Page 31 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

The boat jumped with another wave and my lunch thrashed. My eyes drifted closed as I dragged in another breath.

“You know, since you’re new to town,” Aiden was saying. “I could help show you around.”

We hit a wavy patch and the boat rocked. The club sandwich I ate earlier clawed up my throat.

Oh god. Now I remembered why I hadn’t been on a boat in years.

“Sadie?”

My head snapped toward him. “Mmm?” I kept my mouth clamped closed.

His sweet, interested gaze roamed my face and he laughed. “How you doing there, champ?”

I nodded, gripping the railing hard. “I’m okay.”

“What do you say?”

“To what?” My stomach twisted and lurched.

“Do you want to get some dinner sometime? I can show you some of the local beaches around here.” He shot me a lopsided grin.

“Oh.” My stomach lurched again but this time, it wasn’t my half-digested sandwich, it was revulsion. Dating. Meeting people. Falling for people.

That wasn’t my thing anymore. At least until I figured out what my issue was.

A weird, tight laugh slipped out of my throat. “Aiden, you are a total babe, but I’m not dating right now.”

His mouth pulled into a boyish grin. “You’re on a singles cruise.”

I let out a light laugh. “Right. Yeah. I meant more, mentally.”

He arched an eyebrow, still grinning. At least he didn’t take it badly. “I feel like there’s a story there.”

“Folks, this is your captain speaking,” Captain Rina said over the mic. “Hold on to the nearest hottie because we’re about to hit aROUGH PAAAATCH!” The music blared and the boat hit wave after wave.

Yeah, I was definitely going to be sick.

My fingers curled around the steel railing as my stomach pitched and dipped with the boat. People whooped and laughed but I kept my gaze on the coast. I had heard once that if you stare at something not moving, it helped with carsickness.

Oh god. My stomach dipped again and the sandwich threatened to claw up my throat. I pressed my lips into a tight line and took long, shaky breaths. I really, really didn’t want to be the barfing girl.

“Are you okay?” Aiden’s hand was around my shoulder.

“I got this,” Holden said at my side in a sharp tone. His hand came to my waist and he pulled me away from Aiden.

14

Sadie

“Canyou hold it in until the washroom?” Holden’s voice turned gentle as his hand settled on my lower back.

I made a weird moaning noise with an expression that saidI don’t know.

He moved faster. He guided me down the narrow stairs to the washroom.

“First door on your left,” he said as I made my way down, stomach heaving and hand pressed over my mouth.

I yanked the door open and emptied my lunch into the toilet, holding myself upright with a hand on the wall. The door bumped closed behind me and my eyes watered. My whole body tensed and gave as I puked, and I decided going on a boat was a very bad idea.

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