Page 40 of Size Doesn't Matter

“Upper inner thigh.” Sophie stared at each woman in turn, hoping they’d give her the answer she needed. “So, you know,closeto my, uh….”

“Vagina?”

Sophie’s blush deepened until her cheeks practically burned. “Yes. But no cigar. So to speak.”

Lucy grabbed the box of pregnancy tests and thrust it towards her. “How about you do another test? If it comes back positive, too, then I’m gunna say yes, Jack coming on your upper inner thigh can make you pregnant.”

She looked at Abby, but her aunty agreed. “Probably best to do all three tests, just to be sure.”

“Yeah, and the next time you run out of condoms,” Lucy added, trying—and failing—to hold in her laughter, “may I suggest yousmokethe cigar instead?”

“Lucy!”

For the rest of the afternoon, Sophie felt like she was going through the motions. After confirming she was pregnant—twice—she did everybody’s make-up, forcing herself to pay attention to what she was doing so she didn’t make them all look like homicidal clowns. The fact that she was using Martin Cosmetics to complete her task kept her new situation front and centre in her mind.

Thankfully, the antinausea medication her grandfather had procured for her was doing the trick. She hadn’t felt so much as queasy since taking it. Unfortunately, it did nothing to stop the near-constant wave of panic flowing through her.

She was pregnant.

With her boss’s baby.

What the hell am I supposed to do now?

Obviously, she had to tell him, but would he even want to speak to her, given how she’d behaved in the weeks since they’d met?

Jack had tried reaching out to her several times since she’d stormed out of his hotel room, and she’d slapped back at him each and every time. First, he’d sent her three dozen Twilight Zone roses. She didn’t know how he’d found out the deep purple blooms were her favourite, but clearly he had.

She’d sent them all back with their heads cut off.

Next, he’d sent her a box of her favourite handmade chocolates from a small boutique chocolatier hidden away in an obscure arcade off Hay Street Mall in Perth. She wasn’t going to destroy those little bundles of deliciousness, so she put them in a Tupperware container and sent back the empty box with a note inside.

It simply read “No.”

His last attempt to reach out had involved a special delivery of gourmet cheeses. Miniature bries, vintage cheddars, and blue veins were all mixed in with assorted artisan crackers, dried fruits, and honey-roasted nuts. The fact that he’d also included a large wedge of pepper jack did not go unnoticed.

She’d stared at the beautifully packaged shipment of goodies for what felt like an age, wondering not onlywhyhe was persisting in pursuing her but how? How did he know so much about all of her favourite things? She knew he followed her on Instagram, but none of these were things she’d shared with the world.

In the end, she’d given the delivery to her next-door neighbour, a parting gift before moving permanently to Sydney.

Now she was in Mia’s backyard in Melville’s Cross, sitting in a beautifully decorated chair surrounded by string upon string of fairy lights and masses of artfully arranged flowers, watching the sun set behind the mountains as she listened to the most stoic of her uncles declare his love for his bride.

And for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel alone.

Her hand drifted to her stomach.

She’d never be alone again.

The celebrant raised her voice. “Toby and Lucy have chosen to write their own vows,” she said, then invited the big man to come forward as she stepped back and let the groom speak.

Toby stroked his knuckles over Lucy’s scarred cheek and stared down at her like she’d hung the moon and the stars in the sky. As though he lived and died by her leave. “Lucy, I’d never believed in love at first sight until I met you. Everything about you called to me. The boldness of your gaze, the strength in your voice, the vulnerability in your touch. The sway of your arse in that damn pencil skirt.” Everyone chuckled, and Lucy ducked her head to hide her laughter, but Toby hooked a knuckle under her chin and lifted her face back to his.

“Being with you,lovingyou, is the scariest, most complicated, and easiest thing I’ve ever done, and I will spend the rest of my life making sure you know exactly how much you mean to me. I love you, baby.”

Lucy stared up at Toby, the tears welling in her eyes clear for all to see. But the wonder that shone through her expression as she stared up at the man she loved told everyone they were tears of joy. “Toby, words cannot express how happy I am to call you mine. From the moment we met, you have treated me with care and respect. You accept me—scars and all—without question. Your quiet leadership and gentle dominance show me every day that you are a man I can trust—” She grinned up at him. “—even when you’re being pig-headed and bossy.” Again, everyone chuckled, especially when Toby grunted in response. “You are my safe place. You are my home.” Her fingers brushed over the heart-shaped pendant she wore around her neck, the silver collar he’d given her at Christmas. “You are my heart, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you, Master.”

Sophie sniffed quietly and accepted a tissue from her cousin Sally, who sat beside her.

The celebrant stepped forward again and asked for the rings, and Toby’s twin brother, Charlie, held out his hand. A few more official-sounding words were spoken, rings were exchanged, and then the celebrant said the words everyone had showed up to hear.

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