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“This is silly. I’ll be fine,” Stacy insisted, but she let Nick put his arm around her waist and accompany her into Jared’s bedroom.
Kelsey swept a pile of Jared’s clothes off the bed before Nick helped Stacy lie down. “I’ll go get her some food. Be right back,” Kelsey said. Then she bustled out, closing the door behind her.
If Stacy had thought it was dark in the hallway, it was even darker in here. Nick perched on the edge of the bed beside her and placed a warm palm on her forehead.
“I’m fine. Really.”
“Did you eat dinner tonight?”
“I ate before I came over, but it wasn’t much,” she admitted. She left out the part about feeling too jittery to eat.
“Rule number one about alcohol—never drink on an empty stomach.”
“Yes, sir,” she teased.
Then the door opened, and Kelsey came in bearing a plate loaded with cheese, crackers, grapes, and pretzels. She also had a bottled water tucked underneath her arm. She set the food and water on the bedside table as Stacy scooted up to lean against the headboard. She already felt better, but she knew Kelsey wouldn’t be satisfied until she ate something.
“I can’t eat all this!” she complained while she made a sandwich out of the cheese and crackers.
“I thought Nick might want some too.”
“Thanks,” he said, helping himself to some grapes.
“Will you stay with her for a few minutes? Some people are starting to leave, and I want to say goodbye.”
Stacy wondered if this was another ploy to leave her and Nick alone, but it must have sounded believable to him.
“Go ahead. I’ll take good care of her.”
After Kelsey left, Stacy said, “You really don’t have to stay. I’m feeling much better.”
Now that she’d started eating, she realized how hungry she was. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich she’d had for dinner obviously hadn’t been enough.
“I’ll believe that when you can stand up without swaying.”
He had a point, and she decided not to argue. Instead, she continued eating and sipping water while he occasionally popped a grape into his mouth.
After a few more minutes, when Kelsey still hadn’t returned, Stacy started to feel uneasy about being holed up in the bedroom with him. What must the other guests think?
Wiping her hands on the napkin Kelsey had provided, she said, “I think what I need is some sleep. I should go home now.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“No! I mean, no thank you.”
“Why are you so against me helping you? Or is it something else?”
Her brow furrowed. “Something else?”
“Are you afraid that people will think something is going on between us? Because that’s what it seems like sometimes.”
She was glad for the darkness so he couldn’t see her cheeks turn red. “I…it’s just…well…maybe a little.”
“Would that be so horrible? For people to think that?”
She couldn’t believe he had to ask. “Yes! Your aunt is my boss.”
“So?”
