Page 47 of Billionaire Temptations

I openedmy eyes and quickly jumped out of bed, running to the bathroom and hovering over the toilet.

“Are you okay?” Max asked with concern.

“I don’t think so.” I began vomiting.

Max entered the bathroom and pulled back my hair, rubbing my back as I vomited a few more times.

“Do you have the flu?” He handed me a tissue.

“It’s possible. A few students at school had just had it, so I know it’s going around.”

“You better go back to bed and get some rest.”

“I can’t. I have that huge project to turn in today. I have to go to classes.”

“But if you’re sick, you can’t.”

I stood up and splashed some cold water on my face. “I’ll be fine. I have no choice.”

“We have about an hour before we need to be up and ready, so let’s go back to bed for a bit.”

He helped me into bed and climbed in next to me. I snuggled up against him and closed my eyes. Before I knew it, he was waking me up.

“Emma, you have to get up, or you’ll be late. Are you okay?”

When I opened my eyes, Max was standing over me, fully dressed and ready to leave.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” I climbed out of bed. I didn’t have the energy to shower, so I just threw my hair up in a ponytail and pulled on a pair of black leggings and an oversized sweater. Fall had settled in New York, and it was getting chillier by the day. I wasn’t used to November weather anywhere but Miami. Max gave me a kiss and said goodbye.

“I’ll call you later to see how you’re doing. Try to take it easy today and come right home after school.”

“I will. Have a good day at work.”

I pulled the orange juice out of the fridge and poured myself a glass. My stomach still had that sick feeling, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. No matter how I felt later, I needed to stop by the jeweler and pick up Max’s birthday gift. His birthday was in a couple of days, and we were going out to dinner with his parents and Fiona. As the day went on, I could barely keep my eyes open in class. Hannah wasn’t in class today because she was sick with the flu. I saw Darren waiting at the curb when my last class got out. He smiled.

“How are you feeling, Emma? Max told me you were sick this morning.”

“I’m not doing too well, Darren. What are you doing here?”

“Max sent me to pick you up and make sure you go straight home.”

I sighed. “That was nice of him, but I need you to take me to the jewelers first. I have to pick up his birthday present. It’ll only take a minute.”

“Of course.” He opened the door for me, and I slid into the back seat.

As soon as Darren dropped me off at my apartment, I set down my purse and climbed into bed. I awoke to the ringing sound of my phone.

“Hello.”

“Were you sleeping?” Max asked.

“Yeah. What time is it?”

“Seven o’clock. I was going to bring you over some chicken soup. Are you up for some?”

“That sounds good. Thank you.”

“I’ll see you in a bit.”

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