“What if she doesn’t wake up to give that permission?” Jake asked grimly.
The twins exchanged a glance and it was Neil who said, “Why don’t we just wait and see what happens? You remember how you reacted to being turned without giving permission. You don’t want that with Nicole.”
Jake grimaced as he realized he was thinking of doing exactly what Vincent had done and which he’d resented so much. He was just so worried that she wasn’t waking up . . . that she might never wake up.
“We’ll wait and see what the doctors say. If it doesn’t look like she’s going to come around, then we’ll consider turning her,” Neil said patiently.
“Do I smell coffee?”
Jake stilled at that weak question, and then turned his head sharply to Nicole. This time her eyes were open. Her nose was also working, sniffing the air with interest, but then she frowned and asked, “Why does my head hurt so much?”
Chapter Fifteen
Nicole yawned sleepily and opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling. It took one glance to recall that she was in the hospital. The slightly antiseptic smell helped.
“How is your head, dear?”
Nicole turned to peer blankly at the woman at her bedside. She was young, with short blond hair, and a nice smile. From the way she’d addressed her, Nicole had expected an older woman, but they were about the same age.
“Er . . .” she murmured, uncertainly, wondering where Jake was. He’d been sitting where the woman presently was when Nicole had finally fallen asleep. That was after the doctor had been informed she was awake and had come to see her. He’d quickly examined her and then announced she seemed fine, but he wanted to keep her overnight for observation. Since it was three in the morning by the time he announced that, it hadn’t seemed worth arguing over.
Nicole had managed to stay awake for a bit, long enough to learn what had happened after she’d passed out, and that she had Dante’s using mind control to thank for the private hospital room she’d woken up in. Those mind-control skills of theirs were really very impressive, she thought. But then there was a lot to be impressed by with these immortals, or at least with Jake. Well, she supposed Dante and Tomasso were impressive too, but Jake was special. The man was smart, which she wasn’t sure could be attributed to the nanos, but they probably didn’t hurt. Aside from that, though, he was strong and funny and the most amazing lover ever. All the man had to do was kiss her and her toes curled. As for the sex itself, that was mind-blowing . . . and he had a cute ass too. Jake had thought her tendency to slow down and lag behind at the end of their shopping trip was because she was tiring, but the truth was Nicole had just enjoyed looking at his butt in his tight jeans as they walked.
A choked chuckle came from the blond. The unexpected and unwarranted sound made Nicole peer at her warily, suddenly worried that she was a patient who had wandered down from the psychiatric department. Was that possible? They wouldn’t just let psychiatric patients wander the hospital, would they?
A startled laugh slipped from the woman now, and she shook her head, “Oh dear, I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself.”
When the woman then held out her hand, Nicole eyed it with trepidation.
“My name is Elaine Colton Notte. I’m Stephano’s mother.”
“You’re Jake’s mother?” Nicole gasped, sitting up and gaping at her. She also finally took note of the woman’s silver-teal eyes. Oh yeah, this was Jake’s mom. It was like his eyes were looking back at her out of the woman’s face. Good Lord, Jake’s mom, she thought. It wasn’t the fact that Elaine Notte looked so young that stunned Nicole. It was her being there at all that had her staring at her, tongue-tied and amazed.
“Yes, dear.” Elaine reached out and patted her hand reassuringly. She might not look older, but she definitely acted like a mother who could be a grandmother if only her children would cooperate. “We headed out as soon as we heard about the car accident. We would have come after the hot-tub incident had anyone bothered to tell us,” she added grimly.
“I’m sorry,” Nicole said at once. “I called Marguerite because Jake made me, but I didn’t know your number, or I would have—”
“Oh, my dear, please, I wasn’t blaming you,” Mrs. Notte interrupted quickly, patting her hand again. “I meant my son Neil. He knew and should have called, but didn’t.”
“And I shall be in the dog house for at least a century for that,” a voice said from the door and Nicole glanced over to see two men entering. Both had short jet-black hair, and very Italian features. Both also looked to be in their mid- to late twenties, wore what she guessed were designer suits, and had amazing silver-black eyes. She was guessing the one who had spoken was Neil, but hadn’t a clue who the other man was. Jake’s stepfather maybe?
“Yes, this is my husband, Roberto Conti Notte,” Elaine said proudly, reminding Nicole that these people could read her mind. Turning to Neil, she added in a grim voice, “And yes you will be in the doghouse for a very long time. I should have known if your brother was in trouble.”
“Oh, come on, Mom,” Neil chided, walking up behind her chair and squeezing her shoulder. “I didn’t want to worry you. Besides, you’re really just annoyed that you didn’t know about Nicole until after everyone else did.”
Elaine scowled at him. “I should have known about that right away too.”
Bending, he kissed her cheek. “How about I promise you’ll be the first one I call when I meet my life mate?”
“I should be anyway,” she muttered, glowering over her shoulder at him.
“Don’t worry, son,” the man who was apparently Jake’s stepfather said with amusement. “It won’t take your mama a century to get over this. You know how soft a heart she has. A decade at most and she’ll stop bringing it up and glaring at you.”
“I won’t,” Elaine assured them. “This upset me very much.”
Nicole watched this all wide-eyed, wondering where on earth Jake was. It seemed like his whole family was here, but him . . . and why was his whole family here? In her hospital room? When he wasn’t?
Elaine turned apologetically to Nicole. “I’m so sorry, dear. Of course you are wondering where your Jake is.” She smiled at her widely as if Nicole’s wondering was to be expected and something to be celebrated. “I should have told you at once. I insisted Tomasso and Dante take Jake home to shower and change. His shirt had blood all over it and his borrowed jogging pants kept falling down.” She wrinkled her nose and added, “He was beginning to smell a bit rank too.”