Page 82 of Forbidden Boss (Manhattan Billionaires)

She took a sip of juice and set it down on the side table before glancing at me curiously. “What is it you do for work at Blakely, again?”

The world was pressing in on me. I couldn’t think straight. Roseanne’s gaze was on me, and I felt like she’d be able to tell if I trotted out the tired old lie that I was a consultant for Rome. What did a consultant even do? All she had to do was ask me a few questions and the whole charade would fall apart, because I sure as hell wasn’t able to dodge any incisive questions in my current state of mind.

The thoughts in my head were basically going around in a loop that went like this:I’m not pregnant. No way. But what if I am? But I can’t be. Oh, God, she’s looking at me. Try to look normal. But looking normal made her think I was pregnant. There’s no way. But what if I am…

And on and on and on. And we were on a stupid private island so it wasn’t like I could dart to a pharmacy when no one was paying attention to get a pregnancy test. I’d have to wait.

Hands landed on my shoulders, and I nearly jumped out of my seat. Rome chuckled, looking at me curiously. “Are you okay?”

“You gave me a fright,” I said.

“We’ve had a big day,” Roseanne cut in, watching me. “What if you head to your room for a rest?”

“Rest,” I repeated dumbly. “Yeah.”

“I’ll take you,” Rome said, and he had such sweet concern written on his face that I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t blurt out what Roseanne had said, because what if Iwasn’tpregnant? Which obviously I wasn’t. Rome took my arm and led me away from the couple, cradling me against his side as we walked through the house. “Are you okay?”

“I think the sun got to me,” I mumbled. “I’m used to being a vampire.”

He huffed a laugh and squeezed me closer. When we got to our room, Rome picked me up in his arms and settled me on the bed before drawing the blinds. He got me a glass of water and helped me strip down to my underwear, handing me one of his T-shirts to wear to sleep.

I wanted to refuse, because I was panicking and wearing his clothes while he took such sweet care of me would just make this whole thing that much worse. But the shirt smelled like him which settled my stomach somewhat, and I couldn’t resist the temptation. I snuggled into it and fell into the lush pillows. The adrenaline that had left me feeling so panicked just moments ago drained away. Exhaustion slammed into me, and I was asleep in an instant.

THIRTY-THREE

ROME

I closedthe door as gently as I could, not wanting to wake Nikki from her nap. Worry squirmed through me—it wasn’t like her to react like that to anything. Maybe she’d gotten a bit of heat stroke? We hadn’t been out in full sun for a long time, but it was possible.

All I wanted to do was stay in the room beside her and make sure she was okay, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that I was here to close the biggest deal my company had seen in years. Wilbur and I had ironed out some specifics, but he had yet to sign on to anything.

Torn between staying with Nikki and making sure he wasn’t getting talked out of anything by his wife, I chose my professional obligations. We were leaving tomorrow morning; time was running out.

I found the older couple on the balcony, talking softly to each other. Roseanne glanced up when I walked out through the sliding glass doors, her brows arched above her sunglasses. “How is she?” she asked.

“Asleep.”

“Poor darling.”

“Did something happen?”

“She started feeling ill when we were down in my closet,” Roseanne said, and I got the sense she was holding something back. Frowning at her didn’t draw any more information, though, so I settled on a seat across from them.

“I was just telling Rosie about the agreement we came to,” Wilbur said. “We’re both very grateful you were able to make the trip down to see us, especially so close to the holidays.”

I hummed. “To be honest, I think Nikki would have killed me if I’d canceled. She’s been wanting to see your clothing collection since she first met you,” I said, nodding at Roseanne.

The older woman smiled and took a sip of her drink.

“First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll send a revised contract off to my lawyers,” Wilbur announced. “I think it’s time we put some of this in writing, don’t you?”

My heart thumped. “Absolutely.”

Wilbur nodded, satisfied. The momentary silence lulled me, and I wasn’t ready for the sharp change in subject Wilbur made when he said, “When are you going to marry that girl?”

I’d been taking a sip of my own drink, delivered by one of the members of their army of staff, and found myself coughing the liquid up after inhaling it. “Excuse me?” I asked when I was able to speak.

“She’s good for you,” Wilbur said.

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