But my life had changed. It was terrifying and exciting in equal measure.

“I woke up and you weren’t there. What are you doing?” Sarai asked in confusion. I’d been standing at the same window for a few minutes, my hand on the sill.

“Just making sure the windows are all locked,” I said softly. She swayed sleepily on her feet but smiled.

“Well, come back to bed. I’m cold.”

She probably was cold, considering that we were both standing there fully naked, and it was the beginning of winter.

“I’ll be right there,” I replied. I still had two windows to check.

She walked away, and I hurried through the apartment, checking the last couple of windows and turning off all the lights on my way to the bedroom. I hit the bathroom, too, so I could take care of business and brush my teeth. By the time I crawled back into bed, Sarai was starfished in the middle, just dozing off.

“Bed hog,” I teased, pulling the blankets back.

“I wanted to make sure I knew when you came in,” she said, grinning as she scooted to the side.

“I’m here,” I said, getting comfortable. I rolled onto my side, stuffed one arm under my pillow, and rested the other across her waist.

“Good. I can’t sleep without you.” She threaded her fingers through mine, and we held hands, our arms wrapped around her belly.

I closed my eyes and smiled. Do you feel us, baby? I thought. You’re not even born yet, but Mommy and Daddy are already hugging you.

Chapter 14

Sarai

I love him,” I reminded myself as I drove to work. I was almost late, again, because Alex had started checking my car out before I left every morning. Today, he’d even lain down on the pavement to look underneath it before he’d let me leave. His worry was driving me crazy.

Oh, he was still the easygoing, joke-telling goofball I’d fallen in love with, the life of any party, but lately he’d been so nervous about everything that it was beginning to make me nervous. He watched me. It wasn’t like glancing over at someone once in a while; it was actual staring. It drove me crazy because I was used to having my own space. Privacy was hard to come by in a one-bedroom apartment even when your spouse wasn’t acting like a lunatic.

I didn’t remember feeling so closed in when I’d lived with my aunt and uncle, and our apartment hadn’t been much bigger even with an extra room. We’d given each other plenty of space to do our own thing, and we’d spent a lot of time outside, which had helped.