She nodded, undoing her seat belt while he came around. He opened the door, then reached both hands around her waist and hoisted her out of the SUV.
“I’m going to set you down on your feet.”
“I’m really okay, Barrett.”
“Yeah, sure you are. I’m still going to hold on to you.”
Her lips curved. “I’m really not going to mind if you do.”
She was still feeling a bit off balance, and she knew if he hadn’t been with her back at the community center, she’d have slid down the wall into a heap.
That wouldn’t have been her finest moment.
He kept his arm firmly around her waist as they entered the restaurant. To anyone else, they looked like a couple in love who couldn’t keep their hands off each other. To her, right now Barrett was her lifeline.
Fortunately, the restaurant wasn’t crowded, so they were seated right away. Their waitress came over.
“What can I get you two to drink?”
Barrett looked over at her.
“I’ll have a large orange juice.”
“Iced tea for me,” Barrett said, fingering the edges of the menu in kind of a nervous fashion.
He continued to do that until the waitress came back with their drinks.
“Are you two ready to order?”
“We’ll need a few minutes,” Barrett said.
The waitress nodded and wandered off. Harmony took a couple of long swallows of the juice, already feeling a lot better now that she’d eaten half the energy bar.
But Barrett continued to stare at her as if he expected her to fall on the floor and die on him any second.
“I’m really okay.”
“Are you sure? I could still take you to the hospital.”
She shook her head, then took another sip of juice. “I’ve had low blood sugar my entire life, Barrett. I know how to manage it. It was just a stupid thing on my part today. I was running behind because I had to deal with some e-mails before I left the house this morning, and I totally forgot to eat or drink some juice. I know better. And then I went along with you to your event, and I completely forgot I hadn’t eaten. This is entirely my fault. Thank you for being there for me.”
He raked his fingers through his hair and blew out a breath. “Christ, Harmony. You scared the shit out of me. The way you were shaking, and sinking down that wall. And I had no idea you had hypoglycemia.”
She appreciated his understanding of the terminology. “It’s not something that tends to come up in idle conversation.”
“Yeah, well, maybe it should. So people who care about you can . . . you know, care about you. And for you, in case you forget to eat.”
She couldn’t repress her smile. “Thanks. For caring. And for the suggestion.”
Their waitress came by and she ordered food. Now that the crisis had passed, she was hungry, so she ordered a chicken salad and bread.
“You should have something more than that.”
“Trust me, it’s more than enough to sustain me.” She studied the look of concern on his face, the way he watched every sip of orange juice she took.
So she was very grateful that their food arrived fast. She wasted no time digging into her chicken salad while Barrett had a double cheeseburger and double order of fries.
“Good thing you can work all that off, huh?” she asked as she took a sip of the water she’d asked the waitress for.
“Good thing. How’s your chicken salad?”
“Fantastic. Would you like a bite?”
He shook his head. “I think I’ve got enough to handle over here. And you need to eat all of that.”
Once she’d plowed through her salad and eaten it all, she set her plate to the side and took another few sips of water. She felt good now—great, actually. There was nothing like the relief she felt once she got past a particularly rough episode.
She knew better than to skip breakfast, but every now and then stupidity reared its ugly head. She wouldn’t let it happen again.
She made a mental note to replace the energy bar in her purse.
“Better?” Barrett asked after he’d polished off the last of the fries.
“Much. Thank you for taking the time to feed me.”
“It was either that or the ER, and you didn’t seem too happy about that idea.”
“They would have just hooked me up to an IV. The chicken salad was much tastier.”
Their waitress brought the check. Barrett pulled out his wallet and paid.
“You ready?”
“Yes.” She stood and followed him out the front door. When she slid into his SUV, he turned to her.
“What’s on your agenda the rest of the day?” Barrett asked. “Any meetings?”
“One. And a wild amount of paperwork, e-mails and phone calls.”
He turned his key in the ignition, then slid on his sunglasses. “Cancel them.”
She shot him a look. “Excuse me?”
“Cancel them all. I’m kidnapping you.”
She laughed. “I don’t think so.”
“You’ve had a rough morning. I’m going to give you a relaxing afternoon.”
Now that was a tempting idea. The meeting was with a supplier, and could easily be shuffled. She could answer e-mails in the car on the way to . . . wherever it was he was taking her. And the phone calls she could shift off to her assistant.
“Done.”
His lips curved. “I like a cooperative captive. We’ll stop by your place so you can pick up a few things.”