‘Now, why does that not surprise me. Oh, and let me guess, a full-blown first-aid kit on hand, in case of emergencies?’
Olivia unlocked the door and stepped inside, knowing exactly what Jacob was about to see when she turned on the light.
‘Aha!’ he cried, pointing at the green plastic box across the room. ‘Iknewit.’
She rolled her eyes and began to tidy away her piles of clothes, deliberately hiding her printed itinerary under a stack of T-shirts. If he thought she was a crazed organization freak from a first-aid kit, seeing that masterpiece would surely seal her fate.
‘So …’ Olivia hovered by the bathroom door, the space suddenly feeling very confined. ‘I’m going to get ready for bed. Do you need the bathroom or anything?’
‘Nope, all good.’ He sat down on the edge of the bed and began to take off his shoes. ‘You do you.’
Does he need pyjamas?
Well, he can’t sleep naked, can he?
Oh God, do not think about him naked.
Olivia shook the unhelpful thoughts from her head and concentrated fully on cleaning her teeth and washing her face.
Throughout her life, she’d never much cared for the way she looked. Next to Leah she was always ‘the plain one’ and besides, good looks and fancy make-up didn’t make you any more efficient or productive. But seeing herself in the mirror now, Olivia couldn’t help but admire the reflection. Her cheeks looked a little scorched from the sun and her frecklesseemed to be multiplying by the second, but there was a spark in her eyes and a glow on her face that she’d never seen before.
‘You don’t happen to have a spare toothbrush, do you?’ Jacob’s voice called out. ‘Miss Prepared For All Eventualities?’
‘Sorry.’ She dried her face on the towel and walked back to her room. ‘Only paracetamol and blister plasters.’
‘Damn it.’ He stood and walked past her to the sink, plucking the toothpaste from the side and squeezing a line on to his finger. ‘I guess I’ll have to use my finger, then, won’t I?’
‘Ew, that’s gross.’
‘It will be more gross if I don’t.’ He aggressively rubbed his finger back and forth along the front of his teeth.
‘Right. While you’re doing that, I’ll sort the bedding out.’
Olivia looked around the room for anything that could aid her in her makeshift bed construction. She rolled up her large rucksack to use as a pillow and found a couple of spare blankets in the wardrobe.
‘You’re not seriously going to sleep on that, are you?’ Jacob stood in the doorway, watching her feeble attempts. ‘Get into bed, you idiot.’
‘No, honestly, I don’t mind.’ She rolled up a couple of T-shirts for extra padding. ‘You need your rest.’
‘And so do you. I won’t sleep knowing you’re down there on the floor like a little dormouse. Come on. Get in.’
She eyed the pathetic heap and then reluctantly clambered into the bed.
‘Fine.’ She wiggled all the way across to the edge. ‘But if it gets too cramped, wake me up and I’ll move.’
‘I think we’ll manage.’
He lifted up the covers and climbed inside. Olivia stiffened her body so that she took up as little room as possible;even breathing felt like an invasion of his space. Her whole body was rigid and on alert. The perfect conditions for a relaxed night’s sleep.
‘Are you feeling OK?’ she whispered.
‘Yes.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Olivia.’ He turned on to his side to face her. ‘Stop asking me that. And please’ – he placed a cool hand on her arm – ‘relax, will you?’
‘Sorry.’ She softened a little. ‘I think I go into default carer mode whenever someone is sick.’
