The Best Laid Plans

“Can one of you make sure the patient in room three gets the extra pillow he requested so I can get out of here when I finish this?” Emma asked the assistants, effectively putting an end to the gossip surrounding her future husband. Time was ticking in more ways than one. Lucy would kill her if she was the reason they were late for dinner.

* * *

EMMA GOT READY in record time, somehow managing to make it home, shower, get dressed and blow out her hair in less than an hour. Her display of superhuman speed went unappreciated, however.

“We need to get going!” Lucy shouted from the living room.

Emma grabbed her lipstick and mascara to apply on the way to the restaurant. “You act like our table will be given away,” she said as she joined her sisters and slid her earrings in. It was a quick cab ride to the restaurant from her Lincoln Park apartment. They weren’t going to be that late.

Lucy swept her bangs out of her eyes. She wore a to-die-for black dress that hugged every curve. Emma used to be jealous of her eldest sister’s swimsuit-model body, flawless complexion and blondes-have-more-fun lifestyle. But beautiful bodies could betray just as well as any other. Lucy’s battle with breast cancer a couple years ago had taught Emma to be thankful for the body she’d been given. Her waist might be the same size as her hips and her hair a boring shade of brown, but she had her health, and for that she was glad.

“I can text Max and tell him we’re going to be late if you need more time,” Kendall said, pulling out her phone.

“No!” Emma lunged for the phone, startling Kendall. Lucy’s eyes widened in warning. She had always been much better at keeping secrets than Emma. “I mean, I’m ready. Don’t bother him. Let’s go.”

The sisters chatted about work on the way to dinner. Lucy had had a busy week at the women’s advocacy center. Emma had always admired Lucy’s tenacity, but even more so when she used it to fight for someone else. Kendall’s interior design company had landed another big job in the city, remodeling the lobby of some five-star luxury hotel. That was the reason Kendall thought they were out celebrating.

The hostess at Sato’s recognized them immediately and sat them right in front of the mural Kendall had painted when she worked there. Had it not been for the remodeling job at Sato’s, Kendall may not have met Max. The job and a little bit of fate had brought them together. Emma thought it was terribly romantic.

Kendall had inquired about Max’s whereabouts twice. The last thing they needed was for her to go looking for him. The food was a welcome distraction and gave them something else to talk about. When they were finished, the waiter brought over a bottle of champagne and began to pour them each a glass.

“You guys didn’t need to do this,” Kendall insisted.

“It wasn’t us,” Emma said, smiling from ear to ear as the surprise unfolded.

Dressed in little suit coats and ties, Kendall’s seven-year-old son and Max’s four-year-old son appeared at the table, each holding a wrapped present.

“Simon, Aidan, what are you doing here?”

“Hi, Mommy. It’s a surprise. Are you surprised?”

Kendall nodded. Simon gave his younger companion a nudge and bent down to whisper something to him. Little Aidan stepped forward and placed his gift on the table in front of Kendall.

“I like it when we all go to the zoo and when you make us brownies,” he said. Kendall unwrapped the gift to find a framed photo of the four of them at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

She set down the picture and opened her arms for Aidan. “That is so sweet. I love going to the zoo with you, too.”

Simon placed his present on the table. “I like it when we all watch movies on Max’s big TV and have pizza-and-movie nights.”

Kendall wiped the corner of her eye. “I like that, too, buddy.” She opened the next present, which was a giant popcorn bowl with four smaller bowls nested in it, each labeled with their names. “Thank you,” she said, giving her son a big hug. “I don’t understand what you two are doing here past your bedtimes, though.”

“There’s one more present,” Simon said with a big grin.

Emma watched as Max stepped up to the table empty-handed. Kendall’s confusion quickly faded at the sight of him. In that moment, it was clear she knew exactly what was happening.

Max dropped to one knee and the two little boys followed suit. “I like how the four of us hold hands when we cross the street. I like how serious you get during innocent games of Go Fish,” he said, causing Kendall to laugh through her tears. “I like that whenever you buy Simon something, you think about Aidan, too. I like that we rely on one another and that it’s not nearly as scary as we both thought it would be. I like you, Kendall. And it may be weird, but I think liking you is even more important than loving you, which I also do. I love you more than I ever thought possible.”

“I like you and love you, too,” Kendall managed to choke out.

Max reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. Emma’s own heart melted in her chest. She could only imagine how it felt to be Kendall right now—cherished, wanted, so very loved. She couldn’t wait for it to be her turn at this kind of romance.

“Kendall, I like it that we already act like a family.” Opening the box, he presented her with a ring. “Will you marry me and make it official?”

“Please!” Simon and Aidan shouted from either side of him.

How could her sister say no to that? Emma watched as the soon-to-be family hugged and Kendall accepted the proposal. The entire restaurant erupted in applause. Even Lucy, the hopeless unromantic of the family, snatched up her napkin and dried her eyes.

“We’ll take the boys home so you guys can continue your celebration,” Emma said after getting her own hug from Kendall.

“Don’t worry about it. I got them a babysitter.” Max nodded behind him. Standing out like a sore thumb amongst all the servers dressed in black stood Max’s neighbor, Charlie. He was a giant, probably six foot four, and had on jeans and a Chicago Cubs T-shirt. Charlie taking the boys was not part of the plan.

“I thought Lucy and I were going to take them back to Kendall’s?”

“Charlie offered to watch them at my place,” Max said as if it was no big deal.

Charlie and his extra-wide smile came over to congratulate the happy couple. He was Max’s only friend in the city besides Kendall. Emma knew him from the hospital. He was the paramedic all the triage nurses flirted with when he brought someone into the ER. Emma could admit there was something attractive about his dark brown hair and green eyes that were always smiling.

“But that wasn’t the plan,” she said, unable to let it go.

“The plans changed, Nightingale. Is that okay?” Charlie asked. The way he looked at her made her stomach feel weird.

“Someone could have texted,” she said to Max, who was oblivious to her frustration.

“Let’s not make a big deal about this,” Lucy said, bumping Emma with her hip and glaring.

This was Kendall’s night. Emma needed to pull it together. Plans changed. Not her plans, but other people changed their plans all the time. Roll with it, she told herself.

“You can come over and help me get them to bed if you want. Floor Three has the good cable. All the movies we want at the touch of a button.” Floor Three was Charlie’s nickname for Max because he lived on the third floor of their three-flat. Charlie had a thing for nicknaming everyone he met. It was weird but oddly cute at the same time.

His invitation threw her off for a second. His eyes were locked on hers, still smiling but so intense. He had this way of making her feel as if there was no one else in this world he wanted to be looking at other than her.

Her face warmed. “I have to work tomorrow. Maybe it’s best you’ve got them.”

“Another time, maybe.”

“Maybe.” Maybe not. There was only one thing Emma knew for sure—Charlie Fletcher was not part of any of her plans. No matter how those eyes made her feel.

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_496df100-30d7-595d-8686-795cd778935f)

“IF YOU HAD to choose between the Bulls of the nineties and the Blackhawks of today, who has the most raw talent across the board?” Charlie asked as he sat on Max’s couch, watching hockey.

“That’s tough,” Max replied. “The Bulls had Jordan, the greatest player of our lifetime. There were other guys on that team with talent, but they couldn’t have won championship after championship without Jordan.”

“Exactly. You have to pick the Hawks. There isn’t one guy we can’t live without. There are threats everywhere.”

Max’s phone beeped. He checked the message and typed a quick reply. This had been going on since Charlie had gotten there.

“Everything okay?”