“But I don’t know where she is,” Jen called after him as he sped toward his car. He didn’t know either, but he had to try and find her. She was hurting. He couldn’t just sit around. And the reasons for this frantic feeling? Later. Now he needed to find Margaret.
***
Margaret slowly sat down on the nearest chair. She’d been pacing the waiting room, going crazy. Her legs simply didn’t want to hold her up any longer. She’d been frantic ever since she’d received the phone call about Josh’s accident.
The person who’d phoned her couldn’t give her much information. All she knew was Josh had been in an accident and he was alive. She wasn’t quite sure how she got to the hospital. She’d just shut down her feelings and thoughts and drove. The relief when she saw him alive was enormous. He’d broken his arm, but the other injuries were minor. They couldn’t tell her anything more about his arm, except it was badly broken and they had to operate.
She closed her eyes. Tears ran down her cheeks, but she was too tired to even wipe them off. It had been more than an hour since she had arrived. Surely it shouldn’t take that long? It was during times like these she missed her grandmother most. She needed someone to tell her everything was going to be all right.
There was literally no one she felt like calling. Jen had to look after the shop, Mandy was teaching and as for her family...Margaret sighed. She could just picture Louise’s face. How on earth could Margaret think of bothering her about something so unimportant? Josh had merely broken an arm. It wasn’t anything serious. Besides, he was a grown man and should know better. Of course, when Louise needed help, it was a whole different story.
A door opened nearby and she looked up. Graham was standing in the door, looking worried and wonderful. Her heart leapt; there was no other way to describe the frantic beating that began almost as soon as she saw him.
“Graham, what are you doing here?” Stunned, she got up.
He took three steps toward her and then she was in his arms. Gathering her close, he stroke her back until she was surrounded by his heat and scent. Sighing, she relaxed for the first time since the call about Josh’s accident.
Graham pressed her head against his shoulder and for a minute she just let him comfort her. It was so nice to be able to lean on someone for one minute. She felt safe, protected.
She pulled away. “Thank you, I needed a hug.”
Graham’s eyes searched her face. “You okay? How’s Josh?”
She nodded. “I’m fine. Josh will be, too. He still has a lot of pain, but he’s doing great. He’s cracked a few ribs, broken his arm, and is covered in bruises, but nothing serious.” She checked her watch. “They’re operating on his arm, I don’t know why it’s taking so long.”
Graham gently tugged on her arm. “Everything will be all right. Sit down. I’ll see what I can find out.”
As he stepped out of the waiting room, Margaret closed her eyes with a soft sigh. Everything was going to be all right.
***
Only a few kilometers more, then they should be in Kommetjie. Margaret’s eyes were fixed on the tail lights of Graham’s car in front of her. He’d been a rock. He had searched hospital corridors until he found the doctor who could tell Margaret how her brother was doing. After they had seen Josh, Graham insisted on going back with her and suggested she follow him. At any other time, she would probably have told him she was quite capable of finding her own house, but after the day she’d had, she just didn’t have the energy.
Her cell phone rang. It was Graham.
“I’m going to get something to eat. What do you prefer?”
“Graham, seriously, it’s not necessary—”
“Not what I asked. What would you like to eat? We can stop somewhere—”
“No, I just want to get home. Umm, pizza’s fine.”
“What do you like to have on your pizza?”
“Everything. But you don’t have—”
“My favorite too. I’ll be there in twenty.”
Graham turned off near a pizza place and she drove on, a warm feeling spreading from the pit of her stomach. She normally took care of everyone else around her. This was strange and wonderful. Someone actually wanted to take care of her. And Graham Connelly, of all people. Why had he come to the hospital? Why was she so glad he had? She shook her head. Too many questions she didn’t have answers to.
Her cell phone rang again. It was Louise. She was tempted to just leave it, but couldn’t. Louise might need her. It started with a wail. Margaret nearly groaned. She knew by now that when Louise began a conversation with a wail, it was going to be an extremely long one.
She drove to her house and parked her car. She was still sitting there talking when Graham returned with the pizzas. He opened her car door and she gestured toward the phone. He held the door open and she got out. She looked for her keys and handed them to Graham while trying to make out what Louise was saying.
“Louise.” She tried to stop the floodgate of abuse directed at Louise’s latest loser boyfriend. Where did she get these guys? “Louise, I have to go. Yes, I know you have a problem.” She sighed. “Okay, I’ll listen.”
Graham unlocked the front door and she walked toward the kitchen, took out plates and glasses while making soothing noises over the phone.
“Yes, Louise, that is dreadful, I’m so sorry—no, I can’t come right now, I’ve also had—” Margaret sighed again and rubbed her tired eyes. “Let me try. Otherwise, I’ll come over tomor—Louise, calm down...”
Margaret turned around while she was talking and nearly bumped into Graham. He pulled the phone out of her hand.
“Louise? This is Graham. Graham Connelly. Josh was in a car accident today. Margaret is exhausted. You just turned thirty, didn’t you? It’s time you learned to solve your own problems,” he said, and ended the call.
Margaret was completely stunned. “What...? Why...? Who gave you the right to—?”
“You are exhausted, you don’t need—”
“Don’t tell me what I need, I’ve been looking after myself for a long time. The last thing I need now—”
Graham pulled out a chair. “Sit down and eat. You’re always grumpy when you’re hungry. Sit.”
Margaret sat, but looked furiously up at him. “You can’t just order me around. Louise is in a state—”
Graham bent down and kissed her before she could finish her sentence. The minute his lips met hers, all rational thought simply left her brain. His lips were warm, wet, and urgent. Graham gradually pulled away, then crouched down.
“You’ve had an emotionally draining day. You are exhausted and hungry. Surely Louise can fend for herself for one night?”
Margaret put her fingers on her lips. She could still feel his heat. She tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but could only see his sensuous lips moving.
Graham stopped speaking and just stared at her. She licked her lips.
He groaned, stood up, and pulled her up into his arms. “You’ll be the death of me yet,” he murmured before his mouth captured hers again. His hands spanned her waist and pulled her closer.
She was floating. Nothing else existed except Graham’s lips on her, his arms now folded around her. Her arms crept around his neck. A wave of sensation threatened to overwhelm her and she held on tight. Warm hands moved unhurriedly up and down her arms and small flames ignited where his fingers lingered.
Every stroke, every touch took her closer to an edge she’d never been to before. Nothing that had happened to her previously, certainly not the clumsy attempts at lovemaking her university boyfriend had tried, had prepared her for Graham’s onslaught on her senses, her feelings, her very being.
Graham turned and pushed her back against a kitchen cupboard. Breathing heavily, he raised his head. He lifted her on the counter then stepped closer, moving her legs apart so that he stood pressed up against her very center. Bit by bit, not taking his eyes off of hers, he tugged her T-shirt out of her jeans. As if in a tra
nce, Margaret lifted her arms and he quickly pulled it over her head.
He looked down at her breasts, now covered only in white lace. Margaret’s eyes followed his gaze. Placing his hands below her breasts, he flicked his thumbs over her aching nipples.
With almost devoted attention, Graham leisurely moved down the straps of her bra. His mouth trailed down her shoulder, moved to the curve of her breasts, and she sagged back on her elbows. When he took one hardened nipple into his mouth, her senses exploded. Crying out, she grabbed his head and pulled it closer. He transferred his mouth to her other breast. A restlessness was building up inside of her.
His one hand moved slowly up her thigh and she spread her legs wider to give him more access. His fingers crept closer and closer to the one, throbbing point. She waited for him to touch her there, to make the ache go away, to—
A ringing sound penetrated her foggy mind. She opened her eyes. Graham was still bent over her, his mouth doing wonderful things to her breasts. The ringing continued. Her cell phone. Graham straightened gradually, his blue eyes chips of molten sapphire. She nearly drew his head back to her but the ringing continued. She pulled up her bra straps and picked up the phone.
Graham cursed and stepped back.
“Hi,” she said, her eyes still on Graham.
“What kind of a cousin are you? My daughter phones you about her troubles and you get a strange man to tell her—” The woman stopped.
Margaret sighed. It was Louise’s mother. “Valerie, I’ve had—”
“You are so selfish. Your cousin needs you and what do you do? You—”
Graham snatched the cell phone from her and again ended the call.
Margaret scrambled from the kitchen counter while trying to put on her T-shirt. “Don’t do that!” She huffed. “It’s my family, and they need me, I can’t just—”
“And what about me, about what was happening right here? That doesn’t mean anything to you?”
“Of course it does. But you don’t understand. They always come to me for help, Louise—”
“Is thirty. She should be able to sort out her own mess.”
Margaret stared up at Graham. His hair was mussed, his eyes still stormy after their...what? Lovemaking? Lustful encounter? What did he want from her? Her whole body was still tingling, her nipples aching. She crossed her arms.
“Graham, what do you want from me? What was this?” She motioned to the kitchen counter.
Graham pushed his hand through his hair and began pacing in the small kitchen. “I don’t know. We kissed. You’re single, I’m single, we’re healthy adults, and we kissed. Why the interrogation?” He stopped and glared at her. “We’d still be kissing and doing a whole lot more if you hadn’t stopped to answer your damn phone.”
Margaret cocked her head, trying to ignore the pain just below her heart. “So let me get this straight. You kissed me because we’re both single and healthy? In other words, any single, healthy female would do?”
Graham stared at her. What the hell? “No. Yes...” He swore. “It’s no big deal, damn it, I...”
Margaret took his keys from the kitchen table, handed them to him, and walked to the front door. She opened it.
Dumbfounded, Graham stared after her, then followed her. He looked down at her, trying to read her face, but she averted her eyes.
“Kissing you, letting you touch me the way you just did...”
She looked up at him, her green eyes reflecting...was it hurt?
“It’s a big deal to me, Graham.” Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I want what my parents had. I want the fairy tale. The romance, the love, the wooing, flowers, the forever. And you...” She took a deep breath. “It’s everything you don’t want. Please leave.”
At her words, Graham stepped back quickly. Margaret smiled a sad smile and showed him the door again. He walked out but when he turned around to say goodbye, she’d already closed the door softly behind him and was securing the lock.
Exasperated, Graham pushed his fingers through his hair. Forever. Where the hell had that come from? A fairy tale. And romance and flowers and what did she say? Wooing. Stupid word. Who still used the bloody word? And what the hell did her parents have to do with it? He had just kissed her. People kissed! It was normal, not a train smash. And it was just a kiss, wasn’t it?
But as he stomped down the stairs toward his car, he remembered how soft she’d felt beneath his fingers, how responsive she’d been. He could instantly recall the flowery scent of her perfume, remembered the sound of her breath, the sight of white lace cupping firm breasts. He groaned out loud.
She was right. He shouldn’t have kissed her. She wanted more, needed more. Hell, he wasn’t so jaded he couldn’t see that. And yes, she was right, it wasn’t what he wanted. He was the last man on earth who should be around Margaret. She deserved someone who would want to provide everything she wanted. He grimaced. He was not a candidate.
***
Margaret leaned against the door and listened as Graham pulled away outside. When was she going to learn to stay away from him? He’d been wonderful throughout the interminable day. He’d never left her side. He had asked and cajoled but got answers from tired staff, smiles from surly nurses. He’d brought her endless cups of horrible coffee and had just been there.
But just because he was nice didn’t mean he had the right to take over her life, her phone, to tell her whom she could talk to and for how long. He didn’t have the right to kiss her and... At the memory of what exactly the “and” was, her legs threatened to turn to rubber again. Wow, the man could kiss. She’d simply forgotten where she was—forgot to think, forgot to analyze, forgot to breathe. For a minute, she stood against the door, remembering every stroke of his hand, every single kiss he’d dropped on her lips, her breasts, her face, down her neck.
Briskly, she moved away from the door. This had to stop. Graham Connelly was gorgeous, could kiss her into oblivion, but marriage material, he wasn’t. It shouldn’t be news to her; he’d just confirmed it by walking away. And, as she’d told him, she wanted the whole shebang. For now, she had to find something else to occupy her mind. For starters, there was a manuscript to finish.
She should also phone Louise and try and placate her. And she would have to phone Valerie, Louise’s mother, as well. She groaned. Tomorrow would be soon enough. For now, the only place was bed.
***
Tears clogged up her throat. She’d just been to see her accountant. Sales had been better, more and more people were visiting the shop thanks to Graham’s book launch, but according to Miles, they were not yet out of the woods. Her shop needed another big influx of money. She had to either do another book launch or she would need to sell her book. To do the first, she would have to take Graham up on his offer to mention her shop to some of his author friends, or she would have to finish her manuscript.
And she just couldn’t see herself accomplishing either in the foreseeable future. She missed Graham, missed his smile, missed his presence. But they wanted such different things in life and to speak to him again would not be a good idea. As for her writing, every time she tried to get something down on paper and get to the hero, Graham was there, in her thoughts, between the pages of her story. How was she supposed to forget about him?
There was an unfamiliar buzz in her shop when she entered it. Small groups of people were standing around, talking excitedly. Eyes were wide, hands were gesturing. She walked up to Jen who was behind the counter, helping a customer.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
The woman whom Jen was helping looked up quickly. “Haven’t you heard? A surfer nearly drowned a few minutes ago. Apparently, he’s never surfed here before. The other surfers told him about the deceptive current, but would he listen? You know these young kids.”
Two other women joined them at the counter and the one interrupted, smacking her lips. “I heard it was the famous writer, Condor or Con...something...who saved him.”
“Connelly, my dear, his name is Connelly,” the third woman added. “Wasn’t he the author whose book launch was held here in your shop just the other day?” she asked Margaret.
Margaret could only nod. All the blood left her brain. She was quite light-headed and gripped the counter with both hands. Graham. It was Graham.
“Is he okay?” Jen asked quickly.
“Well, I’ve heard the little bugger who nearly drowned put up such a fight when Connelly tried to save him, they both nearly drowned. There’s an ambulance down at the beach. Both of them seemed to be fine. But you know, they say it was so close. He finally had to knock the guy out in order to help him.”
Margaret quickly looked at Jen and then sped out of the shop. She had to see for herself he was okay, had to make sure nothing had happened to him. Her feet carried her down to the beach, while visions of Graham drowning flashed in front of her eyes.
She slowed down when she came to the beach and walked toward the ambulance. She recognized Peter’s near-hysterical voice. And there, safe and sound, was Graham. Her heart slowed down a bit. He was sitting inside the back of the ambulance. His wetsuit was pulled down and two emergency helpers were attending him. He was okay. Peter was shouting but nobody seemed to pay any attention to him.
“I can’t believe you went after the stupid kid! You could’ve drowned! What about your contract, what about—?”
“Peter, stop it,” Margaret said crossly. “You’re not helping.” And she walked past him toward Graham.
Peter stuttered behind her and at the same time Graham looked up. She met his eyes and quickened her step. He looked tired. The two ambulance men moved away and she sat down beside him. She touched his arm.
“Are you all right? I’ve just heard. I wasn’t sure whether you’d be okay. What did they say?” she finally asked, and gestured toward the ambulance men.
Graham just looked at her. He was still breathing heavily. She tried to pull her hand away, but he caught it and held it in both of his. “I’m fine. The little sh—” He bit off the swear word and shook his head. “He nearly had us both killed, he wouldn’t keep still.”
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