Rachel was biting her lip, anxiously waiting for the cab to arrive at the hospital. According to the guy who was together with Ethan her fiancé was fine. She didn’t buy it though. She needed to see Ethan for herself to establish that he was perfectly fine. The nerves wrecking through her body made her shaky. Her being shaky annoyed the hell out of Gabriel who sat calmly beside her. The man placed a hand upon her knee and made her stop shaking it.
“Could you please calm down? It’s too late or too early for this.” He asked her quietly yet firmly, “Whatever works for you.” He mumbled.
“I can’t!” She exclaimed, “And it’s too late.” She muttered.
It was the middle of the night, neither one of them slept during their flight. It explained why Gabriel was irritated and it also explained why she was so shaky.
“He is fine, he was just exhausted.” Gabriel tried to explain to her, but she wasn’t listening she just needed to see Ethan. Once she did she’d buy the exhaustion story. Gabriel gave her a playful shove against the shoulder when he noticed she wasn’t even listening to him, “You’re the worst.”
“Am not!”
“Oh, so you did hear that.” The mocking tone making her shove him right back.
As they arrived at the hospital Gabriel took charge so she wouldn’t run around, not knowing where to go or what to do. He led her through it as if he knew the place like the back of his hand. They had put Ethan in a private room, he’d stay the day for observation and then go back home with her the day after.
Arriving at Ethan’s room, Gabriel held the door open for her like a true gentleman, playfully gesturing to her to head in first. He was having a lot of fun mocking her, she’d get back at him somehow, someday. She strolled inside, relief washing over her as she met her fiancé’s amused gaze.
“You’re okay.” She exclaimed, walking over to him and pulling him in for a hug.
“Told you,” Gabriel muttered.
She ignored him and tightened her hold on her fiancé, “I was so freaking worried.”
Ethan hugged her back, “So I’ve heard.” He gave her a firm pat on the back and then tried to pull away, “Sweetheart, I’m actually aching all over so if you could-”
“Oh.” She released him immediately, her cheeks heating up in shame, “I didn’t mean to.” She quietly told him, “I was just so- so worried, you know.”
“I know.”
She trailed her eyes to Gabriel who had his arms crossed in front of his chest, shrugging a shoulder when she accusingly glared at him.
“We always keep each other up to date.”
She didn’t like the sound of that.
She also crossed her arms in front of her chest and narrowed her eyes at him, “Always?”
The knowing look in Gabriel’s eyes would have made her sister run for the hills. She wasn’t as prudish about sex like Valerie though, she’d confront them with a straight face, letting them know they couldn’t tease her the same way they teased Valerie.
“Always,” Gabriel confirmed confidently, the amusement glittering in his eyes.
She wasn’t backing off though.
“Oh, I see. So you two gossip like two old ladies, that it?”
“No more than Valerie and you,” Ethan muttered.
She glared at her fiancé who dared to side with his friend, “Weren’t you in pain?”
Ethan pressed a hand against his chest and faked a cough, “It hurt so much.”
She smiled at him, letting her arms fall to her side while her eyes softened, “Oh, honey. You know what, when we get back home I’ll make sure you get plenty of rest.” She emphasized the rest part to make clear to him what she was trying to tell him, “Plenty.” She repeated just to make sure the message indeed came across.
Gabriel chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender when his friend looked like the saddest man in the world, “I’ll leave you two to it. I have a few matters to take care of.” He strolled out of the private room and gave them some privacy.
Rachel took a seat beside Ethan’s bed, getting comfortable while trying to hide her glee. She felt Ethan’s eyes on her, he wanted to clear things up, but apparently, her fiancé was at a loss for words for once. She enjoyed that moment even more.
“You’re not serious, are you, Rache?”
“I’m serious, Ethan.”
He lowered his gaze, having the decency to feel guilty about siding with his friend instead of her.
“You did make me a promise, you know.”
She had no idea what he was talking about.
“What promise?”
He trailed his eyes to her, a small smile playing on his lips, “You agreed we’d try for our second child.”
Her mouth fell open. She couldn’t remember making that kind of promise to him. His look told her he wasn’t joking about it either. He was using her so-called promise as leverage. It wasn’t fair he could do that since she had no idea when or where she made that kind of promise. What she did know was that a second child wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Ava was a handful right now.
“I don’t remember making that kind of promise.”
He didn’t look like he was going to budge though, “You did promise me, Rache. When we were in bed, I told you I wanted another child soon and you agreed. Then I asked you to keep your word and you agreed to that as well.”
“No such thing happened!”
He raised an eyebrow at her, “Are you calling me a liar?”
She knew better than that. Ethan was a man of his word when it came to serious matters like this. There was no way he was making it up. The only conclusion she could come up with was him taking advantage of her. That had to be it.
“If I don’t remember making that kind of promise you can’t expect me to go through with it.” She narrowed her eyes at him, “Besides I feel like you somehow took advantage of me. Did you ask me that when I was exhausted from taking care of Ava?”
He tore his gaze away from her, “Maybe.”
She pointed at him, “Then it doesn’t count!”
He met her gaze again, the fire burning in his eyes causing her to back off.
“A promise is a promise, Rache.”
She swallowed, focusing on settling in her chair even though she felt like going to her hotel room and take a bath. It would take away all her worries. A warm bath was calling her yet she couldn’t leave Ethan’s side. Despite him being freaking annoying he was still unwell. She wouldn’t leave his side, she’d vow to him very soon to stay beside him through sickness and health. She couldn’t take that lightly.
“We’ll see about that.” She told him, “I’m not going to break my promise to you. But right now I’m not ready to start on our second child. Ava is quite a handful, don’t you agree?”
“You’re wide awake right now, are you not?” He asked her, “That means you cannot forget about this moment, got it?”
She nodded, “Got it. We’ll have another child in the near future.”
He smiled at her. They shared a peaceful moment together, it had been a while since it was just the two of them. Even though Ethan was supposed to rest, he talked to her all night. When it was time for him to have breakfast he told her to go back to the hotel and have some rest herself. She did that and took that long-awaited bath. It had been so stressful when she was going home together with Ethan and Gabriel again she’d be more focused on her future together with Ethan Hunter. They both wanted a happily after and they’d both fight for it. Being this secure in their relationship felt good.