“Let’s see. I pondered a cure for cancer,” I said, wandering into my closet. “Couldn’t figure it out, though.”
“Well, while you were pondering, Elle gave life to a brand new human being.” I put her on speaker and let her rant while I got dressed. “And that means you get your ass in your truck and come pick me up on your way to the hospital.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And it would not kill you to pick up some flowers.”
“Okay, Mom. Jesus.”
“She’s your friend, Ashley. Remember that time she talked the cops out of arresting you? Or that other time she talked the cops out of arresting you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Or the time she convinced that chick you were cheating on not to murder you? I know, which one, right?”
“Funny.”
“What was her name? The one with the gun collection…”
“Yeah, yeah. She owned like two guns. Are you done?”
“Oh, sweetheart. I’ve got way more where that came from.”
“I’m getting in my truck.”
I hung up and stuffed my wallet into my jeans. Put on my shoes, grabbed my keys, looked in the fridge. No dice on the vegetables. There was some leftover takeout chicken, a drumstick. I sniffed it; it seemed okay. I wasn’t a bad cook, but cooking for one was weirdly depressing and I generally avoided it.
I slugged back some pineapple juice, stuck the drumstick in my mouth and glanced at the bouquet of red roses I’d bought at that grocery store five nights ago.
Somehow, they’d made it back to Dylan’s house with me that night. Amber had put them in water and Katie had sent them home with me.
Turned out, Danica was wrong. They weren’t dead yet.
Didn’t look so great, though. Maybe because I had them standing in a mason jar in like a quarter-inch of water.
I grabbed the roses and walked out the door.
Chapter Seven
Ash
“Jesus. Where’d you get those?”
Summer wrinkled her nose as I reached into the backseat and pulled out my sad roses. We got out of the truck and she slammed her door as I came around. Then she stood there with her giant, several-hundred-dollars’-worth-of-flowers arrangement, staring at me.
Mine weren’t even wrapped. I just held them in a bunch in my bare hand, trying not get pricked with thorns.
“Are you shitting me?” she said. “Are those the roses from your breakup party?”
I shrugged. “You’d rather they die of neglect in my apartment?”
“Holy Christ.” She set her vase down on the pavement, then grabbed my wrist and yanked the roses toward her. She started madly plucking the more wilted petals off the outsides of the roses. Once she’d stripped off the worst petals, they actually looked half-decent.
Then she pulled the roses, one at a time, from my hand, scratching me with thorns in the process, and sticking them into her giant arrangement. Once they were all in there, she lifted the whole thing and handed it to me.
I followed her into the hospital, barely able to see around the flowers. “You think you got enough flowers?”
“A baby, Ash. Our girl just birthed a human being out of her body. There aren’t enough flowers in the world.”
She was probably right about that.
We found Elle’s room easily enough. Flynn, her bodyguard, was standing watch outside, being way too obvious about it. Nice early-summer day, and he was wearing boots, cargo pants and a fitted shirt, all black, and stiff as a rod.
Seth’s bodyguard, Bane, was hanging out just up the hall. Elle’s mom was there, too, with Seth.
When they saw us coming, Mrs. Delacroix threw out her arms and Summer swept her up in a hug. “Congratulations, Mama! You’re a grandma!”
“Thank you, sweetie!” There were tears glistening in Elle’s mom’s eyes as she held Summer. “The baby’s asleep, but you can go in and see Elle. She’ll be happy you’re here.”
I shoved the flowers in Flynn’s direction. “Hold these.” I figured if he wanted to act like furniture, he could make himself useful.
He took them, reluctantly.
Then I moved in to shake Seth’s hand. “Congrats, man.”
Seth took my hand, but then pulled me in for a quick hug. “Thanks, Ash. It means a lot. Elle will be happy you came by.”
“Sure.” We let go and I hugged Elle’s mom next. “Congrats, Mrs. D.” I’d always called Elle’s mom Mrs. D, even when she told me to call her Felicia. She wore pearls all the time. I just couldn’t do it.
“Oh, thank you, Ash. It’s Grandma D now, I suppose.”
I let her go and found Summer and Seth deep in a hug. “Congratulations, Daddy,” she was saying, and he grinned.
“Thanks, Summer.”
“How’re you doing?” she asked him.
“Fine. Tired, but fuck if I’m complaining. Elle’s done all the work.”
They pulled apart, and I saw Summer swipe a tear from her eye. “Is she okay? Really?”
“Yeah. She’s been really strong. And she managed to get a bit of sleep this morning. She’ll be happy to see you, though. I’m just heading out to grab some food for her. She hates the hospital food.”
“Ugh. We should’ve brought something.”
“It’s alright,” he said. “I’ll be back quick. You guys go on in.”
“I’ll join you,” Elle’s mom told Seth. “I’d like a coffee and some air.”
Summer hugged her again and then Seth, Bane and Mrs. D headed away, down the hall.
Then Summer turned pointedly to Flynn, who hadn’t said a word since we’d arrived. “Hi, Flynn,” she purred.
I took the flowers back from him and tried not to roll my eyes. “I’m going in,” I said, to no one in particular, and left them there.
I stepped into the room, and there was Elle, looking pale, exhausted and small. She was lying on the single bed in a hospital gown, a sheet tucked around her waist. Her wrist was hooked up to an IV drip, her long platinum-blonde hair smoothed down around her face.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen her with her hair completely down. Usually she had some kind of elaborate braid or high ponytail or fauxhawk situation.
She smiled when she saw me. “I thought I heard your voice.”
“Yup, it’s me.” I set the massive flower arrangement on the counter, next to the sink and some other flowers.
“Those are beautiful. Thank you.”
“They’re mostly Summer’s doing. She’s here, too. Flirting with Flynn.”
Elle rolled her eyes, but kept smiling. “When is she gonna realize that’s never happening?”
“Tell her that.”
“I’ve tried.”
I walked over to the foot of the bed and stood there, awkwardly. I couldn’t really get much closer. On the far side, there was a chair and an overnight bag, a couple of pillows and what generally looked like a nest Seth had made for himself. On the near side… there was a baby sleeping on a rolling cart thing with high sides.
She was cocooned tight in a little blanket, but I could see her perfect little pink face. She had the tiniest nose I’d ever seen on a human.
“Holy shit, she’s cute. Aren’t they supposed to look weird when they’re first born?”
Elle laughed a little. “Well, I had to have an unexpected C-section, so at least she didn’t get squished going through the birth canal.”
“Yeah, I heard about that. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I was a little disappointed, but it’s hard to dwell on that when a baby needs to come out of your body one way or another. I’m just glad she’s here.”
“Of course.”
“It’ll mean more recovery time for me. You know, from the surgery. But it’s okay.”
“You’ll get through it. Before you know it, you’ll be back on the road with Dirty. You’ll have your life back.”
I figured that’s what she wanted to hear right now. She was looking a little wil
ted and if I knew Elle at all, she probably hated being stuck in a hospital bed for any length of time.
“Seth went to get you some good food,” I told her when she said nothing. She was staring at the baby.
“Yeah.” She blinked at me. “I’m happy, Ash,” she said softly, and her eyes shone a bit.
“I’m glad.”
“She’s so strong,” she said. Then she burst into tears.
Uh-oh.
“It’s okay, Elle,” I told her, though I had no idea if it was okay, or why she was crying. But it had to be okay, right? She had her baby, and she had Seth.
I nudged the baby’s rolling cart away from the bed just a few more inches. Far enough for me to squeeze through and take Elle’s hand.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. Nothing’s wrong.” She sniffled. “I’m just so happy.”
“Oh.” Thank fuck. “Then that’s good, right…?” I was way out of my element here.
Where the fuck was Summer?
“Yeah. It’s good.” She squeezed my hand. “Can you hand her to me, please? I want to hold her.”
“Of course.”
I turned to look at the baby. She was such a tiny little bundle, I wasn’t even sure where to start.
I reached in and slid my hands under her as gently and slowly as I could, trying not to wake her. I could feel her warmth through the blanket. She frowned a little in her sleep but didn’t wake. Then I lifted her up, and the whole bundle weighed about as much as a bag of cotton balls.
“Wow. She’s so tiny.”
“She’s so cute,” Elle said, in the sweetest voice I’d ever heard out of her mouth. She took the baby as I handed her carefully over, and cradled her in her arms. “And believe me, as the person who lugged her around in my belly until she was overdue, she’s not that tiny.” She smiled. “I was so tired of holding her and feeding her, and so thrilled when Seth managed to get her to sleep over there. But I can’t stand being apart from her for very long. I can’t believe she was just inside me.”
“Yeah. It’s a mindfuck.”
Elle laughed. “This is your uncle Ashley,” she told the baby, who was still sleeping. “He sings really well, and he makes a mean chocolate cake.”
I smiled a bit. Felt pretty cool, actually, being an honorary uncle to Elle and Seth’s baby. “What’s her name?”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Summer strode in. “No, no, no. You can’t tell Ash before you tell me.” I moved back as she swept in and gave Elle a hug and a kiss on the head.
“Summer…” Elle sighed. I thought she was gonna start crying again, but she held it together.
“Elle! She’s gorgeous! She looks just like you. And Seth.” Summer frowned at the baby. “And your dad, in a weird way.”
Elle laughed and swiped away a tear. “I know. It’s creepy. Wait ’til she opens her eyes. It’s like my dad is looking right at you.”
“That is creepy. Your dad must love it, though.”
“He doesn’t see it. He just keeps saying she looks like me and my sister when we were babies.”
“Where are they?” Summer asked, squeezing onto the side of the bed. I hung back to let them have their moment.
“Dad just left for work. He’s coming back tonight with Angie.”
“Your parents must be so happy.”
“Yeah, they are.”
“So, what are you naming her?” Summer grinned at me, pleased that she wasn’t missing out on this moment.
“Emma,” Elle said. “Emma Cecilia Brothers.”
Summer gasped a bit. “You’re giving her Seth’s last name?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Sorry for the gasp. I totally wasn’t expecting that.”
“It’s okay.” Elle smiled. “We talked about it a lot. But the fact is it means more to him. I have a family and we all share a name. There have always been Delacroixs in my life, and there always will be. But Seth has pretty much no one. This little girl is all he’s got.”
“He’s got you, babe,” Summer reminded her.
“Yeah. And me. I want his daughter to have his last name, though. I just think it’s the best gift I can ever give him.”
“Uh, I think you’re holding that in your arms right now,” Summer pointed out.
“Oh… yeah,” Elle said, like that had never occurred to her before.
I cleared my throat. “It’s a great name, Elle.”
Elle looked at me, and she softened. She seemed relieved that I was taking this all so well. That I wasn’t being a dick about any of it.
That I wasn’t angry anymore.
“Thank you for coming to meet her,” she said.
“Yeah, well. Dylan would’ve skinned me alive if I didn’t.”
She smiled a little.
“Speaking of which,” I said, pulling out my phone. “He’s demanded that I send a photo, so…”
Elle smiled bigger and held little Emma up close to her face, and I took a photo.
Then, while Summer and Elle chatted, I sent the pic to everyone in the Dirty family—most of whom were overseas and couldn’t be here like I was right now.
And suddenly I knew how to feel, instead of jealous or bitter or uncomfortable.
I felt grateful that I had such good friends.
That they wanted me to be a part of this.
* * *
After that, we didn’t stay much longer. Visiting hours were almost over.
On the way out, I paused to talk to Seth. He was just coming back with Elle’s mom, and as she went to check on Elle and the baby, Seth and I stood by the door.
He knew I was heading to England to play DreamWarp festival with Dirty in like ten days, and he wished me well at the show. Said he was sorry to miss it, and we shook hands again. Apparently, he was staying in Vancouver for at least a couple of months, to be with Elle and their new daughter, before heading back out on the road.
Yeah; I liked Seth. Which now seemed like a good thing.
At least I knew Elle was in good hands. When I saw the way he looked at her and their baby when he walked into the room, how could I wish them anything but well?
I told him to let me know when they were settled at home so I could pop in for a visit sometime, and headed out.
I found Summer in the hall, talking to Flynn. Flirting again, maybe. He didn’t seem to be reciprocating, but he never did. I’d honestly never caught Flynn checking out anyone while he was on duty.
If you asked me, dude took his job just a little too seriously. Summer was giving him that smile of hers, and in response to whatever she’d said, he just nodded.
“Yo, ready to go?” I asked her.
“Sure.” She tossed Flynn a final look. “See ya, Flynn.”
He nodded again.
Then she turned to join me, and his eyes didn’t even drop to her ass. But then again, he knew I was looking.
“You know that’s never happening, right?” I said, as we made our way down the hall.
“Who said I want it to happen?” she said, way too innocently.
“Your tits said it. When they saluted him.”
“I’m just messing with him. It’s fun. You should try it.”
I shook my head. “Not my type. But whatever amuses you, I guess.”
Summer grinned as we stepped through the door to the parking lot. I pulled out my keys and my phone—and found a notification on the screen.
Missed call - Danica (twin #2)
Seriously?
The fuck was this?
I slowed my pace, staring at the notification, and Summer glanced back at me. “Go ahead.” I tossed her my keys. “Gotta make a call.”
“Sure.” She headed over to my truck and I wandered in the other direction, dialing Danica back. Whatever the fuck this was, I needed to put an end to it.
Quick.
“Hi, Ashley,” she said, sounding a little breathless, picking up after half a ring. “Uh, Mr. Player—”
“You called?”
“Yes. Thank you for getting back to me. I didn’t leave a voicemail, because who does that anymore, right? I thought I’d try you again later, see if I could catch you at a good time. Is this a good time?”
“What’s up?”
“Well, I was just wondering if you’d decided on some dates that could work for you. You know, for the consultation. Like I mentioned, uh, last night… my schedule is really flexible. I’m in and out of the office all day, so whatever works for you, I can probably make it work.”
“Right. Look, I won’t—”
“I mean, except for Sunday. I don’t work Sundays. It’s not God’s day or anything. I just need a me day, you know? But I swear, any other day. Well, except this Saturday, actually. Saturdays are dicey, too. You know, family time.”
The fuck?
Was she trying to back out of the consultation—that I didn’t even want—now?
“Oh, and tomorrow afternoon…” she went on, “I’ve picked up a lunch meeting now, that I can’t get out of. And, uh, after that, I do this candle making workshop on Friday afternoons…”
Jesus. This chick was either adorable… or a total fucking weirdo.
She called me, right?
“You know what? Tomorrow works.” The words came out of my mouth. I wasn’t even sure why.
Well, maybe because my balls had started throbbing as I listened to her ramble. She had a soft, pretty voice that went with her soft eyes and her pretty face.
“Oh, okay,” she said. “Yes, I can still make that work, if—”
“Great.” Really didn’t need to make this easy on her, though. We’d already established that her sister was a royal bitch; she wanted my business, she could work for it. “Anytime after three, but before three-eighteen. I’ll text you the address.”
“Okay, but like I said, I have that workshop—”
“Don’t wear red,” I added, just to be an asshole. “Bring six pennies. Make sure you arrive when the time’s on an even number. Do you have a dog?”
“Um, no, but—”
“Good.”
Then I hung up on her.
Chapter Eight
Hot Mess: A Players Rockstar Romance (Players #1) Page 9
