“Well, as my mother has often said, any port in a storm. And you, Thea, desperately need a good docking.”
22
THEA
Thea plunged out of the thick wooden door of the hotel into the cool evening air, the muffled strains of YMCA accompanying her steps from the disco inside. She spotted Felix’s car on the forecourt. Its lights were on, the engine was running, and plumes of steam emerged from the exhaust. Her lips curved. He was always so practical. She’d probably still be looking for her keys if she’d driven her own car.
“Shhh,” Felix said as she hopped inside. He cocked his head behind him, and Thea turned to see Ammy, already crashed out in the back, the blue light of the DVD screen glancing off her crimson cheeks.
“Thank you,” she said, closing her eyes and settling into the spongy seat, the leather curling around her skin like a soothing hand.
Felix turned on some ambient music before pulling out of the driveway, and by the time they reached the smooth tarmac of the road, Thea had drifted into a fitful doze. For miles, she teetered between sleep and wakefulness. But a persistent buzzing every few minutes had her shifting in the seat.
Thea peeled her eyes open halfway and, in the darkness, watched as Felix scrolled through messages on his centre console. In the glow of the streetlights, he shook his head, muttering under his breath.
“Someone must really want to get hold of you,” Thea stretched in the seat, settling back into its leather like one of her rescue cats.
“Go back to sleep,” Felix whispered, not meeting her eyes.
“I can’t. It’s like being at a sex toy convention with all that buzzing.”
He turned to her for a second. “You’d know, would you?” His voice was more gravelly than it had been only seconds ago.
Her mouth curved. Dare she divulge her modest collection of vibrators to Felix? No. That would have to wait for another day. She couldn’t discuss dildos without reaching at least third base.
Felix’s phone buzzed again, and after checking the centre console, he tutted. She couldn’t blame him. His phone was like a toothache. Annoying and would only respond to extraction.
“Is that your wife again?” she mumbled, running her hand over the seatbelt at her chest. She wished she didn’t care so much about his reply.
“Ex-wife,” he said, his voice tight. “And yes, mostly.”
“Is Lucas okay?”
“I think so.”
Thea scowled. If Lucas was fine, what on Earth was she texting about? “She’s very persistent.”
Felix’s cheeks filled with air before he let out his breath in a long sigh. “That’s one word for her.”
Thea nibbled at her bottom lip with her teeth. She knew very little about Felix’s ex. The magazine article back at home described her as a model and included a shot of a dark-haired woman with very white teeth. Their brilliance had botheredThea, so she’d coloured three of them in black and given her devil horns and a beard.
“What happened? Why did you split?”
Felix didn’t respond at first, but finally, he spoke. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”
Thea frowned. What kind of answer was that? There was being private, and there was being downright secretive. Did she have to guess a password before they could talk about his former life?
“Not fair. I spilled the beans on my past the other day. It’s your turn in the confessional.”
“Not today,” he ground out, sounding utterly exhausted. He must be running low on energy after the adrenaline rush earlier, but his lack of detail was disconcerting.
“Why? How come you get away with it?”
Ammy stirred in the back seat, murmuring something about goldfish, and they both looked behind before settling into their conversation again.
“Just trust me, please. I don’t want to spoil today.” He paused. “I don’t want to spoilthis.”
Felix reached over and, sliding up the hem of her dress, placed a hand at the top of her thigh, far too near her nether regions for polite conversation. Thea’s stomach lurched at the pressure of his hand. The heat from his skin. And she prayed for no sudden breaking. One quick lurch and she’d impale herself on his fingers. Hang on, though. All things considered, it didn’t seem like too bad a prospect.
