Page 100 of Some Kinda Romance

49

DASH

Our romantic getaway had turned out to be a disaster and I felt terrible for taking her someplace where the food had made her sick. We still didn’t know for a fact it’d been the restaurant, obviously, but it seemed a fairly safe conclusion.

Worried that she was still going to be feeling sick when she woke up, I extricated myself from her gently, wanting her to get as much sleep as she could. Once I was out of bed, I left the bedroom to order some bland food for breakfast from room service, making sure they brought up plenty of sparkling water as well.

I had no idea if she’d want to eat, but I was trying to be prepared. If there was food, she could eat something if she wanted. If there was no food, there wouldn’t be anything in our room if she was hungry. I didn’t even have a granola bar with me.

With breakfast ordered, I grabbed a shower. When I walked out five minutes later, I was surprised to find her sitting up in bed, smiling and with a little color back in her cheeks. “Good morning.”

“Hey,” I said, rushing over and sitting down on the edge of the bed, as close as I could get without jostling her. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” she said after pausing for a beat. “Yeah, I really am. I think whatever it was is out now. Thank God.”

Relief tore through me and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close and just holding her for a minute. “Thank God is right. I was so worried that we were going to have to make a trip to the hospital this morning. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” she murmured, giving me a quick squeeze before speaking with her head still nestled against my throat. “Hey, uhm, are you sure you’re not mad at me?”

“I’m definitely not mad at you, but I am mad at me. I should’ve done more research before I made a reservation. The place is called Tentacles, for fuck’s sake. I should’ve known one of us was going to get sick there.”

She chuckled, her head shaking before she lifted it to look into my eyes. “You asked me yesterday if I’d heard of it, and I remembered last night that I had. It’s one of the best there is around here at the moment, Dash. You couldn’t possibly have known and I snacked a little bit at home before you picked me up. It could’ve been anything.”

I sighed. “I know, but I still feel bad. I ordered breakfast if you’re up for it. Just toast and stuff. I didn’t want to get anything that might trigger more nausea.”

She smiled. “Thank you. That sounds perfect.”

While she was in the shower, our food came, and for a continental spread, it looked pretty darn good. To my surprise, Serenity tucked in before she’d even dressed, managing to eat some toast, fresh fruit, and a piece of a bagel before she smiled at me. “Thank you. That was awesome. It was exactly what I needed.”

“I’m just glad you’re feeling better,” I said honestly.

While she went to get dressed, I packed our things, checking the bathroom to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind. After handing over our bags to a porter, I slid my hands into my pockets and took a chance when she was done.

“Any possibility that you feel like going for a short walk down the strip before we leave? The jet’s ready to take us home, but I’m hoping to squeeze in as many minutes as I can before we absolutely have to get on it.”

“I’d love that.” She took my hand when I offered it to her and followed me to the elevator and outside. As we left the hotel, she grimaced at me. “I’m sorry again for ruining the trip, but thank you for taking care of me like that. No one has ever done that for me before. Well, no one other than my parents, I mean.”

I frowned. “You were married for half a decade after they died. If Ethan didn’t take care of you when you were sick, what the hell did he do?”

She shrugged. “Mostly, he blamed me for having caught whatever it was and then he took off before I gave it to him.”

“He took off?” I struggled to even get the words out, but it didn’t seem to bother her nearly as much.

“To be fair to him when it comes to this particular issue, it was often my fault. Just like getting sick yesterday was probably my fault. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the restaurant. Some of the cold cuts I snacked on before we left must’ve gone bad.”

“That’s still not your fault,” I said. “Getting sick hardly ever is, unless of course you go around kissing someone with the plague or something. That might be your fault.”

She chuckled. “How about eating duck from a street vendor in Thailand?”

“That’s weirdly specific. What happened?”

“I ate the duck,” she said, chuckling as she glanced up at me while we walked.

I grinned. “Not all it was quacked up to be?”

She groaned and smiled. “No. Ethan warned me not to eat any of the meat on the street, but I didn’t listen. I figured I owed it to myself to try it while we were there. God, I was sick for days.”

“What did he do?” I asked, unable to stop myself thanks to the morbid curiosity.