Luis took a sip of his coffee and leaned up against the rail lining the edge of the docks. "So, Hank, do you want to tell me what happened yesterday? I heard that you and Gwen broke up."
Hank looked at Luis. "You . . . you saw Gwen?"
"I haven't," Luis replied, "but Sheridan's with her right now. Apparently, Ethan ran into Gwen last night—he said she looked pretty torn up."
Hank threw his hands up in the air. "You know, Luis, I thought everything was going fine. I knew Gwen was nervous about spending time with Grace because of everything that happened after Ethan's paternity came out, but that part of the day . . . it went great. Grace was being completely gracious to Gwen, just like I knew she would be, but then Kay spouted off about Grace losing the baby."
"Ouch," Luis grimaced. "That must have upset Gwen."
"She ran out of the house, Luis," Hank said. "Said that she can never go back. She's worried that us being together will make Sam and Grace stop talking to me—she doesn't want to be the reason I lose them."
Luis raised his brows. "Sam and Grace would never disengage with you over this."
"I know that, and you know that, but look at what Gwen's mother is doing." Hank hit the rail. "I finally find the woman of my dreams, and all of this outside baggage is getting in the way. I haven't even had a chance to tell her I love her yet . . ."
"You love her, Hank?" A grin inched up Luis's face.
Hank turned beet red. "I didn't mean to say that."
"Yes, but you did." Luis smiled and rubbed his chin. "Have you told Gwen that you love her, Hank?"
"No, Luis. I haven't," Hank admitted. "Even if I did, it wouldn't make all of these problems go away."
"No," Luis conceded. "But it might help you get though them." Luis took a sip of his coffee. "You know, lately, I've started to think that if I had told Sheridan I loved her earlier, that we would have gotten through the imposter thing much sooner—that we wouldn't have lost all of those months together."
"Maybe . . ." Hank shrugged his shoulders. "But there was a reason you didn't tell her."
"Yeah, because I was scared she was going to reject me . . ."
"Luis, I was there—I can't blame you for thinking that."
Luis chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, but I should have done it anyway, Hank. If anything, I think Sheridan would have been more open with me if I had been more forthcoming about my feelings for her."
Hank cocked his head. "Luis, that wouldn't have made the imposter situation go away."
"No, but it might have made us a team," Luis insisted. "It might have helped us work through our problems together."
Gwen studied Sheridan for a second as they sat down on the couch. "I don't know how to tell you this."
Sheridan squeezed Gwen's hand. "Gwen, you can tell me anything."
"Yes, but this is about Grace losing her baby," Gwen said quickly. "Given that you're pregnant right now, I'm sure you don't want to hear about this."
"Are you talking about the night Ethan's paternity was exposed?" Sheridan swallowed hard and curled her fingers around her belly.
"Yes, Sheridan, I am." Gwen shook her head. "I totally get how you probably can't have any sympathy for me right now—I can barely even stand myself."
"Listen, I'm not going to pretend that I can't empathize with Grace. The thought of losing my daughter—it's absolutely terrifying." Sheridan glanced down at her belly and then looked back up at Gwen. "But that doesn't mean that I don't have empathy for you, too—I know how much you were hurting that night."
"I never meant to hurt Grace or her baby," Gwen cried softly. "To tell the truth, when my mother and I were plotting this out, Grace never even crossed my mind. I guess that makes me a monster, doesn't it?"
"No, Gwen, it doesn't." Sheridan slipped one arm around Gwen's shoulder. "It only makes you human."
"You should have seen Grace's face when Kay said what she did." Gwen buried her head in her hands.
"What did Kay say?" Sheridan rubbed Gwen's back.
Gwen looked up. "That if it weren't for me, she'd have another brother right now."
Sheridan sucked in a breath.
"She's right, Sheridan! I can't get back together with Hank after this." Gwen hung her head. "I never should have gotten involved with him to begin with."
Sheridan swallowed a lump in her throat. "What did Hank have to say about all of this? I mean, he knew about the whole tabloid mess before he really even got involved with you . . ."
"He did," Gwen said. "He even did his best to help me fix it."
"That's what I thought," Sheridan said softly. "Surely, you two can work through this."
"I don't think so, Sheridan." Gwen hugged her knees to her chest. "I won't be the reason his family hates him."
"Gwen, I don't think Sam and Grace would hold this against Hank," Sheridan said.
"They don't," Gwen cried. "At least not yet. According to Hank, they aren't even holding it against me."
Sheridan tightened her arm around Gwen. "Well, that's good, right? That they've forgiven you?"
"Tell me, though, Sheridan—" Gwen breathed, her eyes rising up to meet her friend's, "—how can I ever forgive myself?"
