Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3)

by Sadie Grubor

"I really appreciate the offer. However, I don't think that would be for the best." I smiled kindly.

  "What is going on?" I turned to see Aidan's angry face.

  "Well, I was trying to convince my friend for a turn on the dance floor." Demitri slyly smiled.

  Oh God!

  "And I was—"

  "Aidan, I need for you to come, please?" Liam stepped up, but Aidan's eyes refused to leave my face. "Aidan?" He turned to look at Liam. "Mr. Regalie is here and would like to talk with us." Liam looked from Aidan to Demitri to me and back to Aidan.

  "Sure," Aidan spoke curtly and walked away from us.

  "What are you trying to do?" I sneered at Demitri.

  He laughed.

  "He is easily angered isn't he?"

  "It's not funny," I scowled at him. "I have to deal with that later." I rolled my eyes.

  "Oh come now, why would he get mad? You were rejecting my—"

  "Yeah, but he didn’t know that and you sure as hell are doing your best to make it more uncomfortable for everyone!" I sighed heavily and pushed by him. He still chuckled.

  After the final guests were leaving, Aidan and I slipped on our coats, heading to the car. He was being quiet, too quiet. The car ride was filled with uncomfortable silence instead of our normal banter. I knew that he was still seething over Demitri, but didn't we just have the whole jealousy conversation earlier in the night? He finally decided to speak five minutes before arriving home.

  "So, Demitri—"

  "Aidan, I wasn't going to dance with him." I sighed heavily, not wanted to have this argument again.

  "Are you sure about that?" He snapped.

  The car pulled up to a stop.

  I glared at him.

  "I am not doing this again." I retorted, clipping out my side of the car.

  Not waiting for him, I walked around the car and slipped, grabbing onto the hood for balance.

  "Lilli!" Aidan moved quickly to my side and grabbed my arm. I jerked my arm away from him and pulled off my shoes, stomping up the stone stairs in my pantyhose covered feet.

  "Lilli, wait," Aidan yelled after me.

  "Just leave me alone," I growled.

  Jay opened the door.

  "Mrs. Iverson," he nodded.

  "Hey, Jay," I smiled as he took my shoes and coat for me. "Thank you, Jay."

  "Lilli, I want to talk to you—"

  "No, you want to act like a jealous jerk and make more accusations." I turned around and poked him in the chest. "Just leave me alone. I don't feel like arguing about this because it is stupid and pointless!" I stomped upstairs.

  I was quickly out of my dress and in the shower. I heard Aidan enter the bathroom.

  "If you dare get in this shower I will castrate you." I threatened.

  He stayed silent.

  Reaching out of the shower, I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around me before I stepped out and pushed passed him. He reached out for me.

  "Just don't, Aidan." I took a deep breath.

  "I don't like him, Lilli, and I don't want him around you. He is clearly trying to—"

  "Aidan, he was trying to ruffle your feathers on purpose. I have made it clear to Demitri that I am with you, but that isn't good enough," I turned around to look at him, "even after our conversation earlier tonight."

  His face was pained, slight anger lacing it, but I couldn't think about that at the moment.

  "I just...I'm sorry."

  "I get that." I said a little too curtly. "I just need to be alone right now. I'm angry and I just...I need to be alone."

  Leaving Aidan in the bathroom by himself, I quickly got dressed and headed to the library to be alone.

  I sat trying to read for a couple of hours, but I couldn’t focus. After reading the same paragraph three times, I decided to head to bed.

  Upon entering the bedroom I saw that the bed was empty. I climbed in and quickly fell to sleep.

  I'm not sure how long I'd been asleep before my cell phone ringing woke me up. Rolling around to grab my phone from the nightstand, I had to sit up to find it. In that instance, I realized I was in bed alone.

  Momentarily, I wondered where Aidan was, but the ring tone of my phone sunk in. It was my father. Panic assaulted me.

  "Hello? Dad?"

  Chapter Nine

  Road Construction Truck

  Lilli

  Millie hadn't called me back during my drive to Winter Harbor and I was losing my mind. Finally, I reached the hospital and rushed inside to the main desk.

  "Lilli Snowe?" I was known too well from having been her with my father so many times.

  "Where is he?" I panted.

  "Third floor honey, room 314," I was already rushing to the elevators before she finished speaking.

  The familiar ding of the elevator brought me out of my worry and fears. I burst into the small waiting area and followed the signs to room 314.

  Millie sat next the hospital bed and, as I took in my father, I felt hot tears stream down my cheeks. His skin was pasty white and his lips were tinged blue.

  "Oh, baby," Millie rushed to my side before I could collapse to the floor.

  "W-what h-happened?" I got to the side of his bed and placed my hand on his arm.

  "His heart is just weak, baby." Millie rubbed my back; she was really becoming like that mother figure a nanny to a rich child would be. "He is stable and is number one on the donor list for surgery."

  I sobbed into Millie's shoulder for at least an hour before finally settling enough to set up camp in his room. We had been there for an entire day; taking turns going outside or to get food. I had spoken with Aidan twice, convincing him to stay in New York.

  Dixon and Phoebe showed up in the afternoon, both converging on me with a swarm of 'what do you need', 'what have the doctor's said', 'what can I do'. I loved them, but I had to kick them out of the room before I killed them.

  Day two arrived and Donald was still in his medically induced coma. Doctor Larken arrived during his afternoon rounds.

  "Ms. Snowe," he nodded. I didn't correct him. I was more concerned about his comments regarding my father. "It seems we have your father stable enough to transport him to Eastern Maine Med Center." He smiled at me and my eyes widened.

  "Does that mean—?" He was already nodding.

  "That means that we do indeed have a donor for your father and he will meet his new heart there." I latched onto Dixon who was sitting with me. "We will begin preparations for his flight in the next couple of hours."

  "Flight?"

  "Yes, in order for him to get prepped in time for the transplant surgery we need to have him flown." He returned his attention to the clipboard he was holding.

  "So, I can't go with him?" I asked concerned.

  Dr. Larken looked up at me and sighed.

  "I'm afraid not, only medical—"

  "I'm a nurse with flight clearance, can I go?" Dixon blurted out.

  "Can he?"

  "Well, we would have to run your credentials, but I don't see why not." He smiled widely and Dixon handed the doctor his medical badge.

  "Thank you so much, Dixon," I hugged him tightly.

  "No problem, Lil." He squeezed back. "By the way, you may want to call Aidan and tell him we are on our way to Eastern Maine so he doesn't drive to Winter Harbor." Dixon looked a little nervous and rubbed the back of his head.

  "But, I told him—"

  "Do you really think that would stop him?" Dixon shook his head.

  Phoebe burst into the room with Millie.

  "Is it true?! They have a donor?" I nodded and Phoebe covered her mouth and started jumping up and down.

  I called Aidan and caught him right before he was about to take off.

  "I thought I told you not to—"

  "Like I'm going to leave you there alone."

  "I have Dixon and Phoebe."

  "Yes, who I made sure got there until I could arrive," he informed me smugly.

  "Thank you." He was killing me. I wanted to ki
ll him two days ago for being a jealous idiot. Now I wanted to kill him for giving me, yet another, reason to fall in love with him.

  Damn thoughtful, sexy Aidan Iverson.

  "Don't thank me. There isn't anything that I wouldn't do for you." He paused, almost as if he was going to say something else, but didn't. "I'll see you soon."

  We said goodbye and hung up.

  Millie and Phoebe were going to take Phoebe's rental car back to the house to collect some things before heading to Eastern Maine Medical Center. I was leaving immediately, so I could be there as quickly as possible. I knew that I should have left before they took Donald to the rooftop, but I couldn't leave him until I knew he was on the move. They were pulling him out of his room when I stopped them.

  "Wait," I shouted and ran to him. I pressed my lips firmly against his forehead, tasting my own salty tears as they ran down my face. "I love you, daddy," I whispered into his ear before I let them pull him down the hall toward the elevator.

  Once I was in my car, I sucked up my tears and began my journey. When I saw the signs informing me I was only fifteen minutes away, I got extremely anxious.

  Switching lanes for my exit, I moved over. All of a sudden, a large truck swerved into my lane, I gasped.

  I slammed on the breaks. The breaks squeezed before the sound of crushed metal and shattered glass resonated. Then there were blackness, the smell of gasoline and burnt rubber. The last thing I heard, before succumbing to the darkness, were mumbling voices.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Aidan

  As soon as I touched down, I went straight to the hospital. On the way my phone cell phone rang. I grabbed it from the seat next to me, Dixon.

  "I should be there in—."

  "Aidan, there's been an accident." He sounded like he was going to break down at any minute.

  "What happened, Dixon? Is Don—?"

  "It's Lilli." Dixon choked.

  "What happened, Dixon?" I shouted into the phone and accelerated the car dramatically.

  "She was in a car accident on the way to the hospital," that was it, Dixon couldn't take anymore, he broke down. I heard shuffling on the other end of his phone.

  "Dixon! Dixon?"

  "Aidan, she's alive...but just hurry here, okay?" Phoebe had taken over the phone.

  "I'll be there in less than twenty minutes." Hanging up, I sped to the hospital.

  I had Phoebe back on the phone before I arrived. She was waiting for me at the entrance.

  "Oh, Aidan," Phoebe threw her arms around me. I could feel the sobs ripping through her.

  "Where is she, Phoebe?" I pulled back, holding Phoebe by her shoulders so I could see her face.

  She sniffed.

  "Come on," she grabbed my hand and pulled me through the hospital and to the elevator. When we stepped off, I realized that it was the intensive care floor. My heart dropped.

  "Phoebe—"

  "She's okay," before I knew it, Phoebe was in front of me holding me by my face. I looked down at her grief stricken face. "She’s alive. They are watching her closely due to the head injury. Come on."

  "Head injury?" She didn't respond. Phoebe pulled me through some double doors and past the nurses' station.

  "Excuse me?" the nurse stood, but Phoebe kept moving with me.

  "She is in there, room 425." Phoebe motioned.

  "Excuse me!" The nurse was now at my side and grabbing my arm.

  "He's her husband," Phoebe pulled the nurses hand from my arm.

  I moved quickly into the glass room and saw a much paler Lilli, lying lifeless on the hospital bed. Machines beeped and blipped around me as I moved closer to her. If it weren't for the rise and fall of her chest, I would’ve never believed that she were alive.

  As I got closer the scratch on her cheek became more evident and I could see the hint of brownish red seeping through the white gauze wrapped around her head. I took in a sharp breath and swallowed the large lump in my throat.

  Placing my hand on her arm, she felt cool, not like her normal warm self. Without thinking twice, I slid into the bed next to her and laid my head on her chest. As her heart beat filled my ears I finally broke down. Sobs ripped through my chest as I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her tightly.

  "Sir?" "Mr. Iverson?" I woke up with blurry vision from having cried myself to sleep next to Lilli.

  "Yes?" I croaked out.

  "Visiting hours are over and—"

  "I’m not leaving." I said sternly.

  "I'm sorry, sir, but the rules for the intensive care..."

  "I don't give a shit about your rules." I snapped at her and stood from the bed. "If need be, I will have my wife moved to a private care center where I can be with her. But I will not leave her until she wakes up." I glared at the nurse, daring her to attempt to send me away again.

  "I understand your circumstances, but we have other patients as well to consider—"

  "I have made myself clear. Call security, if necessary, and I will call the board for the hospital!"

  "Whoa, what is going on here?" A large man in a white coat entered the room with a heavy set nurse on one side and Dixon on the other.

  "Doctor Sherman," the nurse sighed in relief, "I was simply explaining to Mr. Iverson our policy of visiting hours for intensive care." She turned to eye me smugly.

  "And I, was simply stating, that I could buy the hospital by tomorrow morning if need be, which would make it no longer her concern that I was here with my wife." I spat back in her direction.

  "Okay..." Dixon pushed into the room, "Aidan, calm down." Dixon put an arm on my shoulder in attempt to relax me, but I shrugged him off.

  "Nancy, I think we can make a small exception for tonight. Mr. Iverson only got here a few moments ago and has two family members on this floor." The nurse, who was clearly Nancy, looked from him to me and then left the room.

  "Thank you," I sighed out and sat in a chair closest to Lilli.

  The doctor went about his routine of checking her over.

  "Doctor..."

  "Sherman," he smiled.

  "Doctor Sherman, is she going to be okay? What happened? What's wrong with—?"

  "Dixon, could you please give us a moment to talk privately?" He looked at Dixon. Dixon seemed to hesitate. "I know you are like family; however, I do need to follow some rules tonight." He smiled and Dixon nodded in understanding as he left the room.

  He took a large breath and I stood to look straight at him over Lilli's still body.

  "Mr. Iverson, your wife was side swiped by a large road construction vehicle. He did not see her in the lane as he attempted to move over too quickly, which resulted in the left front end of the vehicle being crushed into itself." He paused. "Now, her ankle is bruised with a slight fracture, but should be fine in a couple of weeks. The major injury is her head which hit the driver's side window and lashed back against the headrest. Thankfully, the airbag prevented her from the front windshield or the steering wheel. Though, the jolt to her head has caused some swelling around her brain." He saw my face tense up. "It isn't anything to be too concerned about." He reassured.

  "Is she in a coma?"

  "Medically induced. This is to allow her brain to heal. Tomorrow I will run her through another scan to see if the swelling is improving on its own." He smiled and then joined me on the side of the bed I was standing on. "Rest assured that we are doing everything we can and being very mindful of the baby."

  "Thank you, doctor. I.....wait...what?" I turned. I had to have heard him wrong.

  "What?" He seemed as confused as I felt.

  "Did you say the baby?"

  He nodded slowly.

  "You were unaware." It wasn't a question. He could clearly tell I'd had no idea.

  "She's pregnant?" I swallowed hard.

  "Yes...uh...her blood work came back positive. Her uterus is measuring far enough along I would have thought for sure that you knew."

  "Far enough along?" I looked at Lilli. "She doesn't look far alon
g." I motioned to her stomach. "Are you sure the test is accurate? She is on birth control pills."

  He looked at me confused.

  "Mr. Iverson, I assure you that it's accurate. The emergency room did a scan and found the fetus and the heartbeat. Your wife is pregnant." Then he looked over her chart and seemed perplexed. "I also don’t see any signs of birth control medication in her system." He looked up at me. "Are you sure she's taking something?"

  Had she stopped? No, Lilli was so unsure about having a baby there was no way she would just stop taking them. Wasn't there? I mean, she would have no reason to hide that she stopped. She knew that I would be more than happy that she was going to provide the last condition of my inheritance. Hell, I would hope she realized that her agreeing to have my child, children, would make me the happiest man alive.

  "Mr. Iverson?"

  I'd taken way too long to respond.

  "I'm sure doctor. She was adamant about taking the pill."

  "Hmm...well, the OB/GYN will be coming to visit her after the last of her blood work is complete, as well as her scan." He smiled halfheartedly. "Do you have any questions?"

  "When will you take her out of the coma?"

  "Hopefully we can let her regain consciousness tomorrow after her scan in the morning."

  "And you are sure that the drugs aren’t hurting the baby?"

  "I assure you that we are taking all the precautionary measures." He patted my back and then cleared his throat. "Um...congratulations." He left the room quickly.

  I climbed back into bed with Lilli and placed my hand over her stomach.

  Lilli was having my baby. We are having a baby. I am going to be a father. The woman I love is going to give birth to a child that we created together.

  I stayed lost in my thoughts until I finally reconciled that Lilli would know that I was in love with her before we left. I drifted off to dreams filled with a small girl that looked exactly like Lilli, but with my hair color.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Lilli

  Beeping. More Beeping. Muffled voices. What the hell was going...ow, my head. I groaned.

  "Lilli? Lilli, love?" Was that Aidan?

  "Lil?" Dixon?

  "Oh, Lilli, please be awake." That was definitely Phoebe.

  I groaned again, though I had meant to speak.

  Damp warmth spread on my forehead and I pried my eyes apart to blaring white light. I squinted and cringed back from the brightness.