He was bent over her kitchen sink, wearing his boxer briefs, clutching his forehead.
“Michael.” She dashed to his side and put a hand on his bare back. It was damp with perspiration. “Are you okay?”
He turned his head to the side but didn’t move otherwise. His body remained clenched, as if waiting for a wave of nausea. “I’m fine. You should go back to bed.”
His voice, so warm and gravelly the night before, just sounded strained now. He’d become pale again, even whiter than when he was at the Bamboo Gigolo. Had they overdone it in bed? She knew they shouldn’t have pushed it.
“I’ll call an ambulance.”
“No.” He grabbed her arm. “No, it’s passing. It always passes. Please, Em. I’ll be okay.”
She put a hand on his chest. His heart wasn’t racing, or at least it wasn’t any more. She kissed his forehead to see how hot he was but his skin was cool. No fever, thank God.
Nick’s voice echoed in her mind.My brother’s stressed but won’t admit it.
Maybe it was high time Michael told her what was going on. He’d been there for her, over and over, listening patiently whenever she talked about Trent. Michael had managed to take away some of her burden. He’d made her feel better.
Boy, did he ever.
She’d be damned if he didn’t let her help him now.
Pouring him a glass of cold water from the pitcher of filtered water in the fridge, Emily led him to the living room. “I’m not going to bed until I know you won’t keel over on me.”
“I won’t. It’s nothing.”
“Michael, I think we both know that’s not the case. Now I want you to talk to me.”Michael and Lacey have history, but you didn’t hear it from me. “Is it Lacey?”
He plunked himself down on one end of the loveseat. “You know about Lacey and me?”
She sat next to him. “Every time you walk by she either throws eye daggers at you or cartoon hearts. Nick just confirmed my suspicions.”
“Nick. When I get a hold of that little busybody…”
“This isn’t his fault. Come on. You’re a smart guy. You have to realize it’s not a good thing when you’re having these kinds of symptoms. I thought you were going to black out. You’re scaring me.”
His face changed and the tense lines turned down with remorse. “I’m sorry. That’s the last thing I want to do.”
She slid closer, grabbing one of her couch throws, tucking it around the two of them. “Talk to me. Unless you need to profess your undying love for Lacey, I can handle just about anything.”
He grinned and grabbed her hand under the blanket. “Lacey and I are over, I promise you. We have been for a while and I have no interest in going back to her. I won’t lie to you. She says she’s still interested in me, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped her from corrupting the intern.”
“Jacob? No wonder he’s always walking around with a smile on his face.”
“Yeah. Anyway, Lacey and I are history. I hope you believe me.”
“You’ve never given me any reason not to believe you about anything. Only Nick seemed to think you became agitated after talking to her yesterday.”
“I did, but not for the reason you’d expect.” He exhaled loudly, puffing out his cheeks. “Do you keep up with the local news?”
“Ah.” They would finally talk about the shooting. “Yes, I do.”
“There was a shooting at a local daycare last year.”
“I remember. The lady who owned it was killed.”
“Her name was Jane Ashton. She was one of my contracting clients.”
She hadn’t recalled the name of the woman involved, but certainly remembered the circumstances. “I remember being impressed when I read the reports. What you did…”
