36. Sarah

36

SARAH

With each block I grew more suspicious of where Vic was taking me. But I tried to trust her, she'd never disappointed on one of our dates before.

It was a longer walk than from the helicopter to the gallery and this walk took us deeper into the Lower East Side where the buildings began to really tower overhead.

Now that the sun had fully set, a relieving breeze blew through the streets. About five blocks later, just as my feet were starting to dislike the very expensive heels on my feet, Victoria slowed and grabbed the door handle to a high rise.

I looked up the length of the building and raised an eyebrow. Part of me expected her to take me to some fancy restaurant, but now I had no idea where dinner was going to be.

Once I brushed past Vic, she put her hand on my waist and guided me toward the elevator. She clicked the up button and the doors swung open. Once we were inside, she clicked "penthouse" and pulled me closer.

As the elevator rocketed up the forty plus floors, Vic lowered her voice and rumbled into my ear, "I'm glad you wore both of my gifts."

I bit the skin of my lower lip. "I wanted to show you my appreciation."

Vic's eyes wandered down my cleavage, sneaking another glance at the deep v-neck of the black gown. Just looking at her eyes, I could see how hungry she was for me. Dinner was a necessity for whatever she had planned for me that night.

Before we could get carried away in each other's eyes, the elevator doors swung open and a hostess smiled at us. She held her arm over the door as we exited, ensuring the elevator wouldn't get too eager to close.

My jaw dropped as soon as I saw the view out of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Overlooking all of Manhattan, the penthouse had a panoramic view. The Freedom Tower to the Empire State Building all the way to the end of Central Park could be seen from here.

The hostess smiled gently. "Welcome, Miss Bradley and Miss Greenwood. Can we take you to your table?"

Victoria nodded. "Yes, please."

While I stared at the incredible view, Vic herded me toward our table. By the time I managed to pull my eyes from the view, I was stunned again. The venue itself was gorgeous. It must have been an old apartment unit that had been turned into a small restaurant for New York's elite.

A few small dining tables were scattered around what must have been a living and dining room. A fireplace burned in the center, glowing a gentle orange.

Tuxedoed wait staff slipped between the small openings with plates of food.

Victoria walked around to my side of the table and pulled out my chair. Once I was sitting, she pushed it in and went back to her own seat. But for her, the hostess did the same.

"Thank you." She nodded.

We settled into our blush chairs and took a look at the one page menu for the night.

After a second, I laughed. "How do you have so many fancy secret restaurants to go to?"

Vic smirked. "Everyone wants me to spend my money. And I like to spoil my woman."

"Of course." Turning back to the menu, I selected a steak from the menu. Before we could get bored, the waiter came over and took our orders.

Everything moved so smoothly, I barely had to speak a word.

Finally at the table alone, Vic let out a sigh. "So, Sarah. After the lake house, what's next for you?"

I clicked my tongue, unsure what the answer was myself. "Well, the kids will be back in school so I'll have a little more time for myself…"

A buzz from my clutch took my attention.

"Sorry, let me just make sure this isn't the kids." I pulled the phone out of my purse and saw a call from Jason. My forehead wrinkled, "Shit."

Sensing my concern, Victoria waved her hand. "Take it."

My finger slid across the screen as I answered. "Everything okay?"

Through the phone, Jason spoke, "Hey. Don't panic, everything is fine. Your sister had to go to the hospital. She started having contractions."

"Oh my god." My heart started pounding.

"Before you ask, I'm already there with the kids." Jason paused. "Everyone's okay but we thought you'd want to know."

My eyes flicked up to Victoria, whose face was scrunched up with concern. I shrugged to her. "My sister might be in labor."

Vic waved over the waiter and started making moves. Once she spoke to the waiter, she pulled out her own phone and sent a couple texts.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." I gritted my teeth as I tried to calculate how quickly I could be there. With a brief goodbye, I hung up the phone. Sliding the device back into my purse, Vic was already standing and pulling out my chair.

Shaking my head, I rested my hand on Vic's forearm. "I'm so sorry."

Vic laughed, walking us to the elevator and thanking all of the staff. "Don't apologize, it's an emergency. I've already called a car and Hughes is firing up the helicopter."

My shoulders dropped immediately. The relief of knowing there was another adult in the room was enough to make my heart skip a beat. Without question, Vic had figured out exactly what needed to happen to get me to the hospital.

Once the elevator doors closed, I pulled Vic toward me and into a kiss. Our lips pressed together, my body wanting to pick up where we left off in the gallery. But the doors were swinging open before I could get carried away.

Vic held my hand as we sped through the lobby of this amazing high rise. As soon as we pushed through the lobby doors, a black, SUV honked at us.

Jogging ahead, Vic swung open the back passenger door. My heels clicked against the concrete as I heaved myself into the car. As soon as Vic closed the back door, the driver peeled off toward the helipad.

Within a few minutes, Vic and I were riding up another elevator to the helicopter. As soon as we were in that fancy hallway again, I could hear the engine roaring and the blades spinning. When I pushed open the door to the rooftop, my body wanted to flinch away and hide from the twirling blades.

But instead, Victoria ducked me down and jogged us toward the helicopter. As we got closer, I could hear the engine firing up; ready to take off as soon as we climbed inside.

I took my place on the beige leather and buckled myself in, this time throwing on the headphones as soon as I sat.

Vic closed the door behind us and sat close to me, the aircraft lifting off the concrete immediately. Maybe I was too nervous to care, or maybe I was just getting used to such an extravagant ride, but my stomach didn't drop this time.

My sister is having her baby. A smile took over my face.

Over the headset, Hughes spoke, "We'll be landing at New Winford Regional in about 25 minutes."

"At the hospital?" I whipped my head to face Vic.

She nodded. "Yeah, no point wasting time by having you drive from the airport to the hospital."

My brain tried to catch up. "But my car…"

"My driver is already moving it over to the hospital." Vic squeezed my hand. "Don't worry about a thing."

I leaned back in my seat. I only had 25 minutes to calm myself down enough to support my family. And luckily, Vic was trying to make that as easy as possible. As the helicopter put distance between us and the city, I looked out of the window one more time. Soaking in the view that I'd never seen before, I took a deep breath.

Vic leaned closer. "Rain check?"

"Obviously." I smirked as I met her stunning hazel eyes.

Twenty minutes later the helicopter was descending on one of the helipads at the top of the New Winford Regional Hospital. I looked down at the flashing, red lights of the roof as the aircraft lowered.

I turned to look at Vic, my eyes scanning her face.

Once the plane touched down, she reached across the seats and held my hand. "Tell Zoey I send my best."

Nodding, I kissed her. "I will. Thank you for all of this." I gestured to the space around us.

Victoria sighed as she pulled her face away from mine. "I think you know by now that I'll do anything for you, Sarah Greenwood."

It was impossible to hit the blush that came to my face. But as the helicopter engine continued to roar, I knew I needed to get downstairs. I gave her one more kiss, pressed our lips together firmly before turning to open the door.

Vic slid across the leather and helped me down while staying in her seat. With the blades spinning violently, I wasn't able to say anything else to her. Instead, I waved and ducked my head as I headed toward the rooftop door.

Vic watched me until the door closed behind me and I was left in a dingy hospital stairwell. The roar of the helicopter faded as I took each step, the daydream of a date fading just as quickly as reality sank in.

I followed the signs for the waiting room on the maternity ward. Before I knew it, I was pushing open the double doors to a mostly empty room; except of course for the gaggle of Greenwood's huddled at its center.

"There she is." My mom pointed as she rose from her chair, rushing toward me with her slight, old lady limp.

Wrapping my arms around her, I sighed. "Hi, mama."

She held my shoulders and took a look at me, an eyebrow raising at my extravagant outfit. Before she could ask any questions, my babies came running over, swarming my legs.

I gave each of them a kiss on their head. "How are you guys doing?"

With his hands buried in his pockets, Jason smiled. "They were a little spooked by the ambulance but Aunt Robin did a great job keeping them calm." Behind him, Liv waved at me. They were both in their pajamas, clearly having been woken up by the chaos.

"My brave babies." I smiled down at each of them. Once they released my hips from their little hands, I looked around. "Can we see her?"

William grumbled from his chair. "Not yet. Robin came out and gave us an update a few minutes ago. Zo's stable and the baby isn't coming just yet."

My shoulders dropped in relief. Thank god she's okay. Knowing she was safe, my eyes started to well with tears. But I held them back, wanting to stay strong.

Everyone wandered back to their seats. But as they did, one more guest appeared. As soon as I saw her face, my heart started to race.

Noticing me stop in my tracks, Jason followed my gaze. He clicked his tongue. "Zoey insisted she be here." He narrowed his eyes at me, a playful kind of scolding hiding in the hazel gaze.

Sure enough, there she was: Brianne Shaw in a pair of baggy gray sweats and a green flannel.