Page 37 of Off-Limits Silver Fox Billionaire

“You sure?” Iris walked over to where I sat and put her hand on my forehead. “You’re warm and you seemed flushed a second earlier. Dad do we have anything in to eat?”

“There’s some pizza in the freezer, you both can share that,” Josh answered as he walked to the door, but he glanced back at me, and I saw the crease lines on his forehead before he walked out of the kitchen.

Iris was already warming up the pizza, and my stomach purred just from the smell of it. “Oh God,” I groaned when another rush of bile swarm to the surface and nearly burst out of me.

“What?” Iris questioned from where she stood and turned to me. “You sure you’re alright?”

“I am. I just got a text from Allison, I’ve got to go home,” I said and hurried to my feet. I picked up my purse, put my phone inside, and tuned to Iris again. “I’ll come back later.”

My head spun, and the scent of the pizza she was warming up made my stomach churn.

“But you’re hungry... Are you sure you won’t have some of this pizza first?”

I smiled at Iris, got to her, and kissed her cheeks. “Let me find out what Allison wants.”

“Okay.”

She hadn’t landed before I hurried out of the kitchen and found my way to the front door. Iris’s house was just a stone's throw from ours, but Josh came out with me and stopped me on the porch.

“I’ll drive you home,” he said tenderly, then began leading me to his car.

“You shouldn’t … Iris is in there and she might suspect a thing.”

“I don’t care,” he insisted. “I’m not letting you walk home while you’re feeling this way. What if something happens on the way?”

“Josh—”

“Don’t make me carry you to the car,” he insisted. “I need you to come with me, so we can get you home.”

The threat in his voice and the stern look in his eyes told me he would do it, and I couldn’t risk Iris coming out to see us that way, so I walked to the car and got in the front seat.

Josh drove me home, and I watched him drive off before I walked inside the house. My dad was with Samuel in the living room, they were fixing a toy truck, when I entered my dad greeted me without lifting his head. “Hey Bree, what’s happening? How’s the wedding planning?”

“It’s going great,” I answered. I told him about Iris's wedding during one of our brief chats in the kitchen, and I knew he was definitely going to attend it once a date was fixed.

“Iris says hi by the way,” I told him as the strong scent of cinnamon hit me and made me queasy inside again.

“Say hello next time you see her,” he answered me briefly before giving Samuel his attention again. My stomach churned harder, and I dashed up the stairs without caring if anyone suspected something was wrong.

Once I locked my bedroom door, I staggered into my bathroom, then puked the contents of my stomach into the sink again.

What a mess!I had read of pregnancy symptoms and how it affected a mother’s daily activities, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.

The smell of everything irritated me, and even standing upright made me feel weak. I managed to get to my bed, and the second I climbed in it, I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep that offered solace from the nausea eating at me.

* * *

Josh visitedthe bakery the next day and ordered his usual cupcakes. Iris had come to help me out today. She had finally settled on the choice of colors she wanted for the wedding, so we had to pick out a style or her dress now.

My head was spinning, but Iris didn’t seem to notice. She kept talking about the wedding, the plans and everything she had in mind for her big day. I wished I could feel enthusiastic for her, and share in her excitement, but every ounce of happiness I felt for her was inside but physically, I was exhausted.

Sweat beaded on my forehead and I wiped my right arm over it before taking Josh's order. Iris moved to my side to help me out, but she kept talking.

“Francis doesn’t really care about these things. He doesn’t even care about going for the cake tasting with me on Saturday,” she complained as we packaged her dad’s order.

While I counted the rest of the cupcakes left in the display counter, my gaze wandered to Josh's, and I found him staring at me without blinking.

Heat rushed up my cheeks and spread to the back of my neck. Iris had her back to us, and Josh smiled a little because she wasn’t looking. It was a flirty smile, one that reminded me too well of the heated reasons why I couldn’t get this man out of my head.

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