Travel, Live, Love - A Contemporary Romance (The Armstrongs Book 5)

by Gray, Jessica

  “You’re very lucky you got such quick medical attention in Nepal. If that infection had gone even one day more, we might not have been able to save your arm.”

  Angela knew whom she had to thank for the quick medical help, but thinking about Patrick was too painful, so she simply asked for some painkillers and then fell asleep. She missed Patrick with an intensity that surprised her, the emotional pain hurting worse than her arm, but soon the drugs did their work, and she slept throughout the night without incident.

  When she heard someone open the door to her room the next morning, she opened her eyes in the irrational hope of seeing Patrick, but she got the shock of her life.

  It was Jasper, standing at the side of her bed.

  Angela looked up in shock and asked, “What are you doing here?”

  He was clearly furious. “How could you do that to me? Do you have any idea what people will think? Do you even care?”

  “Think about what? It’s not like I got sick and injured on purpose.” Angela didn’t fathom how he’d come to know where she was, but she imagined it had to do with one or more of her meddling sisters.

  He looked at her with disdain. “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about our wedding. How will I look now with my business partners? My friends? You cannot just call off our wedding.”

  That man had a nerve – she had barely escaped death and all he worried about was his reputation? “That is what you’re worried about?”

  “Yes. I talked to the doctors and they said you’d be fine. Nothing to worry about there.”

  Angela didn’t answer him. What could she say? If she let this man back into her life, she’d have to question her own sanity. How could I have even thought I was in love with such a cold and heartless man?

  He continued, oblivious to her quietness, “See what your travels got you into. This wouldn’t have happened had you stayed home with me. But that will end now. Won’t it?”

  “No.” Angela wished she wasn’t lying in a hospital bed, but she was making a stand. Right. Damn. Now.

  Jasper looked at her in disbelief. “What does that mean?”

  “No. I will not stop traveling and I will not marry you. I broke up with you, remember?”

  He immediately changed his tactics, just like he always did when he noticed he didn’t get anywhere with his demands. “Sweetheart. Look. I’m sorry. I was so worried.”

  Yes. About your reputation. She was close to telling him to take a flying leap off a tall building.

  “I couldn’t think straight when I heard about the earthquake and then your injuries.”

  He reached over and brushed the back of his fingers along her cheek, and she moved her head away. God, I hate it when he does that. We’re done.

  “But now that you’re back, I’ll take better care of you. This won’t happen again.” Jasper leaned towards her as if to give her a kiss, and it was all Angela could do to hold her ground.

  “No.” She shook her head. “No, it won’t.”

  “See, now you’re being sensible. It’s better for you to stay home with me.”

  “No! We’re done.” Angela had enough of him. He’s not worth my time and affection.

  When one of the nurses entered with her morning meds, she took advantage of the situation and told him, “You better leave now.”

  Angela watched as he left, but not before giving her a hard look. This isn’t over! She understood the unspoken threat, but she’d deal with that later.

  For now – he was gone. And she was left alone with her thoughts. Thoughts that always went back to a certain dark-haired hunky man with the most irresistible smile on his lips. The man that had sent her world spinning, had turned her inside out, and had saved her life.

  Chapter 26

  Patrick was sick with worry. After Angela had been wheeled off, he’d waited at the airport for the next available flight to New York. He didn’t care what time the flight left, or what kind of plane it was. He just needed to get to New York and check on Angela.

  He called his sister Sam and asked to crash on her couch. The waiting was horrible. He worried the entire time, pacing up and down the terminal, going over each and every word of their conversation a million times.

  His heart warmed at the memories of their lovemaking and her trusting smile, only to chill down at the memory of her doubts; and above everything there lingered the fear that she wouldn’t be okay. He tried to convince himself that once she was in the care of modern Western medicine, she’d be okay. But a nagging anguish remained.

  Once he got on the plane, he finally fell into an exhausted sleep, only waking up when the stewardess shook his shoulder and asked him to put his seat up in preparation for landing.

  He called Samantha as the plane taxied to the gate, and by the time he made his way to the passenger pickup area, she was already waiting on him.

  “Thanks for coming to get me,” he told her, giving her a tired smile and a big hug.

  “So, where’s your woman?”

  Patrick wished he knew. “I don’t know. She left on an earlier flight and her sister promised to have her transferred to a hospital right away.”

  “Why don’t you call her?”

  “I don’t have her phone number.”

  Sam looked at him with wide eyes and shook her head. “That was dumb.”

  “Thanks. I can always count on you to kick me when I’m already down.”

  Little bratty sister that she was, she kept pushing him for information, asking him question after question, until he told her to stop it.

  “Gosh, Sam. I really thank you for everything you did, but can you please shut up for just a minute and let me think?”

  Sam made a pout at him, but concentrated on the traffic and didn’t bother him anymore.

  Patrick wallowed in self-pity, until he remembered that he had Harper’s number stored in his call log. “I have her sister’s number.”

  Sam shot him a glance. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

  He pulled out his phone and dialed the number.

  “Hello?”

  “Harper, this is Patrick Armstrong.”

  “What do you want now?” she asked.

  “I just got back to New York. Which hospital is Angela in?”

  “Look, my sister has plenty of problems right now. She doesn’t need you to complicate her life.”

  He swallowed hard. That conversation wasn’t going the way he’d expected. But then, what had he expected from the woman who’d told him to keep his hands off her sister? “Harper, please, I just want to make sure she’s doing okay.”

  “She is. Now, leave us alone.”

  He stared at the phone in his hand like it was some poisonous snake. Samantha had overheard the entire conversation. “That didn’t go very well, did it?”

  “No.” He wanted to cry, or at least smash something, or punch someone.

  “I’m so sorry, bro.” She padded his arm and in an effort to lighten his mood she added, “’Wait a few days and call her again.”

  Patrick nodded. What else could he do? If Harper wasn’t willing to help him, how could he ever hope to find Samantha? He’d been waiting twenty-seven years to find the woman of his dreams just to lose her. That was something of an irony of fate.

  When his mood worsened throughout the day, Samantha suggested the next morning, “How about we drive up to Princeton and visit our nephew?”

  For lack of better plans, he nodded. Maybe seeing his brother and sister-in-law would cheer him up. But actually, anything was better than staying at Samantha’s place, where he’d just sit around and brood. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  During the drive to Princeton they remained in silence. Once there and out of the car, the happiness of his brother Dean and his wife Melissa cheered him up. He hugged both of them and gave Melissa a kiss on her cheek.

  “Congratulations. Where’s your little sunshine?”

  Melissa faked a complaint. “Since Emerson was born, everyone co
mes here to see him, not us. Even Dean has only eyes for his son.”

  Dean put his arm around Melissa’s shoulder in a protective gesture, and said, “He’s so cute.” Then he whispered something into Melissa’s ear and Patrick saw her blush.

  They went inside to visit little Emerson, and the baby really was cute. Cute enough to make Patrick wonder if he’d ever have a baby of his own – with Angela. And how their kids would look like. Dark like himself, or blonde with caramel eyes like her?

  He didn’t have time to ponder that thought, because his mother rushed into the room. “Darling!”

  She hugged him tight, and he could sense her relief seat seeing him back safe and sound. He tried to put on a happy face for her. “Mom, I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “Patrick. Of course I’m here. Someone has to take care of mother and baby. And of Happy.” She referred to Emerson’s 4-year-old sister. With a wink she continued, “And I wouldn’t give up the joy of holding my baby grandson for anything in the world.”

  She stroked the back of his head, like she’d done to soothe him when he was a kid. “I was worried about you. Everything okay?”

  “Yes, Mom.” It was a lie, and he could tell that she didn’t believe it for one second. His mother had an infallible intuition where her kids were concerned.

  They sat down at the big table and Patrick could see how much his mother enjoyed being surrounded by three of her kids – and her grandkids. They caught up on their siblings and Patrick recounted the happenings in Nepal.

  After lunch, his mother took him outside and said, “You look sad.”

  “Yeah, I guess I am.” He filled her in on meeting Angela and their time together. He also told her about his last conversation with Harper and how he didn’t know what to do next.

  “Son, if you really, truly love this woman and she’s the one for you, you need to move heaven and earth to find her. Love isn’t easy, and if you give up at the first sign of trouble, then you didn’t deserve her.”

  Patrick mulled over his mother’s advice. But how am I supposed to find her in a city this big?

  Chapter 27

  Angela was starting to feel better. One by one, her entire family had visited her. Her parents had flown in from San Francisco and spent a few days visiting.

  Harper had taken on the task of informing everyone about the wedding being off, but apart from that her family tiptoed around her bed, never mentioning Jasper, the called-off wedding, or even her trip to Nepal. They handled her with kid gloves and it annoyed the hell out of her.

  Add to that the fact that she was missing Patrick like hell. Gosh, she wanted to hear his deep voice, see his crooked grin, and feel his strong arms wrapped around her. He’d wanted to call her, and when he didn’t her heart sunk. Maybe he changed his mind? It wasn’t until today that she remembered she never gave him her number. And I don’t have his! We never took time for formalities like exchanging phone numbers.

  When only her three sisters – Harper, Sydney, and Willow – remained in the room, she asked Harper about Patrick. “Can you call him for me? He must be back in the States by now.”

  Willow spoke up first. “Is that the guy you met in Nepal?”

  Angela nodded and Harper spoke up. “He called me.”

  “What?!” Angela asked, only to be ignored by her sisters.

  “Will someone please fill me in on this Patrick guy?” Sydney asked.

  “She met in Nepal and apparently fell for him,” Willow said.

  “Yeah, he believes he has some rights over her. He all but demanded I tell him where she was.”

  Angela listened as her sisters debated the wisdom of allowing him to meet with her.

  “I’m not sure she’s ready for another relationship. She needs to get over Jasper first.” That was Sydney’s voice.

  Willow replied, “She’s still sick. It might upset her too much.”

  Angela protested furiously, “Hey, this is my life. And I’m still in the room.”

  Her sisters didn’t even notice her. “That’s why I told him to leave her alone and not to call again.”

  “Why did you do that?” Angela asked. “Harper, why did you do that?” When no one paid her any mind, she asked again, “Will someone please listen to me?!”

  She ended her statement on a loud note, gaining her sisters’ notice once again. “Sweetie, what did you need?” Sydney asked.

  Angela sighed. “Why did you send Patrick away?”

  “To protect you, sis. You don’t need more trouble in your life.”

  They continued to discuss the situation and Patrick, as if she weren’t in the room.

  Angela loved her sisters dearly, but enough was enough. It was her life and she got to make the decisions, sick or not sick. She picked up the Kleenex box, and threw it at Harper, “Don’t you ever speak to Patrick like that again. Give me his number.”

  Harper shook her head. “Sweetie, you’re not thinking clearly with all the painkillers and antibiotics they’ve given you.”

  Angela threatened her, “Either give me his phone number, or I am never talking to you again. In my life.”

  Sydney scrutinized Angela’s face and then told Harper, “I think she’s serious. Better give her his number.”

  Harper sighed and pulled her phone from her pocket. She scrolled back a few calls and then frowned. “His number isn’t on here. The caller I.D. didn’t capture the number.”

  “What? Let me see,” Angela demanded. She glanced at the screen, seeing the words Unknown Caller moving across it. Her heart shattered to pieces. She didn’t want to live in a world without Patrick, and she desperately wanted to tell him that.

  How am I supposed to find him now?

  Angela sank back into the mattress and tried to think of an idea to win him back. He thinks I don’t want him anymore.

  She felt so inadequate at the moment. She needed to leave the hospital to find him, but she knew the nurses and doctors would never go for that. She bided her time, and after Harper and Sydney had exited her hospital room, she called Willow back. “Willow.”

  “Yes?”

  “I need your help.”

  Willow grinned at her and then nodded her head. “Okay.”

  Angela relaxed and told her, “Patrick’s not a frog.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am. The only sticking point I have is that he’s younger.”

  “Well, that’s a criminal offense for sure. How young is he?”

  “Twenty-seven,” Angela said.

  Willow’s eyes turned wide as saucers. “He’s twenty-seven! Wow! That’s all the more reason to grab him and hold on tight. Let me tell you, there’s a growing trend to hook up with younger men.”

  Angela could tell she was only half joking, but before she voiced her response, Willow continued.

  “Think about all the advantages, especially in bed. Younger men are stronger, in better shape physically, they last a lot longer in bed and can do it more often.”

  Angela stopped her. “I don’t want to hear any of that.”

  “…and the statistical life expectancy of women is five years longer than men. So, you make the perfect match.”

  I’m sure she made those numbers up. But who cares? If I can find him… “Willow, I need to find him. Can you please smuggle in my iPad?”

  “Where is it?”

  Angela wasn’t sure, but she took a stab in the dark. “It was in my backpack. Harper probably delivered it to my place. But don’t tell her, okay?”

  Willow nodded and promised to be back soon. She returned an hour or so later with the iPad in her purse, and Angela immediately started writing, after Willow had promised to come back in another hour again.

  You have to live the life you love. It’s your only one. That was the title for her newest blog post. A post focused on finding true love.

  She continued to write: I was in Nepal a few days ago and had a near-death experience during the earthquake. I learned something after this exp
erience that might surprise you, because it has nothing to do with traveling or safety or any of that.

  Love hits you right in the face when you least expect it, or even want it. But, love is the most important thing in life, and it waits for no one.

  So readers, don’t make the same mistake I did. If you find true love and it makes you feel good, and it lifts you up – don’t let it get away. Grab it. Nurture it. Watch it grow, and when it’s large enough, give part of it away to build up the next generation, because a life without love isn’t worth living.

  And I learnt one more thing, from the most special man on earth, the one man I hope to spend every day of the rest of my life with.

  Never, ever, ever give up on what is important to you. If someone wants you to give up your dreams for him or her, you better run the other way as fast as you can.

  Angela had written and rewritten that article about a million times when Willow peeked into the room and said, “That bad?”

  She had to laugh. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Hmm, if chewing your nails and tousling your hair means you’re nervous, then yes.”

  Willow closed the distance and hugged her sister. “Can I read it?”

  NoNoNo. “Sure.”

  Willows eyes got wider with every word she read, while Angela held her breath and tousled her hair again. She’ll hate it. It’s cheesy. He’ll hate it. The whole world will laugh about me. Or pity me. For sure they’ll stop reading my blog. This was a terrible idea.

  “It’s terrific. If Patrick reads it, he’ll come flying to you.”

  She relaxed at her sister’s words. She’d never written something so personal, baring her soul to the world, but dire times required dire measures.

  “Are you sure? Should I really post it?”

  Willow nodded.

  “Will you please publish the article once you get home? There’s no Internet service in the hospital.”

  Willow left with the iPad tucked in her purse and instructions on how to publish the post, and Angela was left alone with her thoughts. Exhausted and depressed, she took the next dose of painkillers when they were offered and dozed off into an uneasy sleep.