Page 25 of Loup Garou
“Was?” he asked, not seeming to notice or care that I was treating him as if I’d known him all my life.
I closed my eyes slightly and drew in a deep breath. “They came too early. Way too early and, well, she and her brother survived.”
Nodding, his gaze flickered to the baby. “Does she have a name?”
“I’m sure she does, but the nurses here don’t tell me any of their names.”
His brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Because I asked them not to, Xavs. They’re fragile little humans. So precious. So new to this world that sometimes they don’t stay in it very long. I can deal with a lot. I can’t deal with that. I wish I could heal every last one of them. I wish I could make them stronger.” Tipping my head, I averted my gaze and stepped away from him.
“Why come here if it’s that hard on you?”
The tiny baby in his arms stretched, causing her little body to form a peanut-shape on him. She opened her mouth and inserted her fingers. The action left Exavier staring down at her with an expression so full of emotion that I thought it best to give him some privacy.
I backed out of the room quietly. Shutting the door, I turned to find a row of nurses standing there. Each one looked more excited than the next. Jakki, a woman who had been working there since I’d been coming in, motioned towards the closed door. “Girl, you’ve got about two seconds to tell us why Exavier Kedmen is in our hospital, holding our babies, with our Lindsay?”
The rest of the line of miracle workers nodded in agreement. It had completely slipped my mind that Exavier was some hotshot famous front man. Apparently, that wasn’t the case with the rest of the world. I knew the women wouldn’t run to the tabloids and start vicious rumors. They were good people. I also respected Exavier’s privacy and thought it best to change the subject if at all possible.
“He’s an old friend of mine.”
What made me say that?
Jakki glanced at Karen. “I told you she knew him from her days of dancing professionally. I bet he took one look at Lindsay and knew if he wanted to win his way to her heart, he’d have to understand what’s in it.”
“Pfft, umm, no. We’re just old friends. I brought him down here with me because I missed the babies. Nothing more.”
Being a liar was becoming a habit with Exavier around.
Karen went toward the observation window to the room Exavier was in. Her jaw dropped. “Oh my gods, Lucy is lifting her head and I think she just smiled at him.” She rubbed her eyes. “I must be hallucinating.”
“You must,” I said, putting my arms out. I did my best to block the name Lucy from my head but it was impossible. “Brother, now. My arms ache.”
Jakki didn’t waste another second. “Go ahead back in with your boyfriend. I’ll bring the little one in.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. I told you already. He’s an old friend.” Knowing it was pointless, I cracked the door open and took a step in to find Exavier humming and rocking Lucy. Her color looked so much better than it had only minutes before that I, too, thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.
“Exavier, how are you doing?”
He grinned and it melted my heart. “Lucy and I have come to an agreement. I’ll stop being nervous holding her and she’ll give life her all.”
“You heard them talking about you?” I asked, shocked his hearing was that good.
“What?”
I pointed towards the door. “The nurses, they were shocked to see you here in their hospital so they gave me the third degree. They also slipped up and mentioned her name was Lucy.”
Something I couldn’t read passed over his face a second before he nodded. “Yep, the walls are thin here.”
As I watched the premature baby who had seemed so fragile only moments ago, seem to thrive, I shook my head. “You’ve got the magik touch, Xavs.”
“Umm, yeah, something like that.” He winked. “I’d like to hold her brother now, if possible and then we should get back. I believe that I’ve stood your friend up.”
It hit me then. “Jay.”
Nodding, he lifted Lucy up towards me. “Here. She wants you now.” The conviction with which he said it made me believe he was right, Lucy really did want me to hold her. It was ludicrous so I ignored it.
“Xavs.”
