Page 19 of Spiralling Skywards: Fading
“We have Shain over there pretty much running things now, so it’s getting a little easier for him, but when it comes to the big stuff shit like what’s just gone down, Liam’s the head honcho and he has to step up. I love you Sunshine, but you need to be a little more supportive right now.”
“You think I should go then, fly to Australia?”
“Are you able to?”
I shrugged my shoulders and let out a huff. “Yeah, it’s doable. That wasn’t the issue, so much as the way he just expected me to do it. I just felt like I was the only one that’s willing to compromise… but in light of what you’ve just told me, I guess I’m not and a bit of give and take is needed.”
“I think you’ll find that that’s what marriage is all about.”
I looked up at my brother.
“Are you seriously trying to give me relationship advice?”
“No, absolutely not. It’s just a rumour that I’ve heard, the give and take shit, or was that a porno I once watched?”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him.
“So am I booking you a flight and arranging a visa? The company will pay, and you’ll fly business.”
I raked my teeth over the corner of my bottom lip for a few moments before shrugging my shoulders in resignation.
“Looks like I’m going to Australia.”
***
I was on a flight to Perth the following afternoon. Liam had no clue. Luke had told him I was still pissed off and refused to speak to him. With the help of his parents, I got a transfer from Perth to Darwin and a car picked me up at the airport to take me to the hotel where Liam was staying. I let myself in with the key card his dad had arranged for me to collect at reception.
After thirty-three hours of travel, I arrived exhausted, fell onto the bed, and slept for eight solid hours. I woke to my phone ringing, and Liam’s dad whispering down the line that Liam would be home in a little over an hour.
After ordering up a bottle of the hotels best champagne, I thought about wearing the lingerie I’d bought for our honeymoon, but I knew my husband well enough to know that it would probably just get ripped straight off again. It was too pretty and was way too expensive to ruin like that. Naked would be best. By the time I showered, shaved, and moisturised, I had drunk half the bottle, so I ordered a fresh one. I was just hanging up the phone when the whir of the key card activating drew my attention and spurred my heart into overdrive. My stomach churned in anticipation.
When he opened the door, I was lying on my belly with one hand propping up my chin and the other holding my glass. It wasn’t the sexiest of poses, but at least it meant I got to see my husband and take in his reaction the instant he saw me.
I was totally naked, except for a pair of bright red, five inch heeled Louboutin’s. His favourites.
A smile touched my lips when he came into view, his attention on his phone. He looked exhausted and more than a little worried. I hoped most of it would vanish when he realised I was here and not still twelve thousand miles away and mad at him. He raised it to his ear, still not having noticed me, and froze when my own phone started ringing on the bedside table.
My heart both dissolved and exploded inside my chest.
He was calling me.
I watched his entire posture change as his eyes slid from my phone to me.
The hand holding his phone dropped to his side, and my own phone fell silent. Tired blue eyes took me in.
“You’re here.”
“I am.”
“You’re naked.”
“I’m wearing shoes.”
“Thank you.”
“For wearing shoes?”
“For coming.”
