Chapter 49
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Frankie awoke six hours later, groggy and muddled.
The light had changed in the room, the sun was beginning to set, it was as though time itself had been turned on its head.
It took her a second or two to realise she was still cuddled up beside Dylan.
She had to force herself to take a breath before she leapt out of the bed in panic.
He was stretched on his back, one arm behind his head on the pillow, dark hair falling across his face, and he must have got too hot at some point as his T-shirt had been abandoned, so his sculpted chest was bare.
Frankie smiled to herself, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, her limbs heavy.
At least she knew he wasn’t dead this time, unlike when she first found him in the cottage.
He was snoring softly, his chest rising and falling.
And this time, she was in the bed beside him.
She blinked and stared out of the window at the shifting light, the trees moving gently in an unseen breeze.
Frankie looked back at Dylan, wondering in a reckless moment what would happen if she took a photo of him in her bed.
What the papers would make of it. Not that she would ever do anything like that, of course.
But the thought of her being the only person on the planet who knew exactly where Dylan Wright was right now made her smile.
It was a privilege, somehow. She bit her lip at the thought.
For now, at least, for this day, he was hers.
‘It drives me crazy when you do that,’ said Dylan suddenly, cracking an eye open and grinning at her.
Her heart began to thump. ‘Do what?’
‘Bite your lip,’ he said, propping himself up on an elbow and rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his free hand.
‘Good to know,’ she said, smiling back at him. There was a second where neither spoke, the tension between them suddenly palpable.
Frankie was trying so hard not to hurl herself into his arms but she knew that she’d regret it if she didn’t at least clean her teeth before things went any further.
If that was even on the cards. With all the drama with her dad, she didn’t know how to feel or where they stood.
He reached for her but she dodged it, and quickly extricated herself from under the covers, giving his chest a light pat.
‘I need a shower,’ she said.
‘Want some company?’ he replied, smooth as you like.
‘Maybe another time,’ she said with what she hoped was a cheeky grin.
As she washed the shampoo from her hair a few minutes later, she wondered not for the first time what it would have been like if he had joined her.
How did that even work, logistically speaking?
Her shower cubicle wasn’t large; it didn’t have much space for one person, let alone two.
But the look he gave her when she came out wrapped in a towel, as he walked past her to take his place under the steamy water, made her regret not giving it a try.
So half an hour later, when they were washed and dressed and Dylan suggested they go out and find some food, Frankie was a little disappointed. He was right, she knew he was right. They hadn’t eaten for hours and had lost all sense of time and space.
Blondie uncurled herself from the sofa and came up to them, her tail thumping against their legs. Sally had left a note on the kitchen table, sending her love and asking them to come down to the hotel whenever they were ready. Dinner would be waiting.
‘How about a quick W-A-L-K on Shell Beach first?’ said Dylan. ‘I’m guessing poor Blondie’s been stuck in all day.’
He needn’t have bothered spelling out the word. Blondie knew what he meant and she instantly went into zoomie mode, running laps around the kitchen and lounge at a rate of knots, her long ears flying behind her.
Frankie giggled as the dog nearly went through her legs. ‘Sure. I need to call my mum, anyhow,’ she said. ‘The signal in the house is so bad.’
‘Go for it.’
So, Dylan walked quietly beside her down to the beach as she waited for the call to connect, Blondie racing backwards and forwards on the path in front of them.
Frankie held her breath until she heard Lily tell her everything was okay, something she hadn’t realised she was so desperate to hear until the tears prickled her eyes.
‘He’s fine, darling. No need to worry. The doctors keep saying it was a miracle or some rubbish. But I say it was a case of not what you know but who you know. How much did that helicopter cost, anyway?’
‘I have no idea, actually, Mum,’ said Frankie, looking over at Dylan.
It had never occurred to her before that Dylan wasn’t just rich.
He was helicopter rich. He was helicopter on contract rich.
That all might change with the band on hold, of course, she had no idea if he had any money squirrelled away for times like these, maybe he’d already spent it all on sweets, but still.
Aside from the odd millionaire staying in the hotel, she’d never even been close to anyone with any money. It was a strange feeling.
‘Anyway, do you want to speak to your father?’ said Lily.
‘Can I?’ said Frankie, glancing at Dylan again, who smiled, took her hand, and gave it a little squeeze.
‘Sure, hold on,’ said Lily. ‘Is Blondie okay? You won’t forget to feed her, will you?’
‘She’s fine,’ said Frankie, but her mother had already gone.
‘Baby girl,’ came her dad’s voice, and the tears spilled from her eyes at the sound.
‘Dad, are you okay? How are you feeling now?’ she said. ‘Sorry… we’ve been asleep.’
Her dad’s voice went raspy. ‘Don’t you dare apologise. I can’t believe you all waited as long as you did. You were amazing.’ He cleared his throat. ‘You saved my life, Franks.’
‘It was Mum, doing the CPR. She was incredible, like a machine. No way in hell was she letting you go.’
Her dad made a little strangled sort of noise.
‘And Dylan, of course,’ Frankie went on, giving his hand another squeeze.
‘Well, I’ll be forever grateful,’ said Brian when he could speak again. ‘I wasn’t ready to check out just yet.’ He gave a weak chuckle.
Frankie laughed unnecessarily loudly at his joke. It felt good to laugh, but even better to hear her father making terrible jokes.
They chatted for a while, until Dylan and Frankie had reached the beach, in fact. And then, ‘I’ll see you soon, darling girl,’ said her dad, as he signed off.
‘Love you, Dad,’ said Frankie, tears still flowing freely.
‘Love you.’
Her mum’s voice was back on the line. ‘See, he’s fine. Now off you go and try not to break that new man of yours while we’re away.’
‘Oh my God, Mum!’ said Frankie.
‘What? I’m just saying. When will you ever get another chance like this?’
‘I don’t know what you’re getting at.’
‘Just. Get. On. With. It.’
‘Bye, Mum,’ said Frankie, still wiping the tears from her now red cheeks.
‘Everything okay?’ said Dylan, as she hung up.
‘Lily being Lily,’ said Frankie, shaking her head. ‘Or should I say, my mum being Mum. But Dad is fine.’
‘It’s cool to hear you calling her Mum.’
‘It’s still a bit weird. It’s been a while.’
‘You’ll get used to it. Shall we walk a bit further?’ he said.
Shell Beach was almost deserted. Blondie raced away across the sand, her happiness infectious.
Dylan and Frankie bent to remove their socks and shoes, Frankie grateful for the chance to hide her face as it calmed down.
And to gather her thoughts. Miracle or not, she said a little silent prayer of thanks that her dad had made it.
The millionth prayer she’d prayed in the last twenty-four hours alone.
She had proof now that at least one of them had been heard, after all.