Chapter Nineteen

 

 

 

Being cooped up inside the hotel wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The hotel itself was a wonder and gave her plenty to see and do. It was nice not to have to rush from one place to the next for a change. The relaxed pace gave her time to explore the facilities and to write. To generally just unwind. Only, it was harder to do in practice than in theory.

The suite she had booked into was beautiful. Modern, lots of natural wood and panoramic views of the Matterhorn and the Zermatt Valley. Her favorite feature was the deep wooden bath that she’d already soaked in three times since she’d arrived. But even that hadn’t helped ease the tension from her muscles.

Fatigue from all the traveling wore at her but sleep was plagued with dreams of Alex. When she woke, she was nauseated and feverish, making work a misery. Maia considered calling him, texting him. They had to talk things out. It was absurd that she’d let this go on as long as she had. She even tried dialing more than once but Mother Nature had won each time. Contacting him would just have to wait until the storm blew over.

In the meantime, she curled up with her phone to read on the chaise near the fire and willed herself to stop thinking about him.

After half an hour, Maia put the phone down and wrapped her arms around her head. The dull throbbing at her temple plaguing her the past few days had gotten worse. As had the nausea. She couldn’t even look at the words on the screen any longer without them swimming and making her stomach roll even worse.

She hated to admit it but whatever this was, it wasn’t going away on its own.

Maia stumbled over to the bed and dialed the front desk. Time to see if the medical services they offered were as amazing as the rest of the amenities.

Minutes later, there was a knock at the door. The small team that arrived was quick, polite, professional and gave her a diagnosis she half expected.

“I suspect you have a case of altitude sickness, Miss Reynolds. Unless you can think of another reason you feel this way?” The doctor smiled encouragingly. As if a smile was all he needed to get her to spill all her secrets.

Maia didn’t have the strength to add anything. Every evening since she’d arrived at the hotel, Maia had stumbled into her room exhausted, head pounding and a tiny bit nauseated. She’d been at higher altitudes than this before and had been fine. More than fine. She blamed Garrett and Dane, the weather… The helicopter. They had obviously ascended too fast for her to handle. They’d beaten the storm, but at what cost? It probably didn’t help that she hadn’t been sleeping well in the past few weeks.

She had to do something about that. If she couldn’t get herself back on track by the time she left Zermatt, she would have to get something to help. Maia nodded. “I’m sure that’s what this is. Thank you, Doctor.”

“You’ll be fine in a few days. I suggest that you take it easy until then.” He took a bemused glance at the snow-filled window. “Not that staying put now will be a problem, but you probably shouldn’t go any higher once the weather clears. If it persists, please contact me immediately.” He pointed at a small packet on the end table. “I’ve left some pamphlets for you to read as well as some tablets and other things you might want to take a look at.”

“I will.” At the moment, the only thing she wanted to do was get a little something to eat, have a hot bath and get in bed.

Once he’d gone, she snagged the room service menu off the nightstand and flipped through. Nothing looked appetizing. She dropped the little booklet back. Maia contemplated the bath but the bathroom was just too far away for her to bother. Rolling over, she buried her face in the cool pillows. She’d feel better in the morning.

Maia yanked her clothes off, leaving only her underwear to separate her from the cool sheets.

It felt heavenly.

 

* * * *

 

She must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew, there was a pounding at the door that reverberated through her skull, rattling her brain and making her moan from the resulting pain.

Maia burrowed deeper and pulled a thick pillow over her head, hoping to block the noise out.

“Maia!”

Her stomach flipped. Alex? Was she hallucinating?

She had to be. Pressing the heels of her hands to her temples, she burrowed back under the pillow only to have the knocking resume harder—louder.

Grumbling, Maia slid off the bed. Taking the sheets with her, she half shuffled, half stumbled to the door. The instant she unlocked it, it burst open and narrowly missed hitting her as it slammed into the wall.

Gripping the table next to the entrance, she watched Alex stalk into the room and scan it. He looked rumpled and tired.

And angry.

“What took you so long to answer?” he snarled.

“What?” He wasn’t making any sense. Or was it her head that was muddling things up? Was he really there? Or was he a figment of her imagination? And if he was really there, what was he looking for?

“I asked you a question.” Alex finally turned to look at her and his eyes widened. He caught her before she hit the ground and cradled her gently.

“Dieu, Maia! What’s wrong?” He ran his hands over her, as if he was making sure she was whole.

She groaned when he jostled her. Gripping his arms to make him stop moving, she grunted. “Altitude sickness.”

Alex muttered something under his breath that could only have been an expletive as he swept her up into his arms then gently placed her on the bed.

Maia ran her fingers down his cheek. “Are you really here?”

“I am and a good thing too.” He carefully tucked her in and checked her temperature. “Have you been seen by a doctor yet?”

It took too much effort to nod. “Yeah.”

Alex nodded and brushed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Just get some rest. I’ll take care of you.”

When she heard that, Maia laughed ruefully as her vision dimmed. “Now I know I’m dreaming.”

 

Alex didn’t know what to expect when he knocked on her door. All he knew was that she was inside and that it was taking her too long to answer. All kinds of images flashed through his mind. Mostly of Maia naked with someone else and he lost it. If it had taken her a second longer to open the door, he couldn’t say that he wouldn’t have kicked it in.

But when he saw her looking so pale and obviously ill, everything but the urge to take care of her flew from his mind.

He sat on the edge of the bed watching over her. She looked frail, tired and definitely thinner than he remembered. Guilt gnawed at him. He’d done this to her. Didn’t she say when he disappeared before she was so upset that she forgot to take care of herself? He just thanked his lucky stars that circumstances weren’t exactly the same this time around. Though imagining her carrying his child made his heart throb a little.

Rubbing the section of chest over his heart with the heel of his hand, he kicked off his shoes and got undressed. He’d flown into Geneva and had to eventually bribe a vehicle out of a rental service to drive to Martigny. He would have driven the rest of the way to Täsch where he would have had to catch a train to go the rest of the way, but the storm had kept him cooling his heels worrying about her being stuck in the middle of it. The trip up to Zermatt had been the longest in his life. Alex couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept or even had a decent meal. All that mattered had been getting to her.

He stripped down and slipped in beside Maia, wrapping himself around her. Now that they were together he had no intention of letting her go again.