Francesca didn’t want to think about him. “Not really.”

“We won’t even get into the family problems.”

“I think we should. We have to talk about it, Brenna.”

Her twin shrugged. “Is that why you came by?”

“It’s part of the reason. I’ve been worried about you.”

About them both. There was so much going on right now. Francesca didn’t think she could handle one more thing.

“They want Sam to find him,” Brenna said. “Mom already called him and he agreed.”

Francesca wasn’t surprised. She’d passed along Sam’s offer. Her parents had still been in shock, but when that faded, she knew they would want to get in touch with their firstborn.

“Did he tell you they’d accepted?” Brenna asked.

Francesca glanced at the rows of grapevines. “No, but we haven’t actually seen that much of each other in the past week or so.”

Not since Kelly had gone to spend the afternoon with a friend and Sam had gone ballistic.

“Do I want to know why?”

“Different reasons.”

“That sounds ominous.”

Francesca brushed aside her concern. “That’s not important. I’ve been worried about you. About how you’re handling all this. Grandpa Lorenzo talking about selling was one thing. It could have been a lot of bluster on his part. But finding out about another child…”

Brenna plucked at a leaf. “Not just a child. A grandson. Our sexist grandfather is so happy he positively beams. I’m guessing he has visions of bringing the long-lost man into the folds of family and teaching him all he needs to know to run Marcelli Wines.”

Francesca wanted to say that wasn’t possible, except she knew it was. It might even be likely. “Maybe he won’t be interested.”

Brenna’s expression tightened. “Marcelli Wines is worth about forty million dollars. Would you walk away from that?”

Francesca swallowed. “Forty million?” She’d known the land and the vines had value, but that much? “Tell me again why I’m scrimping and saving to put myself through college.”

Brenna smiled. “Because you have integrity, kid.”

“Oh, right. Think I could get a cash advance on my inheritance?”

“You’re probably going to have to talk to your brother about that.”

A brother. She still couldn’t believe it. “They should have told us a long time ago. We would have understood.”

“It wouldn’t have hurt so badly,” Brenna murmured.

Francesca agreed. Keeping secrets created trouble, which was something she’d been telling herself.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Brenna asked.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You’ve been acting weird since the Fourth. And don’t tell me it’s about our long-lost brother, because you were weird before that.”

Francesca tried to smile. “Gee, thanks for the endorsement.”

“You know what I mean. I can tell there’s something off. So what is it? Did you go and fall for Sam? Are you starting to think that marriage might not be such a bad thing?”

Her sister’s guess was so far from the truth that Francesca laughed. “Not even close. I’m-”

Brenna waited.

Francesca sighed. Maybe it was time to come clean, if not to Sam then to her twin sister. “I’m pregnant.”

Her twin’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

“Holy shit! Are you kidding?”

“No. I took a pregnancy test about ten days ago, and it was positive. I haven’t gotten my period since, so there’s no reason to think anything has changed.”

Brenna leaned over the row of grapes and hugged her. “Wow. This is so amazing. You’re going to have a baby!” She straightened. “Okay, so this isn’t exactly how you had your life plan set up. I know you don’t want a husband, but kids are different. Aren’t you thrilled?”

“I don’t know.”

Brenna smiled. “You should be. A baby! Remember how we used to talk about how many kids we’d have and how they’d all grow up playing with each other, like you, me, and Katie did? How we’d take them to that grove of trees and let them play dress-up? You’re having a baby!”

Francesca touched her still-flat stomach. “Honestly, Brenna, I don’t know what I feel. I’m scared, I’m excited, I’m worried. And if we’re going to have our kids all playing together, then you’d better get a bun in the oven of your own.”

Brenna grimaced. “That would require me having sex, and right now that’s not likely to happen. But with Katie getting married, there will be cousins for your little one.”

Brenna stopped talking and sucked in a breath. “You haven’t told Sam yet, have you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what to say.”

Brenna stared at her. “How about something along the lines of ‘Hey, big guy. One of your little tadpoles got a bit too frisky.’ ”

Despite her emotional angst, she couldn’t help smiling. “You really want me to call him ‘big guy’ and refer to his sperm as tadpoles?”

“Maybe not.” Brenna turned toward the winery. “This is sure going to change your life.”

“Tell me about it.”

“So why haven’t you told him?” Brenna asked.

“A lot of reasons. For one thing, I’ve been in shock. We used a condom. I know they’re not a hundred percent effective, but having me get pregnant the first night seems really unfair.”

Brenna looked at her. “That’s a pretty lousy argument.”

“Agreed. I’m… scared. At first I didn’t want to say anything because he was dealing with Kelly showing up in his life and-”

Brenna swore. “Kelly! I’d forgotten all about her. Oh, kid, you are in big trouble. Practically the same week Sam finds out he’s the father of a teenager, you turn up pregnant. Talk about lousy timing.”

“You’re not making me feel better,” Francesca told her. “But you’re also right. That’s why I waited. I didn’t want to dump this on him, and I was still getting used to the idea myself. Then I found out we had a brother and it’s been crazy.”

“And?”

Francesca sighed. “And Sam is having a tough time adjusting to Kelly. She’s a great kid, but a handful. Last week he got really angry and said some things about her disrupting his life and how he didn’t ask for the responsibility.”

“If he doesn’t want Kelly, he’s not going to want your baby?”

Francesca wasn’t surprised Brenna understood. “Yeah. Plus, things have been really good with Sam and telling him is going to change all of that.”

“You think?”

“I’m so screwed,” Francesca muttered.

“You’re also not ’fessing up to the most important part.”

“What?”

Brenna stopped walking and faced her. “You don’t want to tell Sam because you don’t want to hear what he has to say. Not because he’s going to reject your child, but because you have this fantasy in mind. One in which he sweeps you off your feet and confesses undying love.”

Francesca rolled her eyes. “That’s so much bull.”

“Is it? You’re nearly as romantic as Katie. You’re like the middle child, seeing everyone’s point of view, rescuing the world. Sam is a great guy. After years of not wanting a man in your life, you finally hook up with him and he’s terrific. Sexy, smart, successful. It’s okay if you fall for him.”

“I didn’t fall for him. I don’t love him. I don’t want anything from him but sex. Now we’re having a child and that complicates everything.”

“No way,” Brenna told her. “The baby is just logistics. If you weren’t worried about getting hurt, you would have told him. You have to work out details like custody. If your heart weren’t engaged, stuff like that wouldn’t matter.”

Francesca didn’t like anything her sister was saying. “You’re wrong.”

“You don’t want to admit I’m right because it scares the crap out of you and because you don’t like me figuring out something about you that you couldn’t figure out yourself. It violates your view of yourself as psychologically superior.”

The verbal slam caught Francesca like a blow. “That is so unfair.”

Brenna shrugged. “It’s true. You planned this whole affair with Sam as if you were shopping for a wardrobe. Oh, you need a little black dress, so go to the stores until you find the right one. But this isn’t a dress. It’s sex. And you’re not shallow enough to give your body without your heart being engaged.”

“It’s not about being shallow. It’s about being sensible. I don’t want a man in my life right now.”

“According to you, you don’t want one ever. You’re afraid, Francesca. Like I said, it’s been twenty years since you were the dumb kid in class, but you can’t let that go. I remember you crying yourself to sleep because you felt stupid. And when you confessed your fears to our wonderful, caring Grandfather, he told you not to worry yourself. That you were so pretty some nice man would always be around to take care of you. Which Todd did and you hated.”

Francesca wanted to run away. Why was Brenna turning on her? What was going on?

“This is all old information, and it doesn’t have anything to do with Sam.”

“It has everything to do with Sam. You got scared, Francesca, and I don’t blame you. For so long you were afraid you couldn’t measure up. Todd acted as if you had the mental acuity of a stamp. He wanted you to shut up and look pretty, which you did. But you weren’t allowed to be a person. You’ve spent the last six years becoming your own person. Of course you’re afraid of being with a man again. All your life you’ve been told that only the men matter. That we have to take care of them. If you get involved with Sam, you risk losing yourself.”

“I’m not involved, and I haven’t lost myself.”

“You’re not going to lose yourself,” Brenna told her, obviously annoyed. “That’s my damn point. You’re not that insecure teenager anymore. You’re a successful woman. You’re confident and capable, and it’s okay to admit you care about Sam.”

“I don’t care!” Francesca yelled. “I’m not involved! I’m just pregnant!”

A sharp intake of air made them both turn. Francesca nearly fainted when she saw her grandfather standing not five feet away from them. She and Brenna had been so busy arguing, they hadn’t heard him approach.