Billionaire Games Boxed Set 1-3 (38 page)

“Painful?”

“Not really painful. Just stronger.”

“Okay. Let me know when it goes away.”

Tasha watched the seconds tick away until nearly a full minute had gone by before Camille said, “Okay. It’s gone.”

“That was nearly a minute.” A feeling of dismay crept over Tasha. “Do false labor pains last that long?”

Camille shrugged and rolled her eyes—eyes that had darkened with uncertainty and unease.

“Okay. Let me know the second the next one starts.”

Tasha watched her watch. Twelve minutes after four came and went without incident.

She glanced up at Camille. “Anything?”

Camille’s gaze bounced around the garden and then settled back on Tasha. “This is crazy.” She shook her head. “I should just go take a shower or a nap or something. Maybe both.”

“Maybe a shower is the way to go. Is there anything I can get you or bring you?”

“Something labor-inducing?” Camille laughed and pushed herself up from the sofa. Instantly, the smile left her lips. She let out a gasp as her head dropped and her mouth fell open.

Tasha looked down. “Oh shit!” She pointed at the splash of water at Camille’s feet. “Is that…?”

“Well…either my water broke or I just peed my pants!”

Tasha steered Camille back inside the house and ushered her down the hallway. “Where is Julian?” she asked no one in particular.

“He’s at work.” Camille’s hand went to her back and she winced.

“Another one?”

“Yeah,” Camille said in a labored tone.

“Monique. Caroline. Parker…?” She called for one of the servants. “Somebody!” The panic settling in had strained Tasha’s voice.

“Where are we going?” Camille asked.

Tasha ran the possibilities through her mind. Camille’s bedroom? That was her first inclination. Camille’s birthing bag for the hospital was up there. But that was on the third floor, and Camille would leave for the hospital from the main entrance on the second floor. No, going upstairs was a ridiculous idea.

Tasha directed Camille into the east parlor. “You wait in here.” She settled Camille on the couch and stood over her for a moment. “I’m going to go find help…and your bag.” She backed away and hurried for the door, glancing over her shoulder. “We’ll call Julian on the way to the hospital.”

“Shouldn’t we call Dr. Goldman?” Camille called after her.

Of course
, rolled through Tasha’s mind. She paused at the doorway and nodded. “Yes. I’ll see to it that he’s called too.” She drew her hands into fists and declared, “We’re gonna have a baby!”

Tasha hurried through the hallways of Pacifique de Lumière, looking for someone. Anyone. But the house seemed deserted.

Where the hell were the servants? She’d traversed numerous corridors and two floors without running into a single soul. Okay, time to take matters into her own hands. Tasha headed for the nearest telephone.

She called Dr. Goldman, explaining to him about Camille’s water breaking, and as she figured, getting to the hospital was their top priority. After ending the call, she thought for a moment trying to decipher the thing to do next inside her chaotic thoughts.

Oh, yeah. I should probably call Julian
. Setting the call in motion, she waited for someone to answer.

A receptionist at de Laurent Enterprises answered the call with the standard greeting capped off with her name: Marcia.

“Hi, Marcia. This is Tasha de Laurent. I wonder if I might speak with Julian?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. de Laurent but both Mr. de Laurents are in Paris,” she said of Andre and Julian.

“Paris?” Tasha all but screeched. “He can’t be in Paris. Camille’s water broke. We’re heading to the hospital!”

“I can message him,” the receptionist offered. “They took the helicopter. They should be able to fly back directly.”

“Okay.” Tasha blew out a bit of relief. “Please be sure to tell him her water broke. A baby is imminent.”

“I will,” the receptionist said amid a hint of laughter. “You just take care of Madame de Laurent. I’ll see to it that Mr. de Laurent gets the message.”

“All right,” Tasha whispered, and hung up the telephone. She went back to the hallway, glanced up and down the corridor and let out an exasperated sigh.

Where was everybody?

Nearing desperation, she took off, turned a corner and ran smack dab into Claudette.

“Oh, God…” Tasha’s anxiety relaxed at the sight of her mother-in-law. “Am I glad to see you.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Camille.” Tasha paused, then a flood of anxieties came pouring out. “Her water broke. We need to get her to the hospital. Julian’s in Paris. How am I supposed to tell her he’s in Paris?”

“Calm down.” Claudette’s hands shot up to Tasha’s upper arms near her shoulders. “Everything’s going to be fine. Did you leave word at de Laurent Enterprises?” After Tasha nodded, Claudette continued, “Good. Did you call the doctor?” Another nod. “Good. Now we’re going to have the car brought around. You and I will take Camille to the hospital. Everything’s going to be fine.”

All the tension and apprehension that had wound around Tasha so tightly melted away. Claudette’s tone was as promising as her words. And if there was one thing Tasha knew to be true of Claudette—her word was golden.

At least, it had been since she’d known her. Tasha hoped that still held true.

B
y the time the party arrived at the hospital, Camille’s pains were coming a couple of minutes apart, and they’d grown much stronger. Dr. Goldman had ordered an epidural, which instantly eased Camille’s pain, and soon after that, her anxiety.

After the staff left, Tasha stepped up to her bedside and scooped up Camille’s hand. “That’s much better, huh?” But Tasha already knew the answer. She could tell from the relaxed look on Camille’s face that the tension had flowed away the moment the epidural took effect.

“You found Julian, right?” Camille asked. “Tell me he’s on his way.”

“He is.” Tasha nodded. “He should be here any minute.”

“Okay.” Camille sucked in a breath and looked toward the window.

The door opened and Julian’s head peeked in. When he saw Camille, he smiled and came on in. He went to the opposite side of the bed from where Tasha was standing. With a grin on his face, he said to Camille, “So you’ve finally decided to pop?”

Tasha laughed to herself. He had been listening to their American idioms.

Julian slipped Camille’s free hand in his, bent down and pressed his lips to hers. “Chéri…” he whispered. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Now that you’re here.”

Julian held fast to Camille’s hand, backed up a step and used the tip of his foot to drag the chair up. “I’m here for the duration,” he said, and sat down.

Claudette stepped closer to Tasha. “Let’s go get some coffee.”

Tasha nodded.

“Can we get you anything, Julian?” Claudette asked, guiding Tasha toward the door.

“Coffee. Strong and black.” Julian’s eyes never left Camille’s face.

“Julian…” Tasha stopped Claudette at the door. “Where’s Andre?”

“He’s around here somewhere. I think he stopped off at the restroom.”

“Okay.” Tasha blew out a sigh filled with relief. Not that she could explain it, but she felt better knowing Andre was close by. Maybe it had something to do with the remorse welling up inside her. She was happy and excited about Camille giving birth, but she couldn’t help thinking that she could be doing, or at least she could be close to doing the same thing—if fate hadn’t taken a nasty turn.

Claudette guided Tasha into the hallway. “You go wait there.” She pointed toward the waiting area a few feet away. “I’m sure Andre will find his way here. I’m going to the coffee shop. You want something?” She looked at Tasha, but didn’t wait for a response. “You’re getting hot chocolate. No coffee for you. You’re on edge enough as it is.”

“Okay,” Tasha said distantly, and proceeded toward the waiting area while rubbing her palms over the tweed skirt of her impeccably tailored sheath dress. She barely noticed Claudette disappearing into the elevator.

Stepping into the waiting area, Tasha looked around and then circled the large table in the center, taking note of the magazines strewn across the top.
Cosmetique
,
Elle, Essential Homme, Gala, Hades, I ‘Express
and
Le Figaro
layered the top of the pile. After a complete full circle, she did another half-circle before sitting in one of the chairs. Tasha gazed around the room at the dull, off-white walls. There was a picture of daisies in a couple of vases on the wall directly across from her. How the picture had been chosen to hang there, she hadn’t a clue. It wasn’t that it was ugly, but it wasn’t particularly appealing either. She pushed herself up and moved to the other side of the table, sitting beneath the picture. That way, she didn’t have to look at it.

Thoughts of Camille and the impending birth of her baby flittered through Tasha’s mind. The pregnancy had been an easy one. Camille’s biggest complaint had been weight gain. She had appeared rather uncomfortable during the last few weeks. But, let’s face it, Tasha thought, Camille was huge.

Tasha wondered how her pregnancy would’ve gone, if she hadn’t been subjected to fate’s cruel twist. Would she have gotten as big as Camille? And what was it like to give birth, anyway? Judging by Camille today, Tasha had to say it hurt. And probably a lot.

But that’d be okay. It was better than the alternative. She’d much rather bear the physical pain that came with childbirth rather than the emotional pain of miscarriage. Yes, bearing the physical pain was a much better option. Look at what she’d end up with. A precious baby born out of the love she shared with Andre. Tasha would give anything….

The tears had snuck up on her. She dropped her head into her hand and tried to stifle the tears that were hell-bent on escaping.

Firm hands gripped her upper arms. She knew in an instant that it was Andre, turned and fell into his embrace. His hug coaxed the pain from her and it came out in loud, vocal sobs.

“Why are you crying, mon trésor?” He reached into his jacket pocket and plucked out a handkerchief. “Is Camille okay?” he asked, dabbing at the tears on Tasha’s cheeks. She nodded. After another dab or two, Andre pulled her back into his arms. “I know…” he said. “On a day like this it’s hard not to take a detour down the road not taken.”

“I feel horrible,” Tasha mumbled through her tears.

“Why is that?”

“Because, Camille’s in there having her baby, and I’m out here feeling sorry for myself.”

Andre tightened his embrace. “Tasha, I don’t ever want you to feel guilty about mourning the loss of our child.” He backed her down onto the chair and sat in the one next to her, handing her his hankie.

“We’ve been trying for months, Andre.” She took the handkerchief and wiped her nose. “What if I never get pregnant again?”

“We’re not going to give up that easily.” He shot her a smile. “We’ll bring in the best fertility specialists known to man…if it comes to that.”

If it comes to that
. What if it did come to that? And what if the best out there couldn’t do a thing for Tasha?

T
asha leaned on Andre as they stood in front of the hospital’s nursery window. There in the front row, third from the left, was Juliana Renee de Laurent. The name Juliana was chosen for her father, and Renee was Tasha’s middle name.

The baby lay sleeping peacefully in her basinet, and Tasha couldn’t take her eyes off the tiny child. She looked like a miniature Julian, though her hair was more the color of her uncle Andre’s.

Andre nestled Tasha closer. “Isn’t our goddaughter beautiful?”

“Yes.” Tasha nodded. “Yes, she is.”

“She’s bound to bring us luck.”

If there was the slightest possibility of Juliana bringing them luck, then Tasha intended to stick to that baby like glue.

CHAPTER TWENTY

WHEN JULIANA WAS SIX WEEKS OLD, she’d gained nearly three pounds, weighing in now at ten pounds, twelve ounces. Her brown locks had turned darker and curled up, making her look more and more like Julian as each day passed. But her eyes, her eyes were all Camille, sparkling against her rosy cheeks like turquoise jewels.

Tasha glided into the nursery and sailed to the crib where Juliana was resting. She looked down at the baby and smiled. “Hi, baby girl.” She reached down and scooped up the baby. “Did you have a nice nap?”

Juliana raised her fist and giggled.

“I thought so.” Tasha bounced the baby gently in her arms. “You’re such a sweet girl. Your mommy and daddy are so lucky.”

“And Juliana is lucky to have an aunt who loves her as much as you.” Camille seemed to materialize at Tasha’s side.

Tasha looked at Camille, who had a full baby bottle in her hand, and then reluctantly handed over Juliana. Camille sat down in the rocking chair and slipped the bottle into Juliana’s mouth. The baby latched on and started sucking.

Tasha tidied up the changing station, then put the clean laundry away that’d been laid on the chest near the door. Normally, one of the maids would put it away, but Camille had given the staff strict orders not to disturb Juliana when she was sleeping. Instead, she’d instructed them to drop the laundry off by the door and come back later when the baby was awake.

“So how are you feeling?” Camille asked. “Do you think this month will be the month?”

“I should’ve started yesterday.”

“Sounds promising.”

“From your lips to God’s ears.” Tasha glanced at her watch before moving toward the door. “Hey you want to go into Marseilles with me tomorrow? I’m looking for a birthday present for Andre.”

“Oh, yes, his birthday is next week. Maybe you’ll have the best present of all for him.” Camille chuckled. “In the meantime, we’ll go into town and find him a nice Rolex or something.”

Moments after Tasha had left, Julian came in. He kissed Camille, then Juliana. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he beamed down at the two of them with a lingering gaze. Juliana was such a perfect little mix of Julian and Camille. Neither parent could help staring at the baby, mesmerized.

“I’m surprised Tasha’s not in here.” Julian sat down on the cushioned stool at Camille’s feet.