Page 34 of The Naughty Or Nice Clause

“Are you okay? You look flushed,” Natalie said hesitantly.

Lyla’s tongue was tingling. She glanced at the angry rash spreading across her hands.

“Lyla, what is it?” Natalie asked.

“Get Mason!” she rasped, clutching her chest, but Natalie only stood there, watching in alarm as the rash spread up her neck. Lyla shoved past her and into the crowd watching the competition to the judges’ table, where she saw Mason and Mrs Klaus. She collapsed at his feet.

He bent down to her, panic-stricken. “Lyla, what the fuck happened?”

“Strawberries,” she rasped, struggling to breathe.

Mason blanched at her words. He lifted her into his arms.

“Don’t panic. I’ve got you,” he said, carrying her away from the watching crowd. “The doctor isn’t far from here– hold on.”

Lyla could hear the fear in his voice as he ran down the lanes. The burn in her chest intensified as they went, and she could no longer fight the overwhelming urge to close her eyes.

Chapter Fourteen

WHEN LYLA WOKE, she was back in bed.

The weight of the sheets was comforting, although a little stifling after such a shock. The last thing she remembered was collapsing at Mason’s feet. Her head was groggy and she felt exhausted, though her chest was no longer tight and the hives were gone from her skin. She didn’t know what she had been given, but it seemed to have helped her allergy much more effectively than anything back home. She tried to place her hand on her chest, only to realise that Mason, sleeping beside her, had hold of it. With her free hand, she took her glasses from the nightstand, relieved they hadn’t been lost in the chaos. The clock told her it was already 6pm. She couldn’t believe she had slept through the night and well into the next day.

Slowly, she remembered him carrying her in his arms. The panic in his eyes and the way he’d called her name, trying to keep her awake until she passed out. With her free hand, she brushed his blonde hair from his face. Her finger traced his cheek, his nose, his lips… she wanted to lean forward and kiss him, if only to thank him for saving her life, but as she studied his features, Natalie’s words sprang to the forefront of her mind.They were engaged before he left. Engaged. Why bring me here when there was someone who clearly hadn’t given up on him still waiting?She suddenly felt like she was part of a game she didn’t understand.

Slipping her hand out of his, she left him to sleep. It was only when she reached for the doorknob that she realised her ring was missing. She clenched her hand in a fist, remembering she had placed it in a dish on the counter when she was making the gingerbread house.I left it behind,she fretted.It might still be there. Maybe Mason has it, or someone could have found it and returned it to the house while I slept.She wished she had never taken it off, or that she had never agreed to bake the damn gingerbread house in the first place.

“Lyla! Thank goodness you’re awake. Are you feeling better? I don’t know how it could have happened! I specifically told Natalie not to put any strawberry icing or ingredients with any traces of it on your stand,” Mrs Klaus babbled when Lyla joined her in the kitchen. Her words totally wiped away any thoughts of the missing ring.

She knew about my allergy? That bitch tried to kill me! I didn’t even use strawberry icing… she must have put some in the vanilla.Lyla kept the thought to herself. There was no way to prove it, and it was obvious the woman was close to the family.The stupid woman probably wanted to mess with me and didn’t realise how severe my reaction would be.

“Much better, thank you. I should have been more careful.”

“A terrible accident, but what a relief you’re all right! Natalie was beside herself – said she had meant to take the icing to her own station, but with everything going on, she exchanged hers for yours,” Mrs Klaus fussed.

“You’d never have known from the bags – mine certainly looked plain. I couldn’t even taste it,” Lyla muttered. “It’s understandable she made such a mistake,” she assured Mrs Klaus, trying to sound brighter. She didn’t want to start accusing people of attempted murder in a village away from the rest of the world.Do they even have a police force, or do the council decide everything?It was another question she didn’t have the energy to ask.

“An honest mistake,” Mrs Klaus agreed. “The doctor gave Mason a tonic for you to drink once you were up and about, in case you start to feel ill again. We didn’t expect you to sleep so long – we were worried.”

“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t tend to suffer recurrence, and it was such a small amount. It was probably the shock that knocked me out for so long,” Lyla said, not wanting to make a fuss. She wanted to forget the matter had even happened. If she had had such a reaction at home she would be suffering for a few days. But whatever the doctor had given her left her feeling almost normal. It was the lingering anxiety that remained.I’ll stay away from Natalie from now on. Hopefully, she’ll do the same. At least she was smart enough to make up a lie about it.

“Let’s put it behind us, and have a nice dinner,” Mrs Klaus said, returning to her cooking.

“Is there anything I can do to help? But please be warned, I haven’t helped anyone cook since my mum passed away – and even then what we made was often burnt or tasteless. We usually ended up ordering pizza,” Lyla confessed, then cringed slightly at the overshare. She took the lid off one of the pots on the stove; the steam fogged up her glasses, but the smell was tantalising. Her mouth watered, though she didn’t think her body was ready for a hearty meal.

“You can’t be that bad. You did well with the gingerbread house,” Mrs Klaus said encouragingly.

“Did you taste it?” Lyla asked, and Mrs Klaus hesitated.

“The ginger was… quite intense, but you persevered, which is a trait I greatly admire – and one you will need if you marry my son.” She winked, offering Lyla an apron with a snowman basking in the summer sun on the front. “How about something simple? You can prep the vegetables. I don’t think you can do much harm there.”

“Do you want the Brussels sprouts whole or sliced in two?” Lyla asked. Mrs Klaus was working from a handwritten cookbook bound in leather that looked older than Mrs Klaus herself. Lyla wanted to put as much care into her job as Mrs Klaus put into everything she weighed and sliced.

“Throw them in whole – no need to be too precious about it,” Mrs Klaus said as Kevin came in and took a seat at the counter.

“What’s cooking? I’m starving!”

Lyla realised he was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. “Have you been to bed?” she asked, seeing the dark rings around his eyes.

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