Chapter Three

Ethan

Ethan was breathing hard at the top of the stairs to the maternity floor. He was in good shape, but the Colorado altitude was a deal breaker. He almost regretted not taking the elevator, but he didn't feel too badly since Craig was just as out of breath behind him and probably in better shape. His security couldn't have been more than twenty-five with short cropped dark hair and serious brown eyes.

Craig was certainly taking his job as bodyguard seriously. The man barely let him out of his sight for more than a moment. Ethan didn't mind though. Good protection was important for a billionaire. Ethan hurried up the last two steps and opened the heavy door to the second floor.

The hospital was probably the smallest one Ethan had ever seen. He was fairly sure that Mia might be the only patient in the entire building, other than the person they saw walking into the ER for stitches.

It was a short walk from the stairs to the main desk of the maternity ward. A nurse sat there like a guard, making sure that no one got past her. She looked up as she heard the two men coming and smiled.

“You must be Mr. White and company,” she said as they came closer. Ethan reached for a pen to sign in, but she waved him off. “You were already logged in by the security team downstairs.”

Ethan nodded. Carter Williamson, the father of the baby they were here to see as well as the co-owner to W Motors, was taking no chances. The head of Carter's security, Brian Cards, had even checked the gift bag Ethan carried the moment they stepped on hospital grounds.

“Wait here,” Ethan said to Craig. “I'll be just inside.”

“No leaving without me,” Craig reminded him, taking a seat near the nurse's station.

“Of course not,” Ethan assured him. He walked over to the only open door and peeked inside.

Carter was sitting near the window with a little bundle of pink blankets in his lap making goo-goo eyes and big smiles at the baby inside them.

“How's my wittle girly-wirly?” Carter asked his daughter in a sing-song voice that sounded strange coming from the usually stern man. Ethan couldn't have imagined something like this.

“How's the wittle daddy-waddy?” Ethan asked in a similar silly voice, pushing open the door and stepping inside.

“Don't you worry, my little baby girl. I can still beat his ass and fire him,” Carter told her in the same soft baby-talk voice. He looked up from his daughter and grinned at Ethan. “Good to see you, Ethan.”

“Should you be swearing in front of your kid like that?” Ethan asked, setting his gift on the counter and coming over to see the baby. Carter held her up like she was the most precious, beautiful thing in the world. “Congratulations. She's beautiful,” Ethan told the proud father.

“You want to hold her?” Carter asked, offering her out to him like it was some sort of honor.

“Um, sure.” Ethan held out his arms uncertainly. He didn't want to say no to his best friend.

“Do you know how to hold a baby?” Carter asked before handing over the bundle of blankets. He looked at Ethan's open arms uncertainly.

“Of course I do,” Ethan scoffed, reaching for the baby. “You just don't drop them.”

Carter shook his head. “Here, put your arms here and support her head,” he coached, carefully putting the baby in Ethan's hands.

Ethan felt the weight of the child pass to him, and her head suddenly rolled to the side. “Shit!”

“She's fine,” Carter said in a calm voice. “Just hold her head.”

“What's wrong with her neck?” Ethan asked, carefully supporting her so she wouldn't go lopsided on him again.

“Nothing,” Carter told him. “That's just how newborns work.”

Ethan held her like she was a ticking bomb. If her neck couldn't support her head, he was afraid that just moving her wrong would make her stop breathing or something. For the life of him, he could not figure out how humans survived as a species.

“Aww, you're a natural,” Mia said, coming out of the bathroom. She wore a clean nightgown, and her brunette hair was wet from the shower. She came over and gave Ethan a side hug as she checked on her daughter.

“Hi, Mia,” Ethan greeted her. “How are you?”

“Not pregnant,” Mia replied with a laugh. “Which is amazing. How are you?”

“Also not pregnant.” He grinned at her, and she laughed again.

“I'm so glad, Ethan,” Carter said. “We were a little worried there for awhile.”

Ethan rolled his eyes at his business partner.

“So, Mia,” Ethan pointedly asked, turning to the nicer person in the relationship. “What did you two end up naming her? I know you weren't sure the last time I saw you.”

Mia and Carter looked at one another, sharing a secret smile that only lovers have.

“Mireille Joy,” Mia announced proudly. She pronounced it as “Meer-ay.”

“Mireille?” he repeated. The name flowed off his tongue like music. It wasn't a name he'd heard before.

“It's French, Mia explained. “It means 'miracle,' which is appropriate. I never thought I'd have a baby. We're going to call her Miri for short.”

“Well, hello little Miri,” Ethan cooed to the baby. Little Miri just blinked once and went right to sleep. She was actually kind of cute, in a squishy way. “You two make good babies.”

“Thanks,” Carter replied. “My part was really hard.”

Mia raised her eyebrows at him from across the room. Her arms crossed and she blinked slowly as she waited for him to say more.

“And I'm going to go make a phone call before my wife murders me,” Carter announced, holding up his phone and quickly ducking out of the room.

“Do you want her back?” Ethan asked, holding out the baby to Mia. As much as he was afraid she was going to stop breathing at any moment, holding her was really quite peaceful. Plus, she was asleep, and he didn't want to accidentally wake her.

“You keep her. You look very cute with her,” Mia told him. She picked up a hairbrush and started working on her wet hair. “How long are you in town for Ethan?”

“As long as Carter needs me while we get things set up for the new research and development office in Denver,” Ethan replied. “It'll be at least a couple of weeks. Maybe more.”

Mia nodded. “It will be nice to have you here,” she said, finishing up with her brush. She set it down and looked at him. “Does Laura know you're coming?”

He swallowed hard. “Laura? Why would Laura care I was in town?”

Mia just lifted a single eyebrow and waited for him to try and deny it again. Given the look he was getting, he suspected she knew the history between Laura and him. They'd had an amazing one-night-stand at the W Motors Christmas party a year and a half ago. He had called a couple times, and then after about a week, she had finally picked up. Only it wasn’t her, it was a guy. Apparently Laura’s boyfriend. The guy told Ethan to never call her again.

He had honored that request. He had no intention of being a home-wrecker or trying to pursue a cheater. It wasn't his fault they were both at Mia's fundraiser last month. He was fairly sure she hated his guts right up to the moment where she kissed him. Granted, she was under a lot of emotional stress at the time, but the fact remained that she'd kissed him. He wasn't quite sure what to think about her.

He sighed. “No. She doesn't know.”

“Why not?” Mia asked. “I thought you two had a moment at the fundraiser.”

“We had a what?” Ethan looked at her in surprise. “Did Laura tell you that?”

“She told me that you kissed when she heard her brother had been found,” Mia replied.

Ethan sighed. “She was just relieved her brother was okay,” Ethan explained with a shrug.

Mia snorted. “Yeah. Because I just kiss people any time I get good news. That must be it.” Ethan ignored the eye roll. “She likes you.”

“Then why did she tell me not to call her? Why did she tell her boyfriend to tell me off?” he asked her, trying to keep the hostility out of his voice. The baby wiggled in his arms, and he didn't want to wake her.

“Her boyfriend?” Mia asked. “Laura doesn’t have a-“

She never finished her sentence because the door opened right then. In walked Laura with a big bouquet of yellow and white daisies.

She was beautiful. Her dark red hair was down around her shoulders, and her green eyes sparkled as she walked into the room with a huge smile on her face. The smile faded as soon as she saw Ethan, but her cheeks went pink.

Ethan was glad he was holding the baby, or he might have tried to kiss her right there on the spot. He had thought she was breathtaking that first night at the Christmas party. He had thought she was gorgeous a month ago at the fundraiser. He didn't know how she did it, but she had gotten even prettier. Now, standing in the hospital room, she was absolutely stunning. She became more beautiful every time he saw her.

She swallowed hard. “I didn't know you were going to be here,” Laura murmured, setting her bouquet of daisies down next to his gift bag.

“Hi Laura,” Mia greeted her enthusiastically, crossing the room and giving her a big hug. “I'm so glad you came.”

Ethan did not appreciate the look that was on Mia's face as she looked back and forth between the two of them. She was plotting something, and he wasn't sure what it was. Whatever she was planning, it was setting of every one of his internal “run now” alarms.

“So, actually Laura, Ethan was just about to go get me some of these cheese curds from this restaurant nearby,” Mia announced.

“I was?” Ethan replied. He didn't remember agreeing to this.

“Yes, you were,” Mia said pointedly. “It's weird. Even though I'm not pregnant anymore, I still have a craving for these cheese curds. Apparently, they're from Wisconsin, and I just can't get enough of them.”

“Okay,” Ethan shrugged, not really following what was going on. Laura looked as confused as he felt.

“Would you go with him? That way I can feed the baby and rest for a little bit.” Mia smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at Laura.

“Well, I... uh...” Laura looked at her like she was crazy.

“Please, Laura?” Mia's smile grew wider, and her eyes took on a sad puppy-dog look.

“I, uh...” Laura sputtered, not knowing how to turn her down.

“Oh, thank you so much!” Mia grinned and bounced around the room as if Laura had given a resounding yes. Mia marched over to Ethan and took the baby right from him. “Just go to Sandy's off of Main Street.”

Ethan stood there in shock as Mia walked off with her baby. His arms were still cradled, but the baby was long gone.

“Cheese curds, Ethan,” she reminded him with a nudge of her hip. “Go.”

“Uh, right.” He cleared his throat and went to the door where he held it open for a baffled Laura. Mia just smiled at the two of them.

“Oh, and you two take your time,” Mia informed them, following them to the doorway. “Feeding her takes like, three hours. Yeah. So get drinks. And you can bring me the food whenever you have time. Okay. Bye!”

And with that, she shut the door firmly behind them.

Ethan stood in the hallway next to Laura unsure of exactly what to do next. He could smell her shampoo. It was soft and floral and making it hard to think. All his brain wants to think about is the kiss they shared.

He made up his mind. This was his second chance. Mia was giving him a gift right now for him to have another opportunity with Laura. He wouldn't get one like this again. It was time to put on the charm and win her over.

He smiled at her.

“So, your car or mine?” he asked.