“It’s not just the stupid photos, okay? You know why she went all the way to South Africa to see you face-to-face? Did you ever wonder?”

As a matter of fact, he hadn’t. But now he realized that maybe… “She said she couldn’t get in touch with me over the phone or email,” he said almost numbly as dread spread in his belly like cancer.

“She had work here. She had to cancel bookings to go see you. What do you think could have been so urgent that she had to go halfway around the world to see you in person?”

“I don’t—”

“She was pregnant!”

He clenched his hands, feeling like the floor under him had suddenly turned into quicksand. Ginger had never said a word about that. Neither had his family. There had been no sign of an infant at her parents’ farm, or in her apartment. “What happened to the baby?” he whispered.

“She lost it on her flight back to the States.” Red rimmed Debbie’s eyes, and she sniffled. “Thankfully the plane landed soon after she started hemorrhaging. They rushed her to the hospital, so she was okay, but was too late for the baby.”

No, no, no. His mind emptied of everything but that one word: no.

“She was in shock, in pain, and she couldn’t call the one person who should’ve been with her. So she called me instead. She didn’t even tell her family because she was so worried about how they’d react. And it goes without saying your family never found out. I pretended like I went to meet her in Amsterdam for a shopping spree.” She breathed out harshly.

Shane doubled over, raising a hand. He couldn’t listen to any more. God, the pain… What the hell had he done?

But Debbie wasn’t finished. “Ginger’s a good person, get it? She’s one of the sweetest and gentlest people out there, always worried about others, and you don’t even begin to appreciate her. You’ve got no idea what you have because you’re so stuck being worried about whatever you think is more important than making her happy. If I were in your shoes, I’d kiss the ground she walks on every day.

“You don’t deserve her,” she said. “You never did, and I can’t believe she’s even given you a second chance. I sure as hell wouldn’t have.”

“Stop,” he croaked. Self-loathing closed around his throat, and he couldn’t breathe. How could he have hurt Ginger like that? What the hell was wrong with him?

He gripped his head as he fell slowly to his knees.

Ginger gave him a coy smile while taking his picture.

“What picture did you take?”

“Your funny face?” she said with an embarrassed giggle.

“Don’t think so.” He reached over and grabbed her camera before she could stop him. It was the best digital camera on the market—his present for her birthday. He viewed the shot. “My lips?”

“You do have lovely lips,” she said primly, not quite meeting his gaze.

“I do, don’t I?” He grinned. “But then so do you.” He leaned in and brushed his mouth over hers.

The shape—the wide, Cupid-bow upper lip sitting over a perfectly curved bottom one. The texture—soft, plump and yielding. Then the taste—sweet fruit and cream with a hint of spice.

He licked the seam between her lips with the tip of his tongue, teasing and coaxing. She opened up with a sigh, then suddenly flicked his tongue with hers playfully. Her mouth curved into a smile as he deepened their contact and wrapped his arms around her. It was a kind of miracle—a simple kiss that made him feel like the king of the world.

Their first kiss…

The stairwell spun, or maybe it was him that was spiraling down. Shane couldn’t tell—darkness filled his vision like spilled ink. Something hard and unyielding pummeled his body, and he welcomed the physical pain. He deserved it. He deserved much worse.

Ginger… Their baby… She should’ve beaten the shit out of him when she’d come to Thailand.

A muffled scream. A small pinprick of light.

Then all black.

Chapter Twenty-One

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Lines. So many damn lines and beeps and machines and people and hands.

The faces were hazy, like they were shrouded in white. There was a pervading smell of bleach.

His head hurt, and his body felt like it had been pummeled with a meat tenderizer. A woman murmured something to the people around him, and stuck a needle into the IV. Soon a pleasant fog spread around him and the pain faded. He tried to figure out what was going on. He’d been at Ginger’s apartment…

Ginger… The baby…

He gasped as the pain twisted in his heart. He clutched at his chest, his hand shaking.

“Oh my god, what’s wrong with him?” a woman cried out. “Is he having a heart attack?”

“No,” came an uncertain voice. “I’ll get the doctor.”

Somebody disappeared, and the people around him rearranged themselves.

“Shane, can you hear me? Do you know who I am?”

He stared at the person. The haze started to clear. “Mom.”

She put a hand over her mouth. Her skin was thin and dull. Deep lines revealed her age, and there was hardly any makeup on her face. “Yes, my baby,” she said, her voice shaky. “Yes, it’s me.”

“Ginger…?”

“Not here,” Dane said, his face expressionless. “What were you doing at her place?”

“Needed…to talk to her.”

“Did she push you down the stairs?” Vanessa had her arms wrapped around herself like she was cold, but there was fire in her eyes.

“What?”

“They found you at the bottom of a stairwell. I don’t know why you’d use the stairs when they have an elevator in the building.”

“I decided to work off some excess energy and use the stairs. Then I slipped.”

“The dispatch said a woman called,” Vanessa insisted.

“A good Samaritan. We should give her a reward.” He made a weak waving motion. “Stop badgering me. I’m tired.”

Vanessa immediately backed down. “I’m sorry.”

Shane looked at the anxious faces of his family—minus Salazar.

Naturally. “What time is it?”

“Around five a.m.,” Mark answered.

“Jeez. Go home and get some rest. I’m fine. Just conked my head. I’ve done it before and survived. I’m sure I’ll survive this time.” He swallowed. He had to get them out of there. Immediately. “Please.”

Dane shrugged. “Let’s go. It’s not like we have the medical expertise to do anything.”

“He has a concussion. He needs us with him,” Vanessa said.

Dane looked at her, then at Shane, then back at her. “What does Barron think about you being out at this hour?”

“Barron? Who cares? Just because he’s Justin’s great uncle doesn’t mean he gets to tell me what to do.”

“And the fact that you’re carrying his heir in your belly right now…”

“Has nothing to do with anything!”

Dane cocked an eyebrow and pulled out his phone. “Let’s test that theory, shall we?”

“Argh! You are such a jerk!” Vanessa stormed out.

“Everyone, out. Let him rest in peace,” Dane said, herding everyone away from the bed and toward the door.

When he was alone, Shane closed his eyes and placed a hand over them. Everything had come back to him. How he and Ginger had met. All their amazing firsts. And the engagement…

He’d hesitated for so long before proposing. He hadn’t been sure if he could be the kind of man who deserved a woman like Ginger. But he hadn’t been able to give her up either. He’d told himself he could just improve. Become a man worthy of her by making her the happiest woman in the world because there was no way he would ever fall out of love with her.

“I couldn’t love you more if my life depended on it,” he’d told her, opening the ring box.