‘No problem.’ He sniffed his wrist and the sleeve of his sweater again. ‘Actually, can I ask a favour? Would it be OK if I had a shower while I’m here? Clean myself up a bit and get rid of this bloody awful aftershave?’
‘No problem. You know where the bathroom is,’ said Hallie. ‘Help yourself.’
Nick went out to the car, collected his wash bag and a change of clothes from his suitcase and disappeared upstairs while Hallie set out her meds. She also made the discovery that once an idea had worked its way into your brain, it was next to impossible to think about anything else.
It was like being haunted by the catchiest tune ever.
OK, stop thinking about it.
But I just caaaaan’t.
It was, she knew, partly to do with the last letter she’d replied to on the website. Poor rejected Julia, abandoned by her husband and in need of closure.
And sex.
And revenge.
But mainly closure.
And sex.
Hallie got on with doing her meds, but the idea was still refusing to go away. Who knew how long she had left to live? Not long, the way things were going and if time ran out before a suitable donor could be found.
For the last year, the only man she could have imagined sleeping with was the one man she couldn’t have a relationship with. Basically she’d kind of assumed that, given her situation, that was it on the sex front. There wouldn’t be any more. The window of opportunity had passed her by without her even realising that the last time had indeed been the last time.
Sad, but it couldn’t be helped.
Except, except . . . what if the window of opportunity had just unexpectedly opened again?
Upstairs, the shower was still running. A handsome man was currently standing under it naked, shampoo and soap suds sliding down his beautiful tanned body.
Better still, it was a body she already knew and was familiar with, belonging to a good friend who in turn was familiar with hers.
Chapter 23
It took Hallie another hour to pluck up the courage to say it. In the end, she just blurted the words out.
‘I have a favour to ask you. It’s OK, you can say no if you want. I won’t be offended.’
‘Anything.’ Nick didn’t hesitate. ‘What is it? Do you need money?’
‘No, it’s more personal than that. This is to do with me . . .’ she gestured helplessly, ‘and my . . . situation.’
Nick seized her hand and gazed into her eyes. ‘Go ahead. Don’t look so nervous.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Is it to do with your funeral? Do you want me to stand up and speak? Because that’s fine, of course I’ll do it—’
‘Whoa, stop, that’s not what I wanted to ask you. Sshh.’ Hallie put her other hand up to his mouth as he opened it to hazard another guess. ‘Stop interrupting and listen. You’re leaving at six. My mum’s out at work and won’t be back before six thirty. We’re home alone. There’s no one else I could ask to do this, but there’s something I just miss so much. Do you remember how we used to lie in bed together, skin to skin . . . don’t worry, I’m not talking about sex now, just the being together thing, because, you know, it would feel so nice . . . and it’d make me feel normal again, just for a bit . . . but it’s OK, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’ll understand.’
Halfway through the garbled explanation, her eyes had begun to fill up and tears were sliding down her face. Hallie, who hardly ever cried, brushed them away and knew that it was due to embarrassment. That was why she’d changed the request to just lying in bed together. Begging for sex, it turned out, was just too much to ask. Poor Nick, was he frantically trying to come up with some kind of reasonable excuse for not having to do it?
Then she saw that his eyes were glistening too. The next moment, he was on his feet, reaching out for her, unplugging her oxygen and lifting her into his strong arms. ‘You have all the best ideas,’ he said simply. ‘Come on. There’s nothing I’d like more.’
Upstairs, he laid her down on the bed and closed the curtains. Hallie reconnected herself to her bedroom oxygen supply and slowly undressed down to her knickers. Nick helped her, then removed his own clothes, keeping on only his Calvin Klein trunks.
Then he climbed into bed beside her, pulled the duvet over them both and, mindful of the plastic tubing, wrapped his arms around her.
Hallie felt as if she were on fire; her whole body had become hypersensitive now. The sensation of his warm skin touching hers was just indescribably wonderful. This, this was what she’d been missing out on for so long. Simple, honest-to-goodness physical contact, taken completely for granted by so many people, yet almost more perfect in its own way than anything else.