Page 78 of Resisting You
“I swear!” His voice rose with frustration and he winced, clutching his head. “Rosa, I had two drinks last night. Two. There is no way I blacked out this much.”
The anger in his voice was real, but so was the evidence.
The contract. The bra. Morgan in the hallway. I kicked a couple of the empty bottles around my ankles. “Two drinks, huh? Looks like you had more than that here at the after party.” I shook my head, my throat burning. “I don’t know what’s worse. The fact that you’re lying, or that you actually expect me to believe you.”
“Call Reid,” Noah said. “Or West. Ask them.”
“It looks like your real party started after you made it back here to the room and they left.” I pointed out the mess in the living room area.
Groaning, Noah stood up and crossed to the common room of the suite. “I… Rosa, I swear to you, I didn’t do this. I had a couple of drinks and then at the club, I started feeling really weird…” His words faded off as his eyes landed on the hot chocolate on the counter. “You got me a hot chocolate?”
“Yes,” I snapped. “I did.” I glared at Noah, grabbing the full cup of hot chocolate and dumped it down the sink. “But hangover hot chocolate is forgoodhusbands who don’t plot to sabotage me with their ex-girlfriends!”
Before he could respond, Birdie let out a weak whimper.
Both our heads snapped toward him. He was curled up near the door, his small body trembling.
“Birdie?” I murmured, forgetting about our fight and rushing to him. His breathing was labored, his little paws twitching as if he was trying to shake off whatever was wrong.
“What’s wrong, little man?” Noah sank to his knees next to me, placing his palm gently on Birdie’s belly.
Panic pushed aside my fury. “Noah, something’s wrong.” I scanned the messy floor until my eyes snagged on a large, empty bag of M&Ms. “Did he eat these?” I asked, pointing at the chocolate wrapper.
Noah pressed his fingers against his temples. “I don’t know. I’ve been here talking to you the whole time.”
Neither of us had been paying attention, but something was definitely wrong. “I think he may have eaten those M&Ms while we were fighting.”
Noah was instantly on his feet, his own anger forgotten as he scooped Birdie into his arms. “We need to get him to my brother’s vet practice. Now.”
Without another word, we bolted from the room, our fight temporarily drowned out by the one thing we still had in common—loving the little creature who needed us both.
Even if I didn’t know if I could trust the man running beside me anymore.
Chapter 29
Noah
We barreled through the glass doors of the vet clinic, Rosa’s breath coming in short, panicked bursts beside me. Birdie whimpered in my arms, his body trembling like a leaf in the wind. My heart felt like it was going to punch a hole through my ribs.
"Steve!" I shouted. "We need help!"
Amanda, my brother’s vet tech came running out from behind her front desk. “What’s going on?” she asked as her eyes dropped to Birdie.
From the back, my brother Steve appeared, still in scrubs, his eyebrows shooting up as soon as he saw the state we were in.
"What happened?" he asked, already reaching for Birdie.
"He started shaking, wouldn’t stand up, and he’s not breathing right," Rosa said, voice trembling. "There was a bag of M&M’s next to him.”
Steve’s hands moved with practiced urgency as he examined Birdie. His expression changed the moment he caught a whiff of Birdie’s breath.
"Oh no," he muttered. "How much did he eat?"
Rosa looked helplessly at me. "The bag was empty," she echoed, horrified.
“Okay. We’ve got to take him into the back and get him to vomit before the chocolate absorbs into his system.” Steve paused, reaching out briefly to squeeze my arm. “You two did the right thing rushing him in.”
He disappeared into the back with Birdie cradled in his arms, shouting instructions to Amanda as the doors swung shut behind him.
