“Pretty quiet until about an hour ago,” Mik said. “Glad to be out.”
The ride from the hotel to the restaurant was shorter than he expected. When the cab came to a stop, Mikhail stepped out and then gave Rowan a hand. He took a second to pass the driver a tenner before he turned to take Rowan’s hand but found his mate had walked in ahead of him.
That was a quick change.
Mikhail caught up with Rowan by the hostess and gave his name.
He wasn’t sure what had changed the past five minutes, but Rowan’s posture was suddenly stiff, and he seemed to walk ahead of him. Mik held back and tried not to dwell on it as they were led to their seats.
When they stopped at one of the tables instead of the beautifully curved booths, he pulled Rowan’s chair out for him before taking his seat.
“Your server will be with you shortly,” the hostess said before leaving them to it.
When they were alone, Mik couldn’t help it; he asked, “Is everything alright?”
Ro shook his head first, but then changed it to a nod. “Yes… everything is fine,” He shot Mik a slight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Maybe I’m just exhausted from work. I’ll be fine.”
Mik frowned but nodded before picking up the menu that the hostess had left. He was reading the specials but looked up when a waitress passed their table carrying a tray of food.
“That smells divine don’t you think?” He looked down at his menu again, wondering what that was. “Any idea what you’re having?”
Instead of an answer, he got a groan from Rowan. He looked up at his mate and immediately frowned at the wide look in his mate’s eyes.
“Ro, is everything okay?” Mik leaned forward, concerned.
Ro swallowed and turned green before Mik’s eyes. “Is that fish?”
Mik nodded. “I think so…”
His words trailed off as Rowan’s hand went over his mouth, and he shot up from the table and ran away from him. Mik sat there, dumbfounded.
What had he said?
Twenty-One
Rowan
Rowan closed his eyes as he flushed the toilet and fell back against the stall. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his sweater not caring if it got messed up.
Gah, he felt like death warmed up.
From the moment the doors to the restaurant had opened, he’d done his best to keep from puking, even holding his breath, hoping it helped. Ro didn’t want to ruin his night out with Mik.
He touched his forehead checking to see if he had a fever. Nope… he felt fine. Could he have caught something at the hospital? Food poisoning, stomach flu maybe?
He couldn’t think of anything he would have eaten that would give him food poisoning.
Pregnant…the thought floated into his consciousness. And he groaned. “You’re not pregnant.” He muttered under his breath.
He managed to get back on his feet and exited the stall. Rowan leaned against the sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was red and had beads of sweat on his upper lip. He ran the cold water, splashed his face with it, then looked at his reflection again.
Fish? The nausea came on the moment he smelled the fish. Just the thought of that smell had him running back into the bathroom stall. Rowan doubled over the toilet, his knees hitting the floor almost painfully as he puked again. While he retched, his already-empty stomach cramped and felt like it was in a vice.
He didn’t know what was happening. Fish was always his go-to meal. But now, just the thought of it had saliva filling his mouth. He felt like he was going to be sick again, but when he tried, his stomach just wrenched with spasms, and he fell back against the stall and stared ahead.
Ro began doubting those negative tests more and more as he braced his elbow against the stall and got on his feet.
He flushed the toilet, then exited the stall on shaky legs.
