The Billionaire's Beloved (Key to My Heart Book 4) (4 page)

"Have you called Bast yet?" Alissa Davis, formerly known as Alissa Grant before she snagged away my father in law, questioned as we sat in the hush of a small hospital room.

Beeps from other rooms nearby echoed along with the rush of sneakered doctors and nurses rushing about the ER.

Lydia cradled in my arms, we waited on Dr. Alvarez to join us with any results she may have.

My daughter had been thoroughly inspected, poked, and prodded, and now we only needed to be released and to find out what exactly was the root of her distress.

The EMT in the ambulance had been correct, her wheezing had stopped shortly before we reached the hospital, and she now slept as calm as ever, as though she hadn’t been struggling just to breathe not long before.

Being a mother was going to give me a heart attack. How was I supposed to survive eighteen years of this?

"I didn't even think about it." I admitted with a frown, "I couldn't think past making sure she was okay." I gestured towards the bundled up baby in my arms as she sighed sleepily.

Alissa chuckled and shook her head, relaxing in her uncomfortable plastic chair, "I understand how that must be. I'm sure he'll understand." She shrugged.

"He might, but Karina on the other hand..." I groaned, rubbing my left temple. I could already feel a migraine coming on.

The only thing worse than being a mother could potentially be being Karina's daughter in law.

"Oh god, I didn't even think of that one, or I would have called her for you myself." Alissa replied with a sympathetic pat on my arm.

"So tell me," I began, straightening up to look at the woman now that it was safe to be curious, "Where have you been? It's been months."

It was so strange, to be sitting here with Alissa, chatting like old friends when she'd married my father in law and attempted more than a few times to seduce my husband. She’d never been my favorite person in the world, that was for sure.

I was indebted to her quick thinking though, if it wasn't for her, I may have been too panicked to get Lydia the help she needed.

"Ah. George and I were overseas." She said simply, shrugging, "How are you and Bast, then?" She asked nimbly, and I wasn’t sure if she was being polite or trying to change the subject. Not so fast, missy.

"We’re just fine." I responded, "What were you doing overseas? A holiday?"

The beautiful redhead's shoulders were becoming more and more stiff. Had she and George already gotten a divorce? Karina would have a good laugh at that one.

Perhaps I'd be better off not prodding her for details. Had George been alright with Sebastian selling off the London branch of the business he'd built singlehandedly? Perhaps the elder Davis had been the one to buy it.

"Kind of a holiday." She finally shrugged, averting her almond shaped eyes, "We needed a break."

"A break?" I asked softly, frowning at her. I knew first hand that marriage was no walk in the park.

"Oh, your baby!" I said, struggling to escape the heavy tension that descended because of my nosiness, "How is the little one?"

It'd been over nine months since Alissa's bridal pregnancy announcement. No wonder she'd been able to stay calm, she probably had some infant crises of her own.

"Ah." Alissa whispered, eyes going glassy. Her lips parted, pursed, then finally opened once more, "I lost him." She murmured, voice hollow, "At five months."

I gaped at her, struggling to piece together some sort of semblance of anything to comfort her. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to apologize for being so cavalier in her pain.

"I am so sorry, Alissa." I whispered, reaching over to take her hand in mine, "I am so, so sorry."

Her chin dropped to her chest, chin giving a little shake.

“I’d always been told I couldn’t get pregnant. With George and his fertility issues as well, we decided to give it a go with IVF and a donor. It wasn’t meant to be I guess.”

She stared down at her helpless hands, a look I knew all too well. Poor woman.

Before I could find anything else to say, the doctor strode in the door, settling across from us in a chair as she flipped through her notes.

"Is Lydia going to be alright?" I asked, though my mind was still with Alissa's pain.

How difficult was it to sit here with my own child when she had lost her own? How much pain was I inflicting on her without even my knowledge?

I'd doubted for a long time that she was a decent person, but not even she deserved something like this.

"She’s going to be fine." Alvarez said, her voice ever cheerful.

Outside the window of the room, a familiar red-faced rotund ball of a man plodded down the hall, glancing around uncomfortably.

Alissa leapt to her feet at the sight of her husband, my father in law, leaving the room to walk to him quickly.

“I can’t let him get lost.” She whispered as she snuck out, waving slightly at myself and the doctor.

George turned more sharply than I would have expected of a beastly man his size, extending his arms as Alissa sank into his embrace.

He held her tight, rocking her in his arms, his cheek resting atop her head.

I stared at them, watching their love, almost tangible before me, as the doctor continued speaking. He’d never once looked at Karina like that, I was sure.

All this time I’d mocked their relationship, yet they cradle each other so closely.

"...did you hear me, Macy?" The doctor asked, clearing her throat and bobbing he head slightly to catch my attention.

"No." I responded honestly, tearing my gaze away from the couple and looking back towards the doctor.

What would I have done if I'd lost Lydia during the pregnancy? I would have been a wreck...I couldn't even imagine the pain that Alissa and George went through.

"It's possible it's a virus, though it could be asthma. She doesn't have a fever so I won't prescribe antibiotics yet. Keep an eye on her, if she worsens call right away." She crossed her leg over her knee, watching me, "Understood?"

"Of course." I sighed, "I need to call my husband."

"Sure. You both are free to go. Remember to call if anything comes up." Alvarez added with a firm point in my direction to make sure I heard her this time, standing as she reached out to shake my hand.

I nodded bleakly, exhaustion suddenly creeping through me. I was totally sapped of energy, and my car was still at the park.

Shifting Lydia in my arms, I fished my phone from my pocket. A dozen or so missed calls lit up the screen, some from Karina, some from Harry, and some from Sebastian. There was even one from Lewis, no doubt they'd asked the manager if he'd seen me.

With a groan, I dialed my husband's number, putting it to my ear.

He seemed to answer before it had even begun ringing.

"Macy?" He asked, startling me with the desperation in his lilting tenor, "Are you okay? We found your car. Where are you? Where is Lydia-“

"I'm fine, Lydia's fine, but, we're...uh, we're at the hospital." I interrupted, cringing and awaiting for his freak out.

"Hospital?" He breathed, and I could hear Karina cry out in shock behind him, "I'm on the way." He said quickly, above the sound of his car roaring frantically to life.

"We're fine, really." I insisted, "I'll explain everything when I see you."

"Okay. I'll be there in five minutes." He said firmly.

"Sebastian, the hospital is like twenty minutes away." I laughed, shaking my head with a roll of my eyes.

"Five minutes." he responded, "I'll be there, Macy." He added after a second's breath, "I'll be there for you and Lydia."

"Okay." I whispered back, closing my eyes.

The firmness of his voice was so relaxing, so soothing. It was as though he gently splashed my face with cool water.

I stood, gathering my things as I joined Alissa and George in the waiting room.

"Everyone’s on the way." I said, shaking my head.

"Good, then we're going to go." Alissa smiled, leaning down to kiss Lydia's smooth forehead, her lips lingered just a moment long enough for my heart to ache painfully, "I don't think they'd want to see us right now." She said delicately.

"You don't have to go." I offered, lightly grabbing at her elbow, "They won't mind."

"I need to go." Alissa responded with a shake of her head, "But I'll call you." She added halfheartedly, giving a slight wave as George wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her out of the large hospital doors.

I kept watching after them until they disappeared into the hazy darkness of the lot.

What time was it now? I didn't have any idea. It felt like the longest night of my life.

I sank down into a chair, staring down at the sweet face of my peaceful baby. I kind of wished she’d always be like this, serene in my arms where I could guide her and soother her and protect her. She was going to grow up way too quickly. Even now, every day her face was just a bit different.

"You can stop scaring me now." I told her gently, watching as she wrapped her tiny palm around my finger, "I think you've done that enough for one lifetime!"

It seemed like only moments later that Sebastian came crashing through the hospital doors like a hurricane.

HIs intense blue gaze swept desperately over the chairs as I slowly rose to my feet.

We stared at each other from across the large room, dim fluorescent lights flickering overhead.

I desperately struggled to come up with something to say to him, biting my lip in helplessness.

He took a step forward, shoulders relaxing as his eyes swept over the two of us intently, as though he were searching for injuries.

Then he came quickly striding forward, his eyes only on me, his arms outstretching towards us as he swooped me into an embrace so tight I thought I might never be able to breathe again. I was alright with that, if I was in his arms.

I leaned into his warm hug as we sank back down together into chairs, one of his hands resting against the back of my neck, pulling me close as his warm mouth planted a strong kiss on my temple. His other hand pressed against the sound face of his daughter.

I could feel his heart beating like a drum in his chest.

"You're both okay." He exhaled, as though this was the first time he'd truly breathed in an hour, "You both are okay." He repeated, like he wasn’t sure he really believed it.

"Now that you're here." I responded, squeezing my eyes shut.

It was only then that I realized I was clinging to him. I held onto him like an anchor or a lifeboat, I held onto him as though he were the only thing keeping my head above water.

I held onto him as though he were the breath in my soul and the shoes on my feet and every pulse of my frantic heart.

This man was my rock, my partner.

This man was the only key to my heart.

As Karina and Harry gushed over the baby in the living room, Sebastian gently led me up the stairs to what had quickly changed from 'his' bedroom to one that we shared.

"You've had a long evening." He said gently, his warm fingertips tracing the curve of my spine below my cotton shirt, "You need to rest. You don't need to worry about Lydia at all, not with the rest of us here to listen for any signs of wheezing."

I managed to chuckle, leaning into his shoulder as he opened the door of his bedroom, "Oh, I know it. Karina would pick up a cough from a mile away. That woman would protect her from a grizzly bear, even."

"From a family of grizzlies." Sebastian agreed earnestly.

He helped me lay on the bed, though I didn't really need him to do so. I was tired, not injured or disabled.

His hands felt so good on my body, though, that I was reluctant to ask him to stop.

"God, I was so worried about you two." He sighed, shaking his head as he sat down on the corner of the bed. His shoulders sagged slightly, as though the day had aged him a year in only hours, “When we found your car and you two were nowhere in sight…”

I collapsed into a sea of fluffy pillows, body gently swaying against the rippling comfort of his amazing mattress. The best money could buy, literally.

It was already becoming harder and harder to keep my eyes open.

“I should have called you.” I said apologetically, “I didn’t think it through.”

That look in his eyes when he finally saw us for himself, when he was finally sure that both of us were alive and well, would play on repeat in my dreams for years.

What was it that swirled in those blue eyes that were so typically stoic and cold?

Had it been...love?

That was silly.

Probably love for his child. Not for me. I was his wife, but not his lover.

It couldn't have been for me.

"I was just lucky Alissa was there." I replied with a shake of my own head, before I'd even realized what I'd said.

Sebastian's chin jerked up, eyes wide and startled, "Alissa?" He asked quickly, scooting over towards me, "Alissa that married my father, Alissa?"

I nodded severely, frowning just a bit. Would she have wanted me to bring her up? Just how much was I supposed to share, it wasn't my place to talk about her private struggles.

"Where in the world has she been?" He sputtered, "Was my father around as well?"

"He picked her up at the hospital." I responded, "They’ve been overseas."

"Overseas?" The billionaire pondered, climbing up to set at my side against the headboard of the bed.

He gazed up at the ceiling, trying to make sense of their spontaneous arrival back home.

"What could they possibly have been doing over there?" He mused, eyes sidling towards me as his chin followed.

He gazed at me, the fingers closest to mine crawling across the blanket to tenderly take my hand in his own. His long, tan fingers played against the back of my palm like piano keys.

"They were...on a holiday." I decided with a careless shrug, turning my head so he couldn't see my expression. I couldn’t lie to him.

I scooted closer to my husband, our hands still latched together, the side of his head coming to rest upon my own.

Silence slowly descended over our heads, serene and delicate. It was moments like this that I was beginning to appreciate more and more, when the world was still and I could absorb the sound of Sebastian's soft breathing, or the way sparks of electricity danced between us from where our skin just barely came into contact.

Carefully, I observed the way our fingers interlaced, memorizing the slight roughness of his palms against my own. His hands were large, fingers long, dwarfing my own hand in his.

Closer and closer I leaned into his arms, until he finally wrapped his muscled arms around my shoulders. I curled up against him, like a child, clinging to him as though he were a tattered, old security blanket.

It was only in this embrace that I felt safe and protected from the world. I was sure Lydia would share that warm sentiment.

"Macy..." Sebastian whispered, his words gruff in his tired throat, his tone unusually somber.

Tentatively, I glanced back up at him, "What is it?" I asked, frowning at the seriousness in his gaze.

"There’s something I need to tell you. Something I’ve needed to tell you for a long time..." He began, eyes just slightly shifting away before quickly meeting my gaze once more.

His square jaw gritted, chin lifting in firm decisiveness, "I've been trying so hard to find the right words."

"What is it?" I asked, breathless.

This was a sentence that would change everything, I could tell. This was a sentence that could make or break my entire world, everything that had quickly become reality. In just a few words all could be shattered or filled with bright light.

I couldn't tell from the discomfort in his knotted brow which it would be. Nerves twisted in my tummy, crazy butterflies beginning to swirl. His eyes were ever imperceptible.

Suddenly, a knock at the bedroom door turned both of our attentions away from each other at once.

"Macy!" Karina's voice echoed from the hall excitedly, "May I come in?"

With a glance at a nodding Sebastian, I responded with a hesitant affirmative.

She popped in, smoothing graying wisps away from her freshly botoxed and wrinkle free forehead, "I know you're exhausted but you must come downstairs at once." she said, smile on her usually frowning lips.

"What is it?" I asked, tired of all the mysteries of this family. Could one of them just spit it out already?

"You've got to come see this." She replied, dancing towards me as excited as a puppy waiting for its master to come home.

I let her grab my hand and drag me out of bed. If it got Karina all worked up, it was going to be worth it - whatever it could possibly be.

"Is it Lydia?" I asked with a frown, "Is she doing alright?"

"Just peachy." My mother in law continued, "Not a wheeze in sight."

"Thank God." I murmured, glancing towards Sebastian as he trailed after us.

Harry kneeled over Lydia in the living room, where she rest face up on a blanket.

She swatted at a bright pink ball in his hands as he blinked exaggeratedly at her and grinned goofily.

"Hello, Lydia!" He beamed, as though he were a parrot or a tape stuck on repeat, "Hello!"

I laughed, shaking my head, as Karina pointed towards the small child.

"Go see." She said gently, giving my back a tiny little push and a gesture towards Sebastian to follow.

I got down on my hands and knees, crawling over to the baby as she gurgled faintly.

"Watch this!" Harry said elatedly, glancing wide eyed between Sebastian and myself.

He turned back to Lydia, bobbing the toy towards her nose as he shook his greying head and babbled back at her.

Lydia's pink lips twitched, pulling into a smile as she gurgled once more.

"She smiled!" He said, throwing his hands in the air, "My grandbaby is smiling!"

"That's so sweet!" I cried as I clapped my hands together, "Make her do it again!"

Meanwhile, an uncertain Sebastian glanced towards his mother, whispering, "His grandbaby?"

Karina just watched the baker and Lydia, ignoring her son's commentary completely. The best offence was ignorance, after all.

From in my pocket, I felt vibrating, suddenly remembering that my phone was there.

I glanced around the room, wondering who could possibly be calling me that wasn't already here.

Perhaps it was already Alissa, calling to make sure we made it home without event. That was rather kind of her to be so thoughtful.

Fishing the small cellphone into my hand, I was startled to see Lewis's name on the ringer.

I stood up, letting Sebastian take my place as he bent down next to our child. Her eyes immediately lit with blissful recognition, head turning towards her father as her lips once again cracked into a sweet baby smile.

Slowly, I turned the corner, holding up the phone to my ear.

Maybe it was just a butt dial? What could Lewis possibly want, especially at an hour like this?

"Hello?" I said slowly.

"Macy?" Lewis's familiar voice responded.

The syllables slurred just slightly together. Apparently he'd decided to imbibe a bit this evening. At least one of us had a good time.

"Yes." I responded, planting a hand on my hip, "What?"

"No need to be so short with me." He chuckled, "I just wanted to hear your voice."

"This is not a game." I responded, "I don't want you to call again unless it has to do with the bakery. Good night."

"Wait!" He said quickly, sputtering as he attempted to recant his drunken words, "I did call about the bakery."

"Well?" I sighed, resting the phone against my shoulder as I crossed my arms, "I really don't have time for this right now."

"Well, you're going to put the bakery in my name." Lewis replied, slurred words becoming hard and harsh, "Or else I'm going to make sure everyone at the Davis company knows exactly what kind of marriage you and Sebastian have."

"What do you mean?" I hissed, passing the phone to my other shoulder as I walked farther down the hall away from the room with my family within, "What are you talking about?"

"I think the board of executives might look down on an arranged marriage of convenience just for the money, don't you?" He giggled, "I guess we could find out. Or you could just give me the bakery."

"Go to hell." I spat, hanging up on him and shoving the phone back in my pocket.

Was he serious? What would the board really think if they found out about how our marriage was conducted? Surely our child would be enough to prove that our relationship was real.

Though, funnily enough, it certainly wasn't real at her conception.

What were we going to do? What could we do?

My heart leapt into my throat, anxiously pacing up and down the hall as I struggled to come up with a solution.

I could not let him have my parents' bakery. I absolutely could not let that happen. I didn’t get married and go through all of this just to sign it away.

"Macy?" My husband's voice drifted towards me, worry in his voice.

I turned, tears prickling in my eyes as he walked towards me, confusion on his face.

He grabbed my shoulders, learning down to gaze into my eyes, "Tell me everything." He whispered, “Let me help you.”