Read Online Listed: Volume II by Noelle Adams - Free Book Online Page A

stainless steel carafe. Instead of coffee, she poured herself a glass of
freshly squeezed orange juice with shaking hands and went to sit on a chair by
a window far away from Paul.
    She
could feel his eyes on her as she tried to sip her juice.
    “Emily?”
Paul prompted after a stretch of silence.
    She
made a wordless mumble of response, wishing her body didn’t hurt so much so she
could think more clearly.
    Then
Paul—damn him—got out of his chair and walked over to where she sat. He
scrutinized her in his usual way, looking for signs of her dying.
    “I’m
fine,” she snapped, her tone far sharper than was warranted. “I’m just tired
after yesterday.”
    Paul
didn’t reply with words. He reached out and put a hand on her forehead.
    Emily
tried to jerk away, but there was nowhere she could go.
    “Damn
it, Emily,” Paul said curtly, putting his hand on her forehead again. “You’re
burning up. Why didn’t you tell me?”
    She
tried to glare at him with imposing indignation, but she felt so sick she was
afraid she might cry.
    “Come
here,” he murmured, his voice a little husky as he reached down to pull her to
her feet. “You need to get back into bed.”
    “I
don’t want to go to bed.” She tried to pull away from him, but she was too weak
and unsteady on her feet. “We have to make our flight.”
    “You
can’t go with a fever.” Paul sounded mild now, gentle, but his arm at her back
was strong as he guided her into her bedroom.
    She
felt like she was choking on the pain in her body, the oppressive heat, and the
crushing disappointment. Her shoulders shook a few times—quite unwillingly—but
she wasn’t going to let herself cry. As Paul helped her off with her cardigan
and shoes, she mumbled, “Maybe it won’t last very long.”
    Paul
unlatched her watch and slid it from her wrist. “Maybe it won’t,” he agreed,
easing her down so she was lying in her unmade bed.
    She
peered up at him fuzzily, trying to read the expression on his face. He didn’t look
or sound tender or pitying. Just mild. At least he didn’t look annoyed at her
for trying to act like she wasn’t sick.
    “I’ll
be right back,” he said before walking out of her room.
    She
was starting to shiver again, so she pulled the covers up until they were
tucked under her chin. She felt absolutely miserable, but at least when she was
lying down she didn’t feel quite so dizzy.
    Paul
returned in less than a minute, and he had in his hand a thermometer that took
her temperature by being held against her head for just a few seconds.
    “What
is it?” Emily asked, her teeth chattering, when he pulled his arm back and read
the display. She felt kind of like a child and didn’t like that feeling at all,
but she couldn't seem to do anything about it.
    “102 ⁰ ,”
Paul muttered, his eyes shifting from the thermometer to her face. “No wonder
you feel so bad.”
    “Maybe
it won’t last long,” she said again. “And we can still fly out later today.”
    Paul’s
eyes softened as they rested on her. “I’m sorry, Emily. You can’t go anywhere
today.”
    “But—”
she began, before she cut herself off. There was no sense in arguing. Paul had
made it clear that, about her health, he would dig in his heels. She just
didn’t have the energy anyway. She curled up on her side. “I really wanted to
cross it off my list.”
    “I
know, but we’ll go in a couple of days when you’re feeling better.”
    Her
eyes widened in sudden hope. “We can still go?”
    “Of
course. I’ll just reschedule everything.  Now get some rest. I’m going to
call the doctor.”
    Emily
released a long sigh and closed her eyes, relieved that everything wasn’t
completely ruined. The darkness throbbed behind her closed eyelids. Her attempt
to cheer herself up by visualizing all she would see in Egypt ended up as a
bizarre, vibrating picture of her and Paul hopping over the Pyramids.
    It
wasn’t long before the crazy image shifted into the