A Material Gift (D'Arth Series Book 2)

by Camille Oster

  Turning, she saw Sebastian inside, sitting on the couch, watching TV. She couldn’t quite work out how she felt about him. They had absolutely nothing in common. The wealthy bachelor with all the toys, money for jam and girls dripping off him. It was no secret that she melted when he looked at her with intention in his eyes. He was so sexy, she wanted to cringe.

  But on the other hand, he had tried to be something more with Shanna Maya, and failed—breaking the pattern and lifestyle he was so well-known for. He’d just chosen the wrong person. Sam truly didn’t want him to suffer or hurt. Maybe that was the thing that made her deeply uncomfortable around him right now—on some level he was looking for more.

  He turned his head to seek her out, check on her. Frowning, Sam wondered what it would be like to actually be his—an idea which held deep excitement and also concern. He was out of her league. Not only was he older than her, he travelled with a set she couldn’t even comprehend. His whole background was unrecognisable from hers. Sam had never thought she was ugly, but compared to the women he hung out with, she was Plain Jane. A relationship between them was probably not even possible, and she wouldn’t do herself any favours thinking it was.

  Speaking of Janes-not-so-plain; Sam was likely in labour and she should tell her family. This was an exciting day; her daughter was being born. A surprising clench tightened her belly. They were getting stronger.

  “I think it is,” she said as she walked inside. She called Dr Halmonde who was calmly excited for her, but told her to remain comfortable at home until her contractions were very painful and a couple of minutes apart, which could apparently take hours. Sebastian looked at her expectantly, when she hung up. “So we wait.”

  Skyping her family, she spoke to her mum, then rang to Damon and Jane, who’d just recently returned to Dubai from New Zealand. It was good to see them, but it was still really early in the morning there and Sam had forgotten the time difference.

  On the idea of ringing Marco, she hesitated, and decided to text him instead.

  I still can’t believe you’re going to be a mum, his reply said.

  He had a point; she was going to be a mum. Worrying her lip, she hoped she was up to it. At twenty four, she wasn’t exactly a kid anymore, and truthfully, she was more excited than she was worried. The worry was superficial. Deep down, she knew she would love this kid completely and unconditionally.

  Chapter 29

  The limousine took them to the hospital and Sam was too distracted to remark on the appropriateness of the car; she was in pain and had been for several hours. Sebastian felt useless. There was nothing he could do to make things better.

  As they arrived, Sam was taken straight to a room, where she lay down and was placed on a monitor. The staff moved with efficiency and professionalism, smiling while they went about their business, everyone knowing what to do, except him.

  “So it is time,” Dr Halmonde said as he walked into the room. “It is an exciting day. How are you feeling?”

  “It really hurts,” Sam said.

  “Yes, but it will be worth it. We have gas there,” he said, pointing to a device. “You breathe through it during contractions and it will take away the worst of the pain.”

  Sam immediately went for the device, and Dr Halmonde asked her if he could check how far along it was.

  These surrounding were not familiar to Sebastian and he didn’t like it. Sebastian’s experience with hospitals and the medical profession in general was limited. Part of him wanted to bundle Sam up and take her away, but he had to concede that he was useless now. All he could do was to be there for Sam, but as the pain started to wear on her, there was little she wanted from him. It was difficult to watch her agony and there was a true sense of guilt for having caused this for her—he did feel responsible.

  It was difficult to just sit there and do nothing. Staff rushed in and out of the room with their quiet professionalism and he had no idea what they were doing or if everything was as it should be. He had a sense that their efficient professionalism would be exactly the same if there was something wrong.

  Sam spoke to her mother on the phone, and Sebastian realised that perhaps he should inform his. It wasn’t a task he relished considering how they’d parted the last time they’d spoken, but she did have a right to know.

  Leaving the room, he phoned his mother, who was still terse with him. He supposed that for all her awkwardness, he did have sympathy for her as he had agreed that her grandchild be raised as far away from him as was possible, but it was for the best and his mother wasn’t readily prepared to admit that. Then again, his mother had very different ideas of what was for the best, and raising a child far away from here, in a family of no consequence was not, in her mind, an adequate start for a child, while Sebastian felt it was in the child’s interest to be raised away from those archaic attitudes.

  Standing in the corridor outside, relishing a moment of peace, more so from the situation than from Sam, a man and woman approached him—clearly foreigners.

  “Mr Luc?” the woman asked—a pretty woman with dark blonde hair, dressed in a beige pencil skirt and white shirt. The man was well-dressed as well. They were an attractive couple.

  “Yes,” he said with immediate suspicion. It wouldn’t be the first time journalists had approached him in disguise and he’d worked very hard to keep this situation under wraps. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if it came out; it would just be ‘feeding time at the zoo’ for the media for a few weeks.

  “We are Sam’s relatives,” the woman said with a careful smile. Her accent was like Sam’s.

  “Sam doesn’t have any relatives here.”

  “We’re from Dubai,” the man stated.

  Sebastian realised these were the people Sam had gone to visit in Dubai.

  “Is she here?” the woman said. “I am Jane and this is Damon.”

  They shook hands and Sebastian told them which room Sam was in and they went to seek her out.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” Sam said as they walked in the room. Sebastian stayed at the doorway, watching them, just in case they weren’t what they appeared, but Sam recognised them immediately and was clearly pleased to see them. “You didn’t have to come.”

  “We couldn’t leave you here completely on your own,” Damon said and Sebastian bit down tightly at the dismissal.

  “Mum called you, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, she did,” Damon said and Jane gave him a warning look.

  Another contraction hit Sam, sending her puffing on the gas device. Jane sat down next to the bed with a look of concern on her face. The room was silent as Sam’s contraction developed and stretched. Sam squirmed as if she was trying to find a comfortable position, but nothing would alleviate this pain.

  Unsure what else to do, Sebastian took his seat on the other side of the bed. As much as he enjoyed being completely dismissed, he had to admit that it was a relief to have someone else there as well, because he was feeling out of his depth.

  “We won’t stay for the nitty-gritty, but we’re here if you need us,” Damon said, and Sebastian felt his heckles rise, like he was being challenged. It was a stupid and primitive reaction, but he’d learnt over the last few months that he had those. He hadn’t really experienced them before, but in conjunction with Sam, they seemed to come out, and there was a part of him that recognised that these people were here to steal her away—to which his instincts felt like reacting quite powerfully. He forced away the random emotions that flashed through his mind. This wasn’t about him at the end of the day—none of it was.

  Then they all sat awkwardly, watching the girl, in pain, on the bed, unable to do anything for her. Jane would smile at him intermittently, but Damon ignored his presence. Sam had told him nothing about her uncle, but Sebastian recognised his ilk—someone to contend with; here to fight her corner if it came down to it.

  Then Dr Halmonde returned with an annoyingly cheery countenance, ignoring the tension in the room. “Now
, let’s see,” he said and asked Sam to let him examine her again. “I think we are ready.”

  Damon and Jane rose. “We’ll be outside,” Jane said. “Unless you want us to stay.” Now it was Damon’s turn to give her a warning look. “Well, I’ll stay, if you want me to.”

  “No, it’s fine,” Sam said, and Sebastian felt an irrational sense of victory in being the one that stayed when she dismissed the others, but his indulgence of his instincts was cut off by another powerful contraction, which Sam groaned through, puffing on the gas device. The room filled with activity as staff appeared and Sebastian was urged to stand by Sam’s head, where she gripped his hand hard.

  Everything happened fast from there; before he knew it, she was asked to push and she did, through her exhaustion and pain. It was excruciating to watch and it seemed absolute torture for Sam. Feeling very proud of her, he recognised the bravery she was showing, going through this without falling to pieces. Her grip on his hand was firm.

  “You can do this, Sam,” he said, feeling fear, pain and excitement rolled into one. They were moving fast to a crescendo of a kind and everything was happening without breath or time to think. Dr Halmonde was forcefully giving her direction—more forcefully than Sebastian would have thought the man capable of.

  Sebastian couldn’t quite see what was going on further down and he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to. But then there was crying and the world seemed to stop for a second. She was here and he felt a rush of emotion, none of which he could discern or describe.

  A scrubs-covered woman carried the crying baby away and Sebastian’s eyes followed as they took her to a small table and examined her. He couldn’t see, but he could hear the baby’s cries from the shock of being introduced into the world.

  Drifting closer to the table, Sebastian observed the woman finishing the checks she was performing and she handed him a wrapped little bundle. He reluctantly accepted her, not knowing what he was supposed to do. She was tiny, with large, curious eyes, blinking at the brightness of the outside world. He feared dropping her. This was his daughter, his child. He still couldn’t comprehend it, but this little creature was going to have a significant impact on his thoughts and life, and she didn’t exist a short time ago.

  “She’s gorgeous,” Jane said. Sebastian could only nod. Someone was urging him toward Sam, urging him to give over the baby, which he did, again feeling lost and unsure what his role was in the immediate capacity—in any capacity in the current context if he was honest.

  Sam was getting acquainted with her child and it was obvious that there was no-one else around in her eyes. Sitting down on the chair, he watched. Sam would make an excellent mother for this girl; he knew that in his bones. They would have a bond he’d never understand. And she had gone through this day fearless and certain. He couldn’t help but be in awe.

  Feeling a little stunned, he stood up and stepped closer to her. “Well done,” he said. “You did brilliantly.” Sam finally looked up, looking tired, happy and dazed. Leaning down, he kissed her, conveying his gratitude and respect.

  She smiled before returning her attention to her baby. Damon and Jane congratulated her as well, and after a while they dismissed themselves as it became clear that Sam needed rest.

  The baby returned to Sebastian and everyone left the room. Somehow the room had turned much darker and the day was over apparently. Sam’s eyes were closed and he wasn’t sure whether she was asleep or not. The baby wasn’t. She took in the world with apparent curiosity and he couldn’t help his complete attention focusing on her as she did on him. Her fingers were so tiny; he feared hurting them if he touched them. She weighed next to nothing, like a cat. And then she yawned and after a few blinks, her eyes drifted closed, apparently comfortable and secure in his arms.

  Chapter 30

  Lying back in the hospital bed with the sun streaming through the window, Sam was both elated and exhausted. Sleep had been piecemeal through the night as her baby woke needing nursing or changing, or just because.

  Sebastian had gone some time during the night and Sam, although feeling guilty, was quite glad that he wasn’t there. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him there; it was just that there was uncertainty between them again. Watching Sebastian with his child in his arms was confronting and it made her doubt herself. Deep down, she knew he would make a good parent if he gave himself the chance, but urging him to do so to his full potential would mean less for her. There was only one baby and this was a zero sum game.

  Sam looked up as she heard the door open slightly. Jane’s head peaked through the door. “Alright if I come in?”

  “Of course,” Sam said.

  “Damon’s still asleep. We’re just across the road and I couldn’t sleep any longer.”

  “I do appreciate that you guys came all this way.”

  Jane walked over to where the baby was sleeping. “She is just gorgeous. Have you thought of a name?”

  “Not yet, but I suppose I will have to thrash it out with Sebastian. I have some preferences, but we haven’t discussed it yet.”

  Jane bent over and lightly stroked the baby’s cheek. “She’s just so incredible. The whole thing is just so incredible.”

  “Have you been thinking about having your own?”

  “Of late, I admit. Our relationship is still so young though,” Jane said, sitting down on a chair.

  “You seem perfect for each other though.”

  Jane nodded, but there was an edge of concern in her movement, but Sam could have been inferring that. Sam knew Jane wasn’t happy in Dubai, but not unhappy enough to leave. Perhaps perfect was just unattainable, Sam thought. Her thoughts drifting to the mess she was embroiled in. It would all be much simpler now if they hadn’t evolved their relationship lately. Sam still ached for him; longed for the taste of his skin, the sounds he made when he kissed her, the heat when he touched her. With a suppressed groan, she forced those thoughts away.

  “That was some kiss yesterday,” Jane said, and Sam felt a moment of panic in case her thoughts had been so very obvious, “when he kissed you.”

  “He was just congratulating me,” Sam said.

  “There was longing in that kiss.”

  Sam’s cheeks burned red.

  “Is there something going on between you?” Jane asked and Sam cursed her keen observation. She considered outright lying for a moment, but she could also use the advice from someone who knew what was going on, because she was getting lost in this quagmire.

  “Towards the end, we got a bit closer,” Sam finally admitted.

  “I see. I take it more-than-friends closer. Physically closer?”

  Looking away, Sam blushed deeper.

  “And now what?”

  “I don’t know. It had a purpose at the time. The doctor said it would help bring on labour.” Jane looked completely unconvinced. “And there had been some tension building for quite a while.”

  “Does he want to be with you?”

  “No,” Sam said with bluster.

  “And do you want to be with him?”

  Sam didn’t quite know what to say. Nothing came out. “It’s complicated. I live on the other side of the world.”

  “It is not an insurmountable impediment. Although compromising does have its difficulties.”

  Sam frowned. If it was only the issue of where he lived that was the problem, she could deal with it. “We have nothing in common. If it wasn’t for this baby, we’d have nothing in common—at all. And I’m really not the kind of girl he’s into.”

  “I don’t know,” Jane said with reservation. “If he’s kissing you like that, he’s into you.”

  “For the moment. Sebastian isn’t very constant when it comes to girlfriends.”

  “He was with that woman for quite a while.”

  Sam had to concede the point, but the uncomfortable question was why. Why was he with Shanna Maya? That was the kind of woman he wanted to be with—beautiful, successful and someone to contend with on the gli
tterati circuit. “I just don’t think we’re right for each other.”

  Jane smiled as if she was thinking of some private joke. “I tried to run away from my feelings for Damon,” she admitted. “I even moved to another country to get away from him. But as much as I tried, my feelings refused to change and I ended up torturing myself—not that I saw another option at the time.”

  It wasn’t what Sam wanted to hear. She wanted to hear that if she left, her feelings would fade away.

  The door opened and Sebastian strode in, looking perfect as always. He didn’t even try and he looked absolutely gorgeous, but Sam had to concede that she wanted to see him in his most casual clothes, soft and form fitting. Smiling tightly, she had to admit that she just wanted him, but she had to be grown-up about this.

  “Hello, Sebastian. Congratulations,” Jane said and he acknowledged her as he walked over to Sam, leaned down and kissed her lightly. Sam felt her colour flare yet again, but then it was very European; they kissed each other all the time—it meant nothing.

  Sitting down on the side of the bed, Sebastian watched the sleeping baby.

  “I think I need to find a coffee,” Jane said. “Might be time to see if Damon is up.”

  In the back of her mind, Sam noted that Jane left, but her focus was drawn to the man holding their baby. “What are we going to name her?”

  Sebastian smiled and turned his attention to her. Sam had to bite her lip to stop herself from leaning up and kissing him again. He just had a way of drawing her attention when he looked at her and it was too distracting. “We have some strong family traditions when it comes to names.”

  “Such as?”

  “Wilhelmina.”

  “Uh... ” Sam said. “Wilhelmina, isn’t that a pig’s name?”

  “You name pigs Wilhelmina?”