Her heart was thumping as it rang.
Ring ring.
Pick up, pick up.
Ring ring.
No, don’t pick up.
Ring ring.
Where are you?
Ring ring.
Are you out with another girl?
Ring ring.
What the hell am I doing?
Ring – click.
There was a moment of relief as Daniel’s phone finally went to voice message. She snapped her own phone shut and closed her eyes tightly.
Idiot.
‘Who you been calling?’
She looked up. Billy was standing there, a bottle of beer aloft.
‘Just a friend.’
‘A friend in England by any chance?’ He winked. ‘Someone who doesn’t mind getting woken up at five in the morning by his girl, huh?’
Amy gasped in horror. Her brother was right. It was the middle of the night in England. He would be at his parents’ house and the call might have woken people up. Another goof . . .
‘Come on. Suze’s fella has just got a round of tequila shots in.’
‘Sure. That sounds like exactly what I need right now.’
And she walked back inside. Back to the life she had left behind.
Amy wanted to lay her head on the plate and go to sleep. The scrambled eggs looked so fluffy and soft, she could just shut her eyes and then maybe when she woke up this horrific headache would have gone and . . .
‘Amy?’
She sat up straight, the sudden movement sending a shower of sparks across her vision.
‘Yes, yes, I’m fine.’
‘I didn’t ask if you were fine, I asked if you’d heard what I was saying.’
Amy squinted. Georgia’s voice had adopted the distinctive tone of a sergeant major.
‘Of course. Totally. You asked if I was packed.’
Georgia raised a quizzical eyebrow, and Amy realised she was supposed to answer.