Page 14 of Sterling Heat

Hormones, one said, patting my arm in sympathy.

The crinkle of plastic has my eyes shooting open.

“Hey.”

“Sebastian?”

Standing at the end of the bed is the curmudgeon baker himself with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The plastic around them crinkles again as he shifts them to his other hand and swipes fingers through his hair. Sheepish eyes meet mine.

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay.” I shift, pressing into the mattress to lift myself a little higher. Hastily, I swipe at my cheeks, brushing away the tears.

“But you’re crying.”

The tears continue despite my effort to erase them. “I can’t see her yet. She’s in the NICU which means we’re separated, and I can’t leave my room until my damn blood pressure goes down.” I glance at a machine that’s monitoring my heart, but the BP cuff needs to be manually wrapped around my arm. My other arm is still hooked to the IV apparatus where blood pressure medication drips in hopes of reducing the elevated rhythm.

As for the baby, she’s beautiful but too small, weighing just over four pounds. The doctors are running a battery of tests on her. Her lungs were not fully developed, she really needed those six extra weeks to grow, and the medical team is worried about her current oxygen levels. She’s also on a feeding tube.

“Do you have other family that could go in and see her for you?”

I shake my head before tipping it back and blinking up at the ceiling. “There’s no one but me.” My parents have not been supportive and the scorn that came from them caused me to keep my distance. I tried to call my younger sister who is overseas, but I only got her voicemail. She’d planned to be present for the birth and be my plus-one for a while after the baby was born. With my precious girl arriving weeks early, I don’t foresee my sister getting here sooner due to her packed schedule.

Lowering my head, I look at him. He looks good. Rested. Fresh. Attractive. “Besides only mothers and fathers are allowed in the unit. Helps keep germ exposure to a minimum.”

Sebastian nods. “I get that.” Then his eyes narrow. “Where is the father?” The hard features of his face tighten. His cheekbones are almost elegant. His eyes are suddenly fierce. He can shift from dapper to dangerous in a blink.

“No dad,” I remind him since he clearly forgot the day I told him I was pregnant. When I also told him there wasn’t a husband or a boyfriend. My situation was too complicated to explain to a stranger, and I didn’t want to tell him anyway.

We stare at one another for a long minute before he holds up the flowers. “I brought you these.”

“They’re beautiful.” The vibrant combination of wildflowers is lovely. “A nurse should be in here any minute to take my blood pressure, so I can ask her if she has a vase when she gets here.”

Sebastian looks at the collection in his hands. “I should have thought of that.” He glances around the room, squints at the beeping monitor, and then gazes down at the floor. “I can go when the nurse gets here.”

“Or you could stay?” I’d love the company. “I owe you a huge thank you.”

His head lifts. “You don’t owe me a thing.”

“At the very least, I owe you a business cleaning service. I’m so sorry about the mess I made of your place.”

Sebastian sets the flowers on the moveable table beside my bed and rounds it to stand closer to me. “It was nothing.”

“You’re my hero.” I observe him as he nears me. A disgruntled expression tightens his face at my words. “That’s twice now you’ve come to my rescue.”

He snorts, swiping anxiously over his hair again. “I’m hardly a hero. Most people might say I’m the villain in a story.”

“I don’t believe that.” But his brows crease and his eyes shift. Without thinking I reach out for his hand and squeeze. “Thank you. For everything.”

Our gazes lock, and I recall saying something similar to him the first time we met. When he innocently kissed me and I went in for the kill, demanding he give me more of his mouth. I was so stupid.

When the door opens, Sebastian drops my hand and steps away from the bed, like he doesn’t want to be caught touching me. A cheery nurse walks in. I haven’t seen this one yet and she’s telling me her name when her eyes catch on the man who has moved to the end of my bed.

“Sebastian?” Her cheerful tone rises an octave in surprise. She stops in her tracks, noting his position, which is ram-rod stiff. My head pings back and forth between them.

“It’s great to see you again.” Her shocked tone turns seductive, almost lusty. She’s familiar with him and something inside me aches. My blood pressure check is going to be too high again.

“Good to see you too.” He anxiously swipes at his hair again, glancing away from her and purposely not looking at me.