Page 19 of Retrograde
‘They’reslippers. Honestly, I don’t know which is worse. The fact you have designer slippers in the first place, or the fact you brought them to a hotel.’
‘Hey, I have to look my best to feel my best.’
‘In a hotel room where nobody can see you? Crying because you got a speck of dirt on your designer sneakers was bad enough.’
‘Sneakers,’ Brett snorted. ‘You and your Americanisms.’
‘Stop changing the subject.’ Lucie launched a balled-up pair of socks at him which he dodged, chuckling softly as he stuffed them in his case.
‘Okay, okay. Are all Italian women as scary as you? Do they all fling socks at their husbands when they’re not behaving?’
‘You’re lucky you’re not my husband, Anderson.’ Lucie walked off on the hunt for his aftershave and toothbrush, making sure she didn’t forget a single product from his skincare routine. She would never hear the end of it.
‘Don’t you wish we were driving to the airport together?’ he asked.
‘Not today. I’ll let your cab driver suffer alone.’ Brett was a terrible traveller, no matter the distance. He talked incessantly, as if he wasn’t enough of a chatterbox as it was. He requested the radio station be changed the second a song came on that he didn’t absolutely love, never settled between having the window down or the air con on and insisted on stopping at ‘cool-looking diners’ throughout every journey. Ninety-five per cent of the time, their exteriors were wildly misleading.
‘If we were travelling together while I amalsorecovering from a hangover, I would have purchased a muzzle.’
‘What is that supposed to mean?!’ He pressed a hand to his chest. ‘You don’t like it when I sing “Halo” at the top of my lungs?’
‘I don’t think Beyoncé herself likes that, and she can’t even hear you.’ Lucie stared at him with a blank expression.
‘Luce…’ Brett’s entire demeanour softened, and his voice lowered. ‘Are you sure you’re not offended that I haven’t asked you to come?’
‘Why would I be offended?’ Lucie frowned up at him.
‘We go everywhere together. Most of the time, anyway.’ He toyed with the string of the hoodie he was holding; one he’d been struggling to fold.
‘I’ve got plenty to keep me busy, Brett. I was already meant to be going back to London for work, we’ve got a bunch of podcast episodes to film along with a variety of other tasks for the business to tackle.’
‘Still, I’ll miss having you around,’ he mumbled.
‘You know as well as I do that you’ll be busy with your family and catching up with old friends. Let’s not forget the skating! I can’t skate to save my life.’
‘It just feels strange to be heading home alone. You always come to Sydney with me, you’re part of the family.’ Brett shrugged, and Lucie put down the T-shirt she’d just picked up to walk around the bed and stand in front of him.
‘Brett, you’ve got to do this yourself.’ She gazed up at him through thick lashes, craning her neck so she could study his face. He looked so confused.
‘What did I do to deserve you?’ A slight smile played on his lips.
‘It’s me and you against the world, remember?’
‘Always.’ Brett pulled her into one of his classic bear hugs, except this time there was no ruffling of her hair or a tight squeeze. He just held her, until she could feel him relaxing into some sort of realisation. Brett had to trust himself.
‘Right, you shower and finish packing while I run out to get you pre-flight snacks. Any special requests?’
‘Oysters to go?’
‘Not a chance.’
‘A BLT?’
‘That’s more like it.’
Brett winked at her. It was so like him, so carefree and charming. But it didn’t stop the horrible feeling in her stomach that this wasn’t the end of his troubles. Sydney wasn’t enough to fix whatever was going on inside his head, whatever had led to him being so reckless for so long.
But Lucie couldn’t give him all her focus. The workload for Girls Off Track had more than doubled since their launch. They’d cut back on so many travel plans for the upcoming year, and even after doing that they still had a packed schedule. It was an exciting time for them, and Lucie felt a rush whenever she thought about how far they’d come. She was happy to forgo the trips to build the business; after all, it was something that she could be proud of. It was her legacy.
