by Helen Lacey
The twentysomething nurse looked flustered. “Oh, Mr. O’Sullivan, I can’t give that information out to anyone but family and—”
“Liam?”
He stilled, faintly recognizing the voice saying his name. He turned and saw Lucy Monero moving toward him. Lucy was a doctor on staff in the ER and one of Kayla’s closest friends.
He walked three steps to reach her. “Is she okay?” No introduction. No small talk. All he cared about was the condition of his wife and baby.
Lucy smiled gently and summoned him away from the reception desk. “We can talk over here,” she said and made her way into a private corner of the foyer. He followed her instantly and endured another agonizing few seconds before she spoke again. “She’s fine,” Lucy said gently. “She passed out at work and was brought here as a precaution.”
Passed out? Liam’s gut churned. “Is the... Is she... Is everything...” His words trailed hopelessly.
“She’s fine,” Lucy assured him. “Everything is fine.”
The way she said the words made him realize that Lucy knew about the baby. “She told you she’s pregnant?”
“Yes,” Lucy said and nodded.
“And the baby...the baby’s okay?”
Lucy nodded again and smiled. “Perfectly fine. And Kayla’s had something to eat and drink and her vitals are all normal. I think she fainted because she hasn’t eaten much the last couple of days. She’ll be able to go home this afternoon.”
Relief flooded through him and then guilt reared its head. Damn. He should have made sure she was eating properly, given her condition. He’d been so busy giving her ultimatums he hadn’t spared a thought to how she was feeling. He had some serious ground to make up.
“What can I do?”
“Make sure she eats regularly and healthily,” Lucy said, suddenly all physician. “It’s extra important considering her history of anemia. Particularly now she’s pregnant. And no stress,” she added and raised her brows.
Liam expelled a heavy breath. “That might not be so easy, considering the circumstances.”
Lucy expression tightened. “She’s my best friend, Liam. I love her dearly. But it’s as her doctor that I’m saying this. She’s under a lot of pressure and that’s bad for her and the baby. She needs to relax and rest and eat and stop stressing, or this might happen again. And maybe she won’t be at the museum the next time. Maybe she’ll be driving her car or crossing the street. But you’re a smart guy, so I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to fix this.”
His stomach churned again. “I’d like to see her.”
“Sure,” Lucy said and sighed. “Her parents are here, but I sent them to the cafeteria while I examined her. I’ll keep them occupied for a while.”
“Do they know?” he asked, stupidly feeling about eighteen years old.
Lucy patted his arm. “You’ll have to ask Kayla that. She’s in room 4B, just down the hall.”
Liam waited only seconds before he strode through the foyer and down the hall. When he reached her room the door was open. She lay on the bed, on her side, her beautiful hair fanned out on the pillow. But she looked pale and there were dark circles beneath her eyes. She appeared to be sleeping, so he entered the room quietly and stood by the bed. But when her lids opened and he caught sight of her anguished and vulnerable expression, he caved and dropped to his haunches beside the bed, grasping her hand and holding it tightly within his own.
“Honey...” The word left his lips on an agonized groan. “I’m here.”
She hiccupped and swallowed hard. “I’m so... I’m sorry... I was about to call you. I just closed my eyes for moment.”
Liam noticed her cell phone on the bed. “Don’t worry about that. I spoke to Lucy, she said you’re going to be fine.”
She nodded. “I know. I fainted at work. One moment I was standing, the next I was on the floor. Lucy said the baby was okay...but I was so worried.”
“Me, too,” he admitted, his voice raw, and pressed her knuckles to his lips. “But I’m here now. And you’re fine and the baby is safe and everything will be okay.”
She sighed, as though it was the hardest thing she’d done in an age. “I guess I should have eaten all those brownies,” she said and her mouth creased into a tiny smile as she gestured to the tray of hospital food on the small table at the foot of the bed. “I just ate half a sandwich and a cup of Jell-O and I feel much better now.”
Liam’s insides contracted so much they hurt. “It looks as though I’m in charge of making sure you eat right from now on.”
“Coffee and cold pizza?” She screwed up her nose. “Yuck.”
“I’ll make you some of that risotto you like...as long as you promise to take care of yourself, okay?”
She nodded and sat up a little. “I’m sorry that you were worried. How did you find out I was here?”
He briefly explained about the aborted meeting with her father’s lawyer and then pulled a chair up beside the bed. He held her hand, linking their fingers together. The need to protect her and keep her safe surged through him with the power of a freight train. “Your folks are here. Did you tell them?”
She took a breath. “They’re still down as my next of kin so the hospital called them. They don’t know about the baby yet...they only know I fainted at work. Lucy made them leave so I could be examined.” She shrugged and sighed. “But I’m pretty sure my dad is probably in the cafeteria having conniptions over the fact that I fainted. You know how protective he gets. Or rather, overprotective.”
Liam didn’t disagree. “If it’s any consolation, my father probably thinks I’ve lost my mind the way I raced out of Tyler Madden’s office earlier.”
She laughed softly and the sound hit him directly in the solar plexus. “You should probably go,” she said, suddenly serious again. “They’ll be back soon and I think—”
“Not a chance,” Liam said and kissed her hand again. “We do this together.”
She opened her mouth to protest but then anything she was about to say was quickly moot. Because there was a shuffling noise by the doorway. And then a voice.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Liam was on his feet in a microsecond and swiveled on his heels. Derek Rickard stood in the doorway, red-faced, eyes ablaze and clearly unhappy about seeing his beloved daughter sharing space with the son of the man he hated most in the world. But Liam stayed where he was, holding Kayla’s hand tightly, feeling her struggle through to his bones.
“Dad...”
Liam didn’t miss the way her father’s gaze latched onto the fact that he was still holding Kayla’s hand and he glared at him. “Get out of here, O’Sullivan, before I—”
“Dad!” Kayla implored and she sat up farther. “Mom, please...let me explain. I need to tell you something important and please try to understand.” He heard her draw in a long, almost agonized breath. “Liam and I are...we’re...we’re together.”
Her mother gasped and there was a sudden and deafening silence in the room as Derek and Marion Rickard crossed the threshold. Liam stood firm, unblinking, prepared to protect Kayla by whatever means were required. Their gazes flicked from their daughter to Liam, and then back again, clearly trying to work out what Kayla was saying. And when the penny dropped it was loud and shattering and filled with a kind of unholy disbelief.
“No...no...no...” Derek Rickard’s voice trailed off for a moment. “That’s impossible. It can’t be true.”
“Dad,” Kayla said quietly. “It is true. Liam and I are—”
“Are you actually telling me that you’re with him? O’Sullivan’s son?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “We’ve been together for five months and—”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” her father demanded, cutting her off.
Liam’s
spine straightened instantly. Enough was enough. “Mr. Rickard,” he said slowly, carefully, fighting the growing rage crawling over his skin. He felt Kayla’s fingers tighten beneath his, but he was too wound up to stay quiet any longer. “With all due respect, you will not speak to my wife in that way.”
Liam wasn’t sure he’d ever heard silence sound as loud. But there was silence. A load of it. Silence and disbelief and plain old hatred swirling in the air. And most of it directed at him.
Then Derek Rickard started shaking his head and his eyes almost popped out. “Your what?”
“My wife,” Liam said again, slowly, quietly and without blinking. “And the mother of my child.”
Marion gasped again, sharper this time, and the anger emanating from her father was so palpable, Liam instinctively stepped closer to her, almost shielding her from their view.
Derek Rickard took a few steps into the room, glaring at his daughter and shaking his head. “Child?” the other man echoed with clear disbelief. “You’re pregnant? To him?”
“Kayla,” Marion Rickard whispered hollowly, speaking for the first time since they’d entered the room. “How could you?”
Derek continued to shake his head in a blustering, undignified fashion. “I just don’t believe it.”
“It’s all true, Dad,” Kayla said, her voice calmer than he’d expected it to be. “I am pregnant. And Liam and I got married a month ago.”
* * *
It was as bad as she’d expected. No...worse. Her parents were looking at her as though she’d committed the worst kind of sin, and Liam was standing as rigid as a statue beside her. She sat up and swung her legs off the bed, still a little dizzy, but this was a conversation she needed to have.
“You’re going to be grandparents in about seven months’ time.”
Her father’s eyes were filled with so much anger and pain that she actually felt it deep within her bones. But now it was done, and there was no way to avoid hurting her parents. And her main priority was staying calm and protecting her baby.
“I don’t want to discuss this in front of him,” her father said harshly, casting Liam a death stare.
Kayla knew she had no chance of getting Liam to leave. She also knew her father was stubborn and meant what he said. She looked toward her mother for support and saw so much hurt in her mother’s expression that it made her ache inside. And she realized there was no coming back from this...no way to make amends. She’d done the one thing they would find unforgivable...she’d betrayed them by falling in love with Liam.
It was playing out exactly as she’d known it would.
And then her heart began to break.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice wavering, and she felt Liam’s grip on her hand tighten. “I’m so sorry...”
“Mr. and Mrs. Rickard,” Liam said quietly, his voice strong and familiar and still not enough to stop her heart from shattering into tiny pieces. “I know this situation will be difficult for you to accept...but it isn’t up for negotiation. We’re not teenagers and don’t need your permission to be together, although I know your blessing would mean the world to Kayla.”
“I’ll never give it,” her father shot back. “You would be the last man on earth that I would want for my daughter.”
She felt Liam flinch slightly, but he stayed resolute. “I’m sorry that you feel that way. But I am in love with Kayla.”
“Love?” Her father’s voice chilled her to the bone. “You people don’t know the meaning of the word. Do you know what this is?” He shook his head and Kayla saw tears in her father’s eyes. “This is history repeating itself.”
And within seconds her father was gone from the room. Kayla looked toward her mother earnestly, looking for allegiance, forgiveness...or something that would let her know that the breach she’d created was reparable. “Mom...please...try and talk to him. Try and make him understand.”
Her mother’s expression softened. “I don’t think that will ever happen. But I will try, for your dad’s sake...and for yours.”
A small surge of relief flowed through her. “Thank you, I know he’ll listen to you. And Mom...what did he mean by history repeating itself? What history?”
“I can’t talk about it... It’s better left in the past. That’s where it belongs.” Her mother shook her head hopelessly. “You two have no idea what you’ve done.”
“Mrs. Rickard,” Liam said, gentler this time. “If there’s something we should know, it’s better we find out now than later.”
Kayla watched as her mother straightened her shoulders and drew in a long breath. “Be careful what you ask for, Liam...you might find you don’t like the answer.”
When her mother turned and left, Kayla slumped back. She wanted to cry, but was strangely out of tears. More than anything else, she wanted answers. She pulled her hand from Liam’s and sat up straight in the bed.
“Do you have any idea what they were talking about?”
He shook his head. “Not a clue. You?”
“No. What my dad said about history repeating itself makes no sense. What history? When?”
He shrugged. “How about we talk about this later. You need to rest and—”
“Stop trying to pacify me, Liam. I’m rested and I ate something and I feel a lot better than I did a couple of hours ago. I was stupid to neglect my diet,” she admitted. “And I won’t be doing that again while I’m pregnant. But I want to know what my father was talking about. And I want to know why my mom thinks that you won’t like what we find out. Don’t you?”
“Of course,” he replied. “But right now, I’m more concerned about you being rested and well enough to come home.”
Home? There was no chance of that when everything was in such turmoil. “Once I’m out of here I need to go and see my parents.”
He frowned. “Maybe you should leave it for a while. You know, give them some time to get used to the idea. How about we go and see them on the weekend?”
“No. I need to see them today.”
“You’re not being sensible, Kayla. For starters, you haven’t even been released from hospital yet and—”
“I’ll check myself out,” she said defiantly.
“Oh, no, you won’t. If Lucy gives you the all-clear, then I’ll take you home.” He clearly saw her frown so he backpedaled a little. “I meant, to your apartment, since you prefer. But no more stress today, okay?”
“Then stop stressing me out by telling me what I can and can’t do,” she shot back. “You’ve been demanding I set everything straight for the past month, right? Well, that’s what I want to do.” Her expression softened a little. “And I’m sorry about what my father said...you know, about you being the last man on earth and all that. I’m sure he didn’t mean it...not really.”
Liam’s mouth twitched. “Oh, I’m pretty sure he did. But it doesn’t matter, Kayla. All that matters is what you think.”
In that moment she didn’t really want to think about anything other than getting the answers to the questions in her head. When Lucy returned a few minutes later Kayla requested she be released immediately, much to Liam’s disapproval. But her friend examined her again and said she would be able to leave in a couple of hours. She ate some more food under her husband’s watchful gaze and then insisted she needed to rest for an hour. Liam left, albeit begrudgingly, and said he had a few things to do at the office before he’d come back to collect her. Kayla was glad for the reprieve, and once he was gone, she rested for a while, before Lucy returned and she endured a round of questions from her friend.
“So, you guys are married?” Lucy asked, perched on the edge of the bed.
“Yep.”
“Did you have any plans to let your best friend know?”
Kayla sighed heavily. “Of course. It’s just really...complicated.”<
br />
Lucy smiled and nodded. “I get that. You just married the one man your father has categorically said was a no-go zone for years. Even when we were at school I can remember your dad saying to steer clear of the O’Sullivan boys. And Liam in particular since he’s the most like his father. I mean, we all know what people say about them, that they’re cold and arrogant and only think about money.”
Kayla’s shoulders twitched. “He’s not like that at all.”
“He’s not?” Lucy’s brows rose dramatically.
“No,” she replied. “He’s generous and caring and actually very...sweet.”
“Sweet?”
Kayla sighed a little impatiently. “I’m not about to get into a debate about Liam’s character. I’m sure he’s as flawed as the rest of us.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Lucy said gently. “I’m worried, that’s all. I just want you to be happy.”
“I want that, too.”
“And does Liam make you happy?”
She shrugged. “Liam makes me crazy. And annoyed. And outraged. And...breathless...and utterly weak at the knees.”
Lucy smiled. “You really love him? That’s...great.”
“It’s inconvenient,” she said and tried to garner some humor in her expression. “Since I should probably divorce him and make things right with my parents.”
Her friend’s face screwed up instantly. “You’re not, though, right? Going to divorce him, I mean?”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she admitted and sighed heavily. “I married Liam on a foolish whim one insanely passionate weekend in Vegas. And I didn’t take the time to consider the consequences. But today, right here in this room when I witnessed my father’s broken heart...that is the consequence of my actions. And I don’t know how I’m going to live with that.”
Lucy squeezed her arm and Kayla gratefully accepted her friend’s comforting hand.
“Are you ready to go?”
Liam’s deep voice was suddenly all she heard. She snapped her head around and saw him standing in the doorway, his eyes so dark they were almost black. Lucy got to her feet and said she’d go and sign the release form. Once her friend was out of the room, Kayla slid out of bed.