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Caroline reluctantly conceded. “Mom will kill me when she hears about this. Are you sure you want to—?” Caroline broke off as Jane turned to her, conviction in her eyes.
    “I am.” Jane took a deep breath. “Maybe it’s my mother’s intuition starting to kick in.”

Chapter Four
    “You don’t have anything for breakfast,” Caroline complained as she riffled through Jane’s kitchen cupboards the next morning.
    “Grapefruit—right crisper,” Jane said as she peeled off her gardening gloves. She bent to unlace her muddy shoes. “It’s the only acceptable breakfast after last night’s chocolate and ice cream rampage.”
    Caroline wrinkled her nose. “Ugh.”
    “What, were you hoping for Lucky Charms?” Jane teased. She pulled off her shoes and left them on the mat by the back door.
    “No, but Belgian waffles, crisp bacon, and fresh-squeezed orange juice would be nice.”
    “Ah,” Jane said, grabbing a grapefruit from the fridge. “Mom’s classic Saturday sleepover breakfast.” She looked at Caroline. “Sorry. Guess I didn’t plan well.” Jane grabbed two knives and spoons from the silverware caddy on the counter. She sat across the table from Caroline, put the grapefruit on a paper plate and began cutting. “Where’s Andrew?”
    “Asleep again. I just nursed him.” Caroline reluctantly accepted the grapefruit half Jane held out to her. “Did you call yet?”
    Jane glanced at the newspaper on the table. “It’s too early.”
    “You’ve been up for hours.”
    “So?” Jane began sectioning her grapefruit. “Not everyone feels the need to fertilize while the dew is still on.”
    “Calling early will let you know right away if this guy is a morning person like yourself.” Caroline reached behind her and took the cordless phone from its charger on the counter.
    “I don’t want to know if he gets up early. In fact, I don’t want to know anything about him.” Jane took the phone from Caroline and set it aside. “The whole thing was a bad idea, born of an acute case of late-night loneliness.”
    “Oh no you don’t,” Caroline said, snatching the phone and paper. “Last night you convinced me this was a good idea, and now you’re going through with it. If, for no other reason, so I can prove to you that the want ads aren’t the way to go about finding a husband.”
    Jane jumped up from her chair and slapped her hand over her sister’s. “ Don’t, Caroline— please? ” She maneuvered both phone and paper back to her side of the table.
    “Why not?” Caroline asked, rubbing the hand Jane had smacked. “I don’t get you. You’re always saying you want to date, but you won’t take the steps to do it. You doom yourself from the start.”
    “Doomed— exactly,” Jane said through her first juicy bite. “I’m cursed, so why even bother?”
    Caroline rolled her eyes. “You are not.”
    “Am too,” Jane insisted. “My whole life it’s been that way. It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
    “That is so not true.” Caroline’s lips puckered as she tasted the grapefruit. “You’ve known lots of nice guys—had some great dates, too.”
    Jane’s spoon stopped halfway to her mouth. “Are you kidding? The only nice guys I know are the ones I’m related to, and I’ve never had any luck dating.”
    “Sure you have. It seems like you were always off doing something—even in high school.”
    “Off doing something and dating are two different things.” Jane pushed back her chair, went to the fridge, and removed two water bottles. “I was involved in clubs and stuff, but I didn’t date. ”
    Caroline made a face as she took another bite. “This grapefruit is sour. You sure you don’t have any cereal—or a cup of sugar?”
    Jane shook her head as she sat down. “I don’t think so, but feel free to look.”
    Caroline rose from the table and began searching through Jane’s cupboards. Jane continued eating, her gaze straying to the circled ad in the paper beside