Love by Design

by Chris Keniston

  Not until her legs bumped against the bed did she realize he’d been inching her backward. The idea of Forrest and her and a bed had her ready to self-combust.

  The faint sound of distant music chiseled at her mind, unable to stop the burning need, sucking her into whirlpool of marvelous sensations.

  “Ava,” he mumbled, dragging his lips away from hers, tasting the corner of her mouth, her jaw, and slowly savoring his way down her neck.

  Again music played. Not the rapturing melody of an orchestra driving home the crashing of waves as man and woman gave into raging need. “We Built This City.” Her phone. Not even the Queen of England could make her stop and answer now.

  “Ava,” he repeated. “Honey.”

  Honey. Oh, she liked the sound of that.

  This time the distant sound of her ring tone was accompanied by a buzzing against her chest and the Fifth of Beethoven blaring between them.

  Forrest eased back. His hands fell to her hips, gripping her waist. His forehead leaning softly against her. “It sounds like someone wants to talk to us.”

  Resting her good hand against his chest, she sucked in a calming breath. “Whoever it is has lousy timing.”

  “Not really.”

  Tilting her head back, she looked in his eyes. Surely he resented the intrusion of the outside world as much as she did?

  “The next time I have you in my arms like this, I’d rather it not qualify for a set from Great Expectations.”

  She couldn’t help but chuckle. He might have a small point about the cobweb-covered surroundings. But damn she didn’t want to let go.

  Beethoven sounded again and, with a slow, hesitant movement, he pulled back, lifting the phone to his ear. “Maplewood.”

  “Oh. You answered.”

  “That’s usually what happens when my phone rings.”

  On the other end Evelyn blew out a sigh that could most likely have been heard by half of Forrest’s office. “I just got a call from Maggie.”

  “Maggie?” The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong. Except of course that half of Kona is looking for you and Ava.”

  “What?” They hadn’t been gone that long.

  “She’s not answering her phone. You’re not answering your phone. She’s not home. You’re not home.”

  “I don’t need a geography lesson, Evelyn. What’s so all-fired important?”

  “Her sister-in-law has been taken to the hospital.”

  John hit Speaker and slid his hand to enfold Ava’s, giving it a tug to follow him. “How long ago?”

  “I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out why they called me. And where the hell were you that you didn’t answer the phone?”

  “Occupied.”

  At the bottom of the stairs, Forrest let go of Ava’s hand. Rushing to the back door, she rummaged through her purse, and, by the time she’d reached the car, her phone was at her ear.

  “I’ve got to go,” he told Evelyn. “I’ll report back later.”

  Hitting Disconnect, Forrest paused to lock the door, return the key to its storage place and practically vaulted to the car. “Any more news?”

  Ava dropped her phone back into her purse. “As soon as we left, Angela’s water broke.”

  “That’s normal, right?”

  “Yes. Contractions weren’t very close together, so Angela wanted to go home, but Mom wouldn’t hear of it, so Emily took her to the hospital.” Ava whipped out of the parking spot and took the corner a bit faster than he would have expected. “According to the doctor, the baby has flipped.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means my niece is butt-first to come out of the birth canal, and, if the doctors can’t get her to turn back around, Angela’s going to need a C-section.”

  There wasn’t much John could say. What he knew about pregnant women and babies would fill a thimble. Maybe something smaller. All he could do was reach across the console and gently grab her good hand again. Weaving their fingers together, he leaned back, enjoyed the connection—simple, tender—and for a very short ride, pretended this was his family, his world.

  * * *

  Ava rushed into the hospital and up the elevator to the maternity ward. With the exception of the few minutes it had taken to exit the parked car and circle around, Forrest hadn’t let go of her hand. Not for the first time she found herself wishing he didn’t live across the ocean on the mainland. Though she’d sworn off men for a long time to come, she couldn’t help pondering what they might have together, if they only had more time.

  In the waiting room friends and family hovered around a woman in scrubs topped by a white lab coat. Angela’s doctor. By the time Ava reached the crowd, the physician had made her way down the hall and out of sight. “What’s going on?”

  “Baby is in distress.” Already hanging on to her daughter Emily’s hand, Maile reached out and snatched Ava’s free hand. “They’re doing an emergency C-section.”

  “Does this have anything to do with Angela’s endometriosis?”

  Maile pulled her eyes from where the doctor had stood and faced her other daughter. “I don’t know.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Kara spoke up. “The doctors were concerned she might be preterm because of the endo, and that didn’t happen. They don’t seem worried about this, so we shouldn’t be either. First babies are notorious troublemakers. Angela will be just fine.”

  “You got that right.” Grinning at Kara and Nick, Doug moved behind his fiancée, Emily, and rubbed the tension from her shoulders.

  “Come on, guys. It wasn’t my fault.” Kara shifted baby Catherine onto her shoulder. “How was I supposed to know?”

  Forrest’s gaze shifted from one person to the other. “Anyone want to fill me in on what I’m missing?”

  All heads turned to him, and whatever he’d said must have been the right thing, because every single person cracked a smile. Even Maile.

  “I suppose since it’s about me, I should tell the story.” Kara strolled over to a chair and took a seat. “I’d had a bit of a backache most of the night before Catherine was born.”

  “And morning,” Nick added.

  “Yes, and morning.”

  “Back labor,” Doug interjected.

  Maile smothered a smile with her hand. “At my house.”

  “By the time anyone—”

  “Dan,” Maile added.

  “Yes,” Kara continued. “By the time Dan realized I was in labor, things got a bit intense.”

  “No one was sure she’d get to the hospital in time,” Emily said.

  “For a while it looked like Dan would have to deliver the baby.”

  “Dan?” Forrest asked.

  Nick raised a hand. “Family friend.”

  “Some friend,” Forrest mumbled.

  “Anyway,” Kara continued, “there was a lot of chaos.”

  “Think boiling water and shoestrings,” Ava squeezed his arm. “A throwback to the days of old when people boiled water.”

  “And don’t forget the Doris Day movie,” Emily added.

  Forrest’s brow curled in confusion for a moment and then raised high as understanding dawned. “Billy’s reaction earlier today?”

  Emily tapped her index finger on her nose. “Give the man a prize.”

  “So now what?” Forrest asked.

  “I guess we wait,” Ava said.

  Family and friends made themselves comfortable and waited. And waited. Baby Catherine cooed and smiled at her daddy, Nick, who was making funny faces and obscene noises which kept everyone in the room entertained. Finally Maile paced across the room to the edge of the hall and back. “I wouldn’t think it should take this long.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be out with news any minute.”

  Maile looked around the room. “Did anyone tell Kenny we’re having a baby today?”

  Nick nodded. “Kenny’s laying low.”

  That caught Ava’s a
ttention. Kenny wasn’t the sort to sit by the sidelines. Not from what she’d seen and heard about him. And she did remember her brother saying something about him coming to decompress. “Is he all right?”

  Nick bobbed his head again. “Yeah. Nothing a little taste of Paradise can’t take care of.”

  Grudgingly Ava nodded and noticed her brother trotting toward them, his smile reaching from ear to ear.

  “She’s beautiful,” Billy said.

  “Of course she is. Can we see her?” Maile clasped her hands in front of her.

  “In just a few minutes. Mama and baby will be in their room shortly.” Billy turned to his mother. “She’s amazing.”

  Congratulations and backslapping abounded, the tense moments of anticipation slipping away.

  At Ava’s side Forrest chimed in on the revelry. “If she’s as pretty as her mom, you’re going to need to stock up on ammunition.”

  “Don’t worry,” Billy said. “She won’t be dating until she’s thirty-five.”

  “Forty,” Nick added. “And I’ve got plenty of ammo, if you need to borrow any.”

  “Oh, lord.” Emily shook her head. “I can see these girls are going to need their aunts.”

  “Yep,” Ava agreed. “Girl power.” Her phone rang in her purse, and she wondered who could be calling, when just about everyone they knew was at the hospital or on their way. “Hello?”

  “Ava, so glad to reach you.”

  She’d recognize that voice anywhere: Stanley Smythe, the younger. The archaic bastard she had wrongly thought would be more modern than his father. “Hello.”

  “I understand things are going well for you on the Big Island.”

  “Yes, they are.” No thanks to him. Though the words stuck in her throat, she managed a polite “How may I help you?”

  “I’d like to discuss a business proposition.”

  If he thought she was going to save his sorry ass, he had another think coming. “I’m afraid I’m quite busy at the moment.”

  “Yes, so I’ve been told. Brad and I are attending meetings in Sacramento. We should be back in Honolulu by day after tomorrow. My next stop is Kona. I was hoping you could spare me a few minutes.”

  Things must be even worse than Brad had told her, if her former boss was literally showing up on her doorstep. “You’ve caught me at a bad time. My brother’s wife just gave birth to my niece.”

  “Well, congratulations are in order then. Gives us something new to celebrate.”

  “I really don’t have time—”

  “If you don’t have time for lunch, perhaps a quick drink?” he continued.

  What was the point in stalling? If the man wanted to fly all the way to Kona to make her some pie-in-the-sky offer, the sooner she agreed to meet him, the sooner she could tell him where to stuff his proposition. “I’m sure I can manage to carve out a few minutes.”

  “Wonderful. I’ll call to confirm my day of arrival.”

  “Very well.”

  “Look forward to seeing you again.”

  If Ava didn’t know better, she’d have sworn the man actually meant it. Nowhere in his tone was there any hint of the slack-jawed CEO who she’d publicly insulted when she’d walked out on Emerson & Smythe. “Yes” was the most polite reply she could muster. Disconnecting the call, she dropped the phone in her purse again. While she didn’t have any problem facing the backstabbing goat on her own, she didn’t care for the psychological complications of a quick drink at a bar. A little backup made business sense. Quickly summing up her options, she could come up with only one viable answer. Spinning on her heel, she took in the man standing beside her. Handsome, handy and no longer attached to his phone, Forrest Maplewood could have her insides turning slow somersaults with just a smile.

  No, she would have to find another option. Mixing her business with this man’s pleasure was not the best idea she’d ever had.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Watching Ava’s brow contort from a frown to a grimace as the conversation progressed had John wondering who the hell was on the other end of that phone call. It also had him wanting to reach across the airwaves and change the caller’s tune to something that would put a smile on her face.

  The bigger challenge for him was defining the line in the sand. Technically none of her life was any of his business. A few hotter-than-sin kisses and a little hand-holding did not give him the right to involve himself in her personal affairs. Still, the man in him, who kept tight control of a multibillion-dollar business, was ready to pounce.

  “Ah.” Billy glanced over his shoulder at a nurse in pink scrubs, gleefully nodding at him. “Looks like the latest Everrett is ready to meet the family. Now the rules are only two at a time, but—”

  “Mom should go first.” Emily nudged her mother forward.

  “I was going to say, since she’s in the room alone, if we promise to keep things quiet, we can all go in.”

  Without a moment’s hesitation everyone in the waiting area advanced. Only John remained still. All these people had strong bonds. Having been in Kona only a short while, he didn’t feel right intruding. “I’d better wait here,” he finally said.

  Already a few feet ahead of him, Ava drew to a halt, studied him briefly and then shook her head, extending her good hand. “This is no time to stand on ceremony. Come on.”

  A thousand and one rules of Dos and Don’ts flashed across the screen in his mind. All of them decrees his father had impressed on him. When to stand, when to shake hands, when to speak first, what to gift, think. He was pretty sure, somewhere in that cesspool of data, his father had probably taught him not to intrude on a family moment.

  “Come on.” She smiled at him and waved her fingers.

  In that same screenplay in his mind, Maggie’s voice reminded him, you know they live in a different world than we do. Yes. Yes, they did. Accepting Ava’s hand, he followed the excited crowd down the hall and single file into the room. The small bundle wrapped snuggly in a pink blanket was already cradled in her grandmother’s arms. If happiness could be captured in a single snapshot, it would be the look on Maile Everrett’s face. The woman gave off enough positive energy to light up every island in Hawaii. Probably the entire South Pacific.

  “Tutu has been waiting a very long time for you.” Maile swayed and cooed.

  “Tutu?” John leaned into Ava.

  “Grandmother. Well, actually it’s also Grandfather, but…”

  And, for the first time since the news of the youngest Everrett’s arrival, John saw a flash of sadness settle in Ava’s eyes. He’d not asked where Mr. Everrett was. Hadn’t given the man a second thought until just now. Love, respect and loss mingled together in her gaze. Sentiments that rarely came to mind when remembering his own father. All that mattered to John’s inflexible Patriarch were rigid standards for success. Even now, as president of a company far grander than anything Ironman Maplewood had built, John had no doubt even that achievement would not have been good enough for his father. The newest Miss Everrett was passed from her grandmother to her aunt Ava, sending thoughts of his controlling and demanding father fading in the distance.

  “You only have one arm. It should be my turn next.” Emily stood over Ava’s shoulder.

  “She’s all of seven pounds. One arm is all I need.”

  But even so, John couldn’t help but notice how she carefully held her wounded arm against her body, away from the baby. “Besides, I’m the oldest. Of course I get her first.”

  So maybe the Everretts and the Maplewoods weren’t all that different. Maggie had used that argument—and won—more than once growing up.

  Little Isabella stretched and her left arm popped out from the blanket. Ava used her bad hand to grip and tug at the edge of the blanket, her swollen fingers challenged to get a solid grip on the thin blanket, as the baby waved her arm again.

  “Here.” John reached out and very carefully shifted the baby’s arm flat and tugged the blanket across, tucked it in against Ava. “Th
ere you go.”

  At that exact moment the tiny bundle let out an exhausted sigh, and her droopy lids fell completely closed. Ava glanced up at him. “Thanks. Do you want to hold her?”

  Expecting a wave of sheer panic to overtake him at such an absurd suggestion, he was instead startled to see his arms reaching out.

  “Hold her head,” Maile kibitzed from beside Ava.

  “In the crook of your arm is easiest,” Billy added.

  John raised his gaze momentarily to Billy, surprised the man wasn’t objecting strenuously to the handoff. Encouragement and pride were the only emotions reflected in the new father’s gaze and gave John another piece of the Everrett family puzzle. The friendships, the loyalty, the respect spanning from family members to former sailors to friends that had been surrounding John like a warm summer breeze fell on Billy’s shoulders, a gentle giant. For a fraction of a second John understood the earlier look in Ava’s eyes. The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree. A comforting thought for the newest Everrett, and another reason why John was better off building companies than families.

  “There you go.” Ava smiled up at him.

  Nestled in the bend of his elbow, the tiniest featherweight rested in his arms. The word miracle came quickly to mind. An overused cliché until this moment. One tiny foot kicked underneath the cotton cocoon, and John almost laughed. This kid definitely wanted out of the blanket. He wondered, what would her life be like? Would she be the bookworm, like Maggie? Or the chatterbox, like Rose, or maybe the shopaholic, like Heather? Or perhaps she’d be the one to cure cancer. Maybe the first female president of the United States.

  And maybe, just maybe, instead of spending all these years proving he was a better businessman than his father, maybe John should have tried for being a better man. A better husband. A better father. Maybe.

  * * *

  “This was just what I needed.” Annette Deluca leaned back in the wicker chair at her favorite open-air restaurant. “I’ll have a coconut chichi.”