Especially since Tate was leaving for eight days.
“Baby, I’ll stay, I don’t have to go, and it’s only the All-Star game. They can get someone else,” he said from the doorway of her bathroom. She hated that he was seeing her like this, but there was nothing she could do about it, and she was throwing up so bad that she hardly cared.
“No,” she said, waving him off. “It’s your first invitation, you gotta go.”
“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter, you are more important.”
She knew he was just being sweet. For weeks he had been so excited about the All-Star game. They had bought two tickets and planned to go together, but that plan went out the window when she got sick.
“No, Tate, go. It’s okay, I swear. I’ll lie on the couch, watch you on—” She wasn’t able to finish her sentence because she started puking again.
“This is stupid, I’ll just stay,” he said, coming up behind her and rubbing her back.
“No way, good sir,” she said, wiping her mouth. “You are still considered a rookie goalie, and it is your first week of All-Star stuff. You’ve got to go.”
She heard him let out a frustrated breath before he said, “Well, maybe you will feel better before the flight tomorrow morning.”
Holding up her hand, she crossed her fingers. “Fingers crossed, ’cause I want to be there with you.”
She didn’t make it.
She spent the next couple of days laid up on the couch, running to the bathroom. Thankfully, the pain, diarrhea, and fever subsided, leaving her puking only every once in a while. It was horrible. But most all she was upset she missed going with Tate to All-Star week. She was stuck watching it on TV, which was awesome but sucked at the same time. He looked so excited and he was first pick by Team Adler, which Audrey thought was the best choice, but everyone thought Shea would have picked Bob Timoney Luckily, Shea was able to pick Lucas before the other team so that one team was entirely made up of Assassins. The game wasn’t until Friday, but before that they had the skills challenge and other cool stuff. Tate had told her he was really excited but wished she was there with him.
So did she.
After a couple days laid up on the couch, Audrey slowly got dressed, trying to look professional and like a cupcake maker. Just as she reached for her gorgeous green peacoat, she had the urge to throw up. Running across the hall to the bathroom, she realized that she could run pretty well in heels. Diving for the toilet, she puked to the point where she was dry heaving.
“Oh my God,” she groaned, sniffling as she took deep breaths. “This is horrible.”
Sitting back on her haunches, she reached for a towel to wipe her mouth, then stood up, reached for the toothbrush and brushed her teeth. After reapplying her makeup, she only made it two steps out the bathroom before she was turning around again, dry heaving.
“What the fuck is wrong with me?” she asked no one at all out loud.
After a few more minutes of dry heaving and reapplying her makeup, she finally made it downstairs to grab her bag and paperwork before leaving. She had a meeting with her realtor about the building she wanted for Audrey Jane’s. It was on West End, beside a busy restaurant chain. The space was perfect, and huge, with a kitchen already in the back. She was beyond excited. Now if only she could stop puking, life would be a heck of a lot better.
When she arrived at the vacant red-brick building, she parked her car and made her way around to the other side, where her realtor, James Justice, Shea’s brother-in-law, was also there. James smiled as she approached.
“Audrey, so great to see you again,” he said with a smile as they shook hands. James had been her family’s realtor for years. He helped with all of Rocky Top’s realty needs, and now he was going to help make her dream a reality.
“Hey, James. How are the kiddos?”