She nodded, guessing he was uncomfortable and probably needed his space. But the last thing she wanted at this moment was for him to leave. She was scared that something would go wrong with the labor or that Donovan wouldn't get back in time to be by her side when she delivered.
"Where are you going?"
"Just down the hall. I want to call my parents," Donovan said.
"You'll be close by?" she asked.
"Yes," he assured her. Leaning down, he brushed the bangs off her forehead. "Emma?"
"Yes."
"You come and get me the moment anything changes in here. I want to be by her side."
Again she felt that melting deep inside. That certainty that Donovan had the same deep emotions for her as she did for him.
"If she wants you, I'll come and get you," Emma said.
Donovan kissed Cassidy again and left the room. Her mom and Emma both stood there for a second.
"Tonight?" Emma asked, a grin teasing her features. "On your wedding night you go into labor … that has to be the best wedding-night story ever."
"I don't know about best, but certainly the strangest."
"Oh, no, not the strangest," her mom said. "Cousin Dorothy's husband had an allergic reaction to the silk of her negligee and his entire body was covered in hives. He had to be rushed to the E.R."
Cassidy laughed at the story and once she started she found she couldn't stop. Soon her laughter changed to tears and she was crying.
Emma held her left hand and her mother leaned down to hug her from the right side. "Everything is going to be okay."
"Promise?"
"Yes. Childbirth is the greatest experience a woman can have."
"Greatest?"
"Cassidy, you are taking part in a miracle. You are going to be holding your son in a few hours and all of this will be forgotten."
Cassidy liked the sound of that. But then, her mother had always known how to say the right thing at the right time. She held tightly to Emma's hand and realized that as much as she appreciated her mother and her best friend being with her, she really needed Donovan.
She was afraid to ask Emma to go get him. Didn't want to seem too needy on this night, especially after she'd told him she hadn't wanted to be married for their child.
But when the door to her room opened a while later and Donovan poked his head in, she felt relieved. "Do you need anything?" he asked.
"You," she said.
Chapter Six
Cassidy woke from a sound sleep in a panic. Nearly three weeks had passed since she'd given birth and returned to her new home with Donovan and their baby boy. She glanced at the clock, and that only intensified her feelings. It was nearly 9:00 a.m. And Donovan Junior, or Van, as they'd decided to call him, hadn't woken her. She jumped out of bed and grabbed her robe on the way out the door.
She ran over the marble floor to the nursery door, which was closed. Who had closed the door? Her son wasn't even a month old, no way was she going to close the door to his room at night.
She pushed it open and stopped still in her tracks. Van's crib was empty, and on the changing table were his pajamas. But no baby.
She walked back out to the hallway and made her way down the stairs. Hearing the sound of Donovan talking, she went to his home office and stood on the threshold, peering inside.
Van was in Donovan's arms, dressed in a pair of khaki pants and an oxford cloth shirt. He looked like a mini Donovan in his work-casual attire. Except that her son was drooling a bit as he slept.
The sight of the two of them, her two men together, made her heart stop. She just stared at them. And felt all the worries she'd had since her Donovan had come back into her life fade. Seeing him holding their son was all she'd ever wanted.
He looked perfectly at home with Van. Donovan had the baby cradled on his shoulder while he paced the room, talking to the speakerphone.
"Joseph has asked for a special board session to discuss Van."
"He can convene the board as often as he wants. Until the official board meeting, no changes can be made," Donovan said.
"He's positioning himself for the official meeting. There is only three months until the vote. And I have to tell you, what I'm hearing doesn't look good for you."
"Let me worry about my position, Sam. I've heard the same things about you. Marcella isn't too happy with the way you've been handling the Canadian Group."
"You barely pulled the West Coast office through the latest mess."
"But I did. And that's what the board is looking for."
"You know, Granddaddy isn't here to set us against each other anymore."
"He left us one last challenge, Sam."
"And you think you won?"
"I know I did," Donovan said. Turning around, he paused as his eyes met Cassidy's.
She took another step into the room.
"I'll call you back, Sam."
He leaned down and hit a button on the phone.
"What was he talking about? Why does the board need to talk about Van?"
"It's nothing for you to worry about. Did you enjoy sleeping in this morning?"
"Yes," she said. "Though I did panic a bit when I woke up so late and couldn't find him."
"You have lunch today with Emma and Paul, so I figured the little man and I could spend all day together."
"That's very thoughtful," she said. She walked over to Donovan and kissed Van on his head. She hadn't known it was possible to love another being as much as she loved her son. Having him put everything in perspective. There was nothing in the world that was as important as taking care of him. She'd been disappointed when breastfeeding hadn't worked out for them, even though it gave Donovan more ways to help with his care.
"Are you sure you'll be okay with him?"
"Yes," he said. His cell phone rang and he glanced at the caller ID before turning back to her.
"Do you need to get that?"
He shook his head.
"Good. I've been wanting to talk to you about Sam and Tolley-Patterson … Emma heard some rumors about an odd stipulation in your grandfather's will."
"That's confidential information."
"She didn't know the details, just had heard a comment at a cocktail party her parents had." Cassidy had tried to bring up the will a few times, but she'd been tired from giving birth and taking care of her son. She hadn't really had time to investigate it further until now.
"From who?"
"Lawyers at her father's firm," Cassidy said. "Emma mentioned it because … "
"She was hoping to stir something up between the two of us," Donovan said.
"True, and I trust you, sweetheart. I'm just worried Sam might be putting together something shady. And what I heard just now makes me even leerier of him."
Donovan hugged her to his side with his free arm. He kissed her. "Don't worry, baby. I've got everything I need right here."
"Really?" She was afraid to believe him when he said things like that. She knew that his life was business and everything else came second.
"Yes."
She tipped her head back and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him, but he dropped his arm and stepped away and she stood there awkwardly for a second. Donovan and she hadn't been out together since they were married, and he worked long hours. In fact, this moment was the most waking time she'd spent with her husband since they'd left the hospital.
She wasn't sure what was going on in his mind. Did he regret marrying her? They could have just as easily had Van and raised him without being married or even living together.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Not nothing. You were staring at me like you wanted to say something."
She did, but how was she going to ask him if he no longer found her attractive since she'd given birth? How was she going to bring up the fact that she needed more one-on-one time with him?
"Just wanted to follow up on our plans for today. Are you sure that you can take Van this morning?"
"Yes, I can."
She stared at Donovan and realized that the love she'd always felt for him was getting stronger. She wanted him to be the husband she'd always fantasized about, and he was doing some things that made her believe he was that man. But then there were times like just now, when he'd pulled back from her, that let her know this wasn't a fantasy happy-ever-after marriage, but one based on necessity and reality.
Donovan wasn't the type of man who'd ever cared to be domestic, and carrying Van into the office didn't change his mind. The secretaries all cooed over the baby and the other men stood kind of awkwardly to one side while he set the baby in his car seat on the boardroom table.