Red Hot Lovers: 18 Contemporary Romance Books of Love, Passion, and Sexy Heroes by Your Favorite Top-Selling Authors Read online

  Grace’s words poked deep wounds into her heart. “Grace, stop.”

  “You’re still the selfish little girl he married.” She threw back. Her normally pale face flushed with anger. “It’s time you grew up. Life isn’t all about you.”

  Ari’s temper rose to the point her hands shook. “If wanting to have a family and a career make me selfish, then yes! I am!”

  “You don’t want a family!”

  A storm of angry words brewed in her chest. They started to rush out of Ari’s mouth without control. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” She snapped. “You come to my house, and call me selfish because I am trying to juggle a career and marriage. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “You don’t need to juggle. Nicholas is more than well off and can take care of you while you give him children,” Grace said with authority.

  Ari took a deep breath, trying to calm her temper. It wouldn’t be good for her baby for her to get so aggravated with Grace over her mother-in-law’s beliefs of what constituted a good wife. “I don’t want Nick to take care of me. I want us to be partners. To take care of each other.”

  “And what about the family he wants?”

  Ari seethed. “Don’t you think I want a family too? What is your obsession with this? Nick is married to me. Stop trying to dictate our lives!”

  “I’m trying to help my son find his happiness!” Grace yelled back.

  “His happiness is with me!”

  Grace glared at her. Bright red spots covered her cheeks. “His happiness is with someone who will put him above a job! Someone who will give him children!”

  “Get the hell out of my house!” Ari exploded. “Get out!”

  Tricia rushed in from the back. “How dare you? You see she’s clearly ill, and you come here trying to break up her marriage?” She opened the front door and pointed to the street. “You should be ashamed of yourself. If you really had your son’s happiness in mind, then you would realize he loves his wife, and that’s what makes him happy. Instead, you come here to try to bully her into leaving him?” She shook her head and curled her lips, giving Grace a look of pure disgust. “You might have money, lady. But you don’t have any class. Now get out of here before I call the police.” Grace marched out with a huff. Tricia slammed the door at her back. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone with her.”

  “I’m okay.”

  Tricia got her another large glass of water. “You’re not okay. So, you’re going to take a nap to try and relax. No arguing with me. You look tired.”

  “Alright. I am kind of tired.” Plus the pain at her side had started to grow from the moment Grace walked in the door.

  ***

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The following morning Ari woke up with pain in her side again. Much worse than before. She wiggled her legs and took shallow breaths. Nick’s hand was curled on her hip, holding her close. He’d gotten home right when she’d been ready to go to bed the night before. Her argument with Grace had taken a toll on her, and she’d ended up in pain and exhausted.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Nick’s voice helped ease some of the strain for the ache in her side.

  “I…oh, Nick, my right side hurts,” she whimpered. Her fingers burned.

  “Let’s get you on your back.” He helped her on her back. She slowly sat up. He placed pillows at her back to help her prop up comfortably.

  “I’ll go get you some water,” he said and rushed toward the kitchen.

  Nick stood there, his hands shaking and gripping the cordless phone. He listened to the other line ring.

  “Ariana?” Bella’s soft voice sounded worried.

  “It’s Nick. She’s complaining of pain in her right side.”

  “What?” Bella’s voice lost all traces of sleep. “How bad is it?”

  “She was in tears. And her fingers and legs are swollen.”

  “Bring her in.” Her authoritative tone came out with the firm command. “I’ll meet you there.”

  It took precious moments to get Ariana out of bed and into the car with the way she was feeling. He wanted to lift her into his arms, but she had already complained the first time he attempted it. She said it hurt less if she walked at her own pace. He could see that every movement hurt. His stomach burned with anxiety. She was panting, and he couldn’t figure out if she truly was fine.

  They reached the hospital in record time. She insisted the pain wasn’t so bad that she couldn’t walk when he offered to get a wheelchair. The minute they walked through the sliding door, she fell, her body shaking and convulsing.

  “Ari!”

  He grabbed her before she hit the floor and hurt her head. Her eyes had rolled to the back of her head.

  “Ariana!”

  Bella was in the emergency waiting area with another doctor. They rushed forward, shoving him out of the way and sticking a pen between Ariana’s chattering teeth. Medical personnel swarmed the area where he stood. Two doctors and a male nurse picked up Ari, put her on a stretcher, and pushed her into the Intensive Care Unit.

  The sounds of the overhead speaker and medical personal took over his existence. He tried to get into the room, but a nurse shoved him back out of the door telling him they were in need of privacy to take care of Ari. Concern and anguish tore at his insides. He didn’t know what was going on, all he knew was that something was wrong with Ari, and it wasn’t good. He gulped and tried to get some air past the vice holding his lungs in a chokehold. It was useless; his life was in an open void until he knew what was happening with his wife.

  Bella rushed back out after what felt like forever. His heart and body froze, both waited while he watched fear spread across Bella’s features.

  “Things are not good. I’m going to do some tests and monitor her, but I am pretty sure she’s got preeclampsia.”

  “What is that?”

  She lowered her gaze for a second before meeting his. “It’s protein in the urine. Depending on how bad things are…” She gulped. “We may have to do one of a few things. I can’t go through them with you until I’m sure, but I just want you to be prepared in case you have to make some decisions tonight.”

  His heart stopped. Decisions? “I…” He choked on the words and grabbed Bella by the shoulders. “What decisions?”

  “I need to know if it comes down to it which do we save if we have to, the baby or her?”

  Blood froze in his veins. The room spun and for a moment he swore he had heard wrong. He must have. “What?”

  “I’m sorry. They are both at risk. She may get worse. I still don’t know how the baby is doing. We are going to do testing to check his lungs. We’ll start the baby on a round of Antenatal Corticosteroids for lung development.” She bit her lip and folded her arms over her chest. “Hopefully that helps if it comes down to delivering. The truth is that we’re going to have to try what we can and hope for the best. But if at any point we try to keep the baby inside her and she’s getting worse, it could kill her.”

  “I love my child, and I love my wife. Ari…” His vision blurred. He struggled to breath and speak past the pain choking him. “Ariana’s my life. You don’t understand. I almost lost her before this. And it was hell.”

  “Trust me,” Bella whispered sadly, “I do understand.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, willing it all to be a bad dream. That his and Ariana’s child in her womb wasn’t really killing her. But when he opened them again, it was all still the same. He shook his head. “A lot of people will tell you that it hurts to be without the person you love, but the truth is that it’s like living with no purpose. Without her…I can’t imagine my life without her. She’s my soul,” he swallowed hard. “Do the steroids, but please…” Raw fear filled his chest. “Save my wife. Save our baby.”

  Tears gathered in Bella’s eyes. “I’m going to try my best at what I can, but I need you to be prepared. You may have to…choose. This disease can happen at any point, and with her r
isk, it was a possibility, which is why I’ve been seeing her every week.”

  He watched her run back into the room, the room where the two most important and precious people to him were now fighting for their lives.

  It took him a moment of intense concentration to talk his legs into moving. He sat in the waiting area next to the ICU in a black leather sofa, waiting. He picked up his phone and went through the motions of calling Ari’s sister, Briana, and their parents.

  Grief expanded inside him, almost taking away his ability to breathe with its intensity. He gulped down the fear in the back of his mind. Ariana was going to be fine. She had to be. He needed her to be. Their son was going to be fine, and soon, he’d have both of them in their home. Together. A family. But, what if she wasn’t?

  He sat there, frozen, reliving the first of all their special moments. The first time he saw her and how his heart had completely been lost to the smart dark-haired beauty. He remembered her smile, the way her eyes had lit up the first time he said a lame joke trying to get her to go on a date with him. In all their years together, he’d never fully stopped to remember, to think about how much he truly loved her.

  Could he choose between his wife and their child? Dread crawled over his skin, sinking deep into his pores and clawing its way into his heart. They’d tried so hard, for so long to conceive, and they were so close, so very close to having the child they’d wanted. How could he choose between the woman who owned his heart and their baby? Ariana would be fine. She had to be.

  He didn’t know how long he sat there repeating the same words in his mind, trying to convince his aching heart that what was happening wasn’t really as bad as it seemed, that Ari wasn’t fighting some illness to stay alive when he’d been holding her not a few hours back. He clenched his jaw and pushed away the sorrow. His wife was a fighter.

  “Nick!”

  Briana rushed forward and enveloped him in a hug. She and Dax were both wearing sweats, obviously having rushed out of the house after his call.

  “How is she? The baby?”

  He shook his head, refusing to think about the fact he may have to choose his wife’s life or that of their baby. “I’m not sure.”

  Bella returned shortly after. “I’m sorry for making you wait, but I’ve been monitoring the baby’s heartbeats and having tests done on the placenta and on Ariana’s blood. I just don’t want to take any chances.”

  He nodded, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders while he waited to hear how they were doing.

  “It’s definitely preeclampsia.” She winced. “It might be more severe than I like. I’m waiting on some test results to decide where to go from here. The baby is on steroids for his lungs.”

  “Ari?” His heart felt like it was being squeezed to death. Pain stabbed his gut, travelled to his chest, and tore into the deepest emotional parts he held dear.

  Bella glanced at Briana and Nick. “I’m sorry, Nick. Her body went into convulsions again. I had to put her into a sedated sleep and up the drugs.”

  He could see the question in Bella’s eyes. He was going to have to make a choice soon. His wife or their child.

  The pounding of his heart filled his ears.

  “What does that mean?” Briana’s voice was thick with tears.

  He saw the pain etched in Ari’s sister’s face. They were inseparable. She was suffering as much as him. Before Bella could answer, Tricia rushed through the door. Her hair was a wild mass of curls and she wore yoga pants with a tank top.

  “How are they?” Tricia asked rushing forward to join the group.

  “The baby’s heartbeat is holding strong,” Bella answered. “We haven’t detected any distress. We’re doing steroids to see about lung development before we can try a C-section.”

  “No offense, Nick, but I knew letting your mother talk to her was a bad idea.”

  His heartbeats slowed down to a painful crawl. “What are you talking about?”

  “Grace came by yesterday. I went outside to walk Harley and give them privacy. The next thing I knew, she was yelling. She yelled at Ari to leave you alone. She yelled, Nick. And Ari yelled right back.”

  “Christ,” Bella mumbled.

  “I knew it!” Bri screamed. “That woman is going to kill my sister.”

  His breaths froze. It was possible his mother was the reason behind Ari’s blood pressure shooting up.

  “I’m sorry, Nick. But you need to talk to your mother. This was her third visit. It’s really unfair that she keeps pushing Ari. Doesn’t she want you two to be happy?” Bri argued. “I’ve spoken to Ari multiple times. She’s tried to be understanding of the fact you’re Grace’s only child. But come on!” She choked up. “Enough is enough.”

  She was right. Enough was enough. He couldn’t believe his mother had gone so far. Ari hadn’t shared any new issues with him since the time she asked Ari to let him go because he was seeing someone else, he didn’t know of his mom harassing his wife.

  “I’ll take care of it.” He heard himself say. The words came out with purpose. He loved his mother, but if she couldn’t understand his wife and child were there to stay, then he would need to limit his time with her. It hurt. She’d always been a wonderful mother. But somewhere along the line, she became focused on Ari being bad for him.

  Nick sat in the waiting area for hours. Tricia and Bri had gone to get coffee and left him alone when his mother arrived. With his father traveling, she was the only person he’d been able to reach.

  He stood, clenched his jaw, and waited for her to reach his side.

  “Nick? Why didn’t you tell us Ariana was pregnant?” She threw at him with an angry glare.

  He took a deep breath and stepped back. “I didn’t tell you for a couple of reasons. The first being I didn’t want you to stress her over working while pregnant. The second being she’s been a high risk pregnancy from the beginning.”

  His mother’s eyes went wide with shock. “Oh my god.”

  “How could you, mom?” He tried to rein back the grief and disappointment he felt. “You came to our house and argued with her?”

  His mother’s shoulders dropped. “I wasn’t looking to upset her. I just wanted to see you happy. I didn’t think—”

  “You’re right. You didn’t think. All this time, you’ve been accusing her of not trying, but it’s been the complete opposite. She’s been going through all kinds of discomfort. Has barely worked to not put herself in danger of overstressing and you…you spent five minutes in our house, and she’s in the hospital.”

  “I’m—I’m sorry.”

  “I can’t speak to you right now, Mom. Please leave.”

  “But, son— Nick—”

  He shook his head. “Just go.”

  She cleared her throat. “I’ll go. Please know I only meant to help you. I love you. I only want to see you happy.”

  She started to walk away from him, but stopped when he called her. “Ari is my happiness. You don’t seem to understand how much I love her. Don’t try to interfere again, Mother. Or it will destroy whatever is left of the relationship you and I have.”

  His mother’s eyes filled with tears. “I understand.”

  She hurried down the hall. His heart ached for making her cry. But he was hurt over her actions and knew her presence would only make things worse.

  Nick sat next to Ariana’s bed, watching…waiting. Tension gathered tight in his spine. He knew that at any moment Bella would return and with her the test results that would push him to make a decision. As if he could. What man could choose between their unborn child and the wife they love more than their own life?

  He watched the rise and fall of her chest, listened to the heart monitor on the baby and the one for Ariana. It was amazing. Their child’s heart beat so much faster, as if he were running marathons inside her. He frowned, taking in the paleness on Ariana’s normally caramel skin. The room was dimmed. Fierce panic rolled through him. What could he do? He couldn’t imagine his life with
out her, but he knew she’d probably hate him if he chose her over their baby.

  A wave of memories played through his mind. She’d been unhappy months back that she couldn’t help with the nursery. He’d made it up to her by decorating the room exactly as she’d described. For as long as he’d known her, Ari had never been a bossy woman, but when it came to that nursery, she’d known exactly what she wanted. The smile she’d given him, filled with love and happiness, once they’d finished was one he’d never forget.

  Struggling to hold back the tears that wouldn’t stay in his eyes, he choked while grasping her warm hand to his face. Breathing hurt. Watching his family fight to survive hurt. One of the machines started beeping a lot faster than the other. Louder. Louder. It froze him in his seat for a moment. He wiped the tears from his face and jumped to his feet. He didn’t get a chance to move before Bella was rushing into the room with two other doctors.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Her features were set into panic. “The baby’s in distress.”

  Terror froze the blood in his veins. “What are you going to do?”

  He watched Ari’s bed as it was rolled out of the room.

  “A C-section.” She rushed behind the bed.

  “There’s no way you can wait?” He’d never been so scared in his life, for his wife, for their child. Nothing he did or said would make a difference at this point. There would be no need to choose, the choice had taken out of his hands.

  She shook her head. “No. She’s had a placental abruption. We have to get him out.”

  “Placental abruption?”

  “The placenta tore from her body. We need the baby out now.”

  He ran behind them to the operating room. The moment they reached the door she turned to him, apprehension clear in her gaze. “Nick, I’d normally allow the father in a C-section, but this is an emergency, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. Please, wait out here. I’ll come as soon as the baby is out and she’s stable.”