The Good Luck Potion (The Good Luck Series) (9 page)

A flush crept up her cheeks. “And do what?”

He shrugged. “I’m sure we could come up with something.”

She looked up at him through thick lashes and licked her
tempting lips.

He
cupped her cheek with his hand and ran the pad of his thumb across her lips before he lowered his head and brushed his against hers. She snaked her arms around his neck and smiled, rising up on her tiptoes to meet his next kiss. He held her close, enjoying the feel of her against him as he slipped his tongue into her mouth and tangled it slowly with hers.

Heart pounding
, Sue broke the kiss as alarm bells went off in her head. What were they doing? This was too much, too soon, especially after their intimate dancing last night. She swallowed hard and pushed the remote toward him again. “I better go change.”

He nodded, took the remote
, and turned toward the couch.

Like a silly schoolgirl
, she hurried from the room to the safety of her bedroom and closed the door. She leaned against it while her mind raced ahead to where that kiss could have gone. Heat and tingles of awareness flooded over her from head to toe and she knew she was in big trouble. It didn’t help that the gris-gris burned hot against her chest. She swallowed hard, taking several deep breaths until her heart stopped racing.

When she finally felt more in control, she s
lowly pushed away from the door, discarding her t-shirt and shorts as she went to her closet to select something to wear. The only problem was everything she pulled out made her afraid it would look too sexy on and he’d want to kiss her again. If that happened, they’d never leave.

“Get a grip, girl.”

Finally, she settled on a peasant style gauzy top in teal and tan khaki pants. She matched it with coral earrings and a lightweight sweater in the same color for when it got cooler later. Slipping on a pair of canvas walkers, she hurried into the bathroom to check her hair and touch up her make up. She brushed her teeth and applied lip gloss.

Satisfied, she emerged from her bedroom to rejoin Alex
, but the grim expression on his face as he stared at his cellphone told her something was wrong. When he didn’t glance her way she made her presence known. “I’m ready. Sorry you had to wait.”

He held his cellphone up for her to see. “I—I have to go. I’m so
rry, but we can’t go out after all.”

“Wh
y? What’s happened?”

“Darren just sent me a text. They’re headed to the hospital.
Keely’s water broke. The baby is coming.”

“B-but,
she isn’t due for another couple of months. Are you sure you read the message right?”

He
tossed her his phone, looking like he wanted to bolt for the door instead of explain things to her. She read the display and sure enough Darren had wrote:
Her water broke. On the way to the hospital. Babys coming.

“This doesn’t make sense. You said Keely was fine when you saw her earlier today.”

“Yes. She was and now this. How could her water break at this point in the pregnancy?”

“Women go into premature labor all the time. I’m sure the doctors will know what to do.”

He took a few steps toward the door, but stopped and turned around. “Which hospital? I—I haven’t a clue where Darren is taking her.”

Sue thought a minute trying to recall the name of Keely’
s doctor. “Tennova. He’ll take her to the Women’s Pavilion. She and Jama see the same group of doctors.”

“I should have known that.” He clutched his hand to his chest.
The color had drained from his face and he looked green around the mouth.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

He nodded, bending over at the waist. He took several deep breaths as if he were having difficulty breathing. “Would you? I don’t think I can drive. What if she loses the baby? Or worse yet, what if we lose her? She’s all the family I have left.”

The desperation in his voice sent her feet to moving. She
grabbed her purse and car keys off the kitchen counter. “We’ll take my car. Come on.” She placed her arm around him for reassurance. “There’s no time to panic right now. We’ll go to the hospital and find out what is happening. It could be a false alarm.”

He took a few shallow breaths
and stood up straight. “But her water broke. I don’t think that could be a false alarm.”

“There are many reasons for there to
be fluids leaking besides that. She could have had a bladder spasm. Remember, Darren is going to be a first time father. He could be panicking just like you.”

Alex
stopped walking and glared at her. “You think I’m overreacting.”

“If the shoe fits.”

He glared at her for a full five seconds and then he began to laugh at himself. She was totally right. He was acting like…well he wasn’t sure what, but if Phil or Brandon were here witnessing his meltdown they’d never let him live it down. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. She’s your sister. You love her. I get that.
Now let’s go.” She opened the apartment door for him to exit.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“No sassing me, mister.” Her stern tone, but smirky grin told him she was trying to lighten the mood.

“I wasn’t—”

She held up a finger and it stopped him from saying more. The ‘don’t mess with me’ look on her pretty face had him feeling warm all over again like he had from their earlier kiss. Even the small bottle he carried in his pocket heated. He shoved his hand in there and grasped the smooth surface surprised that it really was warm. Had his body heat caused it?

Punching the k
ey fob, she unlocked the doors and he climbed into her car. Within seconds they were on their way to the hospital. He tried to stay calm as Sue drove the back roads, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen to Keely and the baby. It really was too early for her to deliver.

Luckily they
had no trouble parking. They found a spot at a meter along the street near the hospital and were able to hurry into the building. They took the elevator up to the second floor and stopped at the nurses’ station to check the board for which room she was in.

“I don’t see her name.”

“Me either.”

“Can I help you folks?” a nurse asked
looking up from the chart she was working in.

“
Keely Jones. Has she been admitted yet?” he asked.

“She may hav
e been admitted as Keely Wright,” Sue added.

The nurse scanned a print out and shook her head.
“Sorry. The only Wright we have is Jama Wright Landers.”

Sue began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” He frowned and glanced at her.

“Don’t you get it
?” She lightly hit him on the shoulder with the back of her hand. “That text wasn’t about Keely, but Jama. Keely’s not in labor, but Darren’s sister Jama. The twins are coming.”

“Then why would Darren text me?”

Sue shrugged. “Who knows.”

“The family is waiting in the sitting area at the end of the hall if you wish to join them,” the nurse offered.

“Thank you.” Sue smiled and slipped her arm around his. She looked up at him. “Do you want to go see for yourself?”

He nodded and they started down the hall to the waiting area when t
he elevator doors opened and Keely and Darren stepped off. They both looked surprised to see them there.

“What are you two doing here?” Keely asked.

“I got Darren’s text and I thought it was about you.”

“What text?” Keely looked at her husband. “Darren?”

He winced. “Sorry bro. I got a little excited when Kyle called. I’ve set up a group in my phone so when Keely goes into labor I can reach all of the family at once. I wasn’t thinking and I used it to let them know about Jama.”

“But you didn’t say Jama.” Alex
pulled out his phone and showed him the text message he got. “And after Keely was put on bed rest today I—I thought the worst. It’s way too soon for her to go into labor.”

“I thought he was going to hyperventilate,” Sue said.

“Oh, Alex.” Keely hugged him. “I’m sorry.”

“I am too.” Darren patted him on his back. “Can you forgive me?”

He nodded and set his sister away from him. “Keels, shouldn’t you be off your feet?”

“Yeah. I need to get to the waiting area and sit down. My doctor will not be happy with me if he sees I’m
here instead of at home following his orders.”

Darren wrapped a protective arm around Keely’s waist.
“I tried to get her a wheelchair at admitting downstairs, but she wouldn’t hear of it.”

“I’m not an invalid. I can walk,” she protested, looking up at
him. He kissed her on the top of the head before they began to walk down the hall.

Sue smiled. She always found Keely and Darren’s relationship very sweet. And she loved watching them together at Wright and Associates. If you didn’t know they were married you’d think they were very fond of one another because they did not put their relationship on display by kissing or hugging in the open.

Alex turned to her. “Shall we hang around and wait a little while since we’re here?”

“We might as well.”

He offered her his hand and she took it, liking his firm, confident grip as they walked down the hall.

“Do me a favor.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Don’t mention my panic attack to anyone. Not even Kimberly, Phil or Brandon.”

She giggled and leaned her head against his arm. “I won’t.”

When they reached the waiting area for family members
, there were already two people there. The last person she expected to see was Lucinda sitting there with Lillian Wright, but there the woman was and she was beaming from ear to ear as they approached. The gris-gris warmed against Sue’s chest and she released Alex’s hand to reach up and touch it. He glanced her way with his brows raised.

“Alex. How is my boy?” Lucinda asked, getting to her feet. She moved with a flourish, her bangle bracelets jingling.

Lillian stood as well, hugging her son and then Keely.

Alex
reluctantly turned away from her to answer Lucinda. “I’m good. And you?”

“
Fine and I’m getting better every minute now that I’m in the same room with you and Keely again.” The woman turned to his sister and gave her a hug. “My, you gave me a scare this morning, but I see everything is fine as rain now.”

“Oh yes, please tell me you are fine,” Lillian agreed.

“For the time being,” Keely assured.

“
Only if she stays off her feet.” Darren urged her toward the row of cushioned seats.

“Yes. Yes. She must get off her feet.
Having one daughter in labor at a time is more than I can handle.” Lillian followed them. “They won’t let me in there with Jama. Can you believe that?”

“It’s what she wanted, Mom
,” Darren said. “She explained that to you already.”

“I thought she was teasing me.”

“No, Mom. She’s nervous about the delivery and she felt it would be easier if it was just her and Kyle with the nurses and doctor.”

“What’s there to be nervous about? I did it three times.
And who better to know how to give birth to twins than someone who has done it before?”

Sue saw Darren roll his eyes and she bit back a smile. Lucinda must have s
een the gesture too because she winked at her.

“How are things with you
, Sue?”

“Everything is going great.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Lucinda sat down and patted the vacant seat beside her. “Alex, come sit and tell me about your current project. Are you researching anything interesting?”

He did as Lucinda asked. “Actually you might find this interesting…”

Sue’s cellphone buzzed and she fished it out of her purse to answer it, stepping away from the group. “Hello?”

“Hey, sis. You got a minute?”

“Not really. I’m at the hospital and can’t talk right now.”

“Hospital?
Are you all right?”

“Yeah, Alex and I were going out, but he got a text…anyway he thought it was about his sister, but
when we got here it was about my boss Jama. She’s having the twins so I’m here with him and the family. I don’t think I’m supposed to have my cellphone on, so I need to keep it short.”

“No problem. It can wait. I wanted to add one tiny thing to the list I gave you.”

“Really?” Sue bit her lip to keep from saying what she really thought about that list. It was the reason she wasn’t ready when Alex came to pick her up and the reason he’d kissed her, which she couldn’t be upset about. However, when she’d agreed to help Kimberly out she hadn’t expected the list to be so long. “What is it?”