little chilly.”
He left quickly and she leaned her head back, closing her eyes.
She’d given up on Vaughan being there when she’d needed him at all a long time ago. Wished it didn’t matter that he’d been there that night.
It made a difference. And she was a fool to let it.
It seemed as if she’d been trying to get over Vaughan Hurley since before they divorced. Of all the people she’d sought attention and affection from in her life, only Vaughan still had a hold on her heart and it made her so stupid, but love did that.
With a groan, Kelly sat up and pulled out her phone to text her best friend. Stacey was across the country in Manhattan. She was attending some conference where she was presenting a paper. As much as Kelly wished Stacey could be there with her right then, this paper was a big deal.
So she kept her text pretty light. Gave the basic details and urged her to stay in New York. There really was nothing Stacey could do at that point, but Kelly would keep her updated.
That done, she texted Ross. He didn’t like Vaughan, though he never showed that in front of the girls. He was resentful of any time Kelly spent with him, even for family events, and jealous that Vaughan had a connection to Kelly through their children. She filled him in about the situation with Maddie and said she’d talk to him when he got up.
All that done, Kelly stood, stretching. She pulled on Vaughan’s sweatshirt, as it was indeed chilly in the waiting room. It had been years since her skin had been this close to his scent and it sent her reeling.
An ache that she’d grown accustomed to many years ago throbbed at the memories of what it had been for a brief, shining time. She slammed that shut by remembering the Hurleys would be showing up soon enough.
Of this she had zero doubt. They’d drop whatever they were doing and rush over because Vaughan needed them, and every damned one of them would show up to support him and Maddie.
Mostly she was grateful her children had that support and love in their lives. Mostly. Her former mother-in-law might hate Kelly, but she loved her grandchildren and her sons.
Kelly had no room to judge. Especially because she had absolutely no plans to call her mother. Rebecca Larsen was in the Hamptons for the summer—at the house Kelly’s money had bought—and Kelly liked it that way.
Kelly had grown up in an angry, turbulent household. At twelve, when she’d walked a show for the first time, she’d recognized it as her means to get away from Rebecca.
When she’d given birth to Maddie and they’d gotten home from the hospital, Kelly had been alone with her daughter and she’d made a promise right then and there to make a family with that tiny creature. To keep her safe and loved and to do her all to empower and raise a child who knew every moment of every day that she was worthy.
With a sigh, Kelly focused on the prerequisite black-and-white nature photo on a far wall as she sank into a chair. Letting herself go blank, a meditation technique she’d learned from an old roommate back in her modeling days, Kelly let go of everything that wasn’t Maddie.
Being a mother hadn’t made Kelly into a woman or anything like that. But it had dug roots into Kelly’s life in a way she’d never really experienced before. This was a toss-yourself-in-front-of-a-speeding-car-to-save-someone love, and it had revolutionized her entire existence.
She’d been strong in a way she could look herself in the mirror every morning and not flinch. Sometimes the only thing that gave her the ability to keep going was to always be a good example to her kids. Maddie would be fine because Kelly would rip the world apart to make it so.
* * *
THEY MOVED DOWN to the main waiting room once Vaughan had returned with the food. Only he and Kelly had been allowed in the one just outside the pediatric surgery, but they could see through to those doors from where they were seated now.
“Not the first time we’ve eaten diner food after one in the morning.” He grinned at her. She wore his sweatshirt and though it had been so long, he wasn’t surprised that it still made him greedy for her. Or that it made him remember the way she’d looked in nothing but one of his T-shirts after a show.
She balled up her napkin after wiping her mouth. “I’m not as young as I was then. I’m going to have to take an antacid. As far as a meal in a hospital this late at night goes? It’s top-notch. Thanks for going to pick it up.”
“It gave me something to do and like I said, I was hungry, too.”
“I hadn’t really had the chance to ask how the tour went.” There was a caution in her tone that he rarely heard from her on other subjects.
This topic was full of briars and hidden traps between them. Had been. And maybe, just maybe, it was his fault.
Before he could answer, though, Kelly stood, a smile on her face. “Why are you here? I told you to stay home.”
Vaughan withheld his growl of annoyance at the sight of Kelly’s boyfriend Ross strolling into the waiting room and enfolding Vaughan’s wife into a hug she clearly needed. One Vaughan hadn’t offered. Because he had no right to anymore.
Ross kissed her forehead and Vaughan wanted to punch the guy. The guy who said, “I decided you could be forgiven for such a ridiculous request since you were under duress. Of course I’m here. Where else would I be?”
All Ross’s attention had been on Kelly but Vaughan knew very well the other man hadn’t missed Vaughan in the room. Especially when Ross’s gaze focused on Vaughan for long moments before he released Kelly and held a hand Vaughan’s way.
“Hey, Vaughan. Good to see you. Sorry about the circumstances.”
Ross may not have liked Vaughan, but he had good manners. He also clearly loved Kelly. And why shouldn’t he? Kelly was gorgeous. She had her own businesses, she was a great mom and she was smart. And funny. Her skin was really soft and she smelled really good.
“Good to see you, too.” Which was a total lie. Vaughan would be happy if he never saw the other dude’s mug again.
Ross turned back to Kelly. “What’s happening with Maddie?” He brushed her hair away from her face. “Let’s sit.” He led her back to where they’d been sitting, settling next to Kelly.
Vaughan used that opportunity to check in with his brothers but even with his back turned, he could see their reflection in the window he stood before.
* * *
KELLY LEANED INTO ROSS. Relieved that he’d come. Soothed by the stability he always brought into her life. “Who’s with the girls?” Ross had two daughters roughly the same age as her own.
“My mom came over. I wouldn’t even have seen your text until the morning but I got up to go to the bathroom and I saw my phone as I passed back to bed.”
He kissed her temple and spoke into her ear. “Did you think I wouldn’t come? With all his family most likely moments from descending on this hospital?”
Of course he would have thought about how it would feel for Kelly to be the only non-Hurley in that room. She knitted her fingers with his.
