Page 73 of Bad & Bossy

Bobby pushed the glass across the coffee table to the side closest to me. “Just this once.”

Chapter 26

Dana

The stain of snot and drool on the breast of my robe was exactly why I was wearing it over my dress.

Drew coughed in my arms, his little mouth buried against my collarbone. The medicine his doctor had prescribed seemed to be doing nothing. “It’s just a cold,” Dr. Sinclair had said. “He probably picked it up in Costa Rica,” adding that I just needed to give the medicine a bit more time.

I stared down at the two dozen red roses in my free hand. The stems crinkled in my grip, mangling themselves. Just the sight of them made me want to vomit regardless of who they were from. I’d never liked the smell of roses.But it was the little tassel hanging from the plastic that encased the tops of them that made it so much worse.

To Dana: I hope I didn’t give you the wrong impression. Maybe I’ll see you out running again soon. Love, Robert.

Fucking psycho.

If he genuinely thought I’d just gotten the wrong impression, he was out of his mind. The man was insane and incessant, and the more often these showed up—it was the fourth time this week—the more I wanted to tell Cole. But he had too much going on in his own life, too much for me to keep up with, and I didn’t want to add to that. We just had to get through this evening, and then maybe, somehow, things could start to calm down.

Maybe then, I’d tell him.

Making a mental note to contact the police at some point, I shoved the bundle of roses into the garbage can and slammed the lid.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to the launch wearing a robe.”

Drew coughed again as I looked over my shoulder at my sister. She collapsed onto the sofa, her shorter, wavy locks flying up into her face from the movement. How she’d managed to stay here this long without moving on was beyond me. In any other scenario, she’d have gone on to the next location, following wherever her heart or phone led her, but it had been months now. I was thankful, at least.

“No,” I chuckled, turning on the spot and pointing to the damp patch over my breast. “Just keeping my dress clean until I leave.”

She looked me up and down. I must have looked ridiculous—my fluffy pink robe with a hint of my black dress poking out from underneath, shimmering black heels, my hair swooped up with little tendrils hanging around my face. I’d even managed to get a full-glam makeup look on while Drew was napping.

“Damn,” Vee grinned, giving me a little whistle as I spun in a circle. I parted the bottom of the robe a bit to give her a better idea of what I was working with. “You look hot.”

“Had a bit more time than usual,” I chuckled. I shuffled Drew on my hip, lifting him a bit higher and easing the weight. “He napped for ages.”

“Probably just fighting off his cold.” She shrugged and reached for the remote, flicking on the television. “When are you heading out?”

I pulled my phone from the pocket of my robe and checked the time—shit. “Cole’s driver should be here any minute.”

Carefully, I popped Drew into his swing and released the sash of my robe, shucking it from my shoulders. Before Vee could even take it in, a fit of coughs erupted from his tiny mouth, spittle and snot flying at high velocity right into the dangling fabric of the robe.

Almost using it as a shield, I kneeled down in front of Drew, my worry for him only growing. I hadn’t heard him cough like that until that moment. It had all been dry and irritating, the only mucus in sight coming from his nose. But this cough was wet, deep, and angry. He sputtered out a little cry before another round of coughs hit him. “Hey, hey, you’re okay,” I cooed, wiping the little bits of snot hanging from the corners of his mouth.

“That’s good,” Vee remarked, and I swear I could have killed her.

“How is that good? He sounds worse.”

“He’s finally getting the phlegm out. It may sound bad, but honestly, it’s probably an improvement. Poor guy’s just coughing out the devil.”

“You can’t still think—” I cut myself off, breathing in deeply and trying to center myself. “Maybe I should stay home.”

“Dana. He’s fine,” Vee sighed, pushing her body weight up so she could get a good look at both of us. “I’ll keep a close eye on him. The thermometer’s in the medicine drawer, right?”

I tightened my lips as I watched Drew. The fit ended and he calmed, his demeanor changing back to his usual, happy-go-lucky self as he reached out for his giraffe.

Things would be fine.

Vee was right.

“Yeah, it’s in the drawer.” I sighed and pushed myself back up to my feet at the same moment a honk came from outside.

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