Rubbing the back of my neck, I sheepishly said, “I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right at all.”
“I promise Saundra will make me camera-ready for tomorrow’s rally, and I won’t shame you.” Shame me? She’s worried about shaming me?
When she suddenly swayed on her feet, I bolted out of my chair and placed my arms on
her shoulders to steady her. Her glassy-eyed gaze met mine. “Thanks.”
“Look, I don’t give two shits about the rally. I’m worried about you.” When her brows shot up into her hairline, I replied, “Yeah, I am. You’ve been sick for a week now, and you’re not getting any better.”
“It’s just a cold.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Maybe we should stop and take you to an urgent care or something.”
“No, no. We don’t have time for that.”
“We can make time.”
“I’m fine. I’ll grab some cold medicine at the next stop.”
“That’s a start, but why don’t you go lie down for a little while?”
Addison glanced over her shoulder at her laptop. “But I need to go over the notes my replacement sent.”
“Theo will manage just fine without you. You need to get in bed.” Before she could protest any more, I wrapped one of my arms around her waist and started leading her down the aisle to the bedroom. After opening the door, I shooed her inside and ushered her over to the bed. “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”
Addison paused in taking off her shoes, peering at me curiously. “Are you being real?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, is this all part of the”—she made air quotes with her fingers—“fake fiancé act, or are you actually offering to take care of me?”
Damn if her words didn’t sting a bit, like I was such a heartless bastard I couldn’t possibly care about the wellbeing of another individual. “Since everyone on the bus is in on the engagement ruse, I really don’t have a reason to pretend, do I?”
“What about Sutton?” she countered.
Oh for fuck’s sake. I hadn’t stopped to consider the one outsider we had picked up in Georgia. Every family has a rogue member, and Sutton Callahan was mine. Although he had a genius IQ, he lacked basic common sense. If he hadn’t been one of the best political strategists in the business, I didn’t think Dad would have admitted he knew him, least of all that he was his cousin. Although he had an Ivy League education, he was rough around the edges from never abandoning the backwoods where he had grown up after his father, my grandfather’s brother, had married “beneath him”, as Grandmother Callahan called it, which basically meant he married a girl who was far outside the society realm.
“Okay, fine, there’s one person not in on the jig, but trust me when I say, that has nothing to do with how I’m treating you.”
Addison stared me down with such intensity that it felt like at any moment, she was going to shine a light bulb in my face and interrogate me to get to the truth. Finally, a look of acceptance came over her face, and she went back to taking off her shoes. I walked past her to turn down the sheets and duvet. When I finished with that, I fluffed the two pillows, wanting to make sure it was as comfortable as possible. Once I finished, I stepped back to make way for Addison, and when I looked at her, I found her staring wide-eyed at me. “What?”
She blinked a few times. “You’re so…domestic.”
I laughed. “You should know by now that I’m a man of many talents.”
Addison snorted. “Always the egomaniac.”
“I am consistent.”
“Consistently bigheaded.”
I glanced down at my crotch before meeting her gaze again. “That too.”
Instead of yelling at me to stick my innuendo up my ass, she laughed. “As my
granddaddy would say, you’re a mess, Barrett.”
“That I am. Now come get in bed.”
As her knees dipped down onto the mattress, she glanced back at me over her shoulder. “You’re not going to try to make something out of getting me into bed?”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “Nope. You beat me to it.”
“How disappointing.”
I busied myself with tucking her in. Just when I thought I couldn’t shock her more, the expression on Addison’s face told me otherwise. “Now, I’ll ask you once again: do you want anything to eat or drink?”
She shook her head. “No thanks. I just want to sleep.”
“Good.” I handed her the TV remote. “I think it’s best you stay in bed until we get to the hotel.” Wagging a finger at her, I added, “Don’t put your feet on the floor except to go to the bathroom. If you wake up and decide you need something, just text me, okay?”
Addison smiled. “Okay.”
Satisfied that I had done all I could do for her, I decided it was best to go. When I started toward the door, Addison called, “Barrett?”
“Yeah?” I replied, glancing over my shoulder.
She smiled. “Thanks for taking care of me…for caring.”
“No problem.”
After closing the door, I started back to my seat. When I reached for my beer, I felt Ty’s curious gaze searing into my back. Turning around, I questioned, “What?”
“You put Addison to bed.”
“Yes, Captain Obvious, I did.”