I’m still half asleep the next morning when my brain registers the sound of a quiet knock on the door. Shane rises from the bed and pulls on a pair of navy and green plaid flannel lounge pants before he unlocks the door and opens it partway. I can’t see who’s there, but I immediately recognize Sam’s voice. I know it’s early because it’s still dark outside our balcony doors.

“I’m sorry to bother you so early,” Sam tells Shane in a hushed voice. “But I need to ask a favor.”

“Sure,” Shane says without hesitation. “Anything.”

“Can you arrange for someone to drive me to O’Hare? Like right now? I need to catch a seven-thirty flight.”

“Where to?”

“Ohio. To my Mom and sister in Dayton. I’m going to stay with them while I’m recuperating.”

“I see. Are you coming back?”

“Yeah, once I’ve had physical therapy and some strength training to get back in shape. Yeah, I’m coming back.”

“You’d better,” Shane says, and he doesn’t sound like he’s kidding. “My wife will be very put out if you don’t.”

Sam laughs quietly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back. I would never abandon princess.”

“All right. I’ll ask Miguel to drive you to the airport.”

“Thanks.”

“Does Cooper know you’re leaving?”

“No. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell him until after my flight leaves. I’ve had enough drama to last me for a while.”

Shane sighs. “All right. Call me if you need anything. Money, transportation, anything. Send me your out-of-pocket medical bills, too, okay?”

“All right.”

“I owe you, Sam. I’ll always owe you.”

A moment later, Shane shuts the door and returns to bed after shucking off his lounge pants. He picks up his phone from the nightstand and calls Miguel.

Once the arrangements are made, he reaches for me. “Are you awake?” he whispers.

“Yes.”

“You heard that?”

“Yes.”

Shane spoons me from behind and wraps his arm around my waist. His hand covers my belly protectively.

I squeeze my eyes shut when they begin to tear up. “I can’t believe he’s leaving.”

A slight shudder gives me away, and Shane’s lips are in my hair as he strokes my bare arm. “Shh. It’ll be all right, sweetheart. They’ll be all right.”

“You don’t know that for sure. What if he doesn’t come back?”

Shane brushes my hair from my neck and kisses me. “He will.”

“But what if he doesn’t? Anything could happen. He could find a new job. He could meet someone new, someone who will give him what he needs, what he deserves.”

“If he doesn’t come back, we’ll have our hands full with a very grouchy papa bear.”

That mental image of Cooper makes me chuckle. I lace my fingers with Shane’s and hold his hand tight. “I love Sam. He’s like family to me.”

“I know you do. And he’s pretty damn important to me too. He saved your life, and our child’s. I owe him.”

“Promise me he’ll come back. Even if you have to go after him and drag him back, promise me.”

Shane laughs. “I promise. If he’s not back in two months, I will personally go down there to Dayton, Ohio, and haul his sorry ass back to Chicago. Now go to sleep, honey. It’s early. You need your rest.”

* * *

I wake up around eight o’clock and immediately jump out of bed and race to the bathroom. I barely make it to the toilet before my body convulses violently with dry heaves, as there’s nothing in my stomach. “Oh, God,” I groan when the spasms pass. I sit on the floor in front of the toilet, feeling too miserable and wiped out to get up.

It’s only once the vomiting has passed that I hear the shower turn off.

Shane steps out of the shower and wraps a towel around his waist. “Are you okay?” he says, coming into the toilet stall.

I nod. “Growing a human being is hard work.”

It dawns on me that I’m sitting on the chilly bathroom floor butt naked. I shudder and wonder if it can get any worse.

“Hold on. I’ll get your robe,” he says. A moment later he returns, dressed in his plaid lounge pants and carrying my robe.

He helps me stand, slips the robe onto me and belts it, and then he walks with me to the sink so I can rinse out my mouth and brush my teeth. Surely this is what a hangover feels like.

“Were you working out?” I say.

“I just came back from a run with Liam and Jake. Do you feel like going downstairs for breakfast? Ellie set up a buffet in the dining room.”

I groan. “No. I can’t face people right now.”

“You have to eat something,” he says. “I’ll go get you some toast and a cup of decaf, okay?”

“Okay.”

After Shane helps me back to bed, he heads downstairs for my toast and coffee. Not long after he’s gone, there’s a sharp knock at our door.

“Come in,” I say.

The door opens and Cooper walks in, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, looking haggard. There are shadows under his eyes. “Sam’s gone,” he says. “His room is cleaned out.”

I nod, feeling guilty that I knew Sam was leaving when Cooper didn’t. “Miguel gave him a ride to the airport early this morning. He’s gone to his mom’s.”

Cooper sits on the side of my bed, leaning forward to prop his elbows on his knees. His head hangs down and he rubs his brow. “Did he say how long he’d be gone?”

“No. He said he was going to recuperate at his mom’s house, and maybe get physical therapy and strength training there.”

Cooper covers his eyes with his hand and shakes his head. When he finally looks at me, his eyes are bleak. “I fucked up, Beth. I really fucked up.”

I’ve never seen him look so devastated. “Don’t worry. He said he was coming back. He promised.”