20. Sadie

W as it the new cocoa nibs? The latest batch of lavender? Or just that last rush of tourists that put Sadie over the edge?

Whatever was eating away at her, she just wanted to curl up in a ball, drink green tea, and sleep. Or cry. Or relax. Or…something.

And since when did she like green tea? Since never, but she kept thinking about it lately.

On a heavy sigh, she held up her hands to the empty kitchen and mentally called it a day at just after six. After all, it was Saturday and she had a night crew to run the store for the tourists who brought the shops of downtown Fernandina Beach to life when the sun set.

But all Sadie wanted to do was sleep, which wasn't easy when the apartment upstairs faced that lively town. She'd go to Scout's for sure, where it was quiet and secluded and they could cuddle up and watch a movie and talk. And sleep .

He'd left a while ago to pick up Kitty and Val from the airport, still debating if he should be completely honest with the adventures of Rhett Butler. If Sadie were a betting woman, she'd put her life savings on the fact that he would—Scout didn't have a disingenuous bone in his body.

Just as she was taking off her apron, the shop door dinged with a new arrival, making her look up and smile at the sight of her baby sister looking…anxious or excited. Something had lit a fire in Chloe Wingate's sky blue eyes.

Regardless of her current state of exhaustion, Sadie flipped her apron on the counter and hustled out to the front, waving to her sister as she came around the display counter.

"Chloe, are you—"

"Getting married!" she announced, loud enough to get a few smiles from the three customers in line.

"What?" Sadie flattened her hands on her chest as if the news nearly pushed her right back through the kitchen door. "That's fantastic!"

"But that's just half of it. We're officially filing the paperwork to become Judah's legal guardians on Monday!"

Sadie bit back a totally unprofessional squeal and danced a little, getting even more amused looks from her customers and cashier.

"Come here, come here!" She grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled her through the swinging door back to the kitchen for privacy and a big, fat hug.

"Congrats!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Chloe so they could squeeze and sway and squish each other with joy. "Chloe Wingate, you're getting married!"

When they finally separated, both of them had tears in their eyes.

"You're happy for me?" Chloe asked.

"What? Of course!" Sadie squeezed her again. "You won the lottery, Chloe! Great guy, adorable boy, and you have…the thing."

Chloe laughed. "We sure do have the thing."

They hugged again, ending on a sisterly sigh.

"Am I the first to know?" Sadie asked, suddenly realizing that there hadn't been any buzz on the 7 Sis group chat.

"You are."

"Why? Are you asking me to be maid of honor? 'Cause I'm pretty sure we have an unwritten Wingate rule that it's six sisters or nothing. But please, Chloe! Not in Pepto Bismol pink again!"

Chloe giggled at the memory. "That was my last fiancé. This one wants it way low-key and fast. No, I just wanted to tell you first because we need a witness for the guardianship, which is step one of an official adoption. Someone who'll vouch for us, and sign an affidavit stating we will be loving and responsible parents."

"And you will! I'd love to have that role, Chloe. It's almost like being maid of honor. When are you telling everyone?"

"Actually, we want to wait until the paperwork's filed and all the T's are crossed and I's are dotted. With Raina and Chase doing the baby thing and the whole Ivy situation, we thought we should wait to announce. But I had to tell you."

"Oh, my goodness, Chloe, I'm so happy." Sadie sighed, beaming at her baby sister.

"You're sure?" Chloe pressed.

"Yes! Why would you even ask that?"

Taking Sadie's hand, Chloe pulled her closer. "You've seemed off these past few weeks and I didn't want to throw you, since I know you've been trying to figure things out with Scout."

"That's sweet and considerate and I expect nothing less from you, but…" She thought about it, nodding. "You know, I think the whole Rhett Butler ordeal got to me. A lot of stress and, yeah, Scout…"

"What about him?"

"He's kind of…serious."

"And you're not?" Chloe asked.

"It's weird, because normally, I would be. His declaration of love was just swoony, if I must say so."

"And the problem is…"

"Everything is swoony," she said on a laugh. "I just feel so lightheaded all the time, like my feet aren't touching the ground and I kind of feel nauseous and all I want to do is close my eyes and lay down. But when I do, I feel dizzy. And I can't eat, but I really want to."

Chloe was staring at her, a mix of amusement and maybe a little shock in her eyes.

"Is that…the thing?" Sadie asked.

"If the thing is a baby , then maybe, yeah."

"A…" Sadie threw her arms up with a noisy gasp. "A…did you say…Chloe, am I pregnant ?"

Chloe laughed. "I think you're the only person who can answer that, Sadie. I mean, unless you're sick."

"Only when I pass the nib grinder. The smell of chocolate makes me…" She tapped her belly with horror and disbelief. "I thought maybe I just had too much of it."

"I think it's Scout you've had too much of," she cracked.

"Stop! This is serious! How can I have a baby?"

"I'm guessing the usual way," Chloe quipped. "But then, who am I to talk? I'm having a five-year-old."

The nausea rolled again, but this time…it kind of made sense.

"Do you have a test?" Chloe asked.

"A test? No. I…I…" She shook her head. "It's been a while since I've had a period," she admitted. "A long while. Like…I can't remember when I had one."

Chloe looked astonished. "You don't track them? There are apps for that, you know."

"I haven't…well, Scout and I just…it would be so soon, Chloe. Only a month or so. Is that possible?"

"Did you not pay attention when our mother taught us the facts of life? Of course it's possible! Especially for you, Miss Spontaneous. You spontaneously conceived."

It was Sadie's turn to give a look. "Not exactly ."

Chloe laughed and added a hug. "It's fine. It happens."

And it just might have happened to Sadie.

She backed away from the hug, suddenly burning with the need to know. "Where can I get a test?"

"Walgreens or CVS, I guess. Want me to drive you? 'Cause, honey, you're in no condition to go yourself." Chloe stood and put her arms around Sadie, giving her a squeeze. "And what if you are? What are you going to do?"

She blinked, nowhere near close to considering the ramifications of… a baby .

"I guess…I don't know. Drive me. Take me. I need to think."

They hopped in Sadie's car in the back lot, but she let Chloe drive. She tried to have a conversation—ask about the unorthodox engagement, get more details on Judah—but she couldn't do small-talk.

Not when something this big was on the horizon.

Of course it was possible! Unlikely, shocking, but it was certainly possible.

"Anyway, to answer a question you asked a lifetime ago," Chloe said as they pulled into the pharmacy parking lot, "our wedding will be small and simple. I don't want to do the whole St. Peter's thing again. I'm still scarred from my last walk down the aisle, U-turn and all. I should be the one terrified of getting married, not you."

"I'm not terrified," Sadie said quickly.

"Aren't you?" Chloe challenged. "I mean, Scout is, well, he's the second-greatest unmarried guy on Amelia Island, if you ask me. He's good as gold, caring, funny, talented, and looks at you like he's never seen a more beautiful woman in his life and—"

"He's ordinary," Sadie whispered.

Chloe choked. "Sadie, you think that's a bad thing?"

"I don't. It's the greatest thing. It's the perfect thing. It's the real thing, and it's what every woman wants, needs, and deserves," Sadie whispered the last word. "Except…do I?"

Chloe turned off the ignition and whipped to face her. "Are you asking if you deserve love, Sadie Wingate? Because I will lecture you so hard, you will throw up in this car."

"Don't suggest things you aren't willing to clean up."

"I'm dead serious. You are so deserving of love. Why would you even question that?"

"I don't know," she said, feeling deeply honest as she said the words. "But Tristan really, really messed me up. I know it looked like I just recovered in a flash, opened the chocolate shop, and started falling for Scout. But I loved Tristan—or the idea of him. And his family made it their life's mission to drive home how unworthy I was of his love."

Chloe winced. "I hate those billionaires."

"And then I land Martin Jacobson! Literally the nicest guy in the universe."

"Martin?" She lifted a brow, but slipped into a smile. "Girl, you cannot give Tristan the power to hold you back. You made a mistake. And I say that as a bona fide runaway bride. We make mistakes, but they can't haunt us forever."

"At least you backed out at the last minute. I signed paperwork and clung to hope and gave him my secret ingredient. And he still allowed his family to erase our marriage from the face of the earth."

"Forgive yourself, Sadie." Chloe reached over the console and took her hand. "You will heal from that. And I can't think of a better way than as a wife and mother."

Sadie put her hand up to her mouth, realizing just then how much she wanted…this. Scout. A baby. Stability. A beautiful, safe, perfectly ordinary life.

Biting back tears, she nodded. "I'm going to take the test at Scout's, with him. I want to be with him when I find out."

"Good call," Chloe said, reaching for her seatbelt. "Come on. Let's get a few, just in case one's wrong."

Sadie let out a little squeal of joy when she saw Scout's car parked in his driveway. He was back from the airport, and it was time—time to tell him those three words she'd been holding back for no reason she could truly understand.

And they weren't "I am pregnant."

She could say those later, but first, she wanted to take that man's hands, look him in the eye, and tell him what she'd known for weeks…but apparently pregnancy hormones had pickled her brain.

I love you, Scout Jacobson!

Holding the CVS bag in one hand and her purse in the other, she darted out of the car and practically danced to his front door, twisting the knob with a smile from ear to ear.

And that smile disappeared in an instant.

"Hello…Kitty." She stared at the woman visible on the couch from the front door, petting Rhett Butler.

"Oh, hello, Sadie."

Disappointment thudded down to her feet. "Welcome back," Sadie added, so she didn't sound as sad as she felt. "Where's Scout?"

"He drove Val over to Raina's house but I couldn't wait for one more moment to see my little baby, Rhett, so he dropped me off here for a reunion. And we're enjoying our time together!" She lifted the cat by the belly so his front and back legs hung limply and he let out a yowl of unhappiness. "Yes, I know you missed me!"

"He sure did."

Kitty lowered the cat and gave a disapproving look over her glasses. "Don't lie to me, Sadie. Scout told me everything."

"Of course he did." And that, she decided in her heart, was why she loved him. That and so many other reasons. "What did he tell you?" she asked, letting herself all the way in as she casually stuffed the CVS bag carrying three pregnancy tests into her purse.

" Everything ," she repeated with slow emphasis. "From beginning to end. Including the part about you wanting to fool me with another orange cat."

Whoa, he had told her everything.

"I wasn't serious," she said. "And Rhett's little adventure wasn't a bad thing, you know."

"Oh, I know. Nothing bad about my little darling running off into the night—"

"It was daytime."

"—only to be kidnapped by a stranger."

"The neighbor's really nice cleaning lady, who had no idea Rhett was staying here."

"Then he was hidden in the bowels of south Amelia Island with a recluse who could have been a mass murderer for all I know."

Sadie snorted, so not wanting to deal with this right now. "Hank wouldn't hurt a fly and he renamed your baby Elvis, but only temporarily."

"Still." She stuck her face in Rhett's and shook her head but, of course, her hair-sprayed helmet didn't move. "It was vewwwy twaumatic !"

Sadie rolled her eyes at the baby talk.

"It was a demonstration," she said to Kitty, who gave her a sharp, questioning look. "A demonstration that Scout would have moved heaven and Earth for that cat. He was destroyed at the idea of hurting you, or Rhett. He lost sleep, didn't eat, missed hours of work, and shed real tears of worry. Nothing mattered to him but finding Rhett Butler."

Kitty stared at her, then stood up very slowly, cuddling a cat who clearly did not want to be nestled to her bosom. "He said the same thing about you."

"He did? Well, I was worried about him, so…"

A smile tugged. "Gayla would approve."

"Scout's mother?" she asked, remembering the late baker's name, though they'd never met.

"She was my best friend," Kitty said. "I mean, until Val came along. I have such a fondness for women with whip-sharp tongues and a sarcastic sense of humor."

Sadie smiled at the dead-on description of Raina's former mother-in-law and the new insight into the woman who'd raised Scout.

"Funny women are fun," she agreed.

"But it wasn't that. Gayla had a huge heart. Huge. Like her son."

Both of them sat down again and Sadie resigned herself to the conversation, trying to forget about the pregnancy test—tests—burning a hole in her bag.

"He does have a good heart," Sadie agreed. "And it was on full display with Rhett Butler."

"It's on full display with you," the other woman said softly.

Sadie smiled at that, not sure how to respond.

"It was Gayla's deepest wish, you know. All she wanted was for Scout to find someone who could truly love him. I mean, let's be real, he's not a hunk and a half."

Sadie sat up a little. "He's very cute!"

"Yes, if you like that…what do the kids call it? A Dad bod? And he's forty and kind of nerdy and drives—I don't even know what that little thing is."

"A Toyota."

"Right. And look at Raina, engaged to Chase Madison, who is handsome and drives a Mercedes."

"Who cares what he drives? Does that matter?" Sadie fired back at her. "I'm not comparing my boyfriend to any of the men in my family. If I'm comparing him to anyone, it's the last guy I thought I loved—rich, handsome, and…and…extraordinary."

Kitty shrugged. "Oh, the Belgian chocolate guy. Yes. Now he sounds like the kind of guy a Wingate woman would love."

"Then you don't know us at all," Sadie replied. "The men we love are good-hearted, steady, kind, patient, and wonderful. Just like our father. And Scout is all those things and I love him with every fiber of my being. I'd be insane not to! Men like Scout come along once in a lifetime, and I intend to keep him for mine. I love everything about him…so…so…"

A throat cleared noisily. "One more time for the guy at the door who didn't get to record that."

She turned to see Scout standing at the open door, with no idea how long he'd been listening. But it didn't matter. She meant every word.

He stepped inside, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Of course they were, because his ordinary heart was not only good, it was soft.

"I better be going," Kitty said, putting Rhett in the carrier. "Scout, can you drive me?"

He flipped her the keys without taking his eyes off Sadie, a move that was pretty darn cool for a guy with a Dad bod.

"Take yourself, Kitty. Sadie and I will be over later to get my car." He took a few steps closer, his arms out, his gaze locked. "We have some things to talk about."

Kitty couldn't fight a smile as she looked from one to the other, then zipped the carrier closed.

"We can tell when we're not wanted, right, Mr. Butler? Thank you for trying to babysit him and not replacing him with an imposter and…and…" She smiled wider. "And good luck, you two. You deserve each other and I say that in the kindest way I know. Good people belong together. Bye!"

She stepped out with the carrier, and closed the door. Not one second too soon, either.

Scout pulled Sadie closer and kissed her on the mouth, hugging her like she might slip away and he had no intention of letting that happen.

"Say everything again," he murmured against her lips. "Really slowly and with all the pretty words."

She laughed at his sweet desperation. "I will, many times." Putting her palm on his cheek, she looked into his eyes and finally said the words she so deeply meant. "I love you, Martin Jacobson."

He let out a noisy sigh. "Aw, Sadie. I love you, too."

"And…" She reached down to her purse, open on the sofa, and pulled out the CVS bag. "There's something in here that might interest you."

"Really? You got me a present?" He looked down at the bag.

"Maybe. I'll have to take the test."

He looked up, shock in his eyes, then opened the bag to see what was inside.

"Oh. Oh! Oh !"

"Yeah, I bought three in case we don't believe the first two."

He tossed the bag on the sofa, reaching for her. "I don't care."

"You don't… care ? That I might be pregnant?"

"I don't care what that test says. Positive, negative, maybe. Because no matter what it says, Sadie Wingate, you are going to marry me and have the most ordinary and happy life a woman has ever had."

She slid into his embrace, laying a head on his soft shoulder.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I am."

"Now, take the test." He kissed her forehead. "Because nothing about our baby is going to be ordinary ."