LITMIR.BIZ

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she managed to break that mesmerizing eye contact, breathe, and get her feet moving to the side of the bed. Her heart pounded hard in her ears, but thank heavens he couldn’t hear it. Could he?

      She shook her head at herself and tried to keep her attention on just Cameron, but that was nearly impossible since her face was buried in Rafael’s neck, and she was hanging on to him like a barnacle to a rock. “I brought you a few different things to eat.” Other than Rafael. Gabby found herself momentarily distracted, wondering how, exactly, his neck smelled. Tasted. She’d bet pretty darned good on both counts. “Try a few, and if you think of something else you’d like to have, I’ll be happy to get it for you.”

      Cameron slowly eased away from Rafael, her hands releasing his scrub shirt to swipe at the tears on her face. Rafael reached for a tissue to hand her and she gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you. Both of you. You’ve been just wonderful to me through all this, and I really, truly appreciate it.”

      “It has been a privilege to be a part of it, Ms. Fontaine.” Rafael stood from his position by the bed. “I need to make a few notes and talk to the pediatrician about when we can see bebé. I’ll be right back.”

      Gabby watched Cameron dig into her food with surprising gusto, considering how emotional she’d been a moment ago, and how she’d mostly picked at her food before then. “I’m glad you’re eating. It’ll help you get your strength back faster.”

      “I’d thought I’d felt starved before, all the times I’d hardly eaten, trying to stay skinny to get into my costumes. But this time I’m honest to goodness famished!”

      “Anything else you want, just let me know.”

      “I want to see Skye.” She put the fork down and tears welled in her eyes again. “Rafael said he’d get me there as soon as possible.”

      “I’m sure they’ll let you go to see her very soon. They know how important it is for a new mother to be with her baby.”

      “I hope so.” Cameron sighed, and this time it sounded less worried and more dreamy. “Rafael’s the sweetest, isn’t he? Just wonderful. Gorgeous. Edible.”

      Edible? Apparently, Gabby wasn’t the only one who’d had that passing thought. Then immediately had a vision of Cameron nibbling on the man’s sexy lips. Lips she couldn’t deny any woman would like a taste of.

      Was Cameron planning on making a play for him once she was out of the hospital? Gabby had to wonder if he’d be more than happy to take the A-list actress up on anything she might offer. Then again, she’d just given birth, so they wouldn’t...

      She drew herself up short and stuffed down those ridiculous and plain awful thoughts. What in the world would make her start thinking about the sex lives of either one was beyond her. She didn’t do relationships anymore. Sex either, and maybe that was why it had come to mind at all. It had been a long time and, hey, she was only human, right? What warm-blooded woman wouldn’t think about sex at least briefly when sharing the same air as Rafael Moreno?

      Thankfully, the man entered the room at that moment, so she didn’t have to respond to Cameron’s comment. Or maybe she wasn’t thankful, because her wayward thoughts sent her gaze straight to his lips and, yes, she couldn’t deny they looked very edible indeed. She quickly moved her attention to the bronze color of his throat visible in the V of his scrubs, then on to the broad, powerful chest stretching his scrub shirt taut.

      His eyes met hers with something unnerving glimmering in that startling green, and she had that can’t breathe feeling again. Lord, did he know, somehow, she’d been thinking about his nibble-worthy lips?

      “Has our patient had a bite to eat?” he asked in a low, rumbling voice meant for Gabby’s ears only. Also meant to make women swoon, if the shivers currently skittering down Gabby’s spine were any indication.

      “Um, yes.” Gabby cleared her throat. “Did NICU say she could see Skye now?”

      “Sí. They’ve given us the green light, and transport is coming to get her as we speak.” He turned to smile at Cameron, speaking louder now. “Ready to see your beautiful girl now?”

      “Yes, I’m so ready!” Cameron shoved aside her food. “Is she okay? Is she going to be fine?”

      “Be prepared that she is in an incubator, being given extra-special care. So don’t be scared when you see that a few tubes are attached to her. The neonatal specialist will talk with you, but I can tell you she is optimistic.”

      Gabby noted that he stopped short of committing to the baby being fine, which was wise, considering how premature Skye was and the multiple wraps of the umbilical cord around her little neck. He moved to the bed to pat Cameron on the shoulder again, leaving his backside turned to Gabby’s view. A tight, prime backside that filled out his scrubs all too well. Not that she was looking.

      “Well, what’s taking them so long to come get me so I can see her?”

      Gabby hadn’t thought she’d ever welcome Cameron’s demanding tone, but this time she was glad to hear it. Far preferable to how upset and vulnerable-sounding she’d been earlier.

      As if her imperious voice had commanded it, transport arrived seconds later. Gabby moved to help Cameron down from the bed into the wheelchair, but to her astonishment Rafael simply lifted their patient up and gently deposited her in it, as though she weighed little more than her newborn.

      “Are you coming with me, Rafael?” Cameron asked, clutching his arm. Her blue eyes were wide and imploring, and her lips were quivering again. Gabby had spent a lot of hours with Cameron, and had a sneaking suspicion the woman was pulling out her acting skills.

      Curious to see how Rafael would react, Gabby nonchalantly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

      “I will join you as soon as Gabriella and I finish up here.”

      It must have been Cameron’s exhaustion that had her simply nodding instead of arguing. An evil part of Gabby that she hadn’t even known was inside her had her smiling, wondering how Cameron would react if she said, I’ll join you and Rafael as soon as possible too!

      Then felt horribly guilty about that when Cameron reached for her hand, holding it until the transport guy had to stop wheeling her. “You’ve been so wonderful in every way, taking care of me and my little Skye long before she was born, and I’m so grateful. I hope you know that.”

      “Oh, Cameron.” The sweet words touched her, especially coming from someone who’d seemed oblivious to many of Gabby’s ministrations throughout these long hours. “It’s been my pleasure and honor. And of course I’ll be checking on you and Skye while you’re still here at the clinic.”

      Cameron squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back just before the wheelchair moved on out of the room. She thought of the new mother seeing her baby again, touching her small body through the incubator ports, and knew exactly how overwhelming that maternal love felt. The only kind of forever love, no matter what the circumstances.

      She turned to see Rafael Moreno studying her, his eyebrows twitched together questioningly. She wondered what he was seeing, and put on a bright smile. “Congratulations, Dr. Moreno! You dealt with everything very impressively. So scary that the cord was wrapped around her neck three times—I’ve rarely seen that. She pinked up fast, though, so I think you got it handled before she’d suffered any oxygen deprivation.”

      “I hope so. We’ll see what the blood gases show.”

      “Are you worried?” The man looked oddly serious, and Gabby wondered for a second if he’d seen something more alarming than she had.

      “No. I agree with you that she looks remarkably good, considering everything. But I owe you an apology.”

      “For what?” The intense way he was staring at her made her stomach feel strangely twisty and her skin warm and tingly. Hoping he wouldn’t notice, she tried for a joke. “Telling me I’m a lousy housekeeper?”

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