Chapter Nine
Layla found a metered spot outside the hospital and powered down his Tesla. She turned to check on him, but he was already out of the car. She slid from the driver’s side and met him on the sidewalk, and when she put her arm around his back, he dragged her tighter against his body. The cool night air whipped at them as they made their way inside, and he was grateful for the winter coat she was wearing.
Sirens whirred as an ambulance sped past them, driving to the emergency bay doors on the other side of the building, and a nervous sensation moved through him. He stole a quick glance at Layla. This couldn’t be easy on her, either, considering the story she’d told him about her mother.
“You okay?” he asked.
She blinked up at him, and the worry in her eyes slammed into him. What a hell of a night they were having. “Yeah, you?”
He nodded, and when they entered the hospital, the familiar smell of antiseptic tickled his nose. Parker hurried to the nurse’s station and Layla stood back as he spoke, but she was still within earshot, right there if he needed her. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder to check on her and found her gripping her zipper and tugging it up and down, like she needed to busy her hands.
“Fourth floor room 403,” the nurse said. “Family only.”
He captured Layla’s hand and gave a tug. “Come on.”
“Didn’t she just say family only?”
“Yeah.”
At the moment, he didn’t give two shits about the rules. He wanted—no, needed—Layla standing beside him, especially if the news was bad. They hurried down the hall, following a long yellow arrow that took them to a bank of elevators. He pressed the button, and a second later, the doors peeled open. The hospital was quiet this time of night, so they rode up to the fourth floor alone—telemetry ward, whatever the hell that meant—and in silence, and a burst of anxiety hit like a sucker punch when they stopped.
It seemed to take forever for the doors to reopen, and when they did, he hurried out and glanced at the room numbers. He found his mother’s, took a deep breath, and walked in.
“Mom,” he said rushing to her, feeling like a complete jerk when he found her lying there, hooked up to wires and machinery. All this time he thought she’d been faking, but she wasn’t.
“Parker,” she said, her voice low and weak. In the semi-lit room, as a nurse took her vitals, she reached for him.
“Yeah, it’s me; I’m here. Are you okay?” He looked at the nurse for more information, but she didn’t say anything.
“Tonight of all night’s I thought it was indigestion,” she said, forcing a smile. “You know how much I love that spicy chili from Benny’s.” She made a face and said, “I helped myself to two bowls.”
“Mom,” he said, taking her hand.
“I’m fine,” she said. “It was just a slight heart attack.”
Slight? Was there really such a thing?
“They called your father, too,” she said.
“They did? Why?”
“His name is on my file. We’re still married, and he’s listed as my next of kin.”
Parker didn’t miss the longing in her voice. If he wasn’t mistaken, and he had to be, it sounded like she missed him. But how could that be? They hadn’t been together in four years, and all they did when there were together was butt heads—sort of like him and Layla.
“What’s the doctor saying?”
“He’s here now,” the nurse said, pointing behind him. “I’ll be back in to check on you later in the hour,” she said to his mom, giving her a comforting tap on the hand. The doctor stepped up beside his mother, and as he asked how she was feeling, Parker turned to find a very pale Layla bracing herself against the wall.
Shit.
He hurried to her and put his arm around her waist. “You need to sit.” She nodded and let him help her in the chair. He dropped to one knee and cupped her white face. “Layla, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you come.”
“I want to be here for you.” She shook her head, took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. “I’m okay, just old memories, you know. I’m fine now. I just needed a minute.” He pressed his forehead to hers and held her for a moment.
“Tough,” he said. “Toughest girl I know.”
“Go talk to the doctor,” she said, her warm breath falling over his face as she nudged him.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. Now go. Your mother needs you.”
I want you to need me, too.
As that thought hit like a damn freight train, frightening him a little…okay, a lot…he moved to the bed and introduced himself to the doctor. “Mom said she had a slight heart attack.”
The doctor flipped through the chart he was holding and said, “We believe it’s unstable angina.”
Parker braced himself, fearing the worst. “That sounds really bad.”
“Not as bad as all that,” the doctor said. “Tomorrow we’ll do a stress test. If there are no problems, she’ll be discharged and given a prescription for Nitro, to be taken as needed.”
“And if there are problems?”
“Could be a blockage. We’d have to do a cardiac cath.”
“If discharged, she’ll need around-the-clock care, right?”
“Not—”
“I can take care of that.”
Parker spun around at the sound of his father’s voice. He stood for one shocked moment, then said, “I thought you were in Fiji.”
His dad shrugged, but there was real worry in his gaze as it flicked to Parker’s mom who was also staring at him with wide eyes. “Home now.” His father walked up to him and gave him a hug. “Good to see you, son.”
“You, too.”
“Charlotte,” he said breaking the hold on Parker to go see his wife. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“Oh, Albert, you think this is all about you,” she shot back.
Parker inched back to give them a moment to spar, more shocked than his mom to see his dad there.
“Hey,” Layla said, standing to put her arms around his waist. “That’s your dad, huh?”
He ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah. Weird, really,” he said lowering his voice to match hers. “I never thought he’d come here.”
“Who is this lovely lady with you, Parker?” his father said.
Parker spun. “Oh, ah, it’s Layla,” he said. “Layla Fallon, this is my dad, Albert and my mom, Charlotte.”
“Nice to meet you,” Layla said quietly. “I’ve heard a lot about you both.”
“Really?” his mom piped in, a new hue to her cheeks, as she narrowed her eyes. “And how come we’ve never heard anything about you?”
“Mom—” Parker began, but when a machine beeped, a reminder of her condition—not that he needed it—worry once again raced through him. How could he have believed she’d been faking? What a shit son he’d been.
“If you told her all about us, she must be special,” his mom said.
Parker swallowed and took a quick moment to consider his mother’s physical state. All she ever wanted was for him to settle down with a nice girl. Well, Layla was certainly a nice girl, even though he had no intentions of ever settling down with her. But under the circumstance he couldn’t tell his mom that. Right now he needed to say whatever she wanted to hear, to reduce her stress and make her happy.
“She’s my fiancée,” he blurted out without thinking, and Layla went completely stiff in his arms.
Both his mother’s and father’s eyes went wide. “Parker,” his mother said. “I had no idea.”
“This is great news, son,” his dad said.
“We’ve been keeping it a secret for now.” He gave a casual roll of one shoulder even though his insides were screaming at him. What the fuck are you doing, dude?
“You know how the tabloids are.”
“Layla, is it?” his mom asked, a new light in her eyes.
Layla tightened her hold on him. “Yes.”
“Come here, dear.” His mom lifted her hand and crooked her fingers. “Closer where I can see you.”
She reluctantly let him go and walked to the side of the bed. Parker stood there, his legs unmoving as his mind raced. Shit. Shit. Shit. Would she play along or put an end to this charade right now?
Layla was right. His car wasn’t stupid. He was.
“What a pretty little thing,” his mom said. “What do you do, Layla?”
“Art history student at Washington State.”
His mother smiled. “Oh, and smart, too.” She pulled one of Layla’s hands in to hers, but there was a measure of suspicion in her eyes. “Will you be attending the wedding next month?”
“Oh, yes. A Christmas wedding in Maine,” Layla said, her eyes bright and excited. “I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to that. So, romantic, and I’m anxious to meet Grant. Parker says they were close as kids.”
Holy. Shit. Beautiful, smart, and damn quick on her feet. A dangerous trifecta, that totally floored him. Seriously though, he couldn’t have been more grateful at the moment. His heart tripped as she smiled at him, leaving him feeling a bit lightheaded.
What the hell? Okay, enough of that.
Head in the game, dude. You just lied to your mother, so get it together.
Layla cast Parker a quick glance. “Parker says he’ll even teach me to ski. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, yeah, we’re going to ski,” he said, deciding then and there that she’d be going to Maine with him. As that settled in his brain, a huge smile came over his mother’s face, her suspicion gone.
“Parker, come here.” She outstretched her arms, waving him in for a hug.
Forcing his stiff legs to move, he crossed the room and leaned over his mother for the most awkward hug of the century. He pulled back and caught Layla covering her mouth to stifle a yawn.
“You two need to get home. I’ll stay here,” his father said.
“I don’t—”
“Go, go,” his mother said, giving him a dismissive wave. “I’ll be fine.”
Parker’s gaze bobbed back and forth between his mom and dad. When was the last time they’d been in a room together? Did it seriously take a heart attack to get them talking again?
He scrubbed the stubble on his face. “If you’re sure.”
“We’re sure,” they said in unison.
Layla moved around the bed and made her way back to him. She leaned into him, and he pulled her into his arms. As tough as she was, tonight had to be hard on her. He needed to get her home and tucked in bed. Her exams were coming up, and she needed to be well-rested.
His mother made some awww sound as he held Layla, and while they were faking an engagement—as stupid as that might be—deep down he wasn’t faking his need to safeguard her, protect her, keep her close. Was it because he’d slammed her with his car and felt responsible…or was it something else entirely?
As they left the hospital, he said, “I’ll drive.”
“You sure?”
His heart pinched as she blinked up at him. “Yeah, positive.”
She fished the keys from her purse and handed them to him, and he opened the car door for her. Once she was inside and buckled, he crossed the front and slid in next to her. He squeezed his eyes shut and cracked his window, needing the fresh air to keep him awake.
“Not too cold are you?”
She laughed. “Not with this coat on.”
“Looks good on you.”
“Jo would love it.”
“Jo?”
“Yeah, the lady I gave my old coat to.”
He gripped the steering wheel hard. “Layla.”
She laughed. “I’m kidding,” she said, but he wasn’t so sure.
He made a mental note to have a Canada Goose Jacket delivered to her friend Jo, and every other person living on the street. He donated to the Red Cross and a few other organizations every year, but if this is what he had to do to keep her in her jacket and warm, then so be it. Once he got back to the office, he’d add her friend to his many lists of charities.
“Do you do this shit just to annoy me?”
She snuggled back in her seat. “Yeah, kinda.”
He grinned at her smugness and put his car into gear. Traffic was light, and thirty minutes later, they were climbing off the elevator and entering his penthouse. The smell of chocolate chip cookies hit him hard, but he was too damn tired to even chew.
“Sleep,” he said.
“Definitely. Let me just wrap the cookies first.”
“I’ll do it. You go get ready for bed.”
“I’m so tired, I’m not going to argue.”
“So that’s what it takes to get you to be quiet? Wear you out?”
“Yup,” she said.
He turned her and pointed toward the hall. She slipped into the bathroom as he rooted around for a container. He packaged the cookies and stretched his arms over his head as he made his way down to his room.
Disappointment sat heavy in his gut when he entered his room and found his mussed bed empty. The sound of her bare feet on the floor drew his focus, and he stepped into the hall. She was already past him, and he reached out to capture her arm. He spun her to face him.
“Where are you going?”
Her glance went from her bedroom to his, back to hers. “Uh.”
“In here,” he said, pointing to his room.
“Still bossy,” she said, squaring off against him. “I see some things never change.”
Yeah, he was a bossy asshole at times, but if she thought she was sleeping in the spare room, she had another think coming. “Please,” he whispered, and her face softened, her shoulders relaxing.
“Parker,” she said, closing the distance between them. She went up on her toes, her fingers going to his hair as his lips found hers, and he kissed her deeply, a need pulling at him as he picked her up and carried her to his bed. The sun was rising as he set her on his mattress, and he tugged on his room-darkening curtains to block it completely. When he turned back to her, she yawned, exhaustion pulling at her.
“You’re coming to Maine.”
She laughed, but there was no humor behind it. “No, I’m not.”
“I want you to have Christmas in the mountains, with me.”
She eyed him for a moment. “Parker—”
“What’s keeping you here?”
“I…my…I have friends, you know.” Hurt registered in her eyes.
Shit. He’d upset her. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“I know why you did what you did at the hospital. It was sweet of you, really, but you can’t expect me to go to Maine with you during the holidays. That’s on the other side of the country. Plus, Parker, I don’t quite fit in with your family.”
“I know. You’re too good for them.”
“No, that’s not—”
“I’ll pay you?”
Her head jerked back. “You’ll pay me to pretend to be your fiancée. I don’t think so.”
He looked over her face. No time like the present to play his ace. “The money will go a long way to cover your winter tuition.”
“I can’t take money from you.”
“How about we consider it a loan. You’re paying off your coat with Thanksgiving dinner and a painting. Consider this money a temporary loan, and you can pay me back later.”
She went quiet for a long time, and he could almost hear the wheels spinning. “A loan, huh?”
“Yes, you pay me back.”
Another long moment of silence and then, “I guess when you put it that way.” She crinkled her nose and plucked at the blankets. “Maine?”
“I really will teach you to ski.”
“I’ll probably break my neck.”
“Say yes.” When she hesitated, he said, “Did you see the smile on Mom’s face? I think it added years to her life.”
She punched him in the shoulder. “Low shot, dude.”
He grinned. “I know. Did it work?”
“Of course it worked. How the hell can I say no when you put it like that?”
“So that’s a yes.”
She threw herself back on the pillow, her hair splaying. “Yes.”
Fuck, what was it about that word on her lips that made him crazy?