Tempt the Hookup (Tempt 3)

“Yes, sweetheart,” I tell him and reach out to touch his face. The nausea rolls through me again, but I breathe in and then exhale. “Nonna is going to drive you to school today.”

“Is she bringing me cookies?” he asks with his eyes wide open.

“I want to say no, but she probably is,” I tell him, and just then, the front door opens, and we hear her voice.

“Amore mio,” she calls, and then I hear her footsteps on the stairs. “What happened?” She comes into the room and sees me in the bathroom. I want to say I’m mortified, but I’m too sick to even care.

“I think I have food poisoning from the sushi we had on Saturday,” I tell her, and she just shakes her head.

“I’ll go home and make you some broth.” She smiles and then looks at Luca. “You need to give her warm water and some ginger. I’ll go to the supermarket after I drop off Aiden. Let’s go, Amore, you don’t want to be late.”

He leans in and kisses my cheek. “Nonna, did you bring me cookies?”

She tries to hide the smile, but she can’t. “Of course, Amore.” He cheers while they walk out of the room. Luca goes into the closet and takes off his suit.

“Do you want to move from there?” he asks, and I just nod my head and get up. So far, so good. I put on a robe and walk downstairs with Luca who sets me up on the couch. I lie down and sleep most of the day. I hear Luca beside me on his phone calls with the office but other than that, it’s an uneventful day. When Aiden comes home, I get up on the couch and wait for the nausea to hit, and it doesn’t. I get up and see that Gabriella is coming into the house with Dominic, who carries a pot in his hands.

“She cooked for an army,” he says, putting the pot on the stove. “She also made spaghetti for Aiden and homemade gnocchi.”

“Hi, Mom,” Aiden says, coming to me and sitting next to me on the couch. I reach over, and my body literally hurts and feels like I’ve been hit by a truck.

“Did you have a good day at school?” I ask Aiden who nods.

“I played baseball, and I really like it,” he says, and I want to groan because if anyone hears him, they will ask him if he wants to play it again and then sign him up for another sport. I look over at Luca who is about to say something, but the look I give him makes him second-guess.

“We don’t have time,” I answer his question even before he asks it. “Go wash your hands if you want a snack.” I look at Aiden.

“You have soccer practice tonight,” I tell Luca, and he just nods.

“I’m going to ask my father to take him,” he says and looks over his shoulder. Right before he is about to say something, I reach out and hold his hand.

“I’m fine.” I smile. “I haven’t thrown up all day long.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave you,” he says. “What if you get sick and then fall on the way to the bathroom?”

“Luca, if I’m feeling sick or weak I will call you,” I tell him, and I’m about to say something else when the front door opens, and my mother comes in.

“Hey,” she says when she comes into the room. “You look horrible.” I roll my eyes at her.

“Thanks, Mom,” I say, getting up and walking to the bathroom. I don’t tell anyone I feel like I’m going to throw up and I don’t tell them that I’m dizzy. I sit down and close my eyes, trying to get the dizziness to stop. When I walk out of the bathroom, the smell of the broth and the sauce hits my nose right away, and I put my hand to my stomach. My eyes lock with Luca, who is about to get up and rush to me, but I take deep breaths in and out. “I’m never eating sushi again.”

“I just googled, and it said it could last up to forty-eight hours,” Luca says, and I nod at him. “Do you want to go lie down in bed, and I’ll bring you some soup up?”

“I think that’s a good idea. I don’t know how I’m going to feel sitting at the table with food,” I tell him, and he comes to me and takes me in his arms. “I’m exhausted.”

“Go up, and I’ll come up in a bit,” he tells me, and I look around and see that Dominic is sitting at the table doing homework with Aiden, and our mothers are in the kitchen. Gabriella is showing my mother her homemade gnocchi. “We have this,” he says, and I nod and walk away with tears streaming down my face. I always did everything myself, and now that I have so many people to help, it’s overwhelming but amazing at the same time. To finally give over the reins and trust that someone else can take care of stuff is everything.