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virus, this won t hit her stomach as hard.
Cassie made a face. What she really wanted was a steak. A nice, juicy steak and homemade
rolls. Maybe mashed potatoes and cornbread. Oh, and pie. Apple pie. And biscuits. Yeah, biscuits
drizzled in honey. Wait, what? Honey? She wasn t a honey eater, but the idea of honey sounded so
good she couldn t ignore it.
She picked up the phone and opened her delivery app to order take out. A local restaurant
made whatever she wanted as long as she paid the extra fee for delivery. She d stopped using them
recently so she wouldn t spend money on things she didn t need, but she craved their food at that
moment and her stomach was in control.
Having ordered her food, she slid out of bed and groaned at how tired she still felt. She went
into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. Instead of looking sick, she looked great. What
the hell?
Her hair was shinier than usual and her brown skin glowed. Even her eyes sparkled. She d
never been sick and looked this good. She wasn t sure if to be worried or excited.
She opted for a shower and more thoughts on the coming meal. Afterwards, she felt refreshed
and much more awake. Her stomach still grumbled, but at least some of her energy appeared to have
returned.
 Are you out of the shower? she heard Ivy yell from the living room.
 Yes. I ll be there in a second.
 Good. I went down to the pharmacy at the corner and got you some vitamins.
She towel dried her hair and slipped on pajamas.  Thanks.
Ivy sat on a flowery blue sofa. It was Cassie s favorite and her seat of choice when she was
lying in the living room surfing the Internet.  You ordered food, Ivy said accusingly.  I made you
homemade soup.
She smiled at the perfectly laid out food on the coffee table, taking up every inch of space.
 I m sorry, Ivy. I m starving. I think some red meat might help if my iron is low.
Ivy gasped, her brown eyes going wide.  I didn t think of that. She sat up suddenly and
picked up a bottle lying next to her on the sofa, popped it open and handed Cassie two pills.  Here s
some vitamins. This should help you in the coming days get your energy levels back up.
She sniffed the pills.  Are they supposed to smell so strong?
 Strong how? Ivy asked and brought the bottle to her nose.  I guess. It s a multivitamin.
Those things smell a bit.
Cassie wrinkled her nose.  This one is powerful.
 Oh, for god s sakes, Cassie. Take the damn pills and let s get you back to being your usual
stressed out self. Ivy winked and picked up a glass of iced tea.
Cassie dropped the pills in her mouth and took the tea from Ivy before she got a chance to
drink it herself. Then she turned to the food and started putting meat and biscuits on a paper plate.
 This smells so good.
 I don t know how you manage to get that little restaurant to make these things, Ivy mumbled
shoving a buttered biscuit into her mouth.
 Before I broke up with asshole, who shall never be named, I ordered out all the time, she
said with nostalgia. That was back when her finances were in order and she could do whatever she
wanted with her money. Now she had to carefully work her way back to that cushion and healthy
account of the past. Every time she thought about it, she wanted to kick her own ass for being so
gullible.
 So how was that trip? Ivy s eyes lit with curiosity.
Cassie hadn t told her about where she was going, just that she had somewhere to go. Though
Ivy and Ivan were friends with a shifter, she didn t know what Massimo knew of the other world and
wasn t sure it was okay to discuss with anyone.
 The trip was okay. She drizzled honey on a still-warm biscuit and took a bite. Her stomach
sighed in happiness. This was what she d been dying for. Now she didn t feel so bad she d ordered a
dozen biscuits when she never ate more than two. The first one was gone within a second. She went
through the same process with another and glanced up to see Ivy s brows high.  What?
 A little hungry, are we?
She grinned.  I barely ate the entire time I was gone. So I guess this is my body s way of
making up. At least she hoped it was, or she had more weight problems to consider.
Ivy nodded in agreement.  You re probably right. Plus you barely ate when you were at your
dad s house. I noticed, but didn t want to say anything.
Her appetite had gone to hell for the duration of the trip. Veronica played the pregnant woman
in need of pampering card well and she wasn t even showing yet. Apparently she was like one month
along or something.
 Veronica just gets to me sometimes, she admitted.  She s so spoiled. Which is strange
because my father always taught me not to be that way. When she does her whole  I need someone to
carry my handbag bit, it grates on me.
Ivy frowned and continued eating.  I don t know why. Your dad has been with her for a few
years now. She s not a complete jerk, just a pampered woman used to being treated like a princess. If
your dad didn t cater to her bullshit, she wouldn t be the way she is.
That was true. Her father had been the one indulging Veronica like she couldn t do a thing on
her own.  I m still surprised over that.
 Why? Ivy asked.
 What do you mean why? My dad never did that with me. He made me take care of myself at
all times.
SIXTEEN
 Yes and that taught you to be a strong woman. But maybe, and this is just my own fucked up
opinion which might be totally off-mark, he doesn t want to do that with his wife. Maybe he loves her
to the point he just wants to treat her like his queen and give her everything.
She hadn t thought of that. It was a very definite possibility that her father just wanted to
pamper his wife. Give her everything he felt she not only was used to, but deserved out of love.
 Are you going to tell me about your trip and stop deviating? Did you meet any interesting
people?
 Um& 
Ivy widened her eyes. She stopped the forkful of mashed potatoes by her lips.  Cassandra Lys
Grimaldi! You better tell me what that  um stands for.
 I met a guy, she found herself saying. She hadn t wanted to think of Talen, but her body was
still buzzing from their night together. If she didn t know better, she d swear he stamped himself
inside her like he claimed he would.
 Who? Where? Tell me everything! Ivy s words tripped over each other in her excitement.
 His name is Talen. Talen Arctos.
 Wow. That s such a strong and sexy name. Where the hell were you? Europe?
She ignored the question and continued the story.  We had a night I can t even describe. The
things he did. The things he said. The way he touched me. Oh, god, the way he touched her.
 Cassie, this is good, Ivy squealed.  You met someone who got your mind off dickface. This
is truly amazing. And you sound like he worked some magic on you in more ways than one. All that in
three weeks.
Cassie blinked out of her memories and glanced at Ivy.  Three weeks? We were gone three
weeks?
That couldn t be possible. They d been in Aurora for exactly three days. How in the world
had three weeks gone by without her noticing?
 Yep. Three weeks. Well almost four to be exact, but who s counting, Ivy laughed.
She hadn t realized there was such a huge time lapse between both planets.
 Did I hear you talking to Ivan earlier?
Ivy nodded.  Yeah, on the phone. He s worried about you, but now that I look at you in the
light, I see my initial assessment is probably right. You must be exhausted because otherwise you look
great. Not sick at all. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]