that her skin was shiny and pale green and her stringy hair was all over the place. She was wearing a dark blue jersey nightdress that was slipping off one shoulder and he wasn’t even going to think about the fact that this might be the only item of clothing she had on.
Returning to the bedroom twenty minutes later, he said, ‘How about some fruit juice?’
Ellie shook her head fractionally, ‘Don’t go into the kitchen.’
‘It’s OK, all cleared up.’
‘What?’ She frowned. ‘The olive oil? Oh God, you didn’t.’ It had actually been a nightmare job; every time he’d scrubbed the floor and wiped it dry, stepping on it had revealed that the tiles were still as slippery as an ice rink.
But he was keen to impress, so Zack shrugged and said easily, ‘Not a problem.’
‘I can’t believe you cleaned my kitchen floor.’ She looked mortified.
‘Hey, it’s done. Don’t worry about it.’ He picked up the tissue box on the bedside table. ‘This is almost empty. Do you have any more?’
‘No. It’s OK, there’s loo roll.’
‘You can’t use that. I’ll get you another box. I need to go now but I’ll be back in a couple of hours.’
‘You don’t have to come back.’
‘I’m not leaving you on your own like this. You’re ill. Get some sleep now.’ Zack leaned over the bed and straightened pillows that didn’t need straightening. ‘Do you want to give me the key so I don’t have to ring the bell?’
She nodded. ‘In my handbag in the living room. Could I have a…? No, it doesn’t matter.’
‘Say it. Anything you like.’
A faint smile lifted the corners of her mouth. ‘Great, I’ll have a red Mercedes and a diamond tiara.’
‘Right.’ In that moment Zack knew he loved her, he actually loved her. ‘Well, that might take a couple of days to organize. Anything else in the meantime?’
‘A can of Sprite would be fantastic.’
‘Now you’re just being greedy. But you’re the invalid, so OK.’
Another smile. ‘Thanks.’
Chapter 38
Ellie slept again, waking up two hours later to the sound of Zack letting himself into the flat. God, brave of him to come back. So kind. A grateful tear squeezed out of the corner of her eye; when you felt this ill, it was so lovely not to feel abandoned and alone.
She probably needed a shower but that was impossible; the thought of drops of water pummeling her skin was too agonizing to contemplate. Ellie prayed she didn’t smell.
But when he came into the bedroom with a can of Sprite and a pink bendy straw so she didn’t spill it down her front, Zack didn’t appear to be holding his breath. Maybe she was OK. He did her pillows again, smoothed out the duvet, and re-tucked the corners of the bottom sheet that with all her tossing and turning had come untucked.
‘It’s dark outside.’ The Sprite, ice-cold and delicious, soothed her burning throat.
‘Ten o’clock. Time for more Ibuprofen.’ He popped them out of their foil packet and handed them over before tearing the perforated cardboard oval from the lid of the new box of Kleenex. ‘Can you manage anything to eat?’
Ellie closed her eyes, contemplated food, shook her head. ‘No thanks. Not hungry. This Sprite is perfect.’
‘Good. Now, do you want to lie on the sofa and watch TV for a bit?’
Television. Needing to concentrate. Having to keep her eyes open. ‘I think I’m too tired.’
‘OK, you go back to sleep. I’ve brought my laptop with me. I’m going to do some work for the next couple of hours. If you need anything, just give me a shout.’
‘You don’t need to stay. I’ll be fine.’
‘You might be fine. But what if you’re not? Look, it’s not a problem. It makes no difference to me whether I’m working here or at home. And just so you know, there are plenty more Sprites in the fridge.’
So kind, so thoughtful. And he didn’t need to be doing any of this. Ellie turned onto her side and drifted off again, comforted by the knowledge that there was someone else in the flat, for the time being at least.
It was four thirty when she next came to, nudged into semi consciousness by her bladder. For several seconds she couldn’t work out if it was morning or afternoon. Right, still dark outside, that had to mean morning. Blurrily she felt her way out of bed and across the room to the en-suite. That was better. OK, now she was upright, how about a trip to the kitchen for