Falling for Her Fake Fianc?

by Sue MacKay

  Kelli leaned close and placed the softest of kisses on his mouth, then she took his hand. ‘We’re going back to the art shop and you are going to buy yourself a painting. It’s past time you got out in the real world again.’

  ‘And you think a painting is the answer?’

  She stopped at that, turned so her fierce cobalt gaze locked on him. ‘You felt that painting—the moods it invoked were there in your eyes, on your face. It pulled you right in and touched something deep. I don’t know what that was but I do know that painting has your name on it.’

  ‘What if I don’t want to look at it every day and feel those emotions it brought back?’

  She hesitated, and he thought he’d won. But no, this was Kelli. ‘Maybe it’s time you did feel all those emotions you’ve obviously kept clamped down deep inside. Maybe you’re ready to face living fully again, moving on and finding happiness. Everyone deserves it, Mac. Even you.’

  Blimey, she didn’t hold back. Gave it like a metal truck dumping its load at the quarry. It was too much to take in right now. He did best when he let thoughts and emotions infiltrate slowly, one fact at a time. ‘What about you? Don’t you deserve it too?’

  ‘I wasn’t aware I was avoiding it,’ was her acerbic retort.

  ‘Oh, really?’

  ‘I am not shutting out happiness. I’m just afraid I won’t find anyone to love me enough to overlook my imperfections so that I can trust that happiness.’

  Her ex had done a right number on her. What he wouldn’t like to do to him. How to put his feelings out there without getting too involved and giving Kelli hope he was afraid to follow up on? ‘I truly don’t understand. You are so beautiful, inside and out. No one’s perfect but in my book you’re damned close.’

  Her mouth fell open, quickly followed by tears tracking down her cheeks. He wrapped her into a tight hug, his shirt getting a soaking and his heart a pounding.

  When Kelli finally pulled back in his arms to look at him, she asked, ‘What are we doing to each other?’

  Setting ourselves up for a big fall. ‘Telling it how we see it. Being honest, in other words.’ Except he wasn’t totally. Opening his heart wasn’t—A scream shattered the fragile air around them. ‘What’s going on?’ Mac stared around the shops and the street, saw two women running out of a café, and headed their way.

  ‘The chef’s been electrocuted!’ one of them shouted. ‘We need help. I think his heart’s stopped.’

  Help. Mac’s key word. ‘I’m a doctor. Kelli here’s a nurse.’ He looked around at the shocked faces of pedestrians. ‘Is anyone a local? We need to find a defibrillator.’

  ‘There’s one in the superette. I’ll grab it,’ a man called, already racing away.

  Kelli ran into the café, pushing through the throng of people gaping into the interior, not waiting for anything.

  Mac took after her. Arriving in the kitchen, he heard Kelli ask as she knelt beside the stricken young chef, ‘How long has she been down?’

  ‘A minute, a bit longer.’ The guy swallowed. ‘Lauren—she was using the hand-beater, whipping the gravy. It must’ve short-circuited.’ Another swallow. ‘I’m the manager, haven’t had anything like this happen before.’

  ‘Stay clear everyone,’ Mac warned. ‘Don’t touch that beater,’ he snapped at Kelli as she reached for the girl’s hand gripping the utensil.

  ‘I’ve turned off the power to the switches,’ the manager informed them.

  Kelli was onto it, immediately kicking the beater out of Lauren’s hand, then starting CPR. The girl was pale as sand while blue around her lips.

  ‘Where’s that defib?’ Mac asked as he dropped to his knees on the other side of their patient. ‘Have you called the ambulance?’ He flicked a quick look to the manager.

  ‘They’re on their way.’ The man was calming down now that he had medical help for his chef. ‘So’s the air ambulance.’

  ‘Here’s the defib,’ someone yelled.

  ‘Get it charging,’ Mac instructed as he tore Lauren’s chef jacket down the middle. ‘Wish we had some oxygen.’

  Kelli kept up the compressions, a sweat breaking out on her forehead. ‘Your wish is about to be granted. I hear a siren.’

  ‘Clear the area around your patient,’ intoned the defibrillator.

  ‘Everyone stand back,’ Mac repeated the message as he placed the paddles on Lauren’s chest. With a quick glance around to make sure those in the room had heeded his request, he shocked the chef.

  Her body jerked upward, fell back.

  Feeling for a pulse, Kelli shook her head.

  ‘Stand back,’ Mac commanded though no one had moved.

  Another shock, another jerk off the floor, and then a flicker of an eyelid, a slight rise of Lauren’s chest.

  ‘Yay, we have a result.’ Kelli huffed air over her lips. ‘A good result.’ Her fingers were on the pulse, nodding as she silently counted the beats.

  ‘The best.’ Mac sat back on his haunches as paramedics rushed purposefully into the room, carrying oxygen and all the other necessary paraphernalia to keep Lauren alive and well. Quickly explaining what he knew, he moved out of the way and left the experts to the job. ‘That calls for a very strong coffee,’ he told Kelli as they walked through the humming café.

  The talking stopped and clapping broke out.

  The manager pointed to a table out on the pavement. ‘Take a seat and I’ll bring you those coffees. On the house. I can’t thank you enough for your rapid response. Lauren was very lucky you were in town.’

  ‘Glad to be of help,’ Mac agreed.

  ‘How do you take your coffees?’

  With their orders in place Mac settled on a seat and stretched his legs along the side of the table. ‘Things like what just happened remind me why I became a doctor. The unexpected can happen to anyone anywhere and it’s an awesome feeling being able to step in and do something constructive.’ He was feeling good.

  ‘Then you should shout yourself a reward. That painting’s got your name on it.’ Kelli grinned at him. Then her breath seemed to hitch in her throat and her teeth did that nibbly thing on her bottom lip as the grin faded. She looked away as her cheeks began turning a strawberry shade.

  Mac understood that breathing problem. It was going on in his lungs too. He didn’t think his cheeks had taken on the red hue but he definitely wanted to nibble something. His brain was not in sync with the rest of his body. ‘We don’t have to wait for the coffee.’

  ‘Here you go, folks.’ Two large cups appeared on the periphery of Mac’s vision, along with a plate of chocolate and strawberry muffins. Strawberry? Yes, the same shade as Kelli’s cheeks. ‘Thanks,’ he muttered.

  ‘Thank you,’ Kelli told the hovering manager and picked up the huge coffee cup and wrapped her shaking hands around it. ‘Those muffins look delicious.’

  Don’t spill the coffee, Mac warned silently. We’ll be here all day while another round is made and more food brought out.

  She must’ve got the message because her grip tightened.

  ‘You’re welcome.’ Finally the guy moved off.

  ‘Isn’t that too hot to hold onto?’ Mac queried lamely, all out of what to say to her without double entendre. Her fingers had to be burning.

  The colour in Kelli’s cheeks intensified. She sipped at the frothy milk on top of her coffee. Still not looking at him.

  Now what? Hot? Too hot to hold onto? She had it bad. So did he. His gut had tightened in anticipation. ‘I suppose it would be rude to leave right now,’ he half asked, half stated.

  Kelli nodded emphatically, making a moue with her mouth. ‘I reckon.’

  ‘And this is too hot.’ He blew on his long black. ‘Boiling, can’t drink it just yet.’

  Suddenly Kelli laughed, a free and happy sound that w
ent straight to his heart. ‘I hope the resort staff haven’t cleaned our room and sent our bags to the luggage room yet.’

  Mac wanted to wrap her hand in his, kiss her knuckles, knew that’d only turn him on even more. ‘We don’t have to be out until two. Should be just enough time for what’s on your mind.’

  Those alluring eyes widened, and colour crept into her cheeks again. ‘My mind hasn’t a lot to say at the moment. Except we are going back to that art shop on the way to the resort.’

  ‘Persistent, aren’t you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  And he’d better not forget that. Nor could he deny any longer that he wanted to take another look at the painting. It would look perfect on the west wall of his sitting room, the first thing someone would see when they entered the room. It would demand attention, more than the view of the harbour bridge and the sea beyond. But still he said, ‘I don’t need a blasted painting any more than I need a pet dog.’

  ‘Don’t tempt me.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  MONDAY, AND KELLI hit the gym before starting work. Her body was exhausted, every muscle had its own tune of cramps and tiredness, but there’d been a lot of serious eating and drinking over the weekend that needed dealing with.

  She’d done some weights and was clocking onto the treadmill when that sexy deep voice that lifted bumps on her skin and kept her awake the night before interrupted her concentration.

  ‘Hey, Kelli. Didn’t expect to see you in here this early.’ Mac strolled into sight.

  ‘I was at a loose end.’ Restless and wound up tighter than a ball of string and unable to focus on anything. ‘You’re early too.’

  ‘I’d done my laundry, cleaned the bathroom and got in groceries for the week, and still had time to kill before going into work.’ How Mac managed to step onto the treadmill beside her without doing a face plant was beyond her. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her legs from the moment he’d turned up.

  Heat and need spread through her, blanketing her hang-ups about her body with something far more exciting and game changing because now she understood what that look meant, had experienced how Mac followed up with his hands and mouth. They were in the middle of the gym, surrounded by people working out. Get real. This was not the place to be craving Mac’s touch. Struggling for normality—her old normality—Kelli dredged up an inane comment. ‘I did pretty much the same things this morning.’

  Mac nodded, still focused on her legs. ‘Way too wired to be hanging out doing nothing.’

  So he felt the same as she did. There was no holding in the smile now spreading across her face. ‘I didn’t know you could be so domestic.’

  ‘Needs must,’ he grunted as he hit the buttons, finally dragging his eyes forward. ‘Now for a hard workout.’

  Kelli was already jogging slowly, warming up before hitting the hills button. ‘That painting look good on your wall?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘What’s wrong? You regretting your purchase?’

  ‘Too late for that. I’m enamoured with it, which is unnerving. I live a very clean-cut style; no mementos other than one photo, no pictures cluttering the walls, or unnecessary lampshades and furniture to dust.’

  Sterile. Uninvolved. ‘Keeping the world at arm’s length.’ He’d have fifty fits if he saw her bedroom.

  ‘It’s who I am, Kelli.’ Oh-oh, the serious tone had switched on. ‘You’d best remember that.’

  Her stomach knotted. ‘Hard to gel that version of you with the man I spent the weekend with. Sure you like living so remotely?’

  ‘It’s safer that way.’

  ‘Safe can be restrictive,’ Kelli argued, knowing she was guilty of doing the same until Mac came into her life.

  ‘Less confronting.’

  ‘To what?’ Her heart had already taken a tumble and there was quite likely a load of pain waiting in the background for the day Mac didn’t want to stare at her legs.

  A pager sounded and it wasn’t until she saw Mac tug something from his waistband that she realised where the peeps had come from.

  ‘There goes my workout.’ Mac hit the slow button. ‘I’m wanted in ED. Seems Michael’s got a problem.’

  Kelli nodded, swallowed the flare of annoyance that she’d been relegated to second. As head of department he had to go. It was bad timing, was all. They were actually talking about something serious and probably important to their future. If there was going to be a future, and she had no idea where they stood on that. No point trying to keep Mac here when he was wanted in the department. That was a no go. ‘See you later.’

  ‘Back to reality.’ A brief twisted smile accompanied his words.

  ‘Saved by the pager,’ she acknowledged.

  Mac didn’t hear her. Or chose not to, striding out of the gym without finishing that uncomfortable conversation.

  Suddenly the leftover fizz from the weekend dropped away, leaving her lethargic and barely able to put one foot in front of the other. The bubble had burst. Mac hadn’t changed anything. His offer to stand by her had been for the duration of the wedding. No need to discuss breaking up. Confronting her family to explain had always been part of the deal.

  The problem was that she’d gone and given away her heart to Mac. Of course she shouldn’t have, but that suggested she’d had control over it. Fat chance. Spending so much time with Mac, having fun and getting to know him better, seeing a different side to the serious specialist—what was there not to fall in love with? The sparks had flown, back and forth. Leanne had commented about how hot she and Mac were together and that took involvement from both parties.

  Involvement, Mac. When you get close to someone. When you share things—conversations, meals, friends and family. Involvement.

  Sweat trickled down her back, soaked the waistband of her knee-length sports pants. Yuck. Her legs protested every step and her lungs moved in and out as if they were under water. Was she drowning? Under a blanket of unrequited love? Whatever Mac thought was a mystery. She’d seen desire light up his eyes uncountable times over the past three days. Had been loved with skill and abandonment, with wonder and joy. What do you think of me, Mac? Huh? Do you care enough to carry on seeing me?

  Her legs won. No point in hauling them through the kilometres when they moved like lead weights.

  Hitting the ‘stop’ button, she lurched against the hand bar and kept her balance. Just. Time for a shower and a coffee then she’d sign on for the shift.

  Hopefully Mac would be friendly and not doing his serious thing as if she was a problem that had to be put in its box.

  * * *

  The department was full to bursting when Kelli slouched in. Mac was nowhere to be seen for handover, and those in the day shift were subdued. Too quiet.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Kelli asked Stephanie, who’d been standing behind the counter flicking through patient notes.

  ‘Everyone will hear soon enough.’ Then Stephanie sniffed. ‘Michael lost a patient, and he’s not coping very well. A wee boy with a massive allergic reaction to some food product.’

  A wee boy. That was hard to take and, for the doctor in charge, distressing beyond imagination. ‘That’s why Mac got that message.’ And she’d been thinking he’d been in a hurry to leave her. Selfish didn’t begin to cover her thoughts. Sorry, Mac. Sorry, Michael.

  ‘They’re shut in his office going over what happened. Hopefully Mac can reassure Michael that he did everything right.’ Stephanie looked worried.

  ‘That explains the full cubicles. Down a doctor. What was Michael doing on day shift anyway?’

  ‘He started early to cover another registrar who went off sick. One of those kind of days.’ Stephanie handed her a file. ‘Cubicle three, male, fifty-five, arrhythmia, SOBOE, no known history. Monitor him and I’ll send a doctor as soon as I have one avail
able. We need to get things moving around here, even if we only clear some of the minor cases until Mac’s able to join us.’

  ‘No problem.’ Heading across to the cubicle opposite the department centre where more serious patients were kept under watch, Kelli glanced down the page of notes she’d been handed, took in the relevant details, and tried not to think about Michael and how he must be feeling. The guy was good, didn’t make mistakes, but all doctors met their challenges, and today was his turn. ‘Hi, Will. I’m Kelli, the nurse who’s going to be keeping an eye on you for the next hour or two.’

  ‘A lot of fuss about nothing, if you ask me. You’ve got far more serious patients needing your attention,’ Will blustered.

  The woman beside him introduced herself as his wife and said, ‘Will, no one’s asking you. The nurses are telling you there’s something wrong with your heart and if you think I want you at home before we know what’s going on, then think again.’

  Kelli raised a thumb in the woman’s direction. ‘Will, your wife’s right. We can’t be discharging you only to have you brought back in a far worse condition later, now can we?’

  Will blanched. ‘I guess not.’

  ‘You’ve had a shock, physically and mentally.’ She was reading the heart monitor’s printout. ‘See how those peaks are not nice and even? That’s an abnormal rhythm and the doctors will want to find out the cause.’

  ‘Am I going to have heart surgery?’ All the bluster had gone out of her patient’s voice. ‘I’ve never been under the knife before.’

  His wife gripped his hand. ‘It won’t be as serious as that.’ The look that she threw Kelli was imploring her to reassure her husband.

  ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Your BP is high, but your lungs are clear of fluid, which is good. I’m here to keep monitoring you. A doctor will be along soon—’ cross her fingers ‘—to explain what’s happened and what your treatment might be. He’ll discuss your symptoms and results with a cardiologist who will decide the next move.’