"Are you all right?"
After gulping the contents of the glass, I smiled more broadly. "Sure."
"I'm the one who's supposed to be uneasy, not you." Burke pulled me close against him, his lips at my ear. "What's wrong?"
"I don't carry quite the same amount of trust for the Carmichaels as you."
"I believe they're sincere, Kinsley."
"Clearly, since you handed my son over to a man who could so easily be our enemy." I clenched his lapels in my fists. "I can't describe how that felt."
"He isn't Asher, and there's a room full of people."
When another waiter walked by with a tray of champagne, I gave him my empty flute and took a new one. "Doesn't mean I liked it."
Burke tried to tug the glass out of my hand, but I managed to finish it before he could. "Getting drunk and making a scene isn't the answer."
"I'm trying to get drunk so I don't make a scene."
He set the glass on the nearest table and moved me to the middle of the dance floor. "Just sway with me."
For a few minutes, it felt like heaven to be in his embrace. He smelled amazing, he looked amazing, and my nerves were calming down. Until he spun me into a dip, and my stomach revolted.
"I don't feel very well."
Burke straightened me. "Let's find the bathroom."
"I won't throw up five minutes after drinking," I protested, but my abdomen clenched. "Fuck, that hurt."
Both black eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "I don't think I've ever heard you say that word."
"Burke, something's wrong." I clutched his arm, and soon he was more carrying me than I was walking.
"What the fuck?" he muttered.
"I can't feel my feet," I mumbled. "Or my hands."
"Goddammit." Bending, Burke scooped me up and ran for the front desk. "I need you to call 911!"
The woman taking late check-ins frowned at us. "Sir, what's wrong?"
With horrific clarity, my eyes widened. "Maddie!"
"Mother of fuck. Shut down that wedding reception right now! I need all your employees held in a conference room, no exceptions. Nobody leaves!" he barked.
"I'm gonna be sick."
The receptionist stuck a trash can under my face just in time. All Burke could do was murmur in my ear and wipe the hair off my clammy face. "Where the fuck is the ambulance?"
The concierge looked flustered, a cell phone pressed to his ear. "They said they'll be here in less than five minutes, sir."
"That's not good enough."
I slumped against his chest. "I'll be fine."
"You better be." He kissed my temple.
"The others?" I croaked.
