My shoulders slump because she’s right. “I should have…”
She snatches another cupcake from the box in her lap. “The way Angie sees it, if you’d been honest with her from the beginning, from the day our dad caught you with the drugs, from the day you made the decision to sell the drugs—that would have saved all affected parties from a lot of heartache. She went around for years thinking she wasn’t good enough for you.”
I throw my head back and glare up at the cobwebs on the ceiling. “She had so much going for her. She was about to go off to college on a full scholarship. I was some drug-dealing asshole whose world was falling to pieces. I knew that she would throw it all away for me if she knew the truth. I couldn't let her do that.”
Sophia exhales heavily. "What did you expect would happen, Ben? You can't expect her to hand over her heart if you can't even be honest with her."
"Guess you're right."
“You hurt her.” I hear the echo of resentment in her tone. That’s to be expected. We’re talking about her sister.
“I felt like I had to do things the way I did them. Your dad threatened to ruin me if I didn’t stay away from his daughter. But that’s not what tripped me up. The one thing that stood out in my mind that night was when he said that I didn’t love her if I was willing to risk her future just so I could have her. He was right. I was about to fuck up my life. I couldn’t take her down with me. If I’d decided to fight for her, your father would have turned me in to the police. And Angie would have fought for me, she would have thrown away her future fighting for me. So I lied. And I broke her heart. And today, she’s a doctor. And that’s the only small comfort that I have to hold onto. Maybe I made the right decision, after all.”
Sophia pushes tears from her eyes. I reach into one of the bags and hand her a napkin. “Wow. I don’t even know what to say…”
"Damn—look at me. Unloading all this drama on a pregnant lady and making her cry."
She laughs a little. "It’s not you. I’m just a hormonal, emotional mess in general.” She reaches across and taps me on the hand. “I'm glad you told me. I just never understood why things ended between you two. You were perfect together…But you know what the good news is?"
My heart twinges, grasping at the smallest sliver of hope. “You and Angie are older and wiser now. You’re adults. All the secrets are out in the open. And you can make a choice to be together for real this time.”
“Yeah, well, I think that Angie may have already made her choice.” My gaze drops to the floor. “She’s in New York with Dr. Fuck Face Elliot.”
There’s a beat of silence. And then Sophia bursts into laughter. I look at her with furrowed brows, more than a little irritated that she’s entertained by my plight.
“What’s so damn funny?” I question.
Her chest heaves and her belly jiggles as she tries to swallow down her laughter. “What’s funny is that you think there’s something going on with Angie and Dr. Elliot.” More laughter. “Dr. Elliot likes boys. It’s why his marriage fell apart.”
I lift a brow in surprise. “How do you know that?”
“It’s supposed to be a secret but Angie says that he misfiled some personal documents with the research notes. There were all kinds of salacious tidbits in there—sexy notes from his lovers, screenshots from CheekyChat, the works!”
A shiver of relief moves through me. Maybe I do still have a shot at fixing things with my girl.
Sophia seems to agree. Her voice comes out soft and encouraging. "It's not too late, Ben. You can make things right with her. I know it."
I turn and give her an earnest look. "Thank you, Sophia. Really." I’m glad we had this talk and I can’t wait to have Angie back in my arms. But while she’s gone, I need to get this place in order for Sophia. “Now, you can’t stick around while I paint. You go home and rest. Leave all the hard work to me.”
“I’m fine with that.” She gives me a weary smile as she gathers up the empty boxes and cups before waddling to the door. “Oh and by the way, all that gossip about Dr. Elliot—you didn’t hear it from me.”
I nod and throw her a wink. “Your secret’s safe.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Angie
As we’re walking out of the room, Dr. Elliot’s hand falls to my shoulder and he gives me an excited, little shake. “We fucking did it, Gallo! We fucking did it!”
My grin is out of control. So is my pulse.
We managed to convince those deep-pocket investors that our project is a venture worth pouring money into. It wasn’t all that hard, really. Our prototype speaks for itself. Those money men took one look at our presentation and saw dollar signs. For me, the thing I’m most excited about is that the device we’re planning will change the lives of millions of people. This is so exciting. It’s exactly what I needed to happen for me after my career fell apart and I landed back in Copper Heights.
After crash-landing flat on my ass, it looks like Dr. Angela Gallo’s on the come up again. Excuse me while I pop my collar.
“This is so exciting, Dr. Elliot! Thanks so much for allowing me on this ride!”
He pats my shoulder again. “Oh, Angela—the ride hasn’t even started yet. We have a lot of work ahead of us. I bet you can’t wait to get back to Copper Heights, pack your bags and get the hell out of that god-awful town.”
My steps falter. “Wh-what? What do you mean?”
“We’re moving the research to New York, silly. All your friends from med school are gonna be jealous. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.” His lips curl and his eyes sparkle with delight. “If I were you, I’d spend the rest of the night searching for apartment. The Big Apple’s rental scene is a jungle! Anyway, I’m catching drinks with a few colleagues right now. Don’t sleep in. Flight’s at 6:30 in the morning.”
With that, he strides off leaving me there in the corridor of the hotel with guilt scoring in the pit of my belly.
My mind goes to Sophia. I promised her I’d stay in Copper Heights, that I’d help her raise the baby. And now I’m expected to move to New York?
And my stomach flips inside out when I think about Ben. Yes, we have our issues but I love the man. I want to work things out so we can be together. But does that mean that I’ll lose my place on this ground-breaking project?
My gut sinks along with my expectations. The opportunity of a lifetime versus the love of a lifetime. My heart doesn’t know how to decide.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ben
Cutting my engine in the small parking lot, I hop out and make my way up to the front door. Gravel and ice crunch under my feet with each step. I have a copy of the keys since Sophia left me to finish up the painting yesterday. I was here into the wee hours of the morning, installing the floor tiles too. Now, I’m back to install the shelves and the smoke detectors. Then I’ll be done and Sophia can go about decorating the place with little frog decals and butterflies and whatever else her heart desires.
But as I’m turning the key in the lock, I get a strange feeling, nagging at the back of my mind. Didn’t I leave the windows opened? I’m sure that I left the windows opened so that the paint fumes could escape overnight.
Moving cautiously, I nudge the door open a crack, not quite knowing what to expect. I hesitate for a second just before pushing again and the space widens. I step inside and am immediately hit by an odor so intense it makes my stomach roil. It’s not just paint fumes.
Fuck—it’s gas!
I step one foot inside. There they are—the frog decals on the wall. Panic invades my senses as a terrifying thought comes to mind. Sophia came in here. Shit!
There's no time to follow protocol or to wait for help. Time is of the essence and I won’t stand by and let something terrible happen to Angie's sister. Lodging a paint can in the crack of the door to let fresh air in, I dash into the place, searching frantically for the pregnant woman. With my nose buried in the crook of my arm, I burst into the tiny office at the back of the b
uilding and I find her sprawled off, sideways on the floor. One leg of her gray jogging pants is damp with fresh blood.
Moving fast but carefully, I slide my arms beneath her body and turn her onto her back. I say her name but she doesn't respond. Pressing my fingers to her throat, I feel a weak pulse under her clammy skin. Dear god…
I scoop up her limp body and carry her out of the building and to the edge of the road. I need to get her out of here. For all I know, that old shack could blow at any minute.
Stretching her out on the sidewalk, I punch 9-1-1 into my phone and get an immediate response. My voice is shaking when the dispatcher responds to the call. "I've got a hot zone on Industrial Row. Most likely a natural gas leak. Pregnant woman in her mid-20s unconscious on the scene. Explosion, possible. We require immediate assistance. I repeat, pregnant woman unconscious on the scene." The dispatcher assures me that help is on the way and we end the call.
But then I think back to that fire at the Broken Cupcake. I think back to how long it took for the first responders to arrive.
One look at Sophia’s lifeless body and I know—I can’t wait for the paramedics. The next few minutes go by in a blur. I load her onto the backbench of my car and tear out of the parking lot. By the time I’m merging onto the main road, fire trucks are already barreling toward the scene. I whizz across town, breaking every traffic law on the book.
I park haphazardly at the curb and rush through the hospital's automatic doors with Sophia in my arms.
My heart stops when my attention catches on the beautiful woman near the ER’s front desk. Angie is there, talking and laughing with Nina as she wheels her suitcase around the desk. She slips out of her jacket and hangs it on the back of a chair.
"... Meeting went great... Just got off the plane…Ready to work..." Angie's got a huge smile on her face, totally oblivious to the fact that everything’s about to get flipped on its head.
The world grinds into slow motion as I carry Sophia down the hall.
"We've got an incoming trauma," a nurse calls out as she and two others intercept me and ease Sophia out of my arms and onto a gurney.
When Angie spots me, her expression morphs. She approaches hurriedly, her questioning brown-eyed gaze on my face. "What do we got?"
I see her entire world crumble when she glances down at the stretcher and sees her unresponsive sister lying there. Her knees give out beneath her and she gasps in shock as she collapses into my outstretched arms.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Angie
“…At which point, first responders were promptly dispatched to the scene. And while ultimately, they were not able to prevent the series of explosive blasts, all persons in the area were safely evacuated in time and the firefighters were more easily able to contain and mitigate the damage, thanks in large part to the swift response of the off-duty fireman who happened to be on the scene…This is Darby Fletcher, reporting for WTCH News…”
I chew on my nails as I pace the waiting room from end to end. I try to keep my eyes off of the TV mounted on the wall. The fiery images of the building where my sister was supposed to open her daycare make me want to hurl.
What if Ben hadn’t showed up? What if Sophia had been inside when the place exploded? What if he hadn’t gotten her out in time and they both got hurt?
My stomach is in knots as I wait for details on her condition. I've been on the other side of this scenario. I've been on the inside of the examination room, participating in the patient's initial assessment while the family waits outside for news.
I'm not handling this well. Neither are my parents. They're sitting next to each other on the uncomfortable plastic chairs. Cousin Franco and Nonna Lucia are there, too. My father's eyes are red as he fights off tears. My mother's head is bowed and she has her hand clasped with Nonna’s. The old lady discreetly twirls her crystal rosary beads between her fingers and utters prayers under her breath.
My gaze moves over to Ben. He's leaned against the doorframe, quietly standing watch. He looks completely distraught as he shoves his fingers into his hair again and again. When our eyes meet, the raw fear in his eyes causes me to brace myself for the worst. I don't know what condition he found my sister in. I don't know how long she was in that state before he scraped her off of the cold, hard floor. I don't know if she'll be all right. It's driving me crazy.
Finally, the doors burst open with a flurry of action. "Is the ER prepped?" Dr. Elliot barks at one of the other interns.
"Yes. Yes, sir."
I rush over in that direction as they wheel the gurney out of the room. "What's going on?" my father asks as he leaps to his feet. My mother clutches his arm as she waits for the doctor to speak.
"We're going to have to operate," the doctor announces. "The baby's in distress. She's not getting enough oxygen. We have to perform a C-section before it's too late."
"But she's not at full-term yet," I say, shaking my head back and forth.
Dr. Elliot dismisses my concerns. "She's close enough. And it's the baby's best chance of surviving. We need to get that fetus out and on a ventilator immediately."
I walk fast, keeping pace with the group of medical professionals heading to the operating theater. "Well, have you run a tox screen? Were any poisons found in my sister's blood? What about an EKG? Why not start with hyperbarbic oxygen therapy? She hasn't had seizures, has she? And what about the baby's vitals? Are there signs of fetal hypoxia? I want to see the ultrasound results."
The doctor’s face contorts with irritation. "We've already evaluated the situation and worked out a care plan," is all he tells me.
"I'm coming with you. I want to be in the operating room."
Dr. Elliot spits out a short laugh. "Not a chance, Dr. Gallo. You're in no state to be in an OR. You stay here with your family."
"Please. I need to be there for my sister."
The man's movements screech to a halt and he pivots to face me. "Get a hold of yourself, Angela," he says sternly. "Go comfort your family and let me do my job! Let me save your sister and niece!"
I feel myself crumble as the medical team hurries to the elevator. I've never felt so helpless. All throughout my time here, I’ve been complaining that nothing ever happens in this hospital, I’ve been craving this type of drama. And here it is. But this isn't some stranger, some random patient. This is my sister, my niece. And there's nothing I can do to make sure that they'll be okay.
Mom's distress sounds fill the air and dad does his best to restrain her as the elevator doors close with her youngest child lying unconscious inside. I feel Ben's arms come around me and I melt into his warm hold, my anxiety bursting out in loud, long sobs.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ben
Angie's bare fingers wrap around the cold metal and she leans forward, filling her lungs with frigid air. The tears have finally stopped although her body is still tense with fear. I stand next to her with my elbows on the railing.
She turns to me with a weak smile. "You should go inside. It's cold."
Not a chance. "I'll stand here as long as you need me." Even as the tip of my nose freezes and my toes go numb, I won't budge. I'll stand beside her because I know how much Sophia means to her. I know that Angie would never be the same if something happened to her sister. She's scared and she needs me to be her rock.
Her dark eyes tilt up to the half-moon dangling in the sky and she studies it in silence for a moment. I watch her shoulders jerk on a deep inhale and she blinks rapidly a few times. Then three magic words spill from her lips.
"I love you..."
She doesn't look at me when she says it. She keeps her focus on the moon. My limbs grow stiff like stone and I hold my breath just in case she decides to take it back.
But she doesn't. "This whole accident with Sophia is a brutal reminder that life is fragile. And love is precious. And I don't want to waste one more second of my life pretending that you aren't it for me." She finally turns her full body to face me, her eyes gli
stening with tears. "I love you, Benjie. I do." She lays her mouth on mine.
Are there words to describe what it feels like to hear her say that to me? I've been waiting seven long years for this very moment.
I slide my fingers into her hair and tilt her face to take her lips. "I love you, too, Angie. So damn much."
She kisses me again. So much heat. So much passion. She's communicating so much with this kiss. Telling me so much with her body. I feel like I've got her heart and all her secrets and vulnerabilities in the palm of my hand.
Cupping my palms on her cheeks, I break the kiss. "I’m sorry that I lied to you, Angie...I’m sorry that I hurt you and made you feel that your love wasn’t enough for me."
She arches back just enough to watch my face. "I don’t want to think about any of it. Just kiss me, Ben. Kiss me and make me forget that I’m afraid...”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Angie
He leans toward me and a lock of his glorious, glistening hair tumbles over his blue eyes. His warm, sweet breath fans over my lips. Hypnotized in equal parts by the scorching lust and the pure love in his eyes, there's no place left for me to run. "Kiss me, Ben. I need you."
With both big, rough hands cupping my cheeks, he tilts my face up to his. His mouth covers mine, branding me with a passionate kiss. Even after we've shared so many kisses, even though his lips have touched mine so many times, I'm still in awe of just how soft his mouth is and how powerful the contact is. When will I ever become immune to this man's effect on me? Do I even want to?
I slide my fingers up the back of his neck and over his silky hair. The whole world fades to the periphery of my consciousness as he licks into my mouth. With each stroke of his velvety tongue against mine, I lose another filament of my sanity.
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