Not to mention the wedding, Allegra added.

Yeah, I know, Sam said, sounding more serious again. Where shall I meet you?

What's this about? Allegra wanted to know ahead of time. A modeling contract or something?

Yeah ‘ Sam said cryptically, sort of.

I'll pick you up at twelve o'clock. Jeff is having lunch with Tony Jacobson, his coproducer. We'll go someplace fun like The Ivy, or Nate N Al's.

Let's go somewhere and talk, Sam said quietly, and Allegra smiled at her younger sister.

Okay. This sounds serious. It must be love.

It is, Sam agreed glumly.

Well, I'm getting better at that, but actually I think I just got lucky. I'll do what I can.

Thanks, Al, her sister said, and Allegra reiterated her promise to pick her up at noon on Sunday. She was touched that Sam had called her.

Doesn't anyone call us at normal hours? Jeff complained, as Allegra told him about Sam's call.

She sounded upset. She must have a new boyfriend.

At least she's family, he conceded. That made sense to him at least, a lot more than Malachi O'Donovan calling from some drunk tank.

Do you mind my having lunch with her tomorrow? Allegra asked as they went to bed a few minutes later. He had wanted her to join him with Tony. And she liked Tony a lot. He was very Eastern and very smart. He was from New York, and his father was one of the biggest investment bankers on Wall Street. He'd helped them get backers for the film, and given them some great advice. Tony was very different from Jeff, but Allegra genuinely liked him.

Not at all. I'll meet you afterward. Maybe we can all play some tennis. I understand, and so will Tony. He'll love Sam, he teased, and his fianc+¬e gave him the disapproving look of a much older sister.

My dad will love that. She glared at him, and then chuckled. Everything was working out fine. And he was right. She didn't need to invite Charles Stan-ton to their wedding. All she had to do now was tell her mother. And she could do that the next day, after she had lunch with Samantha. She smiled to herself, thinking of Sam's call, and wondered what advice she needed about the new boyfriend. Allegra was certainly no expert, but she was nattered anyway that Sam had called her. Their relationship meant a lot to both of them, although Sam was a brat at times, but even when she was, Allegra loved her.

Chapter 14

As promised, Allegra picked her sister up on Sunday on schedule. She thought it might be fun if she took her to lunch at the Ivy. They could cruise through the secondhand shops on North Robertson after that, relax with each other, and have some fun. Lately Sam had been acting fairly bratty, and Allegra was anxious to spend some quality time with her.

But there was nothing bratty about the way she acted today. In fact, she had barely spoken by the time Allegra pulled out of the driveway. Allegra couldn't help wondering what was bothering her. But Sam made it all the way through lunch almost without speaking.

So what's the deal? Allegra finally asked, wondering what had prompted her to ask Allegra to come and see her. A new guy giving you a problem? She had always had dates in the last two years, but she had never had a steady boyfriend. Unlike Allegra, who, at her age, had always been madly in love with someone.

Sort of. Sam shrugged noncommittally, and then as her eyes filled with tears, she said, Not really.

So what is it then? Allegra pressed her a little bit as the waiter brought their cappuccinos. Lunch had been delicious, as usual. But Sam had hardly eaten. Come on, Sam ‘ cough it up’ . Whatever it is, it won't be so bad once you share it. But apparently it was, because she dropped her head in her hands and started crying softly. Oh, Sam ‘ Allegra rubbed a hand across her shoulders. Come on, baby, tell me, she whispered. But when her sister raised her face to hers again, Allegra could see the bottomless despair that had overwhelmed her. Sam, please ‘

I'm pregnant. Sam almost choked on the words as she said them. I'm having a baby’ . She just sat there and cried quietly, as Allegra stared at her for an instant and then hugged her.

Oh, sweetheart ‘ oh, God ‘ How did that happen ‘ ? Who did it? As though it had been something that had been done to her, and not something she had shared in. But Allegra had never heard her mention anyone's name, and certainly not a steady boyfriend.

I did it, Sam said, taking the full blame upon herself. She looked desolate, as she tossed the shining platinum hair over her shoulders.

Not all by yourself, Allegra said, unless things have changed a whole lot lately. Who's the father? What words for a seventeen-year-old child: father ‘ mother ‘ not just Who is the boy? It really brought home the idea that she was having a baby, a child, a living, breathing person.

It doesn't matter, Sam answered glumly.

Oh, yes, it does, Allegra insisted. Are you involved with someone at school? Without even knowing him, Allegra wanted to kill him, but she was pretending to stay calm, for Sam's sake. Just listening to her, her heart was pounding and her mind was racing. But Sam only shook her head in answer. Come on, Sam, who is it?

I don't want you to do anything about it if I tell you.

Were you raped? Allegra asked in a rasping whisper, but Sam shook her head again.

No, I wasn't. It's my own fault. I did it willingly. I was so impressed with him ‘ I thought ‘ I don't know, she said, tears flooding her eyes again. I guess I was nattered. He was so worldly and so grown-up. He was thirty. A thirty-year-old with a seventeen-year-old girl? He should have known better, at least, and he obviously hadn't even had the decency to use protection.

Were you a virgin? Allegra asked, overwhelmed with concern for her, and Sam shook her head, and didn't offer further details. Allegra knew she wasn't promiscuous, but she was also almost eighteen years old, and there had obviously been someone before who mattered to her. She didn't want to press her on anything but the present. How did you meet him?

He was the photographer on a shoot I did, she said miserably. He's French. I thought he was so cool because he was from Paris. He treated me like I was a woman of the world, and he was really handsome.

Have you told him yet? Allegra could hardly wait to get her hands on the guy. He'd be lucky if they didn't have him deported. They could have him put in jail for statutory rape. She could just imagine their father. But Sam was looking bereft as she shook her head yet again.

I don't really want to anyway. But I called the agency and they said he went to Japan or someplace. He was just passing through, and they didn't really know him. He wanted the pictures for his own portfolio before he went to Tokyo. Nobody knows how to find him. It doesn't matter anyway, I never want to see him again. He was okay, but he was kind of a jerk in the end. He offered me some drugs afterward, and when I said I didn't want them, he called me a baby. And now she was having one. His name was Jean-Luc. But no one even knows his last name.

Jesus Christ. Allegra was sputtering, she was so mad. Is that how they run their agency? They ought to be put in jail too if that's how they deal with minors.

I'm almost eighteen, Al. I should at least be able to handle a modeling gig without having my hand held.

Apparently not, Allegra said sternly, and then reminded herself that she didn't want to be unduly harsh on her. Sam was in enough misery, and Allegra wanted to help her. That had to remain her focus. And at least her sister had had the guts to come to her with her problem. I assume you haven't said anything to Mom yet.

I really don't want to, Sam said, and Allegra nodded. She wouldn't have wanted to at Sam's age either, although their mother was usually incredibly understanding, and some of their friends had always gone to her with problems, rather than their own mothers. But her mother had been so wound up about the wedding and her show lately, that Sam just hadn't been able to bring herself to tell her.

So what are we going to do about this mess? Allegra asked, with a sinking heart. As far as she was concerned, at Sam's age, there was only one solution. She couldn't see her sister ruining her life by saddling herself with a baby. I'll take you to my own doctor tomorrow. Maybe we don't even have to tell Mom. I want to think about this before we decide, Allegra said, thinking it over.

I can't, Sam said stubbornly, and Allegra looked at her in confusion.

You can't what?

Go to the doctor with you ‘ not to get rid of it anyway.

Why not? Allegra's face filled with terror. You're not going to keep it, are you? Sam, you don't even know who the guy is. You can't have this baby all by yourself. It's just plain stupid. Why was she getting sentimental about this? She suddenly thought of Carmen and her acting like it was already born because she'd seen the fetus on a sonogram, and she wondered if that had happened to Sam already too. Bonding.

I can't get rid of it, Al, not with an abortion anyway.

Why? Her family had strong morals, but they were reasonable generally, and they weren't Catholic. Allegra couldn't understand it.

I'm five months' pregnant.

What? Allegra almost fell out of her chair when she heard the words. Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner? What have you been doing for the last five months? Dreaming?

I didn't know, Sam said honestly, tears spilling onto her cheeks and from there to the table. I swear. My periods are so irregular, I just thought that maybe it was from too much exercise or dieting, or exams, or worrying about getting into college ‘ I don't know. I never thought I could be pregnant.