by T L Swan
“Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed today, Momma?” Owen asks innocently.
I smirk and try to tame his wild hair with my fingers. “Maybe.”
I stare at the angiogram report in front of me. It makes no sense. I’m in a cubicle with a man in his early thirties who has been brought into ER with a suspected heart attack.
He’s scared, and he has every right to be.
His heart is not doing anything near what it’s supposed to be doing.
“Peter, is it?” I smile sympathetically.
He nods way too fast, as if panicked, and he’s having trouble catching his breath.
“It’s okay. Calm down.” I smile. “You’re in safe hands now.”
I read through the blood samples and go over the chest x-rays. I then go back over the electrocardiogram and the angiogram.
His results are not making any sense and I have no idea what’s going on here. I need to call a specialist down.
“Peter, I’m going to call for a second opinion.” I smile.
He nods. “Is something wrong?” He frowns.
I smile and pat his forearm. “Nothing that we can’t take care of, don’t worry. Try and get some sleep. I’ll get a nurse to come and stay with you while I’m gone.” I draw back the curtain. “Excuse me, Tammy,” I say to the nurse who’s making the bed next to me. “I need someone to stay with Peter while I just call upstairs, please.”
“Sure.” She smiles, walks in, and takes Peter’s hand in hers. “I bet you’re having an interesting day.” She smiles.
Peter coughs as he tries to catch his breath, and nods.
I hot foot it to the phone and dial the cardiology wing. “Hello. This is Dr. Tucker in ER. Can I have a cardiologist come down here, please?”
“Sure thing. Where are you?”
“In E26.”
“Okay, thank you. I’ll send Jameson.” She hangs up.
“Thank you,” I say gratefully.
I walk back into Peter’s cubicle to find he’s having a panic attack.
“Peter. I need you to relax for me,” I say as the nurse puts an oxygen mask on him. He pants heavily as he tries to breath.
Fuck... hurry up, Jameson.
Seb walks through ER and I dart out from the curtain. “Seb.”
He turns. “Oh, hey, Ash.”
“Can you help me for a moment, please?” I widen my eyes in a help me I’m freaking out way. He nods knowingly and follows me into the cubicle.
“This is Peter,” I introduce them. “Peter was brought in by ambulance after collapsing at work.”
“Hello, Peter.” Seb smiles as he shakes his hand. I pass his chart and results to Seb, and I know that he can’t actually do anything that I haven’t done already, but I just want someone with me until help arrives. Seb knows what I’m doing, but goes through the chart anyway.
He frowns as he reads the results and his eyes flicker up to me.
“Jameson is on his way down.” I smile as I try to act calm.
“Good,” he mutters, distracted. “Do we have code blue prepared?”
“What’s wrong?” Peter whispers in fear.
I smile. “Everything is fine, Peter. Stay calm for me.” Two nurses come in and fuss about, sensing the oncoming disaster.
Code blue is a resuscitation team. I’ve already put them on notice. “Yes, code blue is ready,” I reply as my nerves begin to bounce in my stomach.
“Well, Peter…” Seb tries to change the subject to lighten the situation. “You should feel very privileged to have Dr. Tucker looking after you.”
Peter nods as he breathes into his mask, glancing between us. “Are you two dating?” he whispers.
“Well, one day, when Dr. Tucker gets her senses about her and dumps her loser boyfriend, we will be.”
Peter smiles and I grin, too.
The curtain is dragged back, and Cameron stands before us. He’s in his dark blue operating scrubs and is obviously in between surgery.
My eyes widen with horror. Did he just hear that?
He glares at Seb and I swallow the lump in my throat. “Is that so?” he says coldly.
Shit. Yep. He heard it.
Perfect timing.
Seb withers and I begin to perspire.
“Hello. My name is Dr. Stanton.” He picks up the chart and reads it as his jaw continually ticks. Eventually his eyes rise to Peter. “Tell me what happened to you today, sir.”
Peter rattles off what happened, but Cameron is too busy reading his report. He turns the pages back and forth, and goes through the bloods and x-rays.
We all hold our breath as we wait for his prognosis. The two nurses stop what they are doing, too, as they wait. Cam takes Peter’s pulse, frowns, and takes it again. Then his eyes fall to the nurse. “Arrange a transfer to the cardiac wing immediately.”
“Yes, Dr. Stanton.”
He looks at the chart again and frowns. “Call a code blue ahead, please.”
My stomach drops. Cam thinks Peter’s going to go into heart failure at any moment. My own heart starts to race.
Within thirty seconds the room is abuzz with nurses, and two porters arrive to wheel Peter up to the specialty wing.
“What’s happening?” Peter whispers.
“It’s okay, Peter. You’re coming with me so I can keep an eye on you,” Cameron reassures him as he takes his hand calmly. “I’m a little concerned with your results, but you’re in safe hands.”
Peter’s face falls.
Seb sees that as his escape plan. “See you later,” he whispers as he tries to make a get-away.
Cameron glares at him. “Not so fast.” He growls. “In my office. Now!”
My eyes widen.
Cameron turns on his heels and follows Peter’s bed up the hall. Seb widens his eyes and then follows him sheepishly.
Oh my God. Oh my God.
Shit. I look around in panic. What do I do?
For five minutes, I pace in the room as I try to think of a plan.
I grab a file and go to the nurse’s station. “I just have to take this report upstairs,” I lie.
“Sure thing.”
I speed walk to the elevators and then up the two-mile corridor to Cameron’s office.
I go to knock, but my hand freezes midair. I can hear Cameron yelling but I can’t hear what Seb is saying in reply. Is Seb even saying anything?
What the fuck?
I put my head up to the door.
“Do I make myself fucking clear?” Cameron yells.
“Crystal,” I hear Seb reply.
The door opens in a rush and I jump back. Cameron appears, his cold eyes hold mine, and then he calmly walks down the hall towards Peter.
Seb appears and we both stand and watch Cameron disappear around the corner.
We glance at each other, and without a single word we both scurry back to work.
Well, that was awkward.
It’s 5:00 p.m. I’m on my tea break, scrolling through my phone. I have a missed call from Natasha, so I call her back.
“Hey, Ash.”
“Hello.” I smile. “How are you? What’s going on?”
“Well, Joshua just told me that you don’t want to come to Vegas. Why not?”
I frown. “What… Vegas? Are you going?”
“Yes. The boys have a stag night and we thought that we could bring the kids and then have a night out for the girls.”
I frown. Shit... I really don’t want to go. “Yeah, I’m not keen.” I sigh. “I’m just really busy right now, Tash. You go and have fun.”
“Oh.” She sighs. “I don’t want to go without you. Why don’t we bring Jenna?” she asks. “She could do with a weekend away, and there’s plenty of room for her on the jet.”
I scowl because, damn it, I know Jenna really does need a weekend away.
She would be so excited.
“Oh, we’ll have so much fun and the three of us could go out on the Saturday night. My nannies are coming so the
kids will all be fine,” she continues.
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, let me think about it. I’m really not into it.”
“Oh, please,” she begs. “I desperately need a night out and Adrian is coming, too.”
“Adrian is coming?” Hmm, it’s getting tempting.
“Let me speak to Cam and I’ll get back to you tomorrow.” I sigh.
“Okay, babe. Please come.” She hangs up and I shake my head.
I am so not going.
It’s 9:00 p.m. and Cam isn’t home from work yet. His secretary called me at 4:30 p.m. to let me know that he was held up in surgery. That’s code for something is not going to plan. We stay at Cam’s house three nights a week and then my house three nights so that Jenna can still care for Owen in the mornings and afternoons. Cameron would prefer to stay here all the time and get the nanny to work extra, but I feel that it’s important for Owen to still spend as much time with Jenna as possible. Apart from me, she is the only other stable person who has been in his life since birth.
I’ve already retrieved Cameron’s favorite red wine from the cellar in preparation for his bad day.
I didn’t see Cam all day after he roasted Seb in his office, and I’ve just tucked Owen into bed. He’s not happy that Dad’s not home before bedtime. It seems surreal that just six months ago he never even knew who his father was.
I hear the automatic gates open and I smile and fill our heavy crystal glasses with the dark red. He must be exhausted after fifteen hours of surgery.
He comes in and walks into the laundry to take off his scrubs. “Hey,” he calls as he heads straight up to shower.
“Hi,” I call after him.
I wonder what happened to hold him up so late. I’ll give him some time to unwind alone.
Ten minutes later he reappears in a pair of silk boxer shorts. “Hello, Miss Tucker.”
I smile. He has that tone to his voice tonight—the deep I’m about to fuck you really hard tone.
“Hello.” I smile as the butterflies dance in my stomach. They dance partly because I know he’s pissed off about Seb and partly because I know he’s had a shit day... but mostly because he looks off the charts fucking hot right now, half naked, standing here in the kitchen. My eyes drop down his torso to his rippled abdomen and the V of muscles that disappear into his silk shorts. My eyes rise to meet his.
He sips his wine and frowns in approval, licking his lips as he stares at his glass. “That’s the stuff.”
I smile and take a sip of my wine. “Was your day okay?”
He turns to the refrigerator and peers in.
“Your dinner is in the oven,” I say.
“Thanks,” he mutters as he takes it out and sets it on the counter. He pulls up a stool and takes a mouthful of the casserole. Our nanny, Madeline, prepared it for us, knowing that we were going to be late. She doesn’t normally cook, as Cameron likes to, but she helps us out on occasion. He frowns as he chews and looks down at his plate. “What is this?”
I smile. I knew he wouldn’t like it much. “Some kind of goulash.”
“Hmm.” He screws up his face and puts another mouthful into his mouth. “Interesting,” he mutters.
I giggle as I watch him as he eats in silence. “What happened with Sebastian today?” I ask.
His eyes rise to mine, but he keeps eating until, eventually, he answers. “How long has he been flirting with you?”
“Seb is just being Seb, Cam. You know he doesn’t mean anything by it.”
“I don’t like it.”
I sip my wine. “What did you say to him, anyway?” I ask.
“Nothing that concerns you.”
I frown. “Was it about me, Cam?”
“No. It was about him disrespecting me.” He pauses for a moment. “And you.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t roll your fucking eyes at me, Ashley. I won’t stand for it.” He snarls as he takes a bite of his food. “If he says one word out of line to you again, it’s on.”
“He knows we’re together, Cam.” I frown.
“And I know how much respect he has for other people’s relationships.” He growls.
I smile and rub my hand up his thigh. “You’re kind of cute when you’re jealous, you know.”
He sips his wine. “I don’t get jealous.”
“Really?” I smirk,
He rolls his eyes and continues eating. “What is this food?” He grimaces.
I laugh because it really is bad. “You sound like Owen.”
“Did he eat any of it?” He frowns.
I shake my head. “Nope. He ended up having toast.”
“Don’t blame him.” He frowns as he chews. “Much safer option.”
“So, Natasha called me today.”
He nods and keeps eating. “What did she have to say?”
“You didn’t tell me you were going to Vegas with them.”
He shrugs. “Does it matter?” He sips his wine. “I should be the only person who matters enough to convince you to take a trip.”
“Cam.” I frown. “I’m just really tired.”
He looks at me. “Why is that, Ash? Why are you so tired that you don’t want to make any plans with me?”
I stare at him, and for some reason I get all emotional. My eyes tear up.
“It’s not you,” I whisper.
“Ash.” His face falls. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asks gently.
I shrug as I try to articulate my thoughts. “It’s like…” I pause.
“It’s like what?”
“It’s like I had to be so brave and strong on my own for so long.” I frown because I know this sounds ridiculous, even to me.
He frowns as he watches me.
I shrug. “Now that I have you to take half the load, my body has decided to relax and fall apart.” I wipe a tear from my eye. “I feel weak, Cam. I feel tired and weak and could sleep for five years.”
He smiles softly as he watches me.
“And I… I don’t like it because I’m the one who holds shit together,” I stammer.
He smiles and stands, and pulls me into an embrace. “You don’t need to hold shit together anymore, Bloss.” He kisses me softly on the lips. “I’m here to hold our shit together now.”
I smile through my tears. “Promise?”
He kisses me softly and rubs his fingers down my cheek as he studies my face. “I promise.”
I put my hands around his broad shoulders.
“Will you come to Vegas next weekend?” he whispers.
I smile. “If I must.”
“Good.” He kisses me softly. “Now, I know you’re feeling weak, but luckily for you that’s a great companion to how I’m feeling.” He grabs my ass hard and I laugh out loud. “Now get up to our bed, on your hands and knees, because you are about to be fucked into next week.”
I giggle and wipe my eyes. “Yes, Boss.”
3
I glance over at Cameron as he drives. “Explain to me exactly what they said this appointment is about?” I frown. “Like, word for word.”
“Nothing.” He slides his hand up my thigh. “This is just a formality to finalize the changes to Owen’s birth certificate.”
I stare out through the front windscreen onto the rainy road. “Oh, okay.”
He squeezes my thigh between his fingers. “It shouldn’t take long, I don’t think.”
It’s Monday afternoon and we’re on our way to see the solicitor who called me last week. After tackling the traffic, we arrive and walk hand in hand to the office, through the swanky black doors.
The receptionist looks up from her computer. “Hello.” She smiles and takes a double look at Cameron. “Ashley Tucker?”
I nod and swallow the nervous lump in my throat. Solicitors always make me jumpy.
“Take a seat, it won’t be a moment. Can I get you a glass of water or a cup of coffee?”
“No, thanks.” I fall into the seat and look around the office nervously. Cam takes my hand into his on
his lap.
The office door opens and a kind-looking elderly lady smiles. “Ashley Tucker?”
“Yes.” I stand nervously.
She holds her hand out to her office. “Just this way, dear.” I grab Cam’s hand for reassurance, and we walk in and take a seat at her large mahogany desk.
I clutch my purse tightly on my lap as she takes a seat opposite us. “Now. You know why we’re here today?”
“The birth certificate?” I whisper.
Cam smiles broadly. “I didn’t tell her why she’s here.”
My eyes flash to him in question.
The solicitor smiles broadly. “How lovely.” She stands and takes a folder out of her large filing system. “Well, Ashley, you recently became friends with one of my clients.”
I frown.
“Gloria.”
My eyes widen.
“And Gloria has named you in her will.”
I glance at Cameron and he smiles broadly. “You knew about this?”
He raises his cheeky eyebrows, and I shake my head. What the hell?
She takes out her large folder and opens it. “Gloria has left you her collection of Jane Austen books.”
My mouth falls open and tears instantly fill my eyes. “Oh my God,” I whisper. “Are you serious?” I scramble through my bag for a tissue. “That’s amazing.” I turn to Cam and he’s grinning back at me. “Oh, that’s so special to me. Thank you so much,” I whisper. “When can we pick them up?”
She smiles as she watches me. “That’s not all she left you, dear.”
I frown.
“There’s a property on three-hundred acres in San Diego, and a house in Burbank.”
My eyes widen. “I beg your pardon?” The blood drains from my face.
She smiles and nods. “Yes, she left you everything that she owned.”
My eyes tear up again and I look to Cameron, who’s sitting there stunned.
“Are you serious?” I whisper.
“Completely.” She shuffles through the paperwork. “I have some paperwork that you have to sign to make it legal.”