They both heard the snick of the lock on the front door and then footsteps across the room. Lizzie sighed. She recognised that long-legged stride without even turning to see who it was. A moment later, Dan was next to her. She took a large gulp of wine, tried to place the glass back on its watery ring on the bench top. Missed.
'Everyone home safely?' Julia asked.
'Harri is, and my guess is that Joe didn't make it past the sofa. He was asleep before I turned the corner into your street, Elizabeth. I had to push his sorry arse through your front door.' He didn't bother to hide his derision.
Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut at the sound. 'He's missing his wife. She couldn't come with him.'
'Drowning your sorrows doesn't make them go away,' Dan said.
'But hiding away in your house does?' Lizzie took a gulp of her wine, a big one on purpose, just to spite Dan for his attitude towards her brother. It topped up the wooziness she'd felt earlier and rammed straight to her head.
'So how is the North Shore whore? Spending Christmas at Noosa with her family is she, instead of being here with her husband?' Julia huffed dramatically. She'd never been overly fond of Jasmine either.
'Stop it, Jools,' Lizzie moaned, resting her head on her outstretched arms on the cool marble. Her head was starting to spin a little. Make that a lot.
Dan's eyebrows quirked. 'The North Shore whore?'
'I should never have called her that. It was so bitchy. She can't be all that bad if she's put up with Stinkface all these years.'
'And Stinkface is … ' Dan looked to Julia, confused
'Joe. Once Lizzie gives you a nickname, you can be sure of two things. One, it'll stay with you forever and two, it means that she really, deep down loves you with all her heart.'
Then Lizzie started to giggle, the sound muffled in her arms. She turned her face to look at Dan through bleary eyes. 'So watch out, Big Guy, my nicknames stick.'
Dan stiffened, then looked to Julia. 'I think she needs to go home.'
Julia nodded. 'You could be right.'
Dan moved in closer and Lizzie felt his hand, strong and warm, on her elbow, urging her to stand up. Which suddenly became much harder than she thought.
'C'mon Lizzie. Hop up. I'll walk you home.'
The wine buzz had scrambled the signals between her mouth and her brain. When she meant to say no, the word 'yes' tumbled over her tongue before she could bite it.
CHAPTER
20
Dan and Lizzie made it as far as his front yard before she threw up all over her shoes.
She'd felt fair to middling as they'd left Ry and Julia's house, feeling the comfort of Dan's strong arm about her waist to steady her. But as soon as they were on the street, the cool sea breeze hit her and a wave of nausea almost knocked her off her feet. She'd only been able to make a few staggering steps to Dan's yard before she'd succumbed and completely missed the daisies.
Lizzie planted her hands on her knees, gripping on tight, and tried to steady herself with deep lungfuls of air. A hammer was pounding in her head and there was a buzz in her ears that sounded like the whoosh of the ocean, but she knew it couldn't be. She wanted to curl up on the grass and die. From humiliation.
Then Dan was by her side. She'd hoped he'd run away to leave her to her own mortification and despair. But no.
'Here.' He held a damp washcloth in front of her. Lizzie tried to focus and took it. She slowly wiped her mouth, gulped again to fight off another bout of vomiting.
'Oh God, I'm-' She plastered a hand to her mouth.
'Can you stand up?' Dan gently urged her upright. 'C'mon.'
Lizzie nodded vaguely and took a few hesitant steps, with Dan adjusting his stride to match hers. He led her inside the house, patiently across the living room, where her eyes hurt from the light. She'd kicked off her splattered shoes at the front door and her bare feet felt heavy and too noisy on the floor. Dan paused while she stopped and fought another wave of nausea, and took her down the small hallway to the bathroom.
He pushed open the door, urged her inside onto a soft bath mat and then reached in to turn on the shower. Even the sound of the water pulsing on the tiles was too loud. There was a groan and Lizzie realised it was coming from her.
Wordlessly, Dan reached around her, tugging at the zip at the back of her dress. When it fell to her feet in a rustle of red and vomit splatters, Lizzie covered her face with her hands at the indignity of it all. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, not wanting to see the look of disgust on his face that she was certain would be furrowing his brow. Or maybe closing her eyes simply stopped the room from spinning.
Lizzie took in more deep lungfuls of air.
Dan watched her with a grin.
He usually liked being in this position, he realised. Stripping a beautiful woman naked, that is. It was the drunk part that made things complicated. And clear-cut.
With a quick flick of his hand, he loosened Lizzie's bra and it fell to the floor. And while it was probably wrong to stare at the luscious breasts of a woman who was drunk, he figured that since he'd admired them once of twice before, it wasn't doing anyone any harm. With an automatic leg lift, and a hand firmly pressed up against the shower screen for balance, Lizzie stepped out of her knickers. Her lingerie was red, lacy and barely there. Holy hell.
Dan guided Lizzie under the spray and closed the shower screen. He knew he couldn't leave her in there alone, so he leaned back against the cold, tiled wall and watched. It was only for her safety, he told himself. What if she fell asleep? Slipped on the soap? Knocked her head? Drowned? He heard more moans as the hot water sluiced over her breasts, her back and the curve of her arse, down her calves and onto her red toenails.
When Lizzie turned off the taps and tentatively opened the shower door, Dan was there with a huge soft towel and he wrapped her in it. For a moment, his arms remained wrapped around her too, and when he felt her go limp, he tightened his grip, pulling her closer. Lizzie let out a jittery sigh and her head dropped against his chest.
'Ooh,' she moaned softly.
Her wet hair and face were soaking him through his shirt but he didn't care. Something lurched inside him. Standing there, with Lizzie in his arms, he felt like he'd found something resembling home. And that thought spooked the hell out of him.
With a corner of the towel he gently dried her hair, rubbing it into crazy spikes on her head. Then, knowing she would need it, he reached to the basin and handed her his toothbrush, already loaded with toothpaste.
Her big, washed out blue eyes flickered and met his. 'Thank you,' she whispered with a wan smile. The world around him seemed to disappear. That was the moment, he would realise later, when everything really changed.
'Thought a shower might help.'
She nodded. 'It did. I'm so sorry. I must have had more to drink that I thought. Pretty unattractive, huh.'
He smiled, stroked her cheek, swallowed the feeling in his throat. 'Yeah, worst thing I've ever seen.'
Lizzie's hand flew to her belly. Her face went pale. 'Oh God. I need to lie down.'
Dan didn't hesitate. He took her hand and led her to his bedroom, mindful not to turn on the lights. The room was barely lit by the moonlight through the blinds, and he tugged back the sheets. Beside him, Lizzie let the damp towel drop to the floor and when she found the cool of the bed, slowly lowered herself backwards until her head was on his pillow. She turned away from him and curled herself up in a tight ball. Dan lifted the blankets over her and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her eyelids had already fluttered shut and her breathing was sleep heavy.
Dan couldn't see his watch in the darkness but he figured it was about one in the morning. He felt too wired to shut his eyes and sleep. Too much had happened. His mind was reeling. Sleep. The way he was feeling, he'd probably sit up all night watching infomercials and still not drift off. Hell, he'd probably wake up the next day having mysteriously ordered a steam mop or one of those craptaculous exercise machines from the all-night ads without even remembering that he'd done it.
How the hell could he sleep, knowing that Lizzie was naked in his bed? Staying away from her hadn't worked. He simply wanted her more.
Because she was asleep and it was safe to touch her, he moved to the other side of the bed, reached over to stroke her face, the soft coolness tickling his fingers. And because she was asleep and it was safe to, he shifted his weight, leaned in to kiss her goodnight. Because no one should end Christmas Day without a kiss, he decided.
Her soft lips, moist and slightly open, were all his. He kissed her, tenderly, lingering as long as he thought he could without waking her. She tasted like his toothpaste. When he lifted his lips from hers, she stirred.
'Dan,' she murmured.
'I'm right here,' he whispered.
Lizzie reached out to grip his arm, her fingers like silk on his skin. It was enough to send sparks flying. 'Come to bed.'
He took a deep breath, steadied himself. 'Sshhh, Elizabeth. Close your eyes and go to sleep.'