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“I’m fine. Seriously. They aren’t even hurting that bad. And most first babies come late.”

Another massive group of kids reaches the porch before this can turn into a full-blown argument. Colston practically throws handfuls of candy at them like he's trying to bribe them to clear the porch faster so his escape route isn’t blocked, and for the next ten minutes, the chaos distracts me enough to mostly forget about the ache in my back.

Mostly.

I’m halfway through telling a little girl dressed like Wednesday Addams that yes, she can have the last full-size Kit Kat when that same ache clamps down across my lower back. It wraps forward, squeezing so hard and fast that the rest of my sentence gets totally choked off.

My hand closes around the edge of the plastic candy bowl and I try to breathe through it.

Yeah, that’s definitely gone to a whole new level… and I’m starting to think maybe Colston has something to worry about.

Sumner’s beside me in a blink.

“Hey, squeeze me if you need to,” he says, offering me his hand.

He takes the bowl right out of my lap and sets it on the small table next to my chair, and I grip his fingers in mine.

I lean forward, hissing a breath in through my teeth while Sumner steps behind my chair. He puts the heel of one large hand against my lower back and presses hard, hitting the exact spot that hurts the worst without even having to ask.

Fucking show-off.

When the pressure finally peaks and starts to let go, I sink back against the cushion with a shaky exhale and let Sumner have his hand back. He flexes his fingers and shakes out his hand but doesn’t complain.

The little Wednesday Addams is still standing in front of me, staring at me with wide eyes.

I try to give her a smile but I don’t know if my sweaty, shaky face is doing what I want it to.

“You still want the Kit Kat?”

She gives me one single, solemn nod.

I grab it from the bowl and hand it over. Then I give her two more to try and make up for the trauma of having to witness that.

Her dad gives me a concerned, slightly panicked look as he grabs her hand to lead her away.

“I’m fine,” I call after them, though my voice is a little breathier than normal.

Sumner glances down at his watch with a frown and I catch him.

“Not helping.”

He folds his arms across his chest. “You don’t mean that.”

I roll my eyes because he’s right but I can’t admit this might actually be labor. The second I admit it is the second I have to face the fact I’m going to have to push a baby out of my vagina.

What the fuck.

So instead, I pull the candy bowl back into my lap and dig through it, figuring if this is really happening, I’m going to need to carb load or whatever. And if it’s not, chocolate makes everything better. “You’re so annoying.”

“That one was closer than the one before it,” he says, completely ignoring my irritation.

Colston pushes his aviators up onto the top of his head, looking between us with escalating panic. “What does that mean?”

“Labor,” Sumner says.

I shove my fingers into my ears. “La la la, I can’t hear you.”

Am I being dumb? Maybe.