Millionaire Crush (Freeman Brothers 3)

Vince kissed me. “You’re so sweet.”

“I have my moments. So, what are we going to do for the rest of the day?” I asked.

“I was thinking when we are done with lunch, we can go over to the Discovery Center and catch the film in the IMAX Dome. There’s an undersea feature right now that looks amazing. And since you have been wanting to go to the beach, this will let you pretend,” he said.

“I love that idea,” I said. “Do you think they’d let me wear my bathing suit?”

Vince gave me a devilish smile and leaned in. “Even if they don’t, we can go back to your place and you can model it for me.”

We got back to eating so we could make it to the next showing of the film. As we walked inside holding hands, I thought about how happy I was. This was exactly the way it should be when dating somebody. It was comfortable and fun. We hadn’t officially talked about our relationship or established that we were dating. But somehow that made it seem even more real. We didn’t need the formal conversation. We were just enjoying being together.

Over the last two weeks, we had fallen into a rhythm of spending as much time together as we could. Our routines formed around each other, and we had only been apart for two nights during that time. It was amazing. Every day we had fun together, and for the first time, I felt like I had someone who truly cared about me. The case was still ongoing, but every time I heard from Charlie, I felt a little better about the courts seeing the situation from my angle.

The one thing that loomed over me constantly was how much I missed Remy. This was the longest I had gone without seeing him since he was born. I felt his absence every day and the gap left by not having our usual visitation. I could only hope Grant wasn’t feeding him lies about me and that soon it would all work out so we were together again.

But no matter how much fun Vince and I were having and how good everything felt, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

That sense of impending doom creeping in the back of my mind meant I wasn’t too surprised Friday afternoon when I got a call from Grant. When the phone first rang, I assumed it was Vince. Our plans for our big weekend together were all set. He would get off work and go home to get everything he needed, including Frankie in his fancy cat carrier. I would go to the bar and make sure the private event I was fully set up and the guests had what they needed.

After that, we would meet up at my house, and the festivities would begin. I was excited about it from the moment I opened my eyes. Even though we spent most nights together already, there was something special about a planned weekend that would only be disrupted by going up to the bar Saturday night. I grabbed my phone without looking at the screen and answered it.

“You know what I was just thinking? I think this weekend totally counts as a staycation. We are being super trendy,” I said.

“What are you talking about?” Grant asked.

“Grant?” I said. I let out a sigh. This was not the time for him to start bothering me about the case again. “Look, I’m really busy right now. Unless you’re calling to say you are dropping the case and I can come pick up Remy, I don’t have time for it. You can talk to my lawyer.”

“He’s in the hospital.”

My blood ran cold, and I stopped. “What?”

“Remy is in the hospital,” Grant said. “He was just admitted.”

“What happened?” I asked. “What did you do to him?”

“How could you even ask something like that? I didn’t hurt him. He fell. It was an accident.”

“I’m on my way.”

Ending the call, I grabbed my purse and ran for the car. The door shut behind me, and I had to fight not to let myself completely panic. Freaking out right now might have been my first instinct as a mother, but it would keep me from getting to my son, which was the most important thing I needed to do. Thoughts tumbled around in my head as I drove for the hospital. How bad was the fall? Was anything broken? Did he hit his head?

I got to the hospital and ran in. Jumping into the elevator, I hit the button for the pediatric floor. I managed to make a fast phone call to Nick to let him know what was going on, then shoved my phone back in my purse as the doors opened out onto the ward. The nurse at the nurses’ station directed me to Remy’s room, and I ran down the hallway toward it.