Roberts, Sarah - His Sugar Baby (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Sarah Roberts

  “With him?”

  Pam stared at her so intently that Cathy shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Cathy waved vaguely. “You know…with him.”

  Her sister’s eyes rounded to the size of gumballs. She huffed a breath. “I don’t believe this! He’s a booty call?”

  Cathy let out a burst of laughter. “Actually, I’m the booty call.” She slowly grinned. It was kind of liberating to admit it. Of course, Pam would think that she was joking. She slid a sideways glance at Pam and snickered at her sister’s gaping expression. “Bet you never thought you would hear me say that!”

  Pam closed her mouth. “No, I didn’t! I can’t believe that you— you!—are having an affair! Is he married?”

  “Of course not!” Cathy was indignant. She mixed vinaigrette dressing in a cruet. “Give me a little more credit than that!”

  Pam raised both hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Sorry. Of course he isn’t. So? Tell me about Michael! Is he gorgeous? What does he do? How old is he? Do you have a picture?”

  Cathy laughed. She deliberately evaded the spate of questions. “I thought you would be more shocked.”

  Pam suddenly glared. “It’s been almost six and a half years since Rick abandoned you and Chloe. I’m glad you’ve found someone else,” she said fiercely. “I want you to be happy. If Michael makes you happy, then I’m all for him!”

  Cathy shifted uncomfortably. “Michael and I—we don’t have that kind of relationship, Pam. It’s not a fairy-tale, happily-ever-after thing.”

  “Right. Got it.” Pam nodded and began ticking points off of her slim fingers. “You sleep together, which means you really, really like him. A lot. And he makes you forget your troubles. And that means he is some kind of guy.” She gave a brilliant smile. “He must be terrific, Cathy. I hope it works out, I really do.”

  Cathy felt all kinds of awful. While her sister had talked, a clammy sweat had broken out on her skin. She couldn’t tell her sister about the arrangement that she had with Michael. She had skated already too close to the truth, but she couldn’t let her sister believe that she was in a lasting relationship. “Pam—”

  The trouble must have appeared in her expression. Pam threw up her hand. She smiled, the warmth of understanding in her clear gaze. “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything or tell me any more about him. I understand. Really, I do! It’s a rough time in your life. You don’t even want to think about commitment right now. Isn’t that why you and Paul broke up?”

  “Well, that was a lot of it.”

  Pam nodded. “Every part of you is wrapped up with Chloe. Obviously, Michael is okay with that, so in my book, he’s a good guy. When, or if, things change between you, then you can tell me all about him. Until then, I’ll just—slowly—die of curiosity!”

  Cathy laughed, feeling both relieved and saddened. “You’re the best, Pammy.” It would have been nice to have been in just the kind of relationship that her sister had described, she thought wistfully. It would have been nice to have someone that she could lean on, who wouldn’t be freaked out by her all-consuming situation, but instead would stand by her, patiently waiting for their time together. It would have been nice to have been able to look forward to a future with someone she loved.

  “How long until dinner is done? Whatever you have in the oven smells great!”

  “I’ll check on the chicken. Why don’t you set the table?” Cathy turned away to open the oven. Heat blasted her face, shriveling the mascara on her lashes. She popped her head back then cautiously bent forward to poke at the bubbling chicken with a fork. She didn’t like the direction of her thoughts. She tightened her lips. Sure, it was nice to fantasize, but at the end of the day, she had to be realistic. She hadn’t lied about enjoying her time with Michael. He was a skilled and often considerate lover. The sex was fantastic. But it was not enough to build a relationship, even if either of them ever decided that they did want more. She and Michael were going to end up nowhere. She closed the oven door. “I think we’ve got another quarter hour. Do you want to have the salad first?”

  “Sure.” Pam was caught by a huge yawn. She covered her mouth with a mumbled apology. “Jet lag is catching up with me. After dinner, I’m going straight to bed. What time do we have to be at the hospital outpatient clinic in the morning?”

  Finally shaking off her somber thoughts, which had left her surprisingly depressed, Cathy smiled with affection at her sister. “At 10 a.m. I’ll wake you in time.”

  “Okay, but I want to make time to go up to see Chloe first.”

  Cathy nodded. The enormity of her sister’s support abruptly overwhelmed her, making tears prick behind her eyelids. “Pam, I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Did you really think that I’d turn you down?” Pam stepped close to give Cathy a quick hug. She said earnestly, “Chloe is my niece, and I love her.”

  “Rick turned me down. And he’s her father,” said Cathy bitterly.

  Pam’s arms tightened again before she stepped away. Her eyes were sparkling with anger, even though she was smiling. “You wouldn’t want Chloe to have that selfish bastard’s bone marrow, anyway. That’d make Chloe bad to the bone.”

  Knowing that it was expected of her, Cathy laughed at her sister’s bad joke. “I guess that’s true.”

  Pam gave a sudden shiver. “I’m not used to this air conditioning. I didn’t think to bring a sweater. Can I borrow one of yours?”

  “Get one out of my dresser.” Cathy carried the salad bowl to the table, along with the cruet of vinaigrette.

  “Thanks.” Pam left the kitchen.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cathy’s reflections were somber as she plated a serving of salad for each of them. Her life was so screwed up. She wondered if it would ever be straightened out. Realizing how defeated her thoughts were, she squared her shoulders. It would take awhile, but eventually everything would be all right. She had to believe that. The first thing that was going to change was Chloe’s condition. She and Pam together were going to see to it.

  Pam returned, wearing a three-quarter sleeve cardigan over her blouse. “I had to open a couple of drawers before I found your sweaters. Your taste in undies has sure changed! I guess that’s Michael’s influence?”

  Heat scorched Cathy’s face. Too bad she wasn’t standing in front of the open oven, she thought caustically. She had completely forgotten that Winter’s things were in her dresser. “Uh—yeah. Michael likes Victoria’s Secret.”

  Pam’s brows rose. Then she grinned. “I’d say that Michael is a very discriminating male.”

  “Shut up, Pam,” Cathy said mildly. It was actually kind of nice to have her sister teasing her. It felt normal. When Pam laughed at her, Cathy felt warmed down to her toes. “Let’s eat.”

  After they had finished the green salad and shared the baked marinated chicken, they cleaned up the kitchen. Pam kissed Cathy, said good night, and went to bed. Left alone with her thoughts, Cathy curled up, having changed into her comfortable sweats, on the sofa with a cup of hot green tea. She balanced the cup on her knee and sighed, letting her head fall back onto the sofa back. It was good to have Pam with her. She had been so unbearably thankful when Pam had agreed to be tested as a candidate for the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. When Pam had turned out to be an almost perfect match, Cathy had cried.

  Cathy slowly drew in her breath, just as slowly releasing it. Chloe might really have the chance that she needed to finally, finally heal.

  She lifted her head and raised the cup to her lips, thinking about the text that she had received earlier. The text was in response to the voice mail she had left Michael, to inform him of her sister’s visit and that she would not be able to see him until after her sister’s week-long visit had ended. Michael’s text had been short and to the point. It was apparent to Cathy that he had not liked that she would not be available, but he had understood. Discretion was key to their relationship, after all.

  Michael had also
texted that he had an unexpected overseas trip. He wanted to see her as soon as possible before his departure. She had agreed to a date for the following week. Pam would already be gone before she saw Michael again, and that was a good thing. If Pam was still there when Cathy went out to meet Michael, she did not think that she could have staved off her sister’s rampant curiosity.

  Of course, she had not divulged to Michael the reason behind her sister’s visit.

  Cathy gave a tiny sigh and cupped her fingers around the warm mug. Yes, discretion was important. She did not want Michael to know anything about her or her life that might lead him to discover who she really was. She didn’t want her daughter exposed to the kind of relationship that she had with Michael.

  When things were over between them, she wanted to be able to simply walk away. When that time came, she would naturally never see Michael again. A strangely hollow feeling opened up in her chest. She shook her head. That hollowness meant nothing, nothing at all.

  * * * *

  Cathy ushered her sister into Chloe’s hospital room. “Hey, baby! Look who is here! Aunt Pammy came to see you.”

  “Aunt Pammy!”

  “Hi, sugar.”

  Cathy stood aside to let her sister approach the hospital bed. She watched Pam gather Chloe into a careful hug.

  “I haven’t seen you in a long, long time.”

  “I know. That’s why I came to see you.” Pam’s gaze flew to meet Cathy’s over the small head. The depth of shock and anguish in Pam’s expression startled her.

  Cathy sat down on the other side of the bed to get her own hug from her daughter. She stroked the shocking-pink silk skull cap. “I love this, Chloe! It’s new, isn’t it?”

  “Uh-huh, and the earrings you got me look really good with it, too.” Chloe fingered the pink plastic hoops in her petite ears.

  “Yes, they do! You look just like a gypsy princess,” said Cathy, smiling.

  Several minutes later, Cathy and Pam each hugged Chloe and blew kisses before they left the hospital room. Pam immediately sagged against the grayish-green wall. Her face was white, and tears trickled down her cheeks. “Oh, God, I didn’t know—I didn’t imagine—”

  “I’m so sorry, Pam. I forgot.” Cathy felt awful. “She wasn’t sick when you and John left. I should have warned you what to expect.”

  “I knew she wouldn’t look the same, of course I did! But–but until I saw her, I didn’t realize…” Pam strove to take a deep breath. She brushed her wet cheeks and straightened her posture.

  Concerned for her, Cathy reached out to touch her arm. “Are you going to be all right?”

  Pam shook her head, shaking off the question, as well. She stared at Cathy. “How do you do it, Cathy?”

  Cathy turned her palm upward, helplessly. “You just do.”

  Slowly, Pam nodded. “Yes, okay then.” She met Cathy’s eyes, her own gaze clear and steady. “Let’s go see Chloe’s oncologist.”

  Even though the procedure had been explained to Cathy, and also to Pam by her own medical advisor before she had arrived, Dr. Richards carefully went through it again. Pam would receive injections of a drug called Filgrastim to move more blood-forming cells out of her bone marrow and into her bloodstream. “We’ll administer Filgrastim each day for five days before the donation. On the fifth day, you’ll receive your final dose of Filgrastim and then donate your blood cells through a process called apheresis, which is similar to donating plasma.” The oncologist went on to explain that for the donation a needle would be placed into each of Pam’s arms. Blood would be removed from a vein in one arm and passed through tubing into a blood cell separator machine. The machine would collect blood-forming cells, platelets, and some white blood cells for the donation to Chloe. Plasma and red blood cells would be returned to Pam’s body through the needle in the other arm.

  “If only one donation is done, it may take up to six hours. If two donations are done on separate days, each collection will take three to four hours,” said Dr. Richards. “I’m certain that your own physician has already discussed the possible side effects that you may experience from the Filgrastim injections, such as flu-like symptoms, but those should disappear shortly after the donation.”

  “Yes, but I’m not concerned about any of that. My niece has already been through a lot more than I could possibly imagine,” said Pam quietly. “Dr. Richards, can we get started?”

  The oncologist smiled and nodded. He stood up. “I’ll let them know that you’re ready to go in.” He held out his hand and shook her hand. “I’m glad to have met you, Mrs. Thompson. I will see you again in five days.”

  The five days seemed to crawl by. Cathy drove her sister to and from the outpatient clinic for each injection. She was worried as she saw that her sister was beginning to feel the whiplash of the side effects. Looking pale and listless, Pam didn’t complain, but she admitted to bad headaches and bone and muscle aches. On the fifth day, Pam’s symptoms seemed to peak. Cathy wanted to take off a few hours from work to care for her sister, but Pam insisted that she would be fine on her own. “I’m having trouble sleeping nights. All I want to do is crawl back into bed, so there’s no point in your being here,” she said tiredly. “You need to save your time and spend it with Chloe, not me.”

  Cathy reluctantly agreed. “But I’m going to be there during the donation, for you and for Chloe.”

  Pam pushed back her lank hair and managed to smile. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  * * * *

  They were told that the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation went well. The initial prognosis was tentatively quite good. After a day of rest, Pam insisted that she was well enough to get out of bed. There was very little time left to visit before Pam had to fly home, and they opted to spend as much of it as possible with Chloe.

  When Cathy saw her sister off at the airport, she exchanged a hard hug with her. They clung together for a long moment. Pam stepped back. Even though tears swam in her eyes, Pam’s expression was fierce as she looked into Cathy’s face. “You’ll let me know? How Chloe does with the donation?”

  Cathy nodded. “Of course I will! As soon as I know anything definite.” They did not need to say anything more. Both knew that it would be weeks, even months, before it would be known for a certainty what effects the donation would have on Chloe. Those months would be filled with immunological injections, because the natural immunities would have been destroyed in Chloe’s body, and careful monitoring.

  Pam tightened her fingers on Cathy’s arm. “Cathy, if you ever need us for anything, you call us. I don’t want you to think that you’re imposing on us, okay? Just call, and John and I will come, all right?”

  “Okay.” Cathy nodded.

  Pam scowled. She gave a little shake to Cathy’s arm. “You will call, right?”

  Cathy laughed at her ferocious expression. Affection for her sister warmed her. She nodded. “Yes, I promise! I will call you. Just take care of yourself.”

  Pam still looked pale from the ordeal. She would need more rest once she got home, but she assured Cathy that she would be fine. “In fact, John will probably baby me. I’ll enjoy that,” she said, flashing a smile.

  “Good, you deserve it.” Cathy waved good-bye as her sister walked toward the security gate. She turned away. Her thoughts were already focusing on her daughter, on catching up at work, and on Michael. For the first time in a long time, her heart felt lighter and there was a spring in her step.

  * * * *

  Murphy’s Law was in full effect, she thought in frustration. Everything that could go wrong had. First, a phone call from her brother-in-law to let her know that her sister had arrived safely home made her late getting away from the apartment. The traffic was bad due to a pile-up on the freeway, and the constant idling, the stopping and starting, had put too much stress on her car. It finally stalled. She had to call for a tow truck to get her to the nearest garage.

  She was still at the garage when Winter’s cell rang. Sh
e wasn’t surprised. Cathy answered it without preamble. “Michael.”

  “Where are you?” There was impatience in his clipped query. They had not gotten together since her sister’s visit due to schedule conflicts. Now, at the first opportunity that their schedules would allow, she was late.

  “I’m sorry. I was going to call when I knew something. I’m at a garage. My car broke down on the freeway.” She hesitated. “I don’t know how long I will be.”

  “Does this happen often with your car?”

  Michael’s curt tone was peremptory. Cathy wasn’t expecting that, and it annoyed her. The series of delays was certainly not her fault. She tightened her fingers on the phone. She tried not to let her irritation come through her voice. “I have an older model. It’s been acting up. It sometimes needs maintenance, all right?”

  “So why didn’t you get it in for servicing before this?”

  “I didn’t have the money,” she snapped.

  Heavy silence greeted her statement. “I will come pick you up in about an hour.” His voice was still curt. “What garage are you at?”

  Cathy was in no mood to put up with an attitude from Michael. The whole morning had already been a bust. It would probably be better to just put off their meeting for a better time when they were both calmer. “It’s really not necessary. I’ll get a cab. Michael, look, it’s been a bad day for me already. Why don’t we do this another—”

  He interrupted her. “I planned on seeing you today before I go out of town for the next two weeks. I’m not going to wait until my return, Winter. I want this to happen now.”

  “All right,” she said stiffly. She gave him the address of the garage. He hung up as soon as he had it. She sat quite still, struggling with burning anger. Michael had been unexpectedly abrupt, cold and demanding. It was demeaning, she thought furiously. She should have said something. He had no right to speak to her like that. Like he was talking to his sugar baby? Her inner voice was derisive. You’ve forgotten, girl. You’re his hired whore. Cathy felt like she had taken a blow to the solar plexus.