I wiped my free hand across my eyes. “You are my friend, Emmie. Of course I’m going to take care of you when you need it.” I dropped a kiss on her forehead, like I would if I was talking to Lana or Lucy. In such a short span of time, Emmie had become another sister to me. “Are you hungry?” I asked gently.

She gave me a weak smile. “Not really, but I guess I should try something. The baby hasn’t moved around a whole lot, and I think she needs something to wake her up.”

“Okay. Just relax. I’ll get you something that won’t be harsh on your stomach.” I gave her hand a squeeze then tucked it under the covers with the rest of her to get warm.

In the kitchen, I fixed a can of chicken soup and some dry toast. A glass of fizzy lemon-lime soda and a dish of some melon sorbet rounded out the little meal that I had put together on a tray for Emmie. Before I could pick up the tray, my cell rang and I fished it out of my back pocket. Without glancing at the caller ID, I hit connect and put it to my ear. “This is Layla.”

“How has your day been?”

Jesse’s sexy as sin voice in my ear made me shiver. I stopped what I was doing and leaned against the counter. “It’s been an adventure,” I assured him then told him about taking Emmie to the doctor and what the man had said. The more I said, the more I could feel his tension even through the phone.

There was a pause, then he blew out a pent up breath. “How is she feeling now?”

I could hear his frustration and his love for her. It warmed me from the inside out that that big, bad rock star could feel so deeply for someone other than himself. It went against everything I had ever seen before in other rockers, namely my own father. Maybe it was okay to love this guy after all. “I’m making her something to eat. She’s a little out of it after the shot of anti-nausea that Dr. Chesterfield gave her.”

“Thank you for taking care of her, Layla. That…It means a lot to me, baby.”

I wrapped my free arm around myself, trying to hold the feelings I had for this man inside. “Don’t thank me,” I whispered. “Emmie is my friend, too. Friends take care of each other.”

“Yes they do,” he murmured in a thoughtful tone.

“When will you be home?” I questioned, excited to see him.

“Probably as soon as I tell Nik about Emmie. Want to have dinner with me, tonight? I know a kid friendly place that we could take Lucy. I’m sure she would love their mac and cheese. Crap, I order it every time I go.”

My heart literally skipped a beat. I had to swallow a few times to get the emotional lump from my throat. He was including Lucy. It didn’t all together surprise me, not after seeing him with her and seeing how good he was with kids, but considering that he had asked me out and thought of her too..? Oh, fuck. Yes, it was true. I loved this rocker. “That sounds like fun.” I whispered.

“It’s a date then.” He paused, as if he wanted to say something more. Instead, he just murmured, “Bye, sweetheart.”

I stood there with the phone pressed to my ear for almost a full minute before I snapped out of my daze. I was in love with Jesse Thornton. Crazy, obsessive love. The kind that would make me stupid and heartsick, but I really didn’t care anymore. I wanted this. My heart needed this.

With a dopey smile on my face I lifted the tray and carried it up to Emmie’s room. She was just barely dozing and opened her eyes when I walked in. She tried to sit up, and I hurried to set the tray down on the bedside table so that I could help her get comfortable. I fluffed pillows and arranged them behind her then put the tray across her lap.

I sat with her while she sipped the broth from the chicken soup and nibbled on the toast. She devoured the sorbet and even asked for more when her bowl was empty. When I returned with her second serving, she looked better. She was sitting back against the pillows rubbing her hand lovingly over her stomach, murmuring to it. “She’s kicking up a storm again.” Emmie told me with a happy smile that made her light up from the inside out.

“Good.” I sat the dish on her tray.

I stayed with her until I heard the Escalade pull into the driveway outside. I had the tray in my hands when the front door slammed shut and footsteps came running up the stairs. Seconds later Nik appeared in the doorway, his face pale and his unique blue eyes looking wild. “Em?” he croaked out.

“I’m fine, Nik.” She rushed to assure him. “Layla has taken great care of me.”

I gave him a small smile as I moved by him, but he grabbed my elbow stopped me. I looked up in curiosity because I felt his fingers trembling. He blinked a few times then looked down at me. “Thank you, Layla,” he whispered.

It bothered me that they all found it hard to believe that someone had taken time to make sure that Emmie was taken care of, that anyone other than the five of them would want to take care of them. I found myself repeating the same thing I had been saying all afternoon. “Don’t thank me. She’s my friend.”

I didn’t think he heard me because he was already moving toward the bed, so I closed the door behind me and took the tray down to the kitchen. The refrigerator door was open and Jesse stood there pulling out a beer. Without questioning myself, I set the tray on the counter and then moved up behind him so that I could wrap my arms around his waist from behind. “Hey,” I murmured, kissing his left shoulder blade.

Jesse turned and pulled me against his chest. I didn’t hesitate when he lowered his head and started kissing me. My lips welcomed his, letting him in to taste me just as I wanted to taste him. The hand not holding the beer gripped my ass and pulled me even closer, right up against the ever growing evidence of his need for me. I moaned, loving how much I could affect him with just a kiss.

When we pulled apart, neither of us could catch our breaths. “What time does Lucy get home from school?” he demanded, his voice sounding rough.

I glanced at the watch on my wrist. “Her bus gets here in about thirty minutes.”

His eyes darkened, and I had learned that it was a sure sign that he was about to devour me. “That’s plenty of time,” he growled. His beer disappeared and then I was in his arms, my legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

For such a big man, he moved quickly. Before I could even guess where he was taking me, we were in the laundry room. He sat me on the edge of the washer and started tugging on the hem of my shirt. My own fingers were busy working on his fly, anxious to get his big, beautiful cock free so that I could look, touch, and taste him.