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I slapped her on the arm, harder than I meant to. “That’s twice,” I growled.
“Ow, okay. Manners,” she sniffed and rubbed her arm as if she was some kind of delicate waif. Which she wasn’t. She could take me down right now if she wanted. “Did you at least get to kiss him properly before we interrupted?”
“No. We didn’t get that far,” I huffed.
“Ew, kissing is gross,” Angel said with a pout.
“Good, no kissing boys for you,” Lexie said to Angel, before turning back to me, undaunted, and looking me over. I could see questions brimming in her eyes.
I crouched down to Angel’s height, trying to fend off Lexie for the moment. “Who are you supposed to be with?”
“Nicole, but she dumped me straight in the library and took off. She’s mean. She said she was going to get someone who wanted to meet me, but she never came back. So I came looking for you.”
Who would want to meet Angel?Everyone here already knew her, as far as I was aware. I couldn’t focus on that right now, though.
“Are you mad? You look flushed,” Angel said, quieter than I’d ever heard her.
“Not with you, Angel,” I said, as I pulled her into me and hugged her tightly. “I need to talk to Lexie right now, though, so is it okay if we find someone else to hang out with you? Who do you want to hang out with?”
She looked a little lost, and I suddenly felt bad that she was being shunted around between people. She needed some consistency. “Emma, or maybe Rose, she draws with me and lets me brush her hair.”
As luck would have it, I spied Rose walking past the end of the corridor, headed towards the kitchens again. “Uh, Rose,” I called out. She popped her head around the corner, looking nervous, but her polite smile softened when she saw Angel. “Could you look after Angel for a while?”
“Absolutely. Come on, sweetness. I was looking for you before. I found some paints. Want to paint on the walls with me? We’re going to make a mural.”
Angel’s face lit up instantly. “Yeah. Yeah. I want to paint on the walls.” She let go of my hand and ran to Rose. I mouthed thank you and she nodded at me.
As soon as I stood up. Lexie grinned wickedly at me with a glint in her eye.
“I wanted to know who’s been kissing you. Angel was right. You’re flushed.”
“Nick.” There was no point trying to hide anything from Lexie.
Lexie’s eyes lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. “Now we’re talking. I need details.”
“Actually, I think we need Maia for this, too. I have questions.”
“Questions? What about?”
“Uh, logistics?”
“As in catering? Or security?” Lexie had her pert nose scrunched up, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me through the short corridor, the same way the guys had just gone. “Because the guys will handle that for now, and they won’t let anyone in here. I’ll check in on them soon and get a debrief.”
“No,” I almost growled. My blood was boiling, and I didn’t feel like myself. “As in sex with five men logistics, Lexie.”
She whirled as we crossed the marbled entry foyer and slapped her hand over my mouth. Her laughter echoed in the open space. “Okay, you don’t have to yell. I get it. I just wanted to hear you say it.”
I rolled my eyes and mumbled profanities that I’d never, ever uttered before. But it didn’t matter because her hand muffled the sound. She suddenly stilled, though, and her expression changed to one of concern. She moved her hand up to my forehead.
“Are you feeling okay? You’re hot.”
“No, Lexie. I don’t feel okay,” I hissed. My skin felt so itchy, and my calm was seeping out of my pores along with my sweat. I felt half wild.
“Okay, we don’t have a doctor here, but if we call the farm, we can get Luis on the line. Do you have a sore throat, any pain anywhere?”
“I don’t think it’s the fever kind of hot, Lexie.” I suspected what was wrong with me, but it was too soon. Far too soon.
“It’s not…oh. OH. Shit. It can’t be. It’s too soon.”
