“Am I going to stay with you?” I asked.
“I sure hope so,” Braxton said. “Unless you want to go back home to your parents, which is fine—wherever you’re comfortable. I can’t imagine that I’ll want to leave you alone in your condition, though. I hope you don’t mind company.”
I scoffed. “My condition? I’m fine.”
At that moment, he turned onto the highway, and my stomach lurched. I reached for the sick bag I had pilfered from the airplane. I didn’t actually throw up, but it was close.
Unfortunately, I had thrown up on the flight. A lot. Like constantly. Pretty sure everyone on that plane hated me. Brax had rubbed my back and gotten me water and warm washcloths throughout all of it. He kept my forehead clean from the sweat that beaded here. Someone had handed me a travel-size bottle of mouthwash mid-flight, so I at least had that.
“Yes, clearly you are in peak condition, my love.”
I grinned. “I do like when you call me that.”
“Well, then I will continue, my love, until the end of time. But also, you are under the weather and need rest.”
“It’s just in mornings,” I said. “I’m fine after.” At least I had been the day before. I guess that technically didn’t make for a pattern, but whatever. “What is the likelihood that we can sneak into town without anyone noticing? You can get me into the house—your house, not my parents’ house—and I can just lie down for twenty-four hours. That sounds heavenly. How big is your bed?”
He seemed to ponder for a moment. “I would say the odds are good. I don’t think that anyone will question me arriving home, and no one’s expecting you until tomorrow.”
“They’ll see me,” I said.
“Not if you crawl into the back and lie down. Might not be comfortable, but if you want your privacy and want everyone to leave us alone. And my bed is big. It’s a California King. I bought it two years ago when I discovered my mate was over six feet tall. I also got one of those big sectional sofas. I had to add on to the back of the house to make the living room bigger so it would fit.”
Despite my stomach tying itself in knots, I smiled. “You did that for me?”
“Of course.”
Goddess bless, I hit the mate jackpot. As soon as I was feeling better, I would show him just how much I appreciated it. After I slept for a few days.
We were about a mile from the town limits. There wasn’t a car around us, so I felt relatively safe at the idea of unbuckling and crawling into the back.
“You can pull into your garage, and I’ll get out there.”
“Absolutely, my love. Whatever you need.”
I had never been in Braxton’s house. I knew where it was, of course, but I’d never been inside. Somehow, I could picture it though, me cozied up in his bed. Our bed.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
I unbuckled and crawled into the back, lying down flat on the seat. There was an extra sweatshirt and a jacket, as well as a pair of boots back here. But other than that, he kept his vehicle clean.
“Remind me never to let you inside my car,” I said.
Braxton laughed. “Baby, I’ve seen the inside of your car. We rode together to the end of the den property, remember? A year ago?”
“Oh yeah. You were so talkative.” He’d spent the whole drive yapping incessantly about his house and the bathroom he was renovating. He asked me my opinion on tile colors and shower styles.
“Hey, did you end up going with the black-and-white tiles I suggested or the blue?”
“You remember that?”
“Now I do.”
“Yes, I went with the black-and-white tile. Although, I really think the blue would have looked nice too.”
“It’s your bathroom, Brax. You should have gone with what you wanted.”
“It’s our bathroom, mate. And I wanted you to have a say. I was trying to find out anything I could about you.”
