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"I’ to assume it esome," Lori said

Sophie kneas expected of her here, so she hed, finally responding verbally with, "Yes" But those thrilling details of their few stolen hours together, while still iround as soon as she’d found out--

"I’nant"

There She’d said it And, oh, if Lori could see her own face right now

"Hold on" Lori looked as shocked as Sophie had ever seen her in twenty-five years "I thought you just said you were p--" She shook her head "I can’t even say the word, Soph"

"I haven’t gotten "

"Have you been seeing hi me? We did it once--" One spectacular tiht" Leaving her alone in that big bed in that big house in the Napa Valley hills with nothing to hold but a pillow

"I’rabbed her cell phone off the kitchen counter "I’h his throat Better yet, I’nant ever again"

Sophie grabbed her sister a millisecond before Lori was able to find Jake’s number on her phone’s contact list "Stop! You can’t call hier stilled over her phone "You haven’t told hiht I only took the tests this " Sophie forcefully pried the phone out of her sister’s hand "I love you for having ot to deal with this reat by anythe news to her sister--she felt better Stronger

Like she

"I can’t believe this," Lori said "Here you’ve been all overoff with you-knoho because he’s ‘bad fortrouble"

It could have sounded like gloating in another context, but Sophie kneasn’t It was si the crazy irony of their situation

"I never thought so like this would happen to me," Sophie said

And still a voice in the back of her head was saying, Even if you kne this was going to end up, you would have done it anyway You would have given up everything, anything at all, for the chance to be with him

"It could work, you know," Lori said, halfheartedly "Maybe he’ll step up to the plate Maybe the two of you can actually make this work" She looked down at Sophie’s stouess"