Page 16 of By the Letter

“No, you aren’t, and you won't be.” Clara hugged me from the other side.

A heavy weight landed on my legs, and I looked down, finding Benjamin’s big, gray head on my legs, his watery eyes watching our hugfest.

“Hi, Benjamin,” I cooed. “I met a man named Ben recently. I bet you’d like each other.”

Bea scratched behind her dog’s ear, but he stayed firmly planted on my lap as if he sensed I needed the extra snuggles. And I really did. My cat, Mary, wasn’t going to appreciate a dog’s scent all over me, but she’d live.

“Who’s Ben?” she asked.

“Roman’s twin brother,” I said.

“Hmm.” Clara folded her arms. “Is Ben as rude as Roman?”

“Roman’s not rude.” I bit down on my lip, no clue why I’d rushed to defend the man who had been determined to dislike me since day one. Clara and Bea had been ready to storm GoldMed when I told them what I’d overheard Roman saying to Francesca. They weren’t fans. “But from what I saw, they’re not really alike.”

“Good. I don’t want to add another member of that family to my shit list,” Bea stated.

Laughing, I assured her she didn’t have to. Roman seemed to be the only Wells who had ill feelings toward me. It was a shame, but I had other things to think about now. Much more important things.

As soon as I got in my car, I gathered up all my courage and called the Mile High Club.

“You’ve reached MHC. This is Samantha.”

“Oh. Hi,” I stammered.

“Hi,” she chirped, as cheerful as the night I met her. “How can I help you?”

“Well, I was there a few weeks ago. In room ten. I was hoping I could pass a message along to the club member I was with that night.”

I told her the date and heard her typing on her computer. “Ah, is this Goldie?”

“Yes. You remember me?” I asked.

“Of course. I saw you leaving…many hours later. You had fun, huh?”

“I did.”

“And you want to do it again? With the same mystery man?”

I licked my dry lips, nausea nearly overtaking me. But I could vomit later. I had to get this over with.

“Can you get a message to him? Is that possible?”

“I can’t tell you any personal information, or vice versa, but I can certainly pass a message along. What do you want to say?”

“Please tell him…” I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead. What could I say? I wasn’t ready for a perfect stranger to know I got pregnant at a sex club, even though I had a feeling Samantha wouldn’t judge. “Please say, ‘The worst happened, and I’m happy with the result. Call me if you want to talk about it.’ And please give him my phone number. And my real name—Shira.”

“Shira,” she repeated. “What a pretty name, although Goldie is cute as a button too.”

“Thank you.” I heaved a breath, battling my roiling stomach. “It was good to talk to you again.”

“You too, Shira. I’ll pass your message along ASAP. Hopefully I’ll see you at MHC again soon.”

We said our goodbyes, and I sat there for a minute, willing my insides to settle. I’d done the first series of hard things—taking the test, telling my friends, contacting Wim. There were plenty of hardships ahead of me, but for tonight, I could breathe a sigh of relief.

I touched my stomach again, and a twinge of excitement fluttered instead of the panic I’d been drowning in. I was going to do this. With or without Wim, I wouldn’t be alone.

Chapter Seven

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