Affairs of State(50)
After about five minutes of deep breathing she got the nausea under control, and managed to walk like a zombie to her phone. Scarlet had called again, so she dialed back without even listening to her message. “You know what you said about doing the meeting without me?”
“Not a problem. You sound terrible.”
Her voice did sound rather raspy. “I must have come down with something. I’d better lie in bed for a bit.”
“You stay right there and I’ll keep you posted on everything that happens.”
Ariella stayed in bed all morning. Every time she tried to do something useful the room started spinning or her stomach began to heave. She hadn’t been sick in so long she’d forgotten how miserable it was. It was probably from all the stress and anxiety leading up to the TV special. She probably needed a day or two in bed to recover.
Not that she had time for that. She had phone calls to make, menus and décor to approve and clients to meet. But maybe she could lie down for a few minutes first.
Ariella awoke with a start to the sound of the doorbell. A quick glance at the clock revealed she’d been asleep for four hours. She staggered to the door and opened it.
Scarlet stood on the threshold with a concerned look in her face. “I brought some chicken soup.” She thrust forward a container from the expensive bistro around the corner. “It has antibacterial properties.”
“What if it’s a virus?” Ariella couldn’t resist teasing her.
“Ah, so you’re not as sick as I thought. Let’s put it in bowls anyway. I need to grab some lunch before I meet with the manager of that new venue near the river.”
“I feel a lot better now. I think I’ve just been burning the candle too fast lately.”
“And Prince Simon has been helping you do it.” Scarlet lifted a brow. “But you had a few days to recover from your British romp before the taping.”
“Not enough, I guess.” She led Scarlet into the kitchen and pulled out two bowls and two spoons. “I usually fight everything off but maybe it’s catching up with me. At least I made it through the televised reunion.”
“What’s he like?” Scarlet poured the soup into both bowls. “The president, I mean.”
Ariella paused. “I liked him.” She looked right at Scarlet. “I mean, I liked him before, enough to vote for him—which is lucky, I guess—but he’s very genuine and unpretentious in real life. You could tell he found the whole situation rather overwhelming, and that really touched me.”
“I saw you guys both weeping.”
“And I’d sworn I wouldn’t do that.” She grabbed a paper towel and wiped up some spilled drops of soup. “I can usually put a lid on any emotion.”
“I know. I’ve seen you in action with the nuttiest clients and guests.”
“But the whole thing blew me away. He’s my father. We have the same genes. We probably have some of the same likes and dislikes, and he has the same funnily shaped earlobes as I do.”
Scarlet peered at her earlobes. “Cool.”
“It’s frightening to think that I might never have met him. Simon was so right that this is a big life-changing opportunity for me.”
“I hear ya. We can plan some White House parties now.” Scarlet winked.
“You know what I mean. I have a new set of parents. They’ll never replace my parents who raised me, of course, but we’ll have new experiences together. We’ve already made plans to go up to his house in Maine for a few days in the fall.”
“Without consulting me?” Scarlet put her hands on her hips in mock indignation. “Just because your daddy’s the president and you’re dating a prince doesn’t mean we’re not still partners.”
They both laughed. Ariella shook her head. “What next?” A wave of nausea rolled through her. “I need to sit down.”
Scarlet followed her into the living room, brow furrowed with concern. “Have some soup.” She held out the bowl. “Have you eaten anything at all today?”
Ariella shook her head. Her throat slammed shut at the sight of the soup. “I have no appetite.”
“Maybe you’re pregnant.” Scarlet smiled. She was kidding.
“Sure, if Simon and I had sex.”
“You have though, haven’t you?” She leaned in. “Even though you won’t share the juicy details.”