HIS: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (Part Three) Read Free

surgical mask, stepped into the room.
    “Sorry,” he said, his eyes moving over Kelly. “I didn’t realize you already had a visitor.”
    Kelly stood, her curves hidden by the scrubs they made everyone wear. She crossed her arms over her chest as she moved between me and him.
    “Who are you?” she demanded.
    “It’s okay, Kel,” I said. “He’s a friend.”
    “I’m Daniel,” he said, stepping up to Kelly with a hand extended.
    She didn’t take his hand. Instead, she just studied him, trying to assess him around the scrubs and the surgical mask. I could feel the tension between them. It made me feel a little uncomfortable, like a fly on the wall, watching a situation I shouldn’t be watching.
    “How do you know Ana?” Kelly demanded.
    Daniel rolled back on his heels a little, his gaze dropping briefly to my face. I could see that he was trying to decide if he should tell the truth, or come up with a quick lie. But he told the truth.
    “I’m Virginia Davis’ stepson. We met at her house.”
    Kelly glanced back at me. “Didn’t you tell me Virginia is suing Nicolas for custody of the twins?”
    “I don’t agree with her decision on that,” Daniel immediately said. “And I’m trying to convince her to back off.”
    Kelly’s eyebrows rose as she stared at me. I offered a slight shrug, a movement just big enough for her to see it. She inclined her head before turning back to him.
    “Well, I guess you can stay if Ana’s okay with it. But you should know, I’m her best friend. I’ll hurt anyone who even thinks about hurting her.”
    Daniel bent at the waist, executing an almost perfect bow. “Understood.”
    I wanted to laugh, the whole scene was that surreal. But it didn’t seem appropriate at that moment, so I just watched as Kelly settled back down on the bed next to me and Daniel crossed to the low chair where Nicolas usually sat when he came to visit. He tugged it closer to the bed and settled down, leaning close to the bed, but not touching me.
    “How are you doing?”
    “Good,” I said.
    “She’s bored out of her mind,” Kelly said.
    Daniel nodded. “Tried to bring her—you—some books and crossword puzzles, but they wouldn’t let me bring them in. Something about germs?”
    “They’re pretty serious about all of that.”
    “Why don’t they just give you antibiotics?” Kelly asked.
    “I’m allergic to penicillin, and I guess whatever else they might have used they can’t because it’s not good for the babies.”
    “That sucks.”
    I touched my belly, my hands skipping over the monitor belts. I glanced at the machine to make sure it was still registering their heartbeats. Sometimes I liked to reach over and turn the sound up so that I could hear them. It was reassuring even though they moved so often that there was no doubt that they were still there. I couldn’t wait until they were born and I could see their precious little faces. But, again, I was frightened that I wouldn’t be able to see them at all, that Nicolas was so angry with me that he wouldn’t hold up his end of our bargain.
    What if he took the babies home, and I was never able to see them? It was that thought that kept me awake at night.
    “Not much longer,” Kelly said, taking my hand.
    I nodded, even as I turned my head away from her. I didn’t want her to see my expression; I didn’t want her to know how frightened I was. I didn’t want her getting on her flight worried about me. I had so few people left in my life right now. The last thing I wanted was to cause any concern.
    But Daniel caught my expression, and I could see his brows knit together as he frowned.
    They left together a few minutes later, both promising to return soon. I hugged Kelly tighter than I probably should have, but it was so nice to have seen her. I didn’t want her to go, but she had a flight to New York to catch. From there, she said she was going to London.
    Sometimes I thought I’d chosen the wrong profession with