“I’m going to take the first flight out.” He could only imagine the fear Ced and Randi were experiencing. He had to get home.
“Email me your flight info and I’ll pick you up.”
“Thanks. Keep me posted.” He disconnected and closed his eyes briefly. Then he turned to Serita. “I have to go home. My sister-in-law went into premature labor. She’s not due for another two months.”
Serita stood and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I hope they can stop the contractions.”
“I know we were supposed to spend the day together tomorrow. I’m sorry.”
“No apology is necessary, Jeremy. You need to be there for your family.”
“I promise to make it up to you. Let me give you my number.” He had hoped to have that last day with her, and had planned for them to rent a boat and take a ride on the lake, then have a picnic. She handed him her phone and he inputted the information.
She took the phone back and dropped it into her purse. “I’ll get out of your way. I know you need to make your flight arrangements.”
Jeremy placed a staying hand on her arm. “No, don’t leave. At this hour, I probably won’t be able to get a flight out until morning, and I want to spend as much time with you as possible.”
She nodded.
He smiled faintly. “Thanks.” He used the hotel phone to call the airline and it took more than fifteen minutes to find a flight. Thankfully, he didn’t have to pay an additional fee due to his A-list rating. He hung up. “My flight leaves at six in the morning.”
“That means you’re going to need to be at the airport at O-dark-hundred. It’s after ten. You need to be going to bed.”
He laughed. “Yeah, early. How about we go get your café con leche and talk for a little while? I’ll be okay.” And he could sleep on the long flight.
Chapter 5
Jeremy grabbed his luggage off the carousel and made his way through the airport terminal. On the way, he called Lorenzo, then exited to the pickup area. Obviously, several planes had landed around the same time because the he could barely find a spot to wait in the crowd. Luckily, his height gave him an advantage, and less than four minutes later he saw Lorenzo’s Lexus SUV and waved him down. His cousin popped the trunk, and Jeremy tossed the bags in, then got in on the passenger side.
“How was the flight?” Lorenzo asked as he merged into the traffic.
“Long.” He laid his head against the seat and closed his eyes. He had not been able to sleep on the plane as planned and was beyond tired. “How’s Randi?”
“They have her on some meds that’ll, hopefully, stop the contractions. They’ve slowed, so that’s a good thing.”
“It is.”
“You want to stop by the house first or go straight to the hospital?”
“Hospital.” He could imagine the fear she and Cedric were experiencing and Jeremy needed to see with his own eyes how they were doing. Besides, if he went home, he might not make it back today. His thoughts shifted to Serita. Strange as it seemed, he missed her already. While waiting for his luggage, he had sent her an email like she’d asked to let her know he’d made it home. However, he didn’t expect a reply. With the nine-hour time difference, it was already after midnight there. She’d be flying home tomorrow and chances were they wouldn’t connect until sometime during the week. Jeremy didn’t realize he had drifted off until he felt the tap on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and sat up slowly.
“Maybe you should’ve gone home to take a nap,” Lorenzo said with a chuckle as he got out of the car.
Jeremy followed suit and stretched. “I’m not staying long and, yeah, I need some sleep.” Inside the hospital, they took the elevator to Randi’s floor. Cedric was standing in the hallway talking with their mother. Both looked up with surprise.
“Oh, my goodness! You’re home early.” His mother rushed over and engulfed him in a crushing hug. “I didn’t expect you until tomorrow night.”
He kissed her cheek. “Zo called about Randi and I took the first flight out. You know I had to come.” Family meant everything to him, and he couldn’t not be there during a crisis.
She nodded in understanding and patted his cheek. “I’m so glad to see you. You can tell me all about your trip sometime later in the week. I’m going to go in and see if Randi is awake.”
Jeremy embraced his brother. “How’re you holding up?”
Cedric dragged a hand down his face and blew out a long breath. “I’ve been better. Hey, Zo.”
Lorenzo clapped Cedric on the shoulder. “Hang in there. I know she’s going to be fine.” He turned to Jeremy. “I’m going to chill in the waiting room down the hall. When you’re ready to go, come get me.”
“Okay.” Jeremy studied his brother and could see the lines of tension and fatigue lining his features. “How is Randi doing now? Zo said the contractions are slowing.”
“They are, but not enough right now. She’s worried. I put up a good front with her, but I’m scared to death something’s going to go wrong. The doctors were talking about lung and brain development and a whole lot of other stuff that freaked me out.” He let the wall take his weight. “I don’t know what I’ll do if anything happens to either of them,” he said in an anguished whisper. “I feel so damn helpless.”
“We’ve got to pray and believe that everything is going to be okay. You said the contractions are slowing. Let’s take that as a sign things are moving in the right direction.”
“Believe me, I’m trying.”
“Do you need me to do anything?”
“No, we’re good. You look dead on your feet.”
Jeremy smiled. “So do you. I know the hospital is probably limiting her visitors, but I want to poke my head in for a minute.”
Cedric waved him off. “You’re fine. You should’ve been here last night when the entire family showed up. We almost got put out. Mom and Aunt LaVerne scared those nurses so bad they just let us all in.”
“I can imagine.” When it came to their children—regardless of the fact that all were adults now—both women were very protective. As soon as Randi married Cedric, she became one of them and they guarded her as if she had been born into the family. “What about her parents?”
“They’re flying in tomorrow.” He pushed the door open and held it for Jeremy.
“Hey, sis,” Jeremy said, approaching the bed.
“Hey, Doc,” Randi said softly. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Madrid wooing all the senoritas?” Even though she looked as if she had been through the ringer, she still had her wit.
He smiled. “I had to come and check on you and there’s only one senorita I’m interested in wooing.”
“What?” his mother and brother said at the same time. Randi stared at him.
He gave her a wink. “I’ll tell you all about her when you get home. Right now, I need you to concentrate on resting.” He placed a gentle hand on her belly. “Hey, little one, I know you’re anxious to meet your family, but we need you to hang out awhile longer. I promise we’ll all be here to greet you when it’s time.” He bent and placed a kiss on Randi’s forehead. “Rest up, sis, and I’ll check on you tomorrow.”
She grasped his hand. “Thank you, and I’m sorry you had to shorten your trip.”
“No apologies necessary.” Saying those words reminded him of Serita saying the same thing to him. He hoped things would work out between them so he could introduce her to his family. He knew they’d love her.
His mother eyed him. “You get a good night’s sleep because I will be calling you tomorrow.”
Cedric laughed.
Jeremy had no doubt that she would call him by nine, generously allowing him that extra hour. He gave her another hug and kiss. “I’ll be expecting it.”
Cedric caressed Randi’s cheek and kissed her. “I’ll be right back, baby. I’m going to walk
Jeremy out.” As soon as the door closed, he said to Jeremy. “What do you mean wooing a senorita? Did you meet someone there?”
“I did.”
“Look, bro, I know you’re all into finding Mrs. Right, but Spain is a long way from Cali.”
He grinned. “She doesn’t live in Madrid. She’s a lot closer—Reno.”
Cedric’s eyes widened. “Still long-distance, and how do you know she’s going to go for that?”
“We already talked about it. Serita is a beautiful woman—about five-two or three, brains, sweet curves, all this curly hair and a pair of sexy glasses.”
He shook his head. “Only you. So she’s got some sexy nerd-girl thing going on?”
“Exactly. We spent a lot of time together this week and I really like her.”
“Be careful that you don’t get all caught up so soon.”
Jeremy let out a short bark of laughter. “I know you’re not talking to me, Mr. Slept-With-Randi-On-The-First-Date.”
“Yeah, whatever. That wasn’t unusual for me. You, on the other hand, have always waited until you had some kind of commitment first.”
“True...usually.”
Cedric held up a hand. “Wait. Are you telling me you slept with this woman already?”
“I’m not telling you anything. I’ll talk to you later. Call me if you need me. Later, big brother.” He laughed at Cedric’s shocked expression and left him standing there. As he made his way to the waiting room, he thought about the look of adoration Cedric and Randi shared. The love between them was palpable and it made Jeremy even more sure that he wanted the same thing in his life. He just needed to know if Serita was the one for him.
* * *
Sunday evening, Serita dropped down on Gabby’s sofa, closed her eyes and groaned. “Girl, I don’t ever want to move again.” It was a fantasy because she only planned to stay with her friend temporarily, until she found her own place. Instead of moving in a month, she’d had to put her condo on the market and pack up to move in less than two weeks after returning from Madrid in order to start her new job.
“You’re more than welcome to stay forever,” Gabby said with a laugh, collapsing on the other side of the sofa. “Well, if you had taken Jeremy up on his offer to help you move, you wouldn’t be so tired.”
She cracked open an eye. “Shut up.” When Jeremy found out she had decided to relocate back to Sacramento, he had immediately offered to help with the move and finding her a place. But she was used to doing things on her own and didn’t want to start depending on any man, especially one she had known for only a short time. Granted, she’d come to feel closer to him in that short period than she had with all the guys she’d dated combined. “He doesn’t actually know I moved this weekend. I haven’t talked to him since last week. He mentioned having to work overtime because someone at the company quit. And then there are the concerns with his sister-in-law’s pregnancy. Thankfully, her contractions stopped, but from what he told me, the doctor’s put her on bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy. We’ve been playing phone tag and exchanging texts here and there, but that’s about all.”
“How do you feel about seeing him again? I mean, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the beauty of a foreign country and with all the romantic things you guys did, but do you think it’ll be the same now?”
“I honestly don’t know and that’s part of the reason I didn’t mention the move.” She also didn’t want it to turn into just a physical relationship. She wanted more and, at age thirty-two, didn’t plan to settle for being anyone’s plaything. She didn’t sense that to be the case with Jeremy and, if so, he put up a good front.
“You’re going to have to tell him eventually because I’m sure he’ll ask. And I’m really curious about him. If he turns out to be the real deal, I need to know if he has any available brothers.”
Serita chuckled tiredly. “He has just the one brother, who’s married.”
“Damn. Why are all the good ones taken?” Gabby asked with a mock pout.
“I don’t know about you. Maybe he has a friend.”
She perked up. “Ooh, yeah. I need you to get me the hookup. Just make sure the friend isn’t one of those crazy men who has some whack belief system about women being barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen.”
“I thought you wanted kids.”
“I do, but I don’t want to have to quit my job to do it. I’ve got no issues cutting my hours, but I’m not the Suzie Homemaker type.”
“Hey, you never know. You’ll see those babies and end up being one of those women who attend every PTA meeting, coordinate all the bake sales and play chaperone on field trips.”
Gabby shot Serita a look. “Bite your tongue. I. Don’t. Think. So. Not in this lifetime or the next one.” She shuddered.
She laughed and pointed. “I wish you could see your face.”
“I don’t need to see it to know what it looks like. I bet you’d say the same thing.”
Serita nodded. “Yeah, no. Not quitting. I worked too hard to get where I am to just let it all go. I’d like to own a small company one day, and I won’t be able to do that if I’m sitting on the sofa all day eating bonbons.”
She lifted her hand and gave Serita a high five. “Amen, my sister!”
The two women fell out laughing. When they finally calmed, Serita said, “I’ve missed hanging out with you.” There was never a dull moment with her friend around.
“Same here.” Gabby yawned. “It’s getting late and I need to be in the office at seven in the morning. Did you find out any more information on the company where you’ll be working?”
“The website was down the other night when I checked and, with everything going on, I forgot about it. I guess I’ll just wait and see in the morning. If it turns out to be a mess, I’ll do that thirty-day trial and be out the door. I’m still applying at other places, just in case.”
“I hope it works out.”
“So do I.” From the job description, it appeared to be exactly what she was looking for—challenging and cutting-edge—and it would give her a chance to sharpen her skills. She’d had little time to work in the field over the past seven years and this new opportunity gave her the same excitement she had felt when she started at her first robotics company right out of college. After working for four years, she’d gone back for her doctorate and had accepted the job in academia at the suggestion of one of her professors. “Thanks again for letting me crash here until I find a place.”
Gabby stood. “Oh, girl. I’m glad I could help. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night.” She sat there a moment longer, then went to prepare for bed. After a long, hot shower, Serita felt a little better, but she hadn’t used many of those muscles in a while and knew she’d probably be sore in the morning. She went through the closet, trying to decide what to wear, and settled on a pair of gray slacks and a short-sleeved black blouse. Even though the calendar read mid-October, the weather still remained near eighty degrees.
She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and when her alarm went off at six thirty the next morning she swore she had just lain down. Serita dragged herself out of bed and got dressed. Gabby had already gone by the time Serita emerged and had left coffee. Since she didn’t particularly care for it, she opted for a cup of hot peppermint tea. She had yet to find a recipe for the café con leche she liked, but vowed to search one out as soon as she had a moment. After a quick breakfast of fruit and a boiled egg, she Googled directions to the Roseville office and set off. Fortunately, Gabby’s Antelope condo was less than twenty minutes away.
She arrived fifteen minutes before the scheduled eight-o’clock time and, taking a deep breath, entered the one-story building located in an office park off Douglas Boulevard. In the small lobby, a trio of chairs surrounded a coffee table filled with magazines, and photos of various types of robots hung
on the walls. A young woman sat at the desk. “Good morning. I’m Serita Edwards and have an appointment with Christian Hill.”
The woman smiled. “Good morning.” She clicked a few keys on the computer, then said, “Have a seat and I’ll let him know you’re here.”
“Thank you.” Serita sat in one of the chairs and speculated what her job would entail. The company focused on medical robotics, and that could mean anything—surgery robots and instruments or prosthetics. A couple of minutes later, a man who looked to be around her age or a couple of years older rushed through the door. He smoothed his blond hair back and went over to the receptionist, then joined Serita in the waiting area.
“Are you starting today, too?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“You must be a new grad.” Smiling, he stuck out his hand. “I’m Wade.”
She shook his hand briefly. “Serita.” She purposely didn’t respond to his assumption.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Serita turned at the sound of a deep voice. A tall, mahogany-skinned brother stood there with a warm smile. She stood.
“I’m Chris.” He stuck out his hand.
“Wade Brewer.”
Serita stifled an eye roll. The man jumped in front of her and nearly knocked her down.
Chris raised an eyebrow, then shifted his gaze to Serita. “And you are?”
“Serita Edwards.”
“Nice to meet you. If you’ll follow me, I’ll get you all set up with the paperwork. Hopefully, the other two new hires will be here shortly and I can give the information once.”
They went down a long hallway to a conference room holding a table that seated eight. She waited until Wade sat before taking a seat at the opposite end.
Chris handed them each a stack of papers.
“Chris, your other two candidates are here.”
He turned. “Thanks, Nicole.” He made introductions, then gestured the two men to the table and gave them the forms. “After you fill these out, I’ll tell you a little about our company, and then we’ll discuss the parameters of the position and the projects that you’ll be working on.”
Her Christmas Wish ; Designed by Love Page 22
