Ava moved through the spacious entryway into a large room with vaulted ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. She had visited a few times for various barbecues, but she never failed to gawk at the beauty of the ocean showcased to perfection by the tall windows. “Yeah, Declan said she would want to go to bed early, but I kinda thought it would be after dinner.” Looking around the empty room, she asked, “Is everyone else already gone?”

Suzy nodded. “Beth and her son Henry were the last ones other than Ella, and they left a few minutes ago. I don’t know why Ella didn’t just agree to stay. As you can see, she’s perfectly at home here.”

Ava smothered a smile as Ella snored softly, blissfully unaware of being watched. As she was wondering whether to wake her or not, Ella suddenly jerked before jumping from the couch faster than anyone with a belly her size should have been capable of. Both Ava and Suzy stared at her in surprise. Ella rubbed her back and started chanting, “No, no, no, oh God, no!”

“Els, what the hell?” Suzy asked, looking confused.

“Maybe she’s talking in her sleep,” Ava suggested, staring at her sister-in-law.

“Oh, Suzy, I’m so sorry,” Ella moaned. “I must have peed on your couch.”

At Ella’s words, Suzy and Ava looked to where Ella was pointing and a puddle of liquid was visible against the tan leather. Ava had to give Suzy points for composure as she only looked mildly green before saying, “Er—it’s okay. I mean shit happens . . . or pee, I guess in this case.”

Ella looked horrified and on the verge of tears before her expression froze. It was startling to see someone go blank in the blink of an eye; hell, it was rather alarming. “Ella?” Ava moved forward, putting her hand on the other woman’s arm. “Is everything all right?”

Then Ella said something that put the fear of God into Ava. “I . . . I think I might be having contractions.”

Suzy jumped forward as if shot from a cannon. “Oh, fuck balls! Your water broke, didn’t it?”

Ella started laughing, causing both Ava and Suzy to panic. “Stop!” Suzy shouted. “My God, don’t move.” Pointing to Ella’s belly, she added, “And try not to wiggle that thing—like at all.”

“But shouldn’t she sit down or lie down?” Ava asked, not knowing what to do next. Suddenly, it hit her, and she pulled her phone from her pocket. “We need to Google it. Google will tell us what to do!”

“Screw that,” Suzy said. “We need nine-one-one. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got no plans to pull a baby from Ella’s vajajay today. Call for help now!”

“Guys, guys . . . guys!” Finally, Ella’s yelling got through the argument that Ava and Suzy were having. “You just need to take me to the hospital. This is my first baby, so I’ll be in labor for hours. Now someone please call Declan and then let’s go by my house and get my suitcase.”

Suzy looked at Ava, clearly perplexed. “Why is she so calm?”

“Maybe she’s on something,” Ava whispered back.

When Ella’s stomach rippled alarmingly, they all held their breath. Ella took several deep breaths before suddenly glaring at them. “I’m not on anything, but if you two would get your fingers out of your asses, I might get to the hospital and get some drugs. Now move!”

They gaped at her, before jumping into action. With a hand on each of Ella’s elbows, they helped her down the steps and to Ava’s car. “Um—aren’t your clothes wet?” Ava asked.

“And your point is?” Ella snapped before throwing open the door.

“Never mind,” Ava squeaked out, running around the front of the car and to the driver’s side. Suzy stood next to the car uncertainly. Ava jerked a thumb at the backseat. “Oh, hell no, you’re not getting out of this. Get in!” Suzy bit off a curse before getting in behind Ella.

When they pulled out of the driveway, Ella started sobbing. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I said that. I don’t know what came over me. I was just so angry.”

“It’s fine,” Ava assured her, throwing a look at Suzy in the rearview mirror.

Patting Ella’s shoulder, Suzy said, “Uh-huh, no problem, Els. A little scary there for a moment, but it’s all good.”

When they reached Ella’s house, Ava ran inside first, opening the door while Suzy helped Ella. They quickly found her some dry clothes and located the suitcase for the hospital. Ava tried to talk a very panicked Declan off the ledge. Finally, Jason took the phone and assured her that they were leaving Charleston now. Ava knew it would take them roughly two hours to make the trip home.

Ella appeared to have one more contraction in the car and they were all digging their fingernails into the leather upholstery before it was over. Ava was extremely grateful to be in the hospital surrounded by professionals who handled stuff like this every day. While she and Suzy struggled to fill out paperwork, Ella was settled into a room to impatiently await the arrival of her husband.

For some reason, Ella was determined to hold off an epidural until things were further advanced. That meant with every contraction that hit, she turned into someone with a full-blown multiple personality disorder. One moment she was her usual sweet, soft-spoken self and the next moment she was slinging insults like a pro. Suzy and Ava had been in the room with her for over an hour, and they were exhausted. When the bedside monitor showed another contraction building, they braced for the onslaught they knew was coming.

“Where in the hell is Declan?” Ella yelled through gritted teeth. “Did either of you even bother to call him?”

“Here we go again,” Suzy said under her breath as she looked at a profusely sweating Ella. “Yes, dear, he’s on his way, remember?”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid, you . . . whore bag!”

Ava couldn’t help it; the look on Suzy’s face was so comical that she burst into laughter. When Ella’s face turned red, Ava knew she was next in line of attack and braced herself.

“What’re you laughing at?” Ella snapped. “You think it’s funny that your dickhead brother did this to me and then didn’t have the balls to show up? I hate your whole family, you . . .”

“Wait for it . . .” Suzy muttered.

“Skinny, skanky skank!”

“Oh my God,” Ava wheezed, turning away before Ella could see her laughing even harder.