“I need to—” The light from the door illuminated a large metal bowl in Jess’s hands that Nate suspected was full of her stomach contents. She attempted to stand, but her legs gave out and she sat back down on the edge of the bed.
“Need help?” He took the bowl, placed it on the bedside table, and slipped his arm around her back, pulling her up to standing. She wobbled and leant into him, her body shaking slightly. Dehydrated, and probably hungover.
“Big night?”
Jess let him lead her to the bathroom. “No. I mean, yes, but I never get…I don’t—”
“All good. I’m not judging,” Nate interrupted, holding the bathroom door open and guiding her in. “You okay?”
She nodded, still looking decidedly green, and he closed the door, waiting a polite distance away and wondering if now was a good time to leave. He’d managed hangovers on his own. She’d be okay. His feet didn’t budge.
The toilet flushed and Jess emerged, somehow looking even worse than before. “I don’t think this is—” Her legs buckled under her.
Leaping forward instinctively, Nate caught her around the waist as she fell and stopped her toppling to the ground.
“I think we better get you back into bed,” he said, gently lifting her to her feet. Supporting her full weight, they walked the short distance back to the bedroom, where he lowered her into bed and covered her with the blanket.
“Do you think you’ll be sick again?” he asked. Jess nodded, so he quickly emptied the bowl in the bathroom and returned to her bedside.
“That’s some hangover you have.”
In response, she groaned and reached for the bowl.
Nate waited while she finished, rubbing her back with one hand and holding her hair gently out of the way with the other. When she caught her breath, he fetched her a glass of water from the kitchen and encouraged her to take a sip.
“I don’t get hungover like this,” she said as she sipped her water. “I think I’ve got food poisoning. I ate the popcorn shrimp.”
“I seriously don’t care if you’re hungover.” He knew the crew had been out for a big night of drinks. Frankie had talked about it all morning. Apparently, Jess was quite a riot.
“I think I know the difference.” She lay back down and curled onto her side, her hands wrapped around her stomach.
Sitting beside her on the bed, she seemed small and vulnerable, and it made it hard to hold on to the anger he’d felt earlier. He placed a hand on her forehead, feeling the heat radiate from her. It could be food poisoning. As much as he wanted to leave, to get back to his own space and away from cheating, thoughtless women, he knew he couldn’t do it. Food poisoning, if it was that, could be serious. Deadly even. It would nag at him all night if he left her here alone. He could ring Dave, her boyfriend or whatever. It was a risk, but seemed the right thing to do in this situation.
“Look, I’ll call Dave and wait while he comes out here to look after you, okay?”
“Dave? No. No!” Jess rolled back over, grabbed the bowl and promptly filled it.
Was she scared of getting caught out with him? So Dave was the jealous, potentially aggressive type then.
When she recovered, he handed her the water again, encouraging her to sip and stay hydrated.
“Definitely don’t ring Dave,” she said between sips. “Seriously. Don’t.”
“Okay, fine.” He held his palm against her forehead again. “We do need to get your temperature down.”
Jess lay back down, her body curved against him, shivering with fever. Nate stroked her hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear.
What was it about this woman? She made him want to curl up next to her, even sick and smelling like vomit. Even knowing she was attached to another man. Was it a kind of payback against his ex? It didn’t feel like that. Whatever it was, his feelings were inappropriate. She was taken, and he was in no place to be starting a relationship. The tender feelings welling up inside him were not okay.
Don’t confuse care and concern with romantic feelings, he told himself, slipping into a work mindset. Doctor-mode would be far safer than all these other feelings he couldn’t seem to get a handle on. Bring down her temperature, he told himself. Keep her hydrated. Make sure she’s okay, and then you can leave.
16
WHEN THE SUN CAME UPand shone a sliver of light through the kitchen window, Nate blinked in surprise. He’d barely slept. Jess’s fever had dropped, but not to a level where he felt comfortable leaving her, especially since anything he gave her to drink came right back up.
He started calculating how long he should wait before taking her to the hospital for IV fluids. With effort, he lifted himself off the couch where he’d been napping on and off for the last couple of hours and went to check on her again.
He placed a hand on her shoulder; her breathing slow and steady now, her skin cool. Finally asleep. Hopefully, the worst of whatever it was had passed. He returned to the kitchen and boiled the jug for a cup of tea. After a sleepless night, there was no way he could focus on filming or remember his lines. Waiting for the jug to boil, he found his phone and called Laney.
