Millionaire's Woman

‘Aunt Joan would love to hear you say that.’

‘Not through her cooking; your aunt and I aren’t affected. What did you eat for lunch?’

She really didn’t want to do this right now. Forcing herself to reply, Cory murmured, ‘Tagliatelle and it was perfectly all right. I’ve told you, this is a migraine. Now, if you don’t mind, I want to go to bed.’

‘Fine. I’ll help you. Where’s your nightie or whatever you wear?’

Cory opened one eye and then wished she hadn’t as the equivalent of a laser blast hit her brain. ‘I’m quite capable of undressing myself,’ she said irritably, wincing as her voice added to the drums beating in her head. ‘Now, if you’ll just go and leave me alone so I can sleep.’

‘I’ll wait outside until you’re in bed.’

For heaven’s sake! After the door had closed, Cory slipped out of her clothes without opening her eyes and moving the least she could. She didn’t bother trying to find her nightie, which was folded up in the bedside cabinet, sliding under the thin summer duvet with a sigh of relief.

A few minutes later she heard the door open and then a deep voice at the side of her said, ‘There’s a drink of water beside you if you need it.’

‘Thank you.’ Go, just go.

‘Are you warm enough? You were cold earlier.’

In actual fact she was still cold; migraines always seemed to make her feel that way. There was a quick debate in her aching mind as to whether she should admit to it or just send him home. ‘There’s a hot-water bottle in the bottom of the chest of drawers,’ she said, her eyes closed. ‘It’s got a Winnie-the-Pooh cover on it.’

A moment’s pause, and then he said, ‘I’ve got it.’

In no time at all he was back. When she heard the door open Cory slid an arm from under the covers. ‘Thanks.’ She was feeling worse if anything. She’d had special medication prescribed for her at university, but since the migraines had waned and then disappeared altogether once she was working she hadn’t renewed the prescription. She wished now that she had. Her aunt’s aspirin wasn’t even touching the pain.

‘Anything else I can do?’

‘No. No, thanks,’ she added, knowing she’d been too abrupt.

‘I’ll leave you to get some sleep then.’

She was aware of his lips brushing her brow and then the door closed again.

She lay completely still because the slightest movement jarred her head unbearably, and after a few moments she heard the front door close. He had gone. Tense muscles relaxed. If she was sick again at least she could do it without an audience!

Then she berated herself for being so nasty when Nick had tried to be so nice. But she’d lied to him when she’d said the nausea only happened once; often it was two or three times, and throwing her heart up in front of him wasn’t exactly the picture she wanted him to carry home in his mind.

The aspirin must have worked to a small degree because she dozed for a while. She had no idea of how long she’d been in bed when she suddenly knew she had to get to the bathroom again.

Throwing back the duvet, she struggled to her feet but after making the mistake of opening her eyes once she didn’t try it again, feeling her way out of the room. She reached the bathroom without mishap, only to find the waves of nausea receding. She felt behind her gingerly for the bath and sat on the edge of it as she tried to decide if she dared go back to bed.

‘What are you doing?’

The shock of Nick’s voice brought her eyes open and a thousand daggers pierced her brain. She was as naked as the day she was born and here he was spying on her! ‘What am I doing?’ she croaked furiously, grabbing a bath towel and pulling it round her. ‘What are you doing? I heard you go ages ago.’ She glared at him, colour flooding her face.

‘I went to a local pharmacy for something a bit better than aspirin,’ he said with magnificent aplomb. But then he wasn’t the one with no clothes on. ‘I was going to give you a couple of pills when you woke up.’

‘You’ve been here all the time?’ She shut her eyes again, partly because the pain was too intense to keep them open, but mainly because she didn’t dare look at him a moment longer. He had seen her stark naked and not in a nice romantic way either. No—his first sight of her totally in the buff had had to be when she was feeling like death and no doubt looking it too. And he had added insult to injury by switching on the light as he’d walked in the bathroom. Her cellulite would have been positively screaming at him.

‘I’ve been kipping in the chair in the sitting room.’

That would have been fine if he had stayed there.

‘Come on, get back to bed and I’ll fix you a hot drink so you can have a couple of these pills,’ Nick said comfortably, as though he hadn’t just put her through her worst moment ever. It didn’t help that in the brief glare she’d indulged in she’d noticed a dark stubble on his chin which made him look ten times more sexy than usual, if that were possible. That and the open-necked shirt and rumpled hair. ‘It’s three in the morning, so if you have a couple now you might start feeling better towards lunchtime when you wake up. I’m assured these knock you out like a light.’

She wished he’d woken her up when he’d fetched them then. Before she’d decided to lumber blindly about the flat in her birthday suit.

Cory pulled the towel tighter round her and stood shakily to her feet, allowing him to lead her back to the bedroom because it was easier than arguing. Once she was in bed she lay listening to the sounds from the kitchen, but the pain was so bad again her embarrassment had vanished. Nevertheless, she made sure the duvet was wrapped round her like a second skin when she sat up to take the warm milk and pills Nick brought.