Jada reached for Bree’s hand and squeezed it. “You can do this, Bree. I know you can.”
A tear trickled down her sister’s cheek. “I don’t know, Jada. If the contractions don’t stop …”
Jada leaned over and hugged Bree. “I’ve got you, sweetie. I’ve got you.”
“I want our little girl to have a fighting chance, and every hour she stays in the cocoon of my womb gives her that chance.”
“Is that what the doctor said?”
Bree nodded. “I’m twenty-four weeks. The highest chance of survival is twenty-eight weeks, though he did say he’s seen babies survive as early as twenty weeks, but they have health complications.” Bree’s hand flew to her mouth. “I, I don’t want that for my little girl. I want her to be healthy.” She rubbed her stomach. “I just don’t know what else to do.”
“Please be calm, Bree. Worrying won’t help. You have to focus on the positive and that the baby will pull through this.”
“Thank you, Jada. I’m so glad you’re here. I need my sister.”
“Well, you have another,” a familiar female voice said from behind them. Jada leapt up and was thrilled to see London standing in the doorway. London rushed over and gave Jada a firm yet gentle squeeze before setting her aside and moving quickly to Bree.
“How’s my baby sis?” London sat down on the bed and wrapped Bree up in her one of her signature hugs.
At five foot nine, London was taller than Jada, who needed the assistance of four-inch heels to achieve her height. London was beautiful and full-figured and had the confidence to go along with it. She was killing it in her hip-hugging jeans and wrap top.
“I would be a lot better if being in the hospital wasn’t the catalyst for bringing us together,” Bree said as she glanced at London then at Jada. Their relationship hadn’t always been close. London had been raised by her biological grandparents in New Orleans, so they didn’t have the same bond until a few years ago when all three sisters had made a determined effort to do better. And they had. They were closer than ever.
“Well, we’re here now,” London countered, “and that’s all that matters.”
Jada felt powerless to help in this moment, but she forced herself to remain hopeful. She walked toward the group. “London’s right. Family sticks together, and we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
She and London remained in Bree’s room for nearly an hour until Grayson returned and kicked them out to spend time alone with his wife. In the corridor, Jada sighed and leaned against the wall.
“Didn’t realize how hard that was going to be, did you?” London asked. She had picked up on Jada’s distress.
“I, I’ve never seen Bree like that.” She glanced at the closed door. “She’s always so invincible. And now—”
“You realize she’s human like the rest of us?” London said with a lopsided grin.
“Yes, I guess I have.”
London touched her shoulder. “Whatever happens, we will get Bree, Grayson, and our niece through it. We’re Harts, right?”
Jada nodded.
“We’re strong. We’re fighters. We never give up. Remember that.”
Jada knew London was right. She just supposed the saying that goes something like “It always seems darkest before the dawn” was true. Or was it, “It’s hard to see the forest for the trees”?
“Your sister is giving sound advice, Jada,” a deep masculine voice said from several feet away. “You should take it.”
Jada’s heart jumped. That voice didn’t belong here, in Texas. It belonged in San Francisco, in another time and place that was far removed from her family and Bree’s plight. But she would know it anywhere because last night that voice had whispered wicked things to her as its owner made her come against the wall at the television station.
That voice.
Belonged to Damian.
Chapter 8
Damian hadn’t meant to intrude on a family moment. When he’d exited the elevator, he spotted the Hart family huddled together. He had only given them a cursory glance, recognizing Duke and Caleb because they were the most well-known Harts. Once he realized Jada wasn’t with them, he’d gone off to search for her.
Chasing after a woman was utterly ridiculous, but as soon as the Harts’ housekeeper, Miriam, had told him Jada’s sister Bree was in the hospital, he felt he had to come. He had called the Hart residence in his search for Jada. He couldn’t explain why, but deep down something had told him she might need him. So, he had canceled some appointments to free up his calendar, called the pilot to fuel his private plane, and had flown straight to Dallas.
He wondered if he’d gotten it wrong because Jada was staring at him as if she couldn’t quite believe he was standing there. Then she charged toward him … and flung herself at him.
Damian caught Jada in his arms, enveloped her in his embrace, and rested his head against hers. He could feel her entire body shaking. “It’s alright, Jada,” he whispered. “I’m here.”
She didn’t speak. He just heard her quietly sobbing into his jacket.
“I’ll give you both some privacy,” said the other woman who was standing beside Jada. Damian acknowledged her with a nod and heard her retreating footsteps.
After several minutes passed, Jada pulled away and wiped at her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. “I’m, I’m sorry. I, I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s alright.” He wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “You’ve had an eventful night. I would expect nothing less.”
She glanced up at him with a wry smile. “For me to cry into your Amani sweater? I doubt that very much.”
“I don’t care about the clothes, Jada. I care about you.”
“Is that why you’re here?” She frowned as if the thought had just occurred to her. “Why are you here?”
Damian could ask himself that same question. He’d come on instinct and because he couldn’t deny that, in some way, he cared for Jada. “I, I—,” he started, but was interrupted.
“Jada?”
Duke Hart stood behind his daughter with a scowl. Damian didn’t particularly relish meeting Jada’s father under these circumstances—hell, under in any circumstance. He’d never been with a woman long enough to meet her family. He was definitely in foreign territory.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“Would you care to introduce me to your friend?”
Duke’s tone wasn’t lost on Damian. And his stone-cold face showed he didn’t appreciate having an outsider disturb their family at a time like this. At six foot five, Duke was an enormous man with a football player’s build. He could easily tackle Damian if he chose to.
Damian watched Jada walk over to her father and slide her arm through his. She glanced up at her dad with a genuine smile—a smile he wished she’d bestow on him. “Daddy, I’d like you to meet Damian McKnight. Damian, this is my father, Duke Hart.”
Duke stared at him for several seconds as recognition dawned. “Are you the same Damian McKnight that Black Enterprise magazine is hailing as the next coming in the communications world?”
Damian shrugged. “I don’t know about all that.”
“Don’t be modest. You have quite the reputation for a man so young.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Duke offered his hand. “Great to meet you, Damian. You don’t mind if I call you Damian, do you, especially if you’re dating my daughter?”
Damian stared at Jada. Had she told her father about him? He wouldn’t have thought so. And he’d be right because her face was flushing with embarrassment.
“Aww, don’t go looking at her,” Duke said, humor in his voice. “I have eyes, and as I walked up, I saw the two of you cozied up awful close. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure this out.”
“I suppose not,” Damian offered. “But it’s a little early i
n the relationship.”
“Yet, here you are.”
Damian chuckled. He liked Duke. He was a man who spoke his mind. Damian could respect that. “Yes, I’m here because I felt like Jada might need me.”
“She does.” Duke stepped away from Jada, and she seemed surprised by the action. “Don’t go holding on to your father when you’ve got a perfectly good man to hold on to. Go on.”
Damian smiled as Jada stared at her father incredulously as he ushered her toward Damian. Reluctantly, she came back to stand at Damian’s side.
Duke began to walk way, but then he stopped and turned back to look at them. “Don’t think our conversation is over, Damian. When my daughter Bree is settled, you and I will have a talk man to man, capiche?”
“Yes, sir.”
Once he walked away, Jada rounded on Damian. “What the hell was that? Daddy just handed me off to you like it was nothing, when he’s meeting you in a hospital, of all places.”
Damian shrugged. “Perhaps he realizes you’re in good hands.”
“Am I? Because what I said back in San Francisco still remains true, Damian. Nothing has changed.”
Damian frowned. “Everything has changed, Jada, and you damn well know it.”
Jada glared at him but then lowered her voice. “Now is not the time or place to discuss this.”
“I know that,” Damian hissed. “Which is why I wasn’t going to get into it now.”
“Then why are you here?”
“As I said before, I care about you, and when I heard about your sister, I was concerned and thought you might need a shoulder to lean on.”
“And you hoped that would be you?” Jada folded her arms across her chest. “So what? So you can get me back into bed?”
“Don’t do that, Jada,” he warned. He didn’t like the defensive posture she’d taken. “Don’t try and rile me up to make me turn away from you when I know you want the opposite.”
“You can’t know that.”
“I do,” Damian contested hotly. “The way you flew into my arms when I got here told me all I need to know.”
“Which is?”
“That you want—no—that you need me.”
He was right.
She did want him.
Did need him.
But Jada refused to admit it. Because if she did, it would mean Damian meant more to her than she was telling herself, and she couldn’t deal with her burgeoning feelings for this enigmatic man right now. Not when Bree needed all her strength, all her prayers.
Jada was relieved when Grayson walked out of her sister’s room and interrupted her talk with Damian. She looked at her brother-in-law for any sign of hope, but his worried features held none. “No change?”
Grayson nodded. “You should go back to the ranch, Jada. Get some rest. You flew all the way here in the middle of the night and have been here for hours.”
“I can’t leave, Grayson. Not when Bree needs me. I would never forgive myself. So, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll stay, but I’ll head back to the waiting area so you can spend time with Bree in peace.”
Grayson gave a half smile. “Thank you, sis.” He walked over and gave her a quick hug, which Jada returned as she patted his back.
When they pulled apart, Grayson glanced at Damian, so Jada felt compelled to make yet another introduction. The men shook hands all while assessing each other. Jada chuckled inwardly that the men in her family seemed keen on figuring Damian out.
“I’m heading back inside,” Grayson said, keeping his comments to himself, “but I’ll come out soon with an update.” Seconds later, he was gone, and Jada and Damian were alone again.
“Let’s go.” Damian placed his hand on the small of Jada’s back and led her down the corridor, but she stepped away from him to walk on her own. He wasn’t happy about her recalcitrance, but he didn’t say anything and she was thankful.
She didn’t want him touching her. The chemistry between them was so palpable, she’d felt the zing of attraction just from his hands. And Jada felt guilty thinking about anything other than Bree and her niece.
When they arrived to the waiting area, several sets of eyes focused on them—her father’s knowing ones as well as the rest of her family’s curious stares. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Damian McKnight.” She motioned to the group. “Damian, this is my family, my mother, Abigail, my sister, London, my cousin Caleb, and his wife, Addison.”
“Pleasure to meet you all.” Damian nodded in their direction and followed Jada. Then he took a seat by her side across from London.
Jada hated that all her business was on display. Now, her entire family knew that she and Damian were an item when she herself hadn’t figured out what was going on between them.
“Relax,” Damian whispered in her ear.
He wanted her to relax? She had a hard enough time doing that in a normal environment. Add the pressure of her niece’s potential arrival and her entire family staring at them—well, it was all just too much. Anxiety flowed through her veins, but there was nothing she could do to change the situation.
Jada rose from her seat. So did Damian. “I’m going to the chapel,” she announced.
“I’ll join you,” Damian said before anyone else could.
Jada was irritated. She was hoping for some peace in the sanctuary of a safe place, but it appeared she wasn’t going to get any. And she wasn’t about to make a big deal of Damian joining her, especially when they had an audience. Instead, she left the waiting area and approached the nurses’ station for directions. Once she knew where to go, she headed there with Damian at her side.
He was surprisingly quiet. When they found the chapel, he pushed open the double doors and Jada walked in. It was a small unadorned room with several church-style pews. A cross stood at the front surrounded by candles. Jada walked to it and took a candle from the box and lit one. Then she took her seat. Damian was quiet and just sat beside her. Jada bowed her head, closed her eyes, and said a silent prayer for Bree, praying that God would keep her niece safe in the womb for just a little while longer.
When she felt large hands encompassing and squeezing hers, tears welled in Jada’s eyes. She blinked them back. Damian just squeezed her hand even harder as if he were trying to give her his strength in the face of trauma. In that moment, despite not knowing where their relationship stood, Jada accepted the comfort and compassion he was offering.
Jada didn’t know how long they sat in the chapel, just that they did. Damian didn’t attempt to strike up a conversation, and Jada was glad because she was too lost in her thoughts to notice. Eventually, she must have dozed off. When she awoke, she found herself sleeping on Damian’s lap. When she glanced up, she could see he’d been doing the same because his eyes were drowsy.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi.” Slowly, she levered herself up and scooted several inches away from him.
“You didn’t have to do that. I kind of liked where you were.”
Jada offered a small smile. “Thank you for being my pillow.”
“My pleasure.”
They stared at each other underneath their lashes, neither saying a word until the chapel doors opened and London walked in. “There you are. I was looking everywhere.”
Jada was instantly on high alert. “Is everything OK?” Her heart thumped, and she could feel her pulse quicken as she searched London’s face for a sign.
“Bree appears to be out of the woods. The medication they gave her has stopped the contractions, and she’s resting comfortably. Everyone is going back to the ranch for some rest and a bite to eat. We thought you might like to join us—that is if you don’t have other plans.” London glanced in Damian’s direction.
“Of course not,” Jada said indignantly. “I came here for Bree.”
London smiled. “Alright, well, we’re h
eading back. Do you need a ride?”
“I’ve got her.” Damian inserted himself into the conversation. “I’ll drive Jada to the ranch.”
Jada looked at Damian, but his expression was neutral.
“Alright, we’ll see you there.” London left the chapel.
“I could have driven back with my family,” Jada said as she stood up.
Damian did the same. “I know that. But as I stated before, I’m here for you.”
Jada tried not to melt at such a statement because she wasn’t sure what Damian’s intentions were, but she was too exhausted to argue. As she glanced down at her watch, she realized she’d been at the hospital for nearly twelve hours and could use a hot shower and a good meal, exactly in that order. “Alright, let’s go.”
Chapter 9
Damian was happy Jada didn’t argue with him since that appeared to be one of her favorite pastimes. He suspected that the stress and anxiety over worrying about Bree and the baby had made her a little more easygoing when it came to him. She didn’t complain when they left the hospital and walked to the garage. She merely climbed into the passenger seat when he opened the door to his rented Range Rover, the only vehicle he could obtain on short notice, and placed her head against the headrest. Within minutes, she was knocked out while Damian navigated his way to her family’s ranch. He had learned the address on the same call with the housekeeper, Miriam, when he found out Bree was in the hospital.
All Damian could do was think about Jada’s virtues. She was easy to talk to when she wasn’t infuriating him, a temptress who burned up when he touched her. Her uninhibited response to him and the way she came alive had him fired up on all cylinders. There was no way he was not going to have her again. But more importantly, she’d shown she was a woman who loved her family and would drop everything in a heartbeat to be there in a loved one’s time of need.
He wanted to know more.
More of Jada.
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