Finally something I could do! I nodded and practically sprinted down the hall to get Emmie’s computer. When I returned she was sipping the water and her tears had mostly dried up. Layla took the computer from me with a smile and opened it. I stood there, not sure what to do, while the girls pulled up site after site on C-sections.

When I heard a baby crying, I stepped behind the sectional and crouched down so that I could watch too. There was a woman laid out on a table, a tent separating her head from the rest of her body. Several people wearing surgical scrubs stood on either side of the woman’s stomach while the one I assumed was the doctor worked on the woman. “Going to feel some pressure,” the doctor told the woman.

The whole thing only took minutes. When it was over, there was another screaming baby. Apparently, the woman had been carrying twins. A nurse took the baby from the doctor, wrapped it up in a blanket, and showed it to the mother.

“What do you think?” Layla dared to ask after the video had stopped.

Emmie shook her head. “It’s still scary…but you were right. The doctor made it sound much scarier than the video showed it to be.”

“Well, Nik will be there with you.” Layla assured her. “You get to have someone back in the operating room with you. Nik will make sure that you are fine. Right, Jesse?”

“Fuck yes, he will.” I gripped Emmie’s shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. “You and the baby are going to be just fine, sweetheart. I promise.”

The front door opened and slammed shut. I figured Nik had to have broken every traffic law in the state to get home so quickly. It was just a little over an hour’s drive to the studio with traffic. Nik had managed it in half that. “Baby?” he called out, sounding frantic.

“I’m here,” Emmie called.

He fell on his knees in front of her, his hair looking crazy, his face pale and his eyes blood shot. “Fuck, Em. Tell me what’s going on?” His voice was thick with emotion. “I’ve been going out of my mind…”

Layla stood, and I followed her from the room while Emmie told Nik about the visit to the doctor. She glanced at me over her shoulder as she walked toward the kitchen. “You look like you could use a drink,” she murmured softly.

“Or ten.” I ran a hand over my face and head.

She grinned. “Come on. I’ll fix you something.”

Before she could enter the kitchen, I grabbed her waist and pushed her up against the wall without turning her around. I held onto her tight, needing her against me but too much of a coward to turn her around so that she wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes. “Thank you, Layla,” I whispered against her ear and felt her shiver. “Thank you for helping Emmie.”

Chapter 9

Layla

If I thought the kiss from that morning was hot, it was nothing compared to how having Jesse pressing me against the wall just outside the kitchen felt with his chest against my back, his dick snug against my ass. My breasts pressed against the wall while my nipple rings tugged with every breath I took in.

His fingers skimmed down my bare arms causing goose flesh to pop up with every stroke of those big thick fingers. “Thank you, Layla.” He breathed against my ear and I couldn’t help but shiver. “Thank you for helping Emmie.”

The sincerity in his voice and the gratitude, spoke more to me than anything else. I had seen the way he was with Emmie, the way they all were. It hadn’t really hit me how much that girl was loved until right now. It made my heart ache with an emotion I had never felt before in my life. That this big rocker, a man that I had seen rocking hard on television and in the tabloids, could feel so deeply for another human being was amazing to me.

My experiences with rockers had never shown me that that type of person could feel such emotions…

Hot, slightly damp lips grazed my exposed neck. “Really, Layla. Thank you.” He stepped back and quietly walked away.

I stood there for a long while, trying to get my body to stop trembling. Good God, that man made me ache without even trying! My whole body was one massive throb, and my heart was trying to break through my chest it was beating so hard.

On shaking legs, I made it to the downstairs bathroom and splashed cool water on my face and ran my wrists under the stream of slightly chilled water. I didn’t look at myself in the mirror, to frightened of what I might find in my eyes, too much of a coward to let myself admit that I had feelings for the rocker that went beyond lust.

--

The rest of the week passed quickly enough. I worked hard, made sure that the house was spotless, and then made sure I was out of the main house before the guys returned from the studio each evening.

Lana disappeared every night after dinner, sometimes taking her homework with her, and didn’t return until it was bed time. Sometimes I heard their laughter just outside. Other times I would look out the window and see the two walking side by side on the beach. I didn’t ask questions, although I knew the smart thing to do was demand to know what she was doing, but like I had told her, I trusted my sister to make the right decisions with Drake.

Friday arrived all too soon for me. I watched Lana as she went through her entire wardrobe and finally settled on something to wear. A simple black skirt with a white camisole and short sleeved black sweater that only had two buttons to keep it closed. She looked beautiful as always, but when she got into my makeup, I found a much older version of my baby sister looking back at me. I hated it, but I kept my mouth shut as I watched Drake whisk her away for their dinner at some Greek restaurant that Lana was supposed to love.

I tried not to watch the clock the whole evening. I hadn’t given Lana a curfew, but I hoped she would be responsible enough to know when it was time to call it a night. Lucy attempted to keep me distracted. We played a few of her board games, and I let her cheat the majority of the time. We colored until she was sleepy, and then I tucked her into bed with just one story instead of her normal three.

I was just turning away when her eyes suddenly opened and she clutched my hand. “Do you think Lana likes Drake?”

Her question surprised me. “I don’t know, Lucy. Why do you ask?”

She sighed. “Because I like him. I want her to like him too. Drake is really awesome.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. Lucy didn’t give such high praise to just anyone, and ‘awesome’ was as good as it got in her book. “He is kind of cool,” I agreed. “I think that Lana and Drake are going to be great friends.”