Late August brought the first real hints of peak summer, but Aria barely noticed. At twenty-seven weeks pregnant, she'd officially entered the third trimester, and her body was making sure she knew it.
Everything hurt.
Her back ached constantly with a deep, persistent pain that started in her lower spine and radiated upward. Her hips felt like they were being pulled apart, and the ligaments loosening to prepare for birth. Her feet swelled by evening, turning into puffy masses that barely fit into her slippers. Sleep was a distant memory, because she couldn't lie on her back without feeling like she was suffocating, couldn't lie on her stomach for obvious reasons, and side-sleeping only worked for about two hours before her hips screamed in protest.
And Emma? Emma had discovered Aria's r
