Page 56 of Beyond the Spotlight Discreet Version

I bite my lip because I want nothing more. But he’s sick and I’m pretty sure he’s contagious.

Ugh. Fuck it. I’m probably already sick, especially after that kiss last night.

My throatisa little sore now that I think about it. Does the cold virus act that fast? Or did Addy get us sick?

“Okay. Let me give you more medicine and then we’ll go to sleep.”

Iwakeupthenext morning coughing.

I knew it.

My skin is slick with sweat, and my lungs are burning. I sit up on the edge of the bed, glancing over my shoulder to make sure I didn’t wake Reynold but find he’s not there. Before I stand to search for him, he appears in the doorway.

He’s holding the same medicine I gave him yesterday.

“You were coughing all night, tossing and turning. I got you sick,” he says, not at all sounding sorry. “NowIget to take care ofyou.”

He can barely get the words out before he’s hacking. His typically tanned skin is still pale and there are bags underneath his beautiful blue eyes.

“How will you take care of me while you’re still sick? Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure you will be fine, Miss Independent, but I’m still taking care of you.”

He sits next to me on the bed and removes the lid to the bottle of cold and flu medicine. He pours the recommended amount into the plastic cup and hands it to me. Then he pours his own into a small paper cup that Addy uses to rinse out her toothpaste. He holds his up like it’s a shot glass.

“Cheers.”

We clank and down the medicine, both of us blanching at the chalky taste.

I sigh and fall back onto the bed. Reynold does the same. “Who gets sick in the summer? So lame.”

We lay there for a few minutes in silence. Well, not really because we’re both wheezing from congestion and coughing up mucus.

“How can I watch Adeline like this? What about your work?”

He finds my hand at my side and weaves his fingers with mine.

“Brenda’s here with her now.”

I always forget about Brenda. Reynold says she works remotely most of the week, only coming over to accept deliveries or to stock supplies. I also never see his housekeeper. She stops by to clean once a week, typically when no one’s home.

Reynold brings our hands up to his mouth and kisses my knuckles. “I can’t go back to work until a doctor clears me. One, they don’t want me getting the other cast and crew sick, and two... my role is active, so I need to be at one hundred percent health before I return. I need to be able to run, jump, and perform all the stunts. They’ve rearranged the production schedule to film scenes I’m not in. I should be able to go back in a week, maybe two.”

“Addy’s not sick, is she? Or any of our dinner guests?”

I checked on her last night before snuggling up with Reynold. She seemed fine. I felt her forehead and listened to her breathing. There was no sign of a fever or congestion.

“Addy is as loud and talkative as ever, and no one else got sick. But no one else was making out with me either, so...”

I hear Adeline’s muffled laughter from the other side of the door.

“Lana is taking her tonight. She wants to convince Addy to go spend the week with her at her hotel while we recover. Lana said she needs practice.”

“Practice?”

He nods. “Mylan and Lana are considering adoption, and Lana is going to be a godmother to Ginger’s baby.”

I’m so happy that Lana and Mylan decided to adopt. Last year she did an exclusive interview with Entertainment Now. She talked about getting pregnant in high school, losing the baby, and having an emergency hysterectomy. She’d always wanted kids but had no one to share the parenting experience with until she met Mylan.