by Sue MacKay
‘Time to change ends,’ Max called.
Lily handed the players water bottles to guzzle from before they started the second half of the match. ‘You want one?’ She held out a bottle to Max.
‘This is hot work.’ He laughed, taking the bottle, his fingers brushing hers sending sparks up her arm.
Quickly pulling back, she said, ‘You’re enjoying it.’ Why had she moved away? The tingling in her hand made her feel more alive.
Max fixed his gaze on her mouth as he placed the bottle between his lips and poured water down his throat. Desire filled his eyes.
Tightness clamped her chest. Snatching up the last bottle, she tried to swallow some liquid but her throat was closed. Great. Right in the middle of a conversation she’d gone and lost the gist of what they’d been discussing. Glancing around, she saw children everywhere. Of course. The kids. That’s what today, the week, was about. Not Max and herself. But it was ridiculously easy to be sidetracked by those beautiful khaki eyes filled with desire for her.
Max seemed to be having similar difficulty remembering where they were. He spun away, staring towards the sea. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough. ‘They’re all so keen to win and to have a good time while they’re at it.’ He was onto it. The kids.
‘Keener than they’ll be when it’s time to sit in the classroom and discuss plans for their futures.’ Keep talking sensibly and surely the need would die down?
‘Some are a little young to be worrying about that yet,’ Max noted, still facing away.
‘The psychologists don’t agree. Something about being prepared so they can handle setbacks more easily.’ This was getting easier by the word, but she needed to talk non-stop for ten minutes to be totally heat free.
‘What does Josie want to become?’
‘A beautician.’ Lily saw her niece hobbling to the end of the court. Keep talking, move on. ‘It might be a passing fad. She’s just discovered make-up in a big way.’
‘I noticed the heavy mascara. Right, time to get the game underway again.’
Lily sat on a park bench, watching Max dashing up and down the edge of the sand court, blowing his whistle, shouting encouragement. He was in his element with these teenagers giving their mates cheek, his face was again clear and open, his eyes sparkling with enjoyment.
‘Hello, Doctor.’ Michelle stood beside her, balancing on crutches. ‘What an awesome place.’
‘Isn’t it? When did you get here?’
‘Nearly an hour ago. I’ve been talking to Logan. He says there’s a shortage of beds so even if I chose to stay on I can’t.’
‘I’ll find you somewhere. Don’t worry about it.’ There were empty bedrooms at the beach house. ‘What do you think of the set-up so far?’
‘It’s amazing. From the main building I saw some boys playing soccer and their sheer determination to score is mind-blowing. I wanted to rush out and join them, help the guy coaching them.’
‘Why didn’t you? That’s the idea of you being here,’ Lily told her.
‘I was with Logan, getting the rundown on the camp.’ Michelle’s cheeks were turning pink.
Lily shook her head. Logan and Michelle? Why not? A blinding thought struck. Was romance in the air out here in Whangaparaoa? Did that mean others were going to feel the love this week? Josie and her friend? Her and Max? Lily leapt to her feet. No way. Never. Her gaze went immediately to him as he blew the final whistle. She would not be hurt again. She did want love, but doubted she had the courage to risk her heart once more. Not even with Max.
Look at him. His face had matured to heart-stopping attractiveness. His mouth was kind and soft, and she already knew from the past the sensations those lips created on her feverish skin. Skin that right this moment was prickling. His curls made her fingers restless and her lungs squeeze painfully. Spinning around before he looked over and caught her out, she breathed deep for composure, which wasn’t coming. He’d been a wonderful lover. Quivering was going on in her legs. Her head felt light. She swore. She might be in trouble here.
‘Hi, Max,’ Michelle called across the space, and hobbled across to the courtside.
‘You made it. Not that I thought you wouldn’t,’ he added hurriedly.
‘I was up and ready at five this morning. Now I’ve got something else to focus on other than myself, I want to get cracking.’
Lily dragged her feet over to join them. ‘What did Logan suggest you do?’
‘Join in the activities.’ Michelle waved a crutch between them.
Max laughed. ‘You’ll go down a treat.’ He raised one eyebrow in Lily’s direction. ‘But we already knew that.’
‘We did.’ It was still hard to talk sensibly while trying to move past the desire Max evoked in her, but she kept trying. Easier if she focused on Michelle and not Max. ‘Not all these guys want to be anything great; most only want to be accepted for who they are.’
‘I always feel on the fringe with my friends because I’m driven to get ahead.’
‘How long do you think you’ll stay?’ Max asked Michelle.
‘There’s the problem. The accommodation is chock full. Lily says she’ll sort it, though, so who knows?’
‘You can stay at my family’s house along the road,’ Lily told her.
‘Thanks. I’d prefer to be here on the spot so I can chat to anyone any time, but your house is better than heading back to the city,’ Michelle said, then shook her head. ‘There I go again. Sorry. It was a generous offer and I’m happy to accept.’
Lily managed a brief laugh. ‘Don’t worry. I like your honesty.’
‘If it means a difference in how long you remain at the camp you can have my room, Michelle. I’ll bunk down somewhere else.’ Max’s eyes were on Lily as he said that.
Leaving her with only one thing to say, though it came out slowly and warily. ‘You can move into the beach house if you’d like.’ Max in the house for meals and showers, and sleeping? Hell, she couldn’t remain uninterested when there was a kilometre between them. It would be impossible to remain neutral with him staying between the same four walls as her.
‘Talk to you later if there’s nowhere else.’ Was he saying he wasn’t interested in sharing her house? When he’d offered to swap with Michelle? She couldn’t blame him for having second thoughts.
‘No problem. I’m going to find Josie for a chat.’ Not about boys and condoms or being safe, tempting as that was. Though she would keep an eye on the relationship between her niece and the boy who put all that colour in her face and excitement in her eyes. Blimey, was that how she looked whenever she thought about Max? Hadn’t she just got into a pickle over him? Yes, and still felt at odds with herself. As soon as she’d talked with Josie, she’d head to the house and pull on her running gear. Action was required to quieten the brain.
‘Auntie Lily, who’s that lady on the crutches?’
‘Michelle Baxter. She plays—’
‘Netball for the North Shore. She’s awesome.’ Josie squealed and charged across to her apparent idol. ‘Hi, Michelle, I’m Josie. I watch most of your games. You’re great.’
Michelle laughed, and said, ‘Thanks for that.’
‘What have you done to your leg? Is it serious?’ Josie didn’t stop to think how her questions might be received, but that might be good for Michelle. It was how strangers often treated Josie. But still...
‘Some delinquent shoved me out of a bus I was boarding and my ankle’s broken. It’s lucky my wrist wasn’t broken after all.’
‘But you’re going to England soon.’
Michelle’s smile slipped. ‘I was.’
About to step in and shut her niece down, Lily opened her mouth but Michelle cut her off. ‘It’s hugely disappointing, but I’m getting used to the thought of staying behind. It’s a block in my career, but not the end. Tell me, what’s your favourit
e sport? I saw you playing netball earlier.’
Lily hesitated, watching Josie talk about how she liked wheelchair basketball the best, and any game that involved using her arms more than her legs were fun.
‘They’re getting along fine,’ Max said quietly beside her.
Her skin prickled. ‘They’re reacting to each other as I’d hoped they would, only I hadn’t specifically factored Josie into the picture.’
‘Why would you? It was chance that Josie’s the first person to waylay Michelle.’ Max sounded thoughtful. ‘Seems you might’ve nailed it. They’re both animated and talking non-stop about the situations they’re in. Let’s leave them to it and grab a coffee and sandwich before the hordes devour all the food I saw being prepared earlier.’
Lily all but bounced up the lawn, wearing a wide smile and humming under her breath.
‘So would it be all right if I did doss down at your house?’
Okay, maybe she should quieten the happiness level. But it would be good to have him closer on and off; as long as she controlled her hormones and kept her heart from racing and her skin from prickling. ‘Wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t.’ Would she? Was she playing dangerously now?
Stop, Lily. Think this through. You could get hurt again.
Max grinned. ‘Think I might be lucky enough to get a meal at your place?’
Too late to stop this. The whole thing was expanding rapidly. First a bed, now meals. What next? Don’t go there. ‘You haven’t asked if I know how to cook.’ She wanted to clap her hands in the air and laugh. Max was going to stay with her.
Max turned around. ‘Hey, Josie, can your aunt cook a mean dinner?’
Josie’s eyes widened with a hint of something Lily was afraid to interpret. ‘Ask her to make beef bourguignon. It’s to die for.’
Little wretch. No denying the cheeky smile or the ‘I’ve got you back for all those times you’ve teased me’ gleam in Josie’s eyes. ‘Haven’t you got something better to do than harass your favourite aunt?’
‘Nope.’
‘Imp.’ Lily aimed for the main building.
Max strolled along beside her. ‘After I’ve finished here I’ll drive to the nearest shops to get some wine to go with that beef.’
‘Guess that means I am making the casserole.’ Her mind was going through the fridge for mushrooms and beef stock. ‘Luckily there’s beef in the freezer.’
‘Text if there’s anything you need. I won’t head away before five.’
‘Will do.’ Outside the building, she paused, not sure what to say but feeling there was something she needed to get out.
‘Relax, Lily. I appreciate the offer of a room. I won’t make a pest of myself. I’ll be here most of the time anyway.’ Max touched her lightly on the shoulder, sending sparks right to the tips of her toes. ‘We’re good. We haven’t argued, and I doubt we will, other than over the occasional differences that occur at the medical hub.’
At the same time as wishing he didn’t sound so serious, his touch did a number on her libido. Obviously it meant nothing to him. There was a message there she should abide by. So she should forget the disappointment sliding through her, act normal. ‘You think?’ Normal?
His eyes widened. ‘I do.’ Then doubt crept in, bringing the dark shade into that serious look as he stepped back. ‘Don’t tell me I’m wrong. I don’t want to return to the way things were between us.’ That elusive sadness filtered through his gaze before disappearing. ‘I learned a lot from that time because of you and I hope I’ve matured and understand people better. You as well.’
What had happened to him? That was a huge admission, and totally out of left field. The more she saw the more she believed something big had occurred, such as a broken heart. They were both like flotsam floating through life, hiding their hurts, in her case aiming for happiness from a new and different perspective from her previous attempts.
What was Max hoping for? Planning on achieving? Who did he wish to spend his life with? She wasn’t about to find out while standing here outside the building filling up with hungry teenagers wanting food. It was doubtful she’d ever learn what was behind that sadness. But he had said he’d matured partly because of her, so anything was possible. She gave him a smile. ‘Let’s grab lunch.’ She had a beef bourguignon to prepare, and it was going to be her best effort ever.
Her smile slipped and she stopped. Less than a week ago she had been struggling with the idea of working with Max. Now he was coming to stay in her family home. What was she doing? Romance wasn’t on the cards. Max definitely wasn’t either. He might be different but how different?
CHAPTER FIVE
SO THIS WAS what married life might be like, Max thought. Easy, caring, sharing. Nothing like his parents’ relationship even before their bitter divorce. ‘Sit down and take a load off,’ he instructed Lily after a scrumptious dinner. Another string to her bow. ‘Want a hot drink?’
‘A hot chocolate wouldn’t go amiss.’ Lily glanced at him with a cheeky smile. ‘I’ve got a really sweet tooth, which is why I run.’
As if she was overweight. She looked more gorgeous than ever now her curves had filled out a little. ‘Not to keep fit, then?’ He laughed, trying to ignore the picture filling his head of Lily sprawled across his bed one night a long time ago. She’d been beautiful, and now she was even more so from what little he could see.
‘That’d be crazy. The chocolate mix is on the baking shelf in the pantry.’
‘You can find it blindfolded?’ Having light-hearted fun with Lily was a new concept, and one he liked.
‘Naturally.’ Her chair balanced on its back legs as she watched him make their drinks.
Yes, he’d join her with hot chocolate. Anything was better than going to bed alone and dreaming about what might be if he let go his determination to remain single. That determination could be his undoing—or give him something precious. As had happened with medicine. At first he’d been resolute in showing his father how he loved him and wanted the same in return, but what had happened was far better. Medicine was him, and he got so much more from it than he gave. He’d also finally won quiet approval from his father, acknowledged during the cancer battle. What might happen if he could dispel this painful need to remain single?
He might hurt someone else. That’s what.
Lily was chattering on, thankfully blind to his pain. ‘I started running in Singapore as a way of getting out and about without looking like a lost tourist. I liked getting away from being behind four walls all the time. Usually I followed the smell of street food and cancelled the plus side of running before returning to our apartment.’
He stood straighter, sucked in his gut. ‘Our apartment? You weren’t on your own?’ From what he’d heard when she’d been appointed to the medical hub, she was now.
‘I lived with my fiancé, Leo. We met at the medical centre when I moved to Singapore.’
Lived with. In the past? How far could he go with his curiosity? Why this driving need to know?
Because I like Lily a lot. Possibly more than like.
‘It didn’t work out?’
Lily’s smile flattened, her face closed. ‘Not after a while. I came home from work one night to find him all packed up, waiting to tell me he was heading home to Scotland and a woman from his past he’d been in contact with for a few months.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ She’d been getting over another failed relationship when they’d had their fling. At first he’d wondered if he’d been mad, asking her to his home, but she hadn’t brought baggage, and had seemed instead to be happy to spend time with him. It had been beyond wonderful as he had begun to see Lily differently from the woman he’d worked with. Until the morning she’d got up and said that was the end. Talk about a sharp slap in the face. And a dent to his ego. Most of all, he’d felt he’d lost an opportunity for elusive happiness, whi
ch had only made him go even harder in locking down his dreams of love.
‘You deserve better than that.’
‘I do.’ She nodded. ‘It’s behind me and I’m not in a hurry for another relationship.’
It sounded like a warning. About what? But at least he knew. They were on similar pages regarding relationships, though for different reasons. He should be relieved, but instead his stomach sank and his heart was heavy.
Placing a steaming mug in front of her, Max sat opposite, his hands wrapped around his mug. ‘I’ve never been in a long-term relationship.’ He gulped. Lily’s truthfulness had started him talking. It was long overdue, and not as difficult as he’d have believed.
Surprise lifted her face, widened her eyes. ‘I got that wrong,’ she said. ‘I thought maybe you’d had your heart crushed and that’s why you...’ She paused. ‘Why you stuck to nothing more involved than flings.’
‘When I was training I didn’t want to get too intense with someone and find myself distracted from achieving my medical degree.’
‘You were that determined you gave up other important things to achieve it?’
‘I did. My father never had the opportunity to follow his dreams, so I felt driven to make mine come true. It was also a way to show my mother she was wrong to leave me and take my sister with her when she left Dad.’ Talk about laying his heart on the line. Now she knew more about him than any woman he’d spent time with. He should be heading down the hall to the bedroom to get away—there was a first, getting away from any woman to go to a bedroom.
He sighed. A load had lifted from his chest by telling her what lay behind his modus operandi. And to Lily, strange as it was. Or was it? When she’d been the first woman to ever have him yearning for something more, deeper, than his usual short interactions, this felt right.
‘Your parents were separated?’ Sadness blinked out of those soft eyes.
‘When I was ten. Mum felt I’d be better off raised by Dad, and not have her and my sister fluffing over me.’ It had always felt like an excuse. No one had asked him what he might want. ‘Mum didn’t move far so I visited often.’