Chapter 16
WHEN THE SUN CAME UP and shone a sliver of light through the kitchen window, Nate blinked in surprise. He’d barely slept. Jess’s fever had dropped, but not to a level where he felt comfortable leaving her, especially since anything he gave her to drink came right back up.
He started calculating how long he should wait before taking her to the hospital for IV fluids. With effort, he lifted himself off the couch where he’d been napping on and off for the last couple of hours and went to check on her again.
He placed a hand on her shoulder; her breathing slow and steady now, her skin cool.
Finally asleep. Hopefully, the worst of whatever it was had passed.
He returned to the kitchen and boiled the jug for a cup of tea.
After a sleepless night, there was no way he could focus on filming or remember his lines.
Waiting for the jug to boil, he found his phone and called Laney.
“Hey, I’m at the cottage with Jess and she’s pretty sick,” he explained. “I don’t think she should be left alone. Do you need me today?”
“Oh no! Poor Jess,” Laney gushed down the phone. “Is it a bug?”
“Jess thinks it might be food poisoning. Did anyone else eat the shrimp and get sick?”
“I don’t think so? But you stay right there. You only have one scene today and we can shuffle. All good.”
All good. Nate wasn’t sure about that. Being around Jess didn’t leave him feeling good at all. Confused. Frustrated. Sad. But he also wouldn’t leave her to fend for herself when she was still so unwell.
“Okay. Thanks, Laney. I’ll keep you updated.”
“Tell her ‘get better’ and give her hugs for me, yeah?”
“Yes, of course,” Nate said, knowing for sure hugs with Jess would not be in his near future.
JESS ROLLED OVER AND TOOK IN HER SURROUNDINGS, orientating herself.
She was in the cottage bedroom, the painting of pink roses on the wall, her clothes spilling out of her suitcase in the corner.
How long had she been in this bed? Memories of the past 24 hours rolled, dreamlike, through her mind.
Arriving home in a taxi after her night out at the Five Stags, heading to bed with an upset stomach and waking the next morning sicker than she’d ever felt.
A day alone, hugging the toilet and finally managing to make it to the bedroom.
Then Nate. Sitting by her side and encouraging her to drink. Placing cold cloths on her forehead and arms, gently cooling her feverish skin. Stroking her hair.
She sat up and heard the jug boil in the kitchen. He was still here then.
Lifting back the bedcovers, she placed her feet on the floor and, still feeling shaky, carefully made her way to the lounge, not bothering to get dressed out of her pyjamas or fix her hair, which she assumed by now was a tangled mess.
She figured Nate had already seen her at her worst. No need to fuss over appearances.
Nate glanced up from the newspaper he was reading as she walked in.
“You’re up,” he said, brightly, clearly relieved.
“I am. Not feeling great, but it seems like the worst is over. I thought I’d risk a coffee and see if it stays down.”
“You still look a bit shaky. Let me.” He stood, offering her a seat at the table, and found a mug in the kitchen cupboard.
Jess sat, grateful and a little embarrassed.
When was the last time someone had looked after her like this?
Her grandfather came to mind. When she was small, he was always the one who came and cared for her when she was sick.
Her mother wasn’t the nurturing type. Too busy chasing after whatever useless man was in her life to look after Jess.
Her grandfather had been the one doing what Nate had done overnight.
Checking in on her. Rubbing her back when she was sick. Offering quiet, solid support and care.
He handed her a mug of sweet, milky coffee. “Two sugars, right?”
“Today, definitely,” Jess said, touched that he remembered how she liked it. She breathed in the rich sugary smell and had a sudden craving for a large chocolate croissant to go with it. Although, her stomach probably wasn’t ready for solid food, let alone something rich and chocolatey.
“See if you can keep down fluids, and then you could try a piece of toast,” Nate said, as if reading her mind.
“Yes, a dry piece of toast was exactly what I was dreaming about just now.”
“Toast first and if you keep that down, maybe toast with jam.”
“Thanks, Doctor Mitchell.” Jess smiled over her coffee at him.
“For the coffee and for looking after me.” She didn’t want to like this guy, but he was undeniably impressive.
She remembered how their last encounter before she got sick ended, with her running away, and lowered her mug. “And about the other night. I—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Nate said, cutting her off with a cold tone in his voice. “I know about…Dave. And I’ll head off shortly, seeing as you’re feeling better.”
Jess tipped her head in confusion. What did Dave have to do with anything? “I don’t know what you mean?”
Nate’s expression darkened as he lowered his eyes to the table.
“I read your texts. I thought it was my phone. You left it on the couch, but it was your boyfriend messaging.”
“Dave is not my boyfriend.”
“Partner, husband. It’s not my business. I don’t know what your plan was, but—”
Jess sat up straight. Her plan? “Wait a second. You think I’m cheating on Dave with you?”
“Aren’t you?” The polite veneer dropped and Jess could see Nate’s eyes fill with a mix of hurt and confusion.
Jess shook her head. Nate thought she was leading him on and cheating and he still took care of her? Why? She certainly wouldn’t have done the same.
“Listen to me, Nate. Dave is not anything. Not my boyfriend or husband or anything. He’s a guy from work. We had a couple of nights out together, very casually, and he insists it’s more than that. It’s not. I’ve made it very clear and if anything, he’s become a bit of a stalker.”
“Oh.” His eyes widened, the hurt in them suddenly gone. “That’s…tricky.”
“I’ve been trying to shake him by not responding, but so far, no luck.”
“So good thing I didn’t get him to come look after you last night, then?”
Jess laughed. “Imagine that disaster. He’d think it was all on.”
“I was worried he was going to come out here and punch me.”
“He still might!”
Nate pulled a face and she laughed again. Taking sips of her coffee, she allowed its warmth and their shared laughter to steady her shaky limbs.
For a moment, they sat quietly together, and Jess watched him, curious about the way she felt when she was around this man.
Happy. Calm. Safe. Unusually shy, as if he stripped back her bold armour and saw the real her.
The girl hiding underneath who wanted security.
A quiet life with someone who genuinely loved her.
“I think you might be one of the good guys,” she said softly.
“I don’t know,” Nate said, examining his cup of tea. “Not sure any of us are as good as we think we are.”
“I get the sense you might be,” she insisted, meaning it.
From what she’d seen so far, he wasn’t at all the fake charmer and player she’d first thought.
He was kind and gentle. He cared about people.
Regardless of whether she wanted to date him or not, Nate Mitchell was clearly one of the good guys.
“Look, I’m really sorry I ran the other night.
I’ve been around a lot of…not so good guys. ”
“Like Dave?”
“Dave is nothing compared to my ex. My mum was always falling for terrible men and I apparently inherited that gene. I seem to attract guys who love-bomb and then, just when you think you’ve found the one, they shove the knife in and twist.”
Nate pulled another face, making Jess laugh again. “Not literally, thank goodness. But emotionally, you know?”
“I know all too well,” Nate said, his voice softening to almost a whisper.
“Your ex?”
“My ex-fiancée. I thought I had it all perfectly worked out. Our wedding date is next Saturday, except I found out she prefers my best man. Which is why I’m here in New Zealand and not in London, preparing for a wedding.”
“Oh wow. I’m so sorry. When you said you’d had a break up, I didn’t imagine—” Jess reached out and lay her hand over his. “That’s awful.”
“I don’t think I’ve quite processed it all yet. And clearly I have some trust issues to work through.” He waved at Jess’s phone, apologetically. “Sorry for assuming…”
“That’s okay. Makes it hard to believe in love, doesn’t it?
” Jess said, thinking about the only man she’d ever been in love with.
Her first serious boyfriend in her early twenties had left her heart shattered, love-bombing her and promising a happily-ever-after life.
They’d moved in together, even travelled around the world where he’d cheated on her with at least four other women—one from each continent, like he was going for a record.
Love and commitment for her generation seemed to be reserved for romcoms and fairytales, and she’d never been a fan of either.
Nate shook his head. “No. I definitely believe in love. My parents have been together for over forty years and they’re still very much in love.”
“Forty years? That’s nice. My grandparents are the only people I’ve ever really seen in love. I don’t think I can imagine people our age being like that.”
“Hmm, I thought I could imagine it with my ex.”
Jess could hear an undertone of anger in his voice. No wonder he’d been so standoffish and cold when they’d first met. He’d just gone through a messy break-up. She squeezed his fingers, and he held her gaze for a long moment.
Releasing Nate’s hand, she lifted her mug. “Cheers to love, whether it’s possible for us or not, and to ditching jerky partners.”
Nate raised his own cup of half-drunk tea and clinked the mugs with a smile. “Cheers to love.”
They both emptied their drinks, Jess relieved to feel it settle into her stomach without a twinge of the awful spasms she’d had last night. “I might give some dry toast a try,” she said, moving to stand.
Nate intercepted her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he stood. “No, let me get it. You rest. Let that drink sit. We don’t want to risk it coming back up. Too much clean up involved,” he said, a half serious, half teasing tone to his voice.
“I might get used to having a man wait on me,” she teased back, leaning back in her chair.
“Don’t get too used to it.” He busied himself in the kitchen, finding a loaf of bread Jess didn’t know they had, toasting and buttering it lightly.
She pictured him doing this for his wife.
Being there for her in hard times. Doting on his family.
Trying to make life go smoothly. What had his ex been thinking, messing it up with this guy?
Jess still wasn’t convinced love was in her future, but if it was, Nate would be the kind of man who could convince her it was possible.
Kissing him had been a mistake, but she didn’t want him to leave. She wanted to spend the day next to him, holding onto the sense of calm and safety she felt when he was around.
“Nate,” she said to his turned back.
“Yes?” He faced her expectantly.
“Do you want to stay and watch a movie with me?”