Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set

by Carly Phillips

  According to Janine, Nikki had doubled over at work and the hospital had called her... when they were unable to reach Kevin at home first.

  He wanted to slam his hand into the wall but refrained. It wouldn’t do a damn bit of good anyhow. Sorting through his tangled feelings wasn’t easy, but Kevin knew some things right off. Nikki had trusted him enough to call for him first. He should have been there when she needed him, and absent from that he should have been home to get her call. Instead he was catering to his drunken father yet again, and letting Nikki down again all in the span of one night’s time.

  Memories of the night Tony died threatened to surround him, but he shook them off, though the effort was great. Nikki needed him functioning, not wallowing in guilt.

  “It wouldn’t have changed anything even if you were there,” Janine said.

  When had he become such an easy read? “I know you mean well, but leave it alone,” he muttered.

  Before she responded, the doctor came through the double doors. Because the waiting room was empty, the young-looking intern didn’t have to look for. “Are you relatives of Nicole’s?” he asked.

  “Yes. How is she?” Janine asked.

  “She’s fine. Resting more comfortably. I wouldn’t call it a false alarm, but she’s in no immediate danger of losing the baby.”

  Thank God. Kevin didn’t know how many chances he’d been allotted in this lifetime, but he wasn’t about to waste this one. “Can we see her?”

  He nodded. “I’m going to keep her overnight for continued fetal monitoring and then if things are still status quo in the morning, she can go home.” He jotted some notes down on a metal clipboard before glancing back at Kevin. “She needs to see her regular ob/gyn but until then there are going to be some restrictions—at least until we’re certain the pregnancy will hold.”

  “What kind of restrictions?” Kevin asked. “And for how long?”

  “Bed rest to start. The rest is up to her primary care physician. So make sure she sees her doctor.”

  Kevin nodded. He didn’t need to hear any more.

  What came next was between him and Nikki.

  * * *

  Nikki watched the green line on the screen that monitored the baby’s heartbeat and any possible contractions she might have. So far, steady and straight; no mountains signaling a potential problem.

  She glanced at the beige walls and peeling paint. She hated hospitals—both their bland look and the sterile smell because they reminded her of the night Tony died. But at least she hadn’t suffered another loss this time. She’d been off her feet for a few hours and the pain had begun to subside.

  This whole experience seemed so surreal. Then again, the last three months had brought so many changes, she had entered a new world. She supposed she’d better get used to change, because on the heels of the doctor’s reassurance had come his warnings and restrictions. She lay her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes, exhaustion overtaking her.

  When she woke again, Kevin was sitting in a chair beside the bed, but his upper body lay forward, his head resting on the mattress beside her. She curled her fingers into the palm of her hand in an effort to resist the urge to run her hands through his hair and reassure him.

  She was the one who needed reassurance, and badly. She could rely on him—Nikki knew that now. But relying on him would take her on that slippery slope toward falling in love again. And that she couldn’t allow.

  He stirred and jumped up in his seat, as if realizing he’d fallen asleep on the job, she thought wryly.

  He met her gaze. “At least you’re smiling. I hope that means you’re feeling okay.”

  She nodded. “Better than last night.”

  “You scared me to death.” He met her gaze, his dark eyes shadowed from lack of sleep.

  She forced a laugh. “Yeah, well, I scared myself pretty good too. But the doctor says it’s not uncommon. That not all cramping leads to...” She shook her head, unable to say the word aloud. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted this baby until she thought she might lose it.

  The ambulance ride to the hospital had been the scariest and loneliest few minutes of her life. And considering all that had gone on lately, Nikki knew that was saying a lot.

  He grabbed her hand and held on tight. His touch was warm and reassuring on one level, and sizzling and electric on another. Seconds passed when no words were necessary. The connection between them wasn’t just sexual, but basic. They were two people who shared an important bond. One, Nikki was beginning to realize, that could never be broken.

  The notion scared her.

  “They’re discharging you this morning.” Kevin shattered the silence first.

  She nodded.

  “You’re coming home with me.”

  Hadn’t she known that silence was golden? “I’m tired. Too tired to argue with you and that’s where this is leading. So...”

  “There are no arguments, Nicole. Just plain hard facts.” He held up one finger. “Fact one. You’re pregnant and have been restricted to bed rest. Total and complete bed rest until the first trimester’s over.”

  She’d argue if she could, but so far Kevin hadn’t said anything inaccurate. It was just his solutions she found fault with and he hadn’t mentioned those again. Yet. She folded her arms over her chest. “Go on.”

  “So who’s going to fix your meals? Do your shopping? Be around in case there’s a problem? Janine? I don’t think that’s fair, expecting her to handle two pregnancies, do you? Besides, she’s leaving at the end of the week. She wanted to cancel her flight, but I insisted you’d be well taken care of.”

  Nikki shut her eyes. Not only was he persistent, but he was also right She couldn’t be a burden to Janine. She’d never even consider it. But why had fate doomed her to be someone’s responsibility, especially Kevin’s? Why, when she was just getting her life together, did she have to end up flat on her back? Her savings were minimal, but if she could have hung on for another few months of work...

  “You aren’t exactly in a position to babysit,” she reminded him. “Don’t you have to work?”

  “I’ve given this a lot of thought. Don hired me to put a new security system in place and screen employees. The system’s been up and working for a while now. I need to do check-ins and updates, but I don’t need to work nine to five. And I can hire a housekeeper for the hours I’m out of the house.”

  The room began to spin and Nikki grabbed onto the bedrail. “You do not have to plan your entire life around me. I’m perfectly capable of staying alone during the day.”

  “Not in a walk-up apartment, so you can forget that idea now. Can we at least agree Janine’s place isn’t going to work?”

  The thought of three flights of stairs was overwhelming now and she felt her options closing in on her. “Yes,” she admitted. “Janine’s place is out. So say I move in.” She swallowed over the lump and forced the next words from her throat. “With you.” God, how would she survive living with Kevin on a day-to-day basis? Knowing he was taking care of her because she was carrying his child? Dealing with the constant sexual awareness he generated inside her? Coping with the knowledge she cared too much about the loner ex-cop?

  She shook her head. “Say I move in with you. There’s no reason you have to spend money on a housekeeper just to look out for me.”

  He shrugged. “I was going to hire someone anyway.”

  “Once a week, maybe. But daily...”

  “Damn it, Nicole do you really have to argue every little point? Look around you. What are your options? I know I’m no prince, but I’m the best you’ve got so make the best of it, okay?” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, and Nikki suffered a rush of shame.

  She didn’t want to be a burden or an obligation, but she couldn’t change the fact that she was. Kevin would view her that way whether she liked it or not. She might not like it, but she was damn lucky she had Kevin willing to take her in. “I appreciate all you want to do for m
e. And yes, I’ll move in. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “But I’m not giving in on the full-time maid, so you can forget that now.”

  Kevin stifled a groan. The last thing he wanted was to upset her. He respected her independence, much as she thought otherwise. To have her grovel didn’t please him or do anything for his male ego.

  He’d won his most important concession. She was moving in. No need to push further. “Okay. Part-time help it is,” he said.

  She raised her eyebrows. “That was almost too easy.”

  “Disappointed?” he asked.

  She smiled. “No. Just relieved.”

  “Good.” Apparently he’d made another point then. He wouldn’t abandon her or his child. Did she believe him? He shook his head, knowing he didn’t want to delve deeply into the answer.

  “Okay then. I’ll go over to Janine’s and pack up your things before coming back for you.”

  She nodded.

  The conversation hadn’t gone as smoothly as he’d hoped, and now wasn’t the time to bring up her other problems. The baby would be covered under his insurance, but Nikki would not. She had no coverage for any medical bills or serious problems that might yet arise. Nor did she have the money to cover the bills for the medical care both she and the baby deserved right now.

  Although he’d been impressed by the clinic and its range of services, the distance between his suburban home and the city clinic wasn’t safe, should there be another emergency. Add to that the location, which made him uneasy in the first place, and Kevin thought he had a good argument for switching to a private doctor in a suburban hospital. Not that Nikki would agree.

  If he could get past her pride, there was much he could offer, including paying for her pregnancy medical care—like the emergency room visit last night. The solution he had in mind, however, would probably scare the living daylights out of her, because it sure as hell rocked his world.

  Marriage. Commitment. Trust. He shuddered, knowing how he ranked in that particular department. Although he’d pay for Nikki’s care regardless of whether she became his wife, the baby needed the legalities of marriage. Because then his child would have his name. And so would Nikki, from there on in. No illegitimate stigma, no complications.

  He glanced over. Her eyes were still moist, her jaw clamped tight. She’d given in, but not willingly. He was the last person she wanted to turn to for anything. He didn’t blame her, but she had no choice. So yes, he’d won one battle, but he had a hunch that was nothing compared to the fight ahead.

  * * *

  Nikki stepped inside the front door and glanced around Kevin’s new house as if seeing it for the first time. And in a way she was. For the foreseeable future, this was her new home. Her stomach cramped and it had nothing to do with the baby. Directly in front of her was a large staircase leading to the second floor of his Victorian-style home.

  “Consider the upstairs off-limits,” Kevin said, coming up behind her.

  “Believe me, I wouldn’t dream of going near those steps,” she muttered.

  “Good. I just wanted to make sure we were in agreement” He stood so close his warm breath tickled her neck, sending a shot of awareness throughout her body.

  Whenever she was around Kevin, she burned. Nikki hoped he kept a fire extinguisher somewhere close because she had a hunch she was going to need it. She took a step forward but she still felt his solid presence behind her.

  “So where’s my room?” she asked lightly, trying to minimize her feelings about setting up house with Kevin.

  “Back here. Apparently this old place had a servants’ quarters off the kitchen. There’s a bedroom and full bath.”

  “Good. Good.” With his bedroom upstairs, she was half a house and a full flight of stairs away from temptation.

  He stepped around her, motioning for her to follow. With the soft denim molding to his thighs and the ripple of muscles beneath his old gray T-shirt Nikki would have followed him to the ends of the earth. And back.

  She swallowed a moan. Boy was she in trouble.

  He stopped in the family room, in front of what looked like a brand-new leather recliner. “I figured you wouldn’t want to be cooped up in a back room all day, so you can make yourself comfortable in here.”

  Sunlight streamed through oblong windows around the perimeter of the room, making for a welcoming place to be. A stack of women’s magazines sat on the table beside the chair, and a large-screen television was directly in front. “This is... this is perfect Kevin, thank you.”

  He shifted from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable with her gratitude. “I stopped at the hospital gift shop,” he said, pointing to the neat pile of reading he’d left for her.

  “Thanks.” If this stiltedness continued, the stress would send her right back to the hospital.

  “I did a quick pack-and-run when I was in your apartment earlier. Janine said she’d come by this afternoon to visit and help you get your things put away. I didn’t think you’d want me to unpack for you.” His cheekbones were highlighted with color—embarrassment—making him appear endearing and... soft. A word and a look she’d never associated with Kevin before.

  But with this offer and unexpected move into his home, she was seeing a fresh side to Kevin Manning. She had a hunch they’d be seeing new and enlightening sides to each other, for as long as this arrangement continued.

  “I have to let my boss know I’m out of commission,” Nikki said, thinking of all the repercussions.

  “At the risk of starting an argument, I took a chance and called over there this morning. I spoke to Jack myself. I figured you’d want to give him as much notice as possible, all things considered.”

  Her gaze met his. No doubt he expected another argument. “That was thoughtful. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m going to make a few calls. The remote’s on the table.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “You should get off your feet.”

  She nodded and lowered herself into the comfortable chair. The leather squeaked as it molded to the contours of her body. She pushed herself back into a reclining position. Tension in her back and legs—tension she hadn’t even known she was carrying, eased immediately. She sighed aloud. “This is great”

  “And you know where the bathroom is.”

  “I’m not likely to forget” She laughed and he grinned in return. The unbearable tension between them had finally been broken. Nikki wondered how long the reprieve would last.

  SEVEN

  “I hate being waited on.” Nikki tilted her head back and watched as the woman Kevin had hired, Eleanor Reid, cleaned off the dinner table while she did nothing but sit.

  “I’m just doing my job,” Eleanor reminded her. A job she’d done well in the last week. Problem was, the job was all she did. There was no small talk or chit-chat.

  Nikki figured she could either lose her mind or try to draw the older woman out. “Yeah, but I grew up on a farm. Everyone pitched in. I mean even the cows gave milk.”

  It worked. The other woman cracked a smile on her professional face. Nikki waved a hand toward one of the chairs, motioning for her to sit.

  Eleanor hesitated, then sat down beside Nikki at the table. “How are you feeling?” she asked finally.

  After three days a week of Mrs. Reid puttering around her but never invading her personal space, Nikki was grateful she’d penetrated her shell. Nikki was lonely.

  Funny, but even in college, she’d been independent. She had many friends, and a roommate, but she’d been on her own more often than not. And after Tony died, she and Janine had lived opposite schedules, which left Nikki alone during the day. She hadn’t been lonely then.

  But she was now. Because for the first time she knew what it was like to live with someone—and be totally, utterly alone. Oh, Kevin was around, her constant companion when not at work, making sure she felt okay, didn’t get out of bed too often and wanted for nothing. But he was
as distant as he could be with the constant awareness sizzling between them.

  Perhaps because of her strong feelings for him, Nikki felt the emptiness that much more. Which made her determined not to take this confinement lying down. She had to approach the future as if it didn’t involve Kevin, and prepare both herself and her baby for that eventuality.

  But she smiled at her companion. “I’m feeling okay.”

  “Good, because some women would be climbing the walls after a week of bed rest.”

  Nikki dropped her head to her hands, which lay on the table. “I lied. I’m not okay. I’m bored out of my mind,” she wailed. She lifted her head and grinned. “Thank you. I feel much better now.”

  “When are you due?”

  Her hand went to her stomach, as it automatically did each time she thought of the baby. “Early November.”

  “A Scorpio. Determined little buggers with long memories. Protective of those they care about.”

  “Sounds a lot like his father,” Nikki murmured. She’d begun thinking of the baby in terms of he, probably because she envisioned a tough little guy like Kevin.

  “Mmm. Baby’s lucky to have such a caring man as a parent. Not all kids get that lucky.”

  She wondered if Kevin thought of his son—or daughter—as lucky to have him for a father. Though she hadn’t planned this pregnancy, she knew she thought her baby was fortunate to have him around. But he’d been on a downward spiral of guilt since Tony died. If nothing else, maybe this baby would give him a positive focus.

  “You’re perceptive, Mrs.... Can I call you Eleanor? I mean if we’re going to be cooped up together, the formality seems kind of silly, doesn’t it?”

  “Eleanor it is.” She smiled in return. “You seem perceptive yourself, for one so young.”

  Nikki shrugged. “Let’s say I’ve lived a lot in a short time.”

  “Well, you and Mr. Manning seem like a nice young couple.”

  They were nice, and young... but a couple? Nikki shook her head, knowing if Kevin had his way, they would never be an us.