I throw up my hands. “What do you need Sudoku for?”

“To pass the time,” she says between breaths.

“Natalia, I think you’re going to be a little too busy for Sudoku. And when the baby arrives, you’ll be lucky if you have enough time to wipe your ass properly.”

“Oh my God. Just shut up. Shut up,” she says, scrunching up her face and placing a hand on her lower back. “And here I thought I was the drama queen.”

Wrapping her in a loose embrace from behind, I rest my chin on her shoulder. “I’m kidding, prima. Just trying to distract you. You’re doing great, and I’m in awe of your strength.”

“Thank you.”

“Now what else do you need?”

She squirms her way out of my arms and takes a slow spin around the room, her gaze bouncing around as she tries to gather herself. Her eyes grow wide when they land on a device in the corner. “Oh, the electric stimulator! I definitely need that.”

I flinch my head back. “The what?”

She dons a devilish expression, then huffs and puffs. “Paulo and I took this New Age birthing class that encourages the partner who isn’t in physical labor to experience simulated contractions. It’s supposed to bring us closer together and teach him empathy. Supposedly it reduces my pain too.”

“No shit!”

“Who knows?” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “But it’s the least he could do considering he’s the reason we’re in this mess.”

I can’t help grinning at her ridiculousness. “Wait. Why is he to blame?”

“Because he makes me do things,” she says, glancing furtively at the door, then lowering her voice to a whisper. “Things I’d never imagined doing. Like agreeing to a process that makes my vagina large enough for a watermelon to fit through it.”

I mentally cross my legs. Ouch. “To be fair, some people can manage that outcome with their dicks alone.”

She draws back. “Mulher, what kind of dicks have you been fraternizing with?”

“None, unfortunately,” I grumble. “I hear stories, is all.”

“Anyway,” she says as she crosses the room to grab the stimulator, “if the contractions start coming faster, I may need you to strap on a few of these electrodes. I don’t want to change anything else about my birthing plan. It’s already bad enough that Paulo may not make it in time.”

Yeah. No. I’m not doing that. “Dean!” I shout loud enough for my voice to reach the downstairs living room.

He appears at the door in a flash. “What do you need?”

“I’ll explain on the way to the car.”

He did say he’s a strapping young man. That’ll come in handy, indeed.

Chapter Seventeen

Dean

“Say what now? You want me to do what?”

I must have misheard them.