A Convenient Arrangement (24 page)

“Hey, don’t, okay? We don’t know anything until they tell us.” Gwen put her arm around Nina’s shoulder and pulled her in for another hug. Nina was courageous and tough, the person Gwen turned to for strength. It was hard to believe things could all turn out okay if Nina was crumbling. “Do you want coffee? Some fresh air? Can I run out and get anyone anything?”

Nina shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. “No, Shelly asked. I…no one wants to leave until we hear something.” They walked back toward the waiting room. “Part of me wishes Max wasn’t here,” Nina whispered. “Devon picked him up from school.”

Gwen understood her concern for Max, but he was nearly grown, and this was his mom. He wasn’t much younger than Gwen had been when she lost her own mother, and she wouldn’t have left the hospital for any reason when her mom was ill.

“I’m going to sit with Max.” Nina walked across the waiting room and sat in the chair across from Max. He lifted his head and the two of them started quietly talking.

Leo angled toward her. Deep breath. Really, she couldn’t avoid Leo. She was much too close to Aubrey and Nina and, by extension, Leo’s family. They would always bump into each other, although, God willing, she prayed that the next time would be at a happier event.

“Hey.” His smooth, warm voice still felt like a caress. Damn, she wished he didn’t have that effect on her still. His eyes reflected the worry she felt for Aubrey and the baby.

“Nina said it’s been more than an hour?”

Leo nodded. “I brought Justin. They took him in to be with Aubrey as soon as we got here. We’ve been waiting for word since then. Let’s sit down. It might be a while yet.” She nodded. He reached out and clasped her elbow.

Heat shot through her body with his touch. He steered her to a chair close to Shelly and Nina. She started to sit when the doors that led to the operating suites opened and Justin emerged, still wearing a loose set of white paper coveralls and elasticized booties over his shoes. Everyone rose and rushed toward him, the mood of apprehension vanishing as they saw his face. His eyes, his wide smile, said everything.

“They’re both fine. The doctors said that because of the way the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s body, when Aubrey’s water broke and she went into labor so fast, the cord was compressed. That slowed the baby’s heart rate down. But there won’t be any lasting harm. Aubrey is tired but fine.” Justin grinned. “And my daughter, Adrianna Natalia Travati, definitely has a very healthy set of lungs.”

“I have a sister?” Max asked, his voice shaking with relief.

“You have a sister.” Justin clasped his hand around the back of Max’s neck and pulled him close. “And everyone is good. Very good.” He pressed his forehead to Max’s.  Tears started to stream down both their faces.

Gwen pressed her hand to her mouth. My God, thank God. A new baby, and Aubrey was fine. Nina walked over and put her arms around Max and Justin. After a moment Justin straightened.

“I have to get back to Aubrey in post-op. As soon as they move her to a room then she’ll be able to have visitors.” He put his arm around Max’s shoulder.

Max nodded and watched Justin disappear back through the doors. His uncles surrounded him, slapping his back and congratulating him on becoming a big brother. Another Travati had entered the world.

Aubrey and the baby had been home from the hospital for over a week before Leo managed to get over to the apartment to see them. He told himself that he was waiting until their initial mob of visitors had thinned out, but really, he admitted to himself, he hesitated because Gwen might be there. And he wasn’t sure if that would be good or bad. The nanny Justin had hired to help Aubrey until she had fully recovered let Leo in and led him to the living room, where Aubrey sat with the baby in her arms.

“Leo, I’m glad you came by. Do you want to hold her?”

Leo did, but he didn’t. Adrianna looked so fragile, so breakable, as though one false move and she’d crack like an egg.

“You won’t break her, don’t worry,” Aubrey said, as though reading his mind. “Sit right there, I’ll give her to you. Just be sure to support her head.”

He sat on the couch, and she got up from her chair to hand the precious bundle over to him. The baby had a definite heft, and yet was light as glass. Her grey-blue eyes opened and a tiny furrow appeared between her brows. But she didn’t cry. No, she simply stared up at him, as though examining her uncle’s face.

Had he ever held a baby before now? He must have, he had two younger brothers, but he didn’t remember either of them coming home small and fragile like this. He remembered them yelling and kicking and tearing through the house with him. How funny, he had no recollection of any babies in his life. Ever.

“Comfortable?”

He nodded. He settled back into the squishy couch cushion with Adrianna in his arms, her featherweight body cradled against his chest. He leaned forward and put his lips on her forehead. Was that the famous baby smell? He inhaled. The scent that women swooned over? Sweet and warm and a little like sleep. He sniffed again. Adrianna’s eyes closed, as though she’d had quite enough of being sniffed by her strange new uncle and was ready for another nap.

“She’s such a good sleeper,” Aubrey said. “Just falls asleep whenever and wherever. Doesn’t even need to nurse sometimes. Takes these little snoozes. So different than Max.”

Leo nodded. As looked up at his sister-in-law he caught his reflection in the mirror across the room. He wore a dopey blissed-out smile, as if holding a baby in his arms had drugged him. Maybe it had. Adrianna was sweet and warm and just so incredibly fragile and vulnerable. A compelling need to protect this tiny bundle of life unfurled in his chest.

“Sometimes Justin naps right there with her. Says there’s something about the weight of her on his chest that makes him want to sleep.”

Leo could see it.
Feel
it. That and this unfamiliar protective instinct that had kicked into overdrive.

Aubrey’s tone shifted slightly. “Have you seen Gwen?” Leo looked up from staring at his niece into his sister-in-law’s eyes.

“Not since the hospital,” Leo said.

Aubrey nodded, but didn’t comment.

“Why? Have you?”

Aubrey smiled. “Nearly every day, actually. Even though Justin’s been working from home, she brings me lunch daily. I love the company. I’m not quite ready to take this little one out into the world just yet. It’s still cold and I’m still recovering. Soon, but not yet.”

That sounded like Gwen, bringing her best friend lunch every day so that they could chat and eat and Aubrey could have some company.

His chest ached. Leo wanted to have lunch with Gwen. He wanted to spend time with her. He wanted her back in his life but…he glanced at Adrianna. His niece was beautiful and perfect and…could he do this? For the rest of his life? Could he be a father? Be committed? Be dedicated to the life of another human in such a way that their needs came first, before him? Could he?

Adrianna seemed to smile in her sleep.

His chest tightened. No, not without Gwen he couldn’t.

*

“You held a baby one time and now you think you’re ready to have one?” Gwen narrowed her eyes at him. “That is insane.” She balled her hands into fists and shook them in front of her. “Do you have any idea how insane that sounds?”

No, this conversation wasn’t going as he’d planned. He’d left Aubrey and Justin’s knowing he had to talk to Gwen immediately, had to tell her how he felt. But he hadn’t been able to reach her on the phone, even though he’d tried again and again. The thought that she wouldn’t answer his calls struck a momentary chill into his heart. He deserved it, he knew. But he wasn’t going to let that stop him. So he’d gone to her building and waited outside for her closing on four hours. Four. Hours. Waiting for her to arrive home. New York in springtime wasn’t all that warm yet. And really, when had he ever had to wait for anyone?

But this was Gwen. His Gwen. And despite the furious look in her eyes and the furrow between her eyebrows and the flush of pink her cheeks that either came from being excited to see him, the cold, or anger (he wasn’t sure which), he knew that he would convince Gwen she was meant to be his.

“No,” Leo shook his head. “I’m definitely not ready to be a father.”

Gwen frowned. “But you just said—”

“I can’t do this without you, Gwen. That was my epiphany, that’s what I’ve figured out since we broke up.”

“So you wait outside my building for what, five hours, like some kind of stalker—”

“Four,” Leo countered.

“Whatever. You say four, my neighbor texted me you’ve been here for five.”

“Your neighbor has an inaccurate sense of time.”

“He sells watches for a living, Leo.”

“Doesn’t mean he can tell time. Obviously.”

Gwen held up her hand. “Fine,
four
hours. You stand out here in the cold for four hours to tell me that you now want to be a father but only if I’m the mother?”

“Pretty much, right.”

When she said it like that, he sounded like a nut job for sure. But he wasn’t crazy, wasn’t a nut job—he was a man in love. Leo looked into Gwen’s eyes. Her expression nearly unreadable now, she weighed something in her mind. Most likely his sanity.

“You really hurt me,” she finally whispered.

Her words stabbed him with the sharp pain of remorse. His heart shredded. God, he had. He had really hurt her. The pain was evident in her eyes, even if her face, that beautiful face with sapphire eyes that saw through to his soul, held the most stoic of expressions.

He shut his eyes. Took a long, deep breath. Could she forgive him? Would she forgive him? He certainly would never deserve this woman, but could he convince her, could he show her, could he find the words to make her understand that he wanted a lifetime to prove how much she and the children he desperately wanted only with her meant to him?

He grasped her hands, her fingertips cold. “I’m sorry.” The words came out broken and grave. He’d wanted to sound strong, sincere, but rasping need wove through his voice. He swallowed, fighting back the lump in his throat. He’d never choked up with a woman before this very moment. An unfamiliar heat burned in his eyes. Wow, so this was love? This aching horrible feeling of vulnerability and want? The knowledge that with one denial, Gwen could send his world, his future, careening into the abyss. Yes, but also knowing that with one yes his heart, his life, would soar to the highest of heights.

“I love you and I’m sorry. I will spend every moment of the rest of my life proving to you how much I love you if only you’ll let me.” Please God, let her want to let me. He squeezed her hands and pulled her closer. Rested his forehead against Gwen’s. Her scent filled his lungs and an overwhelming need for her exploded through his heart. “You’re the only woman I want in this entire world. Please Gwen, let me spend a lifetime making you happy.” His gaze searched hers. “Please Gwen, please tell me that you’ll be mine.”

Her gaze flickered up to meet his. Her stoic expression had cracked. Her bottom lip trembled, and her eyes, those big beautiful eyes, were filled with tears…

Leo’s heart ached. Oh no. No. His Gwen was not going to tell him what he wanted to hear.

“I don’t know how…I don’t want this to be because you miss me. This has to be about a life that you see yourself having. An experience that you want to have for its own sake, not just because you miss us. I miss us too, but I want each of us to be happy.”

“We will be happy. It’s bigger than just me, bigger than you, bigger than us. I didn’t, I don’t want this experience of building a life and a family with anyone else. I didn’t think I ever would want that life, but neither did Justin or Anthony until they met the right woman. Gwen, it takes the woman of your dreams to make a man realize what he’s missing. It takes love to show us what we really need.” His lips were so close to hers now. Please let him be able to kiss her again—how he’d missed kissing her. “And you, you’re the woman of those dreams for me.”

Her trembling lips, those lips he wanted to spend a lifetime kissing, turned upward into a smile.

His heart nearly burst from his chest.

“I love you, Leo Travati,” Gwen said as the tears streamed down her face. “I really do love you.”

“And I love you too.”

Gwen didn’t need a wedding at The Plaza Hotel. She didn’t even need a bridal brunch or giant reception or a bachelorette party. She’d planned and celebrated enough of those big events to know what she needed and wanted. And Leo? He didn’t care as long as her plans involved them getting married as soon as possible. So Gwen and Leo’s wedding was a small and intimate affair—a minister and immediate family only. Aubrey and Justin hosted the wedding luncheon afterward. As the party wound down, Gwen sat with Adrianna in her arms, the baby sleeping soundly after the stimulation of the day.

Leo walked toward her and sat by her side. “Want me to take her?”

“Sure.” Gwen gently slipped her niece into Leo’s arms. “You’re getting pretty good at that.”

“Well, I better, right? What with the twins coming in four months.” He nodded toward Shelly and Anthony. “And Aubrey and Justin talking about more.”

Gwen nodded and smiled. “Absolutely. The Travati family is growing by leaps and bounds.” She sipped her water. “Lots of children to play with each other. Loads of cousins. Big Christmases and holidays. Sounds like a nearly perfect world for our baby to be born into.”

“I’d agree,” Leo said. He nodded and kissed his niece’s head and she snuggled deeper into his shoulder. Then he froze. His head whipped up and his eyes widened. “Wait…what did…did you just…are we…Gwen…are we going to have a baby?”

A giant joyful smile that consumed Leo’s face brought laughter from her lips. Her face reflecting back his delight, she nodded. “Yes, husband, we absolutely are.”

The End

Please enjoy the following excerpt from
A Forbidden Love
, book nine in the Eligible Billionaires Series, coming soon from
Maggie Marr.