“Because this place is full of dust and paint fumes. That’s not good for you right now.” He lifted her off the floor and carried her into the bedroom. Had he ever noticed how tiny she was? “Don’t worry, you won’t have to do anything.”

She began to cry.

“What’s wrong?” He put his arms around her so she could rest her head against his chest.

“I don’t want to be sick. I had big plans for when the girls left.”

“What kind of plans?”

“I was going to tell you I’m ready for that date you mentioned. If you still want to, that is,” she said, coughing.

Kissing her cheek, he hugged her tight against him. “You bet I do, so let’s get you better, okay?”

She nodded and reclined against the pillows to watch him pack a bag of clothes for her. Before he finished, she’d drifted back to sleep and didn’t stir even when he carried her outside to his truck.

When Clare woke up the next time, she saw stars. Literally. Looking up at a skylight, she had no idea where she was. Her head pounded, her throat was raw, her chest felt like an elephant was standing on it, and she was freezing. She groaned, and Aidan materialized from the darkness.

He ran a hand across her forehead and cheek. “How’re you feeling?”

“Awful. I can’t stop shivering.”

Moving around to the other side of the big bed, he got under the covers and put an arm around her to draw her back against him. “Is that better?”

“Uh-huh.” She could feel the warmth of him through her clothes. “Where are we?”

“My house. Remember I told you I was bringing you here?”

“Vaguely.” When another thought occurred to her, she tried to sit up. “What about the girls? They’ll be worried if they can’t reach me. They didn’t want to leave because I was sick.”

“I called Jill.” He eased her back down. “I found her number on your cell phone and let her know you’d be here for a few days. I gave her my number, and she promised to call Kate. So don’t worry about anything but getting better, okay?”

“Are they home?”

“Safe and sound.”

She relaxed against him. “Okay. Good. Thank you.”

“Are you hungry? I can heat up the soup I got you at McHugh’s earlier.”

“Maybe in a minute,” she said as her eyes closed again. “I don’t want you to go.”

He held her tight against him. “I’m not going anywhere. I had to get you sick to get you in bed with me. I want to enjoy it.”

She made a sound that might have been a laugh, but a cough choked her. “I’ll bet you’ve never had it so good in bed,” she said when she could speak again.