“Watch it.” She nipped at him, grabbed the menu, and got up to place the order. “And why is it when you say we're going to get busy it sounds sexy, but somehow that's not what you mean”?”
“I'm a tease?” He laughed as she rolled her eyes and walked toward her office.
“I couldn't agree more.” She undid a button on her blouse. “And I love it. It’s such a turn-on. Food and work...it’s all foreplay for later.”
Chapter 6
Jamie stood up from the small table she and Alex were hovered over, and stretched. It was almost ten, and she was beyond tired. The work seemed endless and she could see why Alex was stressing out. Reid Enterprises was doing incredibly well, but there were just enough hits against it to have the rest of the world waiting in anticip
ation for someone to come in and scoop them up.
“I gotta go home, Alex.” She bent over and pressed her lips on the top of his head, kissing him again as he lifted his chin toward the ceiling and ran his hands up the back of her thighs.
“I'm sorry I kept you here so late. I'll be home soon.” He used his other hand to pull her down for another kiss. “Don't wait up for me though, okay?”
“I never do, handsome.” She pulled from him and walked to her office as another loud yawn left her.
Alex wasn't going to change or try to find some way to spend more time away from the office just yet, but something told her that when the baby came, everything would change. She just had to bide her time until then, and hope like hell that he wouldn't have many more chest pains. If nothing else, she would force him to go to the doctor that next week.
She gathered her things and walked down the hall, turning off lights before stopping by his office for one more quick kiss. He was already knee-deep in figuring out another problem and barely paid her any attention. Whereas that would have hurt her feelings before, she'd come to realize that it had nothing to do with her. He was a driven man who had found success through being determined. It was attractive, and yet she figured over time things would shift, or hoped they would. It wasn’t a battle. She wasn’t fighting against Reid Enterprise for his attention. It just was the way things were. She grinned. He had a good way of making up for it.
The drive home was done with the radio blaring and the windows down. She wouldn't be staying at work this late again. Trying to keep her eyes open after her nearly thirteen-hour day was a bit much. Getting on the top of a ladder seemed less dangerous.
She parked the car in the garage and walked into the house to the sound of Jake barking his head off.
“Hey, buddy. Come here.” She knelt in the front foyer and scratched the dog’s ears before standing and walking to the kitchen. “You need me to get you some dinner? Want some din-dins?”
He jumped all around her legs, nipping at her pants and barking to get her attention. It was nice having someone waiting for her at home, seeing that Alex was rarely there at night. With the alarm system in place, and Jake having grown up quite a bit, she was completely at ease. The drama from the break-ins a few months before was a thing of the past. MacBane, their chef, and the maid services had grown used to Jake as well. They let him out regularly. Jamie had a feeling Jake loved MacBane because the chef saved bits of meat for the pooch.
After taking care of the dog, Jamie stripped down and had almost gotten her pajamas on when her phone buzzed. She picked it up and answered it without looking at who it might be. No one would be calling this late except Alex, probably checking on her to make sure she’d made it home safely.
“Jamie. It's Christine.” Her sister's voice was shrill and tight, as if she were in the middle of a panic attack.
“What's going on?” Jamie dropped her tank top and turned to sit down on the edge of the bed.
“It's Dad. Mom's in the ambulance with him. He's having a heart attack, we think. I'm going to the hospital now. Mom said to call you.” Christine's voice broke as she started to cry. “Hurry.”
“I'll be right there.” Jamie dropped the call and scooped up her clothes, getting dressed as quickly as she could and grabbing her keys as she rushed back out the door.
Numbness settled over her as she drove in stony silence to the hospital. She needed to call Alex, but didn't want to overreact just yet. Her sister and mother had a way of blowing a cold into meningitis. Whereas she was worried like hell about her dad, she wanted to validate the situation before overreacting.
She parked at the ER and jogged toward the opening. Her mother and sister were over to the side, her mother yelling at some poor nurse.
“Hey.” Jamie moved up beside them, but didn't reach out. Her relationship with her mom and sister was tumultuous at best, and trying to figure out if they were in good times or bad times had gotten old fast. Best to just test the waters by being there and doing nothing else that might gain her attention.
“Oh, Jamie!” Christine wrapped her in a hug and let out a long sob.
It took everything inside of her not to roll her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.
Forever the drama queen. This is why I'd never in a million years mention you to Mark. Never.
“It's going to be okay.” Jamie ran her hand over the back of her sister's head as she tried to catch bits and pieces of what her mother was yelling about. Oddly enough, it seemed to be about the number of blankets they put on her dad after the surgery.
“Surgery?” Jamie muttered and pulled back from Christine a little. “What's going on? Was it a heart attack?”
Jamie's mother whipped around. “Of course it was a heart attack. Do you think we'd have called an ambulance over gas bubbles?”
“Of course not, Mom. I was just trying to catch up.” Jamie offered an apology as best she knew how, by shutting up. Nothing she said would be taken right anyway.