“How are you doing?” Hope’s voice comes over my phone as I pull into the drive.

“I’m getting fat,” I laugh, rubbing my stomach.

“I doubt that seriously. You’re not that far along,” Hope answers.

“Yeah, but Titan has been cooking dinner every night for two weeks.”

“Titan cooks?” she asks, surprised, and I look down at my lap, grinning wide.

“My man cooks,” I whisper.

“You’re really happy,” Hope croons, her voice practically gleeful.

“I really am,” I agree.

Hope squeals, proving her joy for me and there it is. As much as I dreaded my sisters telling me I was nothing but a screw up again, Hope proves she wants me to be happy. She loves me and I know Charity would be the same.

“Are you going back to Vegas?”

“What for?”

“All night chapels?”

“Um… no. Not again. I think one Elvis wedding in my life is one too many, sister dear.”

“It doesn’t have to be Elvis! How about Liberace? Or Gene Simmons?”

“Um… no, no and hell no,” I laugh, thinking maybe I’m not the only one of my sisters who inherited some of Aunt Ida Sue’s crazy genes.

“What about the Blues Brothers? Oh my God, Faithy! That could be so fun! You could both wear matching suits with the hats and the shades and—”

“And gee, Hope, the answer is no again.”

“Okay, one last suggestion…”

“I can barely wait,” I laugh.

“Two words. Jack Sparrow.”

“What?”

“Girl! They have a pirate wedding package now! You can literally get married by Jack Sparrow.”

“Hope—”

“And instead of saying I do you can say savvy instead!”

“Hope, seriously—”

“Faithy, you have to admit, Titan would look hot as hell dressed up like a pirate,” she answers and that makes me stop for a minute as I imagine my man all dressed up in pirate gear. I have to admit that could be very hot.

“Hope, honey, I got to go.”

“But we need to discuss this wedding. We could be slutty pirates! I have this costume that Aden would love… and you could get one to match. Titan won’t know what hits him!”

“Hope, I don’t even know if Titan wants to get married again. We haven’t really talked about it.”

And we haven’t. If there’s one black spot on the perfection that has been the last two weeks, it’s that I don’t really know where this relationship is going. I mean, I’m not asking for promises of forever, but maybe a sign that he’s not just hanging around for the baby… and the hot sex.

Definitely the hot sex.

“Then maybe you ought to talk about it,” she nudges.

“It’s not that easy, Hope.”

“It is. You’re just being a wimp.”

“What if he says he doesn’t want to get married?”

“Then you live in sin like Aunt Ida Sue. She seems happy enough.”

“I could, right? By the way, I’m totally ignoring that you actually said the phrase ‘living in sin’.”

“You totally could. You love him. Right, little sis?”

“So much it hurts.” I whisper the truth, and even saying it out loud makes my stomach flutter with nerves.

“Have you tried telling him that?”

“Well…no.”

“And why not?”

“Because—”

“You do realize we have Lucas blood running through our veins.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we grab what we want by the horns. We don’t let fear hold us back. Do you think it was easy for me to face Aden after everything I did?”

“No, I know it wasn’t.”

“It really wasn’t, but look how that worked out.”

“But Aden loves you,” I argue.

“I didn’t know that at the time, now did I? But there’s something you’re forgetting,” she says calmly, like she has no idea of the terror swimming in the pit of my stomach right now.

“What’s that?”

“Titan has chased after you since day one. A man doesn’t do that unless he cares.”

“He wanted an annulment.”

“Bullshit. If that was it he could have had you served with papers. You weren’t trying to hide. You still used your damn credit cards and you called me almost every day.”

I take a deep breath and think over her words. I feel hope begin to bubble up inside of me. Titan did tell me he wanted me. He didn’t use the word love, but what he did say was more than I ever hoped to have. It was really good. And if the last two weeks are a sample of what life with Titan would be like, then I definitely want that.

“I’ll talk to him tonight,” I agree, closing my eyes and praying I’m not making a mistake.

“Good girl. I’m proud of you. Call me and let me know when I need to get my pirate getup dry cleaned.”

“You’re a freak, Hope.”

“Takes one to know one, sister dear.”

“Love you, freak.”

“Love you, too.”

I hang up the phone and stare at the house. Then I grab my stuff, open the door and take a breath. Praying I’m doing the right thing.