Chapter Thirty-One

Jade

From my massage chair in the salon, I stared out the window at the flustered New Yorkers trying to navigate the nasty white stuff that overtook their streets.

My mind drifted to Max taking in the steamy Miami weather, probably looking sexy as hell in that new state-of-the-art gym he designed from the ground up.

The closer I got, the more nervous I was to how everything would work out. I dragged in a breath to then release it with an audible whoosh, a technique I learned in our childbirth classes. 

“What’s wrong?” Amy asked, raking over my body to assess if something was amiss. “Please don’t tell me you’re in labor. You aren’t due for weeks.” Her biggest fear wasn’t that I’d go into labor while on her watch, but more so that Max would freak out if I went into labor on her watch.

“First of all, I’m due in two weeks and three days.”

“I thought you were due in March?”

“I am due in March,” I said on an eye roll.

“I assumed end of March,” she mumbled defensively. “So, is that why you look so spooked?”

“I don’t look spooked. I’m just thinking of Max. I wish I could be there for him.”

“So today is the big day, huh?” On my nod, she smiled. “Very exciting. I’ll have to plan a trip to Miami to see it.”

“You should. It’s stunning.” Remembering the pride beaming on his face when I visited made me smile.

Amy flinched beside me before glaring at her pedicurist. “Why aren’t we at our usual salon? They massage longer and better at Eva’s Eden,” Amy quipped, raising a brow at the woman working on her toes.

“They’re more money,” the woman grumbled before aggressively kneading the bottom of Amy’s foot.

“Ow.”

Not needing to witness a fight breaking out, I moaned again as a distraction. “Mmm, I think they do a great job here.” My pedicurist smiled shyly, kneading my foot with more care than Amy’s girl. I’d been to this place on several occasions, and the last thing I needed was to be blacklisted because of Amy.

“So, when does Mr. Wonderful come back?”

“He’ll be here for the whole month of March.”

“Please tell me you’re at least having phone sex later. It’s freakin’ Valentine’s.”

My insides warmed, remembering Max hinting to the very same idea.

“Now that you finally have a boyfriend,” Amy said, “I was hoping you’d be getting some on Valentine’s Day. Please don’t tell me you plan to spend it with a pile of boring cases to work on like you did last year,” she quipped, giving me a side-eye. “You should’ve joined me on that ski trip.”

I threw her an incredulous glare. “You, Doug, and me—sure, that would have been a blast. What would my role have been, hold the video camera?”

Her brows rose on a grin. “We had a tripod for that. He had a friend, remember? Patrick.”

“Yeah, no thanks. As I recall our first conversation the night you introduced us lasted seven minutes, and I hadn’t said one word during the whole thing.” Amy rolled her eyes, but before she could lecture me, I deflected. Knowing Amy was having dinner at Will’s place, I said, “I take it things are going well with Will?” She’d been seeing him for several months now, a record for Amy.

“I guess,” she said noncommittally.

“You seem to like him,” I touted, throwing her a smirk. When she merely gave me a shrug in response, I prodded, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just feeling antsy. Not sure why.” Maybe it was the melancholy in her voice that concerned me, or the look on her face. Nothing ever got my friend down, and this was a side of Amy I’d never witnessed before.

“Hey,” I said, taking her hand, feeling bad it’s been all about me lately. “I’m here, you know. If you need anything at all.”

“I know.” Her smile was genuine, as was the shimmer of emotion in her eyes.

“I’m worried about you, Aim.”

“And I’m worried about you, Jade,” she countered.

“Me?”

“Yeah. Max is a good man, and you deserve to be happy. Please remember that.”

“Have you been talking to my sister?” Another shrug. “Seriously?”

“I agree with her, Jade. We could step off the curb tomorrow and get hit by a bus. We need to enjoy every moment and be happy, and you’re selling yourself short.”

Why couldn’t they understand my side of the situation? My life was in New York.

But my love is in Miami.

Back and forth my pendulum swung. Amy picked up on my brooding and waved her hand. “Enough with the heavy shit. We’re here to relax.”

Ignoring my own antsy feeling, I settled deeper into the chair, trying to enjoy the warm water that percolated around my feet. As I waited for my pedicurist to start, I shifted my legs until the jets were positioned directly under my toes and moaned embarrassingly at how good it felt. Everything hurt lately, most of all my feet.

“Jesus, you’re a moan away from orgasm,” she said way too loudly. Before I could scold her, she added, “How did you get the prison warden to let you out while there was white slippery stuff on the ground, anyway?”

“I regret telling you anything,” I grumbled over the day I told her how it was pouring out and Max, while in Miami, arranged a car to drive me home so I wouldn’t have to take mass transit. The poor driver sat outside for hours until I finally appeared.

“Did you promise a sexual favor?”

“No.” I sent him a sexy picture. Technically not a bribe, but that part I kept to myself. I closed my eyes to enjoy reliving what he’d sent in response to my picture—a video of him stroking himself.

“Jade.”

“What?”

“Did you hear anything I just said?”

“No.” I smirked. Why lie?

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why are you flushed?”

“It’s the water temperature.”

“Liar.”

Once we had painted and dried toes, we sat side by side in the reception area, putting on our socks and boots. Oblivious to the stares, Amy, lacking her filter, was telling me about a book she had just read that put hers to shame in the kink department.

As I bent over to pull on my other boot, I felt a warm rush of moisture between my legs. Knowing exactly what it was, my gasp caused her to twist her gaze my way. I could easily freak out, but I forced myself to remain calm.

Amy, having heard the gust of air I expelled, waved a distracted hand. “Oh, stop. You’re not as vanilla as you pretend to be.” But when I failed to respond and instead stared down at the dark drenched denim crotch of my jeans, she realized what that gasp was actually for.

“Your water broke?” she shrieked, her voice so high I was sure that dogs began barking a mile away.

“Or I peed myself.” I needed to remain calm.

“But Max is in Miami.”

“I’m well aware of that, Amy,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Okay, don’t freak out.” She jumped up, fanning her hands and pacing. “We call your mom first. Right? She’ll tell us what to do. Or should I call a cab and take you to the hospital first, then call Max? He needs to know first, right? No, bad idea. He’s probably busy at the grand opening. Sapphire is better to call, since she’s done this twice and she’s only across the river and not thousands of miles away! But it’s snowing. It’ll take her forever to get here.” The rambling went on and on, the pacing increased in speed, and then she caused a tsunami of panic to travel through the salon by calling out, “Anyone in here ever have their water break in public?”

It was in that moment that I fully understood why my boyfriend worried so much that I’d go into labor on Amy’s watch.

…

Max

Finally standing in my new gym, a dream that I carried for so long, seemed so surreal. New members utilized the state-of-the-art machines, and some mingled near the banquet tables holding a spread of appetizers and champagne flutes lined up like little soldiers. Valentine balloons welcomed couples who walked by, promising a two-for-one special admission price if they signed up today.

The day went off without a hitch—except for Jade not being there.

I’d hired a photographer to capture everything from the ribbon cutting to the party that followed, so Jade would be able to see all she had missed.

My business partner, Byron, came up to me and clapped a firm hand on my shoulder, his other holding an almost empty glass of bubbly. “We did it, my friend.”

“We sure did.” I twisted to face him. “I really appreciate your backing me in this. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I believe in you, Max.” He tapped his glass to mine. “You’re having quite a year. Not only do I wish success for us, but I wish you all the best with your personal life.”

“Thank you,” I said, appreciating his support. Another man would have busted a nut with worry over all I had going on. “And thank you for covering next month.” Byron had easily agreed to move to Miami from Chicago to manage the gym while I was in New York.

“My pleasure. Next year, we open in Chicago,” he taunted, just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. Not recognizing the number, I almost sent it to voicemail but answered it just in case. “Hello?”

“Max! Get back here!”

“Who the hell is this?”

An audible sigh preceded another barking command. “Amy! Your girlfriend’s water just broke. Seriously, what the hell am I supposed to do?”

Panic gripped every muscle in my body. “Get her to a hospital!”

“Well, duh. That I know. We did that first. But with the snow, her family’s having a hard time getting here. You’re not here, either. It’s just me. I’m freaking the fuck out!”

Ignoring her rant that continued, I muted my phone. Byron’s expression mimicked mine. “I have to go. Jade’s water broke.”

“Holy fuck. Go!” he said in a shaky voice before swallowing. “I’ll handle this.”

I mouthed a thank you. “Amy. Put Jade on,” I demanded before breaking into a full-on sprint.

“Max.” Jade’s sweet voice came over the line. “I’m so sorry. You’re opening, and now—”

“Stop it, Jade. I’m so sorry I’m not there.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m fine.”

“Where are you now?”

“We just got to the hospital a few minutes ago. They’re hooking me up to a monitor. Sapphire is on her way, and Amy will keep you posted. Just let her know once you get a flight. Please get home safe.”

Easier said than done. “I will. I love you, Jade.”

“Me, too.” When the phone screen went dark, I growled at the all the tourists I had to navigate through while running along Miami Beach toward my apartment.

After grabbing a coat, my phone charger, and extra cash, I then endured a torturous cab ride in traffic to the airport. What seemed like days later, but only turned out to be an hour, I finally sprinted into the terminal.

I must have apologized to at least a hundred people for knocking into them before I finally careened into the ticket counter at full speed. The older woman’s smile morphed into an annoyed expression when I blurted out, “I need to get to New York.”

Silently, she tapped the keyboard without even glancing my way. “There’s a flight leaving at six with seats available.”

“That’s five hours from now. I need one sooner,” I countered.

“Well, I’m afraid that’s not possible, sir. In case you haven’t heard, it is snowing up north. All flights in and out of the region are delayed. I can get you on a flight that’s boarding soon to Raleigh, and then have you transfer—”

“We can put a man on the moon, but we can’t figure out how to keep runways clear of snow?”

The woman glared at my interruption. “Would you like the flight at six?” she asked with a tight, cemented smile.

“Yes.” Once I finally had my ticket in hand and suffered through security, I resumed my run toward the gate. What I was running toward, I had no idea, since I’d have hours with nothing to do but to stress over my situation.

Knowing Nate was visiting a friend in Connecticut, I reluctantly called Brad. “Hey. Shouldn’t you be celebrating?” he asked.

“Jade’s water broke. Nate’s not home, so I had to call you.”

“Gee, thanks. And what do you expect me to do, play quarterback and spiral the baby to you in Florida?”

“Are you trying to piss me off?” I asked through gritted teeth. “Get to the hospital. I’m stuck here waiting for my flight, and I need you to go over there now.”

“Whoa, dude. I have no experience in this kind of stuff.”

“The be a decent brother kind of stuff? Amy’s there with her. Because of the snow, her family is delayed. Call Mom, too. I won’t be up there for hours. I need you, Brad.”

“Okay,” he conceded, sensing the desperation in my tone. “I’m going. Where is she?”

Deciding it was easier to give him Amy’s number, I shared her contact. “Please keep me posted. I’m dying down here.”

“Stay calm. Everything will be fine.”

“Easier said than done.”

Seriously, what the fuck? What did I do to the universe to piss it off enough to have me missing both of my children’s births?