Page 11 of Loyal
I shrug. “Or maybe it’s finally over. I mean, I’m a decade older than him with more baggage than an airline. What can I possibly offer him?”
Gina snorts. “I don’t know. Bomb-ass blow jobs. A tight-ass pussy? Or maybe the awesome personality you have. You are funny, kind, and sweet. You care about people more than you should. You are a real fucking catch. What you can offer him is all of yourself. Every single bit of it. The question is, are you willing to do that?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I need to go check on my girl in three and then take some more meds for this killer headache.”
“You gotta start taking better care of yourself,” Gina mumbles as I walk away.
Don’t I know it.
I quickly head into room three, smiling when I see the beautiful mother lying in bed with her husband at her side, holding her hand.
“How are we doing, Mama?” I ask.
“I am in pain, but I know it will be worth it when I hold my baby,” she says through clenched teeth.
“I’m going to check your dilation.” I slip on my gloves and go about doing my check. “Only an eight. A little bit longer. Hang in there,” I tell her.
She doesn’t respond as I move to throw my gloves away and wash my hands. I listen as her husband whispers encouragement to her.
I wonder if Loyal would be like that. Lord knows Billy wasn’t. He brought pizza to my room and ate it in front of me and then fell asleep. The nurse “accidentally” dropped something on him to wake him up. Even then, he was barely present mentally for the birth of our daughter.
Billy wants to talk shit about Loyal for being part of the Lotus MC? I’ve met one before. Years ago a woman gave birth, and by her side was a man with a familiar patch. He was also the vice president of their club. He took such good care of the woman the entire time they were here. It left an impression on me.
I wonder what happened to him and how Loyal got his position. Maybe he was promoted. Then again, he could also be dead.
The thought scares me, but not enough for me to write off Loyal. He has brought me joy in my darkest times. How can I toss that away so easily?
My answer comes in the form of a bouquet of damn near one hundred red roses at the nurses’ station.
“Delivery for you,” Gina tells me, handing me the card she obviously already read. “The man has it bad for you. If you feel the same, then grip it with both hands.”
She walks away as I read the card.
In his handwriting, it says:
Sami Mami,
You were right. I was wrong. Please forgive me and give me another chance. I won’t screw it up this time. I promise.
Love,
Loyal
My heart skips at him using the Spanish version of “mom” to refer to me. It’s something he has been doing more and more.I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first, but I like that he has a nickname for me. I like even more that it’s drawn from his own heritage. It’s like he is pulling me in deeper.
I can’t resist the man.
“I’m going to the restroom. Can you watch three for me for a minute?” I ask Anna, one of the other nurses.
She nods, going back to charting.
I slide my phone out of my purse before I sneak into a closet down the hall and dial his number.
“I wasn’t sure you’d call,” Loyal answers.
“I wasn’t sure I would either. I got the flowers. A bit over the top, but I love them. Thank you.”
“I tried sending the whole flower shop, but the woman behind the counter told me that it would be overkill. She said fifty roses, so we settled on one hundred.”
