Part 30 (1/2)

”If you want my professional opinion, I think you should go and eat dinner. I'll call you if anything happens, but I don't think it will. Dr. Gla.s.s will meet with you later to discuss your options.”

Gina smiled at Mike. It irked Ben that she was spending a lot of time smiling at Mike and not even looking at him. She must have seen him scowl since she shot him a warning look, and turned to Gramps. ”I have your wallet. Do you want me to take anything else? Your watch, your ring?”

Gramps nodded. ”Yeah, that would be good. Just don't go on a shopping spree without me while I'm stuck in here.”

Gina rolled her eyes. ”Darn. Now I'm going to have to cancel the appointment with my personal shopper.”

”Don't worry. Once I get out of here, I'll buy you whatever you want.”

Gina reached over the side rail of the bed and brushed what little hair Gramps had away from his forehead. ”All I want is for you to get better, so you listen to the doctors, and don't give them a hard time. Ben and I will be waiting for you on the fifth floor. We'll see you later.” She squeezed his hand.

Gramps held her hand, not letting her go. ”You take care of Ben for me, huh. Mike wasn't kidding when he said Ben's not lookin' too good.”

”I will. Don't worry. He'll be fine.”

Two orderlies walked into the small s.p.a.ce and released the brake on the bed.

Ben moved when Gina shoved him toward the hall. He took a last look at his grandfather. ”I'll see you later, Gramps.”

He and Gina stood aside as they wheeled the bed out and turned to follow.

Mike stopped him. ”Ben, listen to me, man. You look as if you're about to drop. Go and eat. Gina doesn't need to worry about you too. I'll call if you're needed. I know you left your wallet at your place. Here-” He reached for his wallet and Gina waved him off.

”I have money. I'll take care of Ben. Just call if there's any change.”

Mike nodded. ”Will do.”

Gina took one look at Ben and wondered if she should get him some juice before they went hunting for the cafeteria. ”I think I saw a soda machine in the waiting room. You need something to drink right now. Sit here and I'll get you a Gatorade or something.” It would also give her a moment of much needed s.p.a.ce. She hadn't been prepared to see Ben, and she certainly hadn't expected him to look so lost. He was more of a mess than she was, and that was saying something. She'd dealt with an awful lot in her life, but she'd never seen someone she loved in the hospital. If it was this hard on her, she couldn't imagine how hard it must be for Ben. Gramps was all he had. Well, except for Kate, Karma, and the boys.

After digging through her purse for change, she took a few deep breaths and snuck a glance at him. The look on his face broke her heart. All she wanted to do was run up to him and hold on for dear life.

She had the urge to bang her head against the soda machine. Madre de Dios Madre de Dios, Tina had been right all along. She'd gone and fallen in love with Ben. Now what the h.e.l.l was she supposed to do? The orange Gatorade fell into the slot and she bent over to get it. When she rose, she found herself cornered between the machine, the wall, and Ben. ”Here. Drink this.” She shoved the Gatorade at him.

”Thanks.” He took the drink. He didn't step back, he didn't open it, he just stared at her.

”You're supposed to drink it.”

Ben shook his head. ”I don't need it. Gina, all I need is you.”

G.o.d, what was she supposed to do now? She put her arms around him and hugged him. She would have done the same for anyone who was upset. Of course, she probably wouldn't have breathed in the scent of anyone else. Even though he was sweaty, he smelled like heaven-no, he smelled like Ben and he felt as good as she remembered every night when she'd close her eyes.

They held each other for a moment until Ben took a deep breath and kissed her head. ”I'm so glad you're here. I don't know what I would have done without you.”

She looked away and slid to the side-anything to get some much needed distance. ”You would have been fine without me.” Okay, she lied. He really did seem to need her.

Ben shook his head. ”No, I haven't been fine since you left. I've been a mess.”

G.o.d, she couldn't handle this right now. ”Come on. Drink up and let's get you something to eat. We'll deal with one disaster at a time.”

Ben nodded and took her hand. ”As long as we can talk about us later.”

She was afraid to look at him, and fought the urge to run. She didn't know which was worse, being away from him or being with him and waiting for the next shoe to drop. ”Okay. We'll talk after we know Gramps is out of the woods.”

”Thanks.” Ben bent his knees so he was eye to eye with her. ”I just need one more thing.”

Gina opened her mouth to ask what when he swooped in and kissed her, pulling her hard against him. She dropped her purse and pressed her hand against his chest, not that it made much of a difference. His beard brushed her chin as he nibbled her lips. The feel of his lips against hers, his arms holding her, and his heart racing beneath her hand had every nerve-ending standing at attention along with few other things. She stilled, trying not to melt against him, and failing miserably. Kissing him had become second nature. She drowned in him, took comfort, and lost herself for a moment. Now what? She'd just set herself up for another heartbreak.

When reality intervened, she ended the kiss and Ben stepped back. ”G.o.d, Gina, I've missed you every second of every day we've been apart.”

Gina closed her eyes; she didn't want to hear this. She wanted to stick her fingers in her ears and sing to herself like she used to when she was a kid to drown out something or someone. When she opened her eyes, Ben was staring at her. ”Let's go get something to eat.”

”I'll be fine with this.” He held up the Gatorade.

”Oh no, you heard Mike. Besides, I don't want to answer to Kate if you pa.s.s out and end up needing your own hospital bed. You really do look like you could use a meal. It's going to be a long night.”

He took her hand in his and plied their fingers. ”I'll eat if you eat.”

Gina shook her head. ”That's blackmail.”

Ben tugged her away from the wall and up against him. ”Yeah, I know. I'm a desperate man.”

Ben wasn't stupid. He wasn't about to say that she didn't look very good either. She was hiding it well, but she was as upset about Gramps as he was, she just handled the hospital thing better.

While they waited for the elevator, he drank the bottle of Gatorade.

Gina watched him with a smirk on her face. ”Feeling better?”

He tossed the bottle in the trashcan between the elevator doors. ”What are you talking about? I'm fine.”

”You looked as if you were about to pa.s.s out next to Grandpa Joe's bed.”

”What did you expect? I'd just run ten miles on an empty stomach. It wasn't my brightest move.”

”No argument here.” The elevator dinged.

He put his arm around her and stepped through the open doors. ”I've done a lot of stupid things lately.”

He cursed under his breath when Gina's phone rang giving her the perfect excuse to ignore him. ”h.e.l.lo?” she nodded. ”As far as I know it wasn't a heart attack. They took him to ICU for more tests.” She looked at Ben. ”Yeah, he got here about a half hour ago. We're just heading to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat.”

The elevator stopped at their floor and they stepped out.

”Do you want to talk to him?” Ben stepped closer to take the phone and she shook her head. ”Okay, I'll tell him.” She looked away. ”Good, what time will you be landing? Ah huh. You're flying into Kennedy? Okay, I'll have Carlos pick you up. You can just leave your things in the cab and he'll take them back to my place.” She shook her head. ”Don't be silly, I have plenty of room for everyone. I'll see you in a few hours. Yeah, I'll tell him.” Gina disconnected the call.

”Kate didn't want to talk to me?”

”She said she loves you and she'll be here soon.”

”She couldn't tell me that herself?”