“I’m thinking,” Jonnas insisted.
“You’re brooding,” Elias said.
“I don’t brood,” Jonnas grumbled.
“You absolutely brood,” Elias accused. Jonnas flipped him off, and Elias grinned. “There he is.”
Jonnas took a sip of coffee before muttering, “I think Dani’s scared of needing people.”
Elias blinked. “That’s an oddly specific thing to say.”
“It’s accurate,” Jonnas said with a shrug.
“And how exactly did you figure that out?” Elias asked. Jonnas hesitated because he definitely couldn’t tell his best friend that he’d accidentally stumbled into a very intimate understanding of the pregnant nurse carrying his child.
“She tries to handle everything alone,” he said finally.
“That’s called being independent,” Elias insisted.
“No.” Jonnas shook his head slowly. “This is different.”
Elias leaned back slightly. “Different how?”
Jonnas exhaled slowly. “She acts like being taken care of is something she has to earn.”
Elias stared at him strangely. “Well,” Elias muttered. “That sounds deeply personal.” Fuck, maybe it was.
Jonnas scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I just—” He frowned slightly. “I don’t think anyone’s ever really shown up for her before.” The thought pissed him off more than it should. Dani acted tough. She was mouthy as hell and extremely independent, but underneath all that, she looked exhausted—like she’d spent her entire life carrying too much by herself. And now she was pregnant on top of it—with his baby.
Something possessive twisted in his chest again. Elias stared at him for another long second before slowly grinning. “Oh no,” he breathed.
Jonnas narrowed his eyes. “What?”
“You care about her.” Elias sounded like he was accusing him of something.
“I’m having a baby with her,” Jonnas countered.
“No,” Elias said knowingly. “You care about her.” Jonnas opened his mouth to deny it, and then stopped because the truth hit him square in the chest. He did care about her, way too much already, and that realization should’ve terrified him. Instead, it settled something inside him, as though a decision had finally been made.
“She looked at me yesterday like she expected me to leave,” he admitted quietly.
Elias’s expression softened slightly. “And?”
“I can’t get it out of my head,” Jonnas breathed. Before Elias could respond, a soft knock sounded at the open office door, and both men turned. Dani stood there holding a folder against her chest, and suddenly Jonnas forgot how breathing worked. She wore light blue scrubs today with her hair pulled into a messy ponytail. Minimal makeup, tired eyes, and God, she was beautiful. His gaze dropped instinctively to her stomach. She was barely showing, but he knew that his child was there, and that thought hit him differently every single time.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked hesitantly.
“No,” Jonnas answered immediately.
Elias smirked. “I was just leaving, actually,” Elias announced, standing. “Try not to emotionally damage each other while I’m gone.”
“Get out,” Jonnas muttered. Elias laughed as he left the office. The second the door shut behind him, silence settled heavily between them. Dani shifted slightly under his stare.
“You’re staring again,” she mumbled.
Jonnas stood slowly from behind his desk. “Can you blame me?” Color crept into her cheeks instantly, which he found cute—dangerously cute. “What do you need, baby girl?” There it was again—that immediate reaction. Her breathing changed, her thighs pressed together slightly, and suddenly, Jonnas knew with absolute certainty that the nickname affected her every single time.
Dani cleared her throat awkwardly. “I, uh, I wanted to give you this.” She handed him the folder, and Jonnas opened it. Inside were prenatal appointment papers, insurance forms, and doctor information. His chest tightened unexpectedly, because this was real—completely real.