Fall for Me (Danvers #3)(9)
Beth chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind. Ugh, I need a shower, but I don’t have the energy to get there.”
“Just hold on, baby, I’ll get us there.”
Beth sighed with regret as he gently pulled out of her and then tried to protest as he lifted her and walked through the bedroom to the bathroom. She was flattered to see that he didn’t look winded by the trip.
The shower was a quick affair. Both of them were too tired to attempt anything other than washing. They were already snuggled under the bedcover when she remembered that she had decided to tell him her news tonight. With a yawn, she decided it could wait until tomorrow and she drifted off.
* * *
Something woke Beth from a sound sleep. She lay there for a moment, disoriented until a crushing wave of sickness rolled over her. Pressing a hand to her mouth, she stumbled from the bed, almost sprinting to the bathroom. She barely got the lid up on the toilet before she emptied her stomach of its contents. As she sat on the floor wondering if there was going to be another round, she heard Nick knock on the door.
“Princess, are you okay?”
Before she could answer, round two was well on its way and she was again hanging over the toilet, even though there appeared to be nothing left. She felt Nick’s hand on her back and then he was pulling her hair back from the line of fire. After a few moments, she was down to nothing but dry heaves so she dropped to the floor and sat back against the bathroom cabinet. Nick grabbed a cloth and wet it under the faucet before gently cleaning her face. She felt the strange urge to start crying when she looked into his concern-filled eyes.
“Honey, are you all right?”
Beth nodded, too weak to say the words. Nick finished cleaning her up and then left the room. He came back a few moments later with a fresh gown and, without saying a word, he pulled her to her feet and used one arm to support her while using the other to strip the now soiled gown off and put the clean one on. He helped her brush her teeth and rinse her mouth and then he leaned down and hooked his arms under her knees, lifting her in his arms. Had she not been so weak she would have been horrified at him carrying her, but now she was just grateful for the help.
He had pulled the covers back on her side and now he sat her down and grabbed some extra pillows to prop up her head. When he had her tucked in to his satisfaction, he sat down beside her and gently brushed her hair out of her face. “Better now?” he asked.
“Oh, yes, thank you, Nick,” she rasped out.
“What happened, princess? Was it something you ate last night?”
Damn, the stupid tears were back in her eyes. What was wrong with her tonight? Had throwing up always made her an emotional wreck? Tell him, just get it over with. Beth opened her mouth to do just that and found no sound coming out at all. No matter how hard she tried, the words would not come. Chickenshit, you have to tell him.
Nick gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead and went to get her a bottle of water. Her eyes were getting heavier by the moment, and when he returned, she was already asleep.
Chapter Four
Despite Nick’s protests, Beth made it into the headquarters of Danvers International only a few minutes late for work. She took a deep breath and then tapped on her sister’s door. Smiling at the grunt she heard in response, she opened the door and walked in. Suzy would never be a morning person and even living with Gray hadn’t changed that. On those mornings when she did come in unusually perky, Beth knew exactly why. Gray brought out the soft side in her and Beth had never seen her happier. With a small sigh, Beth hoped she’d have a love like that someday.
Suzy turned a sharp gaze on her as if expecting some type of war wounds. “So, what did he say? Are you going to make me beg?”
Beth dropped in the chair in front of her desk and braced herself. “I haven’t told him yet.”
“What! Why the hell not? I thought you were going to take care of that last night.”
Shifting in her seat, Beth murmured, “Um, something came up.”
“What do you mean, something came up?” Suzy demanded.
Beth could feel the blush starting to work its way up her neck and into her face. It was too much to hope that Suzy wouldn’t notice.
“Oh, yuck! God, Beth, isn’t that how this happened to start with? Can’t you two keep your clothes on for more than five minutes?”
With a wiggle of her eyebrows, Beth purred, “Trust me, I remember exactly how this happened.”
“All right, just please stop. I already had to take the stairs this morning when I saw Nick getting on the elevator. Do you have any idea how many damn stairs I had to climb because you can’t keep your hands off the guy? You owe me a new pair of shoes and a pedicure.”
Beth tried hard, but she couldn’t contain the laughter that bubbled out when she thought of Suzy climbing all of those flights of stairs just to avoid Nick. The only person who hated exercise more than Beth was her sister. “I almost told him this morning, after I threw my guts up. I think I had my first bout of morning sickness.”
Suzy looked more closely at her with concern evident in her gaze. “Are you okay? Why did you come in today? Get your stuff and go back home, you shouldn’t be here sick.”
Holding up her hand to stop the onslaught, Beth assured her that she felt fine now. “I passed out in the bed before I could tell him. I’m going to talk to him tonight. I’ll have plenty of time to get my nerve up because we’re just planning a quiet evening at home.”