“But you have the plane.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t want to put all my trust in an airport. Who knows what can happen?”
He heard Kathy sigh on the other line and frowned. “Is there a problem?”
“No, but Roxanne called and was expecting you for supper. She made dinner plans at your Brentwood house. She’s going to be disappointed that you won’t be there.”
That woman was getting far too presumptuous, he thought. Inwardly he groaned in frustration, and his voice was curt when he answered. “My presence here is more important than her dinner plans.”
He thought he heard Kathy giggle in the background, but she was serious when she answered. “I’ll call her straight away.”
“Do me a favor, Kath? Don’t tell her where I am, okay? Diana doesn’t need her here. As a matter of fact, don’t tell anyone I’m here. I’d rather have some privacy right now.”
“Of course, sir.”
He signed off and glanced out the window. Clouds were slowly rolling in from the west. The sun was no longer glittering brightly through the tinted windows. Fall was certainly making its presence known here. Multi-colored leaves littered the street around him, and houses were happily showing off their Halloween decorations. Summer had ended early in this climate, and the entire area seemed different.
The three months that had passed since the funeral seemed so long ago. A lot had changed while he had observed from a safe distance, but seeing those changes firsthand had been more unsettling than he had imagined they would be. Even emotional and disheveled, Diana had regained her natural beauty. The dark circles and strain that had marred her face when he saw her last were replaced by fresh, glowing skin and laughter lines. Not only did she appear physically healthier, but emotionally she seemed stronger. Even frightened and worried about her daughter, she glowed more than Roxanne on her best day. It was a concerning reality that he found her so damned attractive. And though he kept telling himself that Hannah’s health was his priority, he suspected that proving himself to Diana was playing a large part too.
That was a problem. One he did not have time to consider at the moment.
Work was his life, his livelihood. However, with the wealth came the hard work and long hours. Even a family emergency could not draw him away from the day-to-day problems, and he knew that he had plenty to do before he could rest. Perhaps that was why he had no one until now. Suddenly things had changed. In the blink of an eye, he had a ready-made family, which surprisingly filled him with hope and pleasure rather than fear. With his money, he fully intended on drawing the Somerset ladies into his life and keeping them there until he could sort out his feelings.
The afternoon was spent in the quiet of his spacious suite working, and it was past dinner when he finally got Mike’s text that Hannah was out of recovery. The surgery was successful, and Hannah was being moved into a room in the pediatric intensive care unit. Much to his surprise, all thoughts of work fled and his priority switched to the hospital to see with his own eyes that Hannah was pulling through. Even though he had only met her once, he looked forward to seeing the adorable golden-haired child awake and smiling.
As he entered the lobby of the hospital, he overheard a man at the information desk. “I’m looking for information about Hannah Somerset. She was brought in this morning. Little girl, hit by a car.”
The woman punched in some information into her computer and then looked up apologetically. “I’m sorry, sir, but she’s in the intensive care unit. Only immediate family members allowed. Are you a family member?”
The man looked frustrated. “Just about.”
The woman shrugged in response. “I’m sorry, sir. Only the mother, father, or primary caregiver.”
“Well, can I leave her a message? Can I at least let Diana know I was here?”
“I’ll call up to her room and see if she’d like to see you. Would that be okay?”
Devlan frowned at the tall man as he walked by. He was good looking in a rough way, dressed in khaki slacks and a dark sweater. His brown hair was slicked back like he had just gotten out of the shower, and he carried a handful of balloons and a huge teddy bear the size of Hannah. Was Diana dating already? And if so, how had he not been notified?
“I’m sorry sir, but what was your name?”
“Allan.”
“I told her you were here, but she doesn’t want to leave the room.” The woman placed down the phone and smiled apologetically again. “If you want to leave your gift, I’ll make sure she gets them as soon as we can.”
Allan handed everything to the lady behind the desk and thanked her politely. Devlan paused to inspect the bundle but looked away quickly when the other man noticed his stare. Continuing toward the elevator, he flashed his pass at the security guard. “Where can I use my phone?”
“Public areas only.”
Devlan thanked him and pressed the button to the elevator. He should have thought of it himself, he thought grimly. Boy did he have a lot to learn. Children were beyond his reasoning… Way out of his league.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Devlan dialed his secretary once again. “Kathy, I need your help.”
Scowling, he glanced around him to see if anyone was listening. Standing in the middle of the hushed hallway prepared to let everyone listening know how ignorant he had been was not something he liked.
“What is it?”
“You have children, right?”
“Yes,” she said slowly.
“How old?”
“Two and five, sir.”
“So you know what a little girl would like, right?”
Kathy laughed on the other line, and Devlan felt his grip on the phone tighten. Again his eyes scanned the hallway for eavesdroppers. The reminder that he was not as knowledgeable as he thought certainly stung his pride, and Kathy’s gloating made it all the worse.
“Mr. Doyle, shame on you. Did you not even think to bring the child anything?”
“You’re joking, right?” he said ominously.
“Yes, I’m joking. I’ll take care of everything. Does price matter?”
“Of course not.”
“I should have known.”
“I’ll ask you what you mean by that when I get back. Just handle this for me and get it here as soon as possible.”
Kathy giggled again, and Devlan hung up the phone with an exasperated sigh. How would he have known? He was a forty-year-old businessman, not a father.
Reminded of his earlier concern, Devlan paused and frowned slightly. He was not trying to be this little girl’s father, was he? Of course not, he thought. While he would admit that he was enjoying the idea of bringing them to California with him, his reasons were simple. He needed to keep an eye on his little heiress. Besides, he knew next to nothing about this child and her mother except from what his research had told him. Sending a gift was the polite thing to do, and he had long ago learned his manners well. So why was his heart telling him that it was slightly more than just politeness that caused him to care so much for the wellbeing of these two females? If that was true, perhaps he was lonelier than he had originally thought. Once again he concluded that he required more time to sort these strange new feelings out.
Mike was standing outside the room, and he met Devlan several doors down. His normally impassive face showed traces of worry.
“How is she?” Devlan asked in greeting.
“The doctor said something about watching the swelling in her brain. The next twenty-four hours will say a lot. But they set her legs and stopped the bleeding in her pelvis. Nothing major internally, from what I overheard.”
“Her mother?”
Mike shrugged. “She’s with Hannah now. Hasn’t moved since they let her in. She hasn’t spoken much since you left.”
Nodding, Devlan patted his friend’s back. “Thank you for staying with her. Have you eaten?”
“Not yet. I didn’t want to leave her alone.”
“Go and get someth
ing. I’ll meet you back here in an hour or so.”
“Right.”
Mike sauntered away, leaving Devlan alone in the hallway. All was quiet on the floor. The nurses on duty murmured in soft tones, their gazes studying him with interest. He did not notice them, nor did he return their flirtatious smiles as he normally would.
Pausing just outside the door, Devlan came up short and took a moment to absorb the somberness of the scene. Diana was as close to Hannah’s side as she could get without being in the bed with her. Though her back was to him, he could see the defeat and terror in her posture. She held the child’s pale hand gently and was stroking her soft skin while her face rested on the pillow next to Hannah’s ear. He could hear Diana’s soft sniffling between murmured words of encouragement and felt his heart give a tug.
The reality of the seriousness of Hannah’s condition was disappointing. There would be no smiles this evening. Hannah looked so small in the large hospital bed with all the equipment attached to her. Her blond hair was hidden behind a pristine white bandage and there were wires surrounding her from head to toe. The beeping of her cardiac monitor struggled with the ventilator for supremacy in the otherwise quiet room.
Devlan approached silently, reaching out to place a hand on Diana’s shoulder. Though she startled slightly before turning her bloodshot gaze to him, she did not grow tense as she had before. Pleased, he could not prevent the faint smile he sent her way.
“Things are good so far?”
Her brow rose as if to ask him how he could even ask that, but then she nodded slowly. “The doctor said that there’s still activity in her brain, and the swelling is not as bad as they first thought. We just have to wait and see.”
“Excellent.”
Easing away, Devlan went around the bed and took a seat across from Diana. The suspicious wall she had erected earlier returned as she watched his every move warily. Devlan refused to let that daunt him and smiled as he stretched out his legs in front of him. Telling himself that he had broken the cycle of mistrust in men far tougher than her over the years, he was confident that Diana could be handled with time. The silence that fell between them was broken only by the sounds of the activity in the hall and the machinery in the room. They were absorbed in their own thoughts for some time before Devlan finally shifted in the hard plastic seat and captured her attention once more.
“I spoke to my secretary and she’s opening my house in Malibu for you. Once Hannah is able to leave the hospital, I’ll fly her to L.A. She’ll have the best pediatric rehabilitation services available there.”
Diana glanced down at Hannah before meeting his gaze. Her voice was low and subdued. “Very well.” He was about to comment on the resignation in her voice when her soft voice once again broke the silence. “Are you staying in town?”
“What?”
“In town. Are you staying here?”
“Yes. I’m at the Four Seasons just a couple miles away. I’ll stick around until Hannah is out of the woods. That way, if you need me...”
Diana remained silent as she studied him. He smiled faintly in an attempt to reassure her, but her weary gaze continued to search his face as if questioning his motives once again. Not accustomed to being regarded with such wariness and not enjoying it at all, Devlan looked away and reached into his suit pocket for one of his business cards.
“Last time I gave you one of these you gave it right back. Considering our new agreement it seems appropriate for you to hold onto one now. My home phone is at the bottom, as is my mobile.”
Reaching over her sleeping daughter’s legs, Diana took the card he held out. Their fingers brushed briefly before she snatched her hand away and sat back down.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome.”
“I don’t use a cell phone,” she offered in explanation for not giving him her number.
“That’s okay. I can reach you through the hospital switchboard when I need to. They can take a message.”
She returned her attention to Hannah’s inert form. Devlan stared at her head, wishing he could say something to put her at ease but knowing it was useless at that moment. He shifted uncomfortably again. “Have you eaten?”
“No, I’m not hungry.”
“Would you like me to get you something for later?”
“No, the nurses ordered a meal for me.” She glanced up and cocked her head to the side. “But thank you.”
With nowhere else to go in that conversation, Devlan fell silent. Diana did not seem to mind. After another few awkward minutes he came to his feet and stretched. There was not a whole lot he could do for her now, and she was far too preoccupied for him to press his own agenda. All he could do is remain close by in case something came up during the night.
“I’ll leave you two alone for now. Do you want me to arrange a ride home for you?”
Diana shook her head. “No. I can’t leave her.”
Devlan nodded, accepting his bad choice. Once again he had displayed uncustomary ignorance, and he looked forward to kicking himself later. There was just something about this woman that made him nervous. He wanted her to like him. “I understand. Can I get you anything from home? A change of clothes?”
“No, Allan will take care of it. He has a key to my apartment.”
Devlan was immediately reminded of the burly man in the lobby. In spite of his best intentions, he frowned. “Allan? I didn’t realize you were involved.”
Her head came up. “Involved? What do you mean?”
“Allan? I saw him downstairs.”
A bitter smile curved her pink lips. “Do you really think me so stupid to jump into the first bed I found?”
Devlan remained cool as he answered, for how could he say that most of the women he knew would do exactly that? “I don’t know, Diana. I really don’t know you at all.”
“You’re right; you don’t know me. So don’t come to such hasty conclusions. Allan Collins is my friend. His son and Hannah are friends. Allan and Mindy have helped me a lot through the past few months.”
Chastised, Devlan fought his surprising possessiveness. “I see. I apologize if I’ve offended you. I didn’t mean to.”
She refused to meet his eyes when she spoke next. “Yeah, well, I don’t jump from bed to bed.”
Feeling the tension and hostility rising, Devlan backed away. Once again he had offended her with his clumsiness. This was not how he had expected things to happen, but it was too late now. All he could do is retreat and try again later.
“Please call me if you need anything or if anything changes. Mike is coming with me now, but I wrote down the number of my suite on the back of the card.”
Diana flipped the card over and stared at his bold handwriting silently while Devlan gave one final glance at Hannah and slipped from the room. Now he would track down the doctors and see what they had to say. The next twenty-four hours would be the test, and it was a test he prayed the child would pass.
Chapter 5
There was a ringing in his head, a persistent high-pitched ring. Devlan opened his eyes a crack and glanced at the clock beside the bed. It was three in the morning. Who in the hell would be calling him at this time of night?
Sitting bolt upright, Devlan grabbed his phone with a shaking hand. “Diana.”
There was a slight hesitation before she responded. “How did you know it was me?”
He sank back against his pillows in relief. There was no grief in her voice. “Call it intuition.”
“I thought that was something I would say.”
“What happened?”
“Hannah’s awake. She opened her eyes.”
Devlan’s smile turned into a grin. “Diana, that’s great news. Did she recognize you?”
Diana was speaking quickly, and her tone was lighter than he had ever heard before. “I really couldn’t tell. She is on so many medications that I couldn’t be sure. But her eyes are open… She’s going to be okay, I just know it.”
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“I’ll be there within an hour.”
Although he expected some reluctance from her, she surprised him by not objecting. Warning himself not to get his hopes up as he hastily threw back the covers, he realized that more than likely she was just so relieved that Hannah was finally awake that even his company was acceptable. But maybe, just maybe, his persistent presence over the past few days may have begun to have an effect on her stubborn defiance. After all, it was well known that he could be charming when necessary, and he had been using every trick in his book to break down her self-protective walls.
Devlan rang Mike’s room and told him where he was going before heading to the parking garage to retrieve the rental he had picked up for his frequent trips back and forth from the hospital. Much to his surprise, another inch of snow had fallen during the chilly night. It reminded him that winter would soon be upon the city in full force. He wanted to be back in L.A. long before then.
It was four o’clock by the time he reached Hannah’s hospital bed. No one in the deserted hospital questioned him; at that point they all assumed he was Hannah’s father. Passing the nurse’s desk, he sent a cheerful smile to the night shift as he hurried along to see his family.
Diana met him outside the room, her face radiant with a bright smile. He had not seen her smile since her wedding, and the sight of her pearly white teeth felt similar to an electric shock, sending tingly waves throughout his body. It was as if years had been erased from her face with just the simple gesture, and that brief flicker of happiness was like a ray of sunshine peeking through the storm clouds of those stressful recent days. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Devlan stopped in front of her. A smile of his own creased his face, one as genuine as hers.
“She’s awake. She’s finally awake!”
“Now?” Devlan asked.
“No. She went right back out, but they’re going to run more tests and begin weaning her from all the medications.”
“That’s great, Diana. I’m very pleased.”
Diana blessed him with another brilliant smile before hugging her hands to her waist. “Right now I want to go home and take a real shower, put on some clean clothes, and get a real meal.”
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