One Night Stand (New Yorker III) (14 page)

“Sign
the God damn papers, Ava,” DJ barked before getting up and rushing out of the
room.

“Ethan?”

“You’re
kidding, right?” Catalella snorted. “Sign the papers.”

“Michael,
what should I do?”

“Sign
the bloody papers and don’t call me again.” Michael also stormed off, leaving
the French chit
on her own
.

“Do you
have somewhere to live?” Catalella asked, the softer side from her mother
pushing her father’s ruthlessness aside.

“A
hotel.”
Ava
sniffed.

“Oh
dear God.”
Catalella heard Rich grunt. “Sign the papers and I’ll settle you with a hundred
thousand.”

“You
will…are you serious?”

The
light was back in Ava’s eyes and Catalella realized what kept the little chit
going. What the hell had she done with all that money she had falsely gotten
from her other husbands? Catalella’s eyes scanned her clothes and her jewelry, recalled
the car she had arrived in, and deduced where it had gone to. All Ava knew was
fun. She didn’t have a mind for business, just for luxury.

“He
will, as long as you leave the country immediately,” Catalella echoed.

“Or we
could just try getting back together.” Ava twirled her fire-colored hair in her
fingers and Catalella’s stomach clenched in disgust.

“Don’t
push it.” Catalella shoved the papers and a pen at Ava as Rich took out his check
book. When they had both finished signing Catalella held the check back. “If
you try to cash it when you’re in this country I will cancel it.” Ava gave her
a weak nod and Catalella let her have the money.

They
watched in silent wonder as the chit swung her hips from side to side as she
left the conference room, her body wrapped in a mere rumor of a dress. When
Rich turned to face her, Catalella didn’t expect the intensity in his eyes.
Flames licked behind their aqua blue and he held her gaze as he moved closer to
her.

“Why
didn’t you tell me?” he asked in a deadly firm voice.

“Before
you get cross with me remember I am the mother of your children.” Catalella was
trying to lighten the mood but her remark only got her an angry grunt. She drew
in a deep breath that seemed to tremble out when she exhaled. “I didn’t want to
spoil your mood. Ever since that night you asked me to marry you, you’ve been
so happy.”

“If you
had given me the information I would have taken care of it.” Rich’s tone was
warmer.

“I
know, but I wanted to take care of you.” She leaned in toward him and laid her
forehead against his. “If we’re going to spend a day short of forever together
I need you to know that this relationship will be fifty-fifty. I take care of
you and you take care of me.”

“You just
don’t want to lose control, Catalella.”

“Not
being in control scares the shit out of me. It reminds me of when I was sick.”
She leaned back so that she could see the honesty in his eyes. She took his
hand and put it on her belly. “I don’t have control over when our babies are
going to come, or of how my heart seems to beat out of my chest when I’m near
you, or the way everything in my world freezes the second you kiss me, and that
sigh my body makes when you hold me. I can’t control the fear I feel when I
think about what the doctors told us, or when you tell me you love me or when I
want to tell you that I love you.”

“I
understand everything else but I don’t understand why you’re afraid to tell me
that you love me.”

“Because
when I say those words I can’t take them back. Our lives will change forever
because of those three words, and I want to be on strong ground when I finally
tell you. Those words are important to me.”

“They’re
important to me too, and I’ll wait until you are finally ready to tell me. And
when I hear them I will be the happiest man in the world. Until then I’ll tell
you every day how much I love you.” He pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. “I
love you, Catalella.”

“Thank
you.”

“So why
aren’t you wearing my ring? Don’t you want anyone to know?”

Catalella
cringed when she saw the pain cloud Rich’s face. Of course she wanted everyone
to know. “If you would let me I would climb on top of this building and tell
the whole of New York how lucky I am to be loved by you and to be the girl
who’s going to marry you. But, like the clothes, the ring doesn’t fit. My
finger was so numb I thought it was going to fall off.”

“I’ll
get you a new one.”

“No
need. I don’t want a replacement—that one is special to me. I only need one
engagement ring and one man.”

Rich
threw his head back as he laughed. “If I catch you with anyone else I’ll kill
him. Come on, porky, let’s go home.”

“I want
to talk to DJ first.” Catalella was worried about what she was going to find
out, but she had to know. DJ’s little sister had been her best friend growing
up,
and DJ had been the only one she could talk to when it
came to their similar passion for law. After she got sick and Daniela
disappeared to her vices, he was the only one she could rely on to keep her
mind off the illness. For the longest time she fancied herself in love with
him. It wasn’t hard for her mind and heart to turn to him when all she got from
Michael was a cold brick wall.

“I
think we need to talk to DJ together.”

Catalella
nodded. Maybe DJ could relate to Rich in some male way that she couldn’t.

* * *
*

They
found DJ in Catalella’s office, his face clouded with guilt. He stared at the
ground for the minute that they spent in her office in silence, his hands
occasionally raking through his hair.

“I’m
sorry,” DJ finally said. “I met her in Paris…I didn’t think much of it at
first. But then she started telling me these stories about how her first
husband mistreated her. I played into her claws. I was so freaking blind.” DJ
roared in anger as he kicked Catalella’s desk. “She made me feel so—”

“Wonderful,
like you were the only man in the world, like you were capable of doing
anything, even flying,” Rich added with a sympathetic nod. “She manipulates
people, DJ. I don’t blame you for being taken in by her. Forget about it. Don’t
let it destroy you.”

“She’s
not worth it,” Catalella echoed.

“You
don’t understand—because of her I let the best thing in my life slip away.” DJ
gave Catalella a weary smile when she cupped his face in her hands. “I was in
love, Lella. She was beautiful and she made me feel whole, especially with
everything that was going on with you. But I lost her.”

“I’m
sure you can get her back.” Rich gave him a supportive pat on the back.

“I’m
afraid the only guy who was capable of raising people from the dead is Jesus,
and he isn’t taking any phone calls right now.” DJ gave Catalella a quick kiss
and shook Rich’s hand before he left her office, his head hanging with guilt
and shame.

Chapter Twelve

That
night Catalella lay in silence in the warmth of Rich’s arms. She had him next
to her, his heart was beating, his love showered over her and she had been
selfish enough to ask him to wait to marry her. DJ had waited and now the love
of his life was gone and was never coming back. How could she reconcile herself
with that if she wasted the time she had with Rich now? But she was scared, scared
of being married again to a man who would abandon her later on in life for one
reason or the other. Was the fear of disappointment worth more than the love
and the life she could share with Rich?

“What
did Michael mean when he said he had Lisette then you?”

“Long
story.”
Catalella was about to push it aside and try and start up a new topic. The Ross
girls’ past with Michael was something she and Lisette had tried to erase from
their family’s memories since the beginning. And now, five years later, they
had succeeded. She didn’t want to have to fight with the past again, but Rich
did deserve to know.

“I met
Michael Mathews when I was sixteen going on seventeen and he was dating my
sister.”

“I’m
surprised AJ didn’t bash his face in the first time he was dating one of his
sisters.”

“Lisette
is headstrong, and when she met Reno she had to change. But when she made a
deal for my freedom from Michael all hell broke loose—she promised to pay him to
divorce me. But Michael tried to sleep with her. Michael tries to tell everyone
that he was her first, but that’s a lie that Reno exposed.” Catalella grinned.
“Lisette had to let go of her stubbornness. Reno gave her an ultimatum—either
they dealt with everything together or they broke up. I, on the other hand, had
a crush on Michael Mathews that he took advantage of. Before I knew it I was
seventeen and married.”

Catalella
grew nervous when Rich went still and quiet. But, after a few seconds, he
finally spoke. “Didn’t your father try to get you out of it?”

“He did
but I told him I wanted to be married. So he gave Michael a job once he
graduated from college and he put him through Harvard Law. I was getting into
college and soon everyone was distracted by my illness.”

“I
thought he left you when you got sick?”

“That
was the second time. The first time he was the loving, caring husband. But what
we didn’t know was that he was looking at getting a job at a different firm. A
year later he finally got his new job when my cancer came back. He left as soon
as he could.”

“You
know I would never leave you for anything, right?” Rich tightened his grip on
her and kissed her forehead.

“I know…besides,
I would hunt you down.”

Rich
laughed. “I’m glad to hear that. What did Reno do when he found out about
Lisette and Michael? It’s obvious he forgave her, but he does kind of seem like
a mild man.”

“Looks
can be deceiving,” Catalella grunted. “He almost put Michael in the hospital
and I was Michael’s pound of flesh.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You
don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“I know.
I hate that you got hurt.”

“If you
promise to spend a lifetime making me happy, I’ll be all right.”

“I
promise.”

* * *
*

Catalella
had gone to bed smiling the previous night, but when she woke up the next
morning the only thing she felt was pain that seemed to rupture inside her. It
felt like there was a knife slicing through her, and hands trying to rip her
belly open. Her head dug into the pillow as her body arched and a painful,
blood-curdling scream erupted from her throat. Something was terribly
wrong,
Catalella realized when a chill feeling claimed her
heart.

* * *
*

Rich
rushed through the halls. Tears clouded his eyes and he wandered about the
maternity ward, looking for Catalella’s room number. AJ had called him only
fifteen minutes before to tell him that Catalella had been rushed to the ER. It
wasn’t his words that chilled Rich to the bone—it was the way he said
I think this might be it.
Rich refused
to accept that. This wasn’t it. Somehow Catalella and his babies would find a
way to make it through this episode. When he spotted AJ and Katherine he knew
he had finally found the hospital room.

“Rich,
we need to talk to you,” AJ said.

“Not
now. I just need to see her.” Rich gasped as tears rolled down his cheeks. “I
need to lay my eyes on her. I don’t need to touch her. I need to make sure—”

“Sure,
of course,” AJ said warmly as he opened Catalella’s door. “She’s resting and
the babies are doing well. Your family is fine, Rich.”

Rich
collapsed against the wall and finally let
himself
take a deep breath. “What happened?”

“She
was in pain and there was a little blood,” Katherine said.

“Did
she have a miscarriage?” Rich
asked,
the panic back in
his voice.

“No,
but she did start having contractions. We gave her something to stop the
contractions and it seems to be working.” Katherine responded warmly.

“So
what aren’t you telling me?” Rich looked back and forth from AJ and Katherine.
There was something they wanted to tell him but seemed too scared to do it. “I
won’t bite, I promise.”

“Catalella
is a week away from her seventh month. I think you should convince her to
deliver the distressed baby before the other one goes into distress,” Katherine
said. “The other twin would have a better chance if we delivered the distressed
one.”

“I
can’t choose between my children, which one goes, which one stays.” Rich shook
his head. “What guarantee can you give me that the one that is delivered will
survive?”

“None.
I can’t tell you what will
happen to the baby after we deliver it. But what I can tell you is that by not
performing this surgery we could be risking all three of their lives. What if
she bleeds out next time?”

“She
won’t.”

“She’s
here, Rich. She’s in the hospital. You need to tell her to do what is right for
all four of you,” AJ urged.

“What
the hell is that?” Rich walked past them and into Catalella’s room.

He
watched her as she slept. Besides the IV in her hand and the hospital gown she
didn’t look like there was anything wrong with her or the babies. She was
perfect and dear God, how he wished everything else was.

* * *
*

Catalella
woke up from her heavy sleep. She felt groggy and tired, like her body had been
through a battle and she was barely winning the fight. She remembered what had
happened but the feeling of her babies kicking inside her reassured her that
everything was all right. She felt a tight squeeze on her hand and she knew
that Rich was by her side.

Catalella
reluctantly opened her eyes and looked into his terror-stricken face. Something
wasn’t right and his continued silence alerted her. “I’m sorry,” She managed to
croak out.

“Why?”
Rich cleared his throat and wiped away a stray tear.

“I
should have stayed in bed like I was supposed to. If something happens to our
babies it’ll be my fault.”

“Hush,
nothing is going to happen. All three of you are fine.” Rich stood up and
leaned over to kiss her forehead.

“What
did Katherine say?”

 
Rich didn’t answer. He continued to avoid
her eyes but his eloquent shrug spoke volumes. Just then DJ entered the room,
his face as panicked as Rich’s.

“Hey,
little bird, what happened to you?” DJ asked.

“The
Mexican food I got at the deli didn’t agree with me.” Catalella shot him a
weary smile. “Rich, do you mind asking Katherine to come in here?”

“Not
at all.”
Catalella watched as Rich walked out, his shoulders drooping, his legs dragging
each other forward.

“Don’t
you think I should have gone out to get Katherine and he should have stayed
here?”

“I
think he needs a break from the reckless woman who almost cost him his
children’s lives,” Catalella muttered.

“I’m
sure that’s not how he feels,” DJ reassured her.

“He’s
scared, and watching me lying in this bed isn’t helping. He needs a breather.
Besides, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Whatever
you need.”

“When will
the annulment go through?”

“I
talked to the judge and I explained your circumstances, so it should be done by
the end of the week.”

“Just
seven days?” Catalella asked in disbelief.

“It
helps that I forwarded the request two months ago. It isn’t how it’s done, but
your dad and mine helped find an old friend from college who could help.” DJ
shrugged. “He was the one who found out about the other husbands. No property
is being divided, plus Ava was served with the papers a while ago, but her
agreeing to it helps speed up the process.”

“Thank
you, DJ. Now I need you to do one more thing for me.”

* * *
*

“The
contractions have stopped, Catalella. We might be able to keep the baby inside
you for a while but not to full term,” Katherine warned.

“I’ll
be seven months in a week. The babies will have a better chance then, won’t
they?” Catalella asked, hoping for favorable answer.

“Yes,
but there will always be a risk with premature babies,” Katherine explained,
then added, “That’s why I think you should deliver the one baby now, and give
the other one a chance at full term.”

“They
were created together. They have always been together. I don’t know, Kat.”

“I
can’t imagine what you and Rich are going through with this decision, but you
need to make the right choice.”

“What
the hell is that?” Rich roared from the corner. He had sat and watched silently,
but now he was a bundle of rage that wanted to erupt. He stormed out of the
room and immediately Catalella felt more relaxed.

“I was
wondering when he was going to explode. He has been sitting there so quiet. I
knew there was something boiling under that cool demeanor.” Catalella chuckled.

“You
seem to have gotten to know him very well, peanut,” AJ commented.

“We
share the same bed. Of course I’m going to know what makes him tick. By the way,
you need to stop asking him to make the right decision,” she pointed out. “And
besides, not knowing the man I married is what got me into problems last time.
I want to do things right this time.”

“Do
what right?” AJ’s well-shaped eyebrow
raised
questioningly.

“Rich
asked me to marry him and I said yes.” Catalella felt her heart skip a beat at
the thought of being his wife.

“When
is the wedding?” Katherine asked as she pulled Catalella into a hug.

“A
week from now.
He doesn’t know yet. DJ, Lisette and Reno are putting it together for me,”
Catalella said. “That is why I need a week. I’ll stay here if I have to. Please,
Katherine. After a week, we can do whatever you think is best.”

“All right
then, a week. If you don’t have any contractions tonight you can go home
tomorrow evening. But
this time stay
in bed,
Catalella. The only place you’re allowed to go is the bathroom.” Katherine
stuck out her pinky and Catalella felt like she was six again. “Pinky
swear
?”

“Pinky
swear
,” Catalella said as she locked her pinky with
Katherine’s.

“You
guys behave like little kids,” AJ scoffed.

* * *
*

Catalella
and Rich decided it would be best for her to stay in the hospital for a while.
He was completely oblivious to what was going on around him. All he knew was
that he needed to leave the room whenever Lisette, Katherine and DJ’s sister,
Daniela, entered. Once in a while, Rosalinda would shoot him a smile that told
him she knew something he didn’t, while Adrian warned him to watch out for
women who met in secret. At first Rich was worried that it might have something
to do with the babies, but Katherine looked relaxed. And after a week of
worrying, he gave up and let Catalella have her mystery.

“What’s
going on?” Rich walked into Catalella’s room to be greeted by the same faces,
giggling and winking at him. Today they all seemed dressed up. “What’s the
occasion?”

“We’ll
leave you two alone for a while,” Rosalinda said as she ushered everyone out.

“Come
here.” Rich walked over to Catalella’s warm arms. The smile she wore made his
heart skip up a beat.

“If I
have to spend a day short of forever staring at your smiling face, I will be
the happiest man alive.”