Was she going to tell him, no?
Just as he’d nearly given up, she finally bobbed her head a bit, letting him know she was accepting his proposal. He let out a huge sigh and pulled her left hand away from her face so he could slip the three-carat diamond engagement ring onto her slender ring finger. She held her hand out and gazed at it, even though it was shaking like a leaf on an autumn tree in a stiff breeze.
When Weston rose, she wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life as she began to sob. “Yes! Yes, Weston! I’ll be your wife!”
“Good to hear the actual words, peach,” he said with a chuckle. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
The young men he’d hired to sing his proposal started singing another song of congratulations in an acoustic harmony. Neither paid attention to the words as their hearts pounded and their minds went in the direction most newly engaged couples go in.
This is where it all begins, the rest of our lives together.
Weston danced with his new fiancé to the song the men sang, sweetly. Aulora lay her head on his shoulder and followed along as he led her around the candlelit hospital lobby, making circles as they went.
It wasn’t his ideal place to make such a grand gesture, but he’d found himself thinking more and more about how to ask her to marry him and this place seemed like a very good idea. With the birth of her baby sister and the start of her family again, Weston found he wanted to be a real part of it all. Not just the guy who was with Aulora went it all went down. He wanted to be more than that.
When the song ended, Aulora raised her head and looked at Weston. “Thank you, West.” Her thick, dark lashes still held a couple of tears, looking like rain drops on branches. When she blinked, they fell down her cheeks that were pink with what he thought might be excitement.
She looked into the golden eyes of the man she’d one day marry. His handsome face would forever be etched in her mind. The way the candle light made shadows in the hollows of his cheeks and made a flicker in his eyes, bringing out the green in them. He was fantastic to look at, and she’d get to gaze at him forever.
“Thank you,” he said and kissed her with a sweet kiss that had everyone clapping and cheering for them, somewhat quietly, due to it being a hospital.
When their kiss ended, Aulora saw her father coming out of the shadows, holding up his cell. He’d been taking a video of the whole thing. “Congratulations, you two!” The smile he wore went all over his face. There was no doubt about his happiness with their union.
Aulora was confused to find her father had made it down. She’d left him in the hospital room with Clara. The elevator hadn’t opened up again. “Daddy? How did you…”
“Weston asked me for my approval first, Aulora. Of course, I gave it to him. Once I knew what he was about to do, I told Clara. You can imagine her reaction. I had to sprint down the stairs to video the whole thing. Clara insisted I get it captured for eternity. She’s so sentimental you know.”
Aulora laughed and wiped her eyes. She held out her hand with the new ring on it, wiggling her fingers, making the dim light catch on the diamonds cuts. “Did he show you this, Daddy?”
“No, he did not. Let me see it,” her father said as he put the cell down and took his oldest daughter’s hand to look at her new engagement ring. “Gorgeous! I’d say this is absolutely flawless. Much like my beautiful daughter.”
“Oh, Daddy, I’m far from flawless, but I have to agree about the diamond, it is absolutely gorgeous,” she agreed then looked over her shoulder at Weston who was holding her from behind. “And very extravagant. I’m sure you spent a fortune on it, and I would’ve accepted your proposal if it had been out of a gum machine. But I love it!”
His lips pressed against her cheek. “Yeah, I knew you would. I wanted to get you something that let you know that you mean the world to me. Knowing that you’d accept me with or without money is a thing I truly appreciate, Aulora. I mean that.”
The long day had ended perfectly. Aulora was an engaged young woman, a new sister, and things were looking pretty great for the future. Her cell rang, and she took it out of the pocket of her skirt. It was Clara from her hospital room upstairs. “Get up here, girl. I have to see it!”
“Coming, Mom,” Aulora told her stepmother as she giggled.
Up they went to show Clara the video and the ring and hold the baby some more before they had to leave for the night. Aulora and Weston sat and held the baby as Clara watched the video and cried as she did. “This is just so beautiful!”
“It was,” Aulora agreed then handed the baby over to Weston and went to Clara’s side. She kissed her stepmother on the forehead. “And thank you for giving me, my first sibling. It’s taken a while, but I’m finally not an only child anymore.”
“You’re welcome,” Clara said then hugged her. “I’m looking forward to being a part of making this family grow. I’d like to thank you for being here. Being a real part of bringing your little sister into the world and into our family. You’re a part of her, Aulora. Never forget that.”
“I can see why Dad loves you so much. You’re a blessing in both our lives. I’ll never forget that Hope, and any more kids that come along, are a part of me too. And thank you for being so great. Accepting me and helping Dad see that he needed to make amends with me and my mother was big of you. It takes a special person to do something like that. I hope you know I respect the hell out of you.” Aulora told her then hugged her again. “We need to get out of here, so you guys can get some sleep. We’ll get things ready at your house. And get ourselves settled in the room across the hallway from you. I can’t wait for you guys to get home.”
“Me neither!” Clara agreed then sniffled as what Aulora said had triggered the waterworks yet again. “See you guys soon.” Charles handed her a tissue, and she wiped her eyes. The day had been one, long, hard one but everything seemed like it was supposed to be that way. A good day, all in all.
Aulora found Weston handing the baby to her father and found an ache in her heart when she saw her new fiancé with that baby in his arms. She was sure he’d make a wonderful father someday. But she was still unsure when that day would come.
So much still struggled in her mind. So many things could go wrong. Weston was very much a part of her, and it was settling into her head that if something ever happened to him then she’d hurt like hell. Adding kids into that scary mix was a thing she still was unsure she could handle. And the fact she knew nothing about babies was an issue too. She may be terrible with them.
At least she had her new baby sister to see how she was with them. She’d gain a little knowledge about babies. But would she ever find the courage to have one of her very own?
It wasn’t the pregnancy or even the birthing process she was afraid of. It was the chance of losing something so precious that kept her mind occupied with doubts.
Week one, helping with Hope, went by quickly. Between all four of them, taking care of the baby was a virtual breeze. Week two, when Hope’s stomach decided it didn’t like the formula she was being served, became the thing new parents have nightmares about. Crying that doesn’t stop for extended periods of time. And nothing seems to make the baby happy.
Aulora walked the hallway with Hope in her arms as Weston made a trip to the local pharmacy where some kind of a gas reliever had been called in by the pediatrician to aid in helping the poor baby get some much-needed relief. She tried to quiet the baby so her father and stepmother could get some sleep after being up most of the night with the fussy little girl.
Hope made an odd wheezing sound that startled Aulora, making her stop the constant pacing she was doing with the infant and look at her. She noticed her face was a bluish color and that had her worrying something might be wrong.
Quick steps took her to the bedroom where little Hope’s parents were resting but about to be woken up with what Aulora hoped wasn’t bad news. A quick knock at the door had her father saying, “Come in.”
�
�Dad, the baby’s color isn’t right,” Aulora said as she came into the large bedroom.
Clara sat up in the bed with wide eyes, “Bring her here!”
Hope had stopped crying. The only sound she made was the wheezing sound that had her father calling the paramedics. “She didn’t have anything in her mouth, did she?”
“No, she was crying with her tummy again. Weston should be back soon with the gas drops. Then she stopped crying all of a sudden and started making this sound.” Aulora watched as Clara placed her fingers over the baby’s heart.
“It’s beating oddly,” Clara said, and tears began running down her cheeks. “Tell them to hurry, Charles.”
Aulora’s father got out of the king-sized bed and made the call as he went to put something besides pajamas on, leaving Aulora and Clara alone with the baby who seemed to be struggling to breathe. “I’m sure she’ll be all right, Clara.”
“She has to be, Aulora. She just has to,” Clara said as she made sure Hope’s little head and chest were elevated as she lay her on a pillow in front of her. “I’m sure it has to do with that damn heart murmur and the fact she has so much gas. It’s causing her distress.”
“This is just an idea. I have no experience at all with babies but do you think you should start breastfeeding her and getting rid of the formula? Perhaps she’d have less gas if you did that,” Aulora offered.
“You may be right. The truth is, I didn’t want my breasts to hurt and get all stretched out and become saggy once she was done breastfeeding. That seems pretty selfish right now.” Clara picked up the baby who was still making the odd sound. “You stay with my, baby girl. Your momma will do what she needs to.”
Aulora ran her hand over the baby’s tiny head. “It must be so hard for you to see her this way. I can’t imagine. If I feel this worried, what you and Dad feel must be excruciating.”
Clara could only nod as her heart was in her throat. Charles came back into the bedroom, dressed and ready to go to the hospital. “You get up and get dressed now, Clara. The paramedics should be here in ten minutes.”
Aulora kept a watch on the baby as Clara went to get dressed. “Dad, how do people do this all the time? My heart is breaking for her.”
Her father wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “Baby, it’s just life. It’s full of ups and downs. When you’re a parent, so many things are out of your control. No one knows how to actually deal with stuff like this. But you have kids anyway.”
Aulora nodded and then heard Weston shouting in the hallway, “Why is an ambulance pulling up?”
Charles let his daughter go and went to open the bedroom door. “Hope’s making an odd sound. I wanted to get her some help.”
Weston came into the room with the little bag from the pharmacy. “I picked up the medicine.” He walked over and looked at the baby. Her eyes were nearly closed as she struggled to take in air. “Oh, my.”
Aulora ran her arm around him and leaned her head on his shoulder. The Butler led the paramedics up to the bedroom, and they took the baby over with speed Aulora found mind numbing. She and Weston stepped back as they used a small ball-like thing to help her breath.
Clara came out of the bathroom, dressed and ready to go. “Can I ride in the ambulance with her?”
The two female paramedics nodded, and they all took off, leaving Aulora and Weston in the room, alone.
“This is terrible, Weston. I don’t know if I can ever do this to myself.”
Weston put his arm around her, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “You think this is hard, to have to bury your child.”
Aulora looked up at him and found his golden eyes glossy with unshed tears. “Come on. Let’s go up to the hospital too.”
The couple left the home Aulora grew up in and made their way to the hospital. The ride was eerily quiet. Aulora had no idea what to say to Weston. She wondered how he could want to have another child. How could anyone put themselves in the place where you might watch your child die someday?
Once at the hospital, the day progressed far too slowly for any of the adults to handle well. Hope was in the NICU, lying in a clear box with a respirator helping her get the oxygen she needed. Aulora found it nearly devastating to see her tiny sister in such a state. She seemed so far away, lying in that box.
Weston and Aulora stood by as Clara and Charles watched the nurse check the baby’s vital signs. “She’s improving,” the nurse let them know. “Is she on formula or are you breastfeeding?”
“She’s on formula, but I want to try breastfeeding,” Clara said.
The nurse nodded then pulled the baby out of the confines of the incubator. “Then you should try to feed her. Even though she isn’t crying yet, you still need to get her to eat some. It’s important to feed her every four hours, whether she’s crying or not.”
Clara nodded and took a seat in a large rocking chair. The nurse draped a blanket over her shoulder and helped her get the baby situated to eat. Aulora took Weston’s hand and whispered, “We should leave them alone to do this.”
“You should watch and learn,” he whispered back.
She shook her head and tugged at him to go with her. He followed along but wasn’t happy with how Aulora was acting. She was shutting down.
They went to the cafeteria and picked up a couple of coffees then took a seat in a booth. Aulora finally spoke, “Weston, would it be a deal breaker if I never had kids?”
He leveled his eyes on her. Would it?
“Aulora, this is the wrong time to be thinking about having kids. I can see how this is affecting you. Let’s not talk about things like that right now.” He sipped his steaming hot coffee as he looked away.
She could see it written all over his face. It would be a deal breaker if she didn’t want to have kids. And she was more than sure, she didn’t want to ever be put in the position her father and stepmother were in. She really didn’t want to put herself in the position Weston had been in when his baby was killed in that car wreck.
She knew what she had to do. Weston deserved someone who would give him children. He wanted them badly, and Aulora wasn’t about to do that to herself.
“I should go to the bathroom,” she found herself saying.
“I’ll walk with you,” Weston said as he got up too.
She sighed then got up. “You stay here. I’ll be right back. It might take a while.”
He nodded and sat back down. “I’ll be right here, peach. Take your time.”
She nodded and left. At the door, she turned back and looked at him for what she thought might be the last time. Aulora couldn’t take it anymore. She was done pretending she could be what he needed.
Her feet were heavy, but she made them move. Aulora had to keep it in her head, she was doing what was best for Weston. As she walked out the sliding glass door of the hospital, she felt a chilly breeze hit her face.
A few taxicabs were parked near the exit, and she got into one of them. “Fifth Avenue in New York, please.”
The driver took off with her, taking her to her penthouse where she had things to do. Her heart was heavy. Things were getting desperate, and much like her father had, years ago, Aulora was leaving the tough times behind her.
When half an hour had passed, Weston went to find Aulora but couldn’t. He called her cell but got no answer. He didn’t want to burden her father and stepmother with anything else, so he went up to see them and made up a story about taking Aulora home to freshen up.
He was happy to find out, Hope was doing much better. They wanted to keep her overnight just to be safe, though. Weston headed out to find Aulora, pretty sure she was freaking out and doing something stupid.
Once he’d slipped into a taxi, he texted her
-Call me. I know you’re thinking about doing something that will hurt us all.-
He had the cab take him back to her father’s mansion first. The staff told him she hadn’t gone there, so he got back into the cab and took it to New York. To her penthouse.
The ride was long, and he still couldn’t believe she hadn’t answered him. Then he got a bright idea and called her mother. “Hi, this is Weston, Evelyn. Have you seen Aulora, by chance?”
“No,” she said. “But I haven’t been out of the house today. I’m feeling a bit under the weather.”
“Sorry to hear that. I know this is asking a lot but can you go down to her penthouse and see if she’s there? She took off from the hospital earlier, and I’m afraid she might be trying to run off.”
“Why would she do that?” Evelyn asked in confusion. “And why were you at the hospital?”
“The new baby had to be taken to it. She was having trouble breathing. I think Aulora’s freaking out about the things that go along with being a parent and is planning on booking it out of here.”
“Oh no! Is the baby okay now?” she asked.
“She seems to be. They’re keeping her overnight just to be safe. So, can you run over and see if your daughter’s home? If she is, do you think you could let me know and keep her there until I get there?”
“I will. Did she say anything to make you think she’d try to run away?” she asked him.
“It’s more how she acted. She shut down. Her sign for what’s to come. Her running away. If it was only me she was running from, I’d let her go for a while. But she’d be running from her father and stepmother and baby sister too. I can’t let her make such a huge mistake.”
“You are good for her. I’ll go check and let you know soon, Weston. Thank you for being so good to my daughter. She’s lucky to have you and I’m going to make sure she knows that.”
“Thank you. I’m fortunate to have her too.” He ended the call and rubbed his temples. A headache had sprung up, and he had no idea if it would go away if he couldn’t stop her from making the mistake she was surely thinking about making.
Aulora made it into her penthouse and headed to her bedroom to pack a bag. She wasn’t planning on taking much. Just enough to get her by until she could go shopping.
“What’re you doing home, Aulora?” her head chef, Laura asked her as she headed down the hallway.
Dr. Orgasm (A Holiday Romance Collection Book 2) Page 62