Blindsided (Indigo Love Spectrum) (35 page)

“It’s not too late. This elevator has a stop button.”
She laughed. “Don’t you wish everything in life did?”

“Sometimes.” He smiled. “I can press the button.

Give you more time.”

“No, I’m good. I have you.”

“Yes, you do, and you always will.”

Their lips came together the moment the elevator
doors opened at the fifth floor.

“What the hell!”

Norris pulled away at the sound of an irate man.
Fuming eyes and flaring nostrils distorted the face of the
tall, African-American man.

Dahlia frowned. “What are you shouting about, Jonah?”

Jonah?
Norris gave Dahlia’s ex a once-over. The infamous cheating louse ex-husband. He shouldn’t have been
surprised to see the man there, as he’d just become a
father thanks to Dahlia’s sister, but surprised he was.

“I’m shouting about this.” Jonah motioned his finger
toward Norris. “Who’s your friend, Dahlia?”

“That’s really none of your business, Jonah, but if you
must know, his name is Norris Converse.” Dahlia slid her
hand into Norris’s as they stepped out of the elevator.
“Were you going somewhere?”

“Yes,” Jonah answered, glaring at Norris.

“Where could you go that’s more important than
being here?”

“That’s my business.” Jonah pressed the elevator
button and waited for the car to return.

Norris did not want Jonah to get away without
having a few words with him. “Dahlia, I can’t go into the
ICU with you, so I’m going to go make a few phone calls.
Call me when you’re ready,” he said. “I won’t be far.”

“Norris, where . . .”

The elevator dinged, signaling its arrival.

“I won’t be far.” He kissed her cheek. “Hold that ele
vator!” he called to Jonah, backing toward the open car.

“
Call me when you’re ready.” Norris slid into the closing
elevator and met Jonah’s unhappy gaze. “We need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“So you’ll just have to listen, because I’ve got plenty
to say to you.”

Norris crossed his arms, studying Dahlia’s ex. He
could see her finding the man intriguing. Jonah had
style, flare, and intelligence marked by a Columbia
MBA. And though no Norris Converse, he wasn’t a bad-
looking guy, either. In fact, Norris saw a lot of his quali
ties in this man, which didn’t make him feel too good.

The men stepped out of the elevator and walked out
side to a sitting area a few feet away from the hospital.

“Talk. I don’t have all day,” Jonah said.

“I’ll make this quick. I don’t think you’re aware of
how much you’ve hurt Dahlia, but I’m making this clear.
I won’t let you hurt her again, and that includes whatever
you do in regard to her sister.”

“Oooh.” Jonah trembled in mock fear. “Is that my
cue to get scared?”

“I’m just making a statement of fact. I don’t know if
you ever truly loved Dahlia, but I’m letting you know I
do. She’s the most incredible woman I’ve ever known,
and she deserves some real happiness.”

“And you think you can give that to her?” Jonah’s
derisive laughter rang in Norris’s ears. “You are fooling
yourself. Dahlia is angry with me for cheating on her, but she loves me. She’ll always love me. And, yes, I did love
her.” Jonah folded his arms and met Norris’s gaze head-
on. “I know she doesn’t love you. She can’t.”

“You’d like to believe that, wouldn’t you?”

Jonah laughed. “Come on, man. I don’t doubt Dahlia likes you, but she
loves
me. She has a lot of anger. I saw
Dahlia once after she found me with Leslie, and that was
the next day when she arrived to pack her things and
chew me out. Throughout the divorce, it was just her
lawyer. She refused to see me.”

“That should tell you something. I’ve been with
Dahlia for a while, and you have done a serious number
on her. But I think her biggest problem is you hurt her with her sister. I know Dahlia loved you once, but she
loves me now.”

“Has she said so?”

Norris stared at Jonah for a long moment and said,
“What do you think?”

“I think you didn’t answer my question. You’ll be
waiting a long time to hear those words from her, because
she can’t say them to you. My name is seared on her
heart, and no white-bread stud is going to change that.”

Norris laughed. “That’s funny—white-bread stud.
You know, you don’t sound very convincing when you
talk about what Dahlia’s not feeling for me. But it’s
understandable. You’re still steamed from the kiss you
saw. You can’t deny the emotion in it, no matter how
much you want to. Dahlia’s moved on, and she’s done it
with me. She’s a special woman. Something you either
never knew or chose to forget until it was too late. That
mistake will never happen with me.”

“I’m done talking.” Jonah stood. “I’m outta here.”

“
Wait a minute.” Norris walked in front of Jonah,
blocking his path. “What are you going to do about
Leslie and the baby?”

“I’m not going to do anything about Leslie, but I’m
going to take care of my son. That’s what I’m off to do
now, stud. I have nannies to interview.” Moments later Jonah peeled out of the parking lot in a maroon Aston
Martin.

Norris expelled a breath. That went about as well as
he had expected. He knew where Jonah stood with the
baby, and Jonah knew where Norris stood with Dahlia.
He looked toward the hospital, wondering if Dahlia was
reaching a similar understanding with her sister.

* * *

Dahlia stared at the elevator long after it closed.
A few
phone calls.
Humph! More like a meeting of the minds with Jonah. Could such a thing even happen with those two personalities?

“Dahlia, I’m glad you’re here.”

She turned to her father’s voice. “Yeah, Daddy, I
arrived a few minutes ago.”

The two walked in silence to the ICU.

“Leslie’s been asking for you,” Wilson said when they
reached the observation room.

“What did the doctors say?”

“She’s turned a corner. She’s still weak, but her pres
sure is down. They plan to move her to a regular room later today.”

D
ahlia smiled. “That is good news.” She looked
through the window to see her mother fussing over her
sister. Dahlia’s resolve faded. “Daddy, I don’t know.”

“You’re going to be okay. Leslie’s weak, but she’s not
fragile. And you’re a smart woman.” Wilson pressed his
hand to Dahlia’s cheek. The warmth of his strong, gentle
hand was the push she needed. “You’ll do what needs to
be done. Just trust yourself, Dahlia.”

She nodded and walked into the room.

Nona left Leslie’s side and made her way to Dahlia.
Earnest remorse had softened the fear and worry that had once hardened Nona’s face. Nona closed her hands over
Dahlia’s shoulder. “I owe you an apology,” she said.
“Even my worry for Leslie was no excuse to lash out at
you the way I did.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Mama. It’s been a tense
few days for everyone. I understand.”

“Thank you for that. It’s more than I deserve.” Nona
pulled Dahlia into an embrace and kissed her cheek. “Are
you two going to be all right?” she asked, looking from
one daughter to the other.

“Yes, Mama,” Leslie answered, her voice soft and a
little shaky, but sounding good for someone who’d just
come out of a coma. “I need to talk to Dahlia alone.” She
tucked her long, dark hair behind ears. “We’ll be fine.”

“Your daddy and I are going to leave and get those
items you wanted for yourself and the baby, and give
Quentin a call to catch him up with everything that’s
been going on. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.” Nona
waved good-bye and left.

D
ahlia gazed at her sister. Alone with Leslie for the
first time in years, she didn’t know what to say first. ‘I’m
glad you’re okay’ or ‘Why did you do it?’

Leslie motioned to the stool at the side of her bed. “Sit down, Dahlia.”

Dahlia walked over and sat.

“You really look incredible,” Leslie said. “Not that
you weren’t beautiful before, but you’ve lost so much
weight.”

“Eighty pounds,” Dahlia said.

“I know. Mama and Daddy told me. They’ve been
keeping me in the loop. I love your haircut, too. You look
wonderful.”

Dahlia pulled back her hand when Leslie reached for it. “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” she said.

Leslie nodded. “I understand. I owe you a lot of
explanations and a lot of apologies.”

“Visiting hours will be over in five minutes, so why don’t you skip the apologies and get to the explanations.
I’m dying to hear this,” Dahlia said, trying not to sound
snarky, but certain she did anyway.

“I thought I loved him,” Leslie said. “The first time it
happened, he was just there when I needed someone. I
had lost out on yet another job and I was still reeling from
the break-up with Walt. Jonah came home and found me
crying on the couch. He wiped my tears, lifted my spirits,
and propped me up. One thing led to another.”

“And another and another.”

“The day you found us was supposed to be the last
time. We had been together about three months, and I f
elt horrible. I had convinced myself I loved him, but the
guilt was killing me. I told him it had to end. Jonah said
one more time, that you’d never know. He’s so attractive
and was so persuasive. I gave in. But you came home
early from Denburg, and that was that.”

“So, you decided to keep seeing him.”

“When you found us, Jonah said we didn’t have to
end things. You disappeared, Dahlia. You kicked me out of your house and the next thing I knew you were gone and Jonah was getting divorce papers. I thought I was
special. He told me I was special. But after two years,
when he still refused to consider marriage, I discovered
there were special women in every corner of the world. I
had to know more than business kept him away. I’d lost my big sister and best friend for a man who was never
worth my time.” Tears streamed from the corners of Leslie’s eyes. “I had hurt you, the person I loved and
admired more than anyone in this world, for nothing.”

Dahlia dried Leslie’s eyes and wiped her nose as she
had so many years ago. “We both fell under the spell of
Baron magic,” she said, understanding how her sister
could succumb to Jonah’s considerable charms.
“Thankfully, the spell wears off.”

“Do you think you’ll ever forgive me, Dahlia?”

Dahlia tossed the damp tissue onto the bedside table.
“I can’t promise anything, Leslie, but I think I’d like to
try. Nearly losing you really shook me up. It shook us all
up, but it’s also brought this family closer together. I don’t
want to be the weak link in this chain. I can’t lie,
watching you raise Jonah’s child will be a challenge.”

Leslie dropped her head. “I’m sorry, Dahlia.”

“I know, but that doesn’t make this any easier. I
always wanted a baby.”

“I know.”

“Which makes this even harder. Jonah may be a heel,
but he was also my husband, and I loved him. This is going to be tough, Leslie, but your baby is so incredible.
I already love him. I will always love him, and I want to
be a part of his life—a part of your life.”