Book 2: What Happens Here - Chicago (What Happens Here Series)

Chapter 13 - Savannah

Knowing that Jasmine had made the flight and was heading to Chicago with Ethan had been a huge relief to Savannah. She had been worried about her best friend ever since Mackenzie had sent the text that something had happened to Jasmine earlier that morning.

Her best friend had been through entirely too much in her life when it came to men, and although Van got nothing but good vibes from Ethan, Jasmine could still be hurt by him, even if it were indirectly. This Valentina chick was psycho, and although she could understand and somewhat respect Ethan's desire to keep the peace with his friends, Van felt that Ethan needed to take a firmer stand where Valentina was concerned. Especially now that he had Jasmine in his life.

After the stunt that Jasmine had told them that Valentina had pulled in Ethan's suite that morning, not to mention the damn sexual assault that she'd performed on him in the shower in Italy four years ago, Van got an uneasy feeling that Valentina would go after Jasmine now that Jasmine was in the picture. Valentina was clearly unstable, and she'd shown that she'd go to any lengths to get to Ethan, and the last thing that Van wanted to see happen was her best friend to be caught in the crossfires of some damn fatal attraction bullshit between Valentina and Ethan.

As they headed back to the hotel, Van sent her husband Mike a text to let him know that Jasmine had made the flight. Mike had been just as worried about Jasmine as she'd been, so Van had sent him a text updating him. He'd also been concerned about her and the baby as well, so he'd asked her how she was feeling, and if she were still having morning sickness, which of course, she had been. Van had pretty much emptied the contents of her stomach earlier that morning and hadn't eaten anything since.

With Jasmine flying back to Chicago with Ethan, Van had planned to have breakfast with Mack and Candace downstairs at the hotel restaurant before heading to the airport, but that all changed when Jasmine showed up at Mack's room an hour ago. Now, she was starving, and as if reading her mind, Shane said, "I think we need to celebrate, and grab some breakfast. What do you ladies think? It's my treat." Shane Reyes was a looker, but she didn't get "player" vibes from him. If anything, he came across as a very kind and genuine person, and the way that he'd showed up at Mackenzie's request to help them to figure out what Valentina had done, made him "okay" in her book.

Van shook her head at the smile that Shane flashed her way, because she had no doubts that his smile had the ability to make most women lose their damn minds. She glanced at Mackenzie and noticed that Shane's smile was having a definite effect on her friend, although she was trying like hell to fight against it.

Van could understand and empathize with Mackenzie's sense of loss. Although their losses were quite different, the pain and hollowness that you felt when someone you love was taken away from you is the same, just in differing degrees.

Three years ago, Van had miscarried her and Mike's first child. Mike was an incredible husband, and he'd been amazing throughout her pregnancy, but he'd been even more so once she had lost their child. Van had blamed herself, and had gone into a mild depression afterwards, but Mike had been there by her side every step of the way.

The night that it happened, Van had awakened in the middle of the night to the worst lower stomach and back pain that she'd ever felt before in her life, and when she'd tried to climb out of bed, that's when she'd noticed the blood. Van's husband, Michael Norris, was a Homicide Detective with the Denver PD, and had been on duty at the time, so she'd been alone when she'd had to call 911, but he'd made it to the hospital at almost the same time as the ambulance had. Van would never forget the terrified look that Mike had on his face as the medical staff had wheeled her into the emergency room, or the look of guilt and utter devastation that she'd seen on his face once they'd gotten the news that she'd lost the baby.