Free living covenant 03 - eternal covenant by Amanda M. Lee

and shoving it in my mouth. “I’m having a great time using food to get you to be quiet.”
    I smacked his arm. I knew he was joking, but it still bothered me. “That’s not a very nice thing to say to the woman you’re going to spend the rest of your life with.”
    “Since when do we say nice things to each other?”
    “Since … .” I didn’t get a chance to answer because my stomach picked that moment to flip – and not in a good way.
    “I believe your first words to me were mean,” Aric pointed out. “You set the tone of our relationship. This is all on you. Now open your mouth and try the shrimp.”
    I slammed my lips shut and shook my head, sidestepping Aric’s attempts to put more food in my mouth. Instead I braced my hands on the counter as my stomach lurched.
    Aric gave up all pretense of playing games. “What’s wrong?”
    “I don’t know,” I rasped, nausea washing over me. “I think … um … .”
    “Are you going to be sick?” Helen asked, horrified. “I forbid you to be sick in front of people. That’s terribly unbecoming.”
    “I need to go to the bathroom,” I said, moving away from everyone.
    Aric followed close on my heels, concern etched on his features. “Maybe the mushrooms aren’t a good idea after all.”
    The mentions of mushrooms caused my gag reflex to kick in and I covered my mouth. “I’m definitely going to be sick.”
    “Hurry up,” Aric prompted, putting his hand on my back and prodding me toward the bedroom. “It’s going to be okay.”
    I barely made it to the master bathroom before losing the entire contents of the tasting into the toilet bowl. I lowered myself to my knees and vomited a second time as Aric struggled to pull my hair from my face.
    “Zoe, are you okay?”
    I couldn’t answer. Instead I vomited again … and again … and again.
    I could guarantee I’d never eat salmon again. And, yes, I blamed the whole fiasco on the salmon. There was something comforting about the bitterness.

8
    Eight
    “ I think I’m dying.”
    Aric rubbed my back as I rested my face against the bowl rim. He looked as miserable as I felt. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shoved all that food in your mouth. After the big breakfast you had, that was a mistake.”
    “I didn’t have to chew it and swallow it.”
    “You’re you,” Aric replied. “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t like to eat.”
    “I think there’s an insult in there, but I’m too weak to notice,” I muttered, reaching for the washcloth on the counter to wipe my face. “You don’t have to sit here with me. I’m not leaving, but we have guests in the other room. You should make sure they’re okay.”
    “They’re not guests,” Aric corrected. “My parents, your parents, Paris and Kelsey can all fend for themselves. I’m taking care of you.”
    “I love you dearly, but I prefer puking in private.”
    Aric sighed. After tying my hair back and resting a cold facecloth against the back of my neck, he was at a loss for how to help. Instead he watched me vomit – several times – and didn’t once flinch. “I don’t want to leave you.”
    “You’re not really leaving me,” I pointed out. “You’re going into another room so I can stretch out on the bathroom floor without embarrassment.”
    “Isn’t that whole ‘in sickness and in health’ thing part of getting married?” Aric wasn’t ready to give up and abandon me.
    “It is,” I confirmed. “You can’t make this better, though. I just have to go through it.” My stomach rolled again and I readied myself for another bout. “Go, Aric. Please. I don’t want you to watch this. It’s gross and you’ll never want to touch me again if you sit there pretending this isn’t nasty.”
    “I’ll always want to touch you, baby,” Aric said, pressing a kiss to my forehead as he got to his feet. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me. I won’t be far.”
    “You never are.”
    I WAS DREAMING.
    Actually it was more of