Page 35 of Not So Very Sensible

He went to his own room but, before he could enter, heard a giggle come from up the hall. He glanced down the dark corridor and saw a blonde woman holding a man by the hand and leading him into a room. And that man looked awfully like the one they’d left a few minutes ago, dressed as he was in the same clothes.

Seriously? He’d heard of men being fast movers, but that seemed incredibly quick.

He was half-tempted to contact Ellie and make sure she still had Katie with her, then remembered that Jason had said he wasn’t staying here, so the room must be the woman’s. And since he’d just left Ellie and Katie on an upper floor, it must mean it was a different woman. Was she the actress from before? If so, poor Katie.

His stomach tensed. How could men treat women like that? He’d never understand.

He plugged in his dead phone, which instantly lit up with a dozen missed messages. All of which were from one source. His heart sank. Well, this was the perfect ending to a bad hour.

He was tempted to delete them, then thought he’d better check, so he glanced at the most recent, sent five minutes ago.

“Are you still alive?”

He exhaled. Okay, he got that Lucinda was needy, but this was crazy. Then compassion for her illness and the fact she’d had to miss out on something she’d really wanted to do made him type back, “Yep. It was good.”

There. Nothing that said she missed out on too much, but nothing so tepid that she’d feel the need to call.

His phone buzzed. He was a fool for thinking he could ignore her. And now that he’d just responded, she’d know he was awake, and if he didn’t respond to her now, then she’d know he was ignoring her. Great. How had he ever allowed himself to get caught up with her?

The phone call ceased, then resumed again. Needy much? Apparently.

For a second, he contrasted this with Ellie’s obvious lack of need for him, and his heart ached a little more. Still, there was nothing for it now but for him to answer.

“Lucinda.”

“What are you still doing up?”

“Answering your call.” He rolled his eyes.

“Hey, is everything okay? You didn’t answer my previous messages, and I was getting worried.”

“It’s all good. Nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?” She coughed. “I’ve felt so bad knowing how hard this must be for you, up there by yourself, having to do stuff you don’t like, like meeting new people.”

He bit his lip. He’d quite enjoyed meeting new people. Even if it turned out that they perhaps didn’t enjoy meeting him to the same degree. “Like I said, it’s been good. I’ve coped,” he said dryly.

“Oh. Okay then.”

She was silent for a long moment, and while this was one of her usual tactics to get him to ask her how she was, he didn’t feel like playing tonight. He had too many other things to think about, and no time for her games.

She coughed again, which reminded him, and yep, there he went again, breaking his principles to respond to her unspoken requests. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I’m so glad you finally asked.” Manipulator. She coughed again. “I’ve been so lonely, especially knowing you were there having fun. I’m here all by myself.”

“It ended up being a fairly late night, so you probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it too much.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t have more fun.”

“Like I said, it was okay.” He closed his eyes, which seemed to be a trigger for his own body’s recognition of the late hour, as he yawned. “Sorry. It’s past midnight. I need some sleep.”

“Of course you do. Well, I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

Hadn’t he told her enough already? “You’d better get some sleep too, if you want to concentrate on getting better,” he reminded her.

“Oh, you’re so sweet to be concerned about me.”

He winced. He hadn’t wanted to come across quite like that. “I’ll be in touch.” More, he didn’t want to promise.