“I’m not taking you back to my villa,” she whispers, oblivious to the tremor that is radiating from my chest to my lips. “But if you want to sit on the beach for a bit, I’d like that. My adrenaline is spiking, and I need a moment, Liam.”
“My name isn’t Liam. It’s?—”
She presses her finger to my mouth, and instead of jumping back, I breathe in her scent. Months of isolation have fucked up my head. I should be experiencing flashbacks to the hospital and the infection, but her scent of coconut suntan lotion and soap gives me an unexpected longing that stills everything.
My panic subsides a little.
I must be in shock.
“Tonight, you’re Liam, my husband, and I’m Bella, a Disney princess.” With one wink, she convinces me that sitting on the beach with a stranger beats the isolation of my villa.
CHAPTER 5
Niki
Bella stares at the sea as she twists her hair around her fingers.
“What do you do, Bella?” I draw shapes in the sand with a stick. I’m like a little kid at the beach. I haven’t experienced this kind of freedom since the infection.
“I’m a rugby coach in the Midlands.” She stutters briefly. “Do you follow women’s rugby?”
I shake my head, and her shoulders relax slightly. “No, but I live near Oxford—or I did.”
Her eyes widen, and I’m transfixed again. “Oxford?”
“Near there. If you don’t mind me saying, you're young for a coach.” I shove my stick in the sand. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“I’m older than I look.” Her laugh is forced. “Are you enjoying Greece? Have you been here long?”
“About eight months.”
“That’s cool. I came for a week’s holiday, but I’m heading home tomorrow. Are you here for work?”
I don’t want her to pity me or judge me when I tell her thetruth. Leaving my sister in the lurch to run our family racing team when my dad gave it to me after his heart attack doesn’t paint me in a good light. But neither does avoiding people while waiting for my scars to heal when all I’ve done is add to my health anxiety.
She takes my hand. “You don’t have to tell me. We can talk about something else.”
My heart races, and my mouth dries. She’s touching me again, and I love and hate it. I blurt the only thing I can think of, “Do you want to play a game of twenty questions?” She raises her brow and I stutter, “And if you’re not willing to answer, you have to do a dare?”
Little wrinkles appear on her forehead as she stares at me. I swallow a couple of times, dragging saliva into my mouth. “Okay, but we have to answer the same questions, so don’t ask anything you’re not willing to answer.”
I take a breath at her skin against mine. My heart beats faster, and I try to ignore the intrusive thoughts telling me human contact could kill me.
Distract yourself, Niki. “I’m asking first.”
She nods. “My one rule is that we don’t have to give explanation to our answers unless we want to.”
I nod. “Favourite animal?”
“Sheep. You?”
“I already want you to explain why you chose sheep, but I can’t because of the rules.” She giggles. “My favourite are dogs.”
“My turn,” she says. “What is your favourite place in the world that you’ve been?”
“Hungary. Budapest, in particular.” My favourite racetrack.
“I haven’t been many places, but I loved Australia. I visited Sydney and the Gold Coast four years ago.”
