Page 15 of Love Under Protection

“Sure. I can enjoy the view before tossing my cookies,” I joke. “Part of me would almost rather be sick at home in bed. Sick on vacation, especially in a place like this, kinda sucks.”

“Are you hungry? When’s the last time you ate?”

“At the reception. I don’t think I can handle much more than some broth right now though.”

“Broth it is.” Harley snaps into action, pouring some broth into a cup. He hands it to me with a spoon and a smile.

“You really do not have to do this,” I try again to convince him that it’s not necessary. I don’t want him to feel obligated to be here simply because he hurt my feelings. I still know the score.

“No one said I had to. Without meaning to sound like a complete dick, is it really so hard to believe that Iwantto be here? That I’m doing this because I care?”

“You have no reason to care,” I argue. “When this trip is over, you’re going back to New York City and I’m going back to a life in Georgia. What happened with us was supposed to be all fun.”

Harley sits on the foot of my bed and pats my leg. “You’re not having fun?” he teases.

I roll my eyes. “You do not need me to stroke your ego. I have no doubt that you know we had fun.”

“Then I don’t see the issue. With Jameson and Olivia married now, I’m sure it’s possible that we might see each other again from time to time. No reason why we can’t be friends, right? It’s really not the first time I’ve taken care of a sick buddy before. Don’t believe me? Ask Jameson about the time I found him drunk off his ass outside of Olivia’s apartment. He was about to make a HUGE mistake that I knew he’d regret. I tucked his ass in bed and helped him nurse his hangover the next day. I’ve delivered care packages to buddies who’ve come down with the flu. Don’t overthink it.”

I take a sip of broth off of the spoon in my hand and nod. “How do you know Jameson anyway?”

“We went to the same college. He was studying business and architecture; I was studying criminal justice.”

“And, then you met Liv. I heard you were not her biggest fan.” I give him a hard stare.

He holds up his hands. “Hey, can you really blame me? I felt like she was giving my buddy the run around and acting like a brat. If I’m being honest, I didn’t have all the facts and I based my judgment on what I knew at the time. Now though? Fuck, they deserve each other.” He laughs. “They both drive me insane. They’re absolutely the yin to each other’s yang.”

“God that’s the truth. I love Liv, and Jameson, but there were so many times when I wanted to smash their heads together when we were growing up,” I say with a yawn.

“Damn. Am I boring you?” Harley winks playfully.

“You know what.” I grab a clean tissue from the box on the nightstand and ball it up before tossing it at him. “I’m actually debating some fresh air. Those lounge chairs on the balcony are actually fairly nice, and I bet the sunshine would feel good.”

In my head, it sounds like a great plan. Until I go to stand up and nearly fall over.

Harley’s quick and catches me. “Umm. Raylynn, you’re burning up,” he says while gently guiding me back to bed. He grabs the thermometer that I left on the nightstand and immediately turns it on and presses it to my forehead. “Nope, fuck this, we need to get you to an ER, now. You’re running a high fever, that Tylenol didn’t do shit.”

“It’s fine. I’ll take a dose of Motrin and I’ll be fine.”

“Like hell,” he mutters, already on the phone to the front desk requesting a cab to the ER. Hell,

I’m surprised he didn’t call for an ambulance instead.

“Okay, Mister. I’ll let you run the show, only because I don’t have the energy to fight. One rule though, you do NOT call Jameson or Liv and say a word, unless they tell you I’m dying. Then they can stop doing it like rabbits and come hold me while I take my last breath.”

“Christ, you’re dramatic,” he grumbles while putting his shirt and shoes back on.

What a shame, I’m too sick to thoroughly enjoy the sight that is his naked torso.

“What do you need to take with you? Let’s make it quick, you’ve got five minutes. I’ll gather it all up.”

“You could let a girl shower before taking her out.” I try to joke but I’m too tired to laugh now.

Harley ignores me, grabs an empty bag and starts tossing things inside it. I have no clue what he’s grabbing but in my delusional mind I pretend he’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse. I must doze off while he’s packing because next thing I know, I’m being lifted out of bed and carried to the door.

“Hey, I can walk,” I mumble and nestle into his shoulder. But I think I like this better. He smells nice.

Chapter 9

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