Page 45 of The Lucky Escape

‘Is that true, though?’

‘A week ago I wouldn’t have thought so but now I’m here, now I’ve got a bit more perspective, maybe. Yeah. I think we were just too scared to break up because we’d been together so long, and so instead we just did what was expected.’

‘Hmmmm,’ he said. ‘Okay.’

The thought had been wheedling its way onto my tongue for the past few days. It was like a confession, and in saying it to Patrick I’d released the power of it. Alexander was right. We shouldn’t have been getting married. I’d been scared of being left behind. Understanding that made me feel ashamed. It was upsetting to admit – especially to somebody who’d been married and had been very much head over heels about his partner.

‘You certainly took a right turn on what was expected by bringing me along on your honeymoon, anyway,’ Patrick said. ‘And if it’s okay, to say thank you, I’ve organized a surprise for our first day in Sydney. So disregard the itinerary, because it’s Paddy’s Plan for our first full day on the east coast.’

‘A surprise?’ I echoed, aware at the back of my mind that he always seemed to drive the conversation away from Alexander. ‘What?’

‘Just trust me.’ He shifted in his seat, looking quite proud of himself for the very fact of having a secret.

‘Pretty please?’ I requested, fluttering my eyelashes. I wanted to talk about the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow would be even better than today, and the day after even better, because I’d be even stronger. Even happier. I didn’t want the trip to pass by quickly, but there was a comfort in knowing that time really did heal.

Patrick moved his weight again, this time so he was leaning over the arm of his chair, closer to me than he’d ever been. I swallowed hard and licked my lips, my throat drying up at what could happen.

‘Now, now,’ he said, lowering his voice. ‘Play fair. With those big eyes you’re abusing your power, Annie.’

I exhaled loudly. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ I whispered. If anyone had been around to accuse me of flirting I would have denied it, but I was potentially on the verge of it. Fooling around, I made my eyes bigger and puckered my lips more, holding eye contact suggestively. ‘I’m only asking for a hint …’

He gave an internal hum of a laugh. ‘You’re very used to getting what you want, aren’t you?’

‘I mean, no. Obviously.’

Was he on the verge of flirting too?

‘I’m putty in your hands,’ he said.

If he was, was he the one pushing the boundary, or was I?

‘If that was true you’d tell me at least what I need to wear for this surprise, Patrick. So I’m prepared.’

He leaned in a tiny bit more, if that were possible, getting so close that his breath tickled underneath my nose. My heart beat in double time, my breathing shallow at his proximity. He definitely did have red in his stubble. I’d thought so once back after class at bootcamp, but now I could see it up closeand clear as day. Part of me wanted to reach out and touch it – to feel the masculine contours of him. He had a streak of sunburn alongside one eye where he’d missed his sun cream application, and in the dim light his eyes seemed darker. Instead of being green they looked like pools of chocolate, his lashes bleached by the sun but still long. He looked solemn, wrestling with a decision and totally torn over which way to go. It made me want to tell him it was okay, that whatever he was concerned about was totally fine. I wanted to cure him of whatever was making him seem so confused.

‘Look as lovely as you always do,’ he said, his voice low and gruff and – it was impossible to ignore – kind of suggestive. He added, testing the limits of a thing I couldn’t quite put my finger on: ‘You know how it undoes me.’

I let out a guffaw in nervous shock, the sound of my laugh shattering whatever delicate thing we’d just been holding between us. ‘Pongy Paddy!’

He pulled away. ‘You’ll enjoy it,’ he said, standing up and cricking his neck. He rubbed at his shoulder, and the awkwardness of it was the least self-assured I’d ever seen him. I wanted to reach for his hand, to tell him I was here, to go back five seconds in time so that I wouldn’t ruin the spell he’d been weaving. He gave me something I wanted more of – the nearness of him was intoxicating, the way the air shifted when he was teasing me lulled me into breathing deeper and smiling wider. I’d hated it the other morning, when he’d disappeared and acted odd. Sitting next to him was better than not sitting next to him. I couldn’t wait for it to be morning so that we had another full day together, and then another one after that. Saying goodnight was my least favourite part of the day.

‘Just trust me,’ he said, already back in the living room. ‘Sleep tight …’

‘Sleep tight,’ I called after him. ‘Remember it’s an 8 a.m. pick-up in the morning so we have plenty of time for the flight.’

I sat staring into the darkness long after he’d gone, my heart racing but not quite sure why.

21

The second leg of the trip was the east coast, so Bianca drove us to the airport and we headed from Perth to Sydney on another business-class flight.

‘You two are the cutest,’ she said as she pulled us into a three-way hug at departures. ‘I wish everything for you that you wish for yourself.’

‘Thanks, Bianca,’ Patrick said. ‘You’ve been the best tour guide.’

She waved a hand like it was nothing. ‘Just doing my job,’ she said. ‘Enjoy the rest of your non-honeymoon.’ Patrick had finally revealed the truth about our adventure as a parting gift for her, and she’d had hundreds of follow-up questions about it.

‘I’m going to tell this story to everyone I know!’ she declared. ‘You came on your honeymoon anyway, Annie! That’s so badass!’

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