“I think you two need a break from each other.” Sadie slipped on her shoes. “Let’s go find someplace you can unwind and forget about your tires.”
“Perfect,” Roman said, his deep voice going an octave lower.
Sadie ignored the way her insides thrummed at Roman’s voice, grabbed her handbag, and started for the door.
Roman pointed toward his grandmother. “We’re not done.”
He said the statement to his grandmother, but it felt a lot like it was also directed at Sadie.
And that was exactly what gave her heartburn.
Then her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
Eli.
Chapter Six
“Really, it’s fine.” Roman followed Sadie as she hurried down the polished tiled floor of the hospital entrance and pressed the button to the elevator. Louise was slung over his shoulder because he didn’t trust what his grandmother might do to her if he left her in his car. He wasn’t taking chances leaving her in Sadie’s ride, either.
“We can call you a car on my phone?” Sadie offered, rummaging through her handbag. “Or you can use my phone to call your brother or sister. That is, if they’re not part of the Babushka brigade. I could just call them, explain it all. That way it’s not weird. Or maybe it would be weirder if I did it? Maybe you should do it.”
God, he’d missed the internal debates she vocalized.
He couldn’t help but chuckle.
She frowned at him. “I’m just trying to help.”
“Trust me, you’re helping.” He wanted to touch her more than he wanted anything. His body practically pulled to her. “I’m just enjoying you. I forgot how much I missed listening to you argue with yourself.”
“I don’t argue with myself,” she said, but she didn’t look convinced.
“We all have our special gifts.” He adjusted the bag carrying Louise so it didn’t dig into his shoulder.
“Do you want me to call a rideshare for you?” Sadie asked.
Yes, she could do that. Except, he was actually enjoying spending time with her. Even if they were heading to the maternity ward. Anyway, he had no place to be that night and he was fairly sure that the Dvornakovs wouldn’t find him in the waiting room of Labor and Delivery at St. Luke’s.
He started to tell her just that when the elevator pinged and the doors slid open. Still digging in her purse, apparently having forgotten her line of questioning, Sadie hurried inside. She barely glanced up to ensure she didn’t run into anyone.
Luckily, the elevator was empty.
Roman followed. He pushed the button for the fourteenth floor. The elevator doors closed and the car started climbing.
“Got it,” she declared, yanking the iPhone free. “I’ll just call that car. But…” She traced her bottom lip with her teeth like she’d always done. Then she gave a hopeful look to the camera bag holding Louise. “You think since you brought Louise, she might be willing to take a few photo—” She swiped her thumb across the screen and gasped. “Oh my God.”
Her face went pale as she stared at whatever the hell was on the screen. The blood drained from her cheeks.
His body tuned into protective mode. Roman tapped down his raising heartbeat with techniques he used when photographing a particularly gnarly battlefield. “Sadie.”
Gravity was apparently heavier on her side of the elevator cab because she fell backward against the side.
Now he was officially flipped out. All the battlefield techniques weren’t going to work when Sadie had that look of shock on her face.
Then she grinned and did a fist pump in the air.
“Sadie?” Roman asked.
