Ridge Tatum called me!
He’s so sweet. He wanted to
make sure my neck ok :)
Ember was shocked. He said he wasn’t going to call her. She glanced at him as he sat across the room looking at his phone. When he looked up at her, he raised an eyebrow, “What?”
“You called her?”
He must have realized that the text was from Jenna and looked back down at his phone. “I just thanked her and checked on her neck.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Are you going to ask her out?” Ember asked hopefully. She really did like Jenna.
“You know I’m not, Ember.” He looked back at her like he was expecting her to change the subject now, but he should have known better.
“Why?”
Frowning he asked, “You're going to make me talk about this?”
She nodded as she took another bite of her sandwich.
He sighed, leaning his head back against the wall, “I was serious with a girl from college, Tia Chambers.” Ember almost choked as she stared up at him in shock.
“How did I not know this?” The hurt was evident in her voice as well as on her face. He must have seen it when he met her eyes because he looked away quickly and rubbed his hand across his face.
“You were already in Dallas when we started dating.” Leaning his elbows on his thighs, he sat his head in his hands before he continued. “She was great when we started out, but just about the time I thought I was falling for her, she changed.” He shook his head slightly as if in disbelief. “She started hinting that she wanted to buy things or go expensive places knowing I wanted to please her, and I would do it. I just thought I was an attentive boyfriend, but in reality, I was just a pawn.”
He stood and went to the window. Ember sat quietly, picking at her sandwich, waiting for him to finish.
“Blake overheard her one day with her friends. She was telling them how she was sure I was going to ask her to marry me soon and how she would endure it for the money. He confronted her, and she told him it was my fault since I was too nice for my own good.” He chuckled to himself as he went back to the chair and Ember realized she had stopped chewing, “Blake was never one to settle down even then, but after watching me have my heart torn out, we both swore off the whole relationship thing. We just go about it differently.” He shrugged again.
She began playing with her chips on her plate, “You avoid women altogether and he avoids the commitment part.” She glanced at him as he nodded.
“That sounds so lonely.” She said sadly.
He raised an eyebrow, “You may have been in a relationship for seven years, Ember, but can you honestly say it wasn’t lonely?”
She furrowed her brows as she thought, then quietly she said, “I never really thought I was, but I guess that’s because I had Kaylen. Looking back, I think I've been lonely for a while now, especially the last couple of years since he's been acting strangely. I didn't think about it too much until the other night when I was forced to.”
“Are you sure you want to go back to that?”
She whispered, “I don’t know, now.” then a little brighter she said, “I don’t think that Jenna is like that, though. I’ve seen how she reacts to just the mention of your name.” She raised an eyebrow at Ridge, and he blushed. She smiled at him. “It’s a lot like the way you react to hers.” He chuckled, and then Ember began to yawn.
“Time for bed, princess.” He walked over to the chair she was sitting in and moved the table. He helped her get ready for bed and went to find Ashton to get a pillow for himself. By the time he came back to the room, Ember was almost asleep. She pointed to her phone so that he would move it closer to her, and she noticed he blushed, and the corner of his mouth curved up as he picked it up. He set it down on the table next to her, and as he was walking back to his recliner, Ember saw the text from Jenna was still on the screen. She was going to have to fix that.
Before drifting off, Ember thought about all Ridge had just told her. It explained a lot. She also realized how he had been right about her relationship with Reece. For the last few years they had coexisted, but there was no love anymore. She wasn’t sure if there had ever been on his part. She thought about how he always knew when she had received money from her mother or Ridge and would conveniently need some. The rose colored glasses were gone as she realized the truth of her whole relationship with Reece. He wasn’t any different from Tia except that he hadn’t gotten caught, and there was a child involved.
Letting the pain medicine take effect she closed her eyes as a tear escaped down her cheek.
CHAPTER 19
Ember was surprised she had slept so well despite being woken up a few times during the night by the activity in the hospital. She was worried about Ridge, though, when she didn’t see him in the room when they brought her breakfast to her. She had half of it eaten when he came in. He smiled at her when he saw she was sitting in the chair again.
“I didn’t miss Dr. Nixon, did I?” He looked a little embarrassed.
“No. She hasn’t been here yet. Where’d you go?” Just as she finished asking, Jenna stepped in from the hallway.
“Hi, Ember.” She beamed at Ember, and it was like the whole room lit up. Jenna continued, “I came up earlier to check on you and see if Dr. Nixon had been by yet, but you were still sleeping, so Ridge and I went for breakfast.” Ember raised an eyebrow at Ridge, who was sitting in the chair across the room.
“What?” He shrugged. Ember rolled her eyes at him and looked back at Jenna.
“We just went to the cafeteria, and Ridge let the nurse know where we were.”
“Well, I hope your breakfast was better than mine.” Ember looked down at what was left of her cold eggs and bacon and frowned. She didn’t care for eggs or bacon, but she had been hungry and didn’t want to make trouble for the staff by asking for something different. It wasn’t their fault she had forgotten to send her request down in time. “I want pancakes.” She pouted.
Dr. Nixon knocked on the door frame and came in. “You look much better this morning.”
Smiling at her Ember said, “I feel better. My wrist and head are still hurting, but my nurse is bringing some pain medicine soon.”
Dr. Nixon nodded. “What about your memory? Have you remembered anything yet?”
Ember shook her head slightly, frowning. The movement made her dizzy.
“Well, let’s take a look at you and see how you fare today, and then I’ll write your discharge up.”
Ridge and Jenna walked out to the hall together and came back when Dr. Nixon finished.
“How long until you can leave?” Ridge asked hopefully.
“She’s going to write the orders, and then they have to remove this.” She waved her arm with the saline lock still in it.
“Okay, so, how long until you can leave?” he asked again, raising an eyebrow. Jenna giggled.
Ember grinned at him. “Not really sure, depends on how busy they are.”
“Well, it’s almost ten now. Mom, Dad, and Jade are bringing Kaylen up to the apartment around ten thirty, so I will need to be there then. Jenna, I hate to ask you for a favor, but would you mind bringing Ember home when she’s released so I can meet our parents and sister?”
“I don’t mind at all. I'd be happy to do it.” She answered him cheerfully while twirling a piece of her hair then turned to sit in the chair Ember had recently left. She had worn her down today, and Ember was a little jealous of the natural curl she had. It was beautiful.
Ridge blushed as he watched her, cleared his throat, then walked over to the other side of the bed, leaning in to kiss Ember’s forehead. “Then it’s settled. I’m going to go now so I’ll be there when they show up.” He looked down at Jenna, “Thanks again.” She just smiled at him.
Ember would have enjoyed drilling Jenna about her breakfast, but right now she had something else on her mind. She was laying her head back on the pillow when Jenna stood and reached for her hand. �
�What’s wrong, Ember?” The concern was evident in her voice.
“Ridge said it’s almost ten?” she asked Jenna for confirmation.
“Yes, why?”
“Reece is supposed to be here at ten.” Ember looked up at her, and she knew Jenna understood.
Jenna sighed. “Just be completely sure you want to be with him before you commit to it. Don’t let him push you into something you don’t want to do.”
“That’s part of the problem. I’m not sure that I do want to be with him. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I don't.” For the first time in a long time, Ember didn't know what to do. “Yesterday I thought I was certain, but after I sent him the text, I immediately regretted it. Then after talking with Ridge last night, I realized I was ignoring the real issue between us.” The confusion was unmistakable in her tone.
“Well, you're just going to talk, right? As long as you didn’t tell him you made up your mind to be with him, then maybe he'll respect your decision.”
“Maybe. I hope so, but somehow I’m pretty sure it won't be that easy.”
“Oh my! I almost forgot!” Jenna grabbed her phone and began typing. “Lana doesn’t have your number, so she sent this to me and asked me to send it to you. I’m not sure if it will help or make this worse, but I think you should have it.”
Ember’s phone buzzed with a text from Jenna. When she opened it, Ember couldn’t stop staring at the happy couple sitting at a table laughing. She couldn’t believe it was Blake…with her.
“Lana couldn’t help herself. None of us have ever seen Mr. O’Neil smiling like that. Honestly, I’m not sure any of us have ever seen him smile at all.” Jenna laughed. “He’s always so serious around the office. She wanted to get one of the two of you dancing, but there were too many people in the way.”
Ember glanced up at Jenna with a perplexed look on her face. “Dancing?” She looked back down at the picture, not wanting to take her eyes off Blake. “He really does look happy here.” Her voice was quiet as if she was talking to herself.
“You know, Ember, you were pretty happy too. Just remember that.”
“That’s part of the problem! I can’t remember anything!” Ember was frustrated and hurt. Jenna squeezed her hand then sat back down.
The door opened, and Reece walked in with a grim look on his face. He glanced at Jenna then back at Ember. “I thought we were going to talk?” Not even bothering to apologize for not knocking.
“We are going to talk. Jenna is here to take me home when the nurse finishes my paperwork.”
“You’re getting out? That’s good news. Of course, this could have all been avoided—”
Exasperated, Ember cut him off. “Reece, it’s done. It has already happened, and I can’t do anything to change it. Can we please move on from that?” She could see that he was still upset, but he sighed and walked over to the chair across the room.
Leaning on his elbows with his head in his hands, he spoke to Ember like she was a child. “You cannot seriously expect me to get over the fact you were out with another man so easily, Ember. I have been trying to relocate so we can start over while you were out screwing around.” Looking up at Jenna but continuing to talk to Ember, he asked, “Can we discuss this in private? I don’t care for an audience.” His condescending tone was obvious.
Ember sat staring at Reece in disbelief. Was he seriously accusing her of cheating? “We are not together right now, Reece! I left you when I caught you cheating, remember?” She could barely contain the anger anymore. His cold stare would have frozen her solid if she hadn’t been so mad. “If you're going to blame me for all of this again, then we can stop the discussion right now.” No matter how angry she had gotten at Reece, she had never raised her voice at him, and from the look on his face, it was probably a good thing, because he looked like he could really hurt her.
Ember’s nurse walked in with his hands full of paperwork, and Reece stood to leave, glaring over his shoulder at Ember he said, “We’ll finish this later.”
CHAPTER 20
Jenna and Ember were quiet as they drove toward Ridge’s apartment. Ember was determined not to cry, but to do that she had to keep from thinking. She was aggravated with herself for even considering the possibility of reconciling with Reece. She had to force herself to think of something else. She appreciated the fact that Jenna respected her need for quiet and didn’t push the issue. It was either that or Jenna was so shocked she didn’t know what to say; she had been right: Reece was not nice.
Ember decided to focus on getting to see Kaylen again. The thought of her baby girl made Ember feel better. She missed her so much.
“You haven’t met Kaylen yet, have you?”
Jenna smiled at Ember. “No I haven’t, but Ridge was talking about her at breakfast. He adores her. I could hear it in his voice. He sounded like he does when he talks about you.”
Ember smiled and stared out the window again. She didn’t say it aloud, but she felt the same way about him.
It didn’t take long for them to reach the apartment, and as they pulled into the parking garage, Ember saw Blake’s car. Her heart fluttered, and she felt her cheeks flush. She hoped that she wouldn’t run into him before she made it to the apartment. If his car gave her this kind of reaction, she would probably faint if she saw him.
The elevator ride was long and miserable for Ember, as usual. Just as she was about to close her eyes, she glanced at Jenna and noticed that even for her light creamy complexion she was extremely pale.
“Jenna, are you okay? You’re so pale. Do you need to sit?” Ember was afraid she was going to pass out.
She answered Ember quietly, “I’m okay. I guess I’m a little nervous. I just realized I’m about to meet your family.”
Ember couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her. She could only imagine what it might feel like to have to walk into that situation. “You don’t have to go in if you’re not ready. I’m not sure I'd be up to the task if it were me. They mean well, but I’m sure it would be overwhelming.”
Jenna stood quietly thinking for a moment then smiled. “I’m not going to back out. Ridge asked me to see you home, and I will. Besides, I want to meet Kaylen.”
Ember had hoped she would stay, but she was not about to make her feel like she had to. She smiled at Jenna, and the doors to the penthouse floor opened. Ember couldn’t take her eyes off of the door at the end of the hall, so when they reached Ridge’s door, Jenna didn’t expect her to stop and ran into her.
“I’m so sorry! Are you hurt?” She panicked.
Ember didn’t want to tell her how bad it hurt. The pain from the slight impact was excruciating to her right hip and side. The bruising was still there, and the collision with Jenna had caused pain to radiate down the whole side of her body. “I’m good. It’s okay.” She was having to strain to keep standing and grasped the wall. “I shouldn’t have stopped so suddenly.” From the look on Jenna’s face, she could tell her façade was not fooling her. “Okay, it hurts, bad, but it's still my fault.”
“I'm so sorry. I thought we were going to the other door since that’s where you were looking.” Then she looked at Ember quizzically. “Why were you looking at that door? Who lives there?”
“Me,” a deep, smoky voice spoke up from behind them in the hall.
Both girls spun around quickly, which caused Ember to lose her balance, but before she hit the ground a pair of strong arms had her around the waist. Blake caught her and lifted her just enough for her to untangle her legs from each other since they were apparently not working right on their own yet. When she was ready, he placed her back on her feet, causing her to wince from the pain screaming down her side.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare you. Just thought you should know I was here before you embarrassed yourself.” He smirked at Ember then looked at Jenna and winked, making her laugh. Ember, however, just stood there staring at him while turning bright red. He was standing way too close and still had one arm around her waist
like he was waiting to catch her again. He had evidently just come from the gym— he was wearing a pair of black gym shorts, no shirt and had a towel around his neck. She hadn’t realized what his suits had been hiding, and as she slowly came to her senses, she wished she hadn’t seen his ripped abs. She knew from the tight shirt he wore last night that he was very fit, but now there was no denying it. She remembered the picture she had on her nightstand of him standing on the diving board. He was in good shape then, but he had obviously continued to perfect it over the last nine years. Before taking her eyes off of him, she saw the barbed wire tattoo that went around his upper right arm.
Still blushing she looked at Jenna and said, “We need to go in before everyone wonders where we are.” She started to turn so she could open the door, and her legs began to buckle again. She cried out from the pain, and Blake held her up, pulling her into him. Reaching down, he swept her up cradling her.
“I’ve got ya. Are you okay?” He was staring intently at her with his dark eyes focused on her like he was trying to see through her, to find the answer.
“My side and hip.” Her voice was somewhat strangled, and she was in so much pain now she thought she might pass out.
Blake looked down at her side pushed up next to his body, but he wasn’t about to move her yet. “Jenna, can you open the door, please? I can’t put her down. We need to get her into bed now.”
Jenna didn’t say a word; she just opened the door while Blake carried her inside. He moved quickly but carefully. Ember heard him ask Ridge which room was hers, and he continued past everyone without saying another word while Jenna explained what had happened.
CHAPTER 21
Her room was dark with the curtains pulled, and Blake stood in the door for a moment before he walked over to the bed. She assumed he was letting his eyes adjust without turning on the light since he didn’t have a free hand. The light from the hallway was enough to see where he was going.
He gently sat her on the bed, but as she began to lay back, he stopped her. “Wait. It will be harder to pull the covers down if you are lying on top of them.”
Wildest Dreams (Dreamers Series Book 1) Page 10