The message was from Jax. Dress nice? What the hell did that mean, and since when did Jax give a damn about what people wore?
“What’s going on?” Mel murmured with her head still half into the pillow.
“We’ve been summoned to the resort this afternoon and—”
Melanie jumped out of bed and ran toward the bathroom, bumping his shoulder along the way. The next moment he heard her getting sick. Tanner quickly went to the kitchen to get a cold bottle of water and came back. He knew she would want privacy, but there was no way he could just stand by and do nothing.
He stepped into the adjoining bath and set the water on the vanity.
“Go away,” she muttered.
Ignoring her request, Tanner opened the cabinet and grabbed a cloth and wet it. He wrung out the cold water and then pulled her hair back from her neck and laid the cloth on her skin.
“I’m not leaving,” he told her. “I’m here for all of this.”
“I’d rather you not see the gross parts.” She grabbed the cloth from her neck and swiped at her face. “Do you care to get me a couple crackers?”
“Of course.”
He went back to the kitchen. He had no idea if she truly wanted something in her stomach or if she was using the excuse to get him out of the bathroom. Regardless, he would do anything for her. Pregnancy scared the hell out of him. Obvious understatement, but aside from the worry that something could go wrong, he hated like hell that Melanie felt so miserable.
Tanner grabbed three boxes of crackers. He had no clue what kind she wanted or how many. By the time he got back to the bedroom, she was sitting on the edge of the bed sipping the water.
“I think I’m okay,” she told him. “I feel a little dizzy, but hopefully the crackers will help.”
Her eyes darted to the boxes in his hands. “You really do go above and beyond. Is that an occupational hazard?”
Tanner set the boxes beside her. “I just wanted to cover all my bases.”
Melanie twisted the cap back on the water bottle and set it behind her on the bed. She attempted to smooth her bedraggled hair from her face, then his T-shirt she’d slept in slipped off her shoulder and she tried to right that as well.
“I’m a mess,” she muttered.
“You’re beautiful.” He adjusted the shirt, then tucked her hair behind one ear as he sat next to her. “Which crackers do you want?”
“Any will be fine.”
He opened one box and handed her an entire sleeve. She chewed on a few and then turned to face him. “What were you saying about the resort?”
It took him a minute to recall the text. “Jax said for everyone to be at Bella Vous at two o’clock and to dress nice.”
Melanie’s brows drew in. “That’s weird. Wonder what’s going on.”
Tanner shrugged. “No idea. It’s my first day off, so I haven’t really talked to him much the past few days. Did Livie mention anything to you?”
“Nothing. We even went running yesterday, but Jade was busy discussing a guy she’d met that she’s thinking of going out with.”
Tanner instantly went still. “What guy?”
“Relax,” Melanie said, reaching for another cracker. “No need to go all big brother. I didn’t get his name actually, but she said he’d just moved here.”
Tanner couldn’t help but be protective of his friends. Hell, he was protective of the entire town.
“Are the crackers helping?”
Melanie shrugged. “I have no idea. I feel like I could go back to bed and sleep for a week.”
“Go back to bed, then. You have nothing else to do until this afternoon, right?”