How To Resist A Heartbreaker

by Louisa George

  ‘Wow. That was worth the effort,’ she spluttered to one of the guides as she managed the final few metres. Her heart hammered hard in her chest and sweat ran in rivulets down her back.

  There were three-sixty-degree views as far as she could see—across the ocean to the east, and to the west where the melting sun cast a warm orange glow over the city and harbour. And right in the middle the Sky Tower rose magnificently, dwarfing the other buildings, like a needle jabbing the darkening sky.

  ‘Here, eat something, keep that energy up. You’re going to need it later.’ Winking at her, Max handed her a plastic plate of cheese and crackers from the backpack he’d lugged up the hill. ‘For the kayak home, obviously.’

  He seemed a little frayed perhaps but kept up the smile as he set out the rest of the picnic on one of the wooden seats that made up the hexagonal lookout. Hummus, chicken, potted salads. Delicious, if she’d had an appetite. And very cute that he’d brought enough for her, too. Food certainly wasn’t top of her list today.

  All around, happy faces munched and chatted, congratulated themselves on such a fun way to spend the afternoon, challenged each other to a race back down and across to the city. Someone proposed a toast, and champagne flowed into plastic flutes. ‘To the Paediatric HDU, and friends.’

  When she saluted them Gabby realised they were all raising their glasses to her. A buzz ripped through her. Knowing they’d accepted her had tears stinging her eyes. She was fast developing a group of friends she’d begun to care about.

  Since coming to Auckland she’d done things she’d never imagined possible with her restricted upbringing. Breaking those shackles had been such a relief, she’d invented a new persona for herself. One she liked. Finally.

  It was sad, then, that she had to let the best part of her experiences go. But she’d always known forever wasn’t something she could do—and not with a man like Max. She toasted them back, unable to drag her eyes away from his. So blue, fervent and vibrant. So trusting—that was there too. A first. So she really would have to be honest, as soon as they hit the mainland again.

  The thought of that made her head pound more. Her stomach knots tightened. She tore her gaze away and focused on his apartment high-rise, where she’d finally come to life again. Then the Sky Tower, where she’d confirmed that life, with his guidance. Auckland was Max’s city and she’d never think of it again without memories infused with him.

  ‘Time to move off, everyone. Watch your step as you go back down,’ the guide warned, as they all began to pack up. ‘It’s slippery underfoot and the head torches only allow a limited view. Keep close.’

  Gabby hung back to walk with Rachel.

  Big mistake.

  ‘So, you and Dr Make-You-Weep over there. What’s the story? He’s getting very cosy.’ Rachel’s tone was friendly and sincere. But it sent a rattle of nerves down Gabby’s spine. She didn’t want to become the subject of office gossip.

  ‘Oh? You think so? I can’t say I’ve noticed.’

  ‘Come on. He can’t keep his eyes off you. And you go gooey every time you look at him—like you’re melting right there on the spot. It’s pretty damned obvious there’s a thing happening.’

  ‘There’s no thing.’ Gabby’s voice crackled. She tried to keep it steady as she whipped up the pace. With Rachel’s probing questions and having lost sight of the others, she suddenly felt uncomfortable. They were falling behind. It was dark. And cold. And eerily quiet. ‘Let’s catch the others up. I don’t want to get lost.’

  ‘Wait. Hang on. Tell me about— Wait,’ Rachel called. Then, ‘Oomph…oww.’

  There was a slight shiver in the air, the crackle of breaking branches. A loud scream. A thump of bone versus wood.

  ‘Rachel? Where’ve you gone? Are you okay?’ Heart thumping against her ribcage, Gabby retraced her steps and shone the beam of her head torch onto the ground. Her friend had disappeared.

  No.

  ‘Rachel? Rachel? Where the hell are you?’

  This wasn’t funny. The darkness covered everything like a thick black shroud. Gabby squinted and tried to scan the area but it was too dark, too hard to see anything beyond muted shapes and shadows. She managed to make out a steep bush-covered ravine dropping off the side of the path. Through broken foliage, way down, she made out a shape. Her heart beat a panicked tattoo in her chest. ‘Rachel? Is that you? Are you okay?’

  The shape groaned. ‘I’m here,’ Rach whimpered. ‘My leg…hurts… I’m bleeding. A lot. Please. Help me.’ Her voice wobbled and Gabby heard the beginnings of a sob.

  Rachel was a competent nurse who wouldn’t freak easily. Which meant things were serious. On a tiny uninhabited island. In the dark. And now left behind by the others.

  Okay. Breathe. ‘Hold on. I’ll come and get you.’

  ‘No.’ Panic filled Rachel’s voice. Panic, and pain. ‘You won’t manage, it’s steep and dangerous. Get Rob. Max.’

  ‘I’ll come down first and check you out.’ With her first step into thin air Gabby lost her balance, grabbed on to roots and earth and then nothing with her flailing arms. Tumbled over and over down the ravine, scratching her skin on sharp twigs. ‘Whoa! This is lethal.’

  Her arm hit against a spindly trunk and she grabbed it, held on with everything ounce of strength she had, tearing the skin of her palm to shreds. Bringing her catapulting body to a hard stop.

  After a couple of seconds to catch her breath she pulled herself to standing and reassessed the situation.

  Safety first—assess the environment. Should have done that before. ‘Okay, Rach. Wait here. Don’t move. I’m going to scramble up to the path and get the others. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  ‘Please hurry. Please.’

  The pain in Rachel’s voice spurred her up the slippery incline.

  It was too dark and dangerous to run. The loose scoria slid under her weight and she had to concentrate on keeping upright. Stepping gingerly over the rubble, she called out to the others, trying not to sound like she felt. Lost and lonely, scared and hurting. ‘Max. Max. Quick!’

  In the distance she heard the low rumble of laughter.

  ‘Max!’ She called louder, unable to erase the panic from her voice. Kilometres of ocean stood between them and any proper medical help. And she still hadn’t been able to assess her friend in any kind of way. A lot of blood, she’d said. Gabby didn’t want to imagine the dark possibilities. But they were real. ‘Max. Please. Please. Help me.’

  The voices stopped. Then she heard a thunder of footsteps.

  Never had she felt so relieved as when she saw his large shape hurtle towards her out of the gloom. He was a doctor. He’d be able to sort out her friend.

  No. It was way more than that. Her heart lifted every damned time she set eyes on him.

  When he reached her his hands gripped her shoulders as he scanned her up and down. ‘What the hell…? Are you okay, Gabby? My God. You scared the living— You’re okay?’ Now he was holding her tight in his arms. His lips were pressing on her forehead. In front of the whole crowd.

  Before she shoved away she committed the feeling to memory. His smell. The shape of him. The feel of him as his body fitted so perfectly to hers. One last time. Her throat closed over and she forced words out as she directed them to the damaged foliage and the drop. ‘It’s Rachel. She’s down there. She’s hurt her leg.’

  And it’s my fault. She shouldn’t have hurried like that in the dark, shouldn’t have made Rachel run to catch up just because she was avoiding a difficult topic of conversation. ‘But be careful, Max. It’s dangerous.’ She wouldn’t forgive herself if something happened to him, too.

  Within seconds he was scrambling down the ravine, assessing the situation. After a few minutes his calm voice rose through the darkness. ‘Hey, listen, I think Rach has an open fibula fracture. We’re going to have to call the coastguard—there’s no way she can kayak back. But I need a hand to get her out.’

  Between them they scrambled to
gether a wound dressing and fashioned a splint out of a walking pole. Then they carried Rachel down to the jetty and waited for help to arrive. Night clung to them, darker and colder, as they waited anxious minutes.

  After what seemed an age, lights loomed out of the darkness and two paramedics jumped off a boat onto the jetty.

  As they waved her off, Max grinned. ‘She seems a lot better with Rob holding her hand. Job done.’

  ‘Yeah. There’s definitely something brewing there. I just wish it hadn’t all ended like that.’ Then she admitted the truth. ‘It was my fault.’

  ‘No, it wasn’t.’

  ‘I should have made us stay with the group.’

  Instead of trying to avoid you. I should have been honest from the start, instead of trying to take what I wanted.

  Greedy. Impetuous. Selfish. Nonna was right all along. One day you’ll pay, my girl.

  She’d been paying every day since.

  With all the excitement, Gabby had forgotten her own unease. But now it came back with force. Her legs turned jellylike as her stomach stabbed and swirled. ‘Please, can we go now? I’m so tired.’

  ‘Hey, you’re shaking. Here.’ Taking off his fleece jacket, Max wrapped it round her shoulders. Despite his heat coating her limbs, she didn’t think she’d ever be warm again. ‘Too much excitement for one day, eh?’

  Max held the kayak steady as she wobbled into it. Sitting down was the sweetest feeling she’d had for days. As she turned round to nod to him her vision didn’t keep up with her head. Whoa. She needed to lie down. Now.

  And she needed to find the right words to say to Max.

  But her head was filled with cotton wool. And she was so cold she longed for strong arms to warm her. His arms. Please.

  She began to shiver and had to focus hard on keeping the swaying paddling rhythm.

  She barely noticed the lanterns the guide had attached to poles on the kayaks bobbing gently in the breeze, creating a magical soft glow across the jetty.

  Barely felt the water spray her skin as Max powered the kayak towards the city.

  Barely realised she had no strength of her own to even hold the paddle now that every ounce of energy had deserted her. Exhaustion finally oozed into her bones and made her feel cold. So very cold.

  As she pulled the paddle towards her the pain in her belly intensified like a bright, sharp knife, twisting and turning. Sharper. Hotter. Harder.

  And suddenly she was falling into a black space… She tried to grab something, grasped for the paddle, at the water, at Max. Grabbed at nothing…

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ‘GABBY! GABBY!’ MAX’S heart pumped into overdrive. She’d slumped to the side, her face skimming dangerously close to the water.

  He couldn’t get purchase on her, though he grasped at her. Tried to pull her upright. ‘Gabby. Wake the hell up.’

  After hauling in her fast-disappearing paddle, he took a huge breath and leaned towards her, cursing the damned lack of space.

  If he leaned too far he’d capsize the kayak and have them both in the water.

  A scenario he didn’t want to contemplate.

  ‘Gabby. Come on, girl.’ He dragged her back by the shoulders and patted her cheeks, hoping his wet, cold fingers would jolt her awake. ‘Couldn’t you have done this when we had the coastguard out? Two rescues for the price of one? Hey, sweetheart. Wake up.’

  Her face was white, her lips dry. Crap. Pushing her hair back, he found a pulse. Weak and fast. She’d just fainted. But she wasn’t regaining consciousness. This wasn’t a regular thing. This was bad news.

  ‘Hey! Hey!’ Trying to get the attention of the other kayakers, he shouted. But the wind dragged his voice back out to sea.

  The shore was tantalisingly close. A few hundred metres, maybe. He could get there in a matter of minutes. Raise the alarm.

  Hauling in a breath, he infused every ounce of energy he had into getting her to that beach. His arms pumped until they burned. His lungs craved more and more oxygen but he was too focused on that shoreline to breathe.

  After moments that seemed like forever he was kneeling next to her on the damp sand. Using his lifejacket as a pillow, he laid her down and bent her legs against his chest. ‘Gabby. Come on, girl. Gabby.’

  God. Think. Focus. What could it be? Just a vasovagal? But why?

  ‘Max?’ Her eyes fluttered open and she cradled her stomach protectively. ‘It hurts so much…’

  Then she was gone again.

  He couldn’t even get her focused enough to answer simple questions.

  A few stragglers from the trip hovered around but he swatted them away. There was nothing for it. ‘I’m taking her in.’

  ‘Ambulance?’ someone shouted above the concerned huddle. ‘I’ll call one now.’

  Wait? For how long? Until she became critical? No way. He dampened down his tachycardia and worked out a plan. ‘I’m not prepared to wait. I’ll drive.’

  Picking her up, he stalked over the sand and across the road to his parked car. Edged her gently onto the back seat and made sure to keep her legs raised to stimulate oxygen flow back to her brain.

  That was when he noticed the blood.

  God. No. What the hell…?

  In all his years as a surgeon he’d never felt panic. Even when working on his nephew he’d had faith in his own capabilities. But right now, as adrenalin surged through him, his heart rate rocketed and he wanted her fixed. Immediately.

  Thrusting the car into heavy traffic, he cursed loudly. Then he put his foot down.

  *

  Running the length of the hospital car park barefoot, fuelled by a need to save her, he finally got her to the emergency department. Faster than an ambulance could have made it. And he’d managed to keep some kind of observation going in the rear-view mirror. Resps: too fast. Pain: severe. She’d flicked in and out of consciousness.

  He tried to keep his heart out of it. But, man, he couldn’t. Couldn’t reconcile the vivacious woman he knew with the damaged body in his arms. He would never leave her side again. Never.

  When he ran in and saw Mitchell his heart beat faster. The best ER medic in town.

  Thank God. And like Max himself, he would put everything aside to help his brother.

  Now he knew what Mitch had felt like when he had agreed to do Jamie’s surgery. Someone who had a vested interest—someone who’d care. He hoped. At least, if not for him then for Gabby. Mitch would repay the debt.

  He managed to haul in air and relay her symptoms as they found a trolley and laid her on it. ‘Weak, rapid pulse. Bleeding, I guess vaginally. She has severe pain in her abdomen.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Lower right side.’ He tugged hard at his tumultuous memory. What had she said…? ‘She mentioned something about her shoulder, too. Now I assume it could have been referred pain.’ They’d put it down to the jolt of the SkyJump.

  His hands fisted. Stupid. Damned stupid. They should have acted faster. He was a doctor. He should have known.

  His eyes were drawn to the blood on her shorts. Thick. Dark. Too much. His stomach twisted and he beat back nausea.

  Mitchell examined Gabby, talking gently, but she was too lost in pain to answer much. ‘Her blood pressure’s very low. I’ll fix some fluids to bring it up. And I’ll page the obstetrics reg.’ He attached an oxygen mask, heart and blood saturation monitors. ‘Any chance she could be pregnant?’

  Holy hell. It had flitted through Max’s head as a possible cause. But they’d used contraception the whole time. Condoms, and then the Pill. She’d been definitive about that, and said he’d been the first in a long time. Unless she’d been lying. ‘I don’t think so. But I guess technically she could be.’

  ‘We’ll run some tests. And do an ultrasound scan.’

  ‘I’ll come with her.’

  ‘You’ll get in the way, Max.’

  ‘You take her anywhere without me and there’ll be trouble.’ It was the first time he’d ever lost control. The fi
rst time he’d ever wanted to lay down his own life for someone else.

  Gabby’s eyes flicked open, searching around the room, and her frightened gaze fell on Max. She reached for his hand and held on as if her life depended on it. God, it just might if they didn’t find the cause.

  Hurry the hell up. ‘Give her some pain relief first.’

  His brother’s palm fitted onto Max’s shoulder. ‘Max, it’s okay. I know what I’m doing. I’ll sort it.’

  ‘Then do it.’ He twisted out of his brother’s grip and held Gabby’s hand, brushed her thick curls from her face.

  Damn her for not listening to him. Damn himself for not making sure she got checked out. It was his job to notice symptoms. But she’d been too caught up in making people happy, in putting herself at the bottom of the pecking order. And he’d been too caught up in letting her have her own way.

  He ran his hands through his hair. ‘Sort it now, Mitch.’

  He wasn’t prepared to lose her, not when he’d only just found her.

  *

  Five hours later, five damned hours, numbness ran through Max as he waited on a hard plastic chair outside Theatre Two. Okay, so he wasn’t supposed to be here. But, what the hell, he had to be somewhere since they’d all but banned him from the OR.

  Being a surgeon at least had some perks. They understood his panic. Cut him some slack. He drew the line at squinting through the blacked-out window, though. Couldn’t bear to see her like that, lifeless and fragile. Because he knew he’d be in there otherwise, throwing his weight around and interfering in stuff he’d be better to leave alone.

  A cup of weak hospital coffee was thrust under his nose. He took it, and when he looked up he was face to face with his mirror image. Only he knew he looked a damn sight worse right now. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘You okay?’ Mitch sat down next to him.

  It was comforting to have him here. Despite everything, there was a definite connection. Something that undercut the pain, something that went beyond the present and deep into a past that they both shared. Six years of the past where they’d been inseparable. So it was okay to be honest. ‘Nah. Truth is, Mitch, I’m scared for her.’