The Best Laid Plans. Amy Vastine

college. Top of her class, Emma had a job offer from Saint Joe’s before she even graduated.

      Phase two of her life plan had been carefully crafted more recently. Emma planned to marry a doctor before she was thirty. She had dated her share of accountants and engineers. Had dinner with a locksmith once. Spent a month being romanced by a guy who worked in human resources.

      In the end, marrying a doctor made the most sense. Given the crazy hours at the hospital, working there together would let them see each other more often. He would also be an excellent provider. Anyone who made it through medical school and residency would have to be not only intelligent but also diligent and reliable. Those traits were important to Emma, both in a husband and a father.

      After a year-long engagement—so she would have enough time to plan accordingly—she would have the most spectacular wedding Chicago had ever seen. She planned to take an extended leave of absence to raise her two children, the first of which she would have when she was no older than thirty-three. Her second child would be born three years later because three years would allow the children to be close enough in age to be friends but far enough apart that there would not be any rivalry.

      It was the perfect plan for the perfect life. Emma had put a tremendous amount of thought into it. She had to because she didn’t deter from her plans; she had only done so a few times. Every time she had, her life had nearly been derailed. Clearly, someone or something had been trying to tell her to get back on course.

      None of that made sense to people like Lucy. How could Emma believe in fate if she also thought she could control her destiny? Emma’s answer was simple—free will gave her the opportunity to choose her path. Her responsibility was to stick with it. Her plans could be outrageous; it didn’t matter. Crazy things happened every day. Working in the hospital proved that. How many times had Emma seen a patient, who never should have lived, survive and walk out the door? Likewise, people with very treatable issues could take a turn for the worse at a moment’s notice. Life had a plan for everyone, and Emma simply believed she was allowed to choose hers. The only catch was that once she chose, that was it. There was no going back.

      With her plans set, Emma knew everything would work out. However, at twenty-eight, she was beginning to feel a little pressure from her self-imposed timelines. All the doctors she worked with were either old enough to be her father or married with kids. The new doctor’s arrival seemed too good to be true, but Emma knew his being sent here was fate answering her call.

      Dr. Scott Spencer was twenty-five years old and originally from Minnesota. He came from a family of doctors and, as far as Emma knew, he didn’t have a girlfriend or wife. He did look somewhat like Leo, but Emma thought he had more of a young Brad Pitt vibe about him. He was the sign to keep the faith. All Emma had to do was get him to fall in love with her. She had plans for that, too.

      “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,