Chapter 64
When Nel opened her eyes, a slight ache gripping her forehead, she was confused to see that there was a wardrobe where there was meant to be a heavy curtain.
She rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling.
Instead of the looping ribbons, a characterless white ceiling with two downlights looked back at her.
She sat up suddenly, realising where she was, then she looked down and yanked the quilt up over her bare chest.
Dread rose up inside her. What had she done?
This was Lauren’s fault. She’d put dumb ideas in Nel’s head and kept refilling her glass, and then the beach had been so beautiful in the moonlight and she was cold and Jimmy was warm and now she’d wrecked her only decent friendship.
It was a terrible mistake. Jimmy clearly thought so too.
He was so embarrassed about it that he’d got up and left!
She felt sick. She should go, but the thought of gathering her clothes from the bedroom floor and walking out Jimmy’s front door onto Manning Street was mortifying. She lay back down.
Her thoughts went back to the night before.
It was a bit hazy. Jimmy’s broad chest flashed in her mind, moving above her in the darkness.
She could almost sense the warmth of his body pressed against hers.
He’d kissed her face, her neck, his fingertips brushing across her skin as though he was trying to memorise every part of her. A pleasant shiver ran through her.
No, this was a bad idea. It would be best if she left now to save them both from an awkward conversation. She got up and retrieved her crumpled clothes from the floor but as she pulled on her shirt she heard the jangle of keys.
Shit. She should have gone while she had the chance. The front door closed with a thud, followed by footsteps up the hall.
She was sitting on the bed with her jeans in her hand when Jimmy appeared in the doorway holding a tray with two takeaway coffees and a brown paper bag.
‘Hey, sleepyhead, I got croissants,’ he said. His eyes flicked to the jeans, his smile falling a fraction. ‘Are you going?’
‘Yeah, I’m … I’m meeting Viv to start packing up the clinic.’
He looked at the time. ‘At 8 am?’
She bit her lip, clearly caught in a lie. She was meeting Viv, but not until eleven.
Jimmy narrowed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. ‘Were you about to ghost me?’
‘No, I …’ She swallowed. As she looked at his face, warm and open, she realised she didn’t actually want to leave after all.
She rolled her eyes at herself. ‘I guess maybe I do have time for a coffee.’ Nel moved back on the bed, watching him as he checked the lids of the coffee cups and passed her one.
She thought of their tense conversation at the Grand.
His indignant rebuff when she’d asked him why he’d left Wollongong.
‘Can I ask you something?’ she asked.
‘Anything.’
‘What really happened in Wollongong?’ She needed to know the truth.
There was a long silence. ‘A person of interest in the Molly Peters investigation made a complaint against me.’
‘What for?’ Nel braced herself for the answer, not sure she wanted to know but also desperate to hear it.
‘She said I made a sexual advance on her. I was stood down while the Law Enforcement Integrity Commission investigated the allegation.’
‘And what did they find?’
‘I was wearing a body cam so I was cleared of any wrongdoing, but it took nine months. By then, the reputational damage was done.’
‘Shit, Jimmy, I’m so sorry.’
‘What’s that saying? A lie travels halfway around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on.
’ His eyes flashed. There was still anger there.
‘The woman was later found to be an accomplice in the abduction, so I think it was an attempt to derail the investigation. I was shattered. All I wanted was to find that little girl. Instead I was home all day watching Netflix while they investigated an allegation that was total bullshit.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she asked gently.
A long pause. ‘I don’t know.’ He ran a hand through his curls. ‘I guess it feels like people will think I’m guilty anyway, even though I was cleared. It’s an awful feeling, being accused of something you didn’t do.’ He gave her a half-smile. ‘I guess you know that better than anyone.’
She smiled. ‘Yeah, I do know a bit about that.’
He rested a hand on her bare leg. ‘But life’s funny, isn’t it? If it didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be here with you, and I wouldn’t change that now for anything.’ A pause. ‘I meant what I said last night.’
As she looked into his eyes, a memory surfaced from the night before. He’d whispered something to her. His breath had been warm, his lips touching her ear as he spoke. But the words were frustratingly out of reach.
‘Last night’s a little … hazy.’ God, how embarrassing. ‘What was it you said again?’
The hint of a smile played on his lips. ‘You don’t remember?’
Her cheeks flushed. ‘It’s Lauren’s fault. She forced me to drink too much champagne. Against my will.’
He laughed. His fingers gently stroked her thigh, sending a tingle through her body. ‘I said I think I’m falling in love with you.’
Nel swallowed, waiting for the impulse to run to come, but it didn’t. Instead warmth swelled inside her. She leaned forward and kissed him, then pulled him towards her onto the bed.