The Best Medicine

by Charlotte Fallowfield

  ‘So cry. Just because I don’t doesn’t mean I can’t handle you getting emotional.’

  ‘I love you, Quinn,’ I mumbled, wrapping my arms tightly around her.

  ‘Wow, two hours after being rejected and you’ve given up on the male species already?’ she teased.

  ‘Shut up,’ I muttered. ‘You know what I mean. I didn’t tell him how important he was to me and I might have lost him. I don’t want to lose you too, so it’s important I tell you how much you mean to me.’

  ‘You’re not losing me,’ she said as I straightened up and wiped the tears off my lower lashes. ‘Friends to the end. I never thought I’d be happy leaving New York behind me, but this little place kind of sneaks its way into your heart.’

  ‘You told me once that you didn’t have a heart,’ I reminded her, sniffing back the tears I wanted to shed as I flicked my head towards the kitchen and she followed me in.

  ‘Only when it comes to men. They’re bloody idiots,’ she stated. It still made me giggle to hear her using such a British swear word. She really was settling in to our way of life. ‘Anyway, you haven’t lost him, Charlie. He’s been in love with you for too long to walk away for good.’

  ‘Why did I think it was a good idea to tell him today, of all days?’

  ‘You thought it would make him feel better on one of the worst days of his life, plus Daphne told you to. I’d have done the same in your shoes, she’s usually spot on with her advice. She’s as wise as she’s old. I’m sure he’ll come around when he’s had time to digest it.’

  ‘You think?’

  ‘I know he will. He’s had a rough week. He lost his mum and you rejected him. Throw in a funeral and a damn coffin opening, which you so need to tell me about as that sounds morbidly hilarious, and it’s no wonder he was messed up in the head and needed some space.’

  ‘You really think that–’ I was cut off by an ungodly howl from the patio, which made us both whip our heads around, only to burst out laughing. Tibbs was streaking around and banging into the patio furniture with my cardboard tub of ice cream stuck firmly over her head. ‘That will teach you to steal my food,’ I called, making her mewl again as she heard my voice.

  ‘Looks like I need to go to the shop after all,’ Quinn laughed as I headed over to rescue my terrified moggie.

  ‘Hey, hey, it’s me, calm down,’ I said gently as I grabbed her shaking body. I was risking my life by picking her up when she was scared. A happy Tibbs had claws Wolverine would back away from, let alone an agitated Tibbs. I sat on the lounger and held her against my chest with one hand as I gently prised off the tub, which released with a loud pop and a pitiful meow. ‘Oh, Mrs. Tibbles,’ I giggled. Her head was coated in sticky melted ice cream, which had flattened her fur and made her look like a cream-coloured hairless Egyptian cat. She thrust out a tongue to lick around her mouth and I shook my head.

  ‘Is she ok?’ Quinn asked.

  ‘She’s going to have a very upset tummy in a few hours after scoffing a load of lactose,’ I nodded, standing up. ‘Come on, you’re going to have to wear the gloves and hold her while I give her a bath in the utility sink.’

  ‘Why me?’ she uttered, backing away with her hands in the air. ‘That cat could star in her own slasher flick, and I kinda like my hands attached to my body.’

  ‘Well, I’m not putting her on her leash and terrifying her by blasting her with a hosepipe. She’s a grumpy young sod, but I still love her.’

  ‘You so owe me for this,’ she scowled as we headed inside.

  For the next half an hour, I forgot my woes as we laughed and tried to evade the angry swipes of her paws as we gave my miserable girl a good bath and then a gentle blow-dry, until there was no sticky residue in sight.

  I lifted my head and looked towards the door as I heard a car.

  ‘Oh God, it’s him,’ I whispered, setting a pristine and fluffy-looking Tibbs down on the floor.

  ‘How can you tell that from the sound of an engine?’

  ‘I just can. I spent nearly every Friday night listening for him, I know the sound of his car by heart.’ I shot her a scared look, wondering if he’d come to cut all ties and tell me he was moving back to Newcastle.

  ‘I’m going to go then. I’ll sneak around the side of the house. Just let me know what happens either way. I’m sure you won’t need me, but if you do, I’ll be back within sixty seconds, ok?’

  ‘Ok,’ I nodded, swallowing down a burning lump of anxiety. We hugged each other quickly, and she gave me a reassuring smile before heading out onto the patio and disappearing around the corner. I quickly reached up to rake my fingers through my hair before I heard a knock on the door, and my heart started racing. It was definitely him, that was his knock. One loud rap, a pause, followed by two in quick succession, then another pause before a final knock. ‘Please don’t break my heart, Pizzaman,’ I whispered as I made my way to the door.

  I hesitated, gripping the handle, knowing that the second I opened the door, everything was about to change. I just had no idea whether it was for better or worse.

  ‘Seriously? The one day I need you to open the damn door in record time and you don’t?’ his voice muttered on the other side.

  ‘Because today you don’t have pizza, or soup, or get-well flowers. Because today I don’t need you to take care of me. Because today I’m not sure why you’re standing on my doorstep, Kitt. I’m terrified that if I open it, you’re going to tell me that you’re leaving Shrewsbury, and it might be the last time I ever see my best friend,’ I said, dropping my head with a heavy thud onto the oak door. ‘Owww,’ I moaned.

  ‘Open the damn door, Charlie,’ he demanded, a similar-sounding thud vibrating the door between us. I felt sick. I felt more nervous than I had the first time I’d pressed publish and waited for feedback on my debut novel, and I’d bitten my nails down to the quick that night. I took a deep breath and slowly turned the handle, cracking the door open a fraction to peer out. His head was down, his hands braced on either side of the door as he stood there breathing hard and fast, still dressed in his black three-piece suit from earlier, but without his tie. He lifted his head and his green eyes locked with mine, an unreadable expression in them as I scanned his face for a clue as to why he was really here. I jumped back with a gasp as he slammed a palm on the door and forced it open.

  ‘I thought you needed to be alone,’ I said.

  ‘I realised I need you more,’ he growled, pushing his way inside as I walked backwards, hardly daring to believe that he’d come to claim me. I was scared of finally feeling his lips touching mine, in case that searing need I wrote about so often, that explosion of fireworks, didn’t happen.

  I gasped as I bumped into the wall behind me and he continued to advance, like a predator stalking his prey. Except I wasn’t exactly putting up much resistance or trying to escape. Gone was my sweet and caring Kitt. This was Kitt as I’d never seen him before. A simmering, sexual male in his prime.

  I let out a soft cry as he yanked me against his hard body, one hand cradling the nape of my neck, the other firmly in the small of my back. Then he bowed his head and his lips crashed onto mine as the comforting scent of the ocean surrounded me. I felt myself sag against him as my eyes closed against the dazzling eruptions of the most stunning firework display I’d ever witnessed, and I drowned in the sense of his need for me, and mine for him. This was it. This was everything I’d written about and never experienced, but so much better than I’d imagined. I felt tears of happiness rolling down my face as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him even closer, so close not even a page of descriptives of the most perfect kiss I’d ever been a recipient of could come between us.

  ‘Kitt,’ I gasped as he broke away, both of us panting for air. We were clinging to each other like shipwreck survivors being rocked by the power of a wild and stormy sea.

  ‘Tell me, tell me again,’ he demanded, his eyes searching mine, fretful and enquiring. I tipped my head to the side and rea
ched up to wipe my damp cheeks before gently framing his face with my hands.

  ‘I, Charlie Faulkner, the most stupid woman in the world for not seeing what was right in front of her from the moment she met you, Pizzaman, am madly, deeply, and life-alteringly crazy in love with you, Kitt Fraser.’

  ‘I thought you were supposed to have a degree in English,’ he replied, a slow smile creeping across his face, causing that set of dimples I so adored to appear.

  ‘That’s what you take from my statement?’ I laughed, holding his gaze.

  ‘Tell me again,’ he whispered with hope in his cadence. ‘I’m not sure if I’m dreaming.’

  ‘I love you, Kitt. I think I might even love you more than pizza.’

  ‘Pepperoni?’ he asked as his smile broadened into an ecstatic grin, one I’d missed so much.

  ‘Pepperoni,’ I nodded, smiling back.

  ‘Well, now I believe you,’ he said, pulling me back for an urgent and hungry kiss before burying his face in my neck with a sigh. ‘Is it wrong that one of the worst days of my life has just turned into one of the happiest too?’

  ‘Of course it’s not,’ I said, softly kissing his neck. ‘We take our happiness where we can get it, especially when we’re at our lowest. Feel how you want to feel, Kitt. I won’t judge you. You did everything you could for her and more. I’m sure she’d be happy to see that you aren’t alone now that she’s gone.’

  ‘She’d have loved you, Charlie. Although not quite as much as I do.’

  ‘Tell me, tell me again,’ I whispered, my heart thudding an erratic beat against my chest as I waited to hear those words he’d said when my ears were closed to accepting them. He took a deep breath and lifted his head, holding my gaze as his softened, and I felt like kicking myself. That look had been in his eyes for almost as long as I’d known him, and I’d been so blinded by what I’d thought I wanted that I hadn’t even noticed that my best friend was in love with me, or realised what my feelings for him were. But I’d never been so clear on anything in my life now that the light bulb had been turned on.

  ‘I love you, Charlie. You’re not just my best friend, you’re everything,’ he murmured, dropping his forehead to mine, and my heart exploded, fragmented, and fluttered to earth like thousands of miniature heart-shaped pieces of confetti.

  ‘Ditto,’ I whispered, luxuriating in the warmth spreading through my body at his declaration. ‘I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I took so long. I’m sorry for hurting you on Saturday. I’m sorry about your mum. I’m just sorry about everything except how I feel about you. Tell me what you need. I want to help make things easier for you after today.’

  ‘Just be here with me. Just be you. That’s part of what I love about you, about us. We’ve never pretended to be anything but what we are, never hidden any side of ourselves.’

  ‘I beg to differ. I had no idea you were in love with me, or me with you, and I definitely had no idea that my sweet and thoughtful Kitt could kiss like that.’

  ‘That was nothing, I haven’t even opened the throttle up yet,’ he chuckled.

  ‘Lucky me,’ I breathed, weaving my fingers into his hair.

  ‘I think it’s me that’s the lucky one. I said goodbye to one amazing woman today, but somehow I found another,’ he said, his warm hands clutching my face as our eyes melded.

  ‘That means a lot, I know how much you respected her. Please tell me you’re not moving back to Newcastle? I don’t want a long-distance relationship.’

  ‘I’ve kind of fallen in love with Shropshire, in addition to you. Now tell me I can forget the platonic side of our relationship and drag you upstairs so I can show you exactly how I feel about you,’ he said as he quickly kissed me.

  ‘Are you sure this isn’t you acting out of grief?’ I asked, the concern I felt evident on my face.

  ‘I’m ok now,’ he said with a gentle nod. ‘Really. My head said goodbye to her a long time ago. I just needed some time alone this afternoon to let my heart do it and to process what you told me. I want you, Charlie. I want you because I need you, not because I’m using you to forget. Tell me that’s ok.’

  ‘Then I’m not going to tell you that. If you really mean it, I’m going to demand it,’ I replied, then let out a peel of laughter as he hoisted me up his body and threw me over his shoulder.

  ‘Next time, I’ll wear those firefighter’s trousers and braces you were fantasising about,’ he growled.

  ‘Next time? That’s a bit presumptuous, isn’t it? We might find we’re incompatible and instead of setting the sheets on fire, we could go off like a damp squib.’

  ‘Christ, I hope not,’ he grunted as he took the stairs two at a time.

  ‘Me too,’ I sighed, curling my hands around his tight butt cheeks. ‘Me too.’

  An hour later, we lay panting, tangled up in the sheets and each other, both hot messes. My legs felt like jelly.

  ‘Jesus,’ he rasped.

  ‘Hmmm,’ I agreed, struggling out of his arms to sit up. ‘Sorry, but I’ve got to go. Right this minute.’

  ‘Go? Go where?’ he shot back, quickly propping himself up on his elbows, his brown hair adorably ruffled.

  ‘I’ve got a tonne of work to do,’ I said, trying to keep a straight face.

  ‘Are you serious right now?’ he gasped, his eyes widening in horror. ‘I can’t feel my legs, my brain is scrambled, and you’re feeling ok enough to get up and go to your office and work?’

  ‘Mmmm-hmmm,’ I nodded. ‘I’ve got to re-write every damn sex scene I’ve ever published while my memory stays intact, as hell, I had no idea it was that good.’

  ‘Charlie Faulkner,’ he laughed, grabbing me and tackling me back down onto the bed. He rolled over me, pinning my hands to the pillow on either side of my head. ‘You nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought you were trying to tell me it wasn’t good for you.’

  ‘Hello! That wasn’t good. That was … my God, I don’t have words. You nearly gave me a heart attack. I had no idea Pizzaman had so much stamina, or so many moves.’

  ‘Baby, I have so much more to show you,’ he grinned, planting a hard kiss on my eager lips. ‘And even when I finally hit sixth gear and burn through the fuel tank, I still have a reserve, just for you.’

  I screamed with laughter as he let go of my hands and tickled my ribs as he nipped along my jaw, but my screams were quickly dwarfed by a bellow. Kitt leapt off me, his face contorted in pain and his eyes wide with surprise. I sat up, astonished, and stared as he spun around, only to see him swatting at his naked backside, where a furious-looking Mrs. Tibbles was clinging on for dear life as she hissed and growled and tried to bite him.

  ‘She’s bloody crazy,’ he shouted as I howled with laughter. ‘I thought she liked me?’

  ‘Oh Tibbs, of all the times to come and protect me when you hear me scream.’ I got out of bed, feeling slightly unsteady on my feet as I went and prised her off him. I gave her a quick cuddle and a kiss as I took her out to the landing and gently pushed her towards the stairs, quickly shutting the bedroom door so she couldn’t come back in. ‘Owww, that looks sore,’ I said, pulling a face as Kitt wiped off the numerous streaks of blood from his pert, and incredibly sexy, backside.

  ‘Thank God I wasn’t on my back at the time, with her taking out her anger on my junk,’ he said with a grimace.

  ‘Hmmm, thank God indeed. Now do I need to take you to the hospital for treatment? I happen to know a doctor who specialises in being an arse, so he could probably patch up yours very easily.’

  ‘No, thanks,’ he huffed, narrowing his eyes at me. ‘So I take it I don’t have to grit my teeth and tolerate any more damn McFitty references.’

  ‘Jealousy is such a lovely colour on you,’ I smiled as I padded over to him and slid my hands up his broad, toned chest. ‘No more McNotSoFitty, but I think I just found the purrfect McKitty,’ I winked.

  ‘Anything’s better than Pizzaman,’ he grinned, grabbing my backside and lifting me up onto his hips.


  ‘Sorry, Kitt, but you’ll always be Pizzaman to me,’ I whispered, right before we exchanged a tender kiss and I melted into his strong arms.

  ‘And when were you going to tell me about that sexy tattoo with my name on your hip?’ he murmured as he lowered me back onto my bed.

  ‘Oh God,’ I groaned, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden as he kneeled over me and traced it with his finger. ‘I got it done the night before my accident when we were on holiday. Apparently drunk me knew I was in love with you before sober me.’

  ‘I always thought you were a bit slow,’ he teased, dipping his head to kiss it.

  ‘Don’t,’ I grimaced, trying to pull him back up towards me. ‘I have horrible scars down there.’

  ‘You have scars everywhere, Charlie, and I don’t care. They make you who you are, and I told you before, I love all of you, especially your flaws, as they make you unique.’ He moved his lips across my stomach to kiss the gnarly pink patch on my left hip as my eyes filled with happy tears. He got me. He loved me for me, the whole package, not just what he saw on the outside.

  ‘The card and flowers were from you? Why didn’t you say anything that night? Quinn asked and I gave you a number of chances to say something.’

  ‘I heard your conversation, insisting so firmly that we were just friends,’ he shrugged. ‘I didn’t want to ruin things between us by confessing they were from me. Are we going to go over old ground for the rest of the night, or can we spend it exploring the new?’ he asked as he lifted his head and his soft, adoring eyes met mine.

  ‘New, I vote new,’ I nodded as I tugged him back up to my lips.

  Chapter Seventeen

  New York, New York

  Seven Months Later – Valentine’s Day

  ‘I CAN’T BELIEVE WE’RE in New York without Quinn.’ I was getting a crick in my neck from gaping up in awe at the skyscrapers that towered like gigantic sentinels above the scurrying crowds below. We’d only arrived yesterday and I’d been walking around with my jaw scraping the snow-covered sidewalks the whole time. I just loved it here.