Intertwined Hearts Series (4 book collection): (Intertwined Hearts, An Exceptional Twist, Tangled Paths & Grafted Vines)

by Kimi Flores

  “What are these for?” She pointed to the only trophies I actually had enjoyed earning.

  Smiling, I admitted, “I worked my ass off for those. Tanner, Paul, and I met because we all raced bikes together. Those are my awards. Brad was in a younger division. His trophies are over there.” I pointed to the opposite wall.

  She cocked her eye, giving me a seductive look. “Now I’m really impressed.”

  “Yeah, that’s where the talent scout first approached me to start acting. He said I had the right look. Of course, at the time all I heard was, ‘famous superstar’. I didn’t care if they thought I could actually act. Dad was my bike coach, so he naturally transitioned into my agent. It was all so new to us. We had plenty of growing pains along the way.”

  She pointed to the pictures she’d been looking at when we first entered the room. “What about these? I recognize some of the actors, but is that—the president?” Her eyes shot wide.

  Snickering, I nodded. “Yeah, that was election year. He was looking to get the younger voter’s support. He was pretty smart, asked the whole cast to come to a dinner and took publicity pictures with us.”

  Her eyes scanned all the framed pictures, including a few with Kai and me, then she stopped in front of something that did in fact make me feel proud.

  “Are these what I think they are?” She asked with a smile in her tone.

  “Yeah,” I answered softly. “My sobriety chips. Once I reached my first year, I gave all the other chips to my parents. Without my mom and dad, I would’ve never earned those. I only keep my most recent one with me. All the others go right in there.” I pointed to the long, white frame that displayed the coins on a single line.

  “Where do you keep the latest one?” She looked at me curiously.

  I reached into my pants pocket, pulling out my wallet. “Right here, next to my driver’s license.” I saw the serenity prayer on one side of the solid bronze medallion then flipped it over to see the ‘V’ within a circle and the circle within a triangle that represented my fifth year of sobriety. Smiling proudly, I read, ‘To Thine Own Self Be True’ then set the coin in her palm. “I got in the habit a long time ago, since I figured I’d have to show proof of my age if I decided to drink.”

  I put everything in its place after she ran her thumb over each side, smiled up at me and handed it back.

  She took a few steps toward me with that look in her eyes, the one I strived to put there as often as possible—mostly love, partly naughty.

  With a sensual smile, she circled me, running her fingers across my chest then my back until she stood in front of me once more. “To me, this room sounds like it’s filled with some things you are really proud of, but I wouldn’t mind giving you another great memory in here.”

  My body went stiff. Oh shit. I can’t ever turn her down. “Babe, my parents are in the house.”

  Facing me, she narrowed her eyes. “Not that kind of memory, you perv.” She leaned up on her tippy toes, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I meant this kind.”

  Her fingers ran through my hair, tenderly massaging my scalp as she softly pecked on my lips. She kissed one corner of my mouth, then the other before sucking in my bottom lip.

  Already feeling like I was losing my mind, I spun us and pinned her against the wall, my arms caging her in. Opening her mouth with mine, I deepened our kiss. My hands made their way under the hem of her skirt, where I felt a different texture.

  Pulling away, I snuck a peek at the pink see-through material barely covering her ass. “What’s that?” I lifted my head, looking into her hungry eyes.

  Breathless, she gave me a sheepish grin. “It was supposed to be a surprise for later. I wanted to convince you that you could in fact love pink.”

  Grunting, I placed my lips on the side of her neck as she threw her head back moaning. My hands continued to trail up her outer thighs, ass, hips, waist and ribs until I was cupping her breasts. Unable to resist, I tugged on the tie of her top, sneaking another peek at the pink lingerie. “Your boobs look like they want to pop out of your shirt.”

  “It has a push up bra,” she panted, then laughed. “You like?”

  I attempted to catch my breath. “If we don’t stop, I’m going to show you how perverted I can be. You gotta give me a minute, though, before I can go out there.”

  She stepped away, smirking. She looked over her shoulder as she tied her top.

  “That look isn’t helping, babe,” I grumbled.

  “What if I go to the restroom while you compose yourself? And I’ll meet you in the living room.” She headed toward the door.

  “Okay, see you in a few minutes.”

  As she walked through the door, closing it behind her, I thought, man, girls have it easy. They can be all over a guy and you’d never know it a second later.

  Once I was presentable, I smoothed my hand down my shirt as I walked down the hall to the living room, where everyone else seemed to be saying their goodbyes.

  “I think we’re going to head out too.” I yawned and stretched for good measure. “It’s a long drive home.” My mom eyed me like she knew what Bri and I had been up to. Bri joined us, looking like nothing had happened. Except now I knew what she was wearing under that innocent outfit.

  Yep, time to go.

  “Well you don’t be a stranger.” My mom was holding Bri’s cheeks. “Tell my boy he needs to call his mama more often.”

  Bri smiled shyly. “I will.”

  The women embraced, and Bri stepped out to say goodbye to Alison, when my mom pulled me aside.

  Pointing her finger at my chest, she warned, “Don’t you go tarnishing my trophy room again, you hear?”

  Oh shit, what did she hear?

  “I’m proud of it and of you,” she said fiercely. “That is one fine lady you’ve got yourself too. Get goin’ and make sure she knows how much you love her.” My mom swatted me on the ass as I turned to walk away.

  I frowned, looking back at her. “Seriously, Mama?”

  Narrowing her eyes, she pointed her index finger at me. I just chuckled and kissed the top of her head. I’d learned long ago to never challenge my mama.

  As quickly as I could, I made my way out the door, swooping Bri away and into the car.

  Settled in, I pulled out of the driveway and onto the street. Bringing Bri’s hand to my lips, I asked, “So lemme hear that accent.” A huge smile broke out on my face.

  Moving the hem of her skirt up above her tattoo, she leaned forward, exposing just enough of her cleavage. “I don’t know about an accent, but after those kisses, I’m ready to get home and sop you up like gravy with a biscuit.” She winked seductively.

  Oh shit.

  My eyes widened and my gaze returned to the road in front of us just in time to swerve, avoiding an oncoming car. “Maybe not the best time to say something like that, babe. But you better believe I’ll be taking you up on that offer when we get home.”

  Giddy-up.

  Chapter Twenty

  Gotta Love a Snarky Girl

  Bri

  I got up for the fourth time tonight, kneeling over the toilet. All I wanted to do was throw up and relieve my nausea once and for all. I’d been in this same situation too many times to count since I’d first started my period at twelve years old.

  In addition to the fibroid in my uterus, three months ago my gynecologist found a cyst. The pain deep on the side of my abdomen confirmed that it hadn’t gone away on its own like I’d hoped.

  Bending forward, I held onto my stomach, trying not to wake Josh. He’d already been up with me twice.

  I can get through this. I’ve done it so many times in the past.

  But it had never been this bad before.

  A sharp pain cut into me, and a loud whimper escaped. Doubled over in agony, I didn’t realize Josh was standing above me until he picked me up from the floor and carried me to bed.

  “What can I do?” He looked at me, helplessness in his eyes.

  In between
my labored breaths, I got out, “I think I need to go to the emergency room. It hurts too much.” I clutched my stomach, my legs drawn up in fetal position as sobs broke free. This was the worst physical pain I’d ever felt in my life.

  “Baby, please don't cry. There's a hospital not too far from here.” He already had one of my loose peasant dresses in his hand, ready to pull over my head. “Sweetie, lemme help you put this on. I can’t take you to the hospital half naked.”

  Once I was covered, he threw on his jeans, T-shirt, and shoes. “Can you walk?"

  I shook my head. Grabbing his keys from the dresser, he tucked a pair of my flip flops in his back pockets and scooped me up, carrying me down the stairs and into his truck.

  He drove like a bat out of hell, running the few red lights on the deserted streets as he dialed my brother.

  “Hello?” Stefen answered groggily over the speakerphone.

  I didn’t want to worry him too but was glad Josh had thought to call him.

  “Bri’s in pain. She thinks it’s a cyst. I’m taking her to the hospital in Solvang. It’s the only one here.”

  “Shit, okay I’ll find it,” I heard Stefen say. “We’ll be there.”

  The line went dead while I rocked back and forth, trying not to scream out from the pain. If I had to compare the feeling, I imagined this was what childbirth would feel like, except I wouldn’t get to leave the hospital with a beautiful baby in my arms.

  My lower back began to throb and the top of my thighs felt like they were on fire.

  Pulling up to the curb in front of the emergency room, Josh ripped open the door and tried to help me out. "I can't move. I’m in too much pain," I yelped.

  "I know, babe. I just can’t get a grip on you. Can you scoot over so I can carry you?” I moved close enough for him to scoop me up, gently carrying me through the lobby until we found a wheelchair. A small crowd started to gather, but I tried not to pay attention as he lowered me down.

  ⁂

  Josh

  I was fighting my panic, seeing how much pain Bri was in. "Excuse me, can you please help?" If it had been under different circumstances, I might have laughed at the receptionist's shocked face.

  "Ohmigosh. Josh Tucker?"

  Good, I could use my previous fame to my advantage tonight. "Yes, please help me. My girlfriend is in excruciating pain and needs to be seen right away."

  She scanned over the empty waiting room. "Um, ok give me a second."

  Picking up the phone, she whispered into the receiver, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. In the meantime, Bri was moaning and crying, her eyes clenched shut. It was driving me insane that I couldn't do anything more to help her.

  I leaned over and rubbed her arm, kissing her cheek from behind. "I’m so sorry, baby."

  "Bring her in over here." The receptionist led us to a door where she entered a code and handed me a clipboard with forms. "Fill this out, please."

  A nurse approached us as soon as the door opened. "Right over here." She brought us into a private room. "Make sure to fill out those forms so we can see her immediately."

  I nodded and sat in a chair by the examination bed. I pulled Bri toward me so her body was facing mine, but she didn't look up. She was still in fetal position, her head on her knees and her arms hugging her calves.

  I filled out as much as I could without her help, when a doctor appeared. Standing up, I shook the doctor’s hand, introduced myself, then gave him the forms. "I put down as much as I could."

  "Why don't you tell me what happened." The grey haired heavy set doctor asked.

  "When we went to sleep, she started to feel nauseous and said she had cramps. I thought she finally fell asleep, but then I heard her crying and found her on the bathroom floor. She also has a fever and said she thinks it’s a cyst since her doctor found one on an ultrasound."

  "Okay, let's just take her directly into the ultrasound room, and we’ll take a look."

  I pushed her down a long hallway, making a couple turns as we followed the doctor. When we entered a dimly lit room, Bri was still quietly sobbing and moaning.

  "Here’s a gown.” The doctor handed me a thin hospital gown. “Can you help her get it on?"

  I nodded, holding onto the baby blue robe.

  "It opens in the back,” the doctor continued. “She can keep her bra on, but everything else needs to come off. She'll have to lie down on her back." He paused a moment, lowering his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "I normally have a tech do this part, but I understand you’re somewhat of a celebrity, and I’m sure you would appreciate privacy. I'll be back in a minute."

  I thanked him and turned my attention back to Bri, squatting down in front of her. "I'm sorry, but I have to help you change." Carefully, I pushed her forward in the chair, pulling the dress off her. I slipped her arms through the holes in the gown, pulling the thin material over her shoulders and tying the back as good as I could.

  Now for the hard part—getting her on that exam table. Gently, I picked her up again, bringing her onto the table. She cried out loud.

  "I’m so sorry," was all I could say. After laying her down, I covered her with the robe and pulled her panties off. I never imagined the next time I’d be undressing her would be in a hospital emergency room.

  There was a knock at the door.

  "Come in." I rubbed Bri's leg and intently stared at her as she continued to whimper.

  The doctor reentered, a nurse behind him. "I apologize, the procedure is normally painless but probably won’t be this time." He grabbed a large wand attached to a machine and put what looked like a condom and lubricant on it.

  What in the hell?

  Catching the look on my face, he explained, "I need to see what's going on inside her uterus and ovaries."

  I sat down to face Bri, grabbing her hand. "It’s going to be okay. Hold my hand."

  She finally looked into my eyes, her own filled with tears. "It’s never been this bad before. I’m scared."

  I pulled myself closer to her, kissing her forehead. Without saying a word, I hoped she felt my support and my need to comfort her.

  With a nurse standing close by, the doctor started to examine Bri, which brought on a whole new army of cries and tears.

  "That's exactly what I thought,” he said with confidence “You had an ovarian cyst rupture. The good news is that you don’t have any internal bleeding."

  "What does that mean?" I was lost. The only girl I was raised with was my mom and, besides women telling me about their periods, I was clueless when it came to this other female stuff.

  "Let me get her something for the pain first so she can comprehend what I'm saying." He left for a moment and returned with a syringe. After plunging the medication into her hip, he waited a few moments for the meds to kick in then started to explain.

  "Ovarian cysts are small sacs filled with fluid. Most don’t really cause too many problems. They just disappear on their own within a few months. However there are some that grow larger and, when they rupture, it’s extremely painful.”

  On the edge of my seat, I looked at Bri, then the doctor. "Is it dangerous? Will she be okay?"

  "She'll be fine.” He nodded. “I'll prescribe some pain medication and antibiotics." He turned to address Bri, who was still facing the ceiling, squeezing her eyes shut. "Even though you aren't far along, it didn't and won’t affect the baby."

  Her eyes went wide, and my attention jerked from her to the doctor. "What baby?"

  "Here, see?" He turned the monitor to face us, pointing so we could see the frozen image. There, on the screen, was a small black and white picture of what looked like a tiny peanut.

  "You're pregnant?" My heart pounded in my chest as the room spun around me. Oh shit, am I gonna pass out?

  "What?” She looked at me, incredulous. “No, I’m not. I started getting those birth control shots to help with the cysts and my fibroid a few months ago."

  The doctor shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to surpri
se you guys, but it looks like you are about six weeks along."

  I knew right then and there that it was true. It was exactly six weeks to the day since we’d first slept together in Catalina.

  "I can't be pregnant.” She was still in shock. “We aren't even married. I'm not that girl." She began hyperventilating.

  “Although the shot is a very reliable birth control method, like any other, it isn't completely foolproof. Have you been on any medications like antibiotics lately?"

  She shook her head and the doctor raised his eyebrows. "Have you missed any appointments?”

  She shook her head again. "No, I’ve only had the one shot. I’m due for another, but—"

  "There could be any number of reasons as to why it wasn’t effective." He turned to me with a sympathetic look. "She can get dressed now. Meet my nurse at the nurses’ station so she can give you follow up care instructions. I've placed an order for some antibiotics and pain medication that are safe for the baby and will be ready in the hospital’s pharmacy shortly. Please call me if you have any questions, and you'll need to follow up with your OBGYN to make sure the antibiotics worked." He nodded a goodbye and left the room.

  Bri winced as she sat up and grabbed on to me. "How is this possible? I’m not ready to be a mom. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready. I’m barely getting used to being a live-in girlfriend. Now both at one time? What’re we going to do?"

  Raking my fingers through my hair, I realized I wouldn’t be helping if I showed how freaked out I was, but I couldn’t hide my nerves. "I’m just as stunned as you are. It’ll be fine.” I let out a breath. “This isn't the way I planned it, but—it will all work out. We’ll be fine.”

  She stared at me like I was insane.

  Blinking hard, I tried to focus on her. “Really, babe. It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be an amazing mother. Look at how much you care about everyone else. Remember what I said about how you are with the special needs kids, with Madison and Max? I trust you.” I swiped her hair away from her eyes. “You look exhausted, let’s get you home and in a warm bath. That’ll help the pain meds relax you."