“Okay. I can do that,” she said. Halligan had no clue what he’d let loose. They also hadn’t used a condom, which told her Halligan must want kids. Hmm…
Halligan finished making the French toast, bacon, and sausage he’d decided on as an apology. He’d been so busy trying to please his wife that he hadn’t considered wearing a condom or even having a talk with her if she wanted kids right away.
Coming from a big family and seeing some of his cousins building families, Halligan was ready for kids as soon as Loni was. Girl or boy, he didn’t care. If she wanted to wait, then he’d be the best uncle to the kids in the family.
Once he finished plating the food, he placed it on the lap tray Vivi had decided they all needed last year. Now, he was thankful for her gift. He poured Loni a glass of milk and then placed a napkin on the tray.
Okay. Time to face the music and see what she said. He made himself a plate, but it was warming until he took Loni’s temperature on how happy or angry she was that he hadn’t used a condom last night. The strong smell of the sausage and bacon had his stomach rumbling.
He pushed open the door to their room and walked around to Loni’s side of the bed. She was lying on her side, facing the edge of the bed. He settled into the little space between her and the edge. When she didn’t immediately wake, he picked up the sausage and waved it under her nose.
He imagined she didn’t get the luxury of someone bringing her breakfast in bed very often. If he had his way, she’d be spoiled for the rest of their lives.
Loni’s nose scrunched a little. Halligan really wanted her to wake up so they could talk. He moved the sausage closer, waving it under her nose.
Loni’s eyes popped open at the same time she covered her mouth with her hand. She pushed him as she scrambled to get out of bed. He stood up, wondering what the hell was going on.
Loni jumped up, running toward the bathroom. As soon as she got in there, the sound of retching reached him. He listened for a minute, then took the tray back to the kitchen. Leaving it there, he walked back into the bedroom.
He wondered what Loni had eaten that made her sick this morning. They’d both had pasta at the bar last night. He was feeling fine. He debated whether he should go in when he heard her still retching, but if they were going to make this work, they’d see each other at their worst and their best.
He walked in. Loni was crouched by the toilet, her head resting on her arm, emptying her stomach. Light sweat was on the back of her neck, and her hair was hanging half in the toilet. He wanted to help her. He wet a washcloth, bringing it over by the toilet. Kneeling beside her, he laid the washcloth on her neck and lifted her hair so it wouldn’t get in her way.
“What can I do?” he asked.
Chapter Eleven
Loni was lying in bed in that place of half asleep—half awake. Last night with Halligan had been perfect. She registered the door opening a little but decided she’d sleep longer.
A smell had her nose twitching, but when the smell came closer and registered, her stomach turned. Nausea rolled through her. She opened her eyes and pushed Halligan away. She needed the bathroom now.
She scrambled out of bed and barely made it to the toilet before her stomach was emptying itself. Heat then cold rolled through her as she shivered and sweated.
This was not the way she wanted to start her morning. She’d been lucky so far, but she guessed that whatever that meat wasHalligan had waved at her this morning was not her friend right now.
She barely registered Halligan coming in and witnessing her humiliation of puking her guts up. His hand gathering her hair and the cool cloth he put on her neck, along with asking what he could do, brought tears to her eyes.
She waited to see if her stomach was done. She counted to one hundred without her stomach roiling or any waves of nausea; she thought she was safe. She felt a little better after everything had emptied from her stomach. Her mouth felt like something had died with it. She pulled the cloth from her neck and wiped her mouth, slowly sitting up and leaning back against the wall, flushing the toilet to get the smell away from her.
“Could you get me a glass of water to rinse my mouth?” she asked.
She stared at Halligan’s worried gaze running over her. He nodded and left the bathroom. He brought the water back in, crouching down by her, waiting while she rinsed her mouth and spit it in the toilet, flushing again.
“Do you think something was wrong with your pasta?” he asked.
“Can you help me up?” she asked. She was not having this conversation on the bathroom floor.
His hands slid under her arms to lift her up. When she didn’t immediately move, he went ahead and lifted her into his arms.
“Bed or couch?” he asked.
“Couch,” she said, glad that Halligan had slid a T-shirt on her last night before they went to bed. He’d said that with the threat, he didn’t feel comfortable having them sleep nude.
Halligan settled on the couch, keeping her in his arms instead of having her sit by herself. He might be the hard businessman, but he was also a caretaker.
“It wasn’t the pasta. I’ve been trying to figure out when would be the best time to tell you,” Loni said, pausing because it was hard to open up and be vulnerable even with how close they’d been last night.
“Tell me what?” Halligan asked.
