For His Pleasure: The Boxed Set, Books 1-6 (For His Pleasure, For His Taking, For His Keeping, For His Honor, For His Trust, For His Forever) (76 page)

Red took a plate of leftovers out of the fridge. “I don’t know about her,” he muttered, placing the leftovers on the counter and taking off the foil.

Nicole walked closer, trying to gauge his mood. He wasn’t happy, that was for sure. “Did she do something, say something?”

He shrugged. “She’s just weird.”

“Weird how?”

“I don’t know. I’m just saying. I told you from the beginning that it wasn’t such a great idea to have her stay here.”

Nicole felt her stomach somersault. “What did you do?”

“What did I do?” He looked at her like she was crazy. “You know what, it’s late and I’m pretty tired. Just forget the whole conversation.”

She tapped her fingers on the counter. “You brought it up. I’m just trying to understand why the two of you came home acting so strangely.”

Red just shook his head. “I’m not acting strangely, Nicole. I think you’re jumping on me for no reason.”

“It’s not no reason.”

“What, because I drank a beer with Kane? It was a party. And I didn’t even want to go to it in the first place.”

She wanted to accuse him. She wanted to tell him that it was bizarre how they came in not even speaking to one another, acting so guilty, as if something had happened.

Something they probably both regretted immediately afterward.

But Nicole didn’t say any of those things. The headache had returned and her stomach was upset now. She decided to just go back to bed and try to do what Red advised, and forget the whole conversation—no, forget the whole night—had even happened.

***

When Nicole woke up the next morning, she felt like a new person. She wondered if it was possible that she’d actually been temporarily insane or something, because the things she’d been thinking were just crazy.

She ran her fingers through Red’s curly dark hair and he stirred, finally waking up. “Hey,” he said, smiling at her, and rolling onto his back.

“I’m sorry about last night,” she purred, burying her head in his chest. “I was being hormonal again.”

He laughed. His hand stroked her hair and rubbed her back. “I’m sorry I was being testy. I just got annoyed because Kallie ended up meeting some guy at the party and then apparently he punched somebody.”

“What?” Nicole sat up. “Who punched somebody?”

Red laughed. “Please, don’t bring any of this up to Kallie. She asked me not to tell you because she was embarrassed. I just heard that there was an altercation and it had something to do with Kallie and this guy she was hanging out with last night.”

“That’s really strange.”

“She’s young and probably she’s been sheltered her whole life. Suddenly, she’s living in New York and meeting all these new, exciting people. Of course she’s going to do some stupid stuff.”

“True. But I honestly didn’t see her as that wild child type.”

Red shrugged. “She certainly got wild last night.”

Nicole sighed. “I really like her. I hope I’m not wrong about her, too.”

“What do you mean, her too? Who else have you been wrong about?”

“Let’s not go there. Too many people to count.”

Red chuckled again. “I think you’re a great judge of character. I mean, look who you chose for a husband. That’s some good judging right there.”

Nicole smiled at him, then, because she realized that last night’s fears really had been nothing more than paranoia and insecurity on her part. Red loved her, she could tell by the way he was looking at her right now—she knew it with every fiber of her being.

He slid out of bed and padded to the bathroom, yawning, and she watched him scratching his shoulder, as he shuffled and closed the door behind him. She could almost imagine him as the old man he’d one day become, and she loved him even more somehow for that—for his humanness.

When she’d first met him, Red had been completely foreign, out of reach, strange and unattainable. Now she reflected on the fact that she knew him better than anybody in the world, and he’d opened himself completely to her.

Nicole sat up in bed and slowly swung her legs over the edge. Her feet struck the floor. She looked down at them and noticed they seemed unusually swollen. She knew that it was normal for feet to swell during pregnancy, and certainly hers already had, but this was different.

She told herself she was just being paranoid again.

Nicole gathered herself and then stood, a task that was becoming more and more of an effort lately. When she stood up, something strange happened.

She started seeing spots in her vision. “Shit,” she said, to nobody in particular.

There was a sensation of vertigo again, and then her head started to pound instantly, as if someone had taken a mallet and smashed her in the face with it.

She stood there, swaying for a time, and closed her eyes.

“Hey, Nic! Nicole, what’s wrong?” Red cried, coming out of the bathroom and seeing her frozen in place, head bowed.

“I don’t feel so good,” she moaned.

“Tell me what’s going on.” He was instantly beside her, holding her, lowering Nicole back to the bed where she sat with him as he rubbed her back.

“Something’s wrong,” she cried.

“What is it?”

Nicole could hear the anxiety in his voice, even though he was trying to be calm for them both.

“I’ve been getting headaches and dizzy spells. My stomach’s been hurting.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? How long has this been going on?”

“I didn’t want to think anything bad was happening.”

“Okay. Come on, we’re going to see Dr. Rosen right away.”

Nicole nodded miserably. She put her hand on her stomach and tried not to sob as the fear and desperation overcame her.

***

The drive to the doctor’s office had been tense and quiet, with Red making lame attempts to keep things light and calm, but failing to do so. They were both petrified of losing the baby, and neither of them could pretend otherwise.

At the hospital, they were immediately seen by Dr. Rosen, who did her best to reassure them. But when Nicole described her symptoms, the doctor grew concerned.

“There’s swelling in the extremities, what we call edema,” the doctor said, examining Nicole’s hands. “It’s basically an excess of fluid in any body part.”

“What does it mean?” Nicole asked, her heart racing.

“It can mean different things—I don’t want to speak to soon.” The doctor began touching Nicole’s cheeks and sliding her fingers above and beneath Nicole’s eyes. “I think I’m detecting some swelling around your eyes as well.”

Nicole glanced at Red who tried to smile at her and let her know it was okay. His arms were folded and his jaw was tight, though—she could read him like a book and he was extremely worried.

Dr. Rosen took Nicole’s vitals—she took her blood pressure twice without saying a word, then listened to her breathing, moving the stethoscope around her chest and back for alarming lengths of time.

“Hear anything funny?” Nicole joked in a high-pitched voice.

Dr. Rosen didn’t even answer. She then listened to Nicole’s stomach, moving the stethoscope from place to place, and looking particularly attentive.

Finally, the doctor sat up straight and looked at them both. “We need to test Nicole’s urine for protein, but right now I suspect her symptoms are due to preeclampsia—which is a condition that is fairly common, but needs to be monitored.”

“Is the baby okay?” Nicole asked, her hands tightening into fists.

Dr. Rosen nodded. “I detected a heartbeat, everything seems normal on that front.

Your blood pressure is elevated, although not alarmingly so, but due to the symptoms you described and the edema, I’m concerned enough that I’m recommending a combination of bed rest and minimal activity. You can spend a little time each day up and about, very light walking, but absolutely nothing even remotely strenuous or stressful.”

Nicole licked her lips. “So the baby is fine, though.”

“Yes. And we aim to keep it that way.”

“So what’s next?” Red asked.

“We’re going to get that urine test and have a look at the protein levels to make sure, but I suspect we’ll find that there’s significant protein in your urine.” Dr. Rosen looked at them both and smiled, her face relaxing. “Now, I’m not trying to alarm you.

This is a fairly common condition. However, it does need to be monitored carefully and if there’s any progression in symptoms, we may have to deliver early.”

“Really?” Red asked, startled.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” Dr. Rosen said. “Right now, I don’t see that as a very likely possibility. What I want you to do is pick up a blood pressure monitor at the pharmacy—you can get them for fifty bucks. Take Nicole’s blood pressure a few times a day, once in the morning, once at night, and another time in between. I’d like you to email me the results at the end of the week so I can see how she’s doing, and tell me any other notable symptoms or concerns.”

“We really appreciate you taking that extra step,” Red told her.

“That’s my job,” Dr. Rosen said. “We’ll set up another appointment for the next couple of weeks to get you back in here and check on your progress.”

Nicole nodded and felt her eyes fill with tears. Dr. Rosen put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ve got a good handle on this, Nicole. Just try and relax, rest, let Red do the heavy lifting. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered, trying to smile.

The doctor had Nicole go to the nearby bathroom and give a urine sample. When she came back, Dr. Rosen once again went over the plan and told them not to worry too much, how typical this was, yada yada.

Finally, Nicole and Red left the office together, holding hands. They walked very slowly together, heading to the elevators to go home.

***

When they got home, Red immediately set about making Nicole as comfortable as possible. When Kallie came downstairs, they explained to her what had occurred and she immediately offered to help with everything and anything they needed.

Red told her that wasn’t necessary, but Nicole was heartened to see that Kallie was already making it her personal mission to pick up the slack around the house.

Nicole retired to her room and slept for a while. When she woke, Kallie came in and asked if she was hungry, which she was. Nicole told her that a grilled cheese sounded good, and a few minutes later, Kallie came back with a perfectly toasted sandwich. The cheese was gooey and the bread was buttery and Nicole remarked that it was probably the best one she’d ever had.

Not long after that, Red came and took her blood pressure. “One forty over ninety-five,” he said.

“That’s high,” Nicole responded. “Don’t let me see the numbers anymore. The more nervous I get, the higher it’s probably going to go.”

He nodded. “What else do you need right now?”

“Nothing. Just you. You’re helping a lot by taking care of me.”

He stroked her hair. “I know everything’s going to be fine,” he said.

She nodded but couldn’t meet his eyes. For some reason, Nicole didn’t share his convictions.

For the rest of the day, she stayed in bed and watched a series of awful reality TV

shows, talk shows like Jerry Springer and Doctor Oz, and then a terrible movie that was so bad she didn’t even bother to find out what it was called. Nicole drifted in and out of sleep, having restless semi-nightmares where she was being poked and prodded by the doctor and one where she delivered the baby under water and couldn’t fight her way to the surface.

She woke up gasping for breath, and Kallie was standing next to the bed. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked Nicole, alarmed.

“Yes. Just had a nightmare.” Nicole slid up in bed to a sitting position.

“I came in to see if you wanted another glass of water.”

“Yes, please.”

Kallie grabbed the empty glass from the bedside table. She returned a few minutes later. “Red’s downstairs in his office doing some work. He told me to let you know that he was around if you need him.”

“I’m sorry you ended up having to babysit me today,” Nicole said, taking the fresh glass of water and drinking gratefully from it. “This wasn’t planned, just so you know.”

Kallie laughed. “I’m happy to help out. After all, if you hadn’t come and picked me up the other day, I’d probably still be wandering the mean streets of East Hampton right now.”

“You’ve more than made up for it, Kallie. I really appreciate your kindness.”

Kallie looked down at her. “Same here. You’ve been kind of like a sister to me.”

The admission seemed to embarrass her. “Sorry, I get super cheesy and emotional sometimes. I didn’t mean to go all dramatic on you.”

Nicole laughed. “I never had a sister either, so…maybe it’s good fortune we met when we did.”

Shortly after Kallie left the room, Red came in carrying his laptop and some files.

“Hey there, beautiful,” he said, grinning.

“This looks official,” Nicole said, as he put the stuff down on the bed and leaned in to kiss her.

“It is. Very official business. I realized that I actually do need to get some work done while we’re here, but I also want to be with my wife. This is what’s called a good old-fashioned compromise.” He pulled himself up to the headboard and sat with his back against it, the computer propped up on his lap.

“That looks like fun.”

He glanced at her. “Do you need anything?” He peered over and saw that she had a full glass of water. “Hungry?”

“I think Kallie’s going to fix dinner soon.”

He whistled through his teeth. “She’s really running a tight ship around here. I have to say, I’m kind of impressed.”

Nicole nodded. “It’s like she anticipates my every need. She’s so helpful and sweet and—“

“And maybe she should stay on for awhile,” Red finished.

Nicole looked over at him. “I thought you said having her around was a bad idea.”

“I’ve been wrong before,” he replied, pecking away at his laptop.

It was funny how slow he typed for a man of his abilities and achievements.

Nicole found it rather adorable.

“You’ve been wrong before? You don’t say.”

“I do. I do say, actually.” He smiled at her. “What do you think about it?”