Silently adjusting her position, she rolled onto her left side and studied his face. His thick dark lashes didn’t flicker; he’d been working crazy hours over at Hillcrest and was obviously exhausted. His streaky blonde hair was starting to dry in the sun. There was the narrow scar on his forehead that she’d loved to trace with her index finger, the familiar angles of his high cheekbones . . . his nose . . . his jawline. And there was the curve of his upper lip, which had always mesmerised her. What was that bit called, the tiny dip between—
Shay’s eyes snapped open and she jerked back, mortified at having been caught out.
‘Hello.’ The faintest of smiles hovered around the mouth she’d been caught inspecting.
‘I thought you were asleep.’
‘Just resting. What else were you thinking while you thought I was asleep?’
‘Sorry, it was driving me mad trying to remember what it’s called.’ Didi touched the dip above her own upper lip. ‘I know it, my mind’s just gone blank. I’m sure it begins with a T.’
‘It’s your philtrum,’ said Shay.
‘That’s it!’
‘Doesn’t begin with a T.’
‘But there’s a T in it. Don’t be so pendantic.’
He grinned. ‘Are you still saying that?’
‘I’ll never stop. I love the look on people’s faces when they try to correct me.’
Shay was shaking his head, his gaze taking in every detail of her own face. His expression might be unreadable, but it was having a considerable effect on her body. She hoped he hadn’t noticed the increased rate of her pulse, hammering away in the base of her throat. Swallowing, she said flippantly, ‘I hope you’re admiring my philtrum.’
‘You mean your philtrum with a T.’
And now she found herself unable to tear her gaze away from his philtrum-with-a-T, wishing she could kiss it. Oh God, this was terrible, she really really shouldn’t be thinking this, let alone wanting to do it. But this wasn’t just any attractive man, it was Shay, and she’d never in her life shared such an intense connection with another person, not even Aaron, although heaven knows Aaron didn’t deserve to be engaged to someone who was capable of feeling this way about another—
Drringgg. Her phone broke the spell, like a pantomime villain popping up with an evil cackle just when he was least welcome.
Didi turned away to reach for it on the other side of her beach towel. If it was Aaron, it would be fate’s way of telling her to sort herself out.
But it was someone calling from the hotel. Answering, she heard Sylvia say, ‘Hi, look, we’re getting no reply from the room and he isn’t answering his phone, but we need to get hold of Shay. Someone drove out to his house and he isn’t there either. I don’t suppose you’ve any idea where he might be?’
‘He’s here.’ For a split second Didi had considered pretending to contact Shay by other means, but the message was clearly urgent and could only mean one thing. ‘He’s right here. I’ll pass you over to him now.’
The phone call was brief. Shay was on his feet before it even ended. As he whisked his shirt out of his Nike bag and pulled it on, he said, ‘Dad was struggling to breathe so Rosa called an ambulance. She’s with him now at the hospital and he’s in a bad way. Shit, he was coughing more than usual this afternoon but nothing worse than that . . . I can’t believe this is happening . . .’
‘What can I do?’ In her haste, Didi almost lost her balance as she shoved one leg into her shorts. ‘You can leave your car here and I’ll drive.’
‘No, I’ll take mine. Fuck.’ He was pale beneath his tan. ‘I left my phone in the car and they’ve been trying to get hold of me for the last hour.’
‘You didn’t know, it’s not your fault.’
But he shook his head, grabbing the Nike bag and making his way up the narrow path to the car park. ‘While we’ve been swimming and lying on the beach, he’s been rushed to hospital, unable to breathe. He probably thought he was going to die. Right, if anyone else calls, tell them I’m on my way there now.’
The Audi shot off up the lane in a cloud of dust. Didi collected up the towels and headed back to her own car, feeling almost as guilty as Shay evidently did.
Please God, don’t let Red die.
Not now, not yet.
Chapter 24
Shay had spent the night in the waiting room outside the ward, dozing for only a few minutes at a time on the hard plastic chair. Now he listened to the muted sounds of the hospital as it came back to life around him, and the rattle of the breakfast trolley making itself heard further down the corridor.
Finally he was allowed back onto the ward. The nurses assured him that his father was doing as well as could be expected, but Red was still looking dreadful. His skin was ash grey, the lines around his mouth pronounced. Much of his face was covered by the oxygen mask. His arms lay at his sides and Shay saw that the rose-gold three-diamond gypsy ring was looser than ever on the third finger of his right hand.
He pulled up a chair and waited, watching his father’s chest rise and fall, hearing the effort it was taking him to breathe. There was a drip in his left arm and an oximeter fastened to his index finger. His skin was waxily pale.
But he was still alive. As a machine beeped in an adjacent room, Red’s eyes opened and he registered Shay’s presence with the faintest of smiles. Lifting the oxygen mask, he said, ‘You still here? You should get some sleep.’
‘I’m OK. Do you need anything?’
‘Wouldn’t say no to a double Scotch.’
Shay knew this was to try and reassure him, but how could he be reassured? He’d left his phone in the car whilst he’d been swimming in Hestacombe Lake with Didi. There’d been increasingly concerned texts and voicemails left on it by Rosa, and he could only imagine how panicked she’d been as his father’s condition had taken a sudden turn for the worse. Whilst she’d been dialling 999 and calling the ambulance out to Frog Cottage, he’d been lying in the sun on the tiny lakeside beach, not even pausing to spare a thought for Red. His mind had been entirely occupied with Didi, with talking to her, longing to kiss her and run his fingers through her dark hair, to trace the curve of her suntanned cheek, to pull her into his arms and—
Red started coughing helplessly and Shay stopped thinking about Didi. Once the coughing episode was over, he replumped the pillows, helped Red to take a few sips of water and made sure he was comfortable once more. He had to stop thinking about her. His father needed to be his number one priority at all times. The situation with Didi was impossible anyway.
‘Go home now.’ Red’s words were muffled by the oxygen mask. ‘I can’t sleep with you sitting there watching me. It’s putting me off.’
‘I’d rather stay here.’
‘I’m the sick one, so I get to decide. And you need to be getting a move on with the house.’ Indicating the ward doors, he creaked, ‘Off you go. I’ll see you later. Tell Rosa I’m sorry I gave her a scare.’
‘OK.’ Shay gave his arm a squeeze. ‘I’ll be back this afternoon. Be good.’
‘By the way, where were you when Rosa couldn’t get hold of you?’