Her Blind Date Cowboy - Taylor Hart Page 0,20
natural to walk her back to the car after hiking over the bridge, so natural to joke and tease about the seagulls again. He’d dated other women, but it’d never been as easy as it was with Evie. Other women never seemed to get him.
And now they all seemed like they wanted something from him. It was interesting to note that Evie still had that thing about her; that wittiness, that drew him to her.
Liam stared out her back window, which had a path that led from the condos to the shore. How had he ended up on her beach? He didn’t really believe in fate; he believed more in God’s timing. Was that what this was? Had this been the exact right time for him to come back into her life, and for her to come into his? His mother would say something like that.
The door to the bathroom opened, and he heard Evie come out. Soon she staggered into view, steadying herself against the wall. “I’m really sorry, Liam, but I have to go to bed. This thing is kicking my butt.”
“What can I do?”
She put her hand up and looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes. “Leave, but wash your hands. I hope you don’t get it.” She started to turn, and he saw her swaying.
He rushed to catch her before she fell to the ground. Once he’d lifted her by the shoulders and gotten her back to her feet, he got her down the hallway and to her room. Dang, this had hit her quick.
Liam helped her get under the covers of her bed. He took off her socks and shoes and made sure she was cozy. She was already asleep. His heart raced as he stared at her pale face. He shut the blinds, taking care to walk out of the room quietly. In the hallway, he hesitated and watched her breathe for a moment. There was one thing he knew: he wasn’t leave her like this.
He strode into the living room and sat on the couch. Only then did he notice a sketchbook on the couch—a sketchbook open to a logo.
Chapter 12
Evie woke suddenly, and sharp pain knifed into her brain. She cringed and tried to reach for her head, but even doing that hurt.
“Shh, it’s okay.” That was Liam’s voice.
She squinted and immediately regretted it, since she had a major migraine. All of it came rushing back to her: the retching, the way he’d helped her into bed … “What time is it?”
“It’s the middle of the night.” She felt his cool hand behind her neck. “I’ll help you drink some water.”
She found herself propped up and a glass pressed to her lips. Cool water trickled down her throat, but he didn’t let her have much.
“We’ll just give you that for now.”
“What time is it?” she whispered, feeling the ache of her swollen vocal cords.
“It’s almost three. Are you okay?”
“My head hurts. Sometimes I get headaches from an allergic reaction. But it's turned into a migraine. There is medication in my bathroom.”
“On it.” Gently, he laid her back down. Seconds later, he was back, lifting her up again to put a pill on her tongue. Then he helped her get the water.
She swallowed and lay back down, feeling like she might throw up. “Ahh.”
“It’s okay.” He scooted a chair closer to her bed and sat, putting his hand on her forehead. “It’s okay.”
“That feels good.” She finally relaxed a bit and found herself wishing that Liam weren’t here. “I’m sorry.”
“Hush now,” he said, brushing across her forehead and into her hair.
She remembered she had a ponytail in; that could be causing some of the migraine. “Will you take my ponytail out?”
“What? Oh.” His fingers moved to her ponytail, and she felt a tug and then a release.
“Thank you.”
“Your hair is so soft,” he whispered.
She wondered if the moment was inspiring lyrics, but she felt silly asking.
“Are you doing a little better? I mean, you haven’t barfed, so that’s good.”
She managed a weak smile. “I am. I was just thinking that you might be writing a song about my hair.” The words were out before she could stop them. “Never mind.”
He let out a laugh. “So many songs about you, Evie.”
She didn’t know what to say, so she tried to joke about it, feeling her headache abate even more. She sang out, “And she barfed, and it was awesome." A giggle escaped her.
He grinned and sang, “And that’s when I knew she was the one.