I pulled out my cell and opened up the Internet, already typing keywords in the search engine so that I would have them to look at later.
The guys were leaning against the wall when we came out. Jesse frowned down at me when he saw that my phone was out. “Fuck no! You are going to rest, not work.” He snatched the phone from my hands before I could say anything and turned it off.
“But I wasn’t…”
“What’s that?” Nik nodded to the picture I had clutched in my hand.
I offered it to Nik as the guys fell into step on either side of me while the nurse pushed me toward the elevator. “It’s an ultrasound picture of the baby.” I bit my lip as he reached for the glossy picture with a slightly trembling hand.
As he looked down at the first picture of our child I watched him closely. He looked pale, those ice blue eyes of his were glassy, but I saw the tiniest of smiles tilt up his lips as he gazed down at the picture in his big hands. “Beautiful.” He whispered.
Everyone was quiet as we road down on the elevator. Jesse stood to my left, his fingers rubbing soothingly at my neck while Drake leaned his head back against the wall of the elevator and closed his eyes. Nik seemed engrossed with the picture of his child as he continued to gaze down at it. When the nurse pushed me outside Shane already had two cabs waiting on us. He held the door of the first one open for me.
As if I was an invalid Nik stepped forward as I started to stand and lifted me, placing me in the cab gently before sliding in beside of me. Drake opened the door and slid in on my other side leaving Shane and Jesse to take the second cab.
The drive to the hotel seemed like it took forever and because it hadn’t taken Axton long to get me to the emergency room the night before I wondered just how fast he had been driving. I shook my head at the thought. “What?” Drake asked.
“Nothing.” I knew better than to voice my thoughts. My guys were overbearingly protective and would twist Axton like a pretzel if they found out that he had been driving like he was in the Indianapolis 500 while I was in the same vehicle. It probably wouldn’t even matter to them that I had been half unconscious at the time either.
But thinking of the rocker’s driving skills made me wonder what had happened to him. I hadn’t seen him since before the guys had arrived the night before. “Where is Axton anyway?”
Nik shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”
Drake sighed. “He got a call from Gabriella and said he was heading back to California. Said to tell you he hopes you felt better soon and to call him when you’re up to it.”
“Oh.” I wondered if Gabriella had called because something was wrong with Alexis. I wanted to text him to ask but couldn’t because Jesse still had my cell. The look on his face told me that asking Nik if I could use his would only get me into trouble, so I clenched my hands together and sighed.
Chapter 10
It wasn’t easy but somehow I got all five of us on a flight out to Panama City that evening. From there it was an hour drive to our beach house. I rented a huge SUV that could hold all five of us plus the necessities of our luggage then arranged to have the rest sent to the house. Drake drove while Shane and Jesse rode in the third row so that I could stretch out in the longer back seat.
It was getting late and I was exhausted. We didn’t travel by plane much, unless the guys had to be at an awards show or something like a movie premier that only took us off our tour path for a day or so. I hated flying; I always got air sick and spent most of the time with a bag in my hand or in the bathroom. It wasn’t making this morning sickness that I had any better and by the time we had landed the guys were all threatening me with another hospital. But when I was able to keep down an entire bottle of fizzy lemon lime soda they didn’t push the issue.
By the time we got to the beach house, which was technically just a huge cottage, I was asleep. Strong arms lifted me and I didn’t bother to open my eyes as I wrapped my arms around Nik’s neck and drifted off to sleep once more.
Bright morning light was flooding my window. I reached out for an extra pillow and pulled it over my head to block out the harsh light. My bladder protested when I tried to go back to sleep and I sat up slowly so that my stomach didn’t have too many reasons to hate me. At a glance my room was beautiful. Vaulted ceilings, French doors that opened up onto a balcony, creamy walls with a soft brown carpet. A sixty inch TV hung from the wall opposite my bed, which was draped in beige and cream comforter and sheets.
Standing I padded into the connecting bathroom. Sea green accents adorned the walls, candles everywhere in fresh scents of cotton and jasmine. There was a Jacuzzi bath tub and a private shower. I knew from the virtual tour I had taken online that this was the master bedroom and bath because it was the only one with a Jacuzzi and wondered if the guys had put me in here because of that luxury.
If so I hated to tell them that I couldn’t use the Jacuzzi because I was pregnant. But that they had been so thoughtful warmed my heart. Smiling I used the bathroom then took a quick shower. My stomach was grumbling for food for once and I had this crazy craving for bacon and cheese grits.
Downstairs I found the gourmet kitchen with its beautiful granite counter tops and the stainless steel appliances. As requested the fridge and pantry were well stocked with food and soft drinks. But I couldn’t find any bacon or grits anywhere. I hadn’t requested those items, hadn’t even had grits since I was a little girl.
My stomach growled and I sighed. Nothing else sounded appealing. I didn’t know if I could bring myself to eat anything if I couldn’t have my bacon and cheese grits. Pulling out a Sprite I opened the bottle and took a small sip.
“Morning, Em.” Shane came in through the sliding doors that lead outside. He was covered in sweat having just finished a run on the beach. “How are you feeling?” He asked as he opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.
“I’m hungry.” I told him with a small pout.
“That’s good news.” He dropped down onto a chair at the kitchen table. “Can you fix me something too?”
“We don’t have any grits.” There was a wobble in my voice and crazily enough a tear escaped my left eye. I was going to cry over not getting grits? What the hell!
Shane, seeing my tears was quick to soothe me. He took my hands and gave them a little squeeze. “So make something else, sweetheart.”
I shook my head. “I want grits.” I whispered. “I guess it’s some crazy pregnancy craving because I don’t think I could eat anything else. I want bacon and cheese grits…Just like my mom would make when she was actually sober.” My chest hurt just thinking about my mom, causing some deep seated pain to come loose and I started sobbing.