Didn't happen.

No biggie, she told herself. She'd been disappointed before, many times. At least tonight she wore jeans and a sweater and wasn't cold, wet and hungry. Unfortunately her knee was killing her, and so was her neck, both compliments of the other day's crash. Her shoulders hurt, too, and she thought maybe she'd make a hot-tub stop later before heading off to bed.

"Lily."

She turned from the margaritas she was mixing and faced Sara. Unlike Gwyneth, Sara did not resent Lily for inheriting the whole family pie. And unlike Gwyneth, she actually liked peace in the family, meaning she was often the one running back and forth soothing the feathers that Lily and Gwyneth ruffled without even trying. But she'd given up most of the family meddling and soothing to do her own, with Matt.

Matt was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy who enjoyed people, meaning he was perfectly suited for bartending at Bay Moon. That the hapless cutie had snagged the beautiful but high-maintenance Sara still had heads shaking in bafflement all around town, but fact was fact, and he really did love her. More shocking, she loved him back, ridiculously He always put a smile on her face and softened her edges, which made Matt an absolute hero in Lily's eyes.

"I need to talk to you," Sara said. "It's bad."

Oh, boy. Lily racked her brain and could think of nothing she'd done that would be considered a problem, but Sara's mind worked in mysterious ways. Still, Lily absolutely did not want to do this in the bar-whatever this might be-and tried to direct Sara outside. They made it as far as the double swinging saloon doors.

"I can't believe you're covering for Matt again." Sara didn't look mad, which was a huge relief for Lily, but the misery in her sister's eyes made the relief short-lived.

"It was a last-minute thing," Lily said, having promised Matt she wouldn't give away the surprise.

Sara nodded, rubbing the ever-increasing bump beneath her sweater. "I think he's lying to me."

"Why don't you sit down and take a load off. I'll make you a hot chocolate."

"I don't want to sit down. Did you hear me? I think my husband is lying to me."

"I just think for the sake of this-" Lily pointed to the baby "-you should sit down."

"It's not a this." Sara's eyes filled. "It's a b-b-baby, and maybe he doesn't want it anymore. Maybe it's me and how fat I've become!"

"No, it's not-"

"Then what's keeping him lately? Where the hell is he? Oh, my God." She clapped her hands over her mouth. "He's changed his mind about me. That's it, isn't it?"

Matt had warned her that Sara's mood swings were bordering on manic, and Lily glanced at the door, wondering how long he'd be. "He probably just got held up on the road. Listen, Sara, I really have to serve-"

"It's because I'm cranky, right?"

"Uh…"

"Well, you'd be cranky too if you'd gained enough weight that your scale groaned when you got on it. If it could talk, it'd say, 'One at a time, please!'"

"Sara-"

"What if you knew that in six weeks you had to pass a basketball out your vagina? Huh? Wouldn't you feel entitled to a few emotional breakdowns?"

Lily scrunched up her eyes but, nope, no good, the image of a basketball coming out of a vagina stuck.

"Do I look that fat?" Sara asked miserably.

Trick question. Lily knew the rules: never answer the trick questions. Matt had taught her that one himself.

"If he's cheating on me, I'm going to castrate him." Sara looked serious. "Slowly. That'll make us even."

Lily looked over Sara's shoulder at Matt, who'd just come down the hallway and had gone very still and a bit pale. Behind him, Logan came along, looking tall, dark and yummy, and for a moment Lily lost her concentration because her body did a happy-hormone dance.

"You know where he is," Sara said to Lily, oblivious. "I can tell when you're lying. Remember that July Fourth when you blew up my toilet with the illegal fireworks you bought from a buddy? You said God was telling me to stop spending so much time in the bathroom, but I knew it was you."

"That was never proven."

"Where is he, Lily?"

Matt shot Lily his puppy-dog look and silently begged her not to tell where he'd been. She took one last peek at Logan and then forced her gaze off him before she did something stupid. Like drool. Instead, she rubbed her aching neck. "I don't know. But he doesn't think you're fat and he wants the baby. He's crazy about you."

That much was the utter, baffling truth at least. In her life, there'd been a lot of dissent. Her parents had traveled a lot for their jobs, and when they had been in the same house for any amount of time, they'd fought. Her grandparents had never greeted a day without a bicker.

As a result, she and her sisters had developed relationships based on their own bickering hierarchy, with Lily at the bottom, of course. But then Matt had come into Sara's life and Lily had witnessed a deeper bond than she'd ever imagined could exist. Matt would do anything for Sara, anything. "You know he loves you. He's such a sap."

Matt lifted an eyebrow. Sap?

Revenge made her smile. "You've got him wrapped around your little pinkie. You know it."

Sara sniffed. "You only think that because you're relationship challenged. You don't understand."

Hard to dispute the truth. Relationships, like love, gave her the hives. But she wouldn't mind a few days of mutual lust. With the man who was standing next to Matt, watching her every move with that quiet intensity that made her want to dive at him.

Sara sighed and held the big lump of her belly, looking pale.

"Let's sit down," Lily tried again. "I'll rub your back."

"Don't worry, I'm not going into labor. I'm not ever going into labor. I'm going to be pregnant forever."

"Whatever you say," Lily soothed, trying to pull Sara toward a table. "You still need to sit down. Matt'll be here any second, so-" She'd been about to suggest Sara wipe away the mascara dripping down her cheeks or comb her ratty hair, but Matt came forward and wrapped his arms around his wife.

"Hey, baby," he said, and hugged her unresponsive form. He went to kiss her mouth but she gave him a cheek. "Sorry I'm late."

Sara stared at him. "Does your new girlfriend wear perfume that smells like a cedar chest?"

"Uh…"

"Because you smell like a cedar chest, Matt."

"Yeah, that's my fault," Lily said quickly.

"Really? How is that?" Sara asked.

Yes, Lily, how was that? "Well…" Her mind raced around the fact that Mart's second job was at the lumber mill. "He picked up some supplies for me." Brilliant, she thought. A good excuse and more revenge at the same time. "For that new cabinet and shelves I need in my office." She smiled sweetly at Matt, who was looking a little strained. "I can't wait to see what you're going to build me."

"I can't believe you're selfish enough to demand new shelves now, when 7 need him," Sara said, shocked.

"That's me, selfish queen bee."

Matt opened his mouth but Sara melted against him. "Oh, Matt." Her eyes were suspiciously shiny. "Really? You're sweet enough to build my sister some shelves?"

"Uh…yes. Yes, I am."

"Oh, honey." Sara threw her arms around his neck and sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I'm losing my mind."

Lily had to give Matt kudos for not pointing out that yes, Sara was losing her mind. Instead, he just held her tight and said, "I love you" and then laughed when Sara dragged him out of the bar, murmuring something about her out-of-control hormones.

"Hey!" Lily called after them. "Hey, you come back here, you're on duty!"

Matt glanced back at her. "Give me a few more minutes?"

"Damn it."

Logan pushed away from where he'd been holding up the wall and came toward her. "I hope he appreciates you."

"Oh, he will. The whole time he's building me new shelves."

He took her hand, stroked a thumb over her knuckles, and everything within her tightened.

He looked her over, from her favorite pair of faded jeans to her forest-green cashmere hoodie sweater and matching beanie that she'd stuffed her wild, out-of-control hair into. She'd dressed at the crack of dawn in a hurry, more for comfort than style, but watching him take her in, seeing his eyes heat, suddenly she felt feminine. Even pretty.

Then a slow sexy smile curved his lips and her body, already alert, quivered. "I thought about you today."

"Did you?"

"Oh, yeah."

And just like that, she didn't feel so sore and tired anymore.

He tugged her just a little closer, blocking her view of the bar with his broad shoulders. "How was your day?"

"That's my line to you."

"I skied. It was amazing. No emergencies today, though." Reaching up, he stroked away a long strand of hair poking out of her beanie and into her eye. "You didn't get out?"

"Too busy." Still was. Sasha, the other bartender, was sending her frantic help-me glances. "In fact, I've got to go," she said very reluctantly.

"That's too bad."

She looked into his dark eyes and sighed. He didn't know the half of it. "I'll buy you a drink," she said. "What would you like?"

His free hand came up, his fingers dancing over the side of her neck, lightly probing right over her sore muscles. "Are you hurting?"

The touch sent little shock waves through her system. "Just a little kink."

He massaged it, applying a pressure so gentle that she wanted to drop into a puddle on the floor. "Oh, my God."