Page 71 of If You Were Mine
I rolled my eyes even though I still kept watch for Dorian. He was late. He was usually never late. Maybe something had come up, but why wouldn’t he have texted?
I ended up slow dancing with Scarlett as Ivy danced behind me, and I ignored the way that some people tsk’ed at us. Others cheered, before suddenly the slow dancing turned into a pile of people laughing against one another, trading partners every third step.
Most of us had known each other since we were kids, and some were old enough to be my grandparents. It was just a fun time, full of happiness and joy and town pride.
And Dorian was nearly an hour late.
I ignored the disappointment until someone touched my hip. Whirling, ready to punch out, Dorian slid his hand over my fist.
“Sorry I’m late. The bridge is out,” he whispered.
There’s a small bridge at the end of his current property, one that had needed to be replaced years ago.
My eyes widened. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I had to take the long way around though, and there’s no service on the north side of the lake thanks to the lovely storm coming in. I’m sorry I’m late, baby. I didn’t mean to be late.” We stood in the center of the dance floor as couples rolled around us, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
“I was going to have to come find you and kick your ass.”
“I’ll let you do that anytime you want.” Then his lips were on mine, his arms around my waist, and I sighed into him.
“This is a public place, Harper Wellesley!” one of Ms. Patty’s friends called out, and I ignored her.
“Well, looks like I’m going to have to really show them what we can do in public,” he said, his voice low.
I shivered, pressing my thighs together. “Do you really want us to get arrested?”
“I’m a Cage. It’s my town. Why not?”
I threw my head back and laughed and then let him twirl me around the dance floor. The music flowed, the tempo increasing as everybody enjoyed themselves, laughing and dancing, and I ignored the odd looks they gave the two of us.
Yes, there was an age gap. Yes, this was new. But why was everyone acting like Dorian was a creeper, like a lecher?
But Dorian didn’t look like it was bothering him so I wouldn’t let it bother me.
We took a step off the dance floor, my chest heaving from that final two-step.
“Are you okay? You’re all flushed.” Dorian put his hand to my cheek and frowned.
“But your skin’s ice cold.”
“I’m fine,” I rasped as dark circles began to flutter over my eyes. “I just need some water.” At least I tried to say that, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead dizziness took over, and my lungs seized.
I clutched at my chest, trying to breathe, and Dorian reached for me, calling my name.
I tried to say something, anything, but there was nothing, only an aching of breath, and Dorian holding me, and darkness.
“Pneumonia? I was fine. I didn’t even have a cough.”
“You know you have issues with your lungs, and apparently your lovely bout of walking pneumonia was literal this time,” Dorian growled out.
I had only passed out for maybe a second, but the fear on Dorian’s face had nearly sent me over the edge. The music had ground to a halt, and Dorian had picked me up in one swoop and rushed me to his truck. The girls had followed me in their car, and I knew Ms. Patty was already calling ahead to make sure that the clinic was ready for me.
We didn’t have a large hospital in Cage Lake, but the clinic was big enough to handle emergencies. Any surgeries though, had to be medevacked out.
I was hooked up to oxygen, and an IV, and would be staying overnight until my levels were back to where they needed to be.
“This isn’t the first time it’s happened, and it won’t be the last.” I looked down at my fingers and forced myself to untangle them. “It’s because of getting sick when I was younger. Sometimes I don’t notice when I’ve overdone it.”
