of my house hit me. Except for the crunching of my cereal, the sounds of ding, whoosh, ding, ding, whoosh overtook the room as message after text message came in and voice mails piled in for the party. 

“Siri, play my voice mails.”

“You have twenty-seven voice mails. Please delete to make room for incoming messages. Here is your first message from Carter, dated Tuesday at eleven . . .”

“Sophie, where are you? Please, I need you.”

Siri ran through call after call from Stella, Leo, Ariel, Kayson, and my mom. Every one asking me to call them back, but it was the last message that made me stop chewing and listen with undivided attention.

“Here’s your message from Carter on Wednesday at one AM . . .”

“Soph, please I need you. It isn’t what you think. I wanted to tell you. I was going to tell you. Six years ago, I had just made motors and had two weeks before my official start day. I headed off to Vegas and took my first vacation. I stayed drunk the entire time, and I made myself a promise that when I came back I was going to stop obsessing over you. It was sort of my give-up-on-Sophie drinking binge. I met Ivey, one night we drank too much, and at some point, we got married. When my vacation was over, I headed home. Soph, I didn’t care about getting a divorce because I wasn’t ever getting married. I knew that I’d never give my heart away. I’d already given it to a brown-eyed girl who I had met ten years ago when I had pulled her over for speeding and I never forgot her. After you got back, I contacted a lawyer to have him draw up the papers. Don’t you get it, Sophie? It’s you. It’s always been you.” There was a pause, but I could hear his labored breathing coming through the speaker before he continued. “As far as the kids . . . Ivey had three. Harlow is the right age, so she could be mine. All I can say is that there had to be a hole, a rip . . . something in the condom. The other two definitely aren’t mine but I don’t care, you should see them, they are beautiful. And when Harlow calls me ‘daddy’, it just does something to me. Please, Soph, please. Don’t cut me out again. I know that three kids are a lot, but I’m keeping them, I’m going to raise them. They’ve lost everything, they need me. Okay, that’s all I wanted to say. I love you, Soph. I love you with everything in me.”

I listened to Carter’s breathing and waited for Siri to tell me it was the end of the voice mail, but the sound of feet moving played back through the speaker. I laughed at the sound of what I had thought was running water at first to only realize it was him peeing, then the flush of the toilet, followed by him washing his hands. He must have thought he had disconnected. I listened as the phone hit something—if I had to guess, it was him setting his phone on his nightstand. A second later, there was the clear sound of covers shifting and then . . .

“Siri, replay last ten seconds of voice mail.”

“Replaying last ten seconds of voice mail from Carter on Wednesday at one AM . . .”

Turning my volume up, I leaned in and waited.

“Goodnight, Daddy.”

Whoa. That was what I thought I had heard. Carter had what I had always wanted him to have, what he deserved. He had children. My left arm went numb, my chest ached, and I couldn’t catch my breath. In my mind, I knew that I truly wasn’t having a heart attack but more like a heart-breaking-attack.

Leaving my bowl on the table, I dashed upstairs, turned on the shower, and jumped in. 

“Holy fuck, that’s cold!” I screeched, dodging the spray for a minute before washing my hair, shaving my legs and armpits, and jumping out. I quickly dried off before throwing on some light makeup, and grabbing a sundress from my closet. Back downstairs, I picked up my phone and sent a text.

Me: Talk?

Stella: Abso-fucking-lutely.

Me: In person. Where?

Stella: ORMC?

Me: See you in twenty.

I grabbed my purse and headed into the garage, which had this bizarre empty feel. I had gotten so used to having Carter’s Jeep and motorcycle there that it was unsettling to find them missing. I envisioned bicycles and tricycles stacked in the corner. Wiping away the tears, I put my car in reverse and headed up to the hospital.

Me: Here. Where are you?

Stella: Do you know where Tristan’s office is?

Me: Yep. 

Stella: Head toward there, I’ll meet you by nurse’s station.

Me: On my way.

Stella waved at me as soon as I stepped off the elevator, but before I reached her, a nurse stopped me with a smile.

“May I help you?” 

“I’m Dr. Christakos’s cousin, and I’m here with Stella.” I pointed over toward where Stella stood.

“Let me give you a name tag, and you’ll be free to go.”

I wrote my name in the visitor’s log, grabbed the sticker she held out for me, and walked over to give Stella a hug. She was standing in front of a window, eyes fixed on one of the tiny bassinets. 

“Do you see the little girl over by the wall?” 

I looked, trying not to get too transfixed by the beautiful little babies in the room, and then nodded when I spotted the little pink hat. 

“That is Avril Stella Lang.”

Those pains returned, numbness, ache in my chest, only this time not a shortness of breath. Instead it was my very last drop of oxygen escaping in a whimper.

“What’s wrong, Soph?”

“Back when Carter and I first met, I told him that I was going to name my first child Avril.”

“Ahhh, so that’s how he came up with the name so fast. I thought maybe the man had been secretly playing on Nameberry.”

“What about the other kids, are they okay?”

“They’re fine. Can you believe it? Carter is going to have three daughters. That’s what I call karma.” Stella let out a laugh.

“Is it terribly wrong of me to want to hold her? I understand if you prefer I don’t without Carter’s permission.” I looked around the area, suddenly sick to my stomach. “Wait, where’s Carter?”

“He came up earlier.” Stella pointed to a side room next to the nursery. “It’s fine. I just need to give permission, Carter listed me on the security forms.” Stella walked over and spoke to a woman and then returned. “Okay, you’ll have to go in there and put a gown on over your clothes then slip booties on over your shoes. There’s a rack with packets of iodine soap filled scrub brushes by the sink. Be sure to scrub your hands really well.” 

Doing as I was asked, I peered through the glass and kept my eyes on Avril as I scrubbed my hands and under my nails. My heart ached. She and her sisters were going to grow up without a mom. I was so close to my mom that I couldn’t imagine not having her in my life. I turned at the sound of a door opening and saw a nurse, who waved for me to follow her. With Stella by my side, I moved into a small sitting area with rocking chairs and waited. When the door opened again, the nurse returned with Avril. A tidal wave of emotions crashed down on me. I held out my hands and took the precious baby, all I had ever wanted was to be a mom, and this baby didn’t have one.

“Hello, Avril, aren’t you lovely,” I crooned. “You are going to be so spoiled. Your aunt Stella is going to spoil you, and your aunt Ariel, and your aunt Leo, and even me. We—we are all going to spoil you. I’m going to read to you and remind you that you can grow up and be anything that you want to be.” I rolled her into my chest so I could reach my eyes with one hand and wipe away my tears. Meeting Stella’s eyes, I said, “Please tell me, how much of this did you know and keep from me? Just be honest.”

“Nothing. I knew none of it. Soph, I never even heard Ivey’s name until yesterday. I’m just as shocked as you are. You know I would have forced him to tell you if I’d known. There’s no way I’d let him keep that. Fight club, remember?” Stella gave my knee a light squeeze.

“You know why I left ten years ago?” I didn’t wait for her to answer, nor did I look at her. “I found out that I had breast cancer. It was advanced stage three. I’m never going to have kids.”

“Soph. . .” Stella’s voice cracked as she said my name but I couldn’t look at her or I’d lose it. I was barely holding it together just knowing that Carter had gotten everything I had ever dreamed for him, he had a family. But once again, I was the sacrifice. “You know that he doesn’t care about any of that, right? I think that he knew you were it for him even back then, he would have gone through it with you.”

Wiping another tear away, I powered through. “He’s really going to raise all three of these girls as if they are his own?”

“Yep. I believe that Harlow really is his daughter. Somehow, someway, in those two weeks, something happened. Either he has strong swimmers that can break through latex or there was a rip and she was very fertile.”

“Probably all of the above.” I let out a soft chuckle.

“Probably.”

“What does he need for the girls, anything?”

“We still have to go get stuff for her.” Stella pointed down at Avril. “She has nothing. No clothes, furniture, nothing. We went by Ivey’s apartment, and she had some stuff for the baby but it was so used and handed down that I left it. Tristan said it would still be at least two more weeks before she’s released. So, Ariel, Leo, and I are planning to go out this weekend to a few garage sales to see what we can find. You can come with us. Plus, the girls are both going to need new stuff soon, too. What they have will do for now, but it isn’t good, and the clothes are all stained. He has a nice savings account, but he will go through that fast, especially if he tries to find a small house where the girls will have a yard to play.”

“I can help.” I looked down and imagined Avril in a room decorated to befit a Disney princess. “Wouldn’t it be beautiful if each of the girls had their own room decorated like their favorite princess? I could just imagine Belle and a room full of books and roses, Cinderella with slippers and mice, and Snow White with trees and apples . . .”

“Yeah. I can picture it. Right now, we just need the basics. You can be the one that goes over the top and buys them the crazy ridiculous stuff, okay?”

“Okay.” I peered into Avril’s dark blue eyes with amazement. Like many babies her eyes might not remain blue. “Little one, will you have brown eyes, green, or vibrant blue like the man that is your hero? You don’t know it yet, but he is a hero, he rescued you and your sisters.” 

“I’ll be right back,” Stella said, and I nodded.

As I rocked her back and forth, Avril’s eyes drifted shut and her cupid-bow lips dropped open as she drifted to sleep. I must have sat there for twenty minutes before the door behind me opened. When no one came in and the door didn’t close again, I pulled my eyes away from her and turned to glance over my shoulder. 

When I did, my heart sank. Carter was standing there, holding a little girl in his arms and another by the hand as he watched me.

I smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back before turning to someone else in the hall. 

“Stella, can you take Avril from Sophie please?”

My heart shattered. 

He didn’t want me holding his daughter. Standing, I turned and watched Stella push her way all the way through the door. I waited for her, holding Avril tight against me.

“It’s okay, baby. I will still buy you stuff, all kinds of crazy stuff and send it via Aunt Stella or Aunt Leo. I promise that you won’t ever want for anything. I love you, little one.”

At that, I handed Avril over hesitantly. I hated letting her go and tried to mask the tears that were rolling down my cheeks. But it was of no use.

“I’m sorry,” Stella whispered.

Leaving the room, I threw the gown into the bin and pulled the door open right before a pair of bright blue eyes captured mine. They were part of a whole package of curly blonde hair and dimples. She waved at me, and I waved back before turning toward the elevator. 

“Stop, Sophie.” I forced myself to face him. “Follow me.” His words were curt.

“Carter, you’re obviously busy. We can discuss this later.”

“Follow me.”

“Daddy.”

That single word made my knees buckle, and I grabbed the wall for support.

“Are you mad at me and Gia?”

“No, love, I’m not mad at you or Gianna.” Looking up from his daughter, he met my eyes. “Sophie, I mean it. Let’s talk.” I hesitated for a second as thoughts raced through my mind about whether I could get out of there before he embarrassed me. He was bound to scream at me. Maybe Tristan was here, there was no way Carter would blow a gasket in front of Tristan. “Sophie, don’t you dare run again.”

His words cut deeply, and I nodded, following Carter to a waiting room where he set the girls in front of a television and turned it to cartoons.

“Shocked to see you here, I figured that I wouldn’t see you for another ten years. Imagine my surprise to see you holding my daughter.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have held her without your permission.”

“And . . .” He glared at me, waiting for something.

“And what?”

He rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor. “And you have nothing else to say? How about the fact that you ran away?”

“I needed time to think. It was a lot to take in. It isn’t as if I went far. I was at my house.”

“You think it was a lot for you to take in?” He huffed. “In the past six months, I’ve discovered the girl who broke my heart ten years ago, the one that I thought was the one.” Carter raised his head, and his eyes blazed in fury. “She wasn’t gone, never to been seen or heard from again, in fact she was the cousin of my best friend. Then I find out in the last few weeks that we still had this undeniable connection.” He clasped my hands in his, and I felt the heat radiating from him. “Then I discover that she fought breast cancer, went through hell, and back, and never once bothered to tell me or ask if I was willing to stand by her. Then yesterday morning, I find out that”—he lowered his voice—“a woman that I met while on a drunken bender in one of my many attempts to get over the girl who broke my heart had died. And not just that, find out I have a daughter and have missed the first five years of her life. Oh, I don’t know, let’s top it off with the fact that the woman had two more children and for some reason decided to list me as the father.” He stood and peered over me. “You think that you had a lot to take in?”

“But you kept a huge secret. I thought that you were married.”

“And had you stayed, you would have learned the truth just like you would have learned the truth if you’d stayed or even called me once you got to California. All it would have taken was one conversation and you would have known that I would have been there for you. Sophie, don’t you get it? It’s you. It’s always been you.” He bent his head and shoved his hands through his hair. “I don’t want to imagine a life without you. There is just something that happens to me when you’re around, everything in the world seems to right itself. This is our second chance.”

“That’s why I’m here. I realized that I didn’t want to blow this second chance.”

“And what makes you think that you haven’t already blown it?”

His words were a hurricane hitting a tiny flame of hope. 

I stood and faced him. “You have a beautiful family.”

“Soph, don’t. I didn’t mean it.”