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TWENTY-EIGHT

DAYNA

I’m sitting cross-legged on Dash’s couch, in one of his T-shirts, with Ivy and Katie. We’re making our way through a pile of snacks I raided from the pantry.

Ivy’s daughter, Seren, is asleep in her travel cot, snoring like a possessed but adorable walrus, and even though I feel like roadkill, I can’t wait to meet my own baby.

“You look happy,” Katie says, sipping her wine. I’m only slightly jealous I can’t have a glass. “And a little green.”

“I puked my liver up just before you got here.” It’s flippant even though I’m not sure I didn’t leave an organ in the toilet bowl.

She lifts my stolen tee, looking for a hint of my pregnancy. “How many weeks are you?”

“Eight-ish.” I don’t even have a hint of a bump yet, which feels like a cruel joke considering how wrecked I feel.

“So, how did you tell Dash you were pregnant?” Ivy asks, her eyes bright. I’m pretty sure she’s expecting some kind of Hallmark movie moment. It was not that. “And what did he say? I need all the details.”

“Well,” I lift my straw to my mouth and sip the juice, “we were being shot at and he threw me onto the ground. It was very hot, you know, after the terror. I freaked out in case the baby got hurt and blurted out that I’m pregnant.

” I shrug my shoulders. “And then I cried, because of course I did. I told him to leave me, because, again, of course I did, and…” I trail off because some things should stay sacred.

“Fuck,” Katie murmurs. Ivy just stares.

“It’s fine. We were fine. Anyway, I’m pissed he kept this place hidden. He has a shower with jets. Hot water in my place is optional. I don’t have any of my stuff here yet, but maybe it’s a good thing. You know, just in case he hates living with me.”

“He’s been dating you for months. If he was gonna run, he’d have done it by now.”

“There’s a huge difference between dating and living with someone.”

Ivy slides her wine glass onto the coffee table, raising a finger at me. “No. We’re not doing that.”

I blink. “Doing what?”

“What you always do. You talk about yourself like you’re a problem to be solved, like nobody could possibly want you in their space. It’s not happening. You’re happy. He’s happy. Just fucking enjoy it.”

I raise a brow, glancing at Katie, who just shrugs.

No help there then.

“I am enjoying it, but what if I give up my apartment and change my life in every way possible and then he walks away? Then suddenly, I’m left with nothing, trying to raise a baby on my own.”

“Or here’s an idea.” Ivy leans in and stage-whispers. “Maybe things just work out and you stay disgustingly happy with a man who dotes on your every breath.”

Katie nods. “Vee may have delivered it like some sort of self-help fortune cookie, but she’s right. I think you can relax, Dayna. Dash is in this. The man moved you into his apartment the moment he found out you’re pregnant.”

“He might not stay ‘in it’ if I keep falling asleep every time we’re having sex.”

Katie snorts obnoxiously loud.

Ivy nods with sympathy. “First trimester tiredness is no joke.”

“Right? I can’t keep my eyes open, which is tragic because every time he so much as breathes near me, I swear, I come on the spot.”

“The universe has a funny sense of humour,” Katie agrees. “It giveth orgasms in one hand and provideth exhaustion in the other, so that one cannot enjoy said orgasms.”

We laugh and fuck, and it feels good.

“All I want to do is sleep and get laid.” I groan dramatically. “And eat.” I close my eyes, suddenly queasy again at the thought of food. “Does the nausea ever end?”

“That’s not even the worst part of pregnancy,” Ivy warns.

Suddenly my stomach’s lurching for a completely different reason. “The birth, right?”

I haven’t given much thought to how the baby we had so much fun putting inside my uterus is going to get out. I cross my legs at the thought.

Ivy doesn’t even blink. “You’ll be so delirious you won’t even remember that part. The real horror is that first nappy after the baby’s born. I have never seen shit like it. I thought Seren had some sort of disease.”

Katie grimaces. “And this is why I’m staying child free, my friends. I am not cut out for the radioactive shit life.”

I let my head fall back against the couch. “I don’t even know how to change a nappy.”

“You’ll get the hang of it. Besides, we all know that Dash is going to be the kind of father who has a playlist of ‘how to’ videos.” Katie swirls her wine. “The kid’ll end up in nappy origami or some shit.”

I laugh and turn to Ivy. “How’s Maylie doing about the fact she literally is about to drop her baby?”

“Maylie’s fine,” Ivy says, reaching for a crisp. “It’s Mace that’s the problem. He’s like a sleep-deprived pitbull. Every time she’s so much as twinges, he’s having a heart attack. Braxton Hicks nearly put him in the ground.”

The front door opens, and my heart skips a beat, then another, as Dash steps inside.

His eyes automatically find me, and he scorches my entire body with that look.

Riot comes in behind him, and Ivy taps my thigh, sliding her glass onto the table as she stands. “And that’s our cue to get going.”

Katie drains her glass in one long swig.

“You guys don’t have to leave.” I stand with them, brushing the crumbs off myself.

Katie hugs me, squeezing me tight. “Your man just came home looking at you like he’s about to set the world on fire if you ask him to. We do have to leave.”

Ivy steps in after her and kisses my cheek. “Call if you need anything.”

Ivy lifts Seren out of the travel cot so Riot can dismantle it.

I can feel Dash’s eyes burning a hole through my skin. It’s like he’s memorising every inch of me, like he knows if he approaches before they leave, he’ll be on me.

As soon as we’re alone, he pulls me into his arms. His eyes crawl over my face, checking for wounds, for nausea, for symptoms he might have to fight.

I crush my cheek to his chest.

“I missed you,” I say.

“I missed you too.” He brushes my hair out of my face like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever seen. “You feel sick.” It’s not a question. Like he can tell just by looking at me.

“I haven’t decorated the toilet for a while, and by a while, I mean just over an hour.”

“You want tea?”

I shake my head. “Everything I need is standing in front of me right now.”