Chapter 14
He was climbing the walls. He had been waiting for what seemed like hours to get an answer.
She had been in that operating room far too long.
John had told him it was a simple procedure, but they must have found something more terminal.
Oh, dear Christ, if he came out here with the word cancer, he was going to be as sorry as hell!
He could not lose her now. What the hell was taking so long? Raking his fingers through his hair, he spun from the window and was about to march straight into that damn room. He stopped short when the door was pushed open and John came in.
Brant clenched his fingers and stood there rigidly without saying a word.
“She’s fine,” John ventured with a tired smile. “I’m sorry it took so long, but there was a cyst-”
“What? She has cancer?” Brant felt a tight fist closing around his heart, making breathing all but impossible.
“No.” The man shook his head firmly. “Just something on her uterus that we removed. She had a significant number of fibroids as well that were rapidly growing. We’ve removed them all.”
Brant relaxed his fingers slowly, the thought of wrapping them around the man’s neck giving way to a cautious kind of relief. “She’s all right?”
John nodded. “She should be coming out of the anesthesia right now.”
“I want to see her. Where is she?”
“In room ten. It’s private and-” The rest was left unsaid as Brant strode past him and out of the room.
“She will need a few days to recover,” John added to himself, a smile touching his lips.
Wonders would never cease, he thought in amazement. The Brant he was familiar with was no more. It was a pleasure to see the man he had become.
“Hi.” Her smile came, the sight of it punching him straight in the heart and making him shudder.
“Hi.” Taking her hand in his, he scrutinized her face carefully. “How are you?”
“Good. Am I- is everything all right?”
Lifting her hand, he held it against his cheek and closed his eyes as he felt her skin against his.
“Brant?”
“Everything went fine. You’re brand new.”
She smiled drowsily. “That sounds wonderful. Did you threaten John?”
“I almost stormed into that operating room and demanded answers. It was taking too damn long.”
“Patience is a virtue,” she reminded him a little primly.
“My ass.”
She laughed softly, her fingers curling into his. “I want to go home. I want to sleep in our bed and feel your arms around me.”
“John is recommending you stay for a couple of days.”
“No!”
“Doctor’s orders, darling, and if you’re going to bitch about it, I’m going to convince him to make it a week.”
She blinked at him. “You wouldn’t.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Now I’m not certain I’m happy to see you,” she said with an adorable pout on her sexy lips.
“You are.” He kissed the pout and allowed his mouth to linger on hers.
“Stay.”
“I have to run out for a bit, but I’ll be back.”
“Brant-”
“You need sleep and I have something to take care of.”
“If you’re not back-”
“Wild horses wouldn’t keep me away,” he assured her. Kissing her again, he sat and waited until she had drifted off. He had come up with the perfect plan and had roped in his mother, her friend Juliet, and Willow at her store.
“You bought out the entire store.” Willow stood looking at the empty spaces, an awestruck look on her thin face. She secretly wondered what on earth her boss had done to deserve such good fortune: a super rich and super handsome man who loved her to pieces and was willing to do anything for her.
It must be so nice, she thought wistfully. Not that her Bert wasn’t good to her, but this was something out of a fairy tale.
“I suppose my wife will have to take some trips to replenish the stock.” He looked around to see if he spotted anything else that would take her fancy.
He had grilled her friend and employee about her tastes and had some things flown in from Spain overnight. He wanted everything just right for when she returned home.
“She’s going to be pleased with the profit.”
Willow nodded. “The store is doing so well.” She gestured toward the glass counter. “How about that jewelry case?”
His eyes zeroed in on it. Marching over to take a closer look, he admired the precise cut and the unusual design. “I’ll take it.”
With a pleased nod, Willow scooped it up and ran to the counter to ring it up.
“Three days,” she murmured as he took her hand and helped her out.
“You had a fever,” he explained for the third time. “They could not jolly well release you with a fever of a hundred and four.”
“I wanted to come home.”
“Quiet. You’re home now.”
“I’m upset with you.”
“I get that. Watch the puddle.” The snow had finally stopped, and the sun was out in all its brilliance, melting everything in sight.
The doors were opened by a beaming Mrs. Holt, who had stayed back to make sure everything was finalized.
“Mrs. O’Keefe, Ms. Indigo, I mean,” she amended when her mistress cast her an impatient glance. “You’re back. Welcome back.”
“Thank you.”
“I made some sweet potato delight and grilled chicken.” She gave her boss a meaningful look. “And set everything up on the balcony.”
“Perfect.” He sent her a look of approval.
“Now, I’ll be on my way.”
“Oh, you don’t have to leave just because I’m here.”
“Bridge night. I will see you in the morning.” Grabbing her jacket, she headed out.
“I think she still doesn’t like me.”
“Nonsense. She adores you.”
Shaking her head at how obtuse men were, she allowed herself to be led up the stairs, and stopped dead when he swept the double doors open.
She had gotten so used to seeing the purely masculine décor that showed his excellent taste that it took her completely by surprise when she was met with something different, way different.
The décor had changed and the colors were a bold red and blue.
The tan leather sofa had been replaced by a sturdy ruby-red one with piles of red and blue cushions.
Even the center table was new. Instead of the modern sharp-edged oak, there was a beautiful antique that she recognized had come from her store.
Stepping further into the room, she could pick up little pieces that had been in her store.
He watched as she walked into the bedroom, her gasp loud in the otherwise quiet room.
End tables, a cherry wood dresser, a red velvet love seat she had picked up in a tiny store on a visit to Sacramento and an Indian rug she had wondered if she had paid too much for.
They were all there. Inside the closet was a vanity she had contemplated making her own.
“There’s more.” His deep voice had her turning around.
With a nod of his head, he indicated the door to one of the other rooms and she went in.
That simply floored her. He had given her an office.
Walking toward the polished oak desk, she went to sit on the squishy and comfortable sturdy oak chair and sat down, her legs giving out.
“You did this for me?”
“No. I did it for the housekeeper. What do you think?”
He saw the tears welling and moved toward her swiftly.
“Don’t-”
“Suck it up,” she said tremulously. “If you’re going to do things like this for me, you should get accustomed to the waterworks.”
He dropped to his knees in front of her, his hands sliding along her thighs.
“No one has ever done anything remotely like this for me before. No one ever thought about me this way before, taking care of my needs. I-” She swallowed the awfully big lump in her throat and tried again.
“I don’t know that I deserve anything like this.
All my life, I had to fight for what I wanted and now- Oh God!
” She slid down on her knees and buried her face against his chest, the sobs wracking her body.
“This is supposed to be a happy occasion.” His hands ran up and down her back soothingly, his own emotions coming to the fore. “If I had known it would cause so many tears-”
“Oh, shut it,” she whispered, her fingers clutching his sweater. Lifting her tearstained face, she gazed at him, all the love and devotion right there in her eyes. She did not have to say anything. Lifting his hands, he cradled her face, wiping at the moisture.
“There’s nothing in the world I wouldn’t do for you. Don’t cry,” he warned sharply. “If you start this again, I’m walking out, understood? You’re making a fool of yourself and, worse, you’re going to make me start making a fool of myself, and that’s unacceptable.”
“All right.” She swallowed the tears. “Whatever.”
“Are you good now?”
“Yes. No more tears.”
“Great. Now tell me you love me.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Say it.”
She rolled her eyes at him, appreciating the fact that he was trying to temper the emotions running around inside them. “I love you, Brant O’Keefe.”
“Perfect. Now give me a kiss.”
“So demanding.” Leaning forward, she obediently laid her lips on his.
He parted them with his tongue, sipping from her and deepening the kiss, his arms coming around her like steel bands.
She sank into the kiss, her fingers sliding into the hair at his nape as she poured everything she could not say into it.
Several minutes later, he lifted his mouth from hers and rolled his forehead on hers, his body shuddering. “You need rest.” He wasn’t surprised that his voice was raspy.
“That’s all I’ve been doing.”
“You also need food.” He rose and held out a hand to help her up. “Let’s go and eat.”
After the meal, he took over and undressed her, filling the tub with her favorite scents, and gave her a bath.
Afterward, he sat on the sofa doing some work while she pleasured herself by doing a slow and thorough examination of all the changes.
He would look up from the contract he was making notes on and smile at the enraptured expression on her lovely face.
He wanted to give her the world, he thought with a jolt.
He knew her life had been very hard, and he wanted to just give her everything.
She took such joy in simple things, things he had always taken for granted.