by Tina Martin
“She is. Ramsey is in the cafeteria with Royal. I’ll go get him for you, okay?”
“Okay.”
Ramsey couldn’t stomach much. He nibbled on a few tomatoes and cucumber slices that he picked out of a salad. He was quiet, Royal noticed. He didn’t want to discuss the situation anymore. Just wanted it to be over. Wanted Gianna and Rianne home. Wanted them to be a family.
“You know she’s going to be okay, right?” Royal asked, glancing up at Ramsey.
Ramsey sipped water. Remained silent. Lost in his thoughts.
Royal hadn’t seen him like this since Leandra. He was disheveled in appearance. Beard, unruly. Clothes looked as tired as he was. “Do you know how I know that? That Gianna’s going to be okay?” Royal asked. “It’s because she’s strong, like her sister. Like Gemma. And because she can take the heat. You know that saying, if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen? Well, Gianna can take the heat. Literally. She’s in the kitchen all day long baking. Creating. Doing what she loves. She can take the heat.” Royal chuckled a bit then said, “Look at everything she’s overcome already. She raised her sister, kept the bakery open, she’s trying to repair issues with her mother again, trying to make up for the years of not knowing her father and managed to marry the most stubborn, hardworking man I know.”
Ramsey’s lips quirked into a smile.
“Gianna isn’t one of those women who fold, give up and wave a white flag. She’s only resting, Ramsey. Healing her body. Preparing for the next phase of her life with you and the baby.”
Still, Ramsey remained silent. Funny the things you remember about someone when you think you are on the verge of losing them. He recalled the first time they met...the dusting of flour on her nose...her smile…her uneasiness. He recalled how her voice sounded when she asked if he wanted a large coffee. She was nervous then and those nerves remained to this day but not as prevalent as they were before – like when they were on their first date and she spilled water all over the table and ran out of the restaurant. He thought about how her hand twitched whenever he held it. The way she chewed on her lip. Clammed up over the phone. Nearly freaked out when she woke up to find him in her bedroom that day. He remembered how she gasped, how her entire body quaked against his the first time they made love. He could hear her moans. Screams. Could feel her nails digging into his shoulders. He admired the way she took care of Gemma…how she put other people’s needs ahead of her own because that’s just who she was as a person. She had a heart of gold.
Royal was right. She’d never given up before. She may have wanted to, but she didn’t. What would make him think she’d do it this time?
Ramsey glanced up at Royal and said, “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. Gianna’s come too far to give up now.”
“Just like Gemma.”
Ramsey nodded, then drank more water. “I would feel a lot better if I had a sign…if her blood pressure will return to normal. I’d even consider seeing her eyes open as an improvement at this point. It’s been days since I’ve seen her eyes. Those beautiful, brown eyes…” Ramsey dropped his head. Absorbed pain.
Royal looked up and saw Gemma walking toward them. She sat down.
“You’ve been crying,” Royal noticed.
“Yeah, I have,” she said, smiling.
“I thought you were going to stay with Gianna until I returned?” Ramsey asked her.
“That was the plan, but then she woke up and asked for you.”
Without asking any further questions Ramsey immediately got up and ran for the stairs. He didn’t stop running until he was standing next to Gianna. Her eyes were closed when he stepped into the room.
“Gianna?” He held and gripped her hand. “Gianna, do you hear me?”
Her eyes, the color of cinnamon opened up to him. She smiled, the kind of smile that told him she wasn’t feeling all that well but it was enough to let him know she was okay.
“Oh, Gianna,” he said lowering his face to touch hers. Forehead to forehead, he said with tears in his eyes, “You had me so worried, baby.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, barely audible.
“How are you feeling?”
She closed her eyes. Paced herself. She opened them again and said, “Gemma didn’t tell you? I told her I feel like I’ve been run over by an eighteen-wheeler.” She grinned.
Ramsey smiled and pinched tears from his eyes.
“Where is my baby girl?” Gianna asked. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s a perfectly healthy little girl.”
“Where is she? I want to hold her.”
“You will, baby, but you have to get out of intensive care, first.”
“I’m in intensive care?” she asked, surprised as her eyes scanned the room.
“Yes. You’ve been here for three days. You passed out and—” Ramsey sighed, not wanting to relive that nightmare. “It’s a long story, Gianna. I’m just grateful you’re talking to me right now because before I didn’t know if—” he paused. “Let’s just take this one step at a time, okay. Right now, I need to call a nurse to notify her that you’re awake.”
“Okay.” Gianna yawned. “And can you tell her to bring me some water? My throat is a little dry.”
“Sure, baby.” Ramsey smiled, kissed her cheek again, then pressed the button on the bed to call the nurse.
Chapter 25
Four days later, Gianna was discharged from the hospital.
She wasn’t expecting a welcome home celebration but that’s sort of what she received when she arrived home – a house full of family and food – a large spread of everything she liked, including buttermilk fried chicken – all prepared by Carson.
“Welcome home, sis,” Gemma said. She and Royal had followed Ramsey and Gianna home, but she still felt the need to officially welcome her back.
“Yeah, welcome home, sis,” Romulus said. “You, too, bruh,” he said to Ramsey.
“Thanks, man.”
Felicity and Siderra went to hug Gianna but Ramsey blocked them from doing so. “Hold up, ladies. I know you love her, but she’s still recovering and very sore.”
“Yeah, what he said,” Gianna told them, holding on to Ramsey’s arm.
“Do you think you’ll be okay in the recliner, baby?” Ramsey asked her.
“Yes. That should be fine.”
Ramsey helped her sit down and made sure she was as comfortable as possible. “Good?”
“Yes. Thank you, Ramsey.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
Gianna leaned back, reclined and breathed away stress. There was nothing like being at home, but what she wanted more than anything right now was to see her baby girl for the first time. Ramsey tried to show her a picture he’d taken, but she refused. She wanted to see her baby in person for the first time. Hold her. Love her.
Bernadette and Mason were still on the way with Rianne, but they were due to arrive at any moment.
“I’m glad you’re back,” Regal said, walking up to Gianna, touching her shoulder. “Now, you can keep Felicity away from me. She keeps following me.”
“You wish,” Felicity said.
Gianna giggled. “I see you two are still at it.”
Felicity’s eyes did a half circle as she walked away to get Gianna a plate of food.
“You gave us quite the scare, madam,” Carson said as he came to sit next to Gianna.
“I’m sorry, Carson.”
“No need to apologize. I’m just glad you’re okay. The castle isn’t the same without you.”
Gianna smiled. “I’m glad you were there to take me to the hospital. Everything happened so fast. It was so chaotic. One minute I’m up and dressed, the next I’m having contractions.” Gianna glanced up and caught Ramsey’s gaze, then smile. “Did everyone get to see the baby?”
“Yes,” Siderra said. “We were all at the hospital…saw her through a viewing room at the nursery. She looks like you, Gianna.”
“Nah, I think s
he looks like her dad,” Gemma said.
“She’s a good blend of both of them,” Romulus asserted.
Anticipation heightened, Gianna couldn’t wait for Bernadette and Mason to arrive with her baby.
“They’re here, sweetheart,” Ramsey said after getting a text from his mom. He walked to the foyer and out the front door, then headed down to meet his parents in the driveway. When they parked, he opened the back door, anxious to see his baby girl. She was sleeping, but that didn’t stop him from leaving a kiss on her soft cheek. “Welcome home, angel.” He detached her car seat from the base then carried her to the house and up the porch stairs with his parents behind him.
He didn’t stop until he reached Gianna, instructing her to stay reclined. He didn’t want her to move and hurt herself. He unbuckled baby Rianne from the car seat then carefully lowered her into Gianna’s arms. Tears bubbled in Gianna’s eyes as she held her baby for the first time.
“She’s beautiful Ramsey,” she said as tears rolled down her face. She sniffled. “Oh my God. She’s so pretty.”
“She is.”
Gianna slid her pinky finger into baby Rianne’s hand. Her little fingers curved around Gianna’s finger. “We made this beautiful little girl, Ramsey?”
“Yeah, y’all made her,” Regal said. “We walked in on most of it...you know, when y’all were rolling around on the countertop and whatnot…supposed to have been making cupcakes…”
Ramsey chuckled. So did Romulus and Royal.
“Shut your trap, Regal, and let Gianna have her moment,” Felicity said.
Hands up, Regal said, “I apologize little Rianne. Thank God your daddy didn’t name you Rayne. With a ‘Y’.”
Felicity rolled her eyes.
Gianna, still cradling her daughter, gave a kiss on the forehead. Tears of happiness blurred her vision. She wiped them away. The pain she still felt from the C-section – evidence of it still hidden behind bandages – no longer hurt. She touched her baby’s face – tracing her eyebrows. She touched her nose, her lips and said, “Hey, baby girl. I’m your mommy.” She sniffled. Smiled. Her heart overflowed with joy. “She’s so precious. Look at her Ramsey.”
Ramsey smiled, admiring his girls.
“It’s like falling in love all over again,” Gianna said.
“Aw,” Siderra said, bringing her hands together. “I can’t wait to know what that’s like.”
Romulus looked at Siderra after she made the statement.
Ramsey glanced up at Romulus – more specifically at the frown on his face. He smirked.
His attention then went back to this moment in his life – to his family all being here to support him and witness this touching moment of when mother first laid eyes on daughter. It was a delayed reunion but a reunion nonetheless and the only way he could describe it was sweet.
Sweet…
That’s the word that would always come to his mind whenever he thought of his wife and daughter or whenever somebody asked how’s married life or how do you like being a father? Gianna and their beautiful baby girl was his life. Gianna summed it up perfectly – it was like falling in love all over again and that was truly sweet.
Epilogue
One Month Later
Ramsey left the office when he heard Rianne’s soft cries from the nursery. Gianna was still sleeping, the reason he had moved Rianne from her bassinet in their bedroom to the crib in the nursery on the second floor. Gemma and Felicity had come over two weeks ago to help decorate the room using a cupcake theme as a guide. Ramsey especially liked Rianne’s name in big, capital letters and pink polka dots on the wall by the crib. The curtains were sheer white with pictures of cupcakes on them. Her crib sheet was pink. Blankets pink. Even the walls were pink – same as Gianna’s bakery.
He walked down the hallway to her room, scooped her light-as-a feather body up into his arms and asked, “What’s wrong with daddy’s baby girl? Are you hungry?”
She cried louder. He was getting good at recognizing what her cries meant. The high-pitched, screeching one meant she was hungry.
“You’re ready to eat, aren’t you?” he asked, holding her securely against his chest as they descended the stairs, heading to the kitchen. “Shh…it’s okay, Rianne. Daddy’s gon’ make sure you eat.”
Her cries eased up when they were in the kitchen. Carson already had a warm bottle ready and waiting on the kitchen table.
“You must’ve heard her crying, too,” Ramsey said.
“I did, Sir…thought I’d make her a bottle for you. I know you need to get some work done.”
“I do, but the family comes first.”
“Of course.”
“And Rianne doesn’t play when it’s time to eat.”
Ramsey sat down at the kitchen dinette, cradled Rianne in his arms and gave her the bottle. That settled her.
“Looks like she has your appetite, Sir,” Carson said.
Ramsey chuckled. “You think so?”
“Yes. Look at her go. That bottle doesn’t stand a chance.”
Ramsey looked down at his daughter and smiled. The little girl was a part of him. A part of his legacy. A miracle. She was precious in his eyes, just like her mother.
Carson flipped a pancake then took cooked pieces of bacon from another pan.
“She’s going to be something else.”
“Yes, she is.”
“I’m glad to see Gianna up and about,” Carson said. “Yesterday, she told me she felt like she could go back to work.”
“She may feel like going back, but it ain’t happening.”
“I know I’m not going back yet,” Gianna said, standing at the kitchen’s entrance with her arms crossed. She was watching him. She loved watching him with the baby. There he sat big and strong, handling tiny, little Rianne with such tenderness. Such love. He’d formed a bond with her. “I love seeing you hold her.”
“I love seeing you, beautiful. Didn’t hear you sneak up behind me,” he said, looking at her. What a beauty...
She’s just gotten out of bed, had on a white robe – the kind you find at fancy resorts – with her hair up in a messy ponytail. She walked over to him, kissed his lips then looked adoringly upon their daughter. She pulled out a chair, sat next to him.
“I’ll take her,” she said, reaching for her. Holding her, she rubbed her back gently to burp her then proceeded to let her drink more of the milk. “I can’t believe it’s been a month already.”
“Me either, but I’m enjoying this time at home with you and Rianne.”
“I’m enjoying it, too. Beth is doing a good job at the bakery while I’m off.”
“She is. Maybe in a few weeks, we can take a drive over there just to see how everything is going.”
“Yes, and we can take Rianne with us so she can see the place where her mom and dad met.”
Ramsey smiled. “That would be nice.”
“Yep,” Gianna said looking down at the baby. She looked back up at Ramsey, holding his gaze. “It would be amazing.” She leaned forward, kissed his lips, her moans filling the kitchen.
“See, this is precisely the reason I can’t make pop-up visits,” Regal said stepping into the kitchen. “Y’all up in here ‘bout to start making cupcake number two.”
Gianna laughed. “We were only kissing, Regal.”
“That’s how it all starts, ain’t it?” Regal said. “I’m out. Ramsey, call me when you get your tongue back, bruh.”
“Regal, wait,” Gianna said, tickled. “Don’t you want to see the baby?”
“I’ll be back after y’all get done.”
“Regal—”
Ramsey chuckled.
“Is he really leaving?” she asked Ramsey right before the front door closed.
“Yep. Sounds like he’s gone. Now, where were we?” Ramsey asked, leaning forward, finishing what they’d started – an early morning kiss before breakfast.
Reading Group Guide
RAMSEY (A St. Claire Novel)
Desc
ribe Ramsey’s love for Gianna.
Should Gianna have consulted Ramsey before she met with Geraldine at the park?
Do you think Geraldine is sincere? Why or why not?
Does Ramsey overreact at dinner when he finds out Gianna met with Geraldine?
Is Ramsey’s issue about control or concern for Gianna’s welfare?
Do you think Ramsey is a good businessman?
Does Geraldine deserve a second chance with her daughters? Is she sincere or does she have ulterior motives?
Was Ramsey being too picky abut the grass issue?
Regal says he needs love in his life. Do you think he’s serious?
What are your thoughts on the baby shower names?
What do you think was going through Ramsey’s mind when Gianna blacked out?
How did you feel when Gianna laid eyes on her baby daughter for the first time?
Thank you for reading, Ramsey (A St. Claire Novel). I truly hope you’ve enjoyed it. If so, please take a moment to support me and my work by:
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Thank you for your support!
Do you want to know how Ramsey St. Claire and Gianna Jacobsen initially met? If so, get The Boardwalk Bakery Series, consisting of the books: Baked With Love, Baked With Love 2 and Baked With Love 3.
Want to read Royal and Gemma’s story? Get Royal (A St. Claire Novel) today!
Discover other books by Tina Martin:
St. Claire Series
*All books in this series are standalone novels and are full, complete stories. Read them in any order.