Perfection (Neighbor from Hell #2)(68)

After he gave each puppy some attention they took their morning walk, ate a quick breakfast, and he took a shower while the puppies played tug of war with his boxers. Every few minutes he had to tell them to be quiet so that they wouldn't wake up their mommy. He really should be heading to his uncle's house, but he wanted to see her first even if it was only for a moment.

He knelt by the bed and smiled at how beautiful she looked. How in the hell had he ever been stupid enough to call her plain? She was easily more beautiful to him than any of the women he'd dated, he thought as he reached out with one finger and lightly tickled the tip of her nose.

Her little early morning growl, which was laced with a little whimper of annoyance, had him biting back a chuckle. He picked up a long strand of her beautiful brown hair and lightly, ever so lightly tickled the tip of her nose with it.

"Stop it," she muttered as she lazily reached out and slapped at the air, not even close to his face.

So of course he had to do it again. This time when she went to swat off his tickling attack he was forced to duck his head or get a weak slap in the face.

"Zoe, wake up," he said in a tauntingly upbeat voice, knowing it would drive her crazy.

"Go away," she mumbled. "I hate you."

"Because I'm waking you up?" he asked, smiling as he ducked another weak attack.

"Yes!" she snapped, clearly aggravated as she was every morning when he did this. Yet he just couldn't stop himself from doing it. It was just too damn fun.

He was just about to up his attack when she flopped over onto her back and shielded her eyes with her arm. Not even two seconds later her eyes were wide open, one hand was clamped tightly on her mouth and the other one was pressed against her stomach and was off the bed and running towards the bathroom, slamming the bathroom door behind her.

"Shit."

Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he placed the glass of ginger ale on the nightstand, away from the edge where the dogs could get it, and headed for the bathroom. He'd hoped she was getting better. The last two mornings she'd only complained about feeling slightly nauseous, but she hadn't been sick. At least he didn't think she'd gotten sick.

She hadn't told him if she had and both mornings he was so damn busy making her stay in bed for a little longer, grabbing her some toast and ginger ale, making his lunch and taking care of the dogs before he left that wasn't entirely sure, but he thought she'd been okay. When he stopped by the office later both days and asked her how she felt she'd assured him she felt great, but clearly that wasn't the case if she was getting sick again.

"Zoe?" he said, slowly opening the door. "Baby, are you okay?"

"Yes," she mumbled, grabbing a toothbrush and loading it with toothpaste.

"You've been sick for almost a week now, Zoe. Maybe I should take you to the emergency room," he said, already trying to figure out which hospital was closer and wondering if he could get his uncle or someone to watch the dogs in case they got stuck in the emergency room all day.

She stubbornly shook her head, spit and added more toothpaste to her toothbrush and started the process all over again. A few minutes later she finally finished.

"I'm fine, Trevor," she said, walking past him, pausing only to pet Toby and pick Max up. Cuddling the small dog, she climbed back onto the bed and pulled the comforter up. Toby waited until she was settled before jumping on the bed and settling next to her and Mr. Cuddles.

Forcing himself not to throw her over his shoulder and take her to the nearest hospital, mostly because she'd probably knee him in the balls again, he sat down near her hip and handed her the ginger ale. Eying him warily, probably because she knew what he was thinking, she took a small sip.

"Thank you," she said, placing the glass down and returning to petting Max.

"You need to see a doctor, Zoe," he said, brushing the hair out of her face as he leaned in to press a good morning kiss to her lips.

"I'm fine, Trevor. Besides I have an appointment early Monday afternoon," she said when he pulled away.

"That's four days away, Zoe. You need to see someone soon," he said, taking one of her hands into his.

Zoe rolled her eyes playfully, which he had to admit was a good sign and made him feel marginally better. "I'm not dying, Trevor. I just feel a little sick. By the time I have my appointment I'll probably be fine."

"Yeah, probably," he agreed, hoping that was the case.

She twisted around so that she could look at her clock. "Aren't you supposed to be at your Aunt's house right now?" she asked, frowning as she turned back around.

"Yes, and it's all your fault that I'm going to be late," he said, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose.

"How's it my fault?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you about something."

"And that makes it my fault?" she asked, arching her brows in adorable confusion.

"Damn straight it does," he said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before he forced himself to move back and focus.

"Uh huh, you care to explain?"

"If I must," he sighed.

"You must," she said, her lips twitching and drawing his attention, but then he remembered that he really did need to move his ass and get out of there.