I rolled my eyes. “Not funny. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “But shower time probably dehydrated me. Got any Gatorade?”
I sighed, forcing a smile I didn’t feel, considering my heart had damn near stopped a few minutes ago. “Yeah, let’s Gatorade you up before bed.”
“The words… you’re so good with them. It’s a wonder I swooned.”
“Your swoon needs work,” I pointed out. “You went in the wrong direction.”
“Drat.”
“Drat?” I repeated.
“Read historical romance, Sergio. It will seriously change your outlook on so many words!”
“I like my vocabulary.”
“Hmmm…” She patted my chest and yawned. “I’m sorry. I’m just really tired.”
“Sure.” With a heavy heart I lifted her into my arms and walked out of the shower. I set her on the teak bench, grabbed one of the monogrammed towels, and wrapped her in it before wrapping one around myself.
“Can I lick chocolate off your abs?” she asked in a tired voice.
“I, uh…”
“I promise I’ll go slow.”
“Is that on the list?”
She crossed her arms.
“Andi…”
“It should be!” She pouted. “I completely underestimated your workout routine!”
“So you thought I’d be a fat Italian?”
“To be fair, you guys eat a lot of pasta.”
“When have you ever seen me actually eat pasta?”
She chewed her lower lip. “Good point.”
“Look…” I kneeled down in front of her. “…I’ll let you lick chocolate off me…”
She clapped her hands.
I held mine up for her to stop. “If you go to sleep. After all, we have honeymoon activities to do, don’t we?”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and placed a soft kiss against my cheek. “Yes, Italy. We do.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Andi
I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG THE MINUTE I tried to open my eyes. My mouth tasted like cotton, and every single bone in my body hurt like I’d been beaten up and left for dead.
With a groan, I tried to turn on my side so I could fall very ungracefully out of bed. My legs felt so weak. I needed more water and to eat, even though I’d been feeling more and more full, just another fun side effect.
I took a few deep breaths holding the air in my cheeks then slowly released a breath as I finally managed to roll onto my side and place my feet on the hardwood floor.
The room was spinning, but I was used to being dizzy. I walked slowly to the door and opened it then shuffled down the hall.
I wasn’t paying attention to anything other than getting to the bathroom so I could grab a drink of water and maybe take a shower.
“Andi?” Sergio’s voice sounded at the end of the hall.
Crap. I needed to act chipper or he was going to know something was up. I licked my lips, forced a big smile, and gave him a saucy wave.
I must have looked worse than I thought because his expression went from morning bedroom eyes to horrific, all within athe span of a few seconds.
In two strides he was in front of me, gripping my face with both hands. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Huh?”
He turned my face to the side as if he was examining it. Then the weird part happened. He tried to pry my mouth open with his hands.
I jerked away, but he was too strong.
With a curse, he shook his head and lifted me into his arms. He strode into the bathroom and set me on the counter.
“I can walk,” I pointed out, though it was nice not having to.
“I know.” He swallowed slowly. Face pale, he filled a cup of water and handed it to me. “Swish it around a bit.”
“Huh? Why can’t I just drink it?”
“Your gums.” He reached up and placed his finger in my mouth and pulled it back. Blood mixed with spit slid off his skin.
I covered my mouth in horror then turned to look in the mirror. My gums weren’t just bleeding; it looked like I’d suddenly gone vampire during the night and taken out an entire town. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that bad, but my teeth weren’t so white, considering the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
“Here.” Sergio shoved the cup into my hand. “Swish around the water so that you can clean your teeth. Then we’ll use some mouthwash. I wouldn’t suggest brushing until the bleeding stops, which it should once the day moves on, and you start yakking my ear off again.”
He was being sweet.
Which naturally made my eyes well up with tears. “Where’d you learn all this, huh, Italy?”
“Prepare to be awestruck.” He smirked, his one eyebrow arching playfully. “I read a book.”
“No way!” I punched his shoulder. “You little nerd!”
“I’ll probably buy a pocket protector at the end of the week and start ironing my jeans too.”
“Don’t!” I pointed my finger at him. “Those jeans are designer.” I swished the water around and spit it out into the sink. I filled it up again and drank deeply then handed it back to Sergio, only to have him put a bottle of mouthwash in my hand.
“Gargle.”
I rolled my eyes but did as he said. When I spit into the porcelain sink, I had to fight the tears welling. Everything was still tinged with blood. Slowly, I turned and smiled weakly in the mirror.