Chapter 65
sixty-five
I nuzzle my face into Graham’s solid warmth. On the floor next to us, my phone displays an unknown number and I ignore it.
Clutching his jacket in my hands, I pulled myself closer. “Graham?”
He drops another kiss on my forehead. “Hmm?”
“I’m really glad you’re here.”
It is a relief to admit it, even if I have no idea what the words mean for me. He knows what they mean for him, though—and adoration shines in his dark eyes as he pins my gaze. “I will always be here, Juliet.”
Heat trickles down, gathering low in my belly. I shift in his lap, wanting to feel his body grind into mine. As soon as I settle the curve of my backside against his erection, his eyes flicker to my lips.
“Careful, bijou . It’s been too long. I can’t be held responsible for what I’ll do if you start teasing me.”
I want to laugh… or maybe just reach for his fly—but Dominic’s vicious jeer chooses that moment to intrude. His bitter words echoed in my mind. “Don’t act like you’re not a little tease who wouldn’t get on her knees in any room of this office.”
Leaning my head back, I search Graham’s features. “Do you think I’m a tease?”
His lips come down hard on mine in a fierce kiss. “No,” he says against my mouth. “Stop it. Nothing that fucking creep did is your fault. You are beautiful and professional and brilliant. He only saw a piece of ass because that’s all he wanted to see.
“Take it from a man who couldn’t keep his eyes off you the first time he saw you—the second you opened your mouth, I knew there was so much more to you than a tight dress and sexy body. And, even so, you were right to slap me that day. I deserved it. I wish you could smack him, too.”
I nearly groan. How does he always say exactly what I need to hear? Like he has a special viewfinder to peer into my soul. As I move to kiss him again—properly, this time—my phone goes off for the third time in two minutes, displaying the same phone number.
“Get it,” Graham murmurs against my cheek. “Like I said, I’ll be here.”
Scowling, I swipe at the screen. “Hello?”
“ Julieta .” My father’s panicked voice fills my ear. “You must come now, mija . The baby is coming, and I have to leave.”
My mind struggles to shift gears from Graham to my dad. Once it finally processes, I balk. “Lucia’s in labor, and you have to leave ?”
Graham gapes at me, mouthing, “ What? ”
I freeze, listening as Julio attempts to explain, “She is at Mount Sinai. I dropped her off there.”
“You dropped her off?! ” I shriek, automatically struggling to my feet. “Papi, no! You have to go back for her. She can’t be alone at the hospital in labor! Have you lost your mind?”
Deafening quiet comes as my reply. Graham touches my arm—probably to remind me that everyone on the floor can hear me—but I throw his hand back at him.
“Papi,” I repeat, furious. “You go back right now or I am calling Abuelita.”
My father sounds suitably ashamed, for once. “I could not stay, Julieta . I need you to go be with her.”
“You couldn’t stay ? What does that even mean ?” I demand. “She needs you . Your baby needs you.”
I’m vaguely aware of Graham rising from our spot. I know, somewhere in my mind, that I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. He’ll understand.
“You told her you would help her,” my father argues. “Her, not me. So help her .”
Desperation claws up my middle. “Papi! You have to be there! Even if she leaves you, don’t you want to be a part of this baby’s life? This is your son ! Tu hijo! El te necesita, Papi .”
Julio heaves out a sigh that stops me cold. His bravado slips away entirely, turning his next words into a dark, defeated confession. “You know better than anyone, mija . It’s not me that baby needs. I am no one’s father.”
All of my indignation sticks in my throat, leaving me hoarse. “Papi, por favor ?—”
“Will you tell your baby brother that I’m sorry?”
“ Papi —"
The line goes dead. I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at it. Graham’s fingers land on my wrist, bringing me back to reality.
“Where is she?” he murmurs, already dialing his phone.
“Mount Sinai.”
Belatedly, it occurs to me that my father purposefully drove his girlfriend into the city, to the hospital closest to my office… so I would be forced to go stand in for him. That particular slice of betrayal hits me especially hard. My stomach pricks at the same second my eyes fill.
Graham winds his arm around my waist, holding me against him. “I’ll call Abuelita,” he mumbles. “I hired a new car service yesterday—I’ll send them for her. You and I will hail a cab.”
I spin around in a half circle, panicked. “I can’t just leave !”
His hands cup either side of my jaw while his dark eyes melt into mine, calming me. “You have to, bijou . I’ll deal with Grayson.”
“No, Graham, I can’t—I don’t want to—” How do I explain the horrible feeling crushing my chest? Guilt and panic and absolute shock .
Abuelita picks up before I can finish. Graham’s halting, sloppy Spanish flounders through an explanation until I hold out my hand and take over. While we talk, he rushes me into an elevator and then across the first-floor lobby.
On one hand, it’s good that the cab ride passes quickly, because Lucia obviously needs help. On the other, I have no clue what I’ll do once I actually get there. Twice, Graham has to reach across the seat and smooth his fingers over mine to still their nervous tapping.
It alarms me how badly I want to bring him into the hospital with me. I debate how to possibly explain his presence to Lucia… and Abuelita. In the end, I realize the poor girl giving birth with strangers probably won’t appreciate if one of them is a man. An attractive young man, at that.
When we pull up to the ER, I turn to tell him I have to leave him behind, only to find him smiling wistfully at me. “I know,” he says, then nods at the building. “Go. You know where to find me.”