by Ann Omasta
Nervous about what might be coming, she swallowed and nodded at him to continue. “It’s about my hospital bills,” he started, and the churning in her stomach began anew.
4
Ellie couldn’t keep the panicked barrage of thoughts at bay. How long would he be in the hospital? This morning’s stay had probably already burned through her meager savings. Would he sue her for damages? Was she going to lose her business over this?
His demeanor had lulled her into believing he wasn’t planning to press criminal charges against her, but she wasn’t positive about that. Would she end up in jail to pay for her careless mistake? It was probably what she deserved for not being cautious enough behind the wheel, but that didn’t mean it was what she wanted to happen. She would look horrendous in an orange jumpsuit.
She knew it was selfish to worry about her own well-being when he was the one who was battered and bruised in a hospital bed, but she had worked so hard for everything she had, the thought of losing it all paralyzed her with fear. The worry must have been obvious on her face because he squeezed her hand in his own much larger one as if to reassure her. She couldn’t help but notice how soft his skin was, which then caused her to wonder what kind of moisturizer he used.
Marveling that her mind could get so sidetracked at a critical moment like this, she focused her attention back to the injured man in front of her. Clearing her throat, she said, “About that, don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of everything.” Deciding her words sounded pathetically lacking, she added, “of course.” She had no idea how she would make it work, but she knew she couldn’t expect the pedestrian she hit to pay for his own medical bills.
His face softened as he looked up at her. “That is exactly what I was going to say to you.”
Stunned by his chivalry, she openly gaped at him. “No!” She said the word adamantly. “It was my fault. I’ll pay your expenses.”
“It wasn’t completely your fault,” he said, kindly attempting to let her off the hook. “I should have been wearing reflective clothing and paying more attention. It was just so early, that I wasn’t expecting any cars. Where were you headed at that early hour?” He seemed genuinely interested in her answer.
His chocolate eyes sparkled as he listened to her talk about Snickerdoodle. She couldn’t help but notice how handsome he would be, were it not for the cuts and already-coloring bruises spread across his scruffy face. The fact that she had been the cause of those injuries made the guilt bubble up in her belly once more.
“What happened just then?” he asked her. “Your face was glowing with excitement as you talked about your bakery, which sounds marvelous by the way, then your face fell like you lost your best friend.”
“I just feel so bad about what happened.” Her face crumpled at the words and a sob escaped her throat as the reality of the morning finally began to set in on her.
Like most men when faced with a crying woman, a panicked expression crossed his face. The uncertainty was short-lived. He scooted over to the far side of the bed and held his arms out to her.
“What?” she asked him, trying to swipe the streaming tears from her face with the back of her hand.
“Come here,” he suggested.
“No, I can’t. I don’t even know you,” she stammered before adding, “I’m sorry for crying.”
“You had an incredibly stressful day, as did I.” He lifted one raven eyebrow in her direction. “Now, come here.”
This time it was more of a demand than a suggestion. Ellie wasn’t sure what came over her, but for some reason, she complied with his request. Careful not to jostle him too much, she sat down stiffly on the edge of his hospital bed.
Quick as a wink, his naturally dark-skinned arm reached around her middle and yanked her back against him. As much as she knew this was completely inappropriate, it felt so marvelous to be held by him. She allowed her weight to sag back against him. One of his arms was wrapped around her, while his other hand caressed her long blonde hair, soothing her as she cried.
The nurse, who had helped Ellie earlier, sauntered into the room. Her mouth formed an ‘O’ of surprise when she discovered Ellie in bed with her patient. If she had been planning to chastise them, Trey’s firm instructions changed her mind.
“Could you hand me that box of tissues, please?” He indicated the box that was just out of reach. When the nurse complied, he added, “We would appreciate not being disturbed for a while. Thanks, Trina.”
The nurse nodded and shuffled out of the room as if his polite, yet terse instructions made him the one in charge. Ellie tried to not bristle at the fact that he already knew the nurse’s name. Once Trina’s white shoes had squeaked out of the room, Trey pulled a few tissues from the box and gently dried Ellie’s tears, which had stopped flowing.
“Now then,” Trey started, “I think since we are sharing a bed that it is high time we learned each other’s names.”
She started to balk at the insinuation he had made about them sharing a bed, but her mouth opened and immediately closed again because he was right. “I’m Trey,” he informed her.
Not wanting to admit that Trina had already told her his name, she responded, “It’s nice to meet you, Trey. I’m Ellie.”
“Ellie.” He let the name roll off his tongue, and she liked the way it sounded coming from his mouth. “It’s perfect,” he decided, and the compliment made her feel like she was glowing with warmth, even though she had nothing to do with the choice of her own name.
“That expression…the one on your face right now is the one that should always grace your beautiful face.” He grinned down at her. She could feel her cheeks flaming hot when he continued. “I don’t ever want to see that worried look in your eyes again. The concerned look that showed up when we were talking about my medical bills. So, don’t ever give those silly bills another thought. Got it?”
His tone was light, but she sensed this was important to him. Well, it was important to her too. “No, I insist,” she told him firmly. “You shouldn’t have to pay a dime for becoming my car’s hood ornament.”
“Hood ornament?!?” he yelled, but tickled her side to let her know he wasn’t angry at the dig.
She laughed as his fingers jiggled into her ribs. “Stop!” she yelled, still laughing.
He stopped immediately and their eyes locked onto each other. They were both breathing heavily, and when he leaned in, she sensed that he was going to kiss her. Not ready for that, she practically leaped out of the bed.
“I should go,” she informed him briskly as she was retrieved her purse.
He grinned up at her, flashing his pearly-whites. “You’ll be back to check on me, right?” His gaze was intent upon her as he waited for her answer.
“Of course,” she promised then told herself that she must be crazy for thinking she saw a look of immense relief in his expression. The idea that this perfect specimen of manhood would care whether or not he ever saw her again was preposterous. He probably had women lined up waiting to take care of him while he was weak.
Already rushing toward the door, she turned back to add, “Seriously, don’t worry about the bills. I’ll take care of it.” As an afterthought, she added, “I mean, if you have health insurance you can use, that would be great. I’ll pay for anything that isn’t covered, though.”
“I have pretty good health insurance,” he assured her.
She tried not to let the immense relief show on her face, but was uncertain how successful she was. When she started toward the door again, his words made her pause. “There is one thing you could do for me,” he hinted.
Stopping herself from responding ‘anything,’ she asked, “What would that be?”
His twinkly eyes let her know he was up to something. “Well, I’m guessing the food in here is terrible,” he started. She nodded, urging him to continue. “Sneak me in a cupcake? I LOVE cupcakes. They are like little self-contained, single-serving sized parties. You can make individual celebration treats
and decorate each one how you want. They are truly the perfect dessert.” Somehow this handsome, hunk of a man looked like a mischievous boy when he gushed about cupcakes.
“What flavor?” she asked him.
His response of, “Surprise me,” made her shake her head and chuckle.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she promised as she left his room.
She passed Trey’s nurse in the hallway. Trina’s previously friendly expression had morphed into something much more catty. “Didn’t take you long to dig your claws into him, did it?” The woman openly glared at Ellie.
“Excuse me?” Ellie was stunned by the woman’s cold tone.
Lifting her shoulders, Trina went on, “Can’t blame you, I s’pose. Who would turn down a shot at bagging Trey Donovan, one of the richest, most handsome eligible bachelors in the world?”
“Trey Donovan?” Ellie asked, feeling numb. The name sounded vaguely familiar.
The nurse simply rolled her eyes as if Ellie were the densest person on earth. “Google him,” she said briskly before sauntering away.
As soon as Ellie got back to her car, she used the end of her hairbrush to slide her phone out from where it was caught beside her seat. Google images pulled up numerous, glamorous shots of Trey wearing tailored tuxedos with a parade of different gorgeous women at his side.
Just when she was starting to think she might have met the perfect man, she discovered that he was one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world.
“Dammit!” she shouted and pounded her fist on the steering wheel.
5
Ellie threw her extra energy into work. She had missed an entire day at the bakery, while she waited at the hospital. It was impossible to know how much business she had lost. She had tried to go home that evening and relax, but her thoughts kept returning to the gorgeous billionaire she had plowed over with her Bug.
Unable to rest, she went to Snickerdoodle, deciding that she would make him the perfect cupcake, deliver it to him, and tell him to send her the bill for his hospital stay, before leaving him (and his hordes of beautiful groupies) behind forever. It was really too bad that he was the infamous, womanizing billionaire. She had actually started to envision a future with the man she thought he was. The man he truly was would only be interested in a short-term fling––if that.
It was tempting to accept the unspoken offer of a hot night or two of passion in his arms. After all, the man looked like a Greek god. He probably knew how to bring a woman to unspeakable degrees of pleasure.
After spending the vast majority of the evening trying out different gourmet cupcake recipes, she went home to sleep for a few hours before returning to work at the “butt-crack of dawn.” She couldn’t help but grin at the phrase her father liked to use for the time she got up for work.
When Marcy tasted the fifth batch of cupcakes Ellie had made the night before, she demanded, “What’s up?” around a mouthful of red velvet.
Unsure who else to discuss it with, the dam finally burst, and Ellie revealed the details of the stressful accident.
“O-M-G…THE Trey Donovan?” Marcy bugged her already-large, emerald eyes out at Ellie.
“The one and only,” Ellie confirmed, before adding, “He seemed really nice, too. It’s too bad he is a billionaire mogul.”
“Yeah, that’s too bad,” Marcy scoffed. At Ellie’s nod, she nearly choked on her bite of cupcake. “Wait, you were serious?!?”
“Yep. It’s a deal breaker,” Ellie stated matter-of-factly.
“Umm, I think you mean deal maker.” Marcy was looking at her like she had grown an additional head. “It’s Trey Donovan,” Marcy added, as if Ellie was failing to comprehend the situation. “He could wear purple toenail polish and ask me to stand on my head while we fooled around, and I’d still be okay with it.”
Ellie couldn’t help but chuckle at the visual of anyone convincing her fiery red-haired employee to do anything she didn’t want to. “You might think that now, but the reality of being with such a powerful man would be dreadful. He is probably used to getting his way with everything. He would want to boss you around and always be in charge.”
Marcy seemed to ponder that, but then she shook her head. “I’m still okay with it. I’d go for it if I were you.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen.” Marcy deflated at Ellie’s response, so she softened it. “I am going to take him a cupcake and check on him, though. I owe him that much.”
Marcy was already packing a cupcake into a single serving box. The brightly-hued polka dots on the white cardboard still made Ellie smile. How could anyone not be happy when looking at such a cheerful cupcake container?
“You know, the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” Marcy informed her as she handed the box to her.
Turning back on her way out, Ellie asked, “What flavor did you decide on?”
“Chocolate with peanut butter icing,” Marcy answered before adding, “One taste of that, and he won’t be able to keep his hands off you.”
Chuckling as the bells jingled on the door she had just opened, Ellie responded, “He’s gonna have to.”
“At least try to keep an open mind. It’s been a reeeaally long time since you’ve been with anyone!” Marcy yelled as the door closed behind her boss.
6
Sitting in her canary yellow car in the parking lot of the hospital, Ellie gave herself a pep talk. In and out…check how he’s doing, give him the cupcake, make a graceful exit…easy peasy.
Something told her it wouldn’t be quite as easy as she hoped, but she silently vowed to have the strength not to fall for him any more than she already had. He was bad news, and she needed to steer clear in order to avoid taking the very real chance that he would break her heart. Would a billionaire break her heart into a BILLION pieces? She did not intend to find out.
When she entered his room, her heart raced when she discovered his bed empty. Had he already checked out and gone back to his high-profile, wealthy lifestyle? A billionaire surely wouldn’t stay in a lowly, small-town hospital very long, would he? He would probably prefer to have a private nurse––a cute one.
Not wanting to think about that anymore, or the possibility that he had internal injuries that required him to move to a higher care-level room, she scurried back out to the nurses’ station. Trina was not around, but the attractive woman behind the desk visibly perked up when Ellie mentioned Trey’s name. The dreamy look that crossed the lady’s face when Ellie inquired about Trey’s whereabouts reconfirmed Ellie’s decision to steer clear of the heartthrob.
Walk in…give a polite inquiry about his health…deliver the cupcake…walk back out. Ellie repeated the mantra quietly to herself as she took the elevator to the floor the nurse had indicated Trey had been moved to.
After awkwardly knocking on his door, Ellie tentatively peeked her head into his room. She didn’t want to see anything she shouldn’t and it felt invasive to barge into a virtual stranger’s hospital room. What she discovered inside the room shocked her. She hadn’t realized the hospital even had rooms like this. It was like the penthouse suite of hospital rooms.
Ellie gulped as she looked around at the big screen TV, the oversized bed, and…was that a balcony?? She tried not to worry about how much all of this was undoubtedly costing. She would have to figure out a way to pay for it. She just wished he wasn’t living the high life in the hospital. Could the man not live like a regular person just for a couple of days?
Her eyes paused on the ginormous bouquet of peach roses at his bedside table. There must have been at least fifty blooms carefully arranged, but nearly bursting out of the large crystal vase. The card proudly proclaimed, “Wishing you only the best. XOXO, Selena.”
Ellie was dying to know who Selena was, but knew she didn’t have any right to ask. Instead, swallowing her annoyance, she tried to give him a bright smile. He returned her grin before asking, “Are you my nurse?”
“No, we met when my car…wel
l, I’m the reason…” she stammered as she searched for a way to describe running him over that wouldn’t sound quite that horrible. Did he really not remember? Perhaps he had suffered a brain injury.
It was then that she noticed the ornery gleam in his teddy bear eyes. Picking up one of the numerous pillows on his huge bed, she tossed it lightly at him. “You scared me!” she reprimanded him.
His eyes twinkled even more when he told her, “I could really use a sponge bath and would be much obliged if you were the one to give it to me.” He moved aside the soft, blue, non-standard hospital issue blanket in silent invitation to her.
She took quick note of his sleek, black, luxurious pajamas. Apparently, billionaire skin is too sensitive to touch the green gowns that comprise regular hospital garb. “I’m sure there are plenty of qualified nurses here who would be happy to clean you,” she finally responded to his suggestion.
“But I want you to do it.” He waggled his jet-black eyebrows before sticking his lower lip out in a full pout. She rolled her eyes, wondering if he was a bit of a spoiled diva. Like a dog spotting a squirrel, Trey’s eyes darted to the bakery box she was still holding. “Is that for me?” His voice sounded as excited as a child on Christmas morning.
She couldn’t help but giggle at his enthusiasm as he actually clapped his hands in excitement over the sweet treat. Helping him get some of his many silk-covered pillows arranged behind his back so he could sit up, she followed his gaze to her light pink V-neck tee-shirt, which was revealing some cleavage as she leaned over him.
Straightening quickly, she fidgeted with her shirt as he continued to stare in the general direction of her breasts. Feeling awkward she crossed her arms over her chest, the cupcake box still clutched in one hand.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed before his dark eyes finally travelled up to meet hers. Clearing his throat, he said, “I’m sorry. I’m worse than a horny teenager.” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she remained quiet. Not seeming to notice how incredibly awkward she felt, he went on, “You’re just so beautiful.”
