Page 19 of Blame It on the Bikini (Ocean Shores #4)

Chapter Ten

"We're going to hang tight until Grayson gets back, and you're going to try to breathe through the contraction," she said, not really sure what advice she should be giving her. "Take my hand."

Serena's fingers wrapped around hers as she tried to breathe but was clearly in a lot of pain. "I—I think I'm having the baby."

"What? Now?" she asked in shock.

"It feels like something shifted, like the baby is lower." Serena put a hand on her abdomen. "There's a lot of pressure…"

She called Brad again, but he didn't answer. She was about to start hitting up the rest of her friends at the bar when Grayson pulled up on the street in front of them with squealing brakes. Before they could move, another contraction doubled Serena over.

"It's going to be okay," she reassured her. "Grayson and I will take you to the hospital. I'll get a hold of Brad, and he'll meet us there."

"I'm scared, Lexie."

"I know. But you can do this, Serena. You're a very strong person."

Serena blew out a breath, her face red, sweat dotting her skin. "I think the worst is over for now."

With Grayson's help, she got Serena into the back seat of his car and climbed in next to her. "Drive to the hospital," she told Grayson, giving him the name of the nearest medical center. "I'll keep calling Brad."

"I could stop at the bar?—"

His suggestion was cut off by another piercing scream from Serena.

"Never mind. Hospital," Grayson said, turning on his GPS.

When Serena's contraction eased, she punched in Brad's number again, relieved beyond belief when he picked up.

"Hey, Lexie. Did you forget something?" he asked.

"No. I'm with Serena. She went into labor on the way home."

"What?" he shouted. "That's not possible. Where are you?"

"Grayson is driving us to the hospital. I've been calling you for several minutes."

"I just went back into the kitchen to talk to our chef. How is she doing?"

"I'm scared," Serena cried. "You better hurry, Brad. This baby is coming fast."

"I'll meet you at the hospital," he promised. "Hang in there, honey."

"I'm trying, but it really hurts." As another contraction hit, Serena squeezed her hand and yelled again, swearing like Lexie had never heard her swear before.

Brad had already ended the call, so she put her phone into her pocket and focused on Serena. "Try to breathe in and out," she said soothingly. "We're going to be at the hospital in like two minutes. You can do this, Serena."

"I'm not sure I have two minutes, Lex. I can feel the baby."

She could see the terror in her eyes. "Try not to push," she said, not sure if that was the right advice or not, but she really didn't want Serena to have her baby in the back of Grayson's car.

Thankfully, Grayson was driving fast, and a minute later, they pulled up in front of the ER. Grayson jumped out and ran into the building to get help.

She opened her car door. "Can you get out, Serena?"

"I can try," Serena said, sliding toward the door. As she swung her feet to the ground, Grayson returned with a nurse and a wheelchair. They helped Serena out of the car and into the chair and then rushed her inside as Serena began to cry again.

"I'll park the car and meet you in there," Grayson said.

"Okay, thanks." She blew out a breath as she made her way into the ER. The woman at the information desk told her that Serena was already on her way up to maternity, which was on the third floor. She could join her there.

She went back outside and waited for Grayson, who came running up to the door with Brad at his side.

"How is she?" Brad asked, his face worried and stressed.

"They've taken her up to maternity. It's on the third floor."

"Tell me how she's doing, Lexie," he begged as they raced inside. "It sounded like she was in a lot of pain."

"The contractions were fast and rough," she said as they moved down the hall and into the elevator. "We were just walking back from the bar, and she suddenly had a horrible pain. It kept coming back, every couple of minutes. I called you as soon as it happened."

"I know. I can't believe I didn't have my phone. I've been keeping it close to me, but I didn't think anything was going to happen so soon."

She could see the guilt in his eyes. "You couldn't have known, Brad. She's not due for two more weeks. And it all came on so fast. You're here now. That's what matters."

"I hope she's all right and I'm not too late." Brad jumped off the elevator as soon as the doors opened.

She and Grayson followed more slowly, watching as Brad was waved through a set of double doors.

"I hope he gets to her before she has the baby," she murmured to Grayson.

"I wouldn't bet on it. I thought she was going to have the baby in my car."

She met his gaze. "I was afraid that was going to happen, too."

He ran a hand through his hair as he let out a breath. "That was intense. But you did good." Admiration filled his eyes. "You kept her calm."

"I tried, but I was having a hard time not panicking myself.

" She moved across the waiting room, sat down on a couch, and let out a breath.

"I thought childbirth was supposed to go really slow in the beginning.

I'm so glad you were with us, Grayson. I don't know what I would have done.

I probably would have had to call 911 from the bench on the sidewalk. "

"I'm glad I was there, too," he said.

"I hope there's nothing wrong. The labor came on so suddenly. I don't think I can fully relax until she has the baby, and I know both of them are healthy and safe."

"I guess that means you want to stay here," he said with a knowing gleam in his eyes.

"I do. But you don't have to stay, Grayson. I know you have to get up early tomorrow. I can get a rideshare home."

"Don't you have a photo shoot at dawn?"

She shrugged. "This is more important. I'll manage on whatever sleep I get. The way things were going, I think the baby will be here soon."

"I agree. I'll wait with you for a while."

They sat in silence, the adrenaline of the last twenty minutes slowly wearing off. Around them, the waiting room hummed with quiet activity—nurses at the desk, some going in and out of the double doors, others speaking with anxious visitors.

As she looked at the clock on the wall, Grayson gave her a smile. "It hasn't been that long."

"I know. I'm just nervous and impatient."

"Serena is a healthy young woman, and there's no reason to think she won't be okay."

"Except what we just witnessed."

"Well, I don't know anything about women in labor, so I'm no expert, but it seems to me like there's usually a lot of pain and yelling involved," he said dryly.

"And swearing. I've never heard Serena swear like that."

He laughed. "I was surprised, too. But I wasn't sure if she was always like that."

"Never. Absolutely never." She paused. "I do appreciate you staying with me."

"If I went home, I'd just be wondering what was going on."

He'd no sooner finished speaking when the double doors opened, and Brad walked out.

She jumped to her feet, but she didn't even have to ask Brad if Serena was okay, because he was smiling from ear to ear, a joyous glow in his eyes.

"Serena is fine and the baby is beautiful.

She's seven pounds, eight ounces, and when she opened her eyes, she screamed her head off, which reminded me very much of her mother right before she was born. "

"Oh, Brad, I'm so happy for you." She gave him a hug.

"Congratulations," Grayson said, shaking Brad's hand.

"I have to get back to her. Can you let everyone know, Lexie?"

"I will spread the word. Tell Serena I'm glad she's okay. And I can't wait to see the baby."

As he headed back to his wife, she turned to Grayson. "It's all good. Just like you said."

"Told you," he returned with a smug smile.

She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn’t stop herself from hugging him and brushing a grateful kiss against his lips. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything."

She gazed into his eyes. "Yes, you did. You got Serena here, and you stayed. And I'm just really happy they're okay."

As they broke apart, she heard familiar voices and turned around to see her friends coming into the waiting room. Everyone from the bar was there: Kaia, Ava, Liam, Emmalyn, and Hunter.

"Serena had the baby," she told them. "Everyone is healthy. Brad is over the moon. It's all good."

"Thank God," Ava said, practically collapsing in Liam's arms. "I was so worried about her. She saw the doctor yesterday, and he didn't think she was going to be early."

"It all worked out," Liam said. "I told you."

"I know. I was just scared for her." Ava turned to her. "Thank you for getting her here, Lexie."

"That was Grayson. I just held her hand and tried to pretend I knew what she was supposed to do. I really wished you'd walked home with us," she added to Kaia. "I was afraid she was going to have the baby in the car."

"That would have been messy," Kaia said. "But I'm sure you did great."

"She did," Grayson confirmed.

"We should go home," Hunter said. "Aside from Ava and Liam, they'd probably rather keep the visiting circle small tonight."

She nodded in agreement. "I think so, too."

"We'll stay," Ava confirmed.

"Do you want a ride, Lexie?" Kaia asked.

"Actually, I left my bag in Grayson's car, so I'll just ride with him."

"Sounds good," Kaia said.

"I can't believe she had the baby," Emmalyn murmured as they rode down to the lobby. "She's going to be the youngest tenant at Ocean Shores."

Emmalyn's words rang through her head as she walked with Grayson to his car, and she couldn't help wondering how long Serena's baby would even be able to live at Ocean Shores.

All their previous plans of helping Serena and Brad with babysitting might turn into an impossibility if they were all scattered to different buildings around the city.

Grayson drove them home without a word. She didn't know if he was thinking the same thing she was or if he was just tired.

But either way, she wasn't going to get into a fight with him tonight, not after everything he'd done.

And all that mattered now was that Serena and her baby were healthy.

Whatever other problems there were could be dealt with tomorrow.

After Grayson got off his London call on Monday morning, he punched in his father's number. It was eight o'clock in the morning, but his dad had always been an early riser.

"Grayson," his father said. "How are you? Did you speak to Morgan in London this morning?"

"I just did."

"And…"

"The deal is moving along, but that's not why I'm calling."

"Okay. Why are you calling?"

"You need to let me out of this deal at Ocean Shores. I can't stay here any longer."

"Why not?"

"Because this is crazy." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I can't make business decisions about this place while I'm living here. I can't pretend to be their friend when I'm on the verge of evicting everyone. It makes no sense."

"It's a couple of weeks, Grayson."

"Why do you want me here? What is it you want me to learn?"

"When you know the answer to that question, then it will be time for you to leave. Until then, I'd like you to honor our agreement. It's not that much to ask. And you can work from there. I don't see the problem."

"You don't see it because you're not here. You're not getting invited to barbecues and drinks and rushing a pregnant woman to the hospital only to think about how she and her husband might be losing their apartment in a few months."

"You rushed a pregnant woman to the hospital?"

"Yes, and you're missing the point."

"I got the point. You're getting caught up in the community, and you don't like it."

"Exactly. No matter how much I care about these people, it doesn't change the fact that this building is more valuable if we sell it."

"I understand that's your position. You know mine. We'll talk in a few weeks. Or you can leave now, and I'll take back the management and oversight of the building."

"If you don't want to sell it, Dad, why don't you just say that?" he asked with annoyance.

"It's not that simple. I have a meeting, Grayson. I'll talk to you later."

His father was gone before he could utter another word.

He tossed the phone down in disgust. He didn't understand what it was he was supposed to get out of this entire experience.

But his father had always been good at getting what he wanted and now was no exception.

If he was going to get what he wanted, then he had to stick it out.

He just needed to stop getting so involved with everyone, especially Lexie.

She was starting to take up more and more of his time.

Even when he wasn't with her, he was thinking about her, and last night's shared experience had only bonded them more.

He leaned back in his chair, staring at his computer screen without seeing it, when he heard someone outside. No one knocked or rang the bell. Instead, a large envelope was slipped under his door. He got up and walked over to pick it up.

Opening the flap, he pulled out a photo with a sticky note attached. " A small preview. Can't wait to show you more, Lexie."

The photograph was one she'd taken of him standing in the entrance to the cave, the filtered light creating a magical, mystical feeling, and the expression on his face was one of wonder and bemusement, which described exactly how he'd felt that day.

He stared at the picture for a long, long time, because it wasn't just how detailed, how absolutely perfect the composition was; it was because he barely recognized himself.

The man in this photo felt more like an adventurer than a businessman, more like someone who was a part of nature, not a part of buying and selling buildings.

This guy looked like he'd suddenly discovered another side of himself.

He didn't want to see that side. He put the picture back in the envelope. But even tucked away, the image lingered—and he knew that was exactly why Lexie had given it to him.