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mother,” Josh says. He bundles Gracie into her jacket. “Are you gonna be okay, babe? Do you need anything?”
    “I’m good. I’ve got my Saltines and club soda.” Kat lifts her club soda like she’s partying at Mardi Gras. “I’m living large, peeps.” She pats her belly. “Literally and figuratively.”
    “Well, I’ve got my phone in my pocket. Text me if you need anything so you don’t have to get up. And hey, for Chrissakes, don’t barf on my brother’s white couch. You know how freakish he is about keeping his surroundings pristine.”
    “I make no promises. The barf wants what the barf wants.”
    “Okay, cowgirl,” Josh says to Gracie, throwing her onto Jonas’ broad back. “Ride like the wind.”
    Jonas reaches behind him and grabs ahold of Gracie. “Say, ‘giddy-up,’” he says.
    “Giddy-up,” Josh replies, slapping Jonas’ ass.
    “Not you , dummy. I already know you can say it. Come on, Little G, say, ‘Giddy-up.’”
    “Gidd-ahp,” Gracie says.
    “Yeehaw! Hang on really tight, cowgirl,” Jonas says. “Because this horse is a wild, crazy stallion.” With that, he bucks, whinnies, and takes off galloping toward the sliding glass door on the far side of the room.
    I watch Jonas as he goes, my heart physically aching with my love for him.
    When he reaches the sliding glass door, he opens it, double-checks that Gracie’s securely holding onto him, and then gallops outside—taking my entire heart, soul, and every source of earthly happiness with him as he goes.

Chapter 4
    Sarah

    The minute the guys are safely out of earshot, Kat instantly leans in like she’s planning a murder. “What the hell is up with Jonas?”
    “Oh my God. You see it, too?”
    “How could I not? The man is always intense, but, good lord.”
    “Yeah, I know. He’s freaking out.”
    “Ya think? Jeez.”
    “He won’t talk about it.”
    Kat frowns. “Maybe he’s scared? Having a baby is a huge adjustment—twins even more so.”
    “No, he’s not scared about becoming a father. He wants to be a daddy more than anything.” I rub my forehead. “I’m guessing he’s worried something might go wrong. But since he won’t talk about whatever the fuck is rolling around inside that complicated head of his, that’s just my best guess. It certainly doesn’t help that I keep buckling over with aches and pains every twenty minutes. Speaking of which. Ow.”
    Kat is instantly alarmed. “Another pain?”
    I nod.
    “The same kind as before?”
    I shake my head. “No, this time it’s just Crazy Monkey. He’s a little troublemaker, that one.”
    “I think you’d better call the doctor, Sarah.”
    The pain subsides. “ Jonas ? Is that you dressed in a Kat-suit?”
    Kat obviously doesn’t think I’m funny.
    “I’m fine now. That time it was just Crazy Monkey stomping on a nerve, I swear.”
    “Don’t discount Jonas too quickly, Sarah. Your hypersensitive husband’s been right before, you may recall—very, very right. You thought he was being paranoid and you wound up bleeding out on a bathroom floor.”
    “Oh, I’ve learned my lesson about respecting Jonas’ intuition, believe me. But if we went to the hospital every single time he thought we should, we’d literally be living there. I’m not even exaggerating. We’d literally never leave. He’s kind of gone off the deep end lately, Kat. Being around him and his special brand of crazy makes it hard for me to figure out when I’m not being crazy enough.”
    “Just err on the side of Jonas’ brand of crazy, okay? As paranoid as he is, you’re sometimes crazy in the other direction. Seriously, you can be in total denial sometimes.”
    She’s right. Denial’s been my coping mechanism of choice my whole life. “I’d never take a risk when it comes to my little monkeys,” I say, holding up three fingers. “Girl Scout’s honor.”
    “Were you a Girl Scout?”
    “No. Were you?”
    “Yeah, of course. Got all my badges and everything.”