Chapter 10
Rhys
Rhys collapsed into one of the massage chairs at Villa Scilly. Typically, he would have employed a touch more finesse, but exhaustion had depleted his reserves. He let his head fall back against the headrest, watching Penny take the seat opposite in much the same fashion.
“Morning, morning, morning!” A familiar, eternally happy voice called.
“Good morning, Océane.”
Océane rounded his chair, pulling with her his IV infusion pump.
Her smile was as radiant as it always was, but the colour of her hair was far more mercurial.
It had been black on his last visit, but today it shone a bright red.
“You are late, Rhys,” she chided him, her words heavily accented with her native French.
She bent to plug in the pump. “And you look terrible, but I see you have brought a guest.”
He held out his arm. It was almost a reflex at this point. “I have. This is Penny, she’s…” He was originally going to say a colleague, but last night had crossed that bridge and this morning had left it far behind. “She’s a friend.”
Océane’s smile brightened. “Lovely to meet you. Would you like to see a treatment menu?”
Penny began to shake her head, but Rhys got there first. “She definitely would, and a breakfast menu, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Of course.” Océane set up her supplies on the little workstation next to Rhys’s massage chair, tying a flexible blue band around his arm, just above his elbow. A small line of annoyance appeared between her brows. “Your veins are usually not difficult to find. Have you had much to drink today?”
Rhys shook his head.
Océane harrumphed. “I shall bring two breakfast menus.”
“Thank you.” Despite the fact they were about the same age, Océane always seemed like more of a teacher than a nurse—a no-nonsense, firm-but-fair, no-bullshitting-allowed kind of teacher.
Aside from the treatments they offered and the luxuriousness of the amenities, the fact that Rhys was always allocated to the same nurse during his stays was a huge benefit of coming to Villa Scilly.
As always, and despite his dehydration, Océane found his vein the first time.
His shoulders relaxed as soon as the fluid began to flow into his body; it wasn’t something he could feel, but just knowing he’d finally made it here was a relief—knowing he was ridding himself of the possibility of another migraine.
Océane gave him a questioning look. “You have been looking forward to this?”
He nodded. “I had a hemiplegic migraine last night. It’s part of the reason why we’re late.”
Océane studied his face. “You need painkillers, or no?”
“I’ve already taken some.”
“Good.” She stood, checking the IV pump one more time. “You must eat; I will get the menus.”
Rhys loosened a weary breath, his head never leaving the headrest. He caught Penny’s eye, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. She looked as exhausted as he felt. “How are you doing?”
“Tired,” she admitted, sunlight radiating down on her through the expansive window besides them. “This place is…fancy.”
She wasn’t wrong. The walls around them were panelled in teak wood, interspersed with a single recessed alcove opposite the window, upholstered in a deep ocean blue. The same fabric as the massage chairs. It was the same theming used throughout the spa, from the reception to the bedrooms.
Out of the glass, Rhys could see where they’d got the inspiration from.
A pristine lawn sat beneath the window, but it soon fell away to reveal a picturesque stretch of golden sand.
The ocean was as calm as a mill pond this morning, gently lapping at the shores in quiet contentment.
In the distance, a small sailing yacht passed by, briefly disappearing behind the small island nestled in the bay.
“It is,” he agreed. And she hadn’t seen the pools yet, or the saunas, or the massage rooms. The treatment rooms—such as the one they were in—were the most practical of all the facilities here, given that these were where the medical treatments occurred.
The sound of the door opening behind him heralded Océane’s return, and she soon rounded Rhys’s chair to offer him both a breakfast menu and a treatment menu, before doing the same with Penny.
“How long does the IV treatment take, out of interest?” Penny asked.
“Around six hours,” Océane responded, twisting the infusion pump round so Penny could see the small screen on it. “There is a timer here. But your room is also ready if you would like to stay there.”
Penny quickly shook her head, her gaze losing its focus.
Rhys had a feeling she was still shaken by their early morning visitor, and he didn’t blame her. He cleared his throat. “It’s not on the breakfast menu, but could I have the Bresse chicken? I’ve been looking forward to it for days.”
“Of course.” Océane pulled out a tablet and poked in his order.
“I’ll have the same.” Penny folded the breakfast menu closed, having barely looked at it.
“And she will also have the Welcome to Decompression,” Rhys announced.
“The what?” Penny asked, blankly looking between them as Océane noted it on her tablet.
“It’s on the first page of the treatment menu.” He’d had it done in the past, but right now he felt like Penny would gain the most benefit. “Trust me, you’ll enjoy it.”
Océane departed as Penny flipped open the treatment menu, her eyebrows in danger of colliding with her hairline as she read aloud.
“This sixty-minute treatment will allow you to relax and unwind whilst your therapists use traditional techniques to soothe your muscles, facilitate lymphatic drainage, and open your pores. Your therapists will apply jasmine body oil and shea butter hand and feet massaging techniques to release stress throughout your—” She stopped mid-sentence, frowning at him.
“I’ve never had a massage. Or had anyone touch my feet. ”
“Oh, Pen.” Rhys tried not to pity her, but he did. “You haven’t lived until you’ve had a massage.”
She tapped the treatment menu with a finger. “Not to mention it’s four-hundred quid!”
He decided not to point out that that was the welcome massage; the rest of the treatments were far more expensive. He was sure there was one involving radio frequencies and Japanese bells in there somewhere. “You’re welcome?”
“I’m happy just to sit here whilst you have your treatment. I just…don’t think I’m ready to be alone quite yet.”
“I know,” he murmured softly. “You’re free to cancel it if you decide it’s not for you. Try ten minutes of it. For me?”
She gave him a hard look that merged into a smile. “Fine.”
It wasn’t long before the massage therapists made an entrance, setting up their equipment in a whirl of jasmine-scented efficiency.
They removed Penny’s sausage roll Crocs, fussing over her cuts and scrapes before leaving her feet to soak in a teak foot bath, small white flowers floating on the water’s surface.
The massage therapists sat on either side of Penny, each taking a hand and coating it in oil before beginning their massage.
Penny didn’t make it to ten minutes. She fell asleep after eight.
When Océane came in with their food, she stopped short at the sight of Penny snoozing in her chair.
“Can you keep hers warm for her?” Rhys asked, his stomach churning at the scent of his beloved Bresse chicken.
Perhaps Océane heard it too, because she passed his over surprisingly quickly. “Of course.”
Rhys let out a contented sigh as he ate the first bite, his gaze moving between his sleeping companion and the picturesque view of the beach outside—and in that moment, he realised he was happier than he’d been in a long time.