A Million Kisses or More (39 page)

Well, there was one thing she was keeping from him because she hadn’t wanted to get his hopes up too much if it didn’t pan out: getting
Justice Kane
made into a movie or TV serial. But compared to this new development, she wasn’t sure if the other thing would even faze him. Either way, Ana had hoped she would have the opportunity to talk to Winter Mitchell tonight about it, since Abby had given him Harrison’s books nearly two months before. If they could get him attached to the project, Abby had been almost certain they’d be able to get a movie deal out of the whole thing. And with her connections, she was in the position to know.

Now that she realized what was happening to her, Ana’s stomach had become a veritable demon and the thought of talking to Winter made her want to vomit. There was probably no better way to ruin a deal than by puking on the star. Actually, she was pretty sure her reaction would always gravitate towards puking when it came to talking to Winter.

“Calm down, Ana,” Abby whispered, putting her hand at the small of Ana’s back. “There’s no reason to be nervous.”

“There’s every reason to be nervous,” she returned, needing to take a few breaths to keep her water and crackers down. Closing her eyes, breathing through her nose, she said, “I should have called Harrison before we left.”

“The limo was waiting,” Abby reminded her. “And a few more hours aren’t going to make a huge difference. Now, relax because Winter Mitchell just walked in with his wife.”

Ana’s heart that had just started to slow down suddenly kicked up into an even faster pace and if she wasn’t careful, she might pass out. Her blood was moving too fast for her brain to be getting any oxygen and she was no longer making any sense. With wide eyes, she looked around the glitzy party and immediately spotted the duo: Winter with his dark hair and chiseled face and his pretty, brown haired wife. He seemed to surround Flynn with his aura and the two of them looked blissfully, incandescently happy. It was like nothing could pop their bubble, like nothing would dare.

“They’re beautiful,” she breathed, unable to tear her gaze away from them.

“Yes, they are,” Abby agreed, taking her hand and tugging her over to the magnificent pair. “Now move those feet. We’re going to get this deal for Harrison so he can move his ass out here and we can be one, big happy family.”

Ana snorted even as she let Abby pull her towards the center of the universe. When Ana hesitated, Abby called out in her brightest voice, “Winter Mitchell. You owe me a hundred dollars.”

Winter turned his head, his smile warm as he saw Abby. Holding out a hand, he took Abby’s hand and brought it up to his lips. After gifting her knuckles with a kiss, he asked, “Absynthe. Why do I owe you a hundred dollars?”

“You went and fell madly in love, just like I said you would, oh, four years ago?” Abby sang. Holding out her other hand, she continued, “So pay up.”

He still held her hand and Ana realized she was holding her breath. Up close, Winter Mitchell was even more gorgeous than he was on TV. His blue eyes sparked with dark sexuality and his muscled body exuded primal sexuality and if his hair was a little lighter, he would be Justice Kane incarnate. Before Harrison, Winter was who Ana imagined as the necromancer and seeing him up close and personal reminded her why, even if she couldn’t remember her own name at the moment.

Ana could only stare at him as he grinned down at Abby, reached into his back pocket, and pulled out his billfold. Pulling out a crisp one hundred dollar bill, he handed it over and said, “That’s a bet I am more than willing to pay.”

With a bright smile, Abby muttered out of the side of her mouth, “Breathe, Ana.”

Taking a huge gulping breath, Ana blinked and turned her head to the side and found herself being watched by Flynn Mitchell. The girl’s brown eyes sparkled with laughter and not a hint of jealousy. Shaking her head to clear it, Ana offered a smile, “I do have a boyfriend, actually he’s my fiancé, and I’m madly in love with him, but holy crap, your husband is magnificent.”

Flynn laughed, leaning even more fully against Winter’s side as he continued to talk with Abby, seemingly unaware of the foot that was sticking out of Ana’s mouth. “Yeah, I’m pretty fond of him myself.”

“You must be Absynthe’s sister,” Winter’s whiskey smooth voice murmured, erasing all thought from Ana’s head once again.

Abby nudged her and Ana held out her hand and stammered, “Ana.”

When he wrapped his fingers around her palm, she thought she’d swoon. She knew it was ridiculous since she was madly, passionately in love with Harrison and Winter was madly, passionately in love with his wife, but there it was. There was just something about Winter that reduced her to mush.

“It’s your fiancé that wrote the
Justice Kane
books, right?” he asked.

Words were beyond her, both from excitement that Winter Mitchell was talking about Harrison’s books and the fact that he was talking to
her
about them. “Uh huh.”

“I want to do it,” Winter said, his electric blue eyes blazing with excitement, morphing him even more into Justice Kane. “I want to bring those books to life. I want to bring Justice Kane to life.”

Ana’s head swam with disbelief and absolute joy. “Okay.”

Winter chuckled as he pulled his hand away from Ana’s grip. “We can schedule a meeting for later this month. Absynthe?”

“No problem,” Abby said with a decisive nod. Looping her arm through Ana’s, she added, “I’ll give you a call tomorrow to set something up.”

With that, she pulled Ana away, laughing under her breath. “So, you might be tempted by Winter.”

It took a moment for the words to penetrate the thick fog that surrounded her head and another second or two to figure out what Abby was talking about. Laughing self-deprecatingly, Ana shook her head no. “He’s like the sun or a god or something. He just overwhelms the senses and I have no idea how a mere mortal can stand it. Flynn Mitchell must be a superhero, or something.”

Abby just chuckled. Squeezing Ana’s arm, she said, “Your Harrison must be something pretty special if you’re not tempted by Winter.”

Ana’s lips curved upwards in a small smile at the thought of Harrison. “Actually, Harrison is probably just as gorgeous, if not more so because he’s mine. Winter is just so… magnetic. I’ve never before met anyone that just oozes so much charm and raw sexuality. It’s easy to understand some of the choices Flynn made.”

Abby snorted, “Not everyone has that excuse. Sometimes we do dumb things for no reason at all.”

Ana nodded in agreement, her stomach settling some now that she had talked to Winter Mitchell and survived with only minor embarrassment. Plus, he was very enthusiastic about Harrison’s books, so that was awesome.

Abruptly, Abby pulled Ana to a stop and started to laugh. “My god, Ana, you crack me up. You handled Nolan Mars without batting an eye but you completely froze back there with Winter.”

Ana’s lips curved into a wry smile, “As I said, Winter’s magnetic.”

“Nolan can be just as magnetic.”

Ana shrugged her shoulders, not willing to contradict her sister about something so trivial. “If you say so.”

With a blinding smile, Abby said, “Wait here and I’ll grab us a couple of sparkling waters.”

With that, Abby was off, leaving Ana alone with her thoughts. For whatever reason, Ana wasn’t intimidated by Nolan, which was probably a good thing since he was staggering his way over to her. His glossy eyes and loopy smile made it apparent that he was either drunk or high as he bumped into her and finally stopped. Since there was a wall behind her, she was effectively trapped. With a crooked grin, he put his hand on the wall next to her head and leaned in as he said, “Oops. I thought you were further away.”

Well, there was a reason she wasn’t intimidated by him: he was so much like the college boys when they had too much to drink. Mostly they were harmless, just annoying, especially for someone like her who hadn’t been interested in casual hook ups. Gritting her teeth, she forced her lips into a smile. “Nolan, how nice to see you again.”

He blinked at her and cocked his head to the side. “There’s something awfully familiar about you. Why? Have we fucked?”

Since he probably met a lot of people, she wasn’t offended that he didn’t recognize her. “Um, you stole my table at Harry’s a few months back.”

His smile became genuine as he said, “If I recall correctly, you stole the table from me.”

“No,” she grinned at him, enjoying this pleasant side of Nolan. “I was only reclaiming what was originally mine.”

His smile turned seductive as he leaned closer and he breathed deeply, as if he could inhale her scent and track her down at a later date. It was a little scary how he went from an affable Nolan to a slightly predatory Nolan. It was as if seducing women were second nature and he just couldn’t help himself, which would explain why he couldn’t remember everyone he slept with. If she was someone else, she could almost understand how a girl could fall under his spell and believe him sincere. For him, she didn’t think it was an act. He genuinely loved women, all women, he just didn’t remember their names afterwards.

Before she could think better of it, she blurted, “I’m pregnant.”

His spine straightened so fast, she was afraid his back would snap in two. As he stared down at her in utter horror, he swallowed once, twice, before he croaked out, “Is it mine?”

Arching a single brow, wondering just how many women he had slept with, she deadpanned, “Yes, yes it is.”

His face lost what little color it had as he stumbled back a step. “Oh, god.”

“You’re an idiot, Nolan Mars.” Leaning closer, watching as he mirrored her action and leaned closer to her, she whispered, “We’ve never slept together. You’re safe.”

He looked at her, his eyes huge in his pale face, before he blinked. A slow smile spread across his lips as he hugged her, picking her up off the ground. “I could kiss you.”

“That’s okay,” she murmured, awkwardly patting his shoulder until he set her down. Laughing at him, at his relief, she shook her head as she pushed past him. Digging her phone out of the little clutch she carried, she found a semi-private hallway and dialed Harrison to tell him, no longer able to keep the news to herself. The need to talk to him was overwhelming her and as she waited for him to answer the phone, she discovered that her hand was shaking.

When he didn’t answer, she dialed again, the urgency to talk to him becoming a gnawing pit in her already unsettled stomach. Maybe the reason she was so uneasy had nothing to do with the party and everything to do with Harrison and why he wasn’t answering the phone. When he didn’t answer a second time, she called the one person she swore she’d never call: Asher. When he answered, she tried to put some cheer into her voice in case she was mistaken and Harrison was just stuck in the bathroom. Her attempt was futile and her voice caught in her throat as she spoke. “Asher. What’s happened to Harrison?”

“Ana,” he muttered. Heaving a weary sigh, he continued, “Why does it not surprise me that you already know about Harry?”

She caught back the little whimper that tried to escape as she clutched the phone with both hands. What happened to Harrison? Wanting to get as much information as possible before Asher figured out she hadn’t any idea at all what happened, she took a breath before she carefully asked, “Will he be okay?”

“Probably… maybe,” Asher said and she could hear the concern and uncertainty in his voice. She swallowed another whimper before he continued, “They’re keeping him at the hospital for further observation. They’re hopeful that he’ll wake up on his own.”

This time, the whimper escaped so she covered the mouthpiece until she could get her voice back under control. “Which hospital is he at?”

“The one in town, St. Michael’s,” he answered. “There’s no point in rushing back, Ana. He hasn’t talked about you in ages and it would be cruel if you rush to his side now when you couldn’t be here before.”

His words were just buzzing in her head as she clicked the phone off and stuffed it back into her clutch. With a quick glance, she saw the credit card that Abby had given her, the card that Ana swore she’d only use for emergencies. It was all she needed. With trembling hands, trembling legs, she made her way towards the door only to be stopped by Abby. “Ana, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“I have to go,” she said, her body numb, her eyes on the door.

“Did Nolan say something?” Abby fumed, turning her head to find the man in question. “I swear that asshole is drinking his talent away….”

“It’s not Nolan,” Ana managed to interject, taking another step towards the door despite Abby’s hold on her arm. “It’s Harrison. I have to go.”

“Let me make arrangements,” Abby said, quickly changing gears as she pulled her phone from out of the front of her bodice. Watching Ana with concern, she said, “I’ll have the limo take you to the airport. By the time you get there, there’ll be a ticket in your name.”

Ana barely flinched when Abby mentioned the airport, knowing she’d rather get to Harrison as fast as possible, even if it meant flying. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be there tomorrow,” Abby continued.

“You don’t have to come.”

Abby leveled a glare on her that would have made Ana laugh under normal circumstances. Now, it made her want to cry. “I’ll be there tomorrow.”

Ana was unable to remain still the entire ride to the airport. Pressing a hand against her stomach, she made a promise that Harrison was going to be okay.

*****

After a flight that seemed to last forever, followed by an exhausting ride in a taxi, Ana finally made it to the hospital at nearly four in the morning. The halls were dimly lit and there was only one person sitting at the front desk, illuminated by a single light. Trying to keep from throwing up or screaming, she cleared her throat. When the nurse looked up, she said, “Harrison Miller was brought in earlier today?”

The woman gave her an odd look, wariness in her tired, blue eyes. “Visiting hours are long over, miss, and only family is allowed in at this time of night.”

“Harrison is my fiancé,” she said, tears welling in her eyes at the thought that he was in the hospital and she wasn’t immediately by his side.