My Lost Hero (Angels of War Series #1) REWRITING 2024

Chapter Seventeen

The fullness of my stomach was so painful. It turned out that Trisha roasted the lamb to perfection, and so much so that the first portion didn't satisfy me enough, so I had to go back for another two. And now I was massively regretting it.

Joshua kindly rubbed little circles on my belly as we watched some game show on the television. "There's pudding to come yet," he whispered into my ear.

I groaned out loud. "Oh, gosh, don't even."

His chuckle was as soft as his whisper, but he didn't comment back to me, simply rubbing those circles was enough.

Megan made a similar groan to me as she forced Damon's hand on her midriff. "Can you rub my belly too?"

I laughed. "We just couldn't control ourselves, could we?"

She closed her eyes. "No, but it was worth every bite. God, those roast potatoes were the best thing I ever put in my mouth."

"And the carrot and suede mash, so buttery and perfect with the minted gravy," I replied.

"Ooh, and the cheesy leeks," she moaned, scrunching her eyes tight suddenly. "Oh, god!"

Joshua stopped rubbing my stomach to sit forward. "You all right, Megan?"

"No, not really," she replied, holding the side of her head. "I keep getting these awful head pains."

"Are your migraines back, honey?" Trisha asked in concern from her space near the open fire.

Damon rested his hand on the back of Megan's head when she hid her face against his chest. "Yeah, they came back in Australia, didn't they, babe?"

She nodded. "Um."

I watched over her in worry as she brought the pillow from behind her to cover her face because the light became unbearable. Joshua got up to get her some painkillers, while Trisha went on the hunt for her trusty migraine-reducing neck massager.

Joshua knelt beside the couch to feed her the codeine capsules, a deep frown fixed onto his face when she gulped them down with the water. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"You can always go lay down upstairs, love," said Mick, scrubbing at his hair a few times.

"I'll be fine down here," she said, shuffling down to lay her head on the pillow Damon just plopped on his lap.

Joshua rubbed the top of her shoulders as he stood up. "Just let me know if you change your mind."

A loud vibrating noise coming from his phone shook the couch enough to catch everyone's attention.

Mick cleared his throat. "That thing has been going off all night. It better be important."

Megan hummed out loud. "It's been the same for a couple of days. Do you remember Tulia? They've been messaging back and forth."

"Oh, yes, Tulia was his big crush for many years," Mick replied and my stomach swirled with something uncomfortable.

Megan kept her eyes closed. "Yeah, well, she put him forward for therapy with Jane Richards, who specialises in combat trauma. Tulia's brother had sessions with Jane when he came out of the Navy and found they really helped him."

A tense Joshua made his way back over here to throw himself down next to me, going still when his arm came up around my stiff shoulders. "Let's not make it more of a big deal than it is. It's just a friendly catch up."

Trisha came back into the room holding a strange contraption. "Did I just hear you say that you were speaking to Tulia again, Josh?" She seems to be popular in this house.