Guardian Angel (22 page)

"I think you just raised the lady's blood pressure." Dr. Matthews made some notations on Alex's chart. "I'll see you later, Mrs. Page."

"Alex, please."

"All right, Alex, I'll be in later. Don't hesitate to ring for the nurse if you feel any pain. Mr. Templeton." He nodded in Jared's direction, then left.

Jared took the chair he had sat in the night before and leaned over to cradle Alex's face between his palms.

She smiled up at him. "I'm glad to see you went home to get some rest," she said softly, reaching up to caress his freshly shaven cheek.

His hands tightened on her face. "Alex, do you realize you could have been killed with that fool stunt," he said fiercely. "You and our baby could have died. God, what would I have done without you?" he demanded hoarsely. In those words, he told her who mattered most in his life.

Her eyes filled with tears. "I couldn't let him kill you, Jared," she cried softly. "And not because it's my job either."

"Oh, Alex," he groaned, resting his forehead on hers and rubbing gently. "Why didn't you tell me about the baby? You've known for quite a while, haven't you?" he accused her.

She nodded. "I didn't know how to tell you," she con
fessed.

He drew back slightly and looked as if he couldn't believe his ears. "One way is to just say, 'Jared, we're having a baby.' See how easy that is?"

"I'm the one having the baby," she argued, her old self already returning.

He smiled, not put out by her retort. "I had a hand in this too, you know," he informed her.

"She's my baby," Alex maintained stubbornly.

Jared smiled mysteriously as he rested his hand on her abdomen. "Let's just say you're keeping him safe right now."

Alex would have argued further, but a sudden move
ment sent waves of pain through her body.

Jared's face contorted as if he shared her pain. "Do you want something for the pain?"

She shook her head. "No," she said hoarsely. "I've taken up enough of your time lately and I do appreciate the flowers. You don't need to feel you have to come here. I know how busy you are."

"I wish you were well enough so I could practice a few judo throws on you," he said darkly. "Get this straight, Alex Page, I'm here because I want to be, not because I feel I have to. Don't you realize how much you mean to me?" He would have said more, but a commotion outside stopped his words.

"I don't care who you are, young woman, I came to see my daughter and that's what I intend to do," a deep voice roared.

"Oh, damn," Alex groaned, closing her eyes. "Now I do feel sick."

The tall, lean, dark-haired man dressed in a naval admi
ral's uniform stalked into the room. A pair of dark green eyes very much like Alex's raked over Jared with merciless ease, then swung around to her.

"That was pretty stupid to get shot like that," he rasped, approaching the bed. "You look like hell."

"Jared, this is my father, Admiral Theodore Hayden," she said dryly. "Dad, Jared Templeton."

"So you're the one who got her shot." Even his normal voice resembled a bellow.

"No, I'm the one who would have stood in her way if I had known what was going to happen," Jared replied in an even voice, a danger sign in itself that his temper was beginning to boil.

Alex settled back. She had an idea this was going to be a show to enjoy.

Her father turned to her. "Your mother is on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of you. I told her she was better off staying in D.C. taking her tranquilizers than coming out here and having hysterics. I was in Switzer
land attending a conference and I can tell you that this piece of news didn't help my concentration any."

"I'm sure Alex will more than compensate for her thoughtless behavior once she's on her feet." Jared's words were liberally coated with acid.

"It's going to hit the fan any moment now," Alex mur
mured to herself.

"Alex was better off in the navy!" the admiral roared. "At least there she wasn't getting shot at!"

"Except for that time at Pearl when I helped bust that drug ring," she spoke up. "The lead really flew then." All of a sudden she was feeling a great deal better.

"You be quiet!" her father ordered.

"Admiral Hayden, I suggest you remember this is a hospital and not a ship filled with midshipmen," Jared said icily. "If you can't treat my fiancée with the respect due her, then you better leave."

Admiral Hayden's eyes bulged and his face grew even redder while Alex looked just as stunned.

"Alex isn't the kind of woman who would be considered the ideal wife and mother," the admiral answered arro
gantly.

Alex's eyes flew to Jared, silently pleading with him not to tell her father about the baby. Her stomach was already churning under the forces swirling between the two men. She figured a combination of her weakened state and her pregnancy was lending to her low mental energy.

"If you cared to know your daughter better, Admiral, you'd discover Alex has changed over the years," Jared stated coolly. "As this show of temper isn't helping her recovery any and I'm sure you're weary from your long flight, I'll put my car and driver at your disposal." He smoothly guided a still blustering naval admiral out of the room.

Alex could only lay there fighting the urge to laugh. She had never thought she'd be privileged to watch her father outwitted. She was still chuckling when Jared returned.

"Poor Frank." Her voice was filled with mirth.

"Are you sure he's not a spy for the marines?" He collapsed in a chair.

Alex now sobered. "Jared, I realize that my father may not be the warmest man in the world, but did you have to lie to him like that?"

A puzzled frown creased his forehead. "What lie?"

"About our being engaged."

"But we are, darling," he said matter-of-factly, then looked down at his watch. "Damn! I have a meeting with those London bankers in an hour." He stood up and walked over to the bed and leaned over to drop a hard kiss on her lips. "I'll be by this evening, love," he murmured, caressing her with his eyes. "Just be a good girl, do what the doctor says, and you'll be out in no time."

"We have to talk about this," she said desperately.

"Later." He silenced her protests with another kiss and left.

Alex didn't lack for visitors that afternoon between Chris and Dena stopping by for short periods of time. Her father had also returned, this time more subdued.

"Do you think marriage might work out for you this time?" he asked her.

"There's an element of risk in anything you do," she hedged, then was relieved to see Dena walk in and the conversation ended.

Jared hadn't come by the time visiting hours were over and Alex found herself missing him. She suddenly needed to see his solid form, to have some reassurance that he cared for her. Even if it wasn't love, she'd take what she could get just now. She knew only that she needed him.

The next morning the IV tubes were taken out and she was allowed a light breakfast.

"Got to keep Baby well fed," Sheri said cheerfully, placing the tray in front of Alex.

Alex eyed her meal suspiciously. "I hate poached eggs."

"Soft food is better for a stomach that hasn't seen food in a while," she told her, then left her alone with her breakfast.

"Pregnant women need hearty meals, not baby food," Alex muttered to herself.

"I heartily agree."

She looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. "Jared!" She was so happy to see him she held her arms out in greeting. Once cradled in his arms, she pleaded, "Please, tell them this isn't enough. I'll starve here!"

"I think this is the last place that would let you starve." His shoulders shook with suppressed laughter as he looked down and surveyed her soft-boiled egg and cooked cereal. "That looks terrible!"

"Tell me about it." Alex wrinkled her nose.

Jared sat on the edge of the bed and kept hold of her hands. "I see you've been set free." He referred to the IV tubes.

"Do you think you could smuggle in a candy bar for me? Something caramel and lots of peanuts?" she begged.

"No," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her nose then farther down to her mouth. Just before it could deepen, he drew back. "I brought you something," he said casually, reaching into his jacket pocket and bringing out a small jeweler's box.

Alex froze, her eyes focused on the box even as Jared flipped it open to reveal a marquise emerald ring with a sparkling diamond on each side.

"I always felt diamonds were too cold for engagement rings," Jared said quietly. "I borrowed your opal ring for the size." He picked up her left hand, but before he could slide it on the appropriate finger, Alex jerked her hand away. He looked up, clearly not happy with her reaction. He waited for an explanation.

"No," she said hoarsely, shivering, but not from any chill. "I won't let you do this."

"You don't have any choice in the matter, Alex," he informed her in his steel-edged voice. "The wedding will take place just as soon as the doctor feels you're well enough."

"No!" There were tears glistening in her eyes. She didn't want another marriage that didn't have love on both sides.

"Yes!" Jared roared, jumping to his feet and pacing the floor. "Stop acting like a child, Alex. You've tried my patience long enough over this."

"You never had any patience!" she argued.

"Not when it comes to you!"

"I won't have you marry me just because of the baby." Her voice choked off on the last word. "You wouldn't have to worry that I'd deny you your child, but we can't get married just because of that."

Jared spun around. "Is that what you think? That I'm marrying you because of the baby?"

"Why else would you marry me?" Alex asked wearily. Arguing with Jared had become so tiring lately.

"Probably because I love you!"

The words may have been shouted at her, but the sincer
ity was there. Alex stared at him, praying she hadn't misunderstood him. "You love me?"

He walked back over to the bed and sat on the edge. Alex went willingly into his arms and burrowed her face in his neck, inhaling his masculine scent. His hands stroked her spine and moved up to wrap around her neck.

"Oh, Alex," he sighed. "You're stubborn, a bit of a shrew, and you could throw me across this room if you felt better, but for someone who has been in naval intelligence, you can be so dense at times. I've been attracted to you ever since you began working for me and I've been in love with you ever since the night you caught that mugger."

A wistful smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "You fell in love with my physical prowess?" she teased.

He shook his head and lifted her hand to slide the ring on her finger, then raised it to his lips. Grinning, he nib
bled on her fingertips. "I admit I've had my share of women over the years, but I finally realized I had nothing to show for my life. I wanted a wife and family and I wanted to lead a normal life." He smiled wryly. "Oh, I admit you were the last person I expected to fall in love with, but I didn't have a chance. It didn't take me long to know you were the only woman I wanted in my life." He slid his lips over each finger, bringing a familiar heat to Alex's body. "You were spitting fire at me that evening for putting Simpson in his place, and I decided then that I wanted you even if you yelled at me like that for the next fifty years." He shook his head in wonder. "Something tells me our marriage will not be quiet and uneventful."

"You never told me before that you love me," she mur
mured, caressing his lean cheek with her free hand. "And here I thought I was suffering from unrequited love."

Jared's eyes lit up. "Are you sure?" he asked huskily.

She grinned. "As sure as I'm pregnant."

His eyes darkened with remembered pain. "I swear, if you ever pull a stunt like last week again, I'll beat you," he rasped, pulling her into his arms. "It's been hell this past week, Alex; they couldn't reassure me that you'd recover completely. I even told the doctor to do anything to keep you safe, even if it meant taking the baby."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she whispered, rubbing her cheek against his.

"I should have recognized the signs," he berated him
self. "If I had known you were pregnant, you wouldn't have gone on that trip." His voice roughened with emo
tion. "I was afraid to leave you, Alex. I was so afraid that if I left here, you wouldn't wake up."

"Oh, Jared," she breathed, not bothering to brush away her tears.

His embrace was urgent yet mindful of her injury. "The media say I'm one of the most powerful men in the coun
try, but not one cent of my money or any of my so-called power could take your pain away. I never felt so damn helpless!" he choked out.

Alex's new insight into Jared tore at her heart. Was the dampness on her face from her tears or his?

"I don't suppose you'll let me continue as your body
guard," she mused thoughtfully.