from Pain to Pleasure (Gainesville Book 1) (41 page)

Danielle hated to cry, but she couldn’t help it. When Sara hugged her, she clung to her and sobbed. She feared the pain meant something had gone wrong, but she was scared to ask.

Alex came to her from the other side and carefully put an arm around her shoulders. “Please don’t cry.” He kissed her temple. “Things look good. He’ll be fine.” He rubbed her belly. “Hicks boys are indestructible.” He chuckled. “I haven’t broken a bone in my life, and that says something.”

That lightened the mood. Danielle smiled. “Never?”

“Nope.” Alex pulled back and grinned at her. “Got a black eye a few times and lotsa stitches, but no broken bones.” He palmed her cheek. “Smile for me, beautiful? Please?”

She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. “I’m tired.”

“OK.” He kissed her forehead. “Get some rest.” When it was obvious she was asleep, he sat in a chair and exhaled loudly. “I hate lyin’ to her.” He scrubbed his face over his hands. “They said it’s a 50/50 chance she’ll hold the baby till 24 weeks. Dr. Greene said they usually do this earlier. She needs to make it to 36 for him to be healthy.”

Sara carried a chair over to Alex and sat down. “They can do amazing things nowadays. 24 weeks is enough time.” She took one of his hands in hers. “He’ll survive. You need to believe it.”

“Something go wrong?” Mary rushed into the room when she saw her son was upset.

Alex sniffled and wiped away his tears. “No. I’m just— It’s all good. She’s doing fine.”

“You sure?” His mother swiped at a tear at the corner of his eye.

He nodded. “She’s hurting, though.” His eyes drifted to the bed. “It’s gonna be a rough week.”

“We’ll be here to help.” Marie walked into the room.

Logan trailed her. He wanted to help as well, but he was annoyed at Marie. The night before she left him to go to a bar. He knew she didn’t come home until the morning, but she wouldn’t tell him where she was. All she told him was, “I was out.” He shook his head and tried to stay focused.

“Just tell me what you need,” Logan said as he stopped next to Alex. He laid a hand on his shoulder. “How about we go talk?”

Alex nodded and got to his feet. “Mom, can you help Danielle eat when her food comes?”

“Sure.” Mary sat in his chair. “Dad’s parking the rental.”

Logan led Alex to an empty waiting room for families. They sat, and he watched. He expected Alex to rant about what was in his head. Since he stayed silent, he asked, “Did you sleep?”

“Sorta.” Alex shrugged. “They have her on some heavy drugs, so she barely moved. I just held her and took naps.” He hung his head and fisted his hair. “My kid can’t die. He just can’t.”

Since he knew Alex well, Logan squeezed his shoulder. “He won’t. The doctors know what they’re doing.” What else could he say? “Did you talk to Nathan?”

“No.”

“Maybe you should.” Logan sighed. “If you can’t talk to me, maybe you can talk to him.”

Alex shook his head. “He doesn’t need this crap on his shoulders.”

“Then tell me. Tell me whatever.”

“OK.”

“You sure you don’t want me to go?” Alex stood in his room and stared at Danielle. “It’s just practice.”

She frowned. “You’re not going.” Sara and Marie planned to take her to pick out a wedding dress while Alex went to the first spring practice. “You can’t see my dress before the wedding.” She rubbed her stomach and sighed. “And how would it look if you ditched after you get second string?”

“Yeah. I know.” Alex looked over at Sara, who sat at his desk. “At least you won’t be alone.”

Marie burst into the room. “I’m not late. Right?”

“No.” Sara tried not to laugh at her overprotective baby brother. “Alex has been trying to weasel his way into our girls’ evening.”

Danielle sat on his bed and laughed. “Go to practice.”

“OK. Fine.” He leaned down and kissed her lips softly. “Please take it easy, and sit when you feel tired.”

He was worried. Although since the surgery, things had gone smoothly. She was almost at 26 weeks, so she was past the danger zone. They hoped the cerclage would hold for at least 10 more weeks. He hadn’t been away from her since the hospital. It killed him to let her go. He stood between her legs and threaded his fingers through her hair.
So beautiful
. He couldn’t help but grin.

“Call me if anything happens.” His expression turned serious. “Anything.”

She nodded as much as his hands allowed. “I will. Promise I’ll take it easy. Sara and Marie won’t let me overdo it.”

“You know I’m a tyrant,” Marie chimed in. She was. Anytime Danielle showed the slightest distress, Marie forced her to lie down. “Dr. Greene said four hours. We’re going to stick to it.”

Alex and Marie even had classmates watch out for Danielle’s well-being. She had a crate in each class to put her feet on. Whenever she had to leave a class because of pain or exhaustion, someone walked with her to meet Alex, Marie or Logan. They took turns missing class. She was grateful but felt like they ran her life at times.

“OK.” Alex sighed. “I’ll go.”

Gary stuck his head into the room. “You ready, Hicks? We gotta go.” He ogled the three women while he bit his bottom lip. Too bad they were all hands-off.

“Yeah.” Alex kissed Danielle’s lips one more time. “Text me if you get back before me. Love you.” Another kiss to her forehead.

She smiled and patted his hip. “Love you, too. I’ll be fine.” She waited until he left to stand. “OK, girls. Let’s get this over with before I change my mind about wearing a dress.”

Marie frowned. “Why wouldn’t you?”

Eyes on the floor, Danielle softly replied, “The scars. I don’t want people to see them.”

“Oh.” Marie quickly hugged her. “We’ll find something that covers them.” She understood Danielle did not want pity. “Wedding gowns are long, so we just have to worry about your back.”

Danielle glanced at Sara. “And my chest.”

“Nothing wrong with showing cleavage.” Sara sighed. “Sorry. I forgot. How about lace? I can modify any gown you pick.”

Marie grinned. “That’s so cool. Lace would work if the pattern is just right.” She winked. “And stockings. I hear Alex loves stockings.”

“Oh, God!” Danielle regretted that she told Marie about Alex’s obsession with the black stockings. “You weren’t supposed to announce that.”

Sara laughed. “You think we didn’t hear you that night? Me and Nathan were giggling about it on the boat.” Her room was on one side of Alex’s, and Nathan’s was on the other. “I knew my baby brother was a stud, but damn!”

“You haven’t heard anything.” Marie burst out laughing. “One morning they were fucking for hours. Alex gets real loud. Sexy as hell too. All that muscle, tattoos and that big di—” She slapped a hand over her own mouth.

Her cheeks red; Sara broke the silence. “Guess you guys are all real close.”

“Marie forgets that Alex is mine some days.” Danielle glared at her. “Only mine.”

“Sorry.” Marie wished she could let her Alex obsession go. “You know I won’t step over the line.” Some days, she wondered if jealousy made the yearning worse. Not that she wanted a committed relationship like they had, but maybe something more? She shook her head. “OK. No more Alex talk.”

* * *

Less than 30 minutes later, Danielle looked around the bridal shop in awe. Marie had chosen well. There were hundreds of dresses to choose from. She didn’t know where to start. Thankfully, a woman walked their way.

“Welcome. I’m Isabella. So who’s the lucky bride?”

Sara grinned and pointed to Danielle. “She is.”

“Ah.” Isabella tapped her chin. “So we need a maternity dress. We have a good selection of those. Follow me.”

After she had tried on 20 dresses, Danielle felt defeated. “They all show off too much.” The one she had on was sleeveless.

“If you would let me see, I could help you find one.” Isabella didn’t understand why Danielle wouldn’t open the dressing room door.

Danielle sniffled. “You can’t look.”

“Honey.” Sara stood outside the door. “Let one of us see. No one will look at…” Her voice softened. “At your scars.”

Nervously, Danielle unlocked the door. Her watery eyes met Sara’s. “I look so ugly.”

“No, you don’t.” Sara stood behind her and stared at the mirror. “You’re gorgeous.” She pulled her dark hair away from her face. The blonde was gone. “Let’s find something with sleeves and a higher back.” She left the room to help find a few more options.

Danielle took off the dress and hung it up before she sat down. Her emotions were all over the place. She was afraid she would never find the right dress. Absently, she wrung her fingers, as she fought a new round of tears.

“This is it!” Sara cried out. After she had knocked softly, she entered the oversized dressing room. “It’s perfect. The lace is going to blend so well.”

Danielle stood. She was unsure, but she didn’t want to burst Sara’s bubble. They worked together to shimmy the dress over her swollen belly. It didn’t seem tight. There was just a lot of fabric.

Sara stepped back and gasped. “Oh, my. That’s even more amazing than I expected.” She checked the midsection. “Enough room for you to grow.” She ran a fingertip along the plunging neckline. “Red lace?”

Suddenly, Danielle’s eyes lit up. “Alex would love that!”

As she walked around Danielle, ideas flooded Sara’s head. “We can change the buttons to red too. And I can add a red train if you want.” The dress was meant to be knee length, but with Danielle’s short stature, it was almost ankle-length. “Black stockings and red shoes. Oh, my God. Alex is gonna pass out.” She met Danielle’s finally excited eyes. “Can we show them? Please?”

“OK.” She
was
excited, but also scared the lace wouldn’t cover everything. With her eyes closed, she let Sara lead her into the main room.

Gasps and shouts of, “Wow,” surprised her. She looked up. Everyone stared, slack-jawed. Their eyes told her they agreed with Sara.

“Alex is gonna flip.” Marie covered her mouth.

Isabella moved forward. “You’ll be a beautiful bride.”

Sara showed everyone where her modifications would go. “Imagine red lace here and here. Then maybe red bows around the bottom edge. What d’ you think?”

“I can see it.” Marie smiled. “Wow. This is gonna be some wedding.”

Isabella clapped her hands. “Looks like we have a winner. Now, how about your dresses, girls?” She smiled at Sara and Marie. “Which of you is the maid of honor?”

“Um…” Danielle hadn’t thought of that. “Well…”

Marie put a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to go with tradition.”

“Alex is torn between asking Nathan and Logan.” Danielle didn’t think anyone would want to stand up for her. “I don’t know what to do.”

Sara told her, “Nathan would understand if Alex chose Logan. Just remember one thing. With the traditional reception my mom is planning, whoever you choose will be paired up with who he chooses all day.”

“Right.” Danielle had seen weddings on television. “Then Marie and Logan would make more sense. They’re a huge part of our lives.”

Marie had tears in her eyes. “You were going to ask me?”

“I was afraid to.” Danielle called her a friend but also had trouble trusting her. “Would you?”

“Of course!” Marie had thought she already asked one of Alex’s sisters. She turned to Sara. “So then, Sara and Carol will be bridesmaids?”

Danielle’s eyes widened. “I don’t know how any of this works.”

“That sounds perfect.” Sara smiled. “Three on each side.”

“Wait.” Danielle sighed. “What about Gary?”

Sara looked up. “Did you invite any of your family?”

“Hell no!” Danielle’s eyes drifted to the floor. “Sorry. No one ever helped me. I never want to see anyone but my grandma again, but that’s complicated.”

Marie suddenly grinned. “I know a job Gary would love.” Her expression turned devious. “He can escort all the single ladies and be everyone’s dance partner. Imagine that hot body in a tux. Mm-mm. Love those dreads.” Everyone laughed. “What? You don’t think he’s hot?”

“Well…” Danielle blushed. “He’s sweet and handsome.” She had looked at him more times than she would admit.

* * *

On the practice field, Alex used all his frustration to knock dummies around and almost broke records with how fast he finished drills. He panted and was sweaty as hell after just 30 minutes. After a drink, he went back for more. He hoped to relieve the stress. It worked quite well.

When they set up for a short scrimmage, he was glad they switched positions. He looked across the line at Gary and gulped. Although Alex was strong, Gary was bigger. Seconds later, Alex channeled the pain and angst from the last few months and ran at Gary. He knocked Gary on his ass.

“Shit, man.” Gary laughed. “What’d you do? Pretend I was Brian?”

Alex shrugged and gave his friend a hand to get up. “Kinda. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Nah.” Gary gave him one of his famous smiles. Women loved his grin. “Beat on me all you like. Glad you’re finally letting it out.” He had watched Alex hover over Danielle like a mother hen for months, terrified for her.

With a sigh, Alex frowned. “Yeah. Guess I been preoccupied.” He had kept to working out, but he didn’t talk much. “Hitting things does help. The complications are… well… complicated.” He didn’t want Gary to know he hadn’t had sex in more than a month.

“Back to the line!” Coach Smith yelled.

They ran a few more plays. Then the first string players opposed second string for several more plays. Alex was glad to get back to something familiar. Running was his thing. His shoulders were a bit sore. Gary had not gone easy on him. It took a few downs, but Alex scored. He glanced to the mostly empty stands and wished Danielle were there.

“You OK?” Gary asked Alex as they headed to the locker room.

Alex nodded. “I’ll be fine.” He was silent until they undressed. “You think you can spot me?”

“Money?” Gary’s face screwed up. He knew Alex was well off.

With a chuckle, Alex replied, “No. I wanna work out a bit more.”

“Seriously? Ain’t you already sore?”

Alex sighed. “Yeah, but I wanna be exhausted when I get back, so I’m too tired to want her.” With the stitches inside Danielle, he had avoided sex, terrified to hurt her. He felt like he was about to explode. Even jacking off several times a day no longer gave him relief.