“Yes,” AJ agreed, taking her hand in his.
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?” she asked, her eyes going to his. Guilt washed over her in waves. How could she do this to him?
“Yes,” he said simply. He seemed remarkably calm and collected, which was good because she felt like freaking out.
“I’m so sorry. This is exactly the kind of thing we were trying to avoid. I should never have come over today.” Kat closed her eyes and tried to pull her hand away from him, but he held it tight.
“Hush,” he chided. “We had to come to the hospital. There wasn’t another option. As for you coming over, I’m glad you did. What if you had passed out like that at home? Alone? Since you were with me, we were able to get you treatment.”
Kat nodded, but she still felt terrible. She could only imagine the things the tabloids were coming up with while they were in here. Some of them were even probably true.
“I’m still so sorry,” she said, wishing that there were some way she could make this better.
“For what?” AJ asked. “Getting pregnant? It takes two. I helped, if you recall. In fact, if anything, this is my fault. I had that condom in my wallet for way too long.”
Kat smiled. “I thought you were supposed to be some kind of billionaire playboy.”
AJ shrugged. “Maybe I am. Maybe I just stuffed fifty condoms in my wallet and that was the last one.” There was a silence between them. “Bad joke. I’m sorry.”
Kat sniffled. He was being so wonderful that it wasn’t fair. “How could you fit fifty condoms in there and still have room for money?”
AJ laughed. “They make special big wallets and special big pockets for billionaires.”
She laughed again. Laughing felt good, but the feeling faded fast. “But what about your company?”
AJ shrugged. “All the media knows is that I rushed an employee to the hospital. Right now, I actually look like the best employer in the world.”
Kat raised her eyebrows and gave him a long slow blink. There was no way he actually believed that.
“Okay, so that’s how we’re spinning it,” he admitted. “But they don’t know why you’re here. I’ve made sure that they won’t bother you. That media circus isn’t your problem.”
“But…”
“No buts,” he said, cutting her off. “I’m going to take care of you. You know that, right?”
Kat nodded. He was sitting in the hospital room, holding her hand and telling her everything was going to be all right. He knew about the baby, and he wasn’t running away. He told her he loved her. She knew, deep in her heart, that he would always take care of her. Her and their child.
“What happens now?” she asked.
“We wait for the doctor and make sure that you’re healthy. No more passing out on me,” he replied. “As for the media circus out there, we’ll deal with that as we need to.”
“Okay,” Kat said. She settled back into the uncomfortably thin mattress. “AJ?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for rescuing me,” Kat said. As much as she wished she wasn’t here, it was a good thing that she had been at AJ’s home instead of her own. No one would have found her if she were by herself. She shuddered to think of what would have happened to her and her baby.
“Always,” AJ promised, leaning over and kissing her forehead. “I will always be there to rescue you.”
29
AJ
AJ evaluated the doctor standing in front of him.
The man looked far too young to be a real medical doctor, but his coat had the “Dr.” embroidered on it and so did his name badge.
“Where did you say you went to medical school?” AJ asked as the doctor checked Kat’s vitals and asked her questions about how she was feeling.
“Harvard,” the doctor replied. “With undergrad at Yale. My diplomas are in my office if you’d like to see them.”
AJ almost said yes. He wanted the best for Kat. And, while logically he knew that there were plenty of less prestigious medical schools that produced amazing doctors, he wanted the best. However, he didn’t need to be over the top either.
He made a mental note to have Charles hire the best OBGYN in the state and have him or her on retainer.
“Why did I pass out, Doctor?” Kat asked, shooting AJ a glare. He could read the “be nice” in her eyes, but he wasn’t about to back down. “Is it going to happen again? Is everything all right with my baby?”
“Your baby is fine,” the doctor assured her. “But we can’t let that happen again. You were extremely dehydrated and your electrolyte balance was way out of whack.”