Leo curses under his breath and breaks my grip on his face. Then he folds his arms around me. He runs one palm up and down my back. “He wasn’t worthy of you, sister mine. No man is. We’re fucking barbarians. All of us.”
I’m overwhelmed by sadness and longing and missing Finn, but at least Leo is calmer now. This is how it works. Only one of us can freak out at a time.
Finn apologized for making me feel alone, but I don’t have to be.
“I need you to know something,” I say into his shirt. “This is, like, not the best time to tell you. I realize that. But—”
“I already know he broke your heart.”
“Yeah. The thing is, I’m pregnant.”
Leo’s hands go to my shoulders. He pushes me back a little so he can get a clear view of my face. I’m a mess. Hot tears. A runny nose. Every inch a Morelli princess. “What?”
“I’m pregnant. With Finn’s baby. So it’s worse than him breaking my heart. And you really can’t kill him, Leo. You can’t even joke about it.”
“You’re pregnant.” To my shock, Leo’s entire face lights up. “You’re going to have the baby?”
I can’t help but smile back, even while I’m still sobbing. “Yeah.”
“Christ, Eva, that’s great news. That’s what you’ve always wanted.”
“I never told you I wanted a baby.”
He crushes me to him again. “Do you think you had to tell me? You think I haven’t known you all my life?”
“Finn broke up with me. And then he proposed. And we’re still fake-engaged. It’s a fucking disaster.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“You cannot kill him.”
“I won’t kill him. Not unless he fucks up again.”
“There are a lot of other people to be worried about. Mom and Dad are going to lose their minds unless I can solve this. And Finn—” I can’t begin to explain the whole situation with Finn right now. And frankly, I shouldn’t. I only wanted to calm Leo down, not do a full debriefing on Finn Hughes. “Things are really complicated with Finn.”
I don’t blame Finn for how complicated it is. Not really. I wish he’d see things from my perspective, but his fears are valid.
“It’ll be okay. I promise.” The nurse re-enters the room, and Leo’s face pales. “I promise,” he says again.
My heart breaks. I wipe my tears and compose myself. I promise, even while his wife is in surgery and his baby is coming early and no one on earth can ever guarantee that things will turn out.
The nurse hands over the scrubs. I take Leo’s overshirt and give him each piece one by one. His hands are shaking too badly to pull on the surgical cap, so I do it for him.
“She’s ready,” the nurse says. “Come this way.”
I pick up Haley’s bag from the floor, tuck Leo’s shirt into it, and jog to catch up with them.
“What’s the situation inside the OR?” Somebody has to ask the question. That person is me. Leo can’t go in blind.
“Haley’s had the spinal block. It went well. She’s comfortable, and the surgical team is just waiting for the father to get started.”
The nurse turns a corner. Another one. There are more stark white walls back here. Fewer neutrals.
She stops in front of a doorway marked OPERATING ROOM. STERILE ENVIRONMENT. “Ready?”
Leo looks at me, steeling himself. “It’ll be okay?”
This time, he’s asking.
“I promise.” I mean it for both of us. If everything else goes to hell, we’ll find a way out again. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
10
FINN
The woman behind the reception desk at the emergency department looks at me with undisguised skepticism. She has brown hair in a large poof and scrubs with Smurfs on them. Those things might have made her seem approachable, but the tiredness in her eyes said she’d worked a long shift. And the hard set of her mouth made it clear she had no interest in who I am.
“Sir, I can’t allow unapproved visitors into the emergency department. Or into the OB wing. It’s a question of privacy. And security. I’m sure you understand—”
“Finn.”
She blinks. “Excuse me?”
“My name is Finn Hughes, but you can call me Finn.”
I see the flash of recognition in her eyes. “Mr. Hughes…Finn…I can’t even confirm that Mrs. Morelli is a patient here. It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but there are rules.”
It takes effort to force the patented Finn Hughes charm. “Listen, I know she’s a patient here. I’m a friend of the family. A close friend of the family. And I won’t go past the waiting room.”
“Mr. Hughes, I’m so sorry—” She falls silent as I take out my phone, tap a few things on the screen, and scroll. Then I turn it towards her. “What is that?”
“Twenty million dollars, last year alone.”
“What?”
“That’s how much Hughes Industries donated to this hospital. Which means I’m invested in the longevity of this healthcare facility. As a major donor, I’d like to tour the waiting room.”
Her shoulders stiffen. “A tour can be scheduled at a later time, if—”
“I want to tour it now. Send security with me, if you want. I know these are the Morellis’ people.”
There are four armed guards in the waiting area of the emergency department. It seemed like the fastest way to get to Eva. Now I’m being stonewalled by a very competent nurse. Normally I would respect that, but nothing about this is normal. My future family is at stake.
“Sir. Mr. Hughes. I cannot just—”
“When I have the new OB wing built, I’ll name it after you.” I squint at her nametag. “Cathy. The Cathy Rosel Obstetrics Wing.” A flush darkens her cheeks. “The hospital won’t pay a dime. I’m not trying to cause any trouble, I swear. I’m a friend of the family.”
A heavy silence.
Then: “You need to follow the signs to the OB department. Do not go past the family waiting area, Mr. Hughes. If you do, I’ll have you escorted out by security.”
I grace her with my best Finn Hughes smile. “The Cathy Rosel Obstetrics Wing. I’ll have my people on it by the end of the evening.”
The guards don’t stop me. They let me go past, following the signs deeper into the hospital. Fuck this, my pounding heart says. Fuck not being her family. That was so difficult because I’m not Eva’s husband. I’m not family.
But I don’t care.
I don’t care if she has thoughts about the proposal. I don’t care if she’s pissed at me. I don’t care if she stays that way for the rest of her life.
Here’s what I know. I wasn’t there for her when she discovered she was pregnant. I still feel like a fucking asshole that she was alone for that.
I’m not going to let it happen again. Not this time. All through our fake relationship, I kept making the argument that Eva should do less for her family. I should have been doing more for her.