I feel on top of the world; well I was pretty damn close two hours ago. Tristan and I are finally together! I'm dating my boss, who also happens to my brother's best friend. But none of those labels mean anything to me because he's just Tristan. Someone I absolutely adore, and really care about. I don't want to jinx anything, because I really hope this works out with him. I don't even think I was ever this crazy about Adamyeah I really don't think I was even close. And to think it's with someone I've known almost half my life, it's completely baffling. After Victoria got taken away, Gabe, Tristan and I came straight back to the hotel. The whole drama of everything that happened put us off going out tonight. But that doesn't mean Tristan and I didn't want to spend some time alone, so I invited him back to my hotel room. We've been just lying in bed for the last hour, kissing, laughing, talking.I've changed into my cotton shorts and a baggy t-shirt, and Tristan is back in his usual a
BOOK FIVE: TOKYO "Cheers to you," Dr. Edmund raises his glass to me and I grin shyly and clink my glass to his."Please, it's really not necessary." I blush, giggling as I sip on my third glass of white wine. I think I should stop, but Edmund keeps insisting on I get another drink once I finish. "Yes, it is. You're so young and look at what you've achieved, you have a massively successful business. And it is all due to your own merit. That is very impressive, Lacey." He glances at me speculatively through his glasses. "My achievements? You have your own clinic in Sydney, that's pretty hard to beat!" I say. "To be honest, sometimes I think about a sea change. I've been to the UK a few times and there's lots of opportunity there.""Do your wife and kids get used to you always travelling?" He knocks back the rest of his wine, keeping his eyes on me. "I don't have any children, and I don't have a wife."Oh. I'm surprised. He's old enough to be married with kids. Or maybe he's
"Why are we rushing back home? We could have gotten gelato after lunch," Dad says, sounding baffled as I pull him up the driveway."Gelato? It's winter, Dad. Let's go home and have a hot chocolate," I say, walking fast in my knee length black boots. "But we always get gelato after lunch" "God we're so late," I mutter under my breath. "Huh?" Dad asks."Oh, I just meant it's annoying that we were late to get to the restaurant. How bad was the traffic, right? And did the food have to take so freaking long to come out?" I waffle, irritated at how long the whole lunch took."Well, it's Neutral Bay doodlebug, plus the restaurant is always packed.""Yeah, but does mum have to take twenty minutes deciding what to eat before getting green chicken curry, which she always ends up getting?" I do a pretty bad job of sounding stressed, knowing what's on the other side of the door."You know your mother is always like thatwhoa! Slow down honey" His sweet talk is ignored as I pull him even
"Crap, your mom wants to talk to me?" I quickly push my dress down and comb my hair with my fingers. "What about?"Tristan runs his fingers through his hair, his breathing ragged. "I think I have an idea, but I told her I would ask you myself."He's totally lost me. "What were you going to ask me?"Tristan adjusts his jeans and looks at me. "Are you good?"What does he want to ask me? Taking a quick breath, I straighten my knees, which are still shaking from that sizzling show of passion. "Yep, I'm ready.""Don't worry baby, we'll have plenty of time to make up," he whispers, winking at me before walking out. "Mom! What are you doing, this is the back part of the house.""Oh sweetheart, is Lacey around? I wanted to talk to her.""No, I think she's somewhere else""Hey Ms. Keys, are you looking for me?" I stand by the door, smiling at Janet, desperate to assume an 'I-Was-Not-Just-Getting-Hot-And-Heavy-With-Your-Son look'. Janet's lovely green eyes light up at the sight of me.
I press the red button on my phone, placing the receiver to my ear, hoping the other person will pick up.Ring ring, ring ring, ring ring...the phone rings another five times and I'm about to hang up before he answers. "Edmund speaking." His voice is formal and even more soothing and deeper over the phone. I can hear laughter and chatter in the background. "Doctor Edmund," I clear my throat, relieved he picked up the phone. "It's Lacey Ryan, I sat next to you on the flight. I hope I'm not disturbing you."The recognition and delight in his voice is clear. "Ms. Ryan, absolute pleasure to hear from you. I thought you would never call." He chuckles softly, a hearty and throaty sound. "I'm assuming you wanted to come in and schedule an appointment, or did you enjoy my company so much you wanted to see me again?""When is your next available appointment?" I cross my fingers, hoping he can slot me in within the next few days. Ever since I've found out about Tokyo, I've been keen on
I've never been to a shrink's office, so I have no expectations other than bare white walls. Sterile, cold, clean."Are you going to tell him how you're feeling and shit?" Gabe teases as we walk up to the door.Giggling, I open the door and hold it for him. "I don't think it will be like that. He'll probably get me to do some exercises, maybe ask some heavy hitting questions. Thank you for coming with me, by the way."He waves a hand dismissively as we walk in. "Pish posh, of course I would come with you, darl. Are you nervous?"Once I step inside, I don't know whether I've stepped into a doctor's office or someone's house. The waiting room is like a lounge room, neatly decorated with subtle finesse. A picture of a beach is sprawled on each wall, each depicting beautiful scenery: rolling waves on idyllic sand, the golden sun, blue skies. Across from me is a large black coffee table with a neat stack of magazines. A small children's toy section is on the far right corner; a televisi
I think I've left Earth and entered another planet. Tokyo is out of this world. I'm done trying to make sense of this megalopolis, with its jigsaw of real estate and seething mass of people. The kaleidoscopic lights, crush of humanity, and sheer scale of it all makes it worthy of being the most populous metropolitan area in the world. A city of stunning contrasts, there's so much to do. There's the chance for quiet contemplation beside a carp pond in the Zen-like?Hamarikyu Gardens, the opportunity to watch locals retrieve their fortunes from wooden drawers at Buddhist?Senso-ji Temple, or take a visit to?Ueno Park. Across the colour-changing?Rainbow Bridge?lies?Odaiba's, the artificial island,?futuristic cityscape and Edo-style hot springs.It is even weirder and more bizarre than I ever expected and I am in awe of it all. Beside all those amazing and bizarre things, the city?throws out unexpected glimpses of its cultural core.?I didn't know what to expect, coming here with Tristan a
"How are you progressing? Are you doing your exercises routinely?" Dr. Edmund asks politely, the sound of his voice just as clear and crisp over the phone. I nod along. "Liz has been fantastic! To be honest, I was rather sceptical. I always thought therapy was so self-indulgent, but I'm really glad I did it."He laughs softly. "Self-indulgent, huh? I'm so glad to hear it. As you know, I couldn't treat you myself as it is not my primary area of expertise. Liz is a much better fit. I just hope you are getting a lot out of her."?Pacing around the room, I put the phone on loudspeaker.?With just one day left until the wedding and most of the plans all set in place, I've been enjoying myself in this wonderful city. Of course, I have not forgotten my commitment to the therapy. "I am! The exercises Liz and I have agreed to are really helping. The most I can do at this stage is look down for ten seconds. But it's getting better,?I can look for a whole ten seconds without screaming and curl