Chapter 17 NANCY
I OPENED MY BLEARY EYES and felt a thump repeating in my head like a kick-drum. I sat up, feeling resentful. Then, I realised it wasn’t my head thudding—it was the front door. I shot around in alarm just as the banging stopped and was immediately replaced by bellowing.
“Nancy! Nancy, are you in there?” Alex called through the letterbox.
I fisted the duvet. Why the hell has he come to the flat? Maybe he would go away if I kept quiet. He couldn’t see me in this state. Talk about the opposite effect of yesterday!
The banging restarted, louder than before. I threw back the duvet and stepped into my slippers, cursing as I caught my reflection in the full-length mirror. A puffy-eyed woman in a teddy onesie wearing a bonnet stared back.
“Nancy, please, are you there?” Alex shouted, sounding catatonic, and held down the buzzer. At this rate, he’d have Winston raging. The man cherished his weekend lie-ins.
I debated it, but in the end, I pulled the pink bonnet off, opting instead for bed hair. “I’m coming,” I tried to shout with a dry throat while furiously teasing my curls back into shape. I paced to the door and opened it to find Alex kneeling.
“Thank god you’re okay!” He scrambled to his feet, running his hands through sweat-dampened hair.
I took in how different he looked, not just his demeanour, which was usually calm and confident, but his outfit, too.
Gone was the tailored three-piece suit, and in its place were hugging jeans and a well-worn, royal-blue Henley displaying the crossed oars emblem of the Chelsea Rowers club.
The relaxed style transformed the man I only knew from his commanding position in a City skyscraper.
Here, he was his youthful twenty-eight years. He was so…normal-looking.
“Hi.”
“Hi, yourself.” He eyed me with uncertainty, which promptly turned into deep concern. “Are you sick?” He pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. “You feel cold.”
I smiled at his warm touch, strangely unfazed by his closeness. “Yeah, I haven’t felt good since last night.”
“You need to sit down,” he said, and I gestured for him to enter. He closed the door behind him and placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me to the sofa.
I sat, and he joined me, invading my cushion. “Alex, why are you here?”
“I haven’t heard from you since lunch. I thought something bad had happened.”
“Oh shit, sorry. I meant to text you last night, but I went straight to sleep after I felt ill.” I rubbed at the scratchiness in my throat.
“Let me get you some water.” He marched to the kitchen to find a glass and took in the flowers proudly placed on the counter.
“They’re beautiful. They’re the colours of my dress, right?”
“They made me think of you. I wanted you to know I was thinking about you after lunch.” He returned and handed me the water.
I took a long drink. “How did you find out my address?”
“I looked you up.” He sat close again. “You said you lived on World’s End Estate.”
I nodded, considering whether to push it further, but decided to leave it. He was here now. “It’s nice to see you. I’m sorry if I freaked you out. As you see, I’m not exactly receiving visitors.”
He eyed my fashion statement. “I think you look cute as a button.”
“That’s both cheesy and impossible. I’m a mess.”
“I assure you I mean it, bella donna,” he said sincerely. I smiled at his endearment and reached for his hand. He jolted back at my touch. “You’re bloody freezing!”
“I do feel a little shivery.”
“Is there a bath here?”
“Yeah, through there, but I’ll be okay.”
“You don’t feel okay. I’m running you a hot bath. Keep drinking water,” he said commandingly before striding.
I sipped my drink, smiling at his fussy sounds through the door.
“It’s running cold!” he shouted a few minutes later.
“The boiler’s been playing up!”
He paced back through to the kitchen and filled the kettle. I watched in amazement as he made four trips for hot water. Then he returned to my side, lifted me into his arms, and carried me through to the bathroom. “Have you eaten today?”
My mouth was ajar from the feel of his strong arms around my body. “No, I don’t have much appetite after yesterday.”
“You need to rest and rehydrate. I’ll go and get a few things while you soak.” He placed me down carefully by the tub.
“You don’t need to fuss, Alex.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He kissed my forehead and then retreated, closing the door behind him.
I felt the bath water. It was the perfect temperature, and the calming, herby scent of rosemary and eucalyptus called to me. I stripped out of my loungewear and climbed into the tub, submerging myself under the bubbles into a soothing paradise.