“WHAT?” Wendy screeched. “You’re pregnant? Oh, fluck, Gwen! How could you let that happen?” Even in the depths of her despair, Gwen couldn’t help but notice that Wendy still couldn’t say a proper curse word. Maybe it was for the best since she was around a bunch of impressionable kids all day.

Before she could answer her sister’s hysterical questions, Peter walked into the kitchen and froze as he took in the scene before him. Gwen could only imagine how she looked with tears rolling off her like a fountain; Wendy’s face was so red, she looked like she would combust at any moment. “Bad breakup again, Gwen?” He made a bad attempt at a joke as he grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator.

“No, this time she’s gotten herself pregnant!” Wendy snapped. Peter’s mouth dropped open as he stared at them both in shock.

“I’m not pregnant,” Gwen finally managed to get out. “Dammit, Wendy, will you stop jumping to conclusions!”

Throwing her hands up in the air, Wendy shouted, “Well, then why did you say that you were? And please tone down the potty mouth while you’re at it!” Peter, to his credit, after having been down this road with his wife before, lowered his head and hurried from the kitchen without saying another word. Gwen was sure that the reason their marriage worked so well was that Peter was secure enough in his masculinity to basically let Wendy be in charge at home.

Gwen had to wonder as she looked at her sister, why she always came directly to her for a shot of tough love. Maybe because she knew without a doubt that her sister loved her and would slay a village to protect her. Wendy just had a hard time relating to Gwen’s love life since her own course to happily ever after had been so smooth. She and Peter had met in high school, dated throughout college, and then gotten married when they had both obtained their degrees. Their romance had been orderly and followed the exact path that they’d laid out. Gwen’s on the other hand had never been smooth for more than a few months, it seemed.

It was far too easy to see why Peter had assumed she was here over a man. Because she had sat on this same barstool many other times as she bemoaned yet another failed relationship. Wendy had stated after her last breakup that she couldn’t understand why Gwen kept allowing history to repeat itself. The thing was, Gwen had no idea what she was doing wrong. It wasn’t like she was picking bad boys each time, knowing they’d screw her over. She dated men who, for the most part, were gainfully employed, educated, and stable. For some reason, they just never wanted to stick around—with her, that was. Several had gone on to marry shortly after leaving her and were now minivan-driving super dads. Heck, maybe she was a required course for men to take before they got married.

Wendy gestured impatiently for her to explain her latest dating disaster. Slumping her shoulders because she knew that her sister hated bad posture, Gwen told her about the first night with Dominic. She left out the fact that they’d had sex for pretty much the entire night. In this instance, it was better for Wendy to believe that she had lost her common sense only that first time and not her morals and inhibitions along with it. “So, everything had been going so well between us up until the last week. I mean, I tried to hold back and not get attached to him. . . .”

“But you are,” Wendy added quietly. “Honey, didn’t you think it might be a bad idea to get involved with someone at work? You’re going to have to see him every day. Think about how awkward that’s going to be now.”

Rubbing her watery eyes, Gwen asked, “So, you think it’s over?”

“Isn’t that why you’re here, Gwenie? You know that both Peter and I love you and we’re thrilled when you come to visit, but we’d sure like to see you happy sometimes when you’re here.”

Laying her head on the bar, Gwen relaxed as she felt Wendy begin to stroke her hair soothingly. They may be only a few years apart, but her sister had always been a mother figure in her life. Their mom was wonderful, but Wendy was the one Gwen turned to for advice and support. “I know I haven’t been with Dominic for long, but I—I love him, and more important, I love who I am when I’m with him. It’s like he only sees the best parts of me and nothing else. I’ve never been involved with a man who made me feel so good about myself.”

“You’ve never told me that you loved someone you were dating before,” Wendy said, sounding surprised. “I always thought that was strange, considering you were so upset when the relationships ended.”

“I think I was more upset over the fact that the same things kept happening to me than actually saying good-bye to the person I was dating. I know a woman shouldn’t define herself by a man’s opinion, but after a while, you have to start thinking that there is something wrong with you. I mean the whole ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ thing really doesn’t hold much water when it’s used more than a couple of times.”

“But it was them,” Wendy huffed out. “You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and have a big heart. Probably the only truthful words those jerks said to you was that it was them. A real, worthy man would kill to have you. These little wimpy shoot-heads of the past can take a flying leap off a tall building!”

“Shoot-head?” Gwen smirked. “Is that the same as shithead?”

Wendy picked up a placemat from the bar and threw it at her. “Yes, smartie. If I let myself become comfortable with tossing around curse words casually, before I know it, I will have dropped the F-bomb on some unruly student in my class and then my husband will be forced to fire me. Do you think I’d really give the man that much satisfaction?”