Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3) (43 page)

I waved it off.

"If he is stupid enough to go with
it in front of me then he's an idiot." I snorted and sipped my drink.

They both got really quiet.

"What?" I asked looking
between them.

"Lilli, Aidan is a very,
very..." Phoebe started.

"Very, very..." Celia added.

"Attractive man." Phoebe
continued, "Women will want him, regardless if he is married to you."

I rolled my eyes.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"
They both eyed me. "Oh my God, do you think he is going to risk losing his
inheritance by messing around with a woman who paid ten thousand dollars for
him?" I looked at both of them, realization spreading across their faces.

"I-I guess you're right,"
Phoebe shrugged, but I could tell she was still hesitant.

"Excuse me." At the sound of
his voice my stomach clenched. I slowly turned around. Celia and Phoebe both
sucked in a large breath.

 "Hello."

"Would you object to a dance?"
He reached a hand out.

"Demitri, I really don't—"

"Oh, come on, it's just a dance, as
friends." I eyed him leeringly. "I swear."

I stood and took his hand.

"I really appreciate the offer. However,
I don't think that would be for the best." I smiled kindly.

"What is going on?" I turned
to see Aidan's angry face.

"Well, I was trying to convince my
friend for a turn on the dance floor." Demitri slyly smiled.

Oh God!

"And I was—"

"Aidan, I need for you to come, please?"
Liam stepped up, but Aidan's eyes refused to leave my face. "Aidan?"
He turned to look at Liam. "Mr. Regalie is here and would like to talk
with us." Liam looked from Aidan to Demitri to me and back to Aidan.

"Sure," Aidan spoke curtly and
walked away from us.

"What are you trying to do?" I
sneered at Demitri.

He laughed.

"He is easily angered isn't
he?"

"It's not funny," I scowled at
him. "I have to deal with that later." I rolled my eyes.

"Oh come now, why would he get mad?
You were rejecting my—"

"Yeah, but he didn’t know that and
you sure as hell are doing your best to make it more uncomfortable for
everyone!" I sighed heavily and pushed by him. He still chuckled.

After the final guests were leaving,
Aidan and I slipped on our coats, heading to the car. He was being quiet, too
quiet. The car ride was filled with uncomfortable silence instead of our normal
banter. I knew that he was still seething over Demitri, but didn't we just have
the whole jealousy conversation earlier in the night? He finally decided to
speak five minutes before arriving home.

"So, Demitri—"

"Aidan, I wasn't going to dance
with him." I sighed heavily, not wanted to have this argument again.

"Are you sure about that?" He snapped.

The car pulled up to a stop.

I glared at him.

"I am not doing this again." I
retorted, clipping out my side of the car.

Not waiting for him, I walked around the
car and slipped, grabbing onto the hood for balance.

"Lilli!" Aidan moved quickly
to my side and grabbed my arm. I jerked my arm away from him and pulled off my
shoes, stomping up the stone stairs in my pantyhose covered feet.

"Lilli, wait," Aidan yelled
after me.

"Just leave me alone," I
growled.

Jay opened the door.

"Mrs. Iverson," he nodded.

"Hey, Jay," I smiled as he
took my shoes and coat for me. "Thank you, Jay."

"Lilli, I want to talk to you—"

"No, you want to act like a jealous
jerk and make more accusations." I turned around and poked him in the chest.
"Just leave me alone. I don't feel like arguing about this because it is
stupid and pointless!" I stomped upstairs.

I was quickly out of my dress and in the
shower. I heard Aidan enter the bathroom.

"If you dare get in this shower I
will castrate you." I threatened.

He stayed silent.

Reaching out of the shower, I grabbed my
towel and wrapped it around me before I stepped out and pushed passed him. He
reached out for me.

"Just don't, Aidan." I took a
deep breath.

"I don't like him, Lilli, and I don't
want him around you. He is clearly trying to—"

"Aidan, he was trying to ruffle
your feathers on purpose. I have made it clear to Demitri that I am with you,
but that isn't good enough," I turned around to look at him, "even
after our conversation earlier tonight."

His face was pained, slight anger lacing
it, but I couldn't think about that at the moment.

"I just...I'm sorry."

"I get that." I said a little
too curtly. "I just need to be alone right now. I'm angry and I just...I
need to be alone."

Leaving Aidan in the bathroom by himself,
I quickly got dressed and headed to the library to be alone.

I sat trying to read for a couple of
hours, but I couldn’t focus. After reading the same paragraph three times, I
decided to head to bed.

Upon entering the bedroom I saw that the
bed was empty. I climbed in and quickly fell to sleep.

I'm not sure how long I'd been asleep
before my cell phone ringing woke me up. Rolling around to grab my phone from
the nightstand, I had to sit up to find it. In that instance, I realized I was
in bed alone.

Momentarily, I wondered where Aidan was,
but the ring tone of my phone sunk in. It was my father. Panic assaulted me.

"Hello? Dad?"

Chapter Nine

Road Construction Truck

Lilli

Millie hadn't called me back during my
drive to Winter Harbor and I was losing my mind. Finally, I reached the
hospital and rushed inside to the main desk.

"Lilli Snowe?" I was known too
well from having been her with my father so many times.

"Where is he?" I panted.

"Third floor honey, room 314,"
I was already rushing to the elevators before she finished speaking.

The familiar ding of the elevator
brought me out of my worry and fears. I burst into the small waiting area and
followed the signs to room 314.

Millie sat next the hospital bed and, as
I took in my father, I felt hot tears stream down my cheeks. His skin was pasty
white and his lips were tinged blue.

"Oh, baby," Millie rushed to
my side before I could collapse to the floor.

"W-what h-happened?" I got to
the side of his bed and placed my hand on his arm.

"His heart is just weak,
baby." Millie rubbed my back; she was really becoming like that mother
figure a nanny to a rich child would be. "He is stable and is number one
on the donor list for surgery."

I sobbed into Millie's shoulder for at
least an hour before finally settling enough to set up camp in his room. We had
been there for an entire day; taking turns going outside or to get food. I had
spoken with Aidan twice, convincing him to stay in New York.

Dixon and Phoebe showed up in the
afternoon, both converging on me with a swarm of 'what do you need', 'what have
the doctor's said', 'what can I do'. I loved them, but I had to kick them out
of the room before I killed them.

Day two arrived and Donald was still in
his medically induced coma. Doctor Larken arrived during his afternoon rounds.

"Ms. Snowe," he nodded. I
didn't correct him. I was more concerned about his comments regarding my
father. "It seems we have your father stable enough to transport him to Eastern
Maine Med Center." He smiled at me and my eyes widened.

"Does that mean—?" He was
already nodding.

"That means that we do indeed have
a donor for your father and he will meet his new heart there." I latched
onto Dixon who was sitting with me. "We will begin preparations for his
flight in the next couple of hours."

"Flight?"

"Yes, in order for him to get
prepped in time for the transplant surgery we need to have him flown." He
returned his attention to the clipboard he was holding.

"So, I can't go with him?" I
asked concerned.

Dr. Larken looked up at me and sighed.

"I'm afraid not, only medical—"

"I'm a nurse with flight clearance,
can I go?" Dixon blurted out.

"Can he?"

"Well, we would have to run your
credentials, but I don't see why not." He smiled widely and Dixon handed
the doctor his medical badge.

"Thank you so much, Dixon," I
hugged him tightly.

"No problem, Lil." He squeezed
back. "By the way, you may want to call Aidan and tell him we are on our
way to Eastern Maine so he doesn't drive to Winter Harbor." Dixon looked a
little nervous and rubbed the back of his head.

"But, I told him—"

"Do you really think that would stop
him?" Dixon shook his head.

Phoebe burst into the room with Millie.

"Is it true?! They have a
donor?" I nodded and Phoebe covered her mouth and started jumping up and
down.

I called Aidan and caught him right
before he was about to take off.

"I thought I told you not to—"

"Like I'm going to leave you there
alone."

"I have Dixon and Phoebe."

"Yes, who I made sure got there
until I could arrive," he informed me smugly.

"Thank you." He was killing
me. I wanted to kill him two days ago for being a jealous idiot. Now I wanted
to kill him for giving me, yet another, reason to fall in love with him.

Damn thoughtful, sexy Aidan Iverson.

"Don't thank me. There isn't anything
that I wouldn't do for you." He paused, almost as if he was going to say
something else, but didn't. "I'll see you soon."

We said goodbye and hung up.

Millie and Phoebe were going to take
Phoebe's rental car back to the house to collect some things before heading to
Eastern Maine Medical Center. I was leaving immediately, so I could be there as
quickly as possible. I knew that I should have left before they took Donald to
the rooftop, but I couldn't leave him until I knew he was on the move. They were
pulling him out of his room when I stopped them.

"Wait," I shouted and ran to
him. I pressed my lips firmly against his forehead, tasting my own salty tears
as they ran down my face. "I love you, daddy," I whispered into his
ear before I let them pull him down the hall toward the elevator.

Once I was in my car, I sucked up my
tears and began my journey. When I saw the signs informing me I was only
fifteen minutes away, I got extremely anxious.

Switching lanes for my exit, I moved
over. All of a sudden, a large truck swerved into my lane, I gasped.

I slammed on the breaks. The breaks
squeezed before the sound of crushed metal and shattered glass resonated. Then
there were blackness, the smell of gasoline and burnt rubber. The last thing I
heard, before succumbing to the darkness, were mumbling voices.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Aidan

As soon as I touched down, I went
straight to the hospital. On the way my phone cell phone rang. I grabbed it
from the seat next to me, Dixon.

"I should be there in—."

"Aidan, there's been an accident."
He sounded like he was going to break down at any minute.

"What happened, Dixon? Is Don—?"

"It's Lilli." Dixon choked.

"What happened, Dixon?" I
shouted into the phone and accelerated the car dramatically.

"She was in a car accident on the
way to the hospital," that was it, Dixon couldn't take anymore, he broke
down. I heard shuffling on the other end of his phone.

"Dixon! Dixon?"

"Aidan, she's alive...but just
hurry here, okay?" Phoebe had taken over the phone.

"I'll be there in less than twenty
minutes." Hanging up, I sped to the hospital.

I had Phoebe back on the phone before I
arrived. She was waiting for me at the entrance.

"Oh, Aidan," Phoebe threw her
arms around me. I could feel the sobs ripping through her.

"Where is she, Phoebe?" I
pulled back, holding Phoebe by her shoulders so I could see her face.

She sniffed.

"Come on," she grabbed my hand
and pulled me through the hospital and to the elevator. When we stepped off, I
realized that it was the intensive care floor. My heart dropped.

"Phoebe—"

"She's okay," before I knew it,
Phoebe was in front of me holding me by my face. I looked down at her grief
stricken face. "She’s alive. They are watching her closely due to the head
injury. Come on."

"Head injury?" She didn't
respond. Phoebe pulled me through some double doors and past the nurses'
station.

"Excuse me?" the nurse stood,
but Phoebe kept moving with me.

"She is in there, room 425."
Phoebe motioned.

"Excuse me!" The nurse was now
at my side and grabbing my arm.

"He's her husband," Phoebe
pulled the nurses hand from my arm.

I moved quickly into the glass room and
saw a much paler Lilli, lying lifeless on the hospital bed. Machines beeped and
blipped around me as I moved closer to her. If it weren't for the rise and fall
of her chest, I would’ve never believed that she were alive.

As I got closer the scratch on her cheek
became more evident and I could see the hint of brownish red seeping through
the white gauze wrapped around her head. I took in a sharp breath and swallowed
the large lump in my throat.

Placing my hand on her arm, she felt
cool, not like her normal warm self. Without thinking twice, I slid into the
bed next to her and laid my head on her chest. As her heart beat filled my ears
I finally broke down. Sobs ripped through my chest as I wrapped my arm around
her waist and held her tightly.

"Sir?" "Mr.
Iverson?" I woke up with blurry vision from having cried myself to sleep
next to Lilli.

"Yes?" I croaked out.

"Visiting hours are over and—"

"I’m not leaving." I said
sternly.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the rules for
the intensive care..."

"I don't give a shit about your
rules." I snapped at her and stood from the bed. "If need be, I will
have my wife moved to a private care center where I can be with her. But I will
not leave her until she wakes up." I glared at the nurse, daring her to
attempt to send me away again.

"I understand your circumstances,
but we have other patients as well to consider—"

"I have made myself clear. Call
security, if necessary, and I will call the board for the hospital!"

"Whoa, what is going on here?"
A large man in a white coat entered the room with a heavy set nurse on one side
and Dixon on the other.

"Doctor Sherman," the nurse
sighed in relief, "I was simply explaining to Mr. Iverson our policy of
visiting hours for intensive care." She turned to eye me smugly.

"And I, was simply stating, that I
could buy the hospital by tomorrow morning if need be, which would make it no
longer her concern that I was here with my wife." I spat back in her
direction.

"Okay..." Dixon pushed into
the room, "Aidan, calm down." Dixon put an arm on my shoulder in
attempt to relax me, but I shrugged him off.

"Nancy, I think we can make a small
exception for tonight. Mr. Iverson only got here a few moments ago and has two
family members on this floor." The nurse, who was clearly Nancy, looked
from him to me and then left the room.

"Thank you," I sighed out and
sat in a chair closest to Lilli.

The doctor went about his routine of
checking her over.

"Doctor..."

"Sherman," he smiled.

"Doctor Sherman, is she going to be
okay? What happened? What's wrong with—?"

"Dixon, could you please give us a
moment to talk privately?" He looked at Dixon. Dixon seemed to hesitate.
"I know you are like family; however, I do need to follow some rules
tonight." He smiled and Dixon nodded in understanding as he left the room.

He took a large breath and I stood to
look straight at him over Lilli's still body.

"Mr. Iverson, your wife was side
swiped by a large road construction vehicle. He did not see her in the lane as
he attempted to move over too quickly, which resulted in the left front end of
the vehicle being crushed into itself." He paused. "Now, her ankle is
bruised with a slight fracture, but should be fine in a couple of weeks. The
major injury is her head which hit the driver's side window and lashed back
against the headrest. Thankfully, the airbag prevented her from the front
windshield or the steering wheel. Though, the jolt to her head has caused some
swelling around her brain." He saw my face tense up. "It isn't
anything to be too concerned about." He reassured.

"Is she in a coma?"

"Medically induced. This is to
allow her brain to heal. Tomorrow I will run her through another scan to see if
the swelling is improving on its own." He smiled and then joined me on the
side of the bed I was standing on. "Rest assured that we are doing
everything we can and being very mindful of the baby."

"Thank you, doctor. I.....wait...what?"
I turned. I had to have heard him wrong.

"What?" He seemed as confused
as I felt.

"Did you say the baby?"

He nodded slowly.

"You were unaware." It wasn't
a question. He could clearly tell I'd had no idea.

"She's pregnant?" I swallowed
hard.

"Yes...uh...her blood work came
back positive. Her uterus is measuring far enough along I would have thought
for sure that you knew."

"Far enough along?" I looked at
Lilli. "She doesn't look far along." I motioned to her stomach.
"Are you sure the test is accurate? She is on birth control pills."

He looked at me confused.

"Mr. Iverson, I assure you that it's
accurate. The emergency room did a scan and found the fetus and the heartbeat.
Your wife is pregnant." Then he looked over her chart and seemed
perplexed. "I also don’t see any signs of birth control medication in her
system." He looked up at me. "Are you sure she's taking
something?"

Had she stopped? No, Lilli was so unsure
about having a baby there was no way she would just stop taking them. Wasn't
there? I mean, she would have no reason to hide that she stopped. She knew that
I would be more than happy that she was going to provide the last condition of
my inheritance. Hell, I would hope she realized that her agreeing to have my
child, children, would make me the happiest man alive.