Page 25 of Sex, Love & Lingerie

CHAPTER 15

Gloria

“…want to live.”

“Angel!”

That voice! That name! I fluttered my eyes open. Everything was a blur. People were clamoring around me, but in the dimness, I could only make out one face. One person. My beloved Jaime. He was sitting on the bed next to me, caressing my face. I could feel the warmth of his fingertips and the heat of his breath. I was alive! I was his angel on Earth.

“Hi.” My voice was barely above a whisper. It took all my effort to say that one little word.

“Hi.” His eyes held my gaze in his. It was so good to see those beautiful denim blues again. But they were unlike I’d ever seen them. They glistened with tears. One escaped and fell onto my cheek. To me, it felt magical. Like holy water. I was glad he didn’t brush it away. My own tears spilled and mingled with his. He let the tears fall, and stroking my hair, planted a warm kiss on my forehead.

“Oh, my angel. I thought I was going to lose you.” His voice was watery.

“You gave us quite a scare,” said another voice I didn’t recognize.

Blinking several times, my vision became clearer. I was in a small sterile room hooked up to a myriad of IVs and monitors and scuttling around my bed was a doctor and several nurses. The events of the last twenty-four hours bombarded my head. I’d gone into labor at the Gloria’s Secret Fashion Show and on the way to the hospital, had given birth on Robertson Boulevard. The rest was a blank.

The doctor continued. “I think we’ve got everything under control here. Someone will be back to check on you in a little while. And later this morning, Dr. Bernstein will be here.” He and the nurses headed toward the door.

“What happened?” I rasped after they were gone.

Tenderly stroking my face, Jaime explained to me that I’d gone into shock after giving birth to Payton from the huge amount of blood I’d lost, and that just minutes ago, I’d gone into cardiac arrest. He also told me I’d had a partial hysterectomy. Besides him, there was only one thing I cared about.

“The babies…?”

That dazzling smile I loved so much flashed on his gorgeous face. “They’re good. In fact, they’re great.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

I twitched a small, happy smile. Madame Paulette hadn’t lied to me.

“Baby, could I please have some water?”

My mouth was as dry as cardboard. Jaime silently grabbed a plastic cup with a straw off the nightstand and held it to my lips. I sipped the beverage while his other hand held mine. The refreshing cool liquid combined with the warmth of his touch infused me with strength.

“I met your father.”

He stroked my hair again. “Shh, my angel. You have to save your strength. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal and lost a lot of blood.”

The expression on his face told me he didn’t believe me. “But I did. He looks so much like you except his eyes are darker. And he told me how much our little boy looks like you.”

Jaime blinked as if in disbelief. “How could you know that?”

“And Madame Paulette told me that our little girl is the spitting image of me. With a feisty temperament to match.”

Jaime’s eyes widened.

“Mon amour, I came back for you. For them. Your father told me I’d made a promise. And that I had to keep it.”

“Shh.” Leaning into me, he silenced me with an all-consuming passionate kiss. It started off slow, then deepened, pouring strength into my bloodstream Oh, God! How divine it felt to have his lips back on mine. And to hear my heart beat against his.

A cheerful voice cut our kiss short. “You have some little visitors.”

My jaw dropped. A new rush of tears sprung to my eyes. I clapped the hand that didn’t have IVs poked into it to my mouth as two smiling nurses pushed a pair of petite see-thru carts into my room. They slid them so that they were perpendicular to my bed. Two little bundles of joy faced me. Both wrapped up in pastel-striped blankets, one wearing a little pink knit cap, the other a powder blue one.

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