Page 52 of A Baby to Make Her His Bride

He didn’t get a chance to reply. Someone else arrived.

“Hunter.”

“Remy.” Hunter shook the man’s hand with the familiarity of long friendship. There was ruefulness in his tone when he greeted Remy’s partner, briefly kissing her cheek. “Eden. Good to see you. You look wonderful. Congratulations.” He nodded at the baby bump she revealed as she unbuttoned her coat.

Vienna had worriedly asked Amelia how she felt about her inviting Eden, the bride Hunter had thrown over for Amelia, to be her bridesmaid along with someone named Quinn. Amelia had said it was time she properly met everyone.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Eden said to Hunter, seeming sincere if sheepish and amused by her equal rush to the altar with someone else.

“Quinn, Micah. Have you all met Vienna’s groom?” Hunter introduced the second pair as they came in.

Jasper wanted nothing less in the world than to meet new people right now. He gave everyone distracted handshakes, looking past them for his bride.

This isn’t my life.Shewill be.

Something hard was lodged in his throat, making it hard to breathe.

“Where are Vi and Amelia?” Remy looked around.

“I’m wondering that myself,” Jasper said tightly and started for the door.

At that moment, Amelia rushed back in. She was pale, eyes wide with alarm.

“I’ve called an ambulance. Jasper...” The look on her face sent a sword straight through his heart. “Vienna is having stomach pains. She can’t walk.”

“Vi.” Jasper burst into the ladies’ room and dropped to the floor in front of where Vienna had curled up on an upholstered bench.

“She has a fever,” the hotel’s first aid attendant was saying as he read the instrument he had just aimed at her forehead. He relayed the number into the phone.

Jasper cupped her cheek and tried to dry the tear tracking from her eye onto her nose.

She couldn’t take the look of anguish on his face and closed her eyes against it.

“No bleeding. How many weeks?” the attendant asked.

“Seventeen and a half,” Jasper said. “Can you check the heartbeat?”

“Not with a stethoscope. Too early in the pregnancy.” The attendant offered a tight look of apology.

Jasper tried to take her hand, but she drew it away, wanting to keep it on the side of her bump. She was certain she had felt a flutter there. Did she, though? Or was that more wishful thinking?

The stabbing pain was relentless, sitting there angry and horrific, making her sick. She just wanted to be left alone with her agony, but people kept asking her stupid questions about when it had started and what she had eaten and what sorts of medications she was on.

Now the first responders were here, making her shift onto the bed, touching her and—

“Let me do it,” Jasper snarled, then ever so gently stroked her hair. “Okay, Vi? Can you hold on to my neck? I’m going to move you onto the stretcher.”

He gathered her as carefully as he could, but she was still biting her lips as he moved her, moaning with protest. It hurtso much.

They covered her with a blanket and hurried to roll the stretcher outside where snowflakes melted against her hot face. Jasper climbed into the ambulance with her, taking her hand in two of his while the attendant poked something into the back of her other hand and asked her to help him time how quickly the pains were coming.

“It’s one long pain,” she said for the thousandth time, clenching her wet eyes. “Even my own baby doesn’t want me.”

“Vi.” Jasper had never felt so helpless in his life. He would do anything,anything, to stop this from happening. He was agonized at the thought of losing their baby. It would kill him, but hecould not bearwhat it would do to Vienna.

How could he have been so stupid earlier, when he had felt guilty for “having it all.” He should have been on his knees with gratitude. Heknewhow fragile life was, but he had still taken his good fortune for granted. This incredible woman had told him she loved him and he hadn’t wanted to hear it because it was more good on top of good. Too much good. He hadn’t felt entitled to that much happiness.

He had met the woman who would be his life, but he hadn’t wanted to fully embrace her and all that he felt for her because of guilt. Guilt that he held up like a shield so he wouldn’t have to suffer the grief that waited behind it.

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