Kate didn’t back down. She simply smiled coyly and said, “My how defensive you’re getting, Nik.”
She tossed a look over her shoulder, toward Jude.
He winked… And chuckled.
Then he more seriously mouthed, “Careful, babe.”
Because they all knew how fragile Nikki’s personal feelings were… In every capacity.
27
“Fine,” Kate gently conceded. “Walk the balance beam of indecision: is he a hero or is he a villain? But let’s at least accept one clear truth. He’s hot. Like… Mm-hmm, H-O-T hot.”
“Kate!” Jude exploded beside her.
She laughed again. Turning to Jude, she patted him on the cheek.
“Not Jude McMillan hot,” she assured him. To Nikki, she added, “Though I can accurately report that all the single nurses in this hospital are hoping and praying no girlfriend comes out of the woodwork for Nico Valdiviesio.”
“Completely irrelevant to me, Kate,” Nikki said with a smirk.
Kate held her next comment in check. She didn’t want to push Nikki’s buttons…yet there was clearly a spa
rk of interest on her friend’s part—the first Kate had seen in years.
Jude wrapped a strong arm around Kate’s waist and eased her toward him, tucking her against his hard body.
He murmured in her ear, “Not everyone’s embracing romance. Just because I keep your skin tingling doesn’t mean—”
“It’s not only my skin that tingles when you’re near.” She wagged her brows at him, suggestively.
“I’m just saying that—”
“Katie!”
The tiny screech down the corridor seemed to wrap its way around Kate’s heart and squeeze tight.
Deathly tight.
She halted abruptly. Whirled around.
Sophie came charging toward her, once again launching herself into Kate’s arms as she bent down.
The little girl burst into body-wracking sobs.
Kate’s gaze flew to Nikki, who immediately said, “I’ll see what’s wrong.” She rushed off, knowing exactly what Kate was thinking. Something had happened to Isabelle Santos, Sophie’s mother.
Jude knelt beside them and rested a supportive hand on Kate’s back as she held Sophie, who wept uncontrollably.
Jude whispered in Kate’s ear, “This can’t be good.”
Kate’s heart constricted further. She held Sophie a bit more firmly. While muttering, “It’ll be okay,” in Spanish.
But would it?
Sophie’s fingers curled around strands of Kate’s hair and her body trembled in Kate’s embrace.
Endless minutes passed. Sophie continued to wail in distress. Nikki eventually returned and placed a hand on Jude’s shoulder. He glanced up at her.