A relieved breath whooshed out of me. “I’m a woman of my word. I might be high as a kite on moonshine cough syrup, but I still keep my promises.” I shuddered. “Ugh, moonshine.”
“It’ll knock you on your ass for sure.”
“You’ve had some before?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Once was more than enough.”
I laughed. “I second that.”
After flushing the toilet, I rose to my feet. Once I adjusted my gown, I said, “Okay.”
Barrett turned around. “Now was that so bad?”
“Yes. It took me almost a year to be comfortable enough to pee in front of my ex-fiancé.”
“It’s never been an issue with me.”
“Have you ever spent enough time with a woman for them to actually have to pee?”
With a chuckle, Barrett said, “Yes, smartass, I have.”
“Hey, it was just an honest assumption.”
“You know the adage about making assumptions right?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m an ass, whatever,” I replied as I started shuffling out of the bathroom.
Barrett had just escorted me back to bed when a knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” Barrett called.
A dozen or so helium balloons bobbed into the room followed by Ty. “Good morning,” he called.
“Good morning.”
After he placed the balloons on one of the bedside tables, he placed a bag on my tray.
“I’m not sure if they’ve brought breakfast around yet, but here’s your favorite French toast.”
“Oh Ty, that’s so sweet of you.”
He jerked his chin at Barrett. “I’m not the one who thought of it, I’m just the one who picked it up.”
When I met Barrett’s eyes, he shrugged. “I used to hate hospital breakfasts when I was a kid.”
“Then it was awful sweet of you. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
With my stomach rumbling, I reached for the bag. Like a mother hen, Barrett hovered over me, helping me get my plate in order. This was the man few in the public knew him to be. If only they knew how compassionate and caring he was deep down, it would change their perception of him. It certainly had for me.
“Did you get everything taken care of?” Barrett asked Ty.
He nodded. “I’ve spoken with your parents, and everything is in order for when Addison is discharged.”
“Wait, what’s in order?” I questioned through a mouthful of French toast.
“Your R&R.”
I swallowed. “My what?”
“The doctor has insisted you take it easy and recuperate for at least the next week to ten days.”
Widening my eyes in horror, I shrieked, “A week? I can’t be gone from the campaign that long, not now.”
“Yes, you can be gone that long, and yes, you will. Besides the pneumonia, you also were dehydrated and a little anemic, not to mention the ridiculous amount of alcohol in your system,” Barrett replied.
I wasn’t too surprised about the dehydration thing; I hadn’t been drinking water like I should—finding a bathroom in the middle of a campaign stop was not the easiest thing in the world. “I’m being sent home?”
Barrett shook his head. “I’m sending you to our house on Martha’s Vineyard.” When I started to protest, he held up a hand to silence me. “You don’t need to go back to your apartment all alone. You need to be somewhere you can be looked after.”
“Evan can do that back in Arlington.”
“Not full-time.”
“You’re hiring someone to stay with me?”
“Nope. Ty and I will be staying with you.”
My mouth gaped open. “You’re joking.”
“No, we’re not.” He grinned at Ty. “Are we?”
Ty laughed. “Nope.”
I shook my head. “It’s one thing for me to be off the trail for a week, but your dad can’t afford to lose you, too, not when we’re so close to getting enough votes for the nomination.”
“Look at it this way: I’ll appear far more sympathetic to the media if I stay with you while you recuperate.” Well that’s true. So he was doing it for sympathy and image, not because he really wanted to be with me.
Having seen true concern in his eyes, I couldn’t help wondering if that was his only motivation behind staying with me. In the end, I really didn’t have a good reason to argue against staying at a house on the beach with two hot men looking after me. “Okay, fine.”
With a chuckle, Barrett said, “I’m glad you could finally see things my way.”
“I’m only agreeing to it because I can’t pass up the opportunity to have you cooking and cleaning for me.”
Barrett snorted. “Like I would actually do either of those things. I’ll be hiring someone to come in and do all that.”
“Bummer. I really wanted to see you wearing an apron.”
“I’ll be happy to put one on if it fulfills a fantasy of yours,” Barrett replied teasingly.
“That won’t be necessary.”
Barrett motioned to my plate. “Hurry up and finish your breakfast so we can bust you out of here.”
“I thought we had to wait for a doctor to discharge me?”
He winked. “Addie, you should know by now, I’m not one to follow the rules.”