Chapter 20 – Liam
“H ey, I’ve run into someone at the ER this afternoon I didn’t expect to see,” Santi says over the phone.
Confused, I wait for him to elaborate when I hear her sweet voice next, sounding tremulous. “Liam… I’m in a real pickle.”
I nearly collapse in my chair with worry and then do it for real with relief when she explains.
I could shake her. (No, I would never .) But, I knew something was off earlier when we left her appointment.
I should kick my own ass for letting her pretty pleading eyes and the fact she was touching my chest sway me from taking her back inside to Dr. Quack.
“Dizziness is common, my ass. Fainting and giving yourself a concussion on a goddamn city bench is not common!” I shout to nobody in particular as I stomp the gas pedal on my way to the hospital.
I don’t like that guy. He was too smug, as if twenty years of delivering babies makes him an expert.
My bias has nothing to do with me detesting the very idea of him touching my woman, obviously.
Her wellbeing, the baby’s, everything my universe now revolves around had been left in the hands of the strangers passing by who happened to see her faint.
Thank God for kind people. Ever since she told me the news, I’m in a constant state of worry while trying to be outwardly strong for her.
I think I’ve got it together again by the time I’m striding into the ER.
I don’t see Juliana or Santi anywhere. He said he’d been down here for a consultation when he ran across her but would stay with her if he could .
“May I help you?” the attendant at the counter asks, giving me a big smile.
I smile back. Sugar generally gets you farther than vinegar, after all. “I’m looking for Juliana Davenport.” A blank stare. “She was brought in over an hour ago by ambulance.”
She starts pecking on her computer and frowning. Why is she frowning? What’s happened? I can feel the panic building in my chest again and my voice is getting louder. “She has a concussion.” The woman nods, still pecking. Hurry up, already , I think . “Dr. Morales was looking after her.”
“Oh, the cardiologist? He doesn’t work down here, but I know who he is. All the girls say his specialty fits because he’s such a heartthrob.” He’s also a heartbreaker, but I don’t burst her bubble. “Are you a friend of his?” She gives me another big smile, a flirty one, and giggles.
Oh, for fuck’s sake . “Yes, we’re friends.” If I promise to give you his personal cell number, will you tell me what I need to know? I shoot a text to Santi – Where the fuck are you? I get no reply.
This woman is still tapping on her keyboard like this isn’t a matter of life and death, mentioning what a nice day it is. “I’ve been looking forward to the farmer’s market getting going again. Do you ever go to the one on-”
“Yes, yes, fruits and vegetables,” I huff. “Can you tell me where she is or not… please?”
“The computer’s been slow all day but I’m sure she’s fine. We haven’t had a serious casualty come in during my-”
“She’s pregnant! And, knocking yourself out after fainting and being transported to the hospital by ambulance seems fucking serious to me!” I snarl, my impatience and panic blowing away all pretenses of politeness.
Now, she’s frowning at me, her hand hovering over the mouse. Maybe I should climb over this goddamn counter and find out for myself. Or just start shouting Juliana’s name up and down the halls. “Well, before I can let you back to see her I need to ask, are you a relative?”
“She’s my…” I swallow what I want to say and murmur, “I’m th e father.”
“Liam!” a familiar voice calls from behind me.
“Thank fuck, there you are,” I say, spinning toward Santi in his white doctor’s coat.
He grins, throwing an arm around me and taking me past the reception desk.
“Sorry, first time fathers can get a little wound up,” he says to the desk attendant with a wink.
She blushes and smiles at us both as he swipes a badge and leads me through a secured door.
I guess roaming the halls and shouting wouldn’t have worked.
His words about first time fathers sinks in. “You know?” I ask, more anxiety racing through me. I don’t care if he knows. I want the whole world to know, but will Juliana be upset?
He nods, grinning. “Yeah, she was scared and waiting for answers when I discovered her here. I looked over her chart and reassured her everything was okay. She turned six shades of pink when she told me you’re the papa. Congrats.”
A sense of pride fills me. I’m the papa-to-be. I don’t know why I should be surprised she admitted it to Santi but I’m fucking thrilled she did. I’d do something ridiculous like click my heels together and pump my fist if I wasn’t still worried sick. “How is she?”
“Lots of fatigue. Common with a mild concussion. Symptoms will likely be gone in a week or less. She’s got a nasty bump on her right temple. It looks worse than it is, but she shouldn’t be left alone tonight. Can she stay with her sister?”
“They’re out of town. She’ll stay with me.” Since that night at Sable, I’ve been giving her space to process things. That’s over now. “What about the baby?”
“They did an ultrasound. Heartbeat was perfect for seven weeks. Liam? Hang on now, amigo,” Santi says, guiding me toward a chair.
I can’t remember how to breathe. Our baby’s heart is beating and Juliana is okay.
I have never felt this vulnerable nor experienced this level of fierce, burning desire to protect someone.
Two someones. My knees might’ve buckled for a sec, but I shake Santi off.
“I’m fine. Take me to her, please.” I fucking hate the thought of her being alone and scared here.
The lump and bruise on her head would scare the bejesus out of me if it wasn’t for Santi’s reassurance and Juliana’s big smile. “Liam, I am so sorry to be so much trouble.”
I hurry over, wanting to stop her mouth with a kiss. Instead, I carefully rest my palm on her belly. “Don’t you dare apologize. I just want you two to be okay.”
“Liam, are you alright? You sound sick.”
“I’m not sick,” I answer, knowing my voice has simply turned hoarse with emotion.
“I’ll find the doc handling her case down here so we can see about a discharge,” Santi says.
He’s about to leave when we hear a commotion in the hallway, a well-dressed man haranguing a nurse. “Tell me I’m still unconscious,” Juliana says with a frown.
She’s not. Chad Beaumont is right outside the door, glaring at us through the glass.
“I got a call over an hour ago that my wife was brought in. I left an important meeting just now to come here, but I see there’s been a mistake.
That’s my ex -wife and her overgrown boy toy.
It’s bad enough I’ve got a pregnant woman expecting me to cater to her every silly whim, but now, you people are interrupting my day over her. ”
Santi steps out into the hall to intervene. I join him, ready to tear Beaumont limb from limb if he goes near Juliana. “Don’t come any closer. I’ll have them call security,” Chad stammers, shying away when he sees the fury in my eyes.
“Sir, I’m Dr. Morales,” Santi says, holding me back. “Can I help you?”
Help him before I kill him , I feel like saying.
It seems Juliana was a patient here after she twisted her ankle badly a few years ago. Chad’s still listed as her emergency contact person and someone left him a message when she was still out of it.
“We’ll be changing that,” I tell anyone within earshot.
“I’m her emergency contact. I’m her person.
So, you can go back to work, Beaumont, and then maybe try to be good to your woman if you’re capable of it.
But, you’d better leave my woman alone or that punch a couple of months ago will be a cupcake compared to what I’ll-”
“Liam, go back inside and let me handle this!” Santi gives me a shove to stop me from threatening the man any further with witnesses present.
I do gladly, stepping back in. “Sorry,” I murmur the moment our eyes meet.
She shakes her head. “That hot-head of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days… but thanks for running interference.” She crooks her finger, beckoning me closer.
“How do you feel, honey?”
“Rough, but relieved after Santi showed up and even better now that you’re here.”
I love hearing that. I wrap an arm around her shoulders, awkwardly perched on the side of the small hospital bed.
She seems frail to me in her hospital gown but I know that’s not the truth.
She’s strong, capable and beautiful. I hope the nausea goes away soon though.
She’s so miserable. Plus, she’s lost a few pounds when we’d rather see her gaining.
Chad’s still blowing hot air outside the room, but I focus on Juliana telling me about her CT scan and the ultrasound they did. “The nurse let me record it with my phone. Listen!” Her giddiness is infectious.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh . It’s so quick, but it’s strong. I’m not sure if I say anything or not. I place my palm gently on her flat belly, mesmerized and so in love my chest feels like it can’t be squeezed any tighter or I’ll burst.
“You’re coming home with me,” I say once I can no longer hear Chad’s voice in the hallway.
She glances up at me through her eyelashes. “I thought you might say that when they said I shouldn’t be alone tonight.”
“You’re not going to be alone. Not at all. I want you to stay with me throughout this pregnancy. I won’t sleep at all otherwise.”
“Liam…”
“Move in with me. There’s plenty of room. I want to take care of you. I want to keep you and the baby close.” I plan on them staying forever but one step at a time.
“I don’t want to cramp your-”
“There is no style to cramp. It’s us and this baby, Juliana. I’m going to make sure you have all the care you need and then I’m going to give you three times more. Please, honey? I think I’ll go crazy if I can’t do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
“I don’t want to be a pest.”
“Do you want me to start tickling you right now? Because I will if you ever refer to yourself as a pest again.”
Her shoulders shake with laughter before she nestles even closer. “Okay, roomie. If you insist, I’ll stay with you in your luxurious mansion for the time being, but it will be such a hardship,” she says, teasingly.
I kiss her forehead and point to her phone. “Play it again.” The recording of our baby’s heartbeat fills the tiny room.