Take Me (5 page)

“Good.” She nodded. “And what is it that you do, exactly?” She didn’t want to admit that she’d been Google stalking him for years. It was too embarrassing, especially since he obviously hadn’t done the same.

“I’m a real estate developer.”

“What kind?”

“I buy properties that have been abandoned in bad areas and then fix them up.”

“Then sell them for a profit?”

He nodded. “We sell them in an effort to bring up home values in the neighborhood.”

“Really?” She hoped she sounded believable. “That’s very cool.”

“I’m not a total jerk, you know.” His eyes were on hers, and her stomach did a somersault.

“I didn’t say you were,” she said.

The two of them lapsed into silence. Anna didn’t know what else to say. His very presence was unnerving. He was looking at her across the table, his posture relaxed, his eyes half-closed, his mouth turned into a half-slip of a grin.

Anna twisted the cellophane wrapper that her cookie had come in.

“Well,” she said. “Should we go back up and see if Katie’s ready for visitors?”

Jaxon licked his lips and thought about it. For a half second of torturous anticipation, Anna thought maybe he was going to suggest they find somewhere quiet where he could have his way with her.

But instead, he just shrugged his shoulders. “Sure.”

***

When Jaxon and Anna got back to Katie’s room, Katie tried to give them permission to leave the hospital.

“You guys don’t have to stay,” she said, sounding sleepy. “I have Adam.”

She gazed up at her husband adoringly, and Adam grinned and then readjusted the blanket on Katie’s shoulders. She was shivering from the epidural they’d given her.

Jaxon kept his mouth shut. He wanted to be there for his sister, but if he was being honest, he didn’t relish the thought of hanging around the hospital for the next few hours. That was, of course, unless Anna was going to be there.

“Of course I’m going to stay,” Anna said. She pulled out the deck of cards she’d picked up at the gift shop on their way back up to Katie’s room.

“Why did you get cards?” Katie asked, sounding slightly panicked. She stared at the cards like they were a poisonous snake. “Please don’t tell me you think we’re settling in for a long night.”

“Definitely not,” Jaxon said. He reached over and took the cards from Anna, slid them out of their package, and started to shuffle. “That baby’s going to be here before you know it. Now who wants to play poker?” If he was going to be stuck here, he might as well win some money while he was at it. Not that he relished taking money from his pregnant sister, her husband, or his high school sweetheart. But you had to raise the stakes at least a little bit. Otherwise it wasn’t any fun. “Dollar ante?” he suggested hopefully.

“We can’t play poker,” Katie said, shocked.

“We can’t?” Adam frowned and looked at his wife. “Why not?”

“Because we can’t bring a child into this world while we’re
gambling,”
Katie said, her tone suggesting that Adam should know better.

“Katie’s right,” Anna said. She reached over and took the cards out of Jaxon’s hands, giving him an admonishing look. “We’ll play rummy or something.”

God, she was being so damn bossy. Jaxon wanted to grab the cards back, throw her over his shoulder, and cart her out of the room so he could give her a good spanking.

His cock got hard again, and he shook his head. How the hell was Anna Webb having this kind of affect on him?

Anna started dealing, and Jaxon made a big show of pulling up his cards one by one, fanning them out in his hand. Who’d ever heard of not being able to gamble in a delivery room? What did Katie think was going to happen? That her child was going to grow up to be a gambling addict just because they were having a friendly game of dollar ante poker? He’d never heard something so ridiculous in his life.

An hour later, the four of them had grown tired of rummy, and Anna had pulled out a pack of Uno cards. Katie won the game pretty quickly, having been dealt a somewhat suspicious number of wild cards. Jaxon suspected perhaps Anna had been stacking the deck, making sure Katie got all the good cards, but he couldn’t prove it.

Adam had been out next.

And now Jaxon and Anna were the only two left in the game.

And Jaxon wanted to beat her.

He narrowed his eyes, looking down at the discard pile that was sitting in between them. There was a red three on top, which meant he could put down either a red card or a three of any color. He only had two cards left -- a red five, and a yellow three. He hesitated, wondering what card Anna held in her hand. Was it red? Yellow? A three?

The wrong choice could cost him the game.

Finally, he settled on the red five. “Uno,” he said quickly as he placed it on top of the discard pile.

Anna bit her lip, frowning. After an excruciating second, her hand reached for the draw pile, and Jaxon breathed a sigh of relief. He’d chosen wisely.

But then, Anna smiled and put the card in her hand, a red six, on top of the discard pile, leaving her hands empty. “I win,” she said.

Jaxon’s mouth dropped open in shock. He’d been duped.

Katie and Adam were deep in conversation, having long since lost interest in the game. So Jaxon leaned over and whispered in Anna’s ear, “You’re going to pay for that, Princess.”

Before he could elaborate, the same nurse who had come to check on Katie earlier walked into the room.

“Seems like there’s a party going on in here,” she said, her tone cheery.

“We were just playing Uno,” Katie said. She was sucking on some more ice chips.

“How are we feeling?” the nurse asked. She was over by the monitors now, checking the printouts that were coming out of the machines, surveying the numbers that signified the baby’s heartbeat and all sorts of other things Jaxon didn’t understand.

“I’m doing great,” Katie said. “Hungry, but not feeling much pain. That epidural was a godsend.”

“I’m more nervous than she is,” Adam said, then reached out and grabbed his wife’s hand.

Jaxon looked at them and smiled. Katie had always wanted to be a mom, and it had taken her and Adam almost three years to get pregnant. They’d just begun to talk about starting IVF, which he knew Katie had been upset about. It was nice that their son was almost here, that their wishes and hopes were about to be fulfilled.

As the nurse studied the printouts that were filled with indecipherable squiggles and numbers, her normally happy face arranged itself into a mask of concern.

“What’s wrong?” Katie asked immediately. She tightened her grip on Adam’s hand.

“Nothing,” the nurse said, her tone sunny. But where she’d been completely relaxed before, now there was a certain brusqueness about her, as if she’d encountered a problem she knew had to be dealt with. “The baby’s heart rate is decelerating, which means he’s not getting enough oxygen.” She smiled. “I’m going to call the doctor in to talk a look.” She turned to Jaxon and Anna. “Would you mind stepping into the waiting room? It shouldn’t take long.”

Jaxon looked over at Anna. She stood frozen, worry on her pretty face.

“Of course we don’t mind stepping out,” he said, taking control of the situation.

He turned to Katie. “We’ll be right back, okay, sis?”

Katie nodded, then turned to Adam, who grabbed her hand.

“It’s going to be okay, honey,” Adam said. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

The last thing Jaxon saw as he led Anna out of the room was the nurse slipping an oxygen mask over Katie’s face so that the baby would have an easier time breathing.

***

Jaxon’s cell phone rang again as they walked into the waiting room, and he pulled it out to check the caller ID. It was Donovan Cuban. Why the hell was he calling
again?

Jaxon shoved the phone back into his pocket. He would worry about that later. Right now he had to concentrate on getting Anna to the waiting room and making sure she didn’t freak out.

Her face was white as he sat her down in a chair. “You want some tea or something?” he asked.

He could tell her first instinct was to say no – it was obvious that she didn’t want him taking care of her – but then she nodded.

He squeezed her shoulder. “Be right back.” He bypassed the machines lining the hallway, the kind that allowed you to insert a dollar and make a tea or a coffee, and instead headed for the cafeteria. Anna had been something of a tea connoisseur when they were younger, and Jaxon could only infer that her tastes had grown more refined after living in London.

He picked through the meager selection of teas that sat in a small wicker basket near the coffee station, finally deciding on a calming earl gray chamomile. He poured boiling water over the bag and added one sugar. It was exactly how Anna liked it.

When he returned to the waiting room and handed her the styrofoam cup, he was rewarded with a grateful smile. “Thank you,” she said, and took a sip. There was a look of surprise in her blue eyes when the hot liquid hit her tongue. “One sugar,” she said.

“No milk.”

He nodded, then sat down next to her.

“You remembered.”

“Of course I remembered,” he said. “How could I forget? Anytime we’d end up at a coffee shop, everyone would be getting iced coffees or lemonade, and you’d have to have your tea, even in the middle of summer.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Coffee and tea are not meant to be cold.” She gave him a tiny smile and then clutched the cup tightly in both hands. “Do you think Katie’s going to be okay?”

“Of course she is,” he said. “The doctors are with her.” He wasn’t sure if it was true, but it seemed to comfort Anna. And right now, all he wanted was to make her feel better. That look on her face – one of sadness and anxiety -- was sending stabs through his heart.

Is that how she’d looked that night all those years ago, when he’d stood her up?

The thought was almost unbearable. He imagined her waiting for him, checking her watch, calling his house. Had she thought he’d been in an accident? Or had she known immediately that he wasn’t coming?

“Katie’s just such a good person,” Anna said. “I just want her and the baby to be okay.”

“They
are
going to be okay,” Jaxon said. He reached over and put his arm around her. Anna’s body stiffened, and for a horrible moment, he thought maybe she was going to pull away. Even though he’d been kissing her just a few hours ago, this gesture somehow seemed more intimate, and the rejection would have been a sharp sting.

But then her body relaxed, leaning into him, and Jaxon pulled her close. He took in the smell of her hair, vanilla and lilac, the same exact way it had smelled all those years ago.

His heart ached, wondering if the mistake he’d made by leaving her had been the biggest of his life. How would things have been different? Would Anna be the one in the delivery room right now? Would he be holding her hand, waiting for their son or daughter to arrive into the world?

No. Anna had been the one to turn him down. He’d put himself out there by asking her to come with him to Los Angeles. She’d been the one to say no. He’d stood her up that night, sure. But she’d been the one to reject him first. He would have done anything for Anna, and she’d made it clear that the feeling wasn’t mutual.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the waiting room, and a doctor appeared in front of Jaxon and Anna. Another person interfering on their moment was enough to snap the spell, and Anna jerked out from under Jaxon’s arm.

“Are you two here with Katie Randolph?” the doctor asked. He was an older man, probably about sixty or so, with a shock of gray hair and a kind-looking face. His white coat was pressed and immaculate, a fact that Jaxon somehow found comforting.

“Yes,” Jaxon said, standing up. “I’m her brother, Jaxon, and this is her friend, Anna.”

The doctor nodded. “I’m Dr. Gallagher. Your sister’s baby seems to be having a hard time getting oxygen.”

From next to him, Jaxon felt Anna tense. He reached out and grabbed her hand.

“It’s nothing to be too concerned about right now, although we don’t want the baby to be in distress for long. So Katie’s going to go in for a c-section. The quicker we can get the baby out, the better.”

Jaxon nodded. “Can we see her?”

“She’s being prepped for surgery right now,” Dr. Gallagher said, shaking his head. “Will you be waiting here for her?”

“Yes,” Jaxon said.

Next to him, Anna nodded.

“I’ll send someone out to update you as soon as she’s out of surgery.” He gave them both a kind smile. “And please, try not to worry. Katie and her baby are going to be fine.”

***

The next three hours were torture. Anna couldn’t believe how keyed up and anxious she felt. While she knew intellectually that a c-section was a very safe procedure, she couldn’t get over the fact that her friend was having surgery. A major surgery that was predicated by a doctor using phrases like “baby in distress.”

She felt completely helpless, and she just wanted the whole thing to be over with.

Jaxon had been great – he’d taken control of things immediately, bringing her that tea, then walking with her outside when she was too jumpy to sit still in the waiting room.

“Should we go back in?” Anna asked as they walked along the sidewalk outside.

The morning sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, warming her skin. The hospital was starting to become busier, with cars pulling up to the traffic circle and doctors and patients filing in through the automatic doors. The dawn made things seem more hopeful, and Anna felt herself relaxing just a tiny bit.

“We can go back in if you want,” Jaxon said. “But they’re going to call us as soon as she’s out.”

Jaxon had charmed one of the labor and delivery nurses into promising to call his cell phone as soon as Katie was out of her surgery. Anna had stood by and watched, biting back the sting of jealousy she’d felt, telling herself she didn’t care who Jaxon flirted with if it was going to get them information about Katie.