Free Three Words: A Novella Collection by Lindy Dale Page B

to
be on a plane?”
    Henry looked
nervous. “Well, yes. But I was worried about you. What happened
last night?”
    “ I felt sick after I fainted, so I got Joseph to drive me
home. You said I could go anytime I liked.”
    “ I know. But I left you passed out on the bed. I went to call
the doctor and when I got back, you were gone. I thought maybe
you’d done something crazy, you know, wandered off. I couldn’t
sleep. ”
    Daisy frowned
at Henry, trying to read his face. Did he actually mean that? She
was so confused she had no idea what to believe anymore. One minute
he was being all sweet and lovely and saying he was on a date with
her and the next he was talking about her like she was a plaything
of no consequence. She supposed that the least she owed him was an
explanation.
    “ I’m sorry I left without telling you. I know it was rude but
I felt so sick and I didn’t feel like searching for you with all
those people in the house,” she lied. How could she tell him that
she’d really left because she’d overheard the conversation between
him and Georgia?
    “ But you’re okay now?”
    “ Fine. It’s just this kooky inner ear thing. It makes me lose
me balance and I faint if it’s severe. The hammock set it
off.”
    “ Oh.”
    “ Side show rides are the real killer though,” she smiled,
sensing that maybe she’d been wrong, that she’d misheard what had
gone on outside the door. Henry seemed far too concerned for a man
who’d only wanted a fling. And he had driven all this way to check
on her. He hadn’t needed to do that.
    “ I can imagine,” Henry chuckled, mimicking her words from the
previous evening.
    By this time,
Mrs. Hanson and the old lady had stopped squawking and had joined
forces at the other end of the stall, captivated by the handsome
young man who was attempting to sweep Daisy Darling off her feet.
Watching hypnotised, they sniggered to each other behind their
hands, probably discussing what they thought Daisy should do
next.
    Daisy shook
her head. Trust her luck that the one time in her life she required
a bit of privacy she was on a stall with the biggest gossip in town
and her new best friend.
    “ So was there anything else?” she asked Henry, ignoring the
fact that a crowd was beginning to gather. It seemed that she
wasn’t the only person in town who was a fan of Hawk Moon. Without
the benefit of his navy baseball cap, Henry had been
recognised.
    “ There was one more thing I wanted to clear up before I get on
the plane.”
    “ And what would that be?”
    Seriously,
this was the weirdest weekend of Daisy’s entire life. Henry was
looking at her in a most odd way.
    Henry walked
around the stall and came to a stop in front of her. Taking her
face gently in his large hands, he smiled and leant forward. Then
he kissed her. It was a long knee-trembling kiss that sucked the
energy from Daisy’s body and replaced it with desire. She could
feel the tips of her ears tingling under his fingers.
    Okay, she was
willing to concede defeat. She’d been wrong about what she thought
she heard. She’d concede defeat if only Henry would kiss her like
that again. And again. And again.
    At last, Henry
pulled back. Everyone in the shed had stopped to watch. Some people
had begun to clap. Others were giving sighs and moans of approval.
It was just like when Hugh Grant made the public plea to Julia
Roberts in Notting Hill.
    “ I… I don’t understand,” Daisy stammered, when she was finally
able to speak. “I heard what you said to Georgia.”
    “ What? That I thought I’d met the girl of my dreams and I was
in love after one night?”
    “ Uh, um…. Well, no. I sort of heard her calling me names and
when you didn’t defend me, I ran away. I couldn’t bear to be let
down again, so I made my escape while I thought I could. You’re not
going to let me down are you, Henry?”
    At the other
end of the stall, the elderly lady pulled a lace edged hanky from
her handbag and began to dab a