“Because she’s pregnant,” Dr. Anderson explained, running a tired hand down her face. “She assured me that you knew about the study.”
“She told me she was in a trial for a new kind of medicine for her blood pressure,” Austin admitted. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same Leila? I mean, my Leila broke up with her boyfriend—”
“Three months ago?” Dr. Anderson finished for him.
And he could see the same realization wash over Austin’s face that had knocked him off his feet. Except Austin drew the wrong conclusion. “Deroty is going to get the ass beating of a lifetime when I catch up to him.”
“Okay, wait,” Drew began to reason. “Let’s say you’re right, and our Leila is pregnant. How is she? How is the baby? Can we see her?”
“She is okay for now. She’s in a room, resting. Like I was telling—” she pointed down at Henrik, scowling “—whoever this is. She is going to have to be more careful. I’m placing her on bed rest, but I’m going to keep her here for a few days for monitoring to make sure her levels even back out.”
“Don’t worry,” Drew assured her. “We will make sure she doesn’t lift a finger for anything from now on.”
“You can go see her, but only one of you can stay the night. In one hour, I will kick two of you out.”
“Got it,” Austin said as he turned to head down the hallway.
Henrik remained seated on the floor, trying to collect his thoughts. Dr. Anderson bent down to look at him again. She turned her head sideways, studying him for a long moment. “You’re turning green now,” she observed with a hint of amusement.
He raised his eyes to glare at her. She bent down on her knees and sighed, smiling at him. “You’re actually Henrik, aren’t you?”
He knew he looked surprised. “She told you?”
Again, Dr. Anderson smiled. “I’m her doctor. I didn’t exactly give her much choice in the matter. I needed to know about the father for medical reasons, especially after her first scare.”
“What do you mean?”
“This isn’t the first time she’s been in the hospital. She passed out once before and woke up not knowing much of anything. So, scared, she went to her doctor in New Jersey. She didn’t even know she was pregnant until they diagnosed her. It’s rare for preeclampsia to present itself before twenty weeks, so her doctor recommended her to me. She fit all the requirements for my study on medication during pregnancy to devaluate blood pressure levels in women diagnosed with preeclampsia. I suggested she not stay by herself in case of an emergency.”
His head fell back against the wall. “That’s why she came here.”
“She told me her brother knew, but apparently she’s been vague on the details with him.”
“Apparently.”
She’d been vague on the details with everyone.
“Look at me,” she instructed, her voice turning stern. “If you’re going in there to cause a scene about her not telling you, I will kick you out. Stress triggers her condition, and you saw her tonight. Keeping her calm and relaxed could mean the difference between life and death for her and the baby.”
“I’m not going to make a scene,” he promised.
“You’re positive?”
“I love her.”
It was the first time he said the words out loud, and he had to admit he liked how it sounded.
Dr. Anderson smirked. “I’m more concerned about the giant brother who apparently thinks some guy named Derek is the father.”
Henrik rubbed a tired hand through his hair. “No worries. That giant brother is my best friend, and he has no clue about us. Trust me, I’m keeping my mouth shut.”
“All right,” she conceded, standing. “Go on in. She’s been asking for you.”
Chapter 25
HENRIK’S PROMISE
Henrik stood outside the door, his hand shaking as he touched the handle. He willed himself to open it, and then stepped inside. Leila lay in bed, surrounded by monitors that beeped and pumped. The entire scene made Henrik sick to his stomach. Leila wasn’t supposed to be here, helpless against the powers of her own body. It brought back too many thoughts of his mother. The never-ending nightmare of her dying alone.
His stomach clenched at the thought, his throat tightening as he cursed himself for not trying harder. He should have been there for her. He should have held her hand, fussed at the nurses for no reason at all, and told her how much he loved her until the very last moment. It was too late, though. He couldn’t bring her back, or deny her wish and just show up to force her to allow him to take care of her.
All he could hope for now was redemption. He could make sure Leila wasn’t alone, that she knew how he felt. She lay in the bed, a small, worn smile quirking the corners of her lips as she looked at Drew and Austin.
They hovered over her like two mother hens. Drew straightened her pillow, and Austin checked the monitor for any signs of distress. She still looked pale, and very weak. It was a much more severe version of the night she’d shown up at his apartment. He should have known then, and he’d never forgive himself for such an obvious oversight.
Her eyes looked past Drew and found him. Her smile vanished, replaced with desperation and fear. He knew what she thought, the scenarios that flooded her mind. All of them were horrible, resulting in what was the only logical conclusion. He would leave, abandon her when she needed him most, because that was what he did to the people who cared about him. He could never blame her for such thoughts, especially after admitting his past.
“I can’t believe you’re having a baby,” Drew gushed, squeezing her hand, not even recognizing the terrified look on her face. “I definitely can’t believe you didn’t tell me! You let me drag you out for hockey games, when we should have been at home, letting me fatten you up.”
She turned back to Drew and tried to smile at her best friend, but she barely managed to lift her lips.
“And that’s exactly what is going to happen from now on,” Austin instructed, sitting back down at her side. “We’re going to take care of you.”
Then she asked the question Henrik was sure she’d been waiting to ask since she showed up. “All of you?”
Both Austin and Drew turned to look at him. Before he could even open his mouth to respond, Austin stepped forward and pointed to the door. “You. Outside. Now.”
“Austin, no,” Leila tried, but he turned to her, bending down to kiss the top of her head.
“I just want five minutes with him first,” he whispered, and then turned his cold eyes back to Henrik. “Let’s go.”
Henrik looked at Leila, locking his eyes with hers, his expression confident. “I will be right back. Don’t worry.”
He followed Austin into the hallway, where he found him already running his hands haphazardly through his hair. “Look, Henrik. I realize this changes everything.”
He stood quietly, not knowing where Austin would take the conversation.
“I don’t expect you to raise Derek’s child, or to continue whatever thing you two have had going on here lately. She should have told you up front, and there will be a time when I take up for you and tell her that. Tonight isn’t that night. I swear—if you say something to upset her, and she gets sick again, I will never forgive you.”
He stood there, gaping. Of course Austin didn’t think the baby belonged to him. It was only natural for them to think it was Derek’s.
A good friend obeyed the man code.
He should tell him. He should finally be honest with his best friend. He deserved it. However, he recalled Austin’s words too clearly. Tonight wasn’t the night. He promised Dr. Anderson he wouldn’t cause a scene, and he was determined to keep his promise. The most important thing right now was Leila.