That made me laugh. “Rude.”
She shifted, trying to get more comfortable, but her face pinched with discomfort, and that little sound she made, the low exhale of pain she was trying not to let me hear, made my gut twist.
“Hey,” I said gently, reaching for her. “Come here.”
She looked up at me warily. “Jordan, you’ve got a final tomorrow. You need to rest?—”
“And you need your back rubbed,” I cut in, already helping her sit forward so I could slide in behind her. “Come on. I’ve got magic hands.”
She didn’t argue. Just sighed and let herself sink into me, her head resting against my shoulder as I started to work slow circles into her lower back.
“God, that’s good,” she whispered.
I kissed the top of her head. “You’ve been going non-stop, Katie. I can see it.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
She was quiet for a second. “It’s just…hard to slow down. I keep thinking if I stop, I’ll miss something.”
My hand paused for a second before resuming. “You won’t. You’ve already done everything. You came here. You showed up. You’ve carried this whole baby halfway across the world.”
“And I ate gelatoeveryday,” she murmured with a smile.
“Exactly. You’ve smashed it.” I smiled against her hair.
We sat there like that for a while, her leant back against my chest, my hand swiping idly over her bump, which was still doing its own thing. Her breathing evened out slowly, but I could feel it, the quiet exhaustion in her body, the way she’d been slowing down. Like her system was powering down for something bigger.
Something soon.
I swallowed, my heart tightening.
“Kate?” I asked softly, brushing her hair back behind her ear.
“Mmm?”
“Promise me you’ll tell me if anything feels off tomorrow. Even if it’s tiny. Even if you just feel weird.”
She shifted to look at me, her eyes soft but serious. “I promise.”
I leaned down and kissed her slowly, lingering with all the things I didn’t know how to say out loud. That I was terrified. That I loved her more than anything. That nothing, not even tomorrow’s match, mattered more than her and the baby.
“You’re everything,” I whispered against her lips.
She smiled into it. “We know.”
Chapter Seventy
?Kate
The suite was quiet,save for the hum of the hairdryer and the occasional tug of a brush through my hair.
Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting long, grid-like shadows across the marble floor. I sat barefoot at the vanity, a silk robe tied loosely over my belly, watching my reflection shift as my hairdresser pinned the final curl into place.
Jordan had left early, up with the sun, already in the zone. He kissed my forehead, told me to stay off my feet, and disappeared with a grin that barely disguised the nerves I knew were bubbling beneath the surface.
He lingered a little longer this morning. I think he was starting to notice just how big my bump was getting, how heavy it looked on me now. How I was slowing down.
