Page 55 of Winter at Wishington Bay
‘No, it’s something that’s happened ever since I was a child. Absolutely mortifying, really.’
‘Nah, you’re all right.’
‘How would you like it if it happened to you?’
He moved his head from one side to the other and shrugged. ‘Probably not so much. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have been able to catch me and I know you wouldn’t have been able to carry me so I’d probably still be splayed on the pavement like that proverbial sack of spuds.’
‘You’re hilarious.’
He grinned and I immediately forgave him. Damn.
I drew my knees up towards me. ‘Here. Sit on here. It’s more comfy.’ Nate obeyed, moving from the oak coffee table to the softness of the sofa, settling back, and turning to look at me.
‘So, any particular reason?’
‘Huh?’
‘This reaction.’
‘Polo.’
His brows raised momentarily. ‘Not the answer I was expecting but with that voice, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.’
I poked his thigh with my toes and he grinned. I felt a bolt of warmth fizz and pop in my stomach before shooting out in a variety of directions, none of them helpful.
‘I was watching, not playing.’
‘Because that makes all the difference.’ His laugh was soft and welcome.
I stuck my tongue out and he laughed again.
‘Sorry. So, tell me what happened.’
I gave a shrug. ‘Some friends of my parents were playing a match and we’d gone to watch. In the second chukka, one of the players became unseated.’
‘Is that a posh way of saying he fell off?’
‘Yes. I suppose so.’
‘And?’
‘He landed rather badly. Right in front of us and there was this awful noise. Next thing I know, I’m looking on horrified as he’s lying on the ground in agony and his shin bone is sticking clean through his jodhpurs about a foot in front of me.’
‘Oh. Wow. Ouch.’
‘Quite. I stared in horror for a couple of seconds and then passed out apparently, much to my mother’s disgust.’
‘Really?’
‘I was showing emotion. That’s always been rather a no-no in her book. Thankfully my father was still alive then and he was always far more understanding. He scooped me up and took me back to the car. But I’m afraid I’ve had rather a drastic reaction to blood since that day.’
‘Understandably.’
I gave a shrug. ‘I probably ought to see someone about it.’
‘Who?’
I pulled a face. ‘I don’t know. Maybe a hypnotherapist or something. They help people stop smoking and conquer a fear of flying. Maybe they could help with this sort of thing too.’
