Anticipation by Sarah Mayberry Page A

hear the music in here, but no voices or laughter. Maybe they’d already gone to Eddie’s bedroom. Or perhaps they were too busy going for it on the couch.
    Anything was possible.
    Not two hours ago, she’d cried tears of relief that things were back to normal with Eddie, and now here she was, literally sick with jealousy over what he may or may not be doing with his blonde de jour.
    This wasn’t going to work. They weren’t okay. At least, she wasn’t. Something had shifted inside her, and she needed to work out what it was and how to fix it.
    If she could.
    In the meantime, she needed to not be around Eddie for as long as it took for her to get her head straight.
    Body still trembling with residual reaction, she struggled back into the bedroom and reached for her phone.

Chapter Five
    The next morning Eddie woke to the sound of the front gate opening. He’d been meaning to oil the hinges for weeks now, and his punishment for being a lazy bastard was being woken at the crack of dawn by an unwelcome visitor.
    Another one. Apparently he was collecting them these days. Leanne last night, and now whoever was about to ring his doorbell.
    Right on cue, electronic chimes echoed.
    Sighing heavily, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and reached for the pair of jeans he’d worn yesterday. He needed to get to the door before the inconsiderate idiot riding the bell woke Blue up.
    He had his hand on the doorknob to his room when he heard the distinct thud of Blue’s crutches pass by outside.
    She was up already? And moving around?
    He exited his bedroom in time to see her open the front door, revealing a taxi driver in the neat, pale blue uniform shirt mandated by Victorian law.
    “I’ll need help with my bags,” she said quietly.
    So as not to wake him, Eddie imagined.
    “What’s going on?”
    She swiveled on one crutch, her face pale beneath the deep blue of her hair. “You’re up.”
    “What’s going on, Blue?”
    “I won’t be a moment,” she told the driver. “Start the meter if you have to.”
    There was a familiar defiant tilt to her chin as she turned to face him and he knew before she opened her mouth what she was going to say.
    “You’re not going to your place,” he said. “Don’t even think about it. You’re not up to being on your own yet.”
    He was prepared to take her crutches away and confiscate her luggage if he had to. Whatever it took to protect her from her own idiocy.
    “Lena called last night. She flew in two days ago, and she’s heading down to her folks’ place at the beach. She’s offered to look after me.”
    He stared at her, trying to work out if she was snowing him or not. Lena was Rafel’s ex, and she and Blue had remained in contact despite the fact that it had been nearly two years since Rafel and Lena had parted ways. The last time Eddie had exchanged emails with her, Lena was firmly ensconced in New York, having retreated there after failing to win Raf back eighteen months ago.
    “Call her if you don’t believe me,” Blue said, pulling her phone from her back pocket and offering it to him.
    The driver was hovering in the doorway, having taken it upon himself to play witness to their altercation.
    “What’s wrong? You don’t like the view from your room?” he asked before he could stop himself. Even he could hear the hurt in his voice.
    Screw it, he was hurt. He wanted to look after her.
    “We’ll drive each other nuts,” Blue said. “I’m saving us from the fight of the century. You should be thanking me.”
    He shook his head, really perplexed now. They’d had a great time yesterday and last night. Right up until Leanne’s arrival.
    “Is this because of Leanne?” he asked.
    Blue shrugged. “In a way. You’ve got your life, I’ve got mine. I don’t want to get in the way of anything.”
    “You’re the one who bailed last night. I would have been more than happy for you to hang around.”
    Blue turned to the driver. “My bags are just through