Taming Casanova (12 page)

Chapter 22

Steve put on his headphones and took a sip of his coffee.  Being a part of the morning show on LA’s number one radio station was a goal he had set for himself during his UCLA days.  It had taken a few years of bad hours and a lot of press appearances before he landed his dream job.  His co hosts had become instant family.  Well, until the dreaded day he walked in on one having sex with his fiancé in his bed.  He shook his head trying to clear the image from his mind.

He had slept so soundly in the few hours he had been with Lily. 
He still smelled like her.  She was a combination of soft flowers and vanilla.  Her petite frame was soft and warm.  Her blond hair was like silk.  When he left her this morning, he had left a note thanking her for turning to him when she needed someone.

Kevin had been her go to when she had a hard time.  He had watched them in Hawaii at Mark and Sophie’s wedding.  Their bond was obvious right away.  His first thought had been that she was Kevin’s latest conquest.  That had been cleared up the minute he saw Kevin look at Andi. 

Last night, Lily had told him about her time with Kevin and how she knew right away that he was going to be her best friend.  She talked about how lucky Andi was to be the first woman on the receiving end of his heart.  She confided in him about the nights Kevin would come over and spend the night holding her when she got home sick.  She had never been away from home and the transition to LA had been a difficult one.  She cried when she talked about life without Kevin by her side.  When she had finally fallen asleep, he was right behind her. 

He knew he couldn’t fill Kevin’s shoes but it felt good to try.  She had a heart of gold.  After all the years with Amber by his side, in and out of bed, he needed a soft place to land.  He f
elt a connection with her that he hadn’t with another woman.  Lily had called it best friend potential.  He had laughed at the time but today, he felt like she might be on to something.

He looked over the mixing boards and took another sip of coffee. 
His co host, Jennifer, had taken a seat and winked at him while she got ready.  When his traitorous ex friend, Justin, took his seat, Steve fisted his hands.  He was looking forward to the day that reaction didn’t take over.  He knew in time it would.  But not this time.

“Good morning, LA.  This is Steve Wainwright, WXXT 98.3.  Before we get started, I wanted to give a quick shout out to the gorgeous blond who I had a hell of a time leaving this morning.”  Jennifer spit out her coffee and tried to regain her composure.
  “I also wanted to thank you all for all the continued prayers and support over the past week for my buddy that’s in the ICU.  My friends and I felt every single one of them.  Keep ‘em coming.  And good morning beautiful Lily.  Jennifer, how’s that traffic look this morning?”

Jennifer shook her head and laughed.  She knew about his run in with Justin and it felt good to see him smiling again.

Lily stretched.  Night three of Steve sleeping by her side, day three of getting a morning shout out on the radio.  She laughed as she grabbed her phone.  He was funnier than she expected him to be.  He was modest.  He was a gentleman.  He hadn’t tried anything.  Damn him.  She giggled again as she sent him a text.  It felt good to laugh for a minute. 

She hurried to get ready for her classes.  Her new job was amazing.  She was touched every single day by the beauty of her children with special needs. 
Career wise, the move to LA had been more than rewarding.  Every day it got a little easier to be away from her family back in Georgia.  She spoke to her sister every day and that made all the difference.

“ICU, this is
Nickie.”

“Hey Nic, it’s Lily.  Any change today?”  Lily held her breath as she waited for the answer.

“I just left his room.  His color is better this morning.  His pulse is stronger.  No change in consciousness.”   Nickie whispered to one of the other nurses.  “You coming up today?  Bring me some coffee.”

Lily laughed.  “I’ll see you around three.  Take care of him for me.”

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this shit.”  Ryan stormed past a napping Andi and gave Kevin’s face a light smack.  “Get your lazy ass up.  We’ve given you time. Wake the fuck up now.”

“Ryan!”  Andi snapped.

“It was bad enough saying goodbye to him and sobbing like a pussy every time my phone rang.  Now he’s started to look a little better and he’s breathing and I’m tired of feeling like I’m losing my mind.  Will we lose him?  Will he wake up?  Fuck this shit.  It’s time.” Ryan gave his shoulders a light shake.

“Not so loud.”  Andi pulled at Ryan’s arm.

“Why?  Afraid I’m going to wake up sleeping beauty?  That’s the whole fucking point.’

Nickie
stepped into the room and looked between Ryan and Andi.  “Everything ok in here?”

“You’re hot.”  Ryan pointed at her.  “Merck, your nurse is hot.  Open your eyes and look at her
.”

Nickie
laughed.  “Keep your voices down.  There are other patients that need their rest.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”  Andi pointed to the chair and Ryan sat.  “Take a breath.”

“I can’t handle this.  We’re at the two week mark.  Two weeks.  We don’t know shit.  I was prepared to say goodbye when it felt like there was no hope.  Now I am praying he wakes up and kicks my ass.  I can’t eat.  I can’t sleep. I’m falling apart.”

Andi knelt in front of him and he slumped into her.  “This is a good thing, Ryan.  He’s given us a week longer than we thought we’d have.  He’s given us hope.  He’s brought all kinds of people together in prayer. 
I’ve gotten an extra week to hold him.  Thank God for this.”

Ryan stood and kissed him on the forehead.  “Wake up, brother.  You’re fucking killing me.”

Nickie yawned as she went to check on Kevin.  She would be happy with the double shifts when she saw her paycheck.  For now, exhaustion was winning.  She took his blood pressure and recorded it in his chart.  She pulled up his gown and injected the Heprin into his abdomen.  One of the things she loved most about the night shift was that the patients were usually asleep and didn’t feel any pain she may cause them with shots or vitals.

She would bet her life on this patient.  His prognosis had been so grim when he came in.  Tonight, his breathing was deep, his heart was pounding, his color was perfect.
  He was gorgeous.  She had gotten close to the Moretti gang in the past two weeks. If she was honest with herself, she was a little jealous of the love Andi had for him.  She couldn’t wait to see his eyes, to hear his voice.  She was intrigued by this one. 

She grabbed the vase of flowers off the table by the door.  They were low on water and too beautiful to wither away. 
Filling the vase, she turned back to the door.

“Naughty
Nickie.”  The voice was weak and raspy.

She turned and locked eyes with the most beautiful silver orbs she had ever seen.  Her jaw dropped and the vase slipped from her hands.  Glass shattered, drawing the attention of the medical staff outside the door.

Jena ran through the curtain.  Kevin’s eyes shifted to hers. “Kevin?”

He didn’t respond but his eyes followed her as she walked into the room.
  She pulled out her pen light.  His pupils were equal and reactive.  She sobbed and laid her head on his chest.  The fingers on his right hand reached for her before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes again.

“He spoke.” 
Nickie smiled as she looked up from the broken glass. 

“What did he say?”  Jena wiped her tears.

Nickie laughed.  “I think he said Naughty Nickie.”

Jena clapped her hands.  “He’s going to be ok.”

Chapter 23

Andi ran down the hall of the hospital.  Against her better judgment, she had chosen to go home and take a shower.  The minute she stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel
, Jena had called and told her to get back to the hospital.  She had hung up right after that.  Andi’s heart pounded as she raced the clock.  She had no idea what she would find.  Rounding the corner at a full sprint, Ryan stepped into the hall and caught her when she was knocked off balance.

“Where’s the fire, speed racer?”  Ryan laughed but paled when he saw her face.  “What happened?”

“I don’t know.”  Andi was out of breath.  “Jena called and told me to get down here.  Why are you here?”

“I couldn’t sleep.  Thought I would come apologize for what an asshole I was earlier.”  Ryan grabbed her hand and jogged the rest of the way to the ICU. 

Slamming through the door, the nurses all jumped.  Nickie’s eyes filled with tears and she smiled.  Jena couldn’t help herself.  She jumped up and down.

Andi’s
eyes narrowed.  “What’s going on?”

“He spoke.”  Jena squealed.  “He followed me with his eyes and moved his hand.
”

Andi fell to her knees and covered her face.  She was so overcome with relief that h
er legs gave out.  Over the past two weeks, her body had become weakened.  She hadn’t been eating or sleeping.  She had no exercise and no sunshine.  She had put her internship on hold with the hospital and had spent every day by Kevin’s side.  She had neglected herself because she loved him so much that she couldn’t leave him.  She felt like she hadn’t taken a breath in fourteen days.

“What did he say?”  Ryan’s voice was full of emotion.

Nickie giggled.  “We think he said Naughty Nickie.”

Ryan belly laughed.  He
knelt next to her and pulled her into an embrace.  “I’m going to help you up.  Ready?”

She nodded and let Ryan pick her up. 
He smiled at Jena and winked at Nickie.  Instead of putting her down to walk, he carried her into the room.

Kevin was still but he di
dn’t look as pale.  Ryan took a seat while Andi crawled onto the bed.  She assumed the usual position and they waited.  There was no response but they both smiled.  Afraid to get their hopes up, they settled in for the night.  Andi fell asleep first, her body overcome with exhaustion.  Hearing her snoring, Ryan’s eyes grew heavy.  He laid his head on Andi’s legs and was pulled into slumber.

Kevin opened his eyes.  The room was dark and cold.  The snoring was driving him insane.  He was only slightly aware of what was happening.  He remembered being in the gym with Lily and Liz and having a
chest pain that brought him to his knees.  He thought he was dreaming the few times he opened his eyes.  Nothing seemed clear.  He felt like he was weighted down with concrete and unable to move.  The blond nurse had been in a few times.  She was easy on the eyes except when she shoved a needle in his gut. Ryan had been yelling earlier.  Nickie was the only thing he remembered.  Naughty Nurse Nickie.  If he didn’t feel so bad, that might have worked in his favor. 

When he saw Jena earlier, he knew he was in the ICU.  He had no idea how long he had been there.  He had sensed Andi by his side for a long time. Her body had warmed him.  He had tried to put his arms around her but he couldn’t
move.  He remembered feeling like he was choking.  He remembered a huge sense of pain that seemed to last forever.  When things became unbearable and he had wanted to go to sleep, he always sensed her.  He had heard muffled voices and a lot of them but they had silenced. 

Things had been quiet. 
They weren’t now. His eyes shifted to Andi.  She was curled into his side breathing softly.  What was that sound?  He tried to move his hand but it was pinned to the mattress.  He turned his head to the right.  Andi sighed and snuggled in closer, revealing the pain in the ass that had awakened him.  Ryan West. 

“Christ, West. You’re snoring loud enough to wake the dead.  Or at least a man in a coma.” 
He wanted to laugh at the thought but his chest was on fire.  His voice was raspy and they both jumped and stared at him.

Andi sat up sobbing.  She covered her face with her hands and her body shook.  She cried uncontrollably.  Ryan attempted to console her without success.  Jena heard the commotion and came in to check on the patient.  She put
her arm around Andi and tried to convince her everything would be ok.  Nothing was working.

“I love you.”  Kevin’s voice was weak.
 

When Andi didn’t respond, Ryan took Kevin’s hand.  “You are a sight for sore eyes, my man.  Pull a stunt like this again, I’ll kill you myself.  Got
it?”  Kevin smiled.  “Andi really hasn’t left your side.  We’ve had to drag her out of here to shower.  Layla brought her food everyday but I haven’t seen her eat anything.”

Jena gave Kevin a kiss on the forehead and looked back at Andi.  “I’m
going to give her a sedative.  Try to get some rest.”

“Some rest?  The lazy bum has been sleeping for two weeks.  He needs to get his ass up and take a shower.”  Ryan laughed as Kevin tried to raise his middle finger. 

“Two weeks?”  Kevin whispered.

“
That’s not important.  The doctor is on his way up.  Rest until then.”  Jena injected Andi with some Diazepam.  “Ryan, pull her into your lap.  She’ll be out for awhile.”

“I’d like to hold her.”  Kevin reached for her.

Jena nodded.  “Go ahead but stay alert, Ryan.  I don’t want her rolling out of the bed.”  She pointed at Kevin.  “And you, Casanova.  Keep your hands to yourself.”

Ryan laughed as Jena stepped into the hall.  “Welcome back.”

Kevin held her close.  Her silky hair fanned over his chest and she smelled of fresh fruit.  Her lips were in a perfect pout and her tan skin was smooth and bright.  God he loved this woman.  She saved him and not just during the hospital stay.  Her smart mouth challenged him, her mind intrigued him, her sassy attitude kept him coming back for more.  He looked forward to their next fight.  He looked forward to the next time he could get lost in her.  He wanted to taste her, to breathe her in.  He wanted to bury himself in her and never leave.  He loved her.  Never in a million years would he have imagined a life with one person.  Hell, he didn’t even imagine a bed with just one person.  But Andi Allen had changed him. 

She stirred and he rubbed her back.  Once she quieted down, he closed his eyes.  “Thank you God.”

Andi’s head was pounding.  Her brain was swimming in a fog.  She remembered that Kevin had spoken and she couldn’t catch her breath.  Jena had injected her with something. 

She jolted upright and looked at Kevin.  His eyes fluttered open.  Her mouth was on his before he could blink.  “Thank you for waking up.  I love you so much.”  She kissed his jaw and his neck.  “Please be ok. Please.”
  Tears spilled from her eyes.

“
Shhhh baby.  It’s ok.  I’m here.  I’m not going anywhere.”

“You promise?”  She kissed him again.

“They have big plans for me, doll.  I get to start eating tomorrow.  I’ll go to surgery in the next few days.  I’ll be the bionic man by then.  You won’t be able to get rid of me.”

“What do you mean surgery?”  Andi panicked.

“They’re implanting some sort of defibrillator or something.”  Kevin got quiet for a minute.  “Do you think if I was balls deep and it shocked me that you’d feel it?”

Andi laughed and hit his arm.  “It will be awhile before you’re balls deep, slick.”

Kevin reached up and rubbed her nipple.  “Doll, I’ll be balls deep the second they give me a room with a door.”