Her Bad Boy Billionaire Lover (Billionai - By Bretton, Barbara Page 0,61

as much when we tell her--"

"Wh-when?"

She looked up at the doctor. "Did you hear that?"

The doctor nodded. The expression in her eyes was unmistakable. "Say something more to him."

"Jenny thinks you're a hero, Jake. When I tell her you're her father, she'll--"

"When we t-tell her...."

Her breath caught as his eyelids twitched then slowly opened. "Oh, God, Jake! You heard me!""

"M-more than that...you said s-something else...."

She couldn't help it. She threw back her head and she started to laugh. "I love you, Jake Lockwood! I love you, I love you, I love you!"

He motioned for her to move closer, then closer still. "I love you, Meggie...."

She'd heard the words before but somehow they had never sounded as sweet as they did at that moment.

"Shh," she said, kissing him on the mouth. "You don't have to say it. You showed me." Many men talked of love but few understood its deepest meaning. Jake had put his own life on the line so that she and Jenny could live. If there was a better way to say "I love you," she couldn't imagine what it was.

"Jenny...is she--"

"She's fine," Megan managed through her tears as the attendants came to take him to x-ray. "Thanks to you."

"T-tell her," he said, his eyes closing. "Tell her...."

"We'll tell her together," Megan said as the attendants wheeled him from the room.

The two of them.

The way it should be.

#

The MRI showed nothing beyond the broken ribs and fractured leg.

"He's a fortunate man," the doctor told Megan the next afternoon. "Must've been born under a lucky star."

Jenny tugged at Megan's hand. "Does that mean Jake was born outside?"

Megan and the doctor laughed.

"No, honey," said Megan. "That means God was watching over him." She turned to the doctor. "It's okay if we go in to see him now?"

"Absolutely. He's not terribly happy with his leg in traction. He could use some company."

"Jake's my friend," said Jenny, clutching a bouquet of flowers in one hand and her stuffed kangaroo in the other. "He said he wants me to visit him."

"I'm sure he does," said the doctor, patting Jenny on the head. "You can go in whenever you like."

Now that the moment was finally here, Megan's hands began to tremble. There was no telling how Jenny would react when they broke the news to her. Children never quite behaved the way you thought they should--or even in the way you expected.

She bent down to fix the collar of Jenny's splashy yellow dress. "Remember what I told you about broken legs?"

Jenny nodded solemnly. "Jake's leg is in a swing and I can't play with it."

"That's right." She touched her daughter's cheek. "All of those contraptions might look a little scary, Jenny, but it's all part of what will make Jake get well faster."

"Can we go see him now?"

Megan swallowed hard. "Yes," she said, squaring her shoulders. "I guess this is as good a time as any."

"Jake!" Jenny exploded into the room like a cannonball.

Megan's heart turned over inside her chest. Jake looked like a misplaced grizzly bear. There was something about the sight of a big, exceptionally masculine man in a hospital bed that brought out all of her tender feelings. His hair was tousled. His face was beard-stubbled. His bare chest was wrapped in white bandages to bind his ribs. His leg was suspended from a contraption straight out of her nightmares.

He'd never looked more wonderful.

"Wow!" Jenny stared up at the shiny gear suspended from the ceiling. "Does it hurt?"

Jake winked at Megan. "Only when I laugh."

"Is that a joke?"

"You're a smart little sheila, I'll give you that."

"Sheila?" Jenny's brows drew together in a frown. "I know a girl named Sheila."

Megan put her arm around Jenny's shoulders. "Sometimes they call girls sheilas in Australia."

"Oh," said Jenny. "That's silly."

Megan bent down and whispered in her daughter's ear. "Don't you have something for Jake?"

Jenny nodded. "We brought you flowers," she said, handing them to Jake. "I picked them myself."

Jake grinned. "From Ingrid's backyard?"

Megan shot him a look. "From our own backyard. It's not as impressive as Ingrid's but our flowers are pretty terrific."

He took the bouquet and laid it on the bed next to him. "This is great, Jen. Maybe your mom will put them in water for me."

"Don't get used to this, Lockwood," she muttered as she searched the closet for a vase. "Once that leg is mended...."

His laughter warmed her in a way not even the Florida sun could match.

"That's a great kangaroo," Jake said, gesturing toward the stuffed toy in Jenny's arms.