Seducing Simon (26 page)

“I don’t really know,” he admitted. “They’re still doing tests. I mean, the doctor thought she would be fine, but they still have to do a CT scan because of her head injury, and they have to check out the baby…our baby,” he added softly.

He felt A.J.’s hand on his shoulder. It was the last straw. Harsh, guttural sobs spilled forth, shocking himself with the agonized sound that ripped from his throat. He sank down in a chair, his body shaking, as tears ran freely down his face.

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Matt and A.J. took a seat on either side of him, but remained quiet as he buried his face in his hands. As they sat there waiting, more firemen filtered in as the men who had been on duty for the accident got off work.

The ambulance personnel from the night before along with members of dispatch, first responders and sheriff’s deputies stood in the now crowded waiting room, all waiting for word of Toni.

She was loved by a lot of people, but none more than Simon. She had taken hold of his heart. Firmly entrenched herself into his life, and he couldn’t imagine being without her.

If it took the rest of his life, he was going to make it up to her for the careless words he’d thrown at her.
We have nothing to talk about
.

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Simon was about to go out of his mind when a nurse opened the door and motioned for him to follow her back. Matt rose as well, and the nurse smiled at him. “I’m sorry, but for now, I can only allow one person back.” Matt looked as though he would argue for a moment, and Simon felt a brief moment of fear. Technically Matt was more entitled than he was to be with Toni. Matt was her brother, while he was, well, not much. But being the baby’s father counted for something.

He looked over at Matt, and Matt nodded before taking his seat again.

“Thanks man,” Simon said quietly.

He followed the nurse back to the exam room, shocked to see the amount of lines, wires and bandages that surrounded Toni. Her head was wrapped in gauze, and her arm still had the ladder splint the paramedic had used to stabilize the break.

They had removed the oxygen mask, which to Simon meant serious cause for relief. Her head injury must not be severe. As he walked over, she blinked and unfocused eyes swept past him and around the room.

Her lips worked up and down as if she were trying desperately to speak.

He rushed to her side and put his fingers to her cheek. “Toni, sweetheart, it’s Simon.”

Her brown eyes settled on him a split second before utter hurt swamped their depths. She looked away, tears brimming around her eyelids.

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He started to ask if she was in pain, but he knew the anguish he saw had nothing to do with physical discomfort. He wanted to pour out his heart, beg her forgiveness, but the nurse had been very explicit in her instructions not to upset or overtire her.

Instead he curled his fingers around her uninjured hand and hoped he could speak volumes with his touch.

Toni turned away from Simon, the pain she felt at his presence far superseding the pain that racked her body. She felt his hand curl around hers, and comforting warmth snaked up her arm. She was afraid. So afraid. And of course he would be here. She was pregnant with his baby after all.

She closed her eyes willing the baby to move within her, needing to feel the stirring of life within her. The on call obstetrician had visited her a few minutes ago, checking her cervix for dilation and listening for the baby’s heartbeat.

The heartbeat had been strong much to her relief, but she had yet to feel it move within her womb. The doctor had explained that after a shock, it wasn’t uncommon for the baby to be still for a longer period of time. He felt confident the baby was fine, but he ordered a monitor hooked up so they could make sure she wasn’t contracting.

Her head hurt, her arm hurt, her legs hurt, her
heart
hurt. She struggled to remember the chain of events that left her lying in the emergency room. She vaguely remembered another car, blinding headlights and overwhelming pain and fear. And then Simon, begging her not to leave him. Commanding her to wake up. Had she dreamed all that?

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She chanced another glimpse of Simon who still stood rigidly by her bed. He looked back at her, concern flaring in his eyes. And something else. Was it fear?

She looked away, no longer able to meet his eyes. Her shame was too great. He had every right to be angry with her. His words—the last words he’d spoken to her—rang in her ears. Yet he was here. Did she want to know why? Yes. Yes, she did.

She raised her eyes once more to meet his and opened her mouth to speak. Her throat felt funny, and her tongue wouldn’t cooperate at all.

She tried again, and Simon put a finger over her lips. “Shh, sweetheart.

Don’t try to talk right now. Just rest. I’ll be here when you wake up I promise.”

She felt oddly comforted by his statement, and for a minute, she could forget he despised her. Her eyes flickered to the doorway as she saw it open. A.J. peeked his head through then walked in, followed closely by Matt.

“We only have a minute,” A.J. said as Simon stared questioningly at them. She glanced between them, her head hurting from the effort.

“They’re about to move her to the floor.” A.J. walked to her bedside, and Simon moved back out of the way. He bent over and kissed her softly on the forehead. “You scared us, girl.

Don’t ever do that again.” He attempted to tease her, but she could hear the stark fear in his voice.

Matt stood at the foot of her bed looking guilty. Her brow furrowed as she watched him fidget, his eyes full of regret. “I’m sorry, Toni,” he said in a tortured voice. “I should have been there. I was an ass. A complete jerk for being mad at you.”

Confusion filled her mind. What was he talking about? Why was he mad at her? Her head began to pound all over again. She looked at

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Simon then back at Matt. Matt was angry with her. It was more than she could stand at the moment. Faced with losing the man she loved and her best friend to boot, having her big brother pissed at her was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Tears filled her eyes and she tried hard to speak. To say something.

That she was sorry. But nothing came out. A.J. looked angry, and Matt looked more contrite than ever. The nurse pushed her way into the door and quickly ordered them all out. Simon lingered until the nurse took his arm and all but dragged him from the room. “We’ve got to cast her arm then we’re transferring her to the floor. You can see her later,” she said firmly.

Toni watched them go then slumped wearily against her pillow. The doctor came in with a clipboard and stood a few feet from her as the nurse began swabbing her arm. “You’re a lucky young lady,” he said, eyeing her over his glasses.

She swallowed hard and tried once more to find her tongue. “W-when can I go home?” she rasped. Her free hand came to her throat and massaged absently.

He laughed. “Go home? You’re in an awful big hurry. You won’t be going home for a few days. I want to keep an eye on that head injury of yours. And your obstetrician wants to monitor the baby. Make sure the little tyke stays put. We’re going to give you a fiberglass cast. Nurse McGregor will give you your post release care instructions, but the floor nurse will run through it all again before you’re released. Do you have any questions?”

“I hurt,” she croaked.

He gave her a sympathetic look. “Your OB left orders as to what you could have. I defer to him on matters of pregnancy. I’ll make sure you’re given something before you leave the ER.”

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“Thank you,” she managed. The effort of speaking was overwhelming, and she closed her eyes, exhausted.

The nurse’s ministrations barely registered, though she winced when her arm was set. She was given an injection of pain medication, and soon she floated in a sea of painlessness.

She vaguely held a sensation of moving, the blurry walls of the hallways passing by her. She saw Simon’s head bob in front of her view then fade away as her eyes grew heavy.

She opened her eyes, and at first, she had no idea where she was. It wasn’t as bright as the emergency room had been, the dark soothing to her aching head. As her vision cleared, she could see she was in a private room.

As she scanned the room, her eyes came to rest on the chair next to her bed where Simon slouched, asleep, his head lolled to the side. She drank in the sight of him. His dark hair fell forward over his forehead.

Dark shadows left imprints under his eyes. He looked as bad as she felt, but he’d never looked more desirable to her.

She tested her arm, waiting for the flash of pain when she lifted it up to inspect the cast. To her relief, all she felt was mild discomfort.

She reached up with her unencumbered hand and felt the bandages on her head. The doctor had explained to her she’d suffered a large laceration to her scalp that required multiple stitches, but thankfully it hadn’t resulted in a serious head injury.

She allowed her hand to fall back to her chest then she slid it down over her belly. She rubbed in a circle, sending a mental apology to her

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unborn baby. When her belly shifted and fluttered under her fingers, she gasped, tears flooding to her eyes.

Simon came awake immediately, lurching to his feet and coming to her side. “What is it? What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“N-nothing,” she stammered, relieved she wasn’t as hoarse now. “I was worried about the baby and she just moved.” Tears slipped down her cheeks unchecked.

His reached his hand out and smoothed it over her belly. His touch comforted her in a way no medication could. Warmth burned through her where his hand soothed. “So he or she is okay,” he said, relief evident in his voice.

“The doctor says so,” she said lamely.

A knock sounded at the door, and Simon raised his head, an irritated expression on his face.

A.J. walked in ahead of Matt and Stephanie, his face lighting up when he saw Toni. “You’re awake.”

She swallowed. “You act surprised.”

He bent down and kissed her cheek. “Hell yeah. You slept all day and all night.”

She frowned. “You mean it’s tomorrow?”

He laughed. “Yeah, you’ve been asleep over eighteen hours.”

“She needed the rest,” Simon said grumpily. “What are you guys doing here? I told you I’d call when she woke up.”

“I see you did just that,” Matt said with a raised eyebrow. He leaned over and kissed Toni on top of the head. Stephanie stood anxiously beside him, her worried gaze on Toni.

“How are you doing, Toni?” she asked.

“I didn’t call because she only just woke up,” Simon replied.

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“I’m okay,” Toni said in answer to Stephanie’s question. She tried a convincing smile, but it made her head ache so she dropped the effort.

“We were worried about you,” Matt said, staring intently at her. “You shouldn’t have been out on the roads.”

Heat crept into her cheeks.

“Shut the hell up, Matt,” Simon growled. “She doesn’t need a lecture right now. We all know whose fault it was she was out there.” Toni froze, his words cutting deeply into her. He couldn’t have said any clearer that he blamed her for the accident. She bit her lip, wishing she could sink back into oblivion. It didn’t hurt so badly when she was asleep.

“Why don’t the two of you go take a hike?” A.J. said evenly. “I want to talk to Toni, and the two of you are only upsetting her.” Stephanie frowned. “A very good idea,” she said fiercely. She hooked her arm through Simon’s and all but dragged him and Matt toward the door.

A.J. shot her an apologetic look and pulled Simon’s chair up to the bed. He sat down and picked up her hand. “Nice cast,” he said, eyeing her other arm.

She smiled shakily, tried to speak, but burst into tears instead.

“Aww hell, Toni. Don’t cry. You know I’m worthless when it comes to tears.” He smudged at the damp trails with his thumb. “Are you okay?

Do I need to call the nurse? If you keep crying, the two lug nuts are going to come charging back in here, and I’ll be forced to punch their headlights out.”

She tried to smile but only succeeded in crying harder. A.J. sat quietly, waiting for her to stop. He didn’t fuss over here, which was refreshing. But then he’d always given her the most breathing room. He stroked her hand until her sobs subsided.

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“Better?” he asked.

She nodded. “Thanks,” she choked out.

“Do you need anything?” he asked.

“Not unless you can take me back a few months and let me do things all over again,” she said painfully.

“You did the best you could,” he said quietly.

“Will you stay?” she asked, begging him with her eyes.

He looked confused. “Sure, I’ll hang out for awhile.”

“No, I mean will you stay. I don’t want…I don’t want to stay by myself,” she finished.

His brow furrowed. “Ah, sure. I mean okay, if that’s what you want.” He scratched his head, clearly baffled by her request. Perhaps he imagined Simon would be staying, but she couldn’t bear his scrutiny. His solicitous attention. It was too easy for her to think he cared.

“I shouldn’t have asked,” she mumbled. Her request obviously discomfited him.

“I said I’ll stay,” he said firmly. “When are they letting you out anyway?”

“I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “The ER doc said a few days, but that was yesterday. So maybe tomorrow?”

“I don’t see them letting you go that quick,” he said with a frown.

“You look like hell.”

“Gee thanks,” she muttered. “I can always count on you to be honest.”

He smiled at her. “I’m going to go get the lugs before they wear a hole in the floor.”

He paused as she looked at him in panic. He must have read the fear in her eyes, because he squeezed her hand. “I told you I’d stay.”

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