CHAPTER 7
Jaime
Clad only in my oversized white shirt that at least shielded her with a modicum of modesty, Gloria was spread out on the pavement, seated on my jacket. We had set her up outside a storefront so she could lean against the building. Her bare legs were steepled wide, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs in god-awful pain. A small crowd of pedestrians had gathered around us, more interested in watching Gloria give birth than the President drive by. A couple of good Samaritans had volunteered to get some hot water and clean towels from the nearby Starbucks at the officer’s request. With Cedars so nearby, why couldn’t one of them be a doctor?
Gloria’s frantic screams got louder.
“Relax, baby. Breathe.” I don’t know how I managed to get the words out. I was a total basket case. A twisted bundle of nerves.
Harsh pants spilled from her lips. Blood was pouring out between her legs. Fuck. I’d never seen so much blood before. Not even with my father’s fatal self-inflicted gunshot to his head. Was this normal? I hoped this cop knew what he was fucking doing because I sure as hell didn’t.
“Push!” he told Gloria.
“I’m trying!” she sobbed out. Tears poured down her face and mingled with beads of sweat clustered on her cheekbones. Her manicured hands pressed into the cement, helping to anchor her.
Her misery was eating me alive. This was certainly not how we’d planned it. We had actually scheduled a date for Gloria to be induced. Hence, it was more along the lines of a leisurely breakfast, packing an overnight bag, and checking her into the luxurious suite I’d booked on Cedar’s exclusive eighth floor—reserved for Hollywood celebrities and power moguls. And then having a nice calm delivery with an epidural. Followed by selfies. Gloria, me, the babies in our arms. Smiling. Happily ever after.
But now, happily ever after was an elusive dream. “Officer, can’t we get her to the hospital?” I had to shout out to him to make myself heard above Gloria’s frantic screams.
“Push, ma’am,” he said again before answering my question. “Someone on the force has called for an ambulance, but it’s not going to be easy crossing the barricade.”
“Can’t you tell them my wife might die?”
Sheer terror flickered in Gloria’s eyes. Her lower lip quivered. “I-I’m going to die?”
Jesus fucking Christ. Why did I say that? Why? Because I was totally losing my mind. And that better be all I was losing. A terrifying afterthought.
Full of remorse, I gently held Gloria in my arms. “No, my beautiful angel. You’re not going to die. Everything’s going to be okay. You’re going to be a mommy. And I’m going to be a daddy.”
Seriously, if anyone was going to die, it was me. I was close to having a heart attack. She shot me a faint smile before screaming out in agony yet again.
“Push!” repeated the officer.
Gloria grunted, her face turning as red as the soles of her Louboutins. “I’m trying.”
I let her squeeze my hand. Her clammy grip was forceful. Clawing me with her long nails, she pushed again to no avail. Panic gripped me by the balls.
“Why won’t the babies come out?” my wife cried as blood pooled on the lining of my jacket. She was as debilitated as she was terrified.
“You need to relax,” responded the officer. He turned to me.
“Sir, can you do something to distract her? Maybe entertain her?”
I shot him a puzzled look. What did he want me to do? Perform a song and dance number? Do a magic trick—abracadabra, make our babies magically appear? Recite nursery rhymes—which I actually could do because I’d memorized all of them over the last eight months? I could also whistle, but this wasn’t the time for that.
“You know her. She’s your wife,” murmured the cop, his patience wearing thin.
Yeah, I knew what she liked for sure. Caviar. Netflix. Handcuffs. And Chanel. But the only thing that ever distracted by beautiful control-freak wife was my big-ass dick. I seriously contemplated freeing it from my jeans and letting her hold on to it as she pushed. But the thought of being arrested for indecent exposure stopped me. Damn it. Think, Zander, think.
Gloria’s eyes grew wide as my mind raced. “Jaime, please don’t leave me. I need you!”
I gripped her hand and stroked her damp hair. “Angel, trust me, I’m not going anywhere.”