Reckless Temptations (Tempted #4)(93)

“You love her.” He stated.

“Yeah, I do. Go figure,” I said, huskily. There was no point in denying it. I loved Lauren Bianci more than I ever imagined possible. I loved her for the woman she was, the crazy bat swinging girl next door who stormed into my life, turning it upside down as she gave me everything I never knew I wanted. When I first met her I kept telling her to take detours, to go with the flow and see where she wound up, not expecting she’d take me on my own detour.

Greatest fucking detour ever.

“I’ll make sure I go to the hospital first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you,” I said, with a nod.

“No problem,” he said, turning around and heading toward the door. He paused mid stride, glancing over his shoulder at me. “Please, don’t do anything stupid. Don’t make me be the guy who tells her you’re dead. Just hang on and we’ll figure it out.”

He waited for my response but it never came. I’d make no promises other than the one I made to myself to protect my family.

Whatever it takes.

Whatever it costs.

Even if it’s my life for theirs.

It’s worth it.

They’re worth it.





I hurried down the corridor of the hospital where my OBGYN, Dr. Goodwin, was located. I was already late for my appointment and smacked into a hard wall of a person. I placed one protective hand over my belly as I lifted my eyes to apologize to my poor victim and to my surprise the poor bastard I body slammed, or bump slammed rather, was Bones.

“Lauren…are you all right?” He asked, his eyes instantly dropping to my belly before lifting to mine.

“I’m fine, sorry. I’m late for my appointment and I wasn’t paying attention. What are you doing in the gynecology wing of the hospital?”

Talk about a fish out of water.

“Shit,” he hissed, looking up at the sign that read Obstetrics and Gynecology. “Is that where I am? I must’ve made a wrong turn somewhere. Jack sent me to check on Jimmy Gold’s status and somehow I wound up here,” he explained.

I raised an eyebrow questioning him but then my eye caught the clock on the wall.

“Dammit,” I said.

“I’ll walk with you,” he offered. “At least I won’t look like a moron if I’m accompanying someone who belongs in this part of the hospital.”

“Okay,” I said, standing there for a moment before pointing behind him. “My doctor is down the hall.”

He fell into stride beside me as we walked down the corridor.

“How do you feel?” He asked.

“Pretty good,” I said. “The baby kicks a lot now, keeps me up most of the night.” I added with a smile. “I keep thinking to myself I can’t wait for him or her to be here and then I stop myself because it’ll be over before I know it and then I’ll probably miss feeling her inside of me.”

He smiled.

“You sound pretty confident it’s a girl,” he commented. “Do you have any names picked out?”

“No names yet,” I admitted but left out the reason I hadn’t chosen any names. I hated that Riggs wouldn’t be a part of choosing Pea’s real name. As silly as it sounded, I sort of hoped I was having a girl because then I could really name her Pea, something Riggs and I both called her. If it was a boy, well I didn’t want my kid growing up with a permanent “kick me” sign on his back so Pea would be out of the question.

We reached Dr. Goodwin’s office and I looked through the glass door, spotting the three couples in the waiting room, the women just as far as long as me, if not more. There were a few other women in the waiting room but they were probably there for routine check-ups. I glanced back at Bones.

“It’ll probably be a few minutes before they’re ready for me…would you keep me company while I wait?”

He rocked back on his heels for a moment before nodding slightly and reached around to pull the door open for me.

“After you,” he insisted.

I smiled and walked into the office, checking in with the receptionist as Bones slipped into one of the seats and immediately buried his face into a Parenting magazine. I laughed slightly as I made my way toward him, taking the seat beside him.

“Preparing yourself Uncle Bones?” I asked, taking the magazine from him.

“Uncle Bones,” he repeated thoughtfully before smiling. “I never thought I’d be anyone’s uncle.” He said, more to himself than me but when he turned his gaze to mine he explained. “I’m an only child.”

“Is it okay then if Pea calls you Uncle Bones?”

“It’s more than okay.” He winked.

“So how is everyone else doing? You know, Jack, Pipe, and the rest of the crew?” I asked nonchalantly as I smoothed my shirt over my bump. “Any wild and crazy clubhouse parties?”

“You want to know how Jack and Pipe are?” He questioned, and I heard the amusement in his voice.

I didn’t say anything, pleading the fifth, knowing very well Bones knew I was fishing for information on Riggs.

“He’s miserable,” he said finally.

I snapped my eyes to his and stared at him as he blew out an exasperated breath.

“He’s not staying at the clubhouse either, goes home every night to the apartment,” he revealed.