Beat of the Heart (Runaway Train, #2)(98)

At the sound of my voice, she cut off her screams before popping her eyes open to stare up at me. “Holy shit,” I muttered before shaking my head. “Great, now I’m already cursing in front of you. You’ll have to cut your old man some slack, okay?” She continued eye-balling me like I was the greatest mystery in her new world. The truth was she was the greatest mystery in mine—the greatest treasure I could ever possess.

The EMT’s hand on my shoulder brought me out of my trance. “Okay, I need you to step outside with the baby, so my partner can get the stretcher for your wife.”

When I eased out of the limo, I found a throng of people had gathered around both the limo and the ambulance. Thankfully, our EMT’s partner, along with the police, had worked at erecting sheets up to block the view of any bystanders or paparazzi.

Through the faces, I caught sight of Jake and the others standing to the side of the ambulance. Walking as carefully as I could, I made my way over to them. “Hey,” I said lamely.

Jake snickered. “Dude, you like you’ve just come back from war. I thought it was Mia birthing the kid, not you.”

“Shut up, douchebag.” I glanced down at Bella before looking back at him. “Seeing her born, holding her in my arms—it’s the most f*cking intense thing I’ve ever experienced.” At the f-bomb, I winced. “Great, she’s been here less than ten minutes, and I’ve cussed twice.”

Abby smiled as she leaned down to kiss the top of Bella’s head. “There are worse things you could do besides cuss in front of her. You’re obviously doing something right because she seems very comfortable.”

“I guess you’re right.” My attention was drawn over my shoulder where the rattling wheels of Mia’s stretcher came screeching up to the open ambulance door. Although she was pale and sweaty, Mia had never looked more beautiful to me. She gave a smile to the others before she was loaded into the ambulance.

“See you at the hospital, okay?” Abby called.

“Okay,” Mia replied.

“Congrats Big Daddy,” Jake said, before slapping me on the back.

“Thank you.” I smiled before turning to hand Bella to the EMT. I didn’t trust myself to climb inside with her in my arms. I hopped in and then slid across the bench. The EMT had handed Bella to Mia, and she was cradling her in her arms with tears streaming down her cheeks. When she glanced up at me, she smiled. “Thank you.”

“For making you have a baby in the back of a limo?”

She shook her head. “Thank you for giving me everything I hadn’t realized I had ever wanted.”

I leaned over and kissed her. “I feel the same way.”





Blinking my eyes, I tried remembering where I was. The antiseptic smell of a hospital assaulted my nose, and for a minute, I thought I was back on the Cardiac Care floor at St. Joe’s. But if I was on a shift, what the hell was I doing in bed? When I shifted slightly, a wave of pure exhaustion rippled through my body along with an ache between my legs so strong it felt like a Buick had driven straight through it.

And then it hit me. I’d given birth to my Bella. A replay of the night’s evens came crashing over me. Oh God, I’d given birth in the back of a limousine outside of a Grammys after party. What could be more bizarre? I could only imagine by now the story and pictures had been leaked, sending the media into a frenzy.

My ears perked up at the sound of singing. Turning my head on my pillow, I followed the sound to where AJ sat in a rocker with Isabella in his arms. I remembered that once we’d gotten to the hospital, they had taken her from me. After weighing and measuring her, she’d been given back to feed. Once she finished and left my arms again, exhaustion had set in, and I’d fallen asleep.

Now that I’d woken from my mini-coma, I saw that Bella had been cleaned up, dressed in a onesie, and outfitted with a tiny cap with an enormous pink bow on her head. As he rocked back and forth, AJ softly sang to her in Spanish. With wide-eyes, she stared up at him, occasionally flailing her tiny hands or flicking out her tongue. The expression of pure love and wonderment on AJ’s face as he stared down at his daughter caused my heart to still and then restart.

When I caught AJ’s gaze, he smiled at me before glancing back down at Isabella. “Looks like Mommy is finally awake.”

“Have I been out long?” I questioned, as I tried pushing myself up in the bed.

“About three hours.”

My brows popped up in surprise. “Really?”

He nodded. “You needed it though.”

“I guess so.” With a groan, I wiped my eyes. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.”

“I would imagine so. You just gave birth, for Christ’s sake.”

“In the back of a limo, no less.”

Instead of making a jab at our situation, he gave me a sincere smile. “Even though it wasn’t here in the hospital like we would have wanted, it was still the most amazing experience of my life.”

Tears pooled in my eyes from his words and the depth of emotion with which he said them. “It was, wasn’t it?”

He nodded as he took Bella’s fist in his fingers. “You know, I thought I loved her before, but now that she’s here, it’s incredible.”

Sniffling, I reached for a tissue on the bedside table. “I love you for loving her so much, AJ. But most of all, I love you for being the man that you are.”