Chapter 9
He lifted his head in surprise as she came into the kitchen.
"You're up."
"So are you." She waved a hand and stood there inside the doorway. He was seated at the counter, his hands wrapped around a coffee cup. She could smell the aroma all the way up at the top of the stairs. She had stirred thirty minutes ago, seen the space next to her empty, and thought he had left.
"I called John."
"Who? Oh, the doctor." She folded her hands in front of her and shook her head. "It sounds weird hearing you call him that. He's a celebrity."
He smiled slightly. "He wouldn't agree with you. How are you? Any pain?"
"Just a little tenderness. Aren't you going to work?"
"No. Sit." Shoving from the counter, he went to pour her a cup. "What would you like to eat?"
She took a seat next to his and reached for the cup. "Are you going to fix me something?"
"My culinary skills are limited. I can pour cereal."
"I'm sure you can," she said with a laugh, dimples flashing and making him stumble a little.
"Er-" He cleared his throat and opened the pantry to stare at the vast selection. "What kind?"
"Raisin bran will do." Tilting her head to the side, she watched as he fetched bowls and poured the cereal in, then took the milk from the fridge.
"John will be here in ten minutes."
Her eyes went wide. "That quickly?"
"I caught him on his way back from tee time. He's an avid golfer." He nudged the bowl over to her. "So, eat. Sure you're all right?"
"I'm sure. Why aren't you going in?"
He lifted a pointed brow. "Take a wild guess."
"Oh, but I don't want to keep you away from your work."
"I'm sure they'll manage without me. What about the store?"
"I called Willow to run it for the day."
"Or two."
"I'm sure I'll be well enough to return tomorrow. I have a shipment-"
"We'll see what John has to say."
"Brant-"
"I saw you on your knees retching your stomach lining out. So, forgive me for waiting to hear what the doctor has to say."
She felt the warmth flooding through her body as she stared at him. It was a first, her having someone to take care of her, and it felt good. She opened her mouth to say something when the bell sounded.
"He's earlier than I expected. Stay. I'll go and let him in."
Indigo sat at the counter, her hands wrapped around the cup, and listened to the men conversing.
She sprang to her feet as soon as they stepped into the room, her heart picking up speed when she saw the larger-than-life Dr. John Wynter.
She was sharing space with a legend, and it was so surreal that she had no idea what to say.
He came forward, a twinkle in his light blue eyes.
His thick ash blonde hair was slightly tousled, and he was still wearing his golfing outfit.
"My dear." He clasped her hands in his and squeezed. "I was just berating Brant here for not inviting me to the wedding."
"It was small, intimate." She just managed not to stammer. "It's very nice to meet you."
"Likewise. You're very lovely. Brant is a lucky man."
"Thank you. Would you like some coffee?"
"That would be nice. I brought some of my instruments with me and would like a place where I can examine you."
"Oh."
"The library is perfect. It has a day bed that slides out by the window. I'll bring the coffee in."
"Splendid. My dear, shall we?"
"Of course." Sending Brant a look over her shoulder, she went with the doctor.
When Brant went in with the coffee, the doctor was taking her vitals. "Your blood pressure is a little elevated, which is to be expected, considering. I'm doing a preliminary examination as I do not have the equipment to do a more extensive one."
"Perhaps you should leave-" Indigo began, not sure she wanted Brant in the room. It was already very awkward.
"I'm not going anywhere," he told her mildly, setting the cup down on the desk. "I've seen you at your worst." He switched his gaze to the doctor. "She bled like a struck pig and puked until I thought she was dying. What the hell is wrong with her?"
John continued his examination as he asked her to take several deep breaths. "You're going to have to give your doctor permission to release your medical history. You said he told you that it was a hormonal imbalance?"
"He did. He also said-" Her gaze flew to Brant, who was leaning on the desk, his hands folded over his broad chest.
"Yes, my dear?"
She bit her lip but continued. "That it was very unlikely I would be able to conceive."
John stared at her with a frown. "There are surgeries that exist to correct that sort of thing, but like I said, I will know after I get the history and do a more thorough examination.
In the meantime, I took the liberty of bringing you some very powerful painkillers. Have you been passing clots as well?"
She looked at Brant again, who returned her stare with an inscrutable one of his own.
"Yes. I was told to press down on my tummy when I sit on the toilet."
He nodded.
"When can you get her in to see you?"
John glanced over at him. "I have an opening next week-"
"That's not good enough," Brant interrupted him grimly.
"Brant, next week is fine. I'm sure Dr. Wynter has patients, important patients-"
"I found her curled up in bed, the pain so excruciating, I thought she was about to pass out. Then she was on the bathroom floor vomiting. When she got off the bed, it was flooded and so was the floor. Put someone off, for Christ's sake, and deal with her. Next week is not good enough."
"All right. I was about to fly out to New York on Saturday to attend a conference, but I can put the flight off until later in the afternoon." He gave her a fleeting smile as she stared at him in consternation. "I owe Brant and his family a lot, my dear, so I'm willing to do anything."
"Good. What time?"
"How about eight? I'm afraid it has to be that early."
"We'll be there."
"Looking forward to seeing you. Take the medication with lots of fluid, my dear. It's very powerful and very effective, but it will make you drowsy."
"I'll walk you out."
"Thanks, Dr. Wynter."
He took her hand and smiled. "Please call me John. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
When he came back into the room ten minutes later, she was sitting on the bed, with her legs curled beneath her and staring out the window.
"It's snowing again," she murmured.
"Yes."
"He just dropped everything and came."
"I brought you the water to take the pills."
She turned to stare at him. "You were very forceful."
"I was making a point."
"It didn't matter that he had previous engagements."
"Your health is very important." He handed her the glass and sat next to her.
"Someone came to see me while you were away."
"Really? Who?"
Swallowing the pills, she took a long drink.
"Bianca Sterling, the actress."
He frowned at her. "Why the hell would she come to see you?"
"To warn that you would be going back to her when you and I are through. She was very dramatic, in her Chanel suit and fur coat. I told her to get the hell out of my store and not to come back unless she was a paying customer." She lifted a brow when she saw him grinning.
"What?"
"You told her that?"
"Of course I did."
"I would have paid good money to be a fly on the wall." He took the glass from her and put it on the end table. "What did she say?"
"She left. She wanted to slap me. As a matter of fact, she started-" She stuttered off at the ominous look on his face.
"Did she touch you?" His tone was icy and had shivers sliding up and down her spine.
"No. Of course not. I wouldn't just stand there-"
"Did she threaten you?" he asked, tawny eyes flinty.
"She did. But- Brant, what are you doing?" He had lunged to his feet and was taking out his phone.
Ignoring her, he called up a number.
"I can take care of myself."
"No one threatens you," he said coldly. "Bianca.
Yes, it's been a long time. You visited my wife at her store.
" He listened for a moment. "She said you threatened her.
What we had was over a very long time ago, and you need to back the hell off.
If you ever confront her like that again, I will make you very sorry.
" He listened another few seconds. "That movie you're currently hoping to be part of?
I happen to be very close friends with the producer.
Am I making myself clear?" He listened again. "Goodbye."
She sat there staring at him, her heart pounding rapidly.
"Are you finished? Would you like something to eat?"
"No, what I would like is an explanation."
"She threatened you."
"I can take care of myself, and she's a skinny ass bitch. I could have taken her."
A smile curved his lips. "I have no doubt on that."
"Still waiting here. The last time we had an interaction, you were very angry with me, and then you just left. Why the change?"
With a resigned sigh, he came and sat next to her. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"No." She shook her head. "You're hot and then cold and then hot. Yesterday and today was-" She shrugged. "You're behaving like a concerned husband."
"I happen to be concerned, and I am your husband."
"In name only," she persisted. She knew she should leave well enough alone, but she could not seem to help herself. "Right?"
He looked away from her and focused on something over her left shoulder. "You want an explanation."
"I want clarification," she corrected him. "You did me a tremendous favor, and seeing that actress getting in my face reminded me that I'm stopping you from-" She swallowed. "Or maybe I've not stopped you at all. If you want to be with someone-"
"I don't," he said it so swiftly that it had her staring at him. "Look," he continued. "I don't want to be with someone else."
"What do you want?" she whispered, not daring to hope that it was her, that he wanted to be with her.
"I'm attracted to you. I came back early to have a talk and found you in pain, and it flew out of my head."
"Spell it out for me," she demanded.