"Shit."
Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he placed the glass of ginger ale on the nightstand, away from the edge where the dogs could get it, and headed for the bathroom. He'd hoped she was getting better. The last two mornings she'd only complained about feeling slightly nauseous, but she hadn't been sick. At least he didn't think she'd gotten sick.
She hadn't told him if she had and both mornings he was so damn busy making her stay in bed for a little longer, grabbing her some toast and ginger ale, making his lunch and taking care of the dogs before he left that wasn't entirely sure, but he thought she'd been okay. When he stopped by the office later both days and asked her how she felt she'd assured him she felt great, but clearly that wasn't the case if she was getting sick again.
"Zoe?" he said, slowly opening the door. "Baby, are you okay?"
"Yes," she mumbled, grabbing a toothbrush and loading it with toothpaste.
"You've been sick for almost a week now, Zoe. Maybe I should take you to the emergency room," he said, already trying to figure out which hospital was closer and wondering if he could get his uncle or someone to watch the dogs in case they got stuck in the emergency room all day.
She stubbornly shook her head, spit and added more toothpaste to her toothbrush and started the process all over again. A few minutes later she finally finished.
"I'm fine, Trevor," she said, walking past him, pausing only to pet Toby and pick Max up. Cuddling the small dog, she climbed back onto the bed and pulled the comforter up. Toby waited until she was settled before jumping on the bed and settling next to her and Mr. Cuddles.
Forcing himself not to throw her over his shoulder and take her to the nearest hospital, mostly because she'd probably knee him in the balls again, he sat down near her hip and handed her the ginger ale. Eying him warily, probably because she knew what he was thinking, she took a small sip.
"Thank you," she said, placing the glass down and returning to petting Max.
"You need to see a doctor, Zoe," he said, brushing the hair out of her face as he leaned in to press a good morning kiss to her lips.
"I'm fine, Trevor. Besides I have an appointment early Monday afternoon," she said when he pulled away.
"That's four days away, Zoe. You need to see someone soon," he said, taking one of her hands into his.
Zoe rolled her eyes playfully, which he had to admit was a good sign and made him feel marginally better. "I'm not dying, Trevor. I just feel a little sick. By the time I have my appointment I'll probably be fine."
"Yeah, probably," he agreed, hoping that was the case.
She twisted around so that she could look at her clock. "Aren't you supposed to be at your Aunt's house right now?" she asked, frowning as she turned back around.
"Yes, and it's all your fault that I'm going to be late," he said, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose.
"How's it my fault?"
"Because I wanted to talk to you about something."
"And that makes it my fault?" she asked, arching her brows in adorable confusion.
"Damn straight it does," he said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before he forced himself to move back and focus.
"Uh huh, you care to explain?"
"If I must," he sighed.
"You must," she said, her lips twitching and drawing his attention, but then he remembered that he really did need to move his ass and get out of there.
"Okay," he said, clearing his throat and wondering just how the hell he was supposed to do this. After a minute he decided just to get it over with since he knew it really was no big deal. "I've decided that it would probably be best for you to move in with me."
When she didn't immediately agree or tell him it was a great idea he started to get a little nervous.
"I'm sorry, what's this now?" she asked, looking a little stunned.
"I think you should move in with me to make things easier," he said, shrugging like it was no big deal and it shouldn't be, but for the first time since he'd decided that's what they should do he was a little nervous.
"How exactly would that make things easier? If anything that would complicate things," she said, switching her petting attention to Toby, who was more than happy to help her out by rolling over onto his back.
"I want you to move in with me," he said, wondering if he should have waited until later when she was a little more awake and could fully appreciate how great this idea was.
This was perfect for so many reasons and he was sure that once she thought about it she would realize that once again he was right. When she moved in with him she wouldn't have to worry about rent, not that she did now. The first Friday after they'd started their little arrangement he'd felt a little odd about taking her money so he opened up a bank account in her name and deposited all her rent checks into it. But this way she wouldn't have to worry about rent at all, utilities, or any of the household bills because he would take care of her and the dogs.
They'd probably keep most of her furniture and all the stuff that she didn't need in her apartment so she didn't have to find storage and so his aunt wouldn't get any bright ideas about renting it out. He liked his privacy and didn't need another tenant disturbing them. He also didn't think Zoe would be so accommodating in the bedroom if she had to worry about someone overhearing them.
This would also cut Zoe's work in half. Granted, she wouldn't be working for him anymore, but the money she saved on rent, food and everything else would more than make up for the money she lost. Of course when things finally simmered down, which probably wouldn't be for a while, he'd either buy her a house to live in or move her into one of his apartments where he could continue to take care of her and make sure that she was okay. Then when she got married he would......
He would have to ask her to leave or risk heading to prison for killing the bastard since he couldn't stomach the idea of another man touching her. Damn, that would really complicate things. He wanted to make sure she was taking care of, but he didn't want to have to see her with another man while he did it. Well, he'd just have to suck it up for as long as he could, because he really didn't trust any other man to take care of her the way he would.
"But I live here...," she said slowly before adding, "next to you. Why do you think I should move in with you?"
"To make things easier," he said, wondering why the hell he had to explain any of this when she should be damn happy that he wanted to make things more serious between them.