Nothing Stays In Vegas (27 page)

I looked at him sideways and tried to wipe my tears.

"I will," he said. "And maybe now you'll actually be able to convince me to eat some of that rabbit food you're always trying to push on me."

"It's lettuce, Uncle Ray." Despite myself, I smiled. 

"That's what I want to see," he said. "No more tears now. I don't want to talk about this anymore. It's boring and there's nothing to say." He tried to wave his hand but the effort seemed to exhaust him. "Tell me about Vegas and the wedding. I want to live vicariously through you."

Dutifully, I obeyed. I filled him in on the details of Nicole's meltdown before the ceremony and how her mother was able to attend via the internet. He smiled when I told him about the battle with Nicole's hair. But he fell asleep before I could tell him the rest.  

I didn't let go of his hand. I know it was stupid, but I had the strangest feeling that he could draw energy from my body if only I could stay connected to him. 

I didn't know if I should tell Uncle Ray about Leo. I'd always told him everything but what would he say if he knew the truth? I watched the lines on the monitor, the rhythm of his heart. If I lost him I'd be alone. Except for Ben of course. And Leo? But what about Andrew? 

My thoughts flashed back to what I'd been about to do the night before, when I went back to the hotel room. I couldn't tell him now, not with everything else going on. But what about Leo? I never said goodbye. He was probably still waiting for me to call him. Oh, God he probably thought I'd left again. I needed to talk to him. 

I didn't even have to close my eyes to feel his lips against mine. To remember the way his arms felt wrapped around me. No, my body didn't need any prompting to recall the way Leo made me feel. I needed to call him, now.

"Mrs. Titan?" A voice startled me from my thoughts and I turned toward the nurse standing in the doorway. 

"That's me."

"I don't want to wake him," the nurse whispered. "Can I borrow you for a moment?"

I nodded and slipped my hand out from Uncle Ray's. I stood and kissed him on the cheek before joining the nurse in the hall. 

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Titan. My name is Patricia. I've been looking after your uncle."

"Call me Lexi." The nurse, Patricia, appeared to be in her late forties or early fifties. She was kindly looking, like she should be wearing an apron over her round middle and baking cookies instead of caring for patients. I liked her immediately. 

"Lexi." Her smile was warm. "Have you spoken with the doctor yet?"

I shook my head. 

"They're very busy, so you may not see Dr. Wallace for awhile. But I can answer any questions you might have. Ray is stable now, but we'll need to monitor him closely until surgery."

"When will that be?" I twisted my hands together.

"Hopefully tomorrow."

"That soon?" 

"He has a pretty severe blockage," Patricia said. "The longer we wait, the higher the risk will be."

I swallowed hard. "The risk for surgery?"

"No, the surgery itself is not without risks, but generally it's fairly routine. The real risk is that Ray will have another heart attack before we can operate. His heart has been weakened. I'm sure you can see the change in him." I nodded and she continued, "If he were to suffer another heart attack, his heart may not be able to withstand it."

"You mean?"

"Let's not think about that right now," she said and patted my hand. "Why don't you go sit with him for a bit. I'll be in to check his vitals soon and we can talk more when he's awake."

It was all so much to absorb. Like a robot I returned to Uncle Ray's side and picked up his hand. 

"You're going to be fine," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. Tears blurred my vision and burned my eyes, but I didn't bother to wipe them away. "You can't leave me, Uncle Ray. You can't."

###

I used the staff showers to clean myself up and changed into the spare set of clothes I kept in my office. I didn't have a razor, but I felt better at least. The water helped revive me and clear my head a little bit. When I entered the lobby again I didn't feel quite so out of control anymore. 

Pulling out my Blackberry, I tried to call Lexi again but it went straight to voicemail. I didn't bother leaving another message. I wanted her, no, needed her to call me back.

"Leo!" 

I turned to see Nicole waving from across the lobby. She looked beautiful. Just like a woman should the day after her wedding. I tried my best to put a smile on my face and crossed the floor to her.

"Mrs. Stewart," I said and accepted her hug. "How are you this morning?"

She giggled. "It's going to take a while to get used to being called that."

"Where is your new husband?" I asked. 

"He's checking out," she said. "I'm glad I saw you, Leo. I wanted to thank you for everything yesterday. It was a beautiful day and having my mom there, even through the computer, it was special. Thank you."

"Well, you are definitely welcome, but it was Lexi," I tried not to let my voice change when I said her name, "who had the idea for your mom." Nicole's smile turned down at the corners. She'd noticed my reaction. Hoping to avoid the subject, I asked, "Why are you checking out? I thought you were booked in for one more day."

Nicole shifted her purse on her shoulder and touched my arm. "You didn't hear?"

I stood tall and pretended I didn't notice her pity. "If you're referring to Lexi checking out, then yes. I heard." 

Nicole tilted her head and narrowed her eye. "You do know why they left, don't you?"  

The idea of anyone, even Lexi's best friend, knowing she had broken my heart again was more than I could handle at the moment. 

"It's really none of my business what Lexi does, is it?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest causing Nicole's hand to fall. 

She stared at me for a moment and then, as if a fire had sparked to life inside her. She glanced from side to side before grabbing my arm. Leaving her bags on the floor, she pulled me over to a bench with surprising strength and pushed me down on the hard leather. She stood over me, her red hair flashed against the lights and her eyes pinned me to the spot. "Drop the tough guy act," she hissed. "That crap, might work with someone else, but I'm not falling for it. Do you think I'm stupid, or just blind?"

I didn't answer her. I was a still a little stunned to be handled so forcibly by this petite woman. 

"Well?" she demanded.

"Neither," I managed. 

"Lexi is my best friend and I know everything there is to know about her, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't try to keep secrets from me."

"What do you mean?"

"Leo," Nicole said. Her stance softened and she didn't look quite so much like she was going to hit me. "She doesn't have to tell me for me to know what you mean to her."

I tried to wrap my head around that convoluted sentence. "Come again?"

"Leo, you're special to Lexi. You always have been."

Despite myself, my heart soared like a grade school kid rewarded by his first crush. "What do you mean? Special?"

Nicole plopped her tiny frame next to me on the bench and I twisted to look at her. 

"Look," she said. "I blame myself that she went back to Andrew all those years ago."

Whatever I was expecting her to say, it hadn't been that. "Pardon me? You what?"

"That time, after she met you," Nicole said waving her hands in the air. "She tried to tell me about your special connection or whatever."

"No, not whatever," I interrupted. "What did she say exactly?"

"I don't remember her exact words, it was years ago." Nicole shot me a look before continuing. "But basically, she liked you. A lot."

I smiled. I couldn't help it.

"But I told her it was pointless. Just a fling, that relationships didn't happen in Vegas," she said.

My smile fell and my stomach twisted as I remembered hearing those exact words myself. "You told her that?"

"Well, come on, Leo," she spoke quickly. "You have to admit, Vegas isn't really the place to meet your soulmate, right? I mean, I was just trying to be a good friend."

"But, I...Lexi..."

"I know," Nicole said. Her voice was soft and she put her hand on my arm. When I looked up I could see the hurt in her own eyes. "I know that now. Hell, I think I knew it then. But then Andrew was there, and he wasn't awful, he just...and then when Ben was born..."

My thoughts fled to my unseen child.

"I knew," she said.

"You knew what?"

"I'm not blind, Leo. I've always known."

"That Ben is my son," I whispered.

"He's the image of you."

I couldn't help it, I smiled. "I've only seen the one picture." I pulled the photo out of my pocket and showed her. "Lexi told me last night. Did you ever talk to her about it?" 

She shook her head. "No. It was one of those things," she said. "Lexi never brought it up and to be honest, I think it took her a long time before she admitted it to herself. She tried so hard to create the perfect family for Ben."

I looked at my son, and a longing to meet him filled me. I tore myself away from the picture. "What do you mean?" 

"Leo, you have to understand something about Lexi. She's not the type of woman to have a one night stand."

"I know."

"Do you? I mean, I'm not trying to pretend that I understand what kind of relationship you two had or have, or whatever, but do you really know her? Do you have any idea how totally unusual that was for her? Lexi isn't the type of person to do that, and it affected her. A lot. I thought she might even leave Andrew again, but then she found out she was pregnant."

"She still could have left."

"No, she couldn't. You know that."

I nodded. I did know. Lexi would have done what she thought was right. She sacrificed everything to give my son a family. "Does he know?" I asked. 

"Andrew?" Nicole shook her head. "Not that I know of. But he's never been the most attentive father. He said he'd have children, but he never wanted them. That's more than obvious."

"But, he never guessed? I mean, Ben, he looks..."

"Nothing like him?" She laughed. "Ben doesn't look anything like either of them. Except for-"

"His smile. He has his mother's smile." I ran my thumb across the photo again.

"Yes, he has her smile." She rested her hand on my arm again. "Leo, you being here after all these years, I have to think that it's some kind of sign. Clearly you were meant to be part of Lexi's life."

"It doesn't really matter, does it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"She left again." The words came out bitter, and I wanted to take them back. Nicole didn't deserve my anger, but I couldn't stop. "She went to tell Andrew the truth, and she never came back. She left with him and didn't even call to tell me her choice."

I looked down and it's a good thing I did because I didn't see Nicole as she wound up and punched me in the shoulder. 

"Ow! What was that for?" I rubbed the spot she hit. She was remarkably strong for such a small person.

"For being an ass," she said. "Lexi's uncle had a heart attack, Leo. That's why they checked out. Andrew was able to get their flights changed so she could be with him. He practically raised her and he's in the hospital. She's beside herself."

"What?" Of all the scenarios that had played out in my head over the last few hours, that had not been one of them. "Is he going to be okay?"

"We don't know." Nicole looked like she might cry too. She glanced away and waved. I turned to see Ryan approaching, lugging the bags behind him. 

"Hey, Leo," Ryan said when he got close enough. "Ready?" he asked Nicole. 

She rose, leaving me sitting alone on the bench. "I'm ready," she said to Ryan. "Can you grab a taxi? I'll be right there." Nicole kissed her husband on his cheek.

"Sure," he said and then turned to me.  "Thanks for everything, man." 

I nodded but couldn't say anything. I didn't take the hand he extended and I only vaguely noticed him walk away. It was a few moments before I realized Nicole was still standing in front of me. I raised my head to look at her.

"Leo," she said. "I don't know what you're going to do, but can I tell you one thing?"

I nodded. 

"Lexi needs you. She's unhappy. Andrew doesn't make her happy." 

My heart leaped in my chest. 

"Uncle Ray's been telling her for years that life's too short to spend with someone that doesn't give her everything she needs. And I think I'm just starting to realized how much she gave up."

"Do you think she loves me?" I muttered.

"I've seen the way she looks at you even when she thinks no one is watching. And in all the time I've known Lexi, I've never seen her look at anyone else that way. Ever." Nicole's words hung between us and she added, "Besides, you are the father of her child. Don't forget that." She bent down and kissed my forehead. "I'll see you soon." And she was gone. 

I stared after her, replaying her words in my head. When she vanished from my sight, I looked down at the picture I still clutched in my hand. 

"You're the father of her child. Don't forget that." 

As if I could.

Chapter Twenty-Six

I looked around the small room, bursting with life. It was totally at odds with the situation we were in. The monitors, wires and alarms hooked up to Uncle Ray seemed to fade into the background as my small family took centre stage. Ben was only marginally more restrained than usual as he bounced up and down on the floor peppering us with questions.

"They're gonna cut you open, Papa? For real?"

"For real, buddy," Uncle Ray said. The bed was propped up so was sitting up in a reclining position. His skin was still washed out and grey in a way that reminded me of cold winter day, not of the ruddy faced man I knew. But he was enjoying Ben's questions and twice had told me to leave him alone when I'd tried to get my son to sit down. I didn't take my eyes off him though, I was terrified with all his bouncing, he would trip over a cord or fall on the bed and hurt Uncle Ray.