AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She forced a smile. “Nerves, combined with your driving, I expect.”
He put a hand to the wall beside her. “You don’t get carsick.”
“Not usually.”
“Don’t be nervous.” He cupped the back of her head. “You’re stunningly beautiful, Mrs. Brunswick. You’ll charm them all.”
She wanted to tell him to stop calling her that. That every time he did, every time he kissed her, she fell harder for him. But his lips were on hers then, driving everything from her head. Even the fear she was in love with him.
He lifted his head as the elevator pinged their arrival, his breath mingling with hers. “Now you look the part,” he murmured, jabbing a button to keep the doors closed. “Fix your lipstick.”
Her makeup repaired, they joined the party. Emily Brunswick, a dynamic, attractive woman in her late fifties Mina had liked from the moment she’d met her, made it her mission to introduce Mina to everyone in the room. Her nausea abated, Mina actually enjoyed herself with Emily easing the way.
She was in the middle of a conversation with her mother-in-law and the director of an art gallery when the strong smell of an hors d’oeuvre turned her stomach. Her nausea resurfaced with a vengeance, a wave of perspiration blanketing her. She had barely enough time to excuse herself and make it to the powder room before her stomach announced its intentions to vacate itself.
When she’d decided the heaving had stopped for good, she got to her feet, splashed water on her face and attempted to repair her makeup.
“Mina?” Nate’s voice pierced the wooden door.
She opened it to find him standing there, a frown on his face. “You were sick?”
“No,” she denied, “I’m fine.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” he said flatly. “We’re leaving.”
“But your mother went to all this trouble...”
It was no use. He was already pulling her toward Emily to say good-night. Mina assured Nate’s mother she was fine, likely just exhausted, and apologized for cutting the evening short. In the car, she sat through a lecture from Nate about how she shouldn’t let things like this get to her.
“I don’t think it was the party.” She pressed her head back against the seat. “I was fine after the first few minutes. Your mother is lovely.”
He glanced over at her. “A bug, maybe?”
“Probably.”
Except she never got stomach sick from bugs. Maybe once in her life. And she never got carsick. The more she thought about it, the colder she got, mixing with the perspiration to make her feel distinctly clammy. There was no way she could be...
Her heart seized. She’d gone to a doctor to get birth control pills as soon as she’d arrived in New York to be doubly sure there was no chance she could get pregnant. Because getting pregnant would be a disaster.
Maledizione. She wiped a palm over her brow. She was making herself ill just thinking about it.
Nate put her to bed when they got home and went off to do some email, promising he’d check on her in a few minutes. She rested her head against the pillows and stared blankly out at the spectacular view of New York. She could not be pregnant. It was impossible. Nate wore condoms; she was on the pill, newly on the pill but...
She got out of bed. Pulled on yoga pants, a T-shirt and running shoes, grabbed her purse and took the long way around the penthouse to the door to avoid Nate’s study. Riding the elevator to ground level, she headed toward the drugstore in the lobby. Surprisingly, enough people must wonder if they’re pregnant while on vacation or business trips because the shelves were liberally stocked. Heart pounding, she snatched up two and got into line to pay.
The lineup was five people deep. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited. Finally, she got to the front of the line, paid and hightailed it back up to the penthouse. Pressing her thumb on the biometric scan, she walked into a solid wall of... Nate.
Lurching backward, she shoved the bag behind her. “Dannazione. You scared me.”
Nate eyed her darkly. “What were you doing roaming the streets while you’re sick? Roaming the streets at night, period?”
She pulled in a breath. “I needed a...a book. And I wasn’t roaming the streets. I went to the store in the building.”
“Really?” He nodded toward the hand she had behind her back. “What kind of books are you buying?”
“Not ones you need to see.” She went to walk past him. Nate caught her wrist in a firm grip.
“What’s in the bag, Mina?”
