Lost in Paradise by Rachel Lacey

Author:Rachel Lacey
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Rachel Lacey

Pain. So much pain. Everything hurt, from her scalp to her toes, centered in the endless throbbing that radiated from the wound on her leg. Sometime during the night, Fiona slipped out of bed, carefully disentangling herself from the arm Nicole had wrapped around her. She walked to the edge of the pavilion and stood looking down at the beach.

Not that she could see the ocean, but she could hear it. The moon had sunk below the horizon hours ago, leaving them in total darkness. Above, the heavens glowed with endless stars, a fact she would have appreciated a lot more if her eyes would focus properly.

It would be foolish to stumble around in the dark when she was semi-delirious, so instead she sat at the edge of the pavilion, resting her cheek against the cool marble of the nearest column. Her throat was parched, but she couldn’t remember where they’d left their water supply after their relocation and probably shouldn’t drink anything anyway. Not only were they running low on water, but her stomach felt queasy enough that she’d probably throw up if she tried to put anything in it.

She had no idea how long she’d been sitting there before she felt movement behind her. Nicole’s hand landed on her shoulder, and Fiona leaned unconsciously into her touch, helpless to fight the pull of the connection that ran between them.

“You okay?” Nicole asked softly.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Need anything?”

She shook her head against Nicole’s shoulder. “Talking to you is nice, though.”

“Your fever’s worse.”

She didn’t answer, didn’t have to when they both already knew the truth.

“When the sun rises, I’m going to pack the lifeboat. If we’re lucky, the tide will carry us to safety before nightfall.”

“Or it will suck us back out to sea.” But she didn’t have the strength to launch a proper argument against Nicole’s flawed logic. Maybe her own logic was just as flawed. Her brain felt like it had been stuffed with cotton and lit on fire.

“I think we need to take our chances.”

Fiona was quiet. The thought of getting back on that boat—especially when she felt like this—was almost too much. But they hadn’t gotten this far by backing down when things got tough.

“I’m turning forty in a few months,” she said instead.

“What?”

Yeah, Fiona wasn’t sure where that had come from either. Her brain wasn’t quite in line with her mouth tonight. “It’s been on my mind these last few days, that’s all.”

“You’ll be home long before then,” Nicole said, giving her a squeeze.

Will I? Fiona had never considered the possibility that she wouldn’t survive this. But sitting here racked with fever, infection raging, she wondered. “Not a big deal,” she mumbled. “Just a number.”

“Does that mean you don’t want me to get you one of those Forty and Fabulous shirts?” Nicole asked, nudging her gently.

“Don’t you dare,” she whispered, a smile tugging at her lips.

“You’ll be home, Fi,” Nicole said again, stronger this time. “Telling stories about our adventure to all your friends.”

“Pfft.” Fiona dropped her head against Nicole’s shoulder.

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