“Nica, Nica, what... What do I do?” She didn’t answer. She couldn’t. My phone laid on the ground, on the other side of the lounger where it had fallen when I stood. “You have to let go of my hand, Nica, so I can call for help.”
She let out a scream and some choice words.
Alex sprinted toward us, hurdling past the flower gardens and stone wall which separated the guest house from the main house. He knelt on one knee in front of me and Nica, not even concerned about the icky wetness underneath him. In two seconds, he had the situation assessed, and he smoothed his face into calmness. Alex turned to me and nodded, a silent way of telling me that he was here to help. Everything would be fine.
“We have to get you inside and out of the heat,” he spoke in a steady tone, lifting Nica’s chin to get her to focus her attention on him. “I’m going to carry you into the house, alright, Nica?” Nica nodded. “Let go of Chase’s hands so she can call Levi.”
“Levi,” Nica managed to squeak out. Alex picked her up as though she was light as a feather and hurried to the house.
I swooped down to grab my phone and tapped Levi’s number. I bypassed the greetings as soon as he picked up. “Nica’s in labor. Come home!”
“What? It’s too soon.” Despite the uncertainty in his voice, I could tell he started to run, as I heard him panting through the phone. “Where is she?”
“Alex just brought her in. I’ll keep you posted.” I hung up. He would understand. Then, unsure of what to do, I called the emergency line while I jogged to where Alex brought Nica. An early, unexpected labor constituted a call to 911, didn’t it?
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” a woman asked.
Nica screamed before I could reply. I scrambled to her side on the floor. Alex had her laid on a thick blanket and her head propped on pillows. She had her legs bent and her feet spread apart. Somehow he seemed to know what to do, as he sat with her.
“Hee-hee-hoo,” they breathed in unison. Alex’s focus was on her.
“Ma’am? Ma’am, what’s your emergency?” The voice on the other line pulled me back to the call.
“My friend. She’s pregnant and I think the baby’s coming.” There was no way I could stay as calm as Alex. I informed the woman that Nica wasn’t due for a month. I rattled off the vineyard’s name and address.
“Is she crowning?” the woman asked.
“What? Crowning? I don’t know.” I looked to Alex for an answer. “Is she crowning?”
Alex’s eyes widened. “I can’t look...” He wiped the sweat off Nica’s forehead. “She’s my sister-in-law, Chase. You’ll have to do it.”
“What?” My brows shot up to the edge of my forehead. “I’m not... She might be my best friend but that’s not... No way!”
“Ma’am, is she crowning?”
“Chase, you have to check,” Alex told me.
I muttered a curse as I maneuvered between Nica’s legs, pushing her dress up to expose her bikini bottoms. I held the phone between my ear and shoulder. Then I undid the strings of her bikini. “Holy hell!” I squeezed my thighs together, reminding myself to refill my birth control pills, and trained my eyes back at Nica’s face. “Yeah, she is. I see the baby’s fu—fudging head,” I informed Alex, Nica and the 911 operator.
Nica continued to writhe.
“The ambulance is on their way, ma’am. Is there someone who can meet them at the door?”
“Shit. No... Alex, can you go to the gates to let the ambulance in?”
“Yeah. Stay with her.” He leaned down to press a kiss on Nica’s sweaty forehead. “Keep breathing, luv, you’re doing great.”
Nica nodded and continued to breathe as Alex had instructed her. Once he left, she turned that breathing into red-faced grunting. I didn’t know if she should be pushing, but I had a role as her best friend and the only other person in the house with her. Make sure she and the baby were safe. It was my duty. Our friendship had just reached insanity level.
There was a loud screech of tires outside the house, followed by running, and Levi calling out his wife’s name. Nica’s answer was another scream and a curse as she bore down.
“Sweetheart, I’m here.” Levi skidded to a halt and dropped beside me. “Is the baby really coming?”
“What the hell do you think?”
People always called birth a form of miracle. It was a miracle Nica wasn’t tearing Levi’s skin off while she went through birthing pains. I took Alex’s job of getting Nica to keep her breathing steady and let Levi witness his daughter’s birth. Several minutes later, a tiny wail echoed, and Levi held a mini-person covered in grossness up to show Nica. I grabbed another blanket off a chaise lounge and handed it to him so he could wrap his baby in it.
Then I witnessed the real miracle.
“She’s here. She’s beautiful,” Levi choked up, staring in awe at his wife and daughter. His eyes welled up and so did Nica’s.
It was beautiful to see so much love. I swiped at a tear that rolled down my cheek.
The ambulance came soon after. I stood aside, frozen, while I watched them take and check on the tiniest being in the world, cleaning her up in the process. They brought Nica out on a stretcher and Levi stayed beside her the entire time. I shuffled behind them, my heart hammering in my chest. My hands felt sticky. They loaded Nica and the baby into the ambulance and Levi rode with them. When the vehicle pulled away and the sirens died down, I felt a strong presence behind me. It could only be caused by one person. And I was alone in the house with him.
I was a mess in more ways than one. I didn’t know what to do with my hands, my sticky, icky hands. So I stood there like I was about to do jazz hands.
“That was quite an adventure.” Alex followed this statement with a nervous chuckle behind me.
That low timbre of his voice hit me right in the solar plexus, right in my core, and produced a delightful warmth. I rolled my eyes and squeezed them shut. His voice made me all tingly (and girly—which I wasn’t too keen on).
Breath held, I turned to him, with my hands splayed at my sides. Had he been half-naked all this time? No, I would have noticed earlier. There was a thin film of sweat covering his top half. I bet if I took a step forward, I’d get that manly, sexy, rugged scent. I dragged my gaze away from the low-hung waistline of his running shorts and focused instead on the skin between his eyebrows. Yeah, that was a safe place. Nothing sexy about that.
But he moved, wiping his forehead with the back of a forearm—the one with the tattoo. I followed his toned arm muscles to his bulging biceps. Yes, bulging. It was safe to focus on that rather than the other bulge below the waistline. Those biceps met strong pecs. The pecs introduced me to ripped abs.
“I suppose I should clean up the mess in there,” Alex said hitching his left thumb over his right shoulder, his arm stretched over his chest. Then he pinned me with those blue eyes a second too long, before strutting away.
I snapped out of it, out of staring at his firm butt.
Shower. I required a shower. Besides washing off the birthing grime, it would help cleanse the lust swimming in my unfiltered mind. Using the breathing technique Nica had used earlier, I hoo-hoo-heed my way to the bedroom en suite, jumping into the cold gush from the shower head. I let out a few curse words at the bite of nearly freezing water on my skin.
Then I remembered Nica hadn’t brought a bag for the hospital. I’d been in the room with her when she’d packed it. I bet it would still be in the walk-in closet where she had set it aside for when the day came. Well, that day was today. There was a good chance that she’d be staying in the hospital longer, since little bundle of joy wasn’t supposed to have come for another few weeks. I paused by the door, sending a quiet prayer that Nica and the baby were okay. I wasn’t a religious type, that was my father’s forte; he had always believed miracles could happen.
Sure enough, the luggage was in her closet, where she had left it. Thank Nica and her OCD preparedness. I’d take it to her, and at the same
time, pay them a visit. As I walked back to my bedroom, lugging Nica’s bag with me, I was shocked to see Alex pacing in front of the closed door. He looked like he was having a conversation with himself or trying to make a decision. His hand massaged the back of his neck. His hair was wet. Had he taken a quick shower too? Had it also been an arctic shower?
“Alex?” I called to him, and he raised his head. “What’s going on?” I stopped a good few paces away.
He smiled, that panty-twisting brilliance of a smile, and I sucked in a deep breath. Only to inhale his fresh shower scent. Was that a combination of lemon and verbena? Gad, he was killing me! Couldn’t he see my stomach quivering under my white shirt?
His smile disappeared when he saw the luggage in my hand. It didn’t take long for me to assume what he probably thought. I rolled my eyes.
“This is Nica’s. I was going to bring it to the hospital,” I explained.
“Oh, perfect,” he said, with his smile back on again with a lower wattage this time. “I came to ask if you’d like a ride... to the hospital.”
“Yeah, that would be great. It would have been tricky to strap this on my bike.” I waited for him to walk ahead of me so I could get my bearings.
We sat comfortably, yet uncomfortably, in Levi’s car. He had left the keys in the ignition. Alex and I took advantage of that. I entered the address of the hospital on the GPS, and buckled myself in. The inside of the Audi felt constricting and I’d almost plastered myself to the car door, because I didn’t want to get too close to Alex. It was too dangerous.
Halfway to our destination, a beeping sounded in the car’s interior. A phone number and Martina’s name popped up on the dashboard screen. Alex pressed the answer button and greeted his grandmother in soft-toned French.
“Olivier?”
“No, Onna. It’s Alex.” He glanced in my direction with a quirk in one corner of his lips. He continued in English, and I knew it was for my sake, “Levi is with Veronica. She had the baby today, and we’re on our way to see them.” We. I liked ‘we’.
“The baby? It is too early?” his grandmother asked.
“Yes, Onna. About a month too soon. Shall I call you once I have more news?”
“Oui, Alexandre... and who are you with?”
Alex peered at me sideways. “Chase is with me.” Damn right I was! “You remember Chase, don’t you? Veronica’s best friend?” He paused, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, as if he was going to add more, but nothing else came.
There was also a bit of hesitation on the other line with Martina. For a second, I thought the call was dropped, but she spoke again, and this time in French. From the corner of my eyes, I watched Alex grip the wheel tighter. To say I wasn’t eavesdropping would be a lie, as I listened carefully, picking up any familiar words from the rest of the conversation. A name was thrown in—Marielle—more than once.
Alex ended the call, and the rest of the ride was spent in uncomfortable silence.
The maternity wing of the hospital was on the third floor. The neonatal intensive care unit was further down the hallway. In a private room, we found Nica resting on the bed and Levi, shoulders slumped forward, hovering over an incubator. I looked to Alex for guidance. Would it be right for us to be in the room with them? I didn’t say anything out loud, but Alex nodded and we entered the room quietly.
Dropping the bag, I walked gingerly to the bed. I hugged Nica gently. She was hooked up to all sorts of tubes and monitors. A stray tear escaped my eye as she sobbed in my arms, and I patted her hair until she was able to talk.
“Did you see her? She’s so tiny, Chase. They did so many tests on her,” she said to me, staring past my shoulder to where her baby rested, encased in a temperature-controlled incubator. I eyed Levi and Alex and bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from crying when I took note of other equipment in the room.
“The doctors said she has jaundice. And they’re monitoring her heart and lungs,” Nica continued.
I sat beside her, and held her close to me. She had to be one of the bravest people I knew. She couldn’t have been doing one hundred percent as well, judging by the heart monitor and IV attached to her.
“How much does she weigh?”
“Four pounds and twelve ounces,” Nica whispered. “We’ll have the test results later.”
We all remained quiet when a nurse came in the room and checked on the little nugget in the incubator. Nica held onto me. Neither of us could breathe.
Levi caught my attention. His eyes were red-rimmed. How long had it been since I’d seen him in the house running to his wife’s side? A couple of hours? Had he been in tears this whole time? I couldn’t forget the enamored look on his face the first time he saw his baby girl. I offered him a tiny smile, a form of quiet support, and he acknowledged it by nodding my way.
Alex was right beside him, his hands stuffed in his pockets, paying close attention to everything. I could see how he would be as an uncle. He’d be the cool kind. The one who’d spoil his niece. The sweet yet overly protective one. I wondered idly how he would be as a father.
On the way to the vineyard, the two of us were back in the cramped car. We were in our own worlds, sitting side by side, but it wasn’t hard to guess what was on his mind. He would release a sigh every so often. The tension was palpable.
As we entered the vineyard’s gates, Alex asked, “Ever thought of having kids?”
It almost knocked me off my seat. “What’d you say?”
He blew air through pursed lips. “Nothing. I’m sorry. My mind...” He sent me an apologetic look, his lips quirking on one side, but not a sign of a smile.
And because I was tired, and the question threw me off balance, I told the truth, “Not after witnessing Nica’s childbirth. I think I’ll have my thighs stapled together.”
Alex’s reply was a chest-rumbling chuckle.
People came trickling in and out of the vineyard the next few days. Lily, Nica’s mom, came back with Maggie in tow, followed by Gerard, Mateo and Jewel—who visited Nica for a few hours before heading back to San Francisco as a promise to our friend. Every day I went to the hospital with Alex, but never alone.
However, we had formed some sort of routine. We’d have coffee first thing in the morning—and it hadn’t escaped me that he’d developed some dark circles under his eyes, much like I had—and he would cook a quick breakfast for the two of us. He never asked what I wanted, but I ate everything he offered. In the kitchen, we’d be alone for a couple of minutes, standing side by side in front of the island, and sipping coffee. Then someone would come in and break the peaceful moment. I was grateful for the disturbance, but missed the proximity of him at the same time.
When we came back to the house after our visit, he’d say goodnight and wander off toward the guesthouse. Levi’s housekeeper would have dinner prepared for anyone who returned for the night. Alex never joined us for meals at the dining table. And I couldn’t help but worry about him.
On the fourth morning, after another restless night, the smell of coffee filtered into the house. Coffee-making was my only way of being useful in the kitchen. Someone else had beat me to it. When I walked in, Martina was seated on one of the stools beside Maggie.
“Good morning,” I greeted everyone.
“Good morning, Chase. We made coffee,” Maggie said.
“Thanks.” I smiled at her and Martina. When our eyes met, I felt exposed, like she was privy to a secret about me. “When did you come in?” I asked her.
“Late last night, dear,” she replied in dulcet tone. She reminded me of Cara, and only then did I realize that Cara hadn’t sent me a text since Nica had her baby. I made a mental note to give her a ring later.
To avoid looking like a fool, standing there gaping at her like she was some kind of sideshow, I proceeded to make myself a cup of coffee. Out of habit, I brought two cups down from the cupboard, but I only poured coffee into one.
“I’d like some of that,” Levi said as he came
into the kitchen. He had a bit more spring in his steps. The baby was doing better every day. The tests showed there weren’t any major health concerns. Nica was healing well too. She didn’t have any worrisome complications during pregnancy and the doctors had said the premature birth had been due to a weak cervix. When she’d found out and shared this with me, she was well enough to joke that she would need a boot camp for her cervix for baby number two.
I handed Levi my cup and poured coffee in the second one. “Who’s with Nica?”
Before answering, Levi took a sip from his cup. “Lily stayed with her last night. She forced me to get some sleep, because I had to drive to the airport to pick up Martina and drop Alex off.”
My hands trembled and I hid it by gripping the edge of the coutnertop. Alex left? And he didn’t tell me? I controlled my breathing, careful not to arouse suspicion. But when I tilted my head up and caught Levi’s gaze, there was no escaping the truth. He knew. I averted further eye contact and focused on my coffee.
Chairlegs scraped on the floor as Maggie and Martina stood and shuffled out, telling Levi they’d be ready to leave for the hospital in a few minutes.
“I better get ready too.” I stepped aside to excuse myself, but Levi stopped me by placing a hand on my arm.
“Chase, a second?” Levi and I had had rough times together. Or rather, I’d given him a tough time while he was dating Nica, and even a more difficult time when he was about to propose to her.
I leaned my back against the opposite counter, and crossed my arms over my chest. “Yeah?”
Levi narrowed his eyes at me, studying me, scrutinizing my features. “Are you in love with my brother?”
“It’s none of your business, Levi...” was my quick reply. I pouted when I thought once again who I was talking to. This was my best friend’s husband. He was my best friend-in-law. Was that a thing? It should be. As long as he was there and he continued to love her, I’d have to tolerate him. “Yes, yes I am...but it’s still none of your business.”
Chasing the Runaway Bride (Bliss Series Book 3) Page 20