Angelica woke up feeling something cold on her face. With heavy lids, she opened her eyes and frowned. With one hand, she touched her right cheek and gasped when she saw a red stain on her fingers. She didn’t have to smell it to confirm what it was.

Lifting her head, she looked down at Henry’s shoulder. “Henry!” She shook him.

“What?” he croaked, turning away from her.

“You’re bleeding!” she cried out and jumped out of bed. Then she remembered she was naked and grabbed a robe and put it on. “Henry, wake up!” she cried at him, grabbing the phone. “Hello, yes, this is Ms. Dalton. Can I have a first aid kit? No, I haven’t checked. In the bathroom? Okay, yes, yes, thanks.” Before running toward the bathroom door, she gave Henry one last shake. “Wake up! If you don’t rise this instant, I’m going out and catch myself a salmon and I won’t be back.”

“What?” he asked, his voice incredibly husky and definitely tempting. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re bleeding!” she pointed at his shoulder, the gauze and bandage soaked with blood. “Oh, you’re impossible!” she said with frustration and whirled around to find the kit in the bathroom. When she found it and rushed out the door, she saw him still sprawled on the bed. “Henry, this is my last warning,” she nudged him. She turned him around and pressed on his wound.

“Aaw!” he cried out, his eyes now completely open.

“I told you it was my last warning.”

“What? Are you crazy?” he cried. “No, don’t answer that,” he added with a moan.

“Get up and let me dress it,” she ordered and pulled at his hand. “I told you this would happen,” she muttered.

“Like you won’t jump at me if I didn’t make the first move,” he murmured, yawning.

“Stay still,” her forehead creased with concentration.

He bent down and watched her work. “You’re really good at this,” he uttered.

“I know that,” she replied, her lips pursed.

“Poor me, I was planning on driving today,” he sighed with exaggeration.

“And poor me, I have to drive the whole day again.”

“I’m hungry,” he changed the subject.

“We’ll get breakfast and then we’ll leave.”

“Where are we going?”

“I don’t know… somewhere.”

  *****

Henry was starting to like that word. Somewhere.

He was enjoying the trip. He even did not bother turning on his phone, knowing the moment it would ring, he would have that same urge to go back home again.

But somewhere would be a nice place to call home for now and he would be glad to go there with Angelica.

Yesterday, he learned a lot about her he never imagined he would when he met her. And it was getting complicated. The deeper he kept up with this, the deeper his feelings would be involved.

After Angelica helped him dress and dressed herself as well, they went down to eat breakfast and of course, well, there were a lot of Salmon dishes.

“You have to eat a lot. Fish is protein, protein builds up your cells. Eat,” Angelica told him, placing a lot of food on his plate.

“You’re not eating,” he pointed out.

“I don’t really like fish. They stink. And I’m not wounded,” she said, sipping her coffee.

“Then what’s all the crap about protein?”

“It’s true,” she shrugged. “Now, eat.”

Henry sighed and ate.

“Newlyweds, eh?” the owner asked them as they checked out an hour after.

Henry started to shake his head when Angelica nodded and said, “Yes. Thanks for the great accommodation.”

“I don’t even want to talk about that,” Henry murmured as they turned away.

“Good,” she beamed at him and took off toward their car.

  *****

“How do you know this place?” Henry asked with disbelief, bending his head to look through the windshield.

“We’re at Blenheim,” Angelica replied. “I’ve been here before for some medical mission. There’s this amazing waterfall somewhere.”

“You’re not sure where it is,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Of course, I’m not a map,” she then stopped the car and asked a guy walking down the street. “Excuse me, can you tell us where we can find the waterfall?”

“Mine Kill waterfall?”

“Yes, maybe that’s it.”

“It’s at Gilboa. Fifteen minutes or so away from here.”

“Thanks!” she waved and closed the window. “Find Gilboa,” she ordered Henry.

He was already on it and started to give her direction from the map.

  *****

It took them longer than fifteen minutes to find the waterfall because one of them always had to contradict what the other said. But by the time they reached the place, they were captivated by it.

“I wish I can do this all my life,” Angelica sighed, lying on the big boulder they were sitting on.

“Me too,” Henry said with a smile.

That surprised her. He didn’t usually say things like that out loud. Maybe the trip was doing him good, she thought.

For two hours, they watched the local children play in the water, diving fearlessly. She wished she could do that. She wished she could just dive into the dangers she was in right now and disappear into the abyss, going nowhere in particular. Their trip would eventually end and she knew that. The time would come that they would have to go back.

“Let’s go find somewhere to stay for days,” she suggested.

“What? No more road trips?” Henry grinned at her.

“Driving is a serious work, you know,” she said dryly. “Let’s go to Woodstock,” she piped in and straightened. Her skin was got a little color from lying down under the heat of the sun.

“Woodstock?”

“Yes, I’ve been there before when I was a kid and we had the most amazing summer ever,” she said dreamily.

“Okay,” he answered.

Angelica smiled. “You’re okay with us staying in there for days?”

She immediately wanted to slap herself for asking that because it took him awhile to think. “Yeah, I guess so,” he finally said and she beamed.

“Ah, thank you, sweetheart,” she chided, playfully pushing him.

“Angelica,” he warned and she straightened, backing off.

“I was just playing with you,” she explained. “Okay, let’s go to Woodstock!” she cried out, and jumped off the boulder.

  *****

Henry followed her, shaking his head. He’d try to buy time before they would have to go back home to reality. After all, this would be the only chance he would have with Angelica. Anything deeper than this would mean opening a closet full of skeletons.

They arrived in Woodstock without any problem. But if you’d consider Angelica’s outrageous response to the heat and the risky drivers along the street, you could say Henry had a few hours in hell. But then, he was used to her quick mouth and wit, so that was fine.

They took a room at Woodstock Inn. And just so you know, the place was amazing. It was like walking and living with nature. The inn was located along Millstream and guests can relax or have their breakfast or dinner right next to the stream, or the great sunny lawn, and even with the tall pines. You can stroll to the village and do some shopping and more dining. But Angelica wanted to take the bike so Henry obliged and rode his one-handed.

There were some guests like them, but they kept to themselves and so did Angelica and Henry. The serenity offered by the place was enough to entice them for a five-day stay which they spent mostly in their room doing you-know-what, but of course, this time, they made sure Henry was not prone to any more bleeding.

“Someday, I’m going to live in a place like this,” Angelica announced one day, her head rested in the nook of his good shoulder.

“It’s a good place,” Henry agreed.

“The village is quiet, the people are great, the food is just fantastic, and many more,” she continued on dreamily.

That surprised him. He never took her for anyone who would like to live a laidback lifestyle. He looked down at her with a grin, “I don’t think they’ll like your big mouth though,” and he chuckled when she punched his abdomen. “Hey, that hurts,” he said gently, catching her hand with his and linked their fingers.

It was a wonder their fingers fit perfectly. They were exactly the opposite of the other, but now he found himself lying on a hammock under a tree, the stream just a meter away, with Angelica like they were the most compatible couple out there.

Henry’s wonderings were distracted by the sudden ringing of a phone.

His head snapped down at Angelica and she threw him a guilty look.

“You told me to turn off my phone,” he pointed, shaking his head.

“I’m a doctor, lives are at stake,” she muttered.

“I’m an agent, I save lives,” he retorted but did not get an answer. They had been in the inn for four days now and he had been wondering why she had been taking her time in the bathroom. He had also been hearing murmurs every time but he chose to ignore them knowing Angelica was crazy enough to talk to herself, and vain enough to spend too much time in front of the mirror. But now he knew why he felt like she was hiding something from him when it was her who told him never to turn on his phone in the first place, thus, of course, her guilty look right now.

“Yes, Angelica Dalton,” she answered with a smile.

“You only have thirty seconds to put it down,” Henry whispered in her ear and she turned away from him.

“What? I don’t understand. Why?”

“Two…three…four…five…” he started counting and she rolled her eyes at him.

“No, I don’t have any idea. When is this? Next week?”

“…six…seven…ten…”

“You counted wrong!” she hissed at him, slapping him arm.

“What?” he mouthed with raised eyebrows.

“No, no, it’s not you. Go on,” she said to the phone.

“…fifteen…twenty…” he received another slap for that. “…twenty-one…twenty-two…twenty-five...warning time, Angelica,” he said.

“Hey, Chanty, why don’t we talk about this when I get back? No, I can’t tell you where I am. Okay, bye,” she said hurriedly and clicked off. “You’re such a child!” she cried out at Henry, the smile on her face apparent.

“Give it to me,” he said, opening his palm.

“What?”

“You’re phone, Angelica,” he said with warning in his voice.

With a huff, she slapped it on his palm and dropped her head back on his shoulder. The hammock swayed as they changed their position.

“Who was that?”

“Chanty. It’s about Philip and Cass. They’re having another wedding. Do you know about that?”

“How would I? I haven’t talked to Philip in a week,” he said. “Some crazy lady ordered me to turn off my phone and cheated me by hiding hers.”

She chuckled. “Henry, I’m serious. Why do you think they’re getting married once again? Cass told me she didn’t sign the divorce papers.”

“I don’t know,” he lied. Of course he knew. He knew about the contract that led to Philip and Cass’ marriage. But he was surprised nonetheless about another wedding. Their first one was genuine and perfectly legal. Well, with the way Philip’s mind worked, and the way his crazy wife’s mind worked, he wouldn’t know the answer to that. “When’s the wedding?”

“Next week. They’re all flying us to the Philippines. God, I’ve never been there.”

“Me too,” he nodded.

“You’re still the best man by the way,” she said. “Chanty told me to tell you since they can’t contact you. And I’ll be one of the bridesmaids. I haven’t attended their first wedding so I’m not missing this one. Those two have me to thank for this time.”

“You’re not going to shout something like, ‘stop the freaking wedding’, are you?”

“What? Of course not!”

Henry didn’t know, but he was pretty relieved to see that Angelica was not at all affected by Philip getting married once again.

Warning signs alighted inside his mind. This was definitely not a good sign.