Chapter Thirteen
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Natalie decided to take the initiative this time and had invited Eugene over for dinner tonight. She was making lobster pasta, one of her favorites. She had already prepared a nice salad, which was chilling in the fridge. She’d bought bread from her favorite bakery.
There should always be bread.
She’d showered, shaved, buffed and puffed and put on lotion, dried her hair, put on makeup, and chosen one of her favorite sundresses, because after all that personal grooming, along with the precooking, she was hot as hell. Thank technology for good air-conditioning.
And now she was ready.
Ready for anything and everything that might happen tonight.
The doorbell rang, and she looked at the clock in the living room as she walked by, smiling.
Right on time, Eugene. Points for you.
She opened the door, fighting back the gasp as Eugene stood there in dark jeans and a tight white T-shirt that highlighted his amazingly sculpted chest and shoulders and, oh God, his abs.
“Hi,” he finally said, breaking the spell.
She realized that while she was ogling, she’d left him standing on the porch. “Hi. Come in.”
“Something smells good,” he said as they made their way down the hall and into the kitchen.
“Lobster pasta.”
He stopped and turned to face her. “You made lobster pasta?”
She laughed. “It’s not like I went out and caught a lobster, Eugene.”
“Yeah, but…I love lobster pasta.”
She warmed all over, and this time it wasn’t from the oven. “I hope you love this one, then.”
“I know I will. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, but thanks. Would you like something to drink? I have wine, beer, and hard liquor.”
His brows shot up. “Planning a big party tonight?”
She laughed. “Not tonight. It’s just a party of two.”
He gave her a heated smile. “I’m good with that. And I’ll have a whiskey. Straight.”
“Sure.” She went to the liquor cabinet, which was high enough that she’d need the stepladder, so she turned to go grab it, only to discover Eugene right behind her. “I’ll get it.”
Now she was trapped between the counter and Eugene. While he reached up to grab the bottle, his chest and crotch pressed against her back and butt.
Oh God, it felt so good to have a man’s body touching hers. And, suddenly, it wasn’t important to get the whiskey or think about the salad. She turned around and pulled him toward her.
His mouth met hers in a fury of passion that made her moan with the need that she’d repressed for so long.
Now this—this was the kiss she’d been waiting so long for. His tongue slid inside her mouth and desire exploded within her, bringing forth a desperate need to be touched and kissed and everything delicious that would follow.
She pulled her mouth from his and murmured, “I need to take the casserole out so it doesn’t burn.”
Breathing heavily against her neck, Eugene whispered, “Yeah, you do that.”
She moved away long enough to take the casserole out of the oven and put it on the top of the stove. Eugene had taken a seat on the sofa, his whiskey glass empty, his legs open and relaxed.
God, he was so hot. She grabbed her wineglass, took a long swallow, and headed toward him.
She climbed onto his lap and straddled him. He had just slid his hands under her dress when her phone buzzed.
“You need to answer that?” he asked as he teased her thighs with his fingertips.
She let out a low moan. “No.” She leaned in and kissed him.
The buzzing stopped, thankfully. But then her voicemail beeped and the phone buzzed again.
She pulled back. “Shit. Sorry.” She grabbed her phone, frowning to see the call was from her ex.
He’d never call her when he had the kids, unless—
She punched the button. “Sean?”
Her heated body went stark cold in an instant. “Is he okay? Where are you?”
She nodded as he gave her the information. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She ended the call and looked up to find Eugene staring at her, a concerned look on his face.
“Christopher fell and has a gash in his chin. Sean’s at the ER with him right now.”
“Do you want me to drive you?”
She shook her head as she grabbed her purse and keys. “No, but thanks.”
“Okay.” He walked out to the garage with her while she popped the door open. “Let me know how he is.”
“I will, thanks.” She wanted to hug him, kiss him, thank him for being so understanding, but all she could think about was Christopher.
When she got to the ER, she gave her name to the front desk person, who directed her to the room where Sean and Christopher were.
She stood just outside the door for a second to catch her breath. Seeing her little boy lying in that bed, his eyes closed, nearly sent her to her knees. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then slid open the exam room door.
“They gave him something for the pain,” Sean said, looking as worried as she felt. “He’s sleeping. Since he hit his head, they want to do a CT scan, but he seems fine.”
“Where’s Camryn?”
“My mom and dad came and picked her up. No reason for her to be here.”
She nodded. “Good. What happened, Sean?”
“I took the kids to the adventure park. You know, the one they really like.”
“Right.”
“Anyway, Christopher was doing the slide, climbing up backward, of course. I was watching him the whole time. I don’t know if he tripped or slipped or whatever, but he fell off, hit his chin on the side of the slide, and then landed face-first.”
“Oh no.” She walked over to him and brushed his hair away from his scratched-up face. They had a bandage on his chin, so she couldn’t see how bad it was.
She looked up at Sean. “Our poor baby.”
“Yeah. Took at least five years off my life. I swear I was watching him, Nat.”
“I believe you. Accidents happen.”
The nurse came in. “We’re going to take him to CT now. One of you can go. It won’t take long.”
“I will,” Sean said, standing. “You should get something to drink and sit, Nat. You look pale.”
He was right about that. She’d nearly broken every speed law getting here. “Okay. Thanks.”
After they left, she found vending and grabbed a bottle of water, started to walk away, then stared at the machine for a minute. She hadn’t eaten dinner and she needed her strength for Christopher, so she purchased an energy bar. She munched on that as she made her way back to the exam room, took a seat, and finished the energy bar, took a couple of swallows of water, then slipped the bottle into her bag.
And waited.
And waited, her heart pounding, her thoughts conjuring all kinds of terrible things. Like what if they found something on the CT? What if there was something terrible going on with her baby boy?
She shifted in the chair. No. She would not think the worst. She would not panic.
The doors slid open and they wheeled Christopher in, Sean behind them.
“Momma.” Christopher’s voice slurred, but he recognized her. That was a good thing. A very good thing.
Natalie got up and smiled over him. “Hi, baby. Did you get hurt?”
“I fell off the slide and cut my chin and hurt my face.”
“Ouch.” She smoothed her hand over his hair, watched his eyes drift slowly closed.
“It’s the pain medicine,” the nurse said, shifting kind eyes in her direction. “He’ll be sleepy for a while.” She adjusted his IV. “The doctor will be in shortly to discuss the CT and do the stitches on his chin.”
“Thanks,” Sean said, then turned to Natalie. “He’s going to be fine.”
“Right. Of course he is.”
“Kind of like a rite of childhood, ya know? A fall? Stitches? Remember how I told you about the ones in my forehead?”
“You tripped over a brick and fell onto another brick because you and a couple of your friends were wandering in a construction zone.”
He laughed. “Yeah. I was in so much trouble for that. But I still got ice cream, so…worth it.”
She shook her head. “Boys.”
“Yeah. Anyway, I was fine, and Christopher will be, too.”
“I know. He just looks so vulnerable.”
He reached over and grasped her hand. “It’s just stitches, Nat. He’ll be okay.”
She looked down to where his hand clasped hers, realized how wrong it felt. She pulled her hand away. “Yes. He will.”
Awkwardness hung between them like a thick fog. Fortunately, the doctor walked in at that moment.
“CT is totally clear,” she said. “Let’s do some stitches, shall we?”
Natalie breathed a sigh of relief, and she and Sean stepped out of the way as the doctor stitched Christopher’s chin. She held Christopher’s hand since he had woken up.
“You’re being so brave, baby,” she said, stroking his hand and his hair while the very awesome and gentle Dr.Weinberger put seven stitches in his chin.
Once finished, they did the paperwork and headed outside. Natalie bent down to give him a hug and kiss goodbye, but Christopher held tight to her. “Wanna go home with you, Momma.”
Natalie started to tell him that he had to go with his dad, but Sean said, “It’s all right. He needs his mom tonight. I’ll bring Camryn home tomorrow at the regular time, if that’s okay.”
He was being so agreeable, so nice. She didn’t know what to make of it, but she wasn’t about to try and figure out Sean. Not right now. “That’d be great. Thanks.”
Sean hugged and kissed Christopher. “You get some rest, baby boy. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
Christopher nodded. “Night, Daddy.”
They got in the car and she got Christopher settled in his car seat. He didn’t say anything on the ride home. She was certain he was exhausted.
“Momma?” he asked as they pulled off the highway.
“Yeah, baby?”
“Can we stop and get ice cream?”
There was her boy. She sighed in relief. “Yes, we sure can.”