Her smile is tender as she sets the rag down and grabs a glass containing clear liquid. She sits on the side of the bed by my hip and turns the glass so the bendy straw faces me. Even though the liquid looks refreshing and I’m dying for something to drink, I eye it warily.
“It’s just water,” she answers my unspoken question.
I’m grateful when she helps me sit up against the headboard because it feels like my body is full of concrete. As soon as my lips touch the straw, I suck the cool water down. Never has anything tasted so good. Unfortunately, the woman pulls the glass away all too soon.
“Not too much or you’ll only throw it back up.”
Reluctantly, I nod. My hands move back to my stomach. “My baby. Is he—”
“He’s perfectly fine,” she answers before I can finish my sentence.
Relief hits instantly, and I lay my head back against the pillow and close my eyes, absentmindedly rubbing my stomach. When I open them a moment later, I look around the room. There’s medical equipment throughout the space, but it doesn’t look like an ordinary hospital room. The first giveaway is the bed I’m in. It’s a regular twin bed, not the ones you see in hospitals with rails and the adjustable backs. There’s also a dresser across from the bed with a television on top, a small desk beside it, and a recliner sitting in a corner. One of the tables beside the bed has a lamp and a clock, while the other one has a vase of yellow flowers. A couple of scenic paintings hang on the wall. If it wasn’t for the IV stand and vitals monitor beside the bed, I’d think I was in an ordinary bedroom.
I turn back to the woman. “Where am I?”
She gets up from the bed and sets the glass down on the bedside table. It’s not until I lift my arm to push away some hair that’s fallen in my face that I realize there’s an IV in my hand.
Her eyes follow mine. “You’re in Dr. Trayce’s office.” Her chin dips down to the IV. “It’s fluids. You were slightly dehydrated and with you being pregnant, we needed to get fluids in you.”
I nod, accepting her answer. It doesn’t surprise me I was dehydrated. I ball my hands into fists as anger at myself rushes through me, because I wasn’t better prepared for my trip through Texas. How could I have been so stupid? I try to remember the reason why I’m even here is this state. Oh, right. To tick off one of the places to visit on my bucket list.
I’m silently reprimanding myself when a man appears in the doorway. My jaw almost drops to my lap when he walks over to my bed. Gorgeous is one word to describe him, but it’s not nearly enough. Stunning is another word, but again, it doesn’t do him justice. I don’t think there’s a word descriptive enough in the dictionary that would give this man looking down at me credit for his incredibly good looks. Speechless and flabbergasted are two words that could describe me though.
Well over six feet tall, inky black hair just a bit longer on the top, luxurious blue eyes, and a body I can tell through the grey slacks and white dress shirt, ripples with muscles, makes the man quite possibly the most beautiful male specimen I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Worried there might be drool dripping from my mouth, I lick my lips then belatedly realize I’m ogling him, so I drop my eyes to his chest, and… realize that’s a mistake, because they focus on the small bit of tanned skin shown from the first couple of buttons undone at his neck.
Damn, has a neck ever looked so good before?
“Mrs. Stone, I’m Dr. Trayce. How are you feeling?”
I cut my eyes back to him. Even his voice is sexy. I swallow thickly before opening my mouth to speak. “It’s Miss, and I’m better. Thank you.”
“I’m sure you have a bit of a headache from the heat you endured,” he remarks before picking up a folder I didn’t realize was sitting on the end of my bed.
I rub my forehead where a small irritating pain radiates. It’s there but barely noticeable.
“How did you know my name?”
He glances up from the folder. “When I carried you here after you passed out in the parking lot of The Hill, I had Doris look through your purse to see if you had an allergy list.” He indicates to the night stand with a dip of his head, and I look over to see my purse sitting behind the lamp. “She saw your ID in your wallet.”
“Oh,” I mumble, unsure how I feel about a stranger rummaging through my purse. “Doris?”
“The lady you encountered in the parking lot.” He eyes me critically for a moment before putting the folder back on the bed. “Next time, you should make sure you have plenty of water with you if you’re traveling through this part of the state.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t realize towns were so sparse around here.?
?? I fumble with the edge of the sheet, feeling like a child being scolded.
“Now you know.” His eyes drop to my rounded stomach under the covers. “How far along are you? Seven, eight months?”
“I’ll be thirty-four weeks tomorrow,” I answer.
I’m momentarily taken aback when his expression, which up until that point had been impassive, turns into scowl. “Why in the hell are you traveling alone through the deadest part of Texas at thirty-four weeks pregnant? With a busted air conditioner in the middle of summer, I might add.”
I grip the sheets at my side and draw my knees up in defense. He’s got no right to question me on what I do, and he certainly has no reason to become angry.
“That’s my business and none of yours,” I tell him defiantly. My voice raises when I tack on, “And I wanted to have the air conditioner looked at, but there’s been no Godforsaken service stations around! How was I supposed to know this stupid state only puts gas stations a hundred miles apart?”