She’d never been kissed like that. Nowhere near it. Had never lost herself until all she could feel was a need for more. Her face heated at the thought. And wanted more.
Maybe she’d just been scared? She’d been so glad to see him, and to be wrapped in his arms and protected by him had seemed the most natural thing in the world. Her babies shifted and wriggled and she patted them gently as her head hit the pillow. ‘He’s not your daddy. And he’s not going to be. So get used to it.’
Suddenly there were tears on her pillow and her throat felt raw. She sniffed. ‘Stop it.’ She rolled over and after many determined breaths and tight closing of her eyes she did eventually fall asleep.
But her dreams were not so easily controlled. Someone was following her. Every time she stopped, they stopped.
When she turned round she couldn’t see who they were but she knew they were there and she couldn’t find the gate to get out of the house courtyard. Every path seemed to lead to a bare piece of fence with no opening and they were getting closer.
Suddenly she started to cry. She never cried. But the tears just fell more heavily.
A sob caught in her throat and she tried to hold back the flood because the stalker would hear her. Unconsciously she pulled her pillow over her face to muffle the sounds and cried as if her heart would break.
* * *
Across the lounge room Nick thought he heard something. Was that Lucy, talking to someone? He slipped from his bed and opened his door.
Nothing. No sounds. Then it came again. Very soft but audible out here. It was Lucy. Sobbing, and nothing could have stopped him knocking briefly and crossing the room to her.
‘Shh.’ He brushed the hair from her face but she just turned away. ‘Lucy, wake up.’ He shook her gently but she just became more agitated.
He couldn’t stand it. He didn’t know what to do except slip in beside her and pull her against his chest and cradle her in his arms. Nick wrapped himself around her until she buried her nose in his chest. He’d never let anything happen to Lucy.
Her hair was in his face. Her forehead in his chest. Babies up against his belly. Now, that was a new experience and he couldn’t help a tiny smile.
‘It’s okay.’ He stroked her back. ‘My poor brave girl. Life just keeps throwing stuff at you.’ He smoothed her hair. She mumbled something he couldn’t make out. ‘You’re fine. You’re safe.’
Slowly her breathing settled, and when Nick kissed the top of her head and then her cheek, still with her eyes shut she turned her damp face towards him.
He kissed her mouth gently and she smiled sleepily. ‘Go to sleep. I’ve got you.’
She murmured something and rolled in his arms so she was facing the other way, spooned into him. Nick swallowed uncomfortably. Exquisite agony to lie there with her so trusting against him.
His hand rested as if it belonged in the gorgeous hollow between her breasts and the other splayed on top of her rounded tummy. She snuggled in even closer and he stifled a groan. If it had been anyone else but Lucy he’d have said they were deliberately teasing him.
He felt the first roll of her belly and then a clear kick from one of the little people inside, and he couldn’t help but grin.
‘Hello, there,’ he whispered barely audibly, and the little foot or hand poked at him again.
Warm feelings expanded in his chest. Affection for these little scamps. These wriggling little babies who would have their mother’s characteristics.
And their father’s! They weren’t his babies.
The thought crashed in on him and for the first time he felt the loss of not being a father. Not having the right to cradle a woman’s belly and know that he had created a life—or two—within her. The loss stung unexpectedly. Especially with Lucy in his arms. And yet the man responsible wasn’t here, and he was.
Nick wondered what sort of father he would have been. Would he have found it easy or hard to relate to his children? Maybe he would be no better than his own intolerant father, but even at this moment he knew that wasn’t true. Especially if he had someone like Lucy to guide him.
The babies kicked again and Lucy murmured something. He smoothed the T-shirt-covered belly under his hand. ‘Hey, don’t wake your mother up.’ And he knew he cared far too much about these tiny little girls or boys and had already invested in their future.
Was he just indulging the over-protective nurturing tendencies he’d carried since Chloe had been sixteen?
Tendencies that had been amplified by his profession? He’d always thought he had an inbuilt reservation about commitment. So where had that gone?
He was a fool. Had he invested his heart in Lucy?
Sure, she wanted him to look after her, but she also had no problem saying she’d never kiss him back again if he didn’t pass her on to David. Not exactly the relationship he was looking for.
Unconsciously he tightened his hold and she murmured in protest. He loosened his hands and backed away. He needed to get a grip—and not on her. She seemed settled now and maybe it was time to go.
He slipped slowly backwards out of the bed and apart from a small disappointed noise she let him leave. An omen? He pushed his pillow into her back and tucked her in.
Definitely the most sensible thing to do anyway.
* * *
Lucy had the best dream.
When she woke up she was smiling despite the shaft of sunlight on her cheek and a baby playing trampoline on her bladder. And the smell of coffee.
Lucy stretched and admitted grudgingly to herself that it had been the best sleep she’d had for months. She slid out of bed and padded across to her bathroom.
After she’d indulged herself with another quick shower and climbed awkwardly into her now dry underwear, she looked at the scrubs and screwed up her nose.
Soon she would change back into a purple Teletubby but not yet. She lifted the thick white towelling robe from the hook on the door and slid her arms into the sleeves. She’d always wanted to walk around in one of these.
She grinned at herself in the mirror, surprised how light her spirits were considering everything that had happened the night before, but maybe that was because she couldn’t do anything about all the disasters now anyway.
She tied the belt over her definitely growing belly, and opened the door.
Nick was in the kitchen, breaking eggs into a pan. He was wearing board shorts and a black singlet top.
She swallowed the ‘Wow’ that hovered in her throat and coughed. ‘Morning.’ Tore her gaze away and admired the way he added four little rashers of bacon to the pan.
He pointed to the coffee plunger on the bench. ‘Good morning. Decaf, my lady?’
The heavenly scent. Oh, yes, please. She looked at him. There was something different about him this morning but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
She poured herself a coffee and sipped the aromatic brew before she put the cup down and pointed her finger at him. ‘You, Dr Kefes, are a prince.’ She could squirm and beat herself up over being here or she could just enjoy this and to hell with the ramifications. No choice really.
‘And I can even cook.’ He smiled a long, slow smile that fitted right into the particularly gorgeous day outside and the incredible aromas inside. Life could not get any better at this moment.
‘You look rested. And back to your incredibly serene self.’
She felt great. ‘I am. This is a very nice hotel. Your bed is divine and comes with delicious dreams.’ She could feel herself blush and went on hurriedly, ‘Your shower is glorious.’ She twirled and showed off her robe. ‘And this is very trendy.’
He took his time admiring her robe. Or he might have been avoiding her eyes. She wasn’t sure which.
‘Sadly, they don’t come in black, apparently.’
‘Well, I’m not sad about that.’ She picked up her cup and wandered over to the window with maybe a tiny hint of extra wiggle.
Nick must have pulled back the curtains when he’d got up because the unobstructed view of the ocean was breathtaking and there was even a cruise liner out on the horizon.
To the left the balcony looked over the Gold Coast city skyline. ‘Wow.’ She glanced back at him. ‘It must be hard to leave this and go to work in the mornings.’
‘Nope. Love my work.’ He concentrated on turning the eggs without breaking them. ‘Love my life.’ The toast popped up and he tossed the slices onto the waiting plates with a whistle.
And let that be a warning to you, Lucy, she told herself sternly. He wasn’t looking for a relationship any more than she was, let alone one that came with twin babies and commitments. And she had a very busy life to plan and some serious juggling to make ends meet. Hence the reason she was not moving out of the cabana.
But she wasn’t going to let it spoil the short time she had before she dived back into reality.
‘Good on you. I love my job, too.’ She moved towards the long table set with two places. ‘And where do I sit?’
He gestured vaguely. ‘Either or. I don’t eat here enough to have a favourite chair.’
‘But you had bacon and eggs in the fridge in case?’ Lucy raised her brows.
He shrugged. ‘Mrs Jones does my shopping and laundry as well the flat. She keeps me stocked.’
Cleaning lady. Bliss. This was a five-star resort. ‘Fine. I’ll take the chair facing the view.’
So will I, Nick thought, and could barely take his eyes off her. Obviously she didn’t remember the nightmare or the fact that he’d gone in to lie with her until she settled. In the harsh light of day that was a good thing.
He sat down at the table opposite Lucy and watched her tuck into her food, like she had that time they’d eaten together at the surf club, and it was surprising how much he’d enjoyed cooking for her. He enjoyed having her in his home.
And he wanted her in his bed. He’d lain awake for hours last night. Of course she’d had nightmares. It had been a shock and she could have easily been attacked. He’d spent a fair while beating himself up for not taking her all the way to her door or he would have been there when she’d been first frightened.
Which brought them to the next dilemma, but he let her finish her breakfast in peace before he brought that up. If he knew Lucy, it wouldn’t take long for her to polish her food off.
Or disagree with his suggestion.
He could feel a smile tug at the corners of his mouth as she put her fork and knife together in the middle of her empty plate. ‘Wow. That was good. Thank you.’ Typically she followed that with, ‘And I’m washing up.’
She just couldn’t let him do anything for her without paying for it. Stubborn woman. He didn’t know why that pushed his buttons but he almost ground his teeth in frustration. Maybe that was the reason he was less than diplomatic with his next wording.
‘It’s not safe to go back there after work tonight. You know that, don’t you?’
He frowned at himself. But she was so darned independent she infuriated him. That wasn’t to say after it came out of his mouth he didn’t regret his bluntness.
She put her cup down and met his gaze steadily. Surprisingly even-tempered as she gently turned him down. Why did he feel like she was the grown-up here?
‘I appreciate your concern, Nick, but I have to go back. It’s my home. And my job to house-sit the big house.’ She held his gaze. ‘I need to save money for when I can’t work, and it’s rent-free.’
He would not lose this battle. ‘And what if the burglars come back?’ It seriously worried him and he couldn’t believe it didn’t worry her either.
Lucy sighed. ‘The thought of getting home late at night and opening my door isn’t a comfortable one, I admit, but I’ll have a chat to Flora at work today and see if she can swap me to day shifts for a few weeks.’
He opened his mouth but she held up her hand. Bossy little thing. It had been years since someone had held up their hand to tell him to be quiet. He subsided reluctantly but stewed about it.
‘I’ll phone the owners this morning when I go home and see what the damage is. I’m sure they’ll be happy to beef up the security and maybe even hire a firm to keep the place under surveillance. It’s in their interests, too.’
He could see she was determined. But so was he. ‘If you work this evening, before you can change to the day shift, I think you should spend one more night here.’
She opened her mouth and sardonically he held up his own hand.
She narrowed her eyes at him but he just smiled. ‘My turn. Another day or two will give the security firm time to make their adjustments as well.’
It was a sensible idea—and, though Lucy hated to admit it, it was an attractive one as well. And that was without the eye candy of a dreamy Greek doc cooking her breakfast. And in reality there was plenty of room here for the two of them.
It would only be for one more night. And the idea of not having to go back until the place was made more secure was very attractive. Maybe he’d let her pay...
‘And if you offer to pay board I will stomp on your scrubs so that when you leave, everyone will think you slept in them.’
She widened her eyes at him. ‘Ooh. Nasty.’
He wasn’t fazed. ‘I assure you. I can be.’
‘Okay. Okay.’ She had a sudden vision of Nick jumping up and down on her purple scrubs and bit her lip to stop an unseemly snort. But it seemed there was no stopping the eruption of giggles that escaped. She gave up and threw back her head and laughed at him.
‘You crack me up.’
‘Obviously.’ He grinned at her. ‘Now, that has to be good for you.’ Nick was thinking that it was good for him, too. He loved the way she laughed. Loved a lot of things about Lucy because she continued to amaze him with her resilience.
‘So you’ll stay tonight?’
She nodded. ‘Yes, please.’
‘I’ll walk you home. I’ve got a backlog of work so I’ll meet you in the doctors’ car park after eleven.’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s two hundred yards across a road. Doesn’t your sister walk home after an evening shift?’
Yes, she did, but this was a bit different. Or was it? Was he going too far the other way? What was wrong with him?
Hmm. ‘You’re right.’ He held up his hands. ‘My brain’s gone AWOL.’ He stood up, walked over to an empty vase and tipped it up to retrieve a spare set of keys.
‘The big one opens the door on the street to the foyer. The smaller one the front door to the flat.’
She looked at the keys in his hand and reluctance shone out of her worried eyes. ‘I’ll try and be quiet when I come in.’
‘I sleep through anything,’ he said to make her feel better, but he knew he wouldn’t.
CHAPTER TEN
LUCY FELT THE change as soon as she walked into work. The morning staff, normally chatty and warm, suddenly stopped their conversations when she entered the tea room, and even the friendliest midwives, while they still smiled a greeting, didn’t meet her eyes.
Lucy took one guess at what had happened. Cass.
She put her bag away and went back out to the ward to wait for the clinical handover to start.
She’d thought she’d got over that insecurity thing left over from her mother, that not-good-enough-to-be-included cloud that had hung over her whole childhood.
So what if these people she’d hoped were her friends thought that, because she was pregnant, she’d shacked up with the nearest available rich guy and had just made it easy for herself?
Now she wished she’d actually tried to seduce Nick so at least she would have had the me
mory. And what a memory that would have been...or would she have been just like her mother? Looking for a quick fix to her life’s bigger problems?
Then they’d have the right to say she’d be a terrible mother, too, but she knew in her heart that wasn’t true. She would love her babies with all her heart. Though there would always be a part of her that belonged to Nick in her dreams.
Lucy lifted her chin. She’d always been a bit of a loner when the going got tough. Other people didn’t need to know how she was feeling so she pinned a smile on her face and put her bag away.
But the unfairness burned a hole in her euphoric feeling of belonging here. How would they have liked a break-in? At eleven at night? When they were on their own?
All they saw was the pregnant little midwife who might be sleeping with the ward consultant. A man who wasn’t even the father of her baby. Or maybe they thought Nick was.
Poor Nick. His only fault was that he’d helped her out. Well, blow the lot of them.
Flora appeared at her side. ‘A moment, Palmer?’
Lucy felt her stomach plummet. She’d thought Flora would have given her the benefit of the doubt. ‘Certainly, Sister.’
Flora steered her into her office and shut the door. Then, to Lucy’s complete surprise, offered one of her jerky and uncomfortable hugs before she pulled back and stared into Lucy’s face with concern. Not censure. ‘Are you all right?’
Dear, dear, Flora May. Lucy stamped fiercely on the urge to cry. ‘My landlord’s house was broken into last night and I disturbed the robbers when I went home.’
Flora gasped.
It all tumbled out. ‘Nick came and phoned the police and waited with me. He thought it wasn’t safe to stay alone in the flat.’
‘He’s right.’ Flora looked away and glared into the distance. ‘Stupid rumours. Stupid people.’ Flora looked back at her.
Now seemed a good time to mention the roster change, Lucy thought. ‘I was going to ask if you could change me to day shifts for a few weeks. I spoke to the owners today. A security firm has put the house under surveillance but I’d like to avoid going home at night for a little while.’
Gold Coast Angels: Two Tiny Heartbeats Page 12