“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I’m sure it’s my nerves. We only have a few more days of freedom.”
“I don’t care about freedom.” Luca kissed my cheek. “You can shackle me all you want, baby.”
I laughed. “I meant freedom from our enemies. But if you’re feeling a little freaky, I wouldn’t mind tying you to our bed and having my way with you.”
“My little devil.” He lips touched mine. “If I didn’t have a meeting in twenty minutes, I would take you up on that offer.”
“Later,” I whispered, trying to fight the wave of nausea.
He nipped at my earlobe with his teeth. “Or maybe I should take you right here on the table.” His lips trailed down my jaw. “You like it when my brothers watch, don’t you, baby girl?”
“I think you like it, too,” I said before I kissed him.
Luca slid his hand up my thigh, and his fingers were dangerously close to the seam of my panties. His skin felt amazing pressed against mine, but another wave of sickness washed over me, stealing the air from my lungs.
I pulled my lips from his and blew out a deep breath. “I think I’m sick.”
He hooked his arm around me and inspected my face. “Your color isn’t good. I’ll call the concierge doctor. I can’t have my bride sick on our wedding day.”
I kissed him, then slid off his lap, right before I vomited on the floor.
* * *
Kali came to my house for lunch, though I was too sick to hold down more than a piece of toast. We scheduled my dress fitting at Ciao Bella. But I wasn’t sure if I was leaving the bathroom at the rate I was going.
Luca was working from home again, busy all day in his office. After I puked on the tiled floor in the dining room, he helped me into the shower and bed before he left for a meeting. Hours later, I was still sick, hunched over the toilet.
Kali held my hair and rubbed my back. “Let it out, girl.”
She handed me toilet paper to wipe my mouth as she dabbed at my forehead with a wet washcloth. “I think you have food poisoning.”
“I haven’t been able to keep food down without getting dizzy all day. It started about a week ago. Just some nausea here and there. But lately, it’s an all the time thing.”
“You have been through hell and back in a short time. First, you lost your brother, then your mom. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through.” Kali sighed. “I’m sorry, girl. I wish there were something I could do to make it better.”
“You’re already doing it.”
I pushed myself up from the floor and leaned back against the wall in the bathroom. Kali stood at my side and handed me the washcloth. I wiped my face one last time before throwing it into the hamper.
“What did you eat last night?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. A chicken sandwich from the kitchen for dinner.”
“Could be salmonella,” she commented.
“Not in this house. The chefs are thorough. It wasn’t the chicken,” I said with certainty.
Kali glanced at the vanity where she’d laid out pallets of makeup before I started puking. “Maybe you’re pregnant.”
I laughed. “No way. I’ve been on the pill for years.”
“When was the last time you took it?”
My mind raced as I considered her words. “Um, a few weeks ago, I think. But I’m sure it’s fine. I’ve never had a problem with it.”
Kali threw back her head and laughed. “Are you kidding me, girl? A few weeks ago isn’t the same as a few days. When was the last time you had your period?”
“Before I moved to Devil’s Creek.” My mouth dropped as her words sunk in. “Oh, my God. I have been here for close to two months. But I took my pills before I got kidnapped. It had to be in my system.”
“Not if you didn’t finish the pill pack.”
“I didn’t get the chance,” I choked out. “Shit, Luca is going to have a stroke if I’m pregnant.”
“No, he won’t. He needs heirs to his fortune.”
“This isn’t the best time to bring kids into this world.”
She leaned against the vanity, her eyes on me. “You can make it work.”
“We have a madman who wants to kidnap me on my wedding day coming to Devil’s Creek. I can’t have a kid right now.”
“You don’t always get to choose.”
I bit my cheek, thinking about how to handle this situation. Luca had enough on his plate. So did I. We were not ready to have children, not after everything we had gone through in the past year.
“We can run to the drugstore,” Kali offered. “On our way into town for your dress fitting.”
“Marcello’s driving us. He’ll know we’re up to something.”
“Tell him the truth,” she suggested. “You guys are friends. I’m sure he won’t care.”