His face darkened. “I’m sure you didn’t.” He waved her off when she started to apologize again. “Let’s get through this and the rehearsal dinner, and we’ll be golden. How bad can it actually be? As long as I come out of this married to that woman, it’s all good.”
Six hours later, as Mike was loaded into an ambulance, Ella realized exactly how bad it could be.
Liam had shown up at the rehearsal dinner late and taken his seat with a table of guests. When the appetizer came out and his plate was set before him, he’d shoved out of his chair and scanned the room. Eyes lighting on hers, he started toward Ella with long strides. She’d directed him back to his seat with a sharp point of her finger and a glare.
He’d kept coming.
So she’d jabbed her finger in the direction of his seat and mouthed the wordNow.
Still, he kept coming.
Her stomach had twisted itself into a complex series of knots that tightened with every step Liam took toward her. Then he slipped his arm through Ella’s and directed her to the back of the room, smiling as they went.
He leaned in, his lips brushing her ear, the move as sensual as his words were chilling. “Where are the scallops?”
“Don’t worry, they’re here. I had them added to the salmon croquette sauce because there weren’t enough harvested to make them part of the main course.”
“Ella, Mike hates shellfish. Absolutely abhors the things. Gags on them.”
Everything after that happened in slow motion. She turned toward Mike to find him choking and Jenna panicking. Someone shouted for a doctor. Another person rose and started toward him. Liam lifted his phone, dialed the front desk and requested emergency medical services in the dining room.
And Mike began to turn a weird puce color.
“Oh, God.” She stumbled, and Liam caught her. “Liam, he doesn’t hate shellfish. He’s allergic.”
“Oh, sweet hell.”
She looked up at him, then, not sure what she’d find. He was so pale he appeared almost corpse-like.
The resort doctor rushed into the room moments later and, hauling a monster-size syringe out of his bag, stabbed Mike in the thigh. Seconds passed like minutes, hours, and then Mike took a ragged breath.
Sirens wailed, coming closer with every subsequent breath he took.
“Did you know?” she croaked out.
“I swear to you, I didn’t. I intended to annoy him to pieces, but I didn’t have a clue he was allergic. Only that he was a royal prick about not having them touch his food the first night I met him at dinner with Jenna.”
Paramedics had Mike on a gurney and were wheeling him out before Ella was able to move. She rushed to the bride’s table, where Liam was talking to Jenna in a low, calm voice.
Jenna caught sight of Ella and, with a tear-streaked face, said, “You served shellfish. Why?Why?” The last word was screamed, a demand for an unanswerable question.
Behind Ella, the crowd began to murmur.
“The why isn’t important right now,” Liam said. “We need to get you to Mike so you can be with him.” Taking her by the arm, he steered her toward the exit at a brisk pace, not once looking back to where he’d left Ella...standing at the front of the room, under the weight of glares from people who believed she’d just poisoned the groom. What was worse, she couldn’t remember if she’d made the change or if Liam had.
Regardless, Mike had suffered for the choice. Badly. And she’d never forgive herself.
Her career had been on life support, and Liam had just pulled the plug.
Liam stood in the corner of the hospital room and watched Jenna and Mike. Heads together and hands clasped, they whispered to each other and shared small, intimate kisses despite Mike’s swollen face and lips. Hell, his swollen upper body. Even his fingers looked like sausages. His eyes were slits in his head. At least he was breathing.
And it was all because of the shellfish.
Liam stood quietly, hands in his pockets and chin to his chest. Damn, but that had been close. Mike had all but stopped breathing when the resort physician had arrived with an EpiPen. Mike had left his own in the hotel room.
God alone knew how guilty Liam felt. He’d known Mike didn’tlikescallops. When Liam had treated Mike and Jenna to a rather fancy dinner in London, the man had turned down the scallop appetizer. Liam had prodded him about being a burger-and-beer guy. Common. Mike had blown Liam off without mentioning that it was an allergy versus a preference. If he’d left Ella to do her job, it would have been fine. If he’d not insisted on poking at Mike until his temper exploded, this wouldn’t have happened. If he’d only—
“Liam?”