She smiled the smile that made his heart melt. Sparkling diamonds had nothing on her smile’s brilliance. “I love you, too. And don’t worry about me.”
The last thing in the world he could do was not worry about her. She was in his every thought.
He kissed her and put on his jacket. His security team had run home and picked him up one so that he wouldn’t be photographed in jeans and a t-shirt. It was his lucky suit. The one that he wore to all the big meetings because he knew it made him look good and he felt confident in it.
With a deep breath, he stepped out of Kat’s room. He knew that his publicist was going to shoot him for doing this, but he didn’t want to plan out what he was going to say. He wanted to it to come from the heart. He tended to make better speeches when he didn’t have it rehearsed, so that was what he was leaning on now.
It was time to meet the press.
30
Kat
The room was silent after AJ left. He’d only been gone a few minutes, but she missed him. The past few hours sitting in the ER with him had been wonderful. The ER part, not so much, but getting to be with him without worrying about people seeing them was awesome. She wished she could see him all the time.
She sighed and fluffed her pillow, trying to find a comfortable position on the uncomfortable gurney. If she couldn’t go home, she at least couldn’t wait to be upstairs and in a real bed. Her butt was sore from sitting and really she just wanted to relax. And, for the first time since the pregnancy test, she felt like she could.
AJ knew about the pregnancy. He knew, and he was staying with her. He promised to take care of her and the baby. All of her worst fears were disappearing. He loved her. He loved the baby. And while it wasn’t ideal for either of them, he wa7sn’t backing down. He was stepping up and being the man that she knew he was.
He was going to make a great father. She could already tell that he was going to go above and beyond. She could just imagine him cuddling a little boy or girl, reading them bedtime stories, and giving them the world. If anything, she was going to have to watch out that he didn’t spoil their kid rotten.
She smiled, imagining the future. It looked incredibly bright. Her child would have a father. That was the most important thing to her. Her own job and what the next few weeks would be like didn’t seem like that big a deal if her child was taken care of. She could figure out the rest.
Kat glanced at her watch. She wondered if AJ was done making his speech yet. She wondered just what he was going to say. She knew that he would probably have to deny their relationship. It hurt, but she understood. It was for his company. He had to. Coming out with the fact he was dating an employee in the midst of his partner’s sex scandal was the last thing his company’s image needed.
She turned on the TV, just looking for something to keep her mind busy. She didn’t want to think about what he was going to say. She didn’t want to think about what the papers were going to write about her because right now, she was happy. Thinking about that would only make her unhappy.
Unfortunately, the universe wanted her to be unhappy, as the very first thing on the TV was a live feed of AJ making his statement.
“Must be a slow news day,” Kat commented. She nearly changed the channel, but she didn’t want to stop looking at AJ. He looked so damn handsome in his dark blue suit. It accented the strength of his shoulders and the lean trim of his body while making his eyes pop. She hoped their child got his eyes.
“There are rumors that you’re sleeping with the employee you brought to the hospital,” a reporter asked, sticking his microphone directly in AJ’s face. “Would you care to address them?”
Kat held her breath. She had no idea how AJ was going to answer a question like this. Would he lie and say that they were just co-workers?
“You’re going to ask me about rumors?” AJ frowned at the reporter, disgust filling his blue eyes. “I’m here making sure that an employee of mine is receiving the best medical care possible, and you’re asking me to verify rumors.”
AJ shook his head. Kat watched as he managed to shift the question away from their relationship with the skill benefiting a politician.
“This experience has shown me that my employees need the best medical coverage possible. That they deserve the best medical coverage possible,” AJ continued. “And as such, I will be increasing employee coverage for all employees. Shoesy is determined to show our employees that this company is the best place to work.”
Kat watched as cameras flashed furiously. More questions came streaming in from other reporters, this time focusing on the healthcare plans and how Shoesy was treating their employees rather than focusing on his relationship.