by Sue MacKay
‘From one to ten, ten being the highest, what’s the pain level now?’
‘Five...six.’
Max didn’t believe him. Pain had reflected out of his eyes as he’d stood up from the chair. ‘When you ride to work?’
Bill sighed. ‘Eight. On a good day.’
‘Lie on your good side, please.’ Max lifted Bill’s leg with the damaged hip and watched Bill’s face for a reaction. He didn’t move it far. ‘Now I’m going to rotate your leg gently. Tell me if it’s too painful.’
‘You can stop before you start,’ Bill grunted. ‘You win. How long do I have to wait for an op?’
‘That’ll be up to the surgeon and whether you go private or public.’
‘I’ve got health insurance so I won’t have to hang about on the public list.’
‘Good. You can get up.’ He wasn’t going to inflict any more discomfort on him. Bill knew as well as he did that hip needed to be replaced sooner rather than later. ‘I’ll refer you to one of the surgeons next door, unless you have a preference.’
‘You know best, Max.’ Bill gasped as he shoved his bad leg into his jeans.
‘That’s settled, then. I’ll write a prescription, too. Anything else you need to talk about?’ Max brought up the correct screen.
‘No, I’m good to go. You’ve given me enough of a shock already.’
‘You really weren’t thinking the time for surgery was close?’
‘I was hoping it wasn’t. I get around all right. There are people far worse off than me who aren’t getting their hips done.’ Bill looked baffled.
‘I can’t answer for them, though I know you seriously need to have this done. You won’t know yourself afterwards and will wonder why you waited so long.’ Scrawling his signature on the prescription printout, he handed it to his patient. ‘I’ll get that referral away today. And go easy on the bike. It wouldn’t help to fall off and damage that hip any further.’
Bill ignored that, pocketed his script and headed for the door. ‘Thanks, Max. I’ll be seeing you.’
Leaning back in his chair, Max flicked a pen back and forth between his fingers. Bill had been his last patient for the day. For the week. Damn, he was tired. The flu had done its number on him, but this past week had been more about lack of sleep. About thinking about Lily and how impossible it would be to carry on without her in his life, at his side. In other words, he was a fool to deny himself love and a happy future. Lily made him happy, made him look at his choices differently and want to change them so he could have that future—with her. He did love her, every little and big thing about her. The future looked bleak without her in it. Would she have him now? The big question that kept him awake too much. There was only one way to find out.
* * *
‘You staying there, daydreaming, all night?’ Devlin asked from the doorway. ‘Or are you joining the rest of us for a drink?’
‘Neither. I’m heading home. There are things I need to do.’
‘Like talk to Lily.’
Max’s head snapped up and he stared at Devlin. ‘Lily?’
‘Yes, the woman you’ve been doing your best to avoid and when you can’t avoid her have been friendly with in an offhand manner.’
‘I was that obvious?’ What did Lily think after all she’d done for him when he’d been ill?
‘I’ve known Lily most of her life. I can read her well and she’s confused about you.’
Ouch. That hurt. ‘I see.’
‘Do you?’ Devlin was sounding like a father figure, not the medical hub’s boss. ‘If so, then fix what’s holding you both back from being happy.’
Pushing up from his chair, Max picked up his jacket and bag. ‘I intend to.’
* * *
Lily wasn’t at her apartment when Max got there. She wasn’t there an hour later when he tried again, driving through a torrential downpour that had flooded roads, with his windscreen wipers unable to cope. When he finally made it back home she wasn’t answering her phone either. She could be anywhere, but he suspected he knew exactly where she’d gone.
It was too dangerous to drive far at the moment. He could only hope that Lily had reached Whangaparaoa before the weather bomb hit. Or it had given that area a miss. He’d take to the road at first light.
* * *
The weather had played havoc with the roads and maintenance crews were out in force, causing traffic delays that had Max’s blood fizzing with frustration.
The first sound he heard on opening the car door was a chainsaw. ‘What else?’ He grinned and followed the sound across the road to look along the beach.
There Lily was, brandishing the saw, slicing trunks as though they were butter before throwing them out of the way to attack the next section of tree. She looked wonderful. In her element. In control. Being physical. Being useful. Helping the men who were loading a trailer with the results of her efforts.
Max’s heart fluttered. He loved her with all his being. This was the woman he wanted to love for ever, to marry, to have a family with. To take chances with and come out the other side stronger and happier than ever. ‘I love you, Lily Scott.’
Back at the car, he replaced his shoes with work boots and tossed his jacket onto the seat before striding along to help out, receiving a surprised but heart-warming smile from Lily as he reached for the first log.
After nearly an hour Lily stopped the saw for the final time. ‘Job done.’ She high fived the other men, and finally him.
‘Thanks for that, Lily,’ George said. ‘I reckon we’ve all got enough firewood to last next winter as well.’
‘How’ve you been?’ Archie asked Max.
‘I’m good. How’s Enid getting on?’
‘She’s fighting. The progress is slow but she’s started heading in the right direction. Still be some time before she comes home, though.’
‘Glad to hear things are working out.’
Lily stood beside him. ‘You coming to my place?’
It was why he was there. ‘Yes.’ He picked up the chainsaw in one hand and took her hand in the other. ‘I have something to tell you.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Something good, I hope.’
‘Yes.’
Nothing more was said until they’d removed boots, washed hands and walked into the kitchen–cum-family room and stood by the warm fire box.
‘Coffee?’ Lily asked.
Coffee took time to make. He couldn’t wait another minute. ‘I’ve been an idiot, Lily.’
One eyebrow rose and she laughed sadly. ‘You’re telling me?’
‘I love you.’
The laughter died, the eyebrow returned to its usual place. Questions filled her eyes. She stared at him, not moving closer or further away.
Not the response he’d hoped for. His blood flow slowed. His heart was heavy. Dread crept in where there’d been happiness. He’d told the truth. He needed her to know that. He wouldn’t repeat himself. That would sound pathetic. He waited.
‘I love you, too, Max,’ she said quietly, softly, her voice filled with longing. ‘Right from the day we saw each other again after those long years. I wasn’t certain, but it felt like love. Love so different from what I’ve known before. Love for you. It came as a shock to find I might’ve always felt something for you and had been denying it all along.’
He reached for her and bent close. ‘You talk too much.’ His mouth took hers, and he kissed her, deeply and filled with what was in his heart. With what he couldn’t put into words.
And she kissed him back with what she had managed to say. Love. Her arms wound around him, holding him tight against her.
He melted into her. His love. The one woman who’d got to him, who’d shown him he didn’t have to be alone. He did believe in a future with her. Pulling back just enough to look into her eyes, he asked, ‘Will you marry me?’
Her smile lit up her eyes. ‘Yes.’
His heart picked up its pace. ‘Will we raise babies together?’
‘Yes.’
‘Be together for ever?’ He could believe in for ever if Lily was at his side.
‘Absolutely.’ She stretched up and returned to kissing him.
Kissing wasn’t enough. By a long way. Sweeping Lily up into his arms, he headed down the hall to make love. Make love, not have sex. A permanent relationship, not a fling. He’d found his love, his future, his happiness. Now all he had to do was make sure Lily never tired of him, starting by showing her how important she was. ‘I love you, Lily Scott. So much my heart is singing.’
‘That the noise I can hear?’ She smiled up at him, her hand on his cheek. ‘I’ve been wanting to tell you how much I love you and now, well, now you know. This is perfect.’
And it was. Max only got out of bed during the next couple of hours to get a bottle of champagne to celebrate. ‘To us.’
‘To us.’ Lily tapped her glass against his. ‘To for ever.’
EPILOGUE
Six months later
TEARS POURED DOWN Lily’s cheeks. To heck with the make-up. The look of amazement and wonder on Max’s face scrunched her stomach, tore at her heart and lifted her mouth into the biggest smile. ‘We’ve done it,’ she whispered. ‘We’re having a daughter in June.’
Max’s cheeks were equally wet as he gazed down at the slight bump at the front of her gown. ‘We have, Lily, darling, we have.’ He was squeezing her hand, and smiling as if he’d got everything he wanted in life.
They had. Together. As warmth from the sun touched her shoulders, Lily looked up at the blue expanse high above, dotted with gulls dive-bombing the sea beyond her family beach house. ‘A perfect day.’
‘Not a chainsaw to be heard.’ Max leaned in and kissed her cheek. ‘You look beautiful.’
Brushing a hand down the front of her cream wedding dress with the full skirt and fitted bodice that accentuated her breasts, she smiled. She had to be the luckiest woman in the world.
‘Shall we do this?’ Charlotte appeared before them.
‘Absolutely,’ Lily and Max said in unison, then laughed.
Charlotte had a license to be a marriage celebrant as well as her other qualifications. Now she held up an empty wine glass and tapped it with a silver rod. ‘Listen up, everyone. We’re about to get underway with the reason you’re all here.’ She paused to allow everyone to quieten.
Lily looked around at the rows of white fabric-covered chairs with peonies tied to the corners, and felt her heart swelling. Her family and Max’s, including his father, just about everyone from the medical hub, friends, and of course Josie and Ollie were here to share their special day. Logan and Michelle stood holding hands at the edge of the group. There was something about the air in Whangaparaoa—romance seemed to take over, putting people together.
Another tapping of silver on glass, and Lily’s breasts rose on an intake of that magical air.
Charlotte grinned at her. ‘Let’s do it.’ She handed Lily the sheet of paper with her vows, but Lily knew them by heart.
‘Max.’ She reached for his free hand. ‘We didn’t make it easy for ourselves, but it has been a journey I’ll never forget or regret. Along the way I saw your strength, care and kindness, your big heart and most of all your love. I have found my soul mate. I love you with all my heart. Thank you for what you’ve given me.’ She stretched up and kissed him, a salty kiss that was gentle and full of all she had to give him.
‘Thanks, sweetheart,’ he whispered against her lips, before straightening up and taking his vows from Charlotte. ‘Lily Scott, I love you. You’ve turned my life around, and for that I give you everything. I can’t promise to be perfect, but I’ll do my best, and I will always love you. And our daughter, and any brothers or sisters she may have in the future.’ He got down on one knee. ‘Thank you for accepting me into your life.’
Bending down, she kissed him again, then held his hand as he stood up.
Charlotte was wiping a hand across her eyes. ‘That’s enough.’
Behind them everyone laughed.
‘Now you can swap wedding rings.’
Max dug into his pocket and withdrew a box from which he withdrew a gold band. ‘Lily, with this ring I pledge to love and cherish you, to care for and protect you for ever as my wife.’ The ring slid onto her finger without a hitch.
She stared at it. It felt so right. Perfect. Charlotte was handing her a similar box. Taking out the ring, she reached for Max’s hand. ‘Max, I pledge to honour and care for you for ever.’ She locked her eyes on his, and saw he knew she meant for ever, no getting sick. ‘I love you, as my friend, my lover, my fiancé and about-to-be husband.’ She had to push the ring hard to get it over his knuckle.
Charlotte grinned. ‘I am so happy to say this. I now declare Lily and Max husband and wife. I give you Mr and Mrs Bryant.’
Loud cheers burst out and they were surrounded by everyone, hugging and rejoicing. Until Josie interrupted with a loud call. ‘Uncle Max.’
Lily laughed. ‘Uncle Max.’
Josie had abandoned her wheelchair for crutches today. She came up to stand in front of her new uncle. ‘Welcome to the family.’
Just as Max started to smile, she added, ‘Auntie Lily is special. Don’t ever hurt her or there’ll be trouble from me.’
Max gaped, then roared with laughter. ‘I wouldn’t dare.’ He pulled her into a long hug as all around them laughter filled the air.
Locking his eyes on Lily, he smiled. ‘We’ve done it. I love you.’
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Sue MacKay
The Nurse’s Secret
Reclaiming Her Army Doc Husband
A Fling to Steal Her Heart
The Nurse’s Twin Surprise
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from One Night with Her Italian Doc by Karin Baine.
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One Night with Her Italian Doc
by Karin Baine
CHAPTER ONE
SOPHIE BLYTHE WAS a terrible, horrible person. Why else would the woman she’d agreed to care for on the cruise of a lifetime currently be on a drip in the onboard medical centre?
‘I’m so sorry, Edith. It’s my fault you’re in this state. I should’ve been keeping a closer eye on you.’
‘Nonsense. I’m seventy-eight years old. I’m responsible for my own actions,’ she insisted, albeit weakly, from her hospital bed.
‘You brought me with you on this trip to look after you.’ So far, she hadn’t done a very good job. They’d only boarded the cruise ship at Barcelona three days ago and they were already having a medical emergency.
Working full time in a care home, it was literally Sophie’s job to look after the elderly and infirm. She had only taken time out because her neighbour had asked her to accompany her on this trip. With her mobility issues, Edith needed someone to help her get around and Sophie had been keen to escape from the aftermath of her break-up with Ryan. A cruise around the Mediterranean was supposed to be doing them both a world of good. But they were off to a dubious start.
Edith slid her hand over the crisp white sheets to clasp Sophie’s. ‘You’ve been a blessing to me. I wouldn’t have seen half of the things so far if it hadn’t been for you taking care of me and organising transportation. It’s not your fault this silly old woman fell asleep on her balcony in the sun. Stop worrying.’
The reminder of those adventures they’d enjoyed before her travel
companion had become ill raised a smile on Sophie’s lips. They’d been overawed by the sheer volume of noise and number of people in Barcelona as they’d explored the sprawling stalls of Las Ramblas, looking for souvenirs.
Later, the hop-on-hop-off bus they’d taken at their leisure had driven past all manner of designer stores and the fantasy-scape of Gaudi’s architecture. She’d found joy in the chatter of the parakeets high up in the trees and the sight of decorative water imps playing in the majestic fountains before they’d even embarked on the ship.
‘Pompeii was certainly an experience, wasn’t it?’ They’d wandered the sprawling ruins of Pompeii together, both amazed at the mosaics and painting still visible in some of the buildings, and solemn when they’d seen the body casts of those frozen in time by the eruption of Vesuvius.
‘It was. Naples wasn’t at all what I expected either. So many colourful scooters and those Italian policemen...phew.’ Edith’s sense of humour had helped make this trip so much fun and had taken Sophie’s mind off matters at home in England.
Waking up in the mornings in her state room, opening the curtains to find herself in a different port every day was exactly the kind of adventure Sophie thought she needed to re-centre herself.
This Bohemian lifestyle suited her. She’d lived it in her twenties. Once she’d got her nursing qualifications, she’d travelled the world, using her skills to take placements where she could. It was a legacy from her parents that she hadn’t been able to stay still for long. Her father had been a wannabe rock star who’d had no intention of giving up touring pubs and clubs simply because he’d got someone pregnant.
He hadn’t put her mother off unsuitable men either. He was only one in a line of eternal bachelors she’d followed from town to town, hopping from one relationship to the next in the hope of finding love. They were hardly the foundations for a stable childhood. Or role models. Sophie had no experience of settled family life. She didn’t even know where either of them were at this moment in time.