Читать книгу Mistletoe Proposal On The Children's Ward / Taming Her Hollywood Playboy - Kate Hardy - Страница 15

ON MONDAY EVENING Anna went straight from work to have dinner with her sister Jojo and sister-in-law Becky. She thoroughly enjoyed the chance to read a bedtime story to two-year-old Noah, even though part of her couldn’t help thinking wistfully of what might have been. If her own plans had worked out, she would have done this every night with her own children, sharing stories and cuddles and laughter.

But she was lucky enough to see lots of her nephews and nieces and to share in their upbringing, so she wasn’t going to let herself whine about what might have been.

Once she’d kissed her nephew goodnight and gone downstairs, Becky shooed her and Jojo into the living room, and Jojo put a glass of wine into her hand.

‘Righty. Spill the beans,’ Jojo said.

‘I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,’ Anna said.

‘Interesting. Because you went to the Christmas fair in the park yesterday,’ Jojo said.

‘How do you know?’ Anna asked, surprised.

‘Because Gemma at work went, too, and she saw you.’ Jojo gave a dramatic pause. ‘Eating churros with a very nice-looking man, so she told me.’

‘Why didn’t she come and say hello, then?’ Anna asked.

‘Because it was obvious that you were on a date, and she didn’t want to interrupt you.’

Anna rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, stop fishing. It wasn’t a date.’

‘What was it, then?’

‘Jamie’s a friend.’

Jojo scoffed. ‘Just good friends?’ she asked, making the quote marks with her fingers. ‘We all know what that really means.’

‘He’s my colleague.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with dating a colleague,’ Jojo said with a smile.

‘This is ridiculous.’ Anna frowned. ‘If you must know, he’s our new orthopod, the one who’s covering Nalini’s maternity leave. I’m trying to talk him into being Father Christmas for me on the ward—except at the moment he’s saying no because he hates Christmas.’

‘Why does he hate Christmas?’ Jojo asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Anna admitted, ‘but I can’t really ask him, because it’d be unkind to pry.’

‘True. But, if you don’t know what the problem is, then you might inadvertently stamp on a sore spot,’ Jojo pointed out.

‘You have a point. I think it might be something to do with kids, because he went a bit brooding on me when we were near the carousel,’ Anna said thoughtfully. ‘On the other hand, he’s an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in children’s medicine, so he’s around children all day. Maybe I was misreading it.’

‘You’ll have to find a tactful way to ask him,’ Jojo said.

Anna shrugged. ‘He’ll tell me when he’s ready.’

Jojo frowned. ‘What I don’t get is, if he hates Christmas, then why would he go to a Christmas fair with you?’

‘Because we’ve come to an agreement. If I can help him to feel that Christmas is bearable, then he’ll wear the red suit and beard and play Father Christmas on the ward for me on Christmas Day, in Robert’s absence,’ Anna explained.

‘So what do you get out of it?’ Jojo asked.

‘What it is to have a lawyer for a sister. I should’ve guessed you’d interrogate me,’ Anna said lightly. ‘I’ve already told you the deal. I’m helping Jamie to face Christmas, and then he’ll help me by being Santa.’

‘That’s work,’ Jojo pointed out. ‘I mean, what do you personally get out of it?’

‘Being Anna the Fixer?’ Anna suggested.

‘Not enough.’ Jojo looked at her. ‘If you’re helping him get over his hatred of Christmas, then I reckon in return he needs to help you get over Johnny.’

‘I’m already over Johnny,’ Anna protested. ‘So I don’t need any help.’

‘Yes, you do. You haven’t dated anyone since your divorce,’ Jojo said. ‘Which suggests to me that either you’re still in love with Johnny—’

‘Absolutely not,’ Anna cut in.

‘—or,’ Jojo continued, unfazed, ‘that Johnny’s left you feeling that you’re not enough for anyone.’

Trust her sister to hit the nail right on the head. Jojo was the most clear-sighted person she knew.

‘And that isn’t fair or true. You’re wonderful, and any decent bloke would be lucky to have you. You need to get back out there and find someone who loves you for who you are. Someone who deserves you,’ Jojo declared.

‘I don’t need anyone,’ Anna said. ‘Remember, I have Gorgeous George.’

‘A goldfish,’ Jojo said firmly, ‘is not the same as having a partner.’

‘Actually, George is better. He doesn’t talk back to me and annoy me.’ Anna gave Jojo a pointed look. ‘Unlike interfering little sisters.’

Jojo hugged her. ‘I’m not interfering, Anna-Banana. Really. I just worry that you’re lonely.’

‘How can I be lonely when I have the best family in the world and a ton of really good friends?’ Anna asked.

‘You come home to an empty house every night.’

Anna spread her hands. ‘So do lots of people.’

‘I think Johnny and his selfishness really chipped away at your self-confidence,’ Jojo said. ‘You don’t bother dating anyone, because you don’t believe a man will give you a second look as soon as they find out that you can’t have children.’

Anna sighed. ‘I’m fine, Jojo. Really. And I know not everyone shares Johnny’s views about infertility. Not everyone even wants children in the first place.’

‘I’m still not sure you’ve really come to terms with the situation yourself,’ Jojo said gently.

‘Honestly, I have,’ Anna said. ‘And you’d be the first person I’d talk to if I was upset about anything.’

Jojo still looked worried. ‘I hope you know I’ll always be here for you. And I hope you don’t think Becky and I rub Noah in your face.’

‘You don’t. At all.’ Anna was very definite about that. ‘I love him. I love the fact you both asked me to be his godmother. And I love that you and Becky let me come and read him stories and play with him whenever I want to.’

‘Because we love you, too.’ Jojo still looked worried. ‘So do you like this Jamie guy?’

‘As a colleague and potentially a friend, yes.’

Jojo raised her eyebrows.

Anna sighed. ‘All right. Yes, I admit he’s attractive. He reminds me of the actor in that Scottish historical drama everyone moons over.’

‘Nice,’ Jojo said approvingly. ‘Does he like you?’

‘I have absolutely no idea! I’ve only known the guy for a week. And this isn’t about relationships, anyway. Though I suppose I should think myself lucky you didn’t arrange for a suitable someone to partner me at dinner tonight,’ Anna added ruefully.

‘I wouldn’t do that to you.’

It was Anna’s turn to raise her eyebrows at her sister.

‘Not without warning you first,’ Jojo amended. ‘But, if you like this Jamie guy, there’s no reason not to make this Christmas deal of yours into a proper date.’ She grinned. ‘As he’s a surgeon, at least you know he’s going to be good with his hands.

‘Joanna Maskell, you really are just too much, sometimes!’ But Anna couldn’t help laughing. ‘Now, please can we drop the subject?’

To her relief, Jojo agreed; Becky called through that dinner was ready, and they kept the conversation light for the rest of the evening.

When Anna left, Jojo hugged her at the door. ‘Sorry for nagging. I do love you, Anna, and I worry about you. So does Becky.’

‘I’m fine. And I love you both, too. And Noah.’ Anna hugged her back. ‘See you soon.’

Anna didn’t see Jamie on the ward and wasn’t in clinic with him during the rest of the week, but on Thursday evening she met him at the Tube station as they’d arranged, and they went to the skating rink at Somerset House. There was a massive Christmas tree at either end of the skating rink, both of them covered in twinkling lights. Spotlights dappled the surface of the rink with different colours, and the rink was already packed with people, some looking nervous and sticking very close to the edge where they could grab the sides for safety, and others almost dancing on the ice. There was a pop-up Christmas shop selling gifts, and a stall selling hot drinks and snacks.

The music was all modern and Christmassy, and Anna could see that Jamie looked antsy; she remembered him telling her that he found Christmas music difficult.

‘If you’d rather not do this, we don’t have to,’ she said.

Jamie looked awkward. ‘But we’re here now and you’ve already bought the tickets. It’d be a waste not to use them. Which reminds me, I still owe you the money for my ticket.’

‘We’ll sort that out later. Let’s just go round the rink for one song,’ she said. ‘Then we can review the situation and see if it’s too much or if you want to keep going for a bit longer.’

‘OK.’ He took her hand and squeezed it briefly. ‘Thank you. You’re being very patient with me.’

‘I’m a doctor, not a patient,’ she quipped lightly. ‘And, for that matter, so are you.’

He groaned. ‘That’s terrible, but you know what I meant. I appreciate what you’re doing for me.’

‘You’re doing just as much for me, actually. This means I have someone different to drag out to all the Christmassy things I love doing and my family and friends have had more than enough of,’ she said with a smile. ‘Plus I have my eye on the big prize.’

‘What prize?’ He looked mystified.

‘You wearing that red suit on Christmas Day—because, apart from the fact that I haven’t managed to source a voice-changer yet, what if it fell off while I was walking through the ward, or my beard fell off to reveal it? I really don’t want to be responsible for making a whole ward of sick children find out the hard way that Father Christmas isn’t real.’

And then she regretted it when he looked even more panicky.

‘Sorry. I’m bulldozing you again. Ignore me. Let’s skate.’

They queued up to hire skates, changed into them, and started to make their way round the rink.

‘You’re much better at skating than you are at bowling,’ Jamie said to her.

She laughed. ‘That’s not exactly hard! But skating is just sliding one foot in front of the other. It’s easier than having to aim for something and trying to hit it. And if you think I’m bad at bowling, you should see me at archery. Everyone dives for cover.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘So are you going to start doing all these spins and jumps and things?’

‘Two letters. That’s N and O, in exactly that order,’ he said.

But at least he was smiling and starting to relax, she thought.

Skating on an ice rink.

Jamie hadn’t done this in years. Hestia had always avoided skating, not wanting to risk slipping over on the ice and breaking an ankle; teaching ballet wasn’t exactly something you could do easily while wearing a fracture boot. So he hadn’t bothered either. But once he was used to the motion again, he found himself enjoying it.

Part of him was on edge, waiting for Hestia’s favourite song to start playing and haunt him, but he forced himself to smile because he didn’t want Anna to feel bad. She was trying so hard to help him, and he appreciated that she was trying to take the sting out of the festive season for him. And she clearly loved being out here on the rink, in the middle of the crowd among all the lights and with cheerful Christmas pop songs belting out.

All they needed now was for it to snow. Not the stuff that would settle and make all the pavements slippery enough to cause mayhem, but a few light, fluffy flakes that melted when they touched the ground, making the rink magical. And how weird was it that the idea actually appealed to him?

Then he realised that a child just in front of them was down on the ice, crying. He took Anna’s hand and gestured over to the little boy. ‘I think we should go and offer some help.’

She nodded, and they skated over.

‘I’m Jamie and this is Anna. Can we help?’ Jamie asked the little boy’s mother.

She looked grateful. ‘Thank you. I need to get him back on his feet before someone skates into him.’

Jamie helped her pick him up, but the little boy wouldn’t stop crying. He was holding his arm, not letting anyone touch it. And Jamie had the strongest feeling he knew what had just happened.

‘I’m a doctor,’ he said gently. ‘Can I have a look at your arm?’

The little boy shook his head.

‘What’s his name?’ Anna asked.

‘Adeoye—Ade for short,’ the boy’s mum said.

‘Ade, does it hurt here?’ Jamie asked, pointing to his own wrist.

Ade nodded, still sobbing.

‘When you slipped over,’ Jamie said, ‘did you put your hands down first to stop yourself falling flat on your face?’

Ade nodded, but this time he spoke, his voice almost hiccupping through the tears. ‘It really hurts.’

Jamie could see that the boy’s wrist was an odd shape and, given what Ade had just told him, he was pretty sure it was a Colles’ fracture. ‘Does it feel tingly or numb?

Ade shook his head.

That was a good sign. ‘Do you feel dizzy or sick?’

‘A bit,’ Ade admitted.

‘OK. That’s probably the shock of falling.’ Jamie turned to Ade’s mother. ‘I think he’s broken his wrist—it’s a special kind of fracture called a Colles’ fracture.’

‘It’s really common when someone falls over onto an outstretched hand,’ Anna said. ‘We see a lot of them at the hospital when it’s icy.’

‘I can’t do anything to help you here, because Ade will need an X-ray to check whether any of the bones need manipulating back into place before they put the cast on,’ Jamie said. ‘If you take him to the emergency department now, they’ll do an X-ray and put a back slab on to keep his wrist stable overnight, then they’ll probably put a lightweight cast on tomorrow morning.’ He smiled at her. ‘I’m an orthopaedic surgeon, for children, so I do a lot of this sort of thing.’

Ade’s mother bit her lip. ‘Will he be in a cast for long? He’s got the school Christmas concert in a couple of weeks.’

‘I’m sure they won’t mind him being in a cast,’ Anna said, ‘and at least you’ll have time to alter any costumes around the cast, if you need to.’

‘If it’s a straightforward fracture,’ Jamie said, ‘he’ll have a cast on for four to six weeks, and then he’ll need to do exercises every day to get his wrist properly mobile again.’

‘I’d better get him to hospital,’ she said.

‘St Thomas’ is the nearest emergency department to here,’ Jamie said. ‘I worked there for a bit. They’re really nice. It’s about ten minutes from here in a taxi and twenty on foot.’

Ade’s mother looked at her son, who was still guarding his arm. ‘I’ll call a taxi now.’

‘We’ll help Ade with his skates while you make the call,’ Anna said, ‘and we’ll wait with you until the taxi gets here.’

She was a natural with children, Jamie thought, telling the boy a stream of terrible jokes to distract him from the pain and even managing to make him laugh. Ade’s mother thanked them when the taxi arrived, and then Anna looked at Jamie. ‘Review time, then. Stop now, or have another skate?’

There was a hopeful look on her face, and he was pretty sure which one she’d choose. ‘Another skate,’ he said. ‘And then I’m guessing it’s hot chocolate?’

‘That sounds utterly perfect,’ she said, smiling at him.

And how crazy was it that his heart suddenly felt as if it had done a backflip?

This wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t part of their deal. They were colleagues, sort of on the way to becoming temporary friends. They weren’t supposed to get close and personal.

She was the first woman since Hestia to make him feel like that. Her warmth and her huge, huge heart just drew him. Yet, at the same time, he was pretty sure that Anna was hiding some deep sadness in her own past. She deserved more than he could give her. So he forced himself to keep things light.

Until the moment when she stumbled and he caught her so she didn’t fall.

She looked up at him, those beautiful sea-green eyes wide and her lips very slightly parted.

And he knew then that it would be, oh, so easy to dip his head slightly. Brush his mouth against hers. Wrap his arms round her, and then deepen the kiss until they were both dizzy…

Was it his imagination, or was she staring at his lips, the way he was staring at hers? Did she feel the same thing? Did she want him to kiss her?

His tongue felt as if it had been glued to the roof of his mouth. He couldn’t say anything, do anything but try to resist this insane urge to kiss her.

But if he didn’t resist… What then? Would she kiss him back?

He could hardly breathe.

Could he?

Should he?

And then she said, ‘Thank you for saving me.’

Her voice broke the spell and brought his common sense back into play. No. Of course he shouldn’t kiss her. He needed to be sensible.

‘You’re welcome,’ he said. ‘More skating?’

At least if he had to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, he wouldn’t be thinking about how it would feel to kiss her. How her skin would feel against his. How she was tall enough to be a perfect fit in his arms…

‘More skating,’ she said.

He didn’t dare glance at her expression to find out if she looked relieved or disappointed. Kissing was absolutely not an option. This wasn’t a date.

He just needed to concentrate on his footwork and the music. So far, he’d been lucky and they hadn’t played That Song. Hopefully they’d already played it enough times earlier in the evening. Two more songs, and he’d suggest they get hot chocolate and leave.

Anna knew she was really making an idiot of herself. Fancy almost falling at Jamie’s feet, like the poor little boy who’d slipped over earlier.

And then, when he’d grabbed her to steady her, it had felt as if she’d been galvanised.

Propinquity, that was what it was. Or maybe the bright lights dazzling her, the magical feel of the skating rink taking her out of the real world and letting her see the possibilities. Tempting her to do something that really wouldn’t be sensible in real life.

For a moment, she’d found herself staring at his mouth and wondering what it would be like if he kissed her. How soft and teasing and inviting his mouth would be. How it would feel to have his arms wrapped round her, holding her close to him.

But that wasn’t the deal.

She was supposed to be making him feel better about Christmas, showing him the good side of the season and taking the sting out of whatever had hurt him in the past, not flinging herself at the poor man and embarrassing both of them. He’d made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t in the market for a relationship, and neither was she. She needed to focus on skating. Skating, not kissing. She repeated the mantra to herself half a dozen times, hoping that somehow it would stick in her head. Skating, not kissing. Skating, not kissing…

But all the time she found herself very aware of him. The space he took up. His height. His dark good looks, those gorgeous cornflower-blue eyes, that shy and so-rare smile.

Get a grip, Anna, she told herself crossly. This isn’t a date. Stop thinking about the what-ifs, because there aren’t any.

Two more songs and they’d leave.

They went round and round the skating rink, and she couldn’t help noticing how the other couples there were skating hand in hand, how the more confident ones stopped and spun their partner round into their arms and kissed them despite no mistletoe being in evidence.

She wasn’t meant to be noticing the kissing.

Concentrate on the skating, she told herself fiercely. Even if it was driving her slightly crazy.

Maybe she needed some hot chocolate, a sugar rush to stop her thinking about the sweetness of his mouth. So, when the second song ended, she said, ‘I’m done. Time for hot chocolate, I think.’

‘Great idea,’ he said.

Except, when they were in the queue, someone bumped into them and Jamie ended up with his arms around her to protect her.

And all of a sudden there wasn’t enough air. Despite the fact that they were outside and had the whole of London around them, there just wasn’t enough air to suck into her lungs.

She made the mistake of looking into his eyes, and it looked as if it was the same for him because his pupils were absolutely enormous.

It isn’t because of you, she told herself sharply. It’s a physiological reaction to a low light area, that’s all.

Except the lights weren’t really that low. It was actually really, really bright in the courtyard, so anatomically speaking his pupils should be tiny.

The fact that they weren’t made her heart skip a beat.

Was he going to kiss her?

On the skating rink, it would’ve been much too dangerous. Too easy for either or both of them to slip and fall. But here—here, they were on solid, unslippery ground.

Except it felt way more slippery than the rink.

If he kissed her, and she kissed him back… What then?

Right at that moment, she couldn’t move. They were in the queue, pressed together, with his arms around her and his face really close to hers. Had she been five inches shorter, it wouldn’t have been an issue. But their lips were well within kissing distance, and Anna really didn’t know what to do.

It was the first time she’d actually wanted to kiss anyone since Johnny.

And, OK, she knew that kissing didn’t necessarily mean anything. But she had a nasty feeling that, if she let him, Jamie Thurston could steal her heart. And she dared not risk that. It had taken her too long to put herself back together after Johnny. She wasn’t looking for another relationship. Not even a temporary fling. Anna Maskell wasn’t a fling kind of girl.

How could she move out of his arms without making a fuss and embarrassing both of them? Worse still, would he guess that she was moving away from him precisely because she wanted him to kiss her and this whole thing was driving her crazy?

She was saved by the waitress at the hatch asking, ‘What can I get you?’

The people in front of them took their own drinks from the counter and left, giving her space to move away from Jamie, and he said, ‘Two hot chocolates, please.’ He sounded cool and calm, not as if they’d been seconds away from kissing each other dizzy in public.

The space helped, but it wasn’t quite enough to stop Anna feeling like a teenager standing next to her crush at a high school disco. And she wasn’t wearing ice skates any more, so she couldn’t use her skating, not kissing mantra.

Somehow she managed to make light, fluffy conversation about skating and Christmas trees and decorations while they sat on one of the benches and drank their hot chocolate and watched the skaters, and then they headed back to Muswell Hill. The tube was too noisy for them to talk, giving her time to think, and on the way home Anna came to a decision. She knew how to neutralise the attraction now: she’d treat him in exactly the same way that she did her other male friends, so at the station she’d kiss him on the cheek, smile and say goodbye.

Except then Jamie offered to walk her home. She thought it would be a bit churlish to refuse, given that they were going the same way.

At her garden gate, she took a deep breath. Polite, she reminded herself. Pretend he’s just like any other male colleague. ‘You’re very welcome to come in for a coffee or a glass of wine or something.’

Something? Oh, no. Please don’t let him interpret that as her being like a teenager and talking in code for ‘come in and snog me witless’.

To her relief—mingled with disappointment, if she was honest with herself—he said, ‘Thanks, but I’d better be going.’

‘OK. Thanks for coming skating tonight.’ She paused. ‘I hope it wasn’t too difficult.’ This whole thing was meant to be about helping him, not about her making a fool of herself and starting to want things she couldn’t have.

‘No. It was fun.’ He looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected to enjoy it. ‘Thank you for organising it.’

‘No problem. See you at work tomorrow.’ She stepped forward, intending to kiss him on the cheek; but somehow everything got a bit tangled and she ended up kissing him on the mouth instead. And her lips tingled, every nerve-end reacting to the touch of his skin.

Anna Maskell had a huge heart. She was warm and affectionate, the sort of person who kissed everyone, and it didn’t mean anything, Jamie reminded himself.

Except he’d messed it up and, instead of kissing him on the cheek the way she’d obviously intended to, she’d kissed his mouth. And it was as if someone had just lit touchpaper and blown up some of the walls he’d built over the last three years, letting him feel again.

Dared he let himself want this? Dared he risk his heart with Anna?

They said that lightning didn’t strike twice in the same place…

Which was an unfortunate metaphor, given what had happened to Hestia. Eclampsia, from the Greek for ‘light burst’.

No. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t offer Anna an uncomplicated relationship. So he needed to back off.

Now.

Before either of them got hurt.

‘See you at work tomorrow,’ he muttered, and left without looking back.