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CHAPTER 24
Felicity groaned, then gave a low whimper.
The ice pack was doing little to assuage the stinking hateful migraine she’d developed on the trip back from the Barrier Reef.
Too much sun and heat and all that swimming, which she was completely unaccustomed to. She only got a couple of migraines a year but this one sure was a doozy. The kind that made you wish for a couple of hours that you were, frankly, dead. And the only thing that made you okay with not being dead was the fact that you knew it would end.
“You okay?” She pulled the ice pack down a smidge and winced as a thousand knives were wielded behind her eyes.
“Not really,” she whispered out of dry lips, “but I’ll get through it.”
Tanya whispered loudly, “We’re going out on the town. Guess you don’t wanna join us.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
“Need anything?” Gita’s long blonde hair and pretty features bobbed behind Tanya’s head.
“No, really, just—erm—peace and quiet.”
“We’ll be really quiet when we get back then. Scouse girl’s honours.”
The three of them were sharing a room at the backpackers and Felicity hoped they’d be out for a really long time. Nothing personal, they were both lovely, but sleep was the only thing that would get rid of this bollocking bastard thing.
After a few giggles and shushes as they changed and put on make-up, they were gone, with a “Bye darl, hope you feel better.” Curled into the foetal position, the pillow around her throbbing head, she was drifting into a medication-hazed doze when her phone emitted the chirpy FaceTime chime.
She jumped awake. So did the pain in her head. But despite that, she couldn’t resist a feeble peek at the screen.
Oliver.
A wave of nausea ran up her throat and she had to drop the phone, lie down and swallow hard.
She would have to call him back, she really, really couldn’t talk now or she’d barf all over the screen.
However wonderful and understanding Oliver was, that was a limit she wasn’t prepared to test.
When she woke in the morning she felt so much better, and was soon down at breakfast, rummaging around to find the cocoa pops. Carbs were so good for post-migraine days, along with a double strength coffee. It only hurt if she shook her head, so she didn’t. She got out her phone and checked it.
Oliver:Couldn’t reach you. Hope all okay. I’m in Melbourne. Back tomorrow. Miss you.
We need to talk about something.
We need to talk about something. Did he meanthem?She almost inhaled a cocoa pop. What if… he was going to say…. that she was special to him? Would she stay? No, she couldn’t risk losing her job. Okay, maybe he wanted to at least see if this was going somewhere, suggest he visit her in London, maybe.
If he did, she’d say yes, wouldn’t she?
She’d been about to check flights to Alice Springs, but now she hesitated.
In barely two weeks she had to fly home. Why not spend that time with him?
This was so good, so special… and a rock, however beautiful, was still a rock. What if she went back to the apartment, bought some delicious gourmet food, and then took him to bed afterwards?
Her nervous system did the Zumba and the Cha-cha-cha and even Scarlet boogied along with a little tingle or two.
Felicity’s fingers hovered over Google. Instead of searching flights to Alice Springs, she looked up flights to Sydney.
And put in today’s date.
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