Just One Kiss (Hearts of the Outback Book 1)

by Susanne Bellamy

  Amy appeared at his side, her laptop clutched in one hand and a gym bag in the other. “That was a really good rehearsal, especially once Lizzy got here. I didn’t know she had such a good sense of rhythm and timing, and she moves so well.”

  “You wrote a great scene, Amy. It will be a hit on the night.”

  “Thanks. You—didn’t mention where we’re going for dinner. I, um, brought a good dress to change into, in case it was somewhere that, you know, needed—”

  “Who’s up for the pub? Amy? Dan?” Tess bounced up to them, a bright smile replacing her usual little sneer.

  Lizzy stood and linked arms with Tess. “You know, you haven’t told me about that cute guy you said you wanted to go out with. Come and tell me all about him.” She turned to Amy and Dan was certain she winked as she added, “See you at work on Monday.”

  “Dan, did what I think happen just happen?”

  “Yep, Lizzy’s become human.”

  ##

  “Not quite what I expected when you invited me to dinner.” Amy inhaled the fragrant aroma of the Thai entrée Dan placed in front of her. Bamboo placemats and apple green linen serviettes graced the table, one of his mother’s housewarming gifts when he graduated and moved into his own apartment.

  Dan served himself and slid into the seat opposite. He flicked open his serviette and dropped it across his trousers. “I had to answer the challenge you laid down.”

  “What challenge?”

  “My first day on the job, at the pub. You reckoned I couldn’t cook. I thought I should show you I’m not just a pretty face. Tuck in.”

  Amy tasted her Pho Ga soup and glanced at Dan. “It’s delicious. Did you really make this yourself?”

  “I’m wounded to the core that you doubt me. And so would my mother be. Check out the rubbish bin if you like. You won’t find any takeaway containers lurking in the depths.” Sending silent thanks to his mother for teaching him how to cook in his teens, he dipped his spoon into his bowl.

  “Tell me about your mother. She’s a doctor too, isn’t she?”

  “Both Mum and my grandfather, although he retired a few years ago. Mum used to take me along to her bush clinics when I was little. I remember being fascinated by the places we visited and later, by the range of work Mum did in remote communities. It seemed she helped so many people and I wanted to be like her and Gramps.”

  “Where did your grandfather work?”

  “He was a Flying Doctor for many years in New South Wales.”

  “And now you’re continuing the family tradition. That’s wonderful, Dan.”

  “It’s been my goal since I began studying medicine. I figured I’d get a specialty and some experience in a big hospital before I took to the air. It—happened sooner than I’d planned.” He scooped up the rest of his soup and cleared the empty bowls. As much as he wanted to clear the air with Amy, telling her about Gosford seemed more than he was ready for.

  Clattering the dishes in the sink, he served the next course, taking more time than necessary to add the coriander and chilli curl garnish. “I hope you like chilli? I should have asked before today.”

  “Love it. What have you cooked?”

  “One of my favourites. Green curry chicken with eggplant and corn.” He set one dish in each place and turned back to collect a communal bowl of rice, which he placed close to Amy.

  “Oh my God, that smells awesome.”

  “Please start.” Dan watched as Amy helped herself to the main course before serving himself, but his appetite had deserted him. A mouthful of wine didn’t help, not when his stomach was turning cartwheels. The evening would end up a disaster if he didn’t pull himself together. Amy was already watching him as though she wasn’t sure whether to call the men in white coats.

  Psyching himself up, he put down his fork and met Amy’s enquiring gaze. “I said I had something to ask you but I’m finding it hard to know where to start.”

  She put her fork down and picked up her wine glass. “The beginning is usually a good place.”

  “Something happened in Gosford and I felt I had to leave. Start afresh. The vacancy up here hadn’t even been advertised but I heard about it through a friend who works for the RFDS in New South Wales. I applied and here I am.” He drank a mouthful of wine and reached for the bottle to top up their glasses.

  “O . . .kay. So . . . what did you want to ask me?”

  What did he want from her? Since the incident at the Campbell property, a strong compulsion to get to know Amy better had gripped him. But he couldn’t begin any sort of relationship until he’d cleared the air. She deserved to know the skeleton in his closet and decide for herself what sort of man he was.

  “How much had you heard about—me before I started?”

  “Not a thing other than your name. Why?”

  “The night we met, I thought you must have heard about what happened in Gosford.”

  “I didn’t even know who you were then. Other than the bloke who’d laughed when he saw my knickers and whose beer I’d tipped over him.” Her smile encouraged him to continue.

  “The beer missed my shirt. But Mike told me who you were and I assumed you knew who I was. When you stopped to help me at the side of the road, I thought you were angry to be partnered with me.”

  “I was embarrassed because I’d behaved childishly when you laughed at me.”

  “Not at you. Like any red-blooded male, I was appreciating the view.” And hadn’t that normal masculine reaction blown out of proportion in his mind, all because of one incident? Certain that his new pilot knew of the allegation against him, he had subdued the natural attraction he’d felt for Amy and fought to remain neutral in their daily interactions.

  “Dan, what did happen in Gosford?”

  His stomach clenched as fear tightened his throat. Leaving Gosford had been about leaving behind the allegations and now, he was about to bring the past crashing into his present. But wasn’t this why he’d asked Amy to dinner?

  Fighting the attraction had proven to be harder than he’d foreseen. And facing the business end of a gun had reminded him how tenuous life could be. He didn’t want to give up the chance that Amy might just like him for himself. That she might believe in him.

  “A young intern, a woman, had begun stalking me. One night, she abandoned her post in Emergency and threw herself at me. I was trying to extricate myself without causing a fuss when the head doctor, her uncle, walked in. She spotted him before I knew he was standing behind me. She’d already been in a bit of strife over her substandard performance; leaving Emergency when she did would have been the end of her career so she accused me of sexually harassing her.”

  Amy reached across the table and covered his hand. “What an awful thing to happen to you. Is that what you meant when you asked if I knew about you?”

  “Yes. I’ve always tried to create a pleasant and happy workplace. Maybe I gave her the wrong idea and she thought I was—interested—if you know what I mean?” Each time he’d examined his working relationship with Carissa, the conclusion was the same. He’d treated her the same as all the other interns in the hospital.

  “What happened then?”

  “Colleagues stood up and openly offered their support, but I felt like everyone was—wondering. No smoke without fire, you know?” Thankful he’d had good working relationships with people who were prepared to defend him had helped him get through the inquiry. But the slur cast over his good name had bit deep.

  “Anyone who knows you wouldn’t think that. But what I don’t understand is why this—intern thought you’d be interested in her, anyway?” Amy rested her elbows on the table and lowered her chin onto her folded hands as she posed the question. Wrangling with that had kept him awake nights too.

  “She was attractive and knew it. And I’ve always been friendly and encouraging to my staff. Maybe she misread that as more than it was.”

  “Is that why you’ve been distant with the women at work? Well, with the single one
s, at least?”

  “Was it that obvious?”

  “Duh, yeah. You even had me wondering if you were a misogynistic b—”

  “No, I’m not. But I don’t want to go through anything like that again.” It seemed caution had made him standoffish and he wanted to rectify that.

  “Dan, you’re a good-looking man and women will always appreciate looking. That doesn’t mean every female is out to make life difficult for you.”

  “You make me sound like a pompous ass. I’m just being careful.”

  “So careful you’ve become a challenge to half the females on base!” Amy shook her head and picked up her fork. With a pile of noodles halfway to her mouth, she paused and looked at him with a speculative gleam in her eyes. “You could tell them, you know. Like you did with me.”

  Shuddering at the thought, Dan wound thin noodles onto his fork and forced himself to eat a mouthful. “Telling you was hard enough. No, I just want a comfortable workplace with no complications.”

  “Dan, so far, you’ve told me why you joined the RFDS, but you haven’t asked me anything. What do you want me to do?”

  “I want to make it clear I’m not ‘available’.”

  “How will you do that?”

  “By giving everyone a clear message that I’m not—available.”

  “How do you plan to do that?”

  “Will you be my girlfriend?”

  Chapter Ten

  “So, you and Doctor Dan are going out, hey, Amy?”

  “What?” Amy gripped her clipboard and turned to see Sharyn leaning nonchalantly against the door from the office. Narrowed eyes pinned her to the spot and Sharyn’s stretched lips barely passed as a facsimile of a smile.

  If word was already out about Amy and Dan dating, the gossip mill had beaten all previous records. Amy clasped the clipboard to her chest. Dan had agreed not to say anything and she trusted his word. So how—?

  “You really should be more careful if you want to keep your—relationship—a secret. But he’s such a hottie, why would you?”

  “We’re not. I mean, what makes you think we are?”

  “Oh, that neat little side step after rehearsal for one thing. Tess told me you avoided going to the pub with the rest of the cast, and so did dishy Doctor Dan.”

  “We had a—planning dinner. People have working meals all the time.”

  Sharyn grinned as though she’d won first prize.

  Mentally, Amy kicked herself. Avoiding Sharyn’s fishing tactic should have been a no-brainer but now she’d handed confirmation and details to a woman who would use them to gain whatever leverage she could.

  “Is that what you’re calling it?” Sharyn held out her right hand and paid her manicure an undue amount of attention. “Looked more like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to me.”

  Heat blazed through Amy as she recalled that one simple kiss on the cheek as she left Dan’s house. He’d held her shoulders and bent close enough that his aftershave was imprinted on her senses. Close enough that she’d been tempted to turn her head and connect with his mouth in a way that would have satisfied her curiosity about Doctor Dan. In a way that wouldn’t have been fair to Dan’s preferences or to the trust he’d shown in asking for her help.

  So she’d resisted the temptation and accepted his chaste kiss on her cheek. Ironically, the kiss, brief and chaste as it was, had been seen and noted as exactly what she wished it could be. As what Amy would have liked it to have been if her world was more giving.

  “Don’t make out on the front veranda if you don’t want to kiss and tell. Oh, and here’s a tip for you, Tweety Bird. A bloke like the doc, he won’t stick around for long with a woman like you. He needs someone more—” Her eyes narrowed on something past Amy’s shoulder. “Hi, Dan, I heard it was a good rehearsal. Sorry I couldn’t make it. I was just telling Amy that you need someone more experienced to whip those girls into shape.”

  Dan came to a halt beside Amy and met her gaze before answering Sharyn. “Lizzy was great. She got them to dance in time and energised them, didn’t she, Amy?”

  “Yeah, she was tops.” For the life of her, Amy couldn’t come up with anything more. Should she let Dan know that their ‘secret’ was common knowledge already?

  Sharyn pushed off the wall and drew level with Dan. One finger traced a path across his chest before she stepped in close to him. “I’m having a small party at my place next weekend. You’ll come, won’t you, Dan? It won’t be any fun if you don’t.” She offered a pretty pout and a flutter of her false eyelashes.

  Dan tensed and eased away. Towards Amy.

  Understanding what he needed, Amy slipped her hand into his and pressed up against his side. “I’m not sure if we’re free but we’ll let you know. Thanks for asking us, Sharyn.”

  Amy looked up at Dan, hoping like crazy she’d done what he wanted.

  He smiled at her, and nodded before turning to Sharyn. “Yes, thanks for the invitation. Can we let you know later?”

  Venom filled Sharyn’s eyes as her gaze connected with Amy’s and, just for a moment, Amy was reminded of the taipan she’d seen up close on a long-ago school excursion.

  “No worries, Dan. And, hey, good to see you’re—making friends. Toodles.”

  As soon as the door closed behind Sharyn, Dan squeezed Amy’s hand. “Did she really just say ‘toodles’?”

  Amy nodded and bit her lip before laughter burst forth. “Oh my God, have you been putting up with—that—since you arrived?”

  “Yep. See why I needed a bad-ass pilot to protect me? Thanks for throwing yourself into the fray.”

  Amy sobered immediately and looked around. Nobody was nearby but she lowered her voice. “She knew already. About us. She saw us on your veranda. It sounds like she’s stalking you. I didn’t think to ask how she came to be outside your house last night.”

  “Sharyn was at my home last night?”

  “Maybe she happened to be driving by. But yeah, she saw us and felt compelled to track me down to tell me. Tess spilled the beans about us not joining the after-rehearsal drinks.”

  “Amy, I’m sorry if I’ve put you in a difficult situation. When I asked you to be my girlfriend, I promised to give you time to consider.”

  “Looks like you’re stuck with me for now. So, boyfriend, I’ll expect a Thai meal like that every week to keep me sweet.” She winked at Dan, turned, and took three steps away, then turned back and fluttered her fingers. “Toodles, darling.”

  ##

  Dan watched Amy disappear around the rear of the plane and a feeling of light-hearted relief suffused him. She knew about Gosford and she trusted him. He could work with that. He straightened his shoulders and headed for the office.

  “So, Doc, you and our Tweety Bird, hey? Didn’t see that coming.” Johnno tossed a spanner in a couple of passes between his hands.

  “It’s recent.”

  “None of my business. So long as she’s happy, it’ll stay that way.”

  “Understood. But I don’t intend to hurt her.” Ridiculously, it made Dan feel good knowing others were watching out for Amy. Especially if Sharyn decided to make life difficult.

  Amy was strong minded and independent but he didn’t want to cause problems for her. Pretending to be his girlfriend would surprise some colleagues and stop the less than subtle efforts of some of the women. From their pretence, he would build their relationship into the real thing.

  Strangely, facing a gun had given him clarity and perspective. What had been a giant thundercloud hanging over his head was now no more than a petty annoyance that would fade in time.

  “We had dinner after rehearsals last night and decided to—give it a go.”

  “So I heard. Tess made sure everybody knew.” Johnno cracked a wry grin. “Why don’t you and Ames come over for drinks on Wednesday. Terri won’t want to miss out on the story of how you two met while working on her show.”

  “I’ll check with Amy. Her brother may be released from hospital mid-week. We
’ll know more tomorrow.”

  “Fair enough.” Johnno turned back to the engine part on the bench and the sound of metal on metal clanged through the workshop.

  Dan continued to the office and a pile of paperwork. Digital or physical, some aspects of work never changed.

  ##

  “Are you really busy? Can I have a word, Dan?” Amy poked her head around his office door.

  Dan flexed his fingers and leaned back in his chair. “Come in. It’s time I had a break.”

  “Thanks.” Amy perched on the edge of a chair and sat on her hands. She bit her lip and he forgot all about work, and the report required by the police on Jebediah Campbell. There was no room in his body for thoughts of anything other than Amy and her delectable mouth. Why hadn’t he sealed their deal with a proper kiss? Finally, the tension radiating from her registered with him and he sought her gaze.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes. No. Probably.” Her attention wandered to his mouth before flicking back to his eyes. She cleared her throat. “We didn’t really think this through very well.”

  “What are you talking about?” Coherent thought fled as he recalled her soft skin, warm and silky in the tropical night, and the scent of her shampoo as his nose brushed her hair.

  “Our—relationship. Couples behave in certain ways—touch one another. Kiss.”

  “Your point is . . .?”

  “Well, you won’t exactly want to—kiss me.”

  “Won’t I? Please tell me why you think that might be a problem.” If only she knew how much he wanted to kiss her right at this moment. She’d probably run and keep running until she crossed the border. ‘Friends’, she’d said, and he had to be careful not to scare her away with his desire for more than that. Not yet.

  “After what happened to you, and knowing about your—background, I thought—well, why would you want to kiss me?”

  “I don’t have a problem with kissing you. In fact, I suspect I might—enjoyit.”

  “You do? But—”

  “Here’s an idea. Tell me if you don’t like it. How about we try one now?”