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The woman nods, then murmurs a few words to her passenger. The boy gets out of the car, slides on a backpack, and shuts the door. The woman waves and, after backing up, pulls away from the curb.

“Where’s she going?” Olivia asks, alarmed.

The car crawls to the end of the street and turns the corner.

“Did she just leave that kid?”

“Maybe he’s a neighbor,” Amber says.

Maybe, but doubtful. Olivia hasn’t seen him around here.

The boy turns, thumbs tucked under the shoulder straps, and looks up at them on the porch. His chin quivers and Olivia swears his legs tremble.

She inhales sharply. He isn’t a neighbor. The brown hair under the flat-billed Padres cap, the almond shape of his eyes, and the slope of his nose, even the hesitant tilt of his head and body stance, tell her exactly who he is. This boy is identical to her baby sister, Lily, when she was his age. A sister Olivia hasn’t seen in fourteen years.

“Josh.”

CHAPTER 3

Olivia was in her fourth year at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco when her dad made an unexpected visit. Dwight took her to lunch at the Hog Island Oyster Co., and halfway through a bowl of buttery clam chowder, he told her Lily was pregnant.

Olivia was shocked. Her sister was only sixteen. She asked about the father. Did Lily have a boyfriend? Who was she dating? Olivia didn’t know, and her mom never mentioned anything. She couldn’t say whether Lily ever dated. She was on the JV swim team. She was setting state records. Her practice and travel schedules didn’t permit time for dating.

But who was she to say Lily didn’t have a secret guy? She and Lily weren’t close, not like they had been when they were younger, before Lily drifted to Lucas, leaving a wedge between Olivia and her younger siblings.

Dwight rested a hand over Olivia’s and the creased skin around his eyes softened. His gaze dipped to the table.

“What?” she asked, feeling a twinge in her chest.

“It’s Ethan.”

“I don’t understand.”

Dwight squeezed her hands. “Your Ethan. He’s the father.”

“No,” she whispered. Her neck and chest heated, tingling in reaction to her denial. “No.” She leaned back in her chair, putting as much distance as possible between her and what Dwight was telling her. The clam chowder sloshed around her stomach, making her nauseous.

How was this possible? she wondered, knowing exactly how possible it was. Convenient even. Ethan took the semester off to tend to his mom, who was recovering from an auto accident. He’d been home in Seaside Cove, only three blocks over from Lily.

“Did she seduce him?” Lily must be paying her back for not letting her move in with her and transfer to a high school in the city. Dwight shrugged and her throat tightened around a sour knot of disgust. “Did he take advantage of her?”

“Don’t know. She wants to keep the baby.”

Olivia looked past her dad’s shoulder, not really seeing anything. “Are you going to let her?” She couldn’t fathom watching Lily’s belly swell knowing it was Ethan’s child growing inside.

He shook his head. “I told her she needs to abort it. I can’t afford to raise another child. You three kids about bankrupted me.”

The whole family knew Lily was an accident, and it didn’t take a brain booster pill to figure out the only reason Olivia had a little sister was because her mom didn’t believe in abortion.

“What about Mom?”

“Oh, you know your mother. She still resents dropping out of college to support me. She doesn’t want Lily to ruin her future. She’s trying to persuade your sister to put the kid up for adoption.”

“And Ethan? What does he want?” Because Olivia wanted to break up. She was falling apart as their relationship crumbled around them. Ethan’s betrayal had cracked their foundation and she wanted to move out and far away before the roof came tumbling down. She’d never recover.

“You’ll have to ask him.”

She nodded absently, thinking of what she’d say. What could she say? The deed was done. So were they. The tears she’d been fighting not to shed filled her eyes. “Take me home, please.”

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