Mac sucked in a great lungful of air when he saw her nipples suddenly pucker beneath the cotton. Rationally, he knew that it was no more than a physical response to the chilly air flowing through the cabin, but after the night he’d had, thinking rationally wasn’t easy. His wayward thoughts flew off at a tangent as he found himself imagining how it would feel to watch her nipples harden as he caressed her...
He groaned out loud, hurriedly turning it into a cough when he saw her look at him in alarm. ‘Hmm, a bit of a frog in the throat this morning,’ he muttered, reaching for the coffee.
‘It is a bit chilly in here,’ she replied, hugging her arms around herself, and Mac saw the exact second when she realised what was happening. Colour rushed up her face as she hurried back into the bedroom. Picking up her sweater from the end of the bed, she dragged it over her head. ‘That’s better,’ she said brightly as she turned round.
Mac wanted to disagree. He wanted to do it so badly that the words got all clumped up in his throat and almost choked him. He had to content himself with nodding, which was probably the safest response anyway.
‘Anything I can do? Make the coffee? Or how about some toast—I could make that, if you like?’
Bella hovered uncertainly in the doorway and Mac’s feelings underwent yet another rapid change. Tenderness swamped him as he pointed to the bread bin. Bella’s composure was legendary. Even when they’d been students, she had always appeared to be totally in control. He couldn’t remember her looking so out of her depth before, so that all he wanted to do was to put her at ease.
‘Seeing as you’ve volunteered, you can be on toast duty. There’s no toaster, I’m afraid. You have to do it the old-fashioned way under the grill.’ He lit the grill for her. ‘Butter’s in the fridge and there’s marmalade in that cupboard over there.’ He pointed everything out then headed to the bedroom. ‘I’ll have a shower while you’re doing that if it’s OK with you?’
‘Of course.’
Bella nodded as she took a loaf out of the bread bin. Picking up the bread knife, she started to cut it into slices, the tip of her pink tongue poking out between her lips. Mac turned away, not proof against any more temptations so early in the day. He didn’t want to think about her tongue and how it would feel stroking his...
There was plenty of hot water for a shower but he turned the dial to cold instead. Stepping under the icy spray, he shivered violently. If there was one thing he loathed more than anything else it was a cold shower but he didn’t deserve a hot one, not after the way he’d been behaving.
Lusting after Bella simply wasn’t on! Quite apart from the fact that it would ruin whatever friendship they had, he couldn’t do it to Tim. Tim may have kicked his drug habit but, like any addict, he was very vulnerable. Mac couldn’t bear to imagine the harm it could cause if he and Bella had an affair, not that it was on the cards, of course. However, the fact that he was even thinking about Bella in such terms was a warning in itself. Now that she had forfeited her married status, it didn’t mean that he was free to make a play for her. No, to all intents and purposes nothing had changed. It was still Bella and Tim.
* * *
Bella had their breakfast ready by the time Mac reappeared. He was wearing a pair of navy chinos with a blue-and-white striped shirt, and it was a relief to see him safely covered up. Maybe he had been decent enough before but the T-shirt and shorts he had worn to sleep in hadn’t left very much to the imagination. To her mind, there’d been a rather disturbing amount of leanly muscular body on show.
Heat flowed under her skin as she hurriedly placed the toast on the table. She added the coffee pot along with the milk jug and sugar bowl, determined not to allow her mind to get hijacked by any more such foolish ideas. She had seen men wearing a lot less than Mac had worn that morning in the course of her work so it was stupid to start acting like some sort of...inexperienced virgin!
‘I could grow used to this.’ Mac grinned as he sat down and reached for the coffee pot. He filled both of the mugs, adding milk and several spoons of sugar to his. ‘It’s a real treat to have my breakfast made for me.’
‘It’s the least I can do,’ Bella murmured, sitting down opposite him. Her knees bumped against his and she hastily drew her legs back out of the way, steadfastly ignoring the odd tingling sensation that seemed to be spreading from the point where their knees had touched.
She was bound to feel aware of him, she reasoned, adding a dash of milk to her coffee. After all, it wasn’t as though she had made a habit of spending the night with a man, was it? She had never had an affair, had never even indulged in any one-night stands like so many of her contemporaries at university had done. She had only ever slept with Tim, in fact, so spending the night with Mac was a whole new experience for her.
The thought unsettled her even more. It seemed to imply that she’d had an ulterior motive for spending the night on the boat. It wasn’t true, of course; it had been necessity that had forced her to stay, the need to rest and recoup her strength. The past year had been extremely hard. Between the stress of the divorce and the move to Dalverston, it was little wonder that it had felt as though she had reached rock-bottom last night. However, she felt much better this morning, less anxious and more like her old self. Spending the night here with Mac had worked wonders and it was just a shame that she couldn’t do it again.
Bella bit into her toast, more surprised by that thought than she could say. Bearing in mind how confused Mac made her feel, she should be trying to avoid him, surely? And yet there was no denying that if he had offered to let her stay again tonight and the night after that, she would have accepted with alacrity. Being with Mac might be unsettling but in a good way.
They finished their breakfast, making desultory conversation as they ate. Mac sighed as he drained the last dregs of coffee from his mug. ‘I’d better get a move on or I’ll be late. Are you working today?’
‘No.’ Bella picked up her mug and plate. She carried them to the tiny sink and pumped water into the bowl. ‘I’m working over the weekend so I’ve got today and tomorrow off.’
‘Lucky you.’ Mac picked up his dishes and brought them over to the sink. He checked his watch and grimaced. ‘I really will have to fly. Fingers crossed that they haven’t changed the times of the buses, otherwise I am going to be seriously late.’
‘Bus? Why do you need to take the bus?’ Bella queried, rinsing their mugs and setting them to drain.
‘I left my motorbike at the hospital last night.’
Bella sighed. ‘Because you drove me back here? Of course. Sorry.’
‘It doesn’t matter.’ He reached for his jacket, patting the pockets to check that he had everything. ‘Look, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to cut and run...’
‘Here. Take my car.’ Bella picked up her car keys. She shook her head when he started to protest. ‘I insist. It’s my fault that you left your motorbike at the hospital so it’s the least I can do.’
‘But what about you?’ he demanded, his dark brows drawing together. ‘How are you going to get home?’
‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll call a taxi.’ Bella pressed the keys into his hand. ‘Go on, off you go or you’ll be late.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Mac grinned at her. ‘Has anyone told you how bossy you are?’
‘Not lately,’ Bella retorted. She followed him up to the deck, pausing when he stopped. His blue eyes were very dark as they met hers.
‘Sure you’ll be OK? I feel as though I’m abandoning you.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ she said briskly, although she was deeply touched by the sentiment. It had been a long time since anyone had worried about her this way. ‘I’ll be perfectly fine. I’ll tidy up then phone for a cab... Oh, wait, what’s the address? I’ve no idea where we are.’
‘Too-Good Lane.’ Mac dug into his pockets and pulled out a crumpled
supermarket receipt. He jotted down a number on the back and handed it to her. ‘Phone Dennis and ask him to come for you. He’s a nice chap and very reliable. You’ll be safe with him.’
‘Oh, right. Thank you.’ Bella went to slip the paper into her pocket before she remembered that she didn’t have any pockets. She took a hasty step back when she spotted a jogger running along the towpath, suddenly conscious of her state of undress. She could just imagine what people would think if they saw her standing here wearing one of Mac’s T-shirts. They would assume that she and Mac had spent the night together and, although they had, they hadn’t slept together! Heat flowed under her skin as the thought triggered a whole raft of images: Mac’s eyes, so deep and dark as he stared down at her; the feel of his hands as he stroked her body from throat to thigh...
A shudder passed through her and she turned away, terrified that she would give herself away. She heard Mac call a cheery goodbye as he leapt off the boat, even managed to respond, but everything seemed to be happening at one step removed. All she could think about were Mac’s hands stroking and caressing her.
Bella hurried back inside the cabin and stood there with her arms hugged tightly around herself. She had never felt this way before, never experienced this overwhelming surge of desire. Although she had enjoyed making love with Tim in the beginning, she had never yearned for his touch. However, with a sudden rush of insight she realised that if Mac made love to her it would be very different. She wouldn’t be able to remain detached then—she wouldn’t want to. If Mac made love to her, she would be unable to hold anything back, not even a tiny scrap of herself. Mac would unleash her passion, awaken her desire and, once that happened, it would be impossible to go back.
She shuddered. She would be changed for ever, a completely different person, a woman who not only felt but needed to feel too. She wasn’t sure if she could cope with that.
* * *
Mac was thrown in at the deep end as soon as he arrived at work. There’d been an accident on the by-pass involving a lorry and a coach ferrying children to the local high school. Thirty-three casualties were brought through their doors and each one needed to be assessed and treated. Fortunately, Trish Baxter, one of their most experienced staff nurses, was on duty and she performed triage. The less seriously injured children—those with only minor cuts and bruises—were told to wait while the rest were farmed out between cubicles, treatment rooms and Resus. Fortunately, there were just two children badly injured enough to require the facilities of resuscitation and Mac dealt with them. Twelve-year-old twins, Emily and Ethan Harris, had been sitting together at the exact spot where the truck had hit the coach.
‘Hi, I’m Mac and I’m a doctor,’ Mac explained as the paramedics rolled the youngsters in on their respective trolleys. He listened attentively while the crew outlined the children’s status. Emily had injuries to her right arm and was in a great deal of pain, while her brother was having difficulty breathing. Ethan had been thrown into the aisle by the force of the impact and trapped under the seat, which had come away from its housing. It was more than likely that he had fractured ribs which could be compromising his breathing if they had pierced the pleura—the two layers of membrane that covered the lungs and the chest wall. If blood had entered the pleura cavity it would compress the lungs and cause a partial collapse. Mac knew that the boy required urgent treatment and turned to Helen Robertson, the F1 student, who was working with him.
‘You take the girl. She’ll need X-rays first and then we can tell exactly what we’re dealing with. If her shoulder has popped out its socket it will need putting back before the nerves are damaged. You also need to check if the humerus is fractured. OK?’
Helen nodded, looking a little daunted at being put in charge of a patient. Mac watched as she hurried to the phone to request the services of the duty radiographer. She would manage fine, although he would keep a close eye on her. However, if she was to develop her skills then she needed to step up to the plate, as every young doctor had to do. He turned his attention to Ethan, checking his pulse and oxygen levels. Bailey Thomas, the Australian specialist resus nurse, was assisting him and Mac nodded when he asked if Mac intended to aspirate.
‘Yep. I reckon there’s blood in the pleural cavity, don’t you? Let’s see if we can drain it off and help him breathe a bit easier.’
Bailey fetched what they needed and Mac set to work, easing the needle through the tough intercostal muscles between the boy’s ribs. He was unsurprised when he immediately drew off bloody fluid. ‘Definitely a haemothorax,’ he said, glancing at Bailey. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the radiographer was putting Emily’s X-rays up on the monitor. Even from where he was standing, Mac could see that the girl’s humerus was fractured although he didn’t say anything. He wanted Helen to find her feet and spotting the fracture herself would help her do that.
‘Let’s see if we can get any more out of there,’ he said, turning back to Ethan. He aspirated some more blood before he was satisfied that he had alleviated the problem. Ethan’s sats were back to what they should have been and he was breathing steadily so it was time to assess what other injuries he had sustained. Mac called over the radiographer and asked her to do a whole-body X-ray. While she was doing that he went to check on Helen.
‘So, how’s it going?’ he asked, leaving her to explain her findings.
‘It’s as you suspected—the humerus is fractured at the upper end.’ Helen pointed out the fracture and Mac nodded.
‘So it is. Well spotted. Her shoulder’s also dislocated so that needs sorting as well.’
‘What should I do?’ Helen asked uncertainly. ‘Should I try to reduce the dislocation and pop the humerus back into its socket or what? I’ve not dealt with a case where the humerus is fractured as well.’
‘It would be far too painful for Emily if we did it here. Plus there’s the problem of the fracture, which complicates matters,’ he explained. He always enjoyed helping the younger doctors and, unlike a lot of his peers, never considered it to be a waste of his time. The more everyone knew, the easier it was for the rest of the team, he reasoned.
‘Phone Theatre and book her in ASAP. They’ll take care of the lot and that way Emily won’t know a thing about it. You just need to get her parents’ permission for the operation to go ahead, so see if they’ve arrived yet and if not get the police to contact them. Tell them it’s urgent.’ He grinned at her. ‘We don’t want to waste any time so lay it on thick. It’s the one time you’re allowed to lie to the police!’
‘Will do!’ Helen was laughing as she hurried out of Resus to set the wheels turning.
Mac smiled as he went back to his patient. From what he had seen so far, Helen had the makings of a really good doctor. She would learn a lot from working here too. It made him suddenly glad that he had agreed to cover the paediatric A&E unit until their own registrar returned to work. Oh, he’d had his doubts when he had found out that Bella was working here. After everything that Tim had told him, it was only natural, although now he could see that he had been a little too hasty. OK, so maybe there had been a few teething problems but he and Bella seemed to be getting on remarkably well, all things considered.
The radiographer interrupted his thoughts just then to tell him the films were ready and he turned towards the monitor. There would be time enough to think about his relationship with Bella later.
Mac’s heart skipped a beat. When had it turned into a relationship? It definitely hadn’t been that before last night, had it? At the very most, he would have classed it as friendship—he and Bella were friends and that was it. However, deep down he knew it wasn’t that any longer. At least not only that. Friendship had been hiked up to another level, to the point of becoming a relationship. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but he was powerless to do anything about it.
He took a deep breath as he stared at the screen.
He and Bella had a relationship. Pick the bones out of that!
* * *
Bella squared her shoulders as she watched the taxi drive away from the hospital. She would collect her keys from Mac and head straight home. The sooner she was back in her apartment, the sooner she would be able to rid herself of the ridiculous notion of asking him if she could spend another night on the boat. Maybe it had helped to stay there last night, but she had to stand on her own two feet. She couldn’t expect Mac to mollycoddle her.
She went straight to Reception, only to come to a halt when she saw all the children milling around in the waiting area. It didn’t take a genius to work out that something major must have happened so she made her way to the nursing station. Trish Baxter was adding more names to the whiteboard, squeezing them in around the edges. She grimaced when she saw Bella.
‘We’re fast running out of space. I’ll have to resort to taping up a bit of paper soon!’
‘What’s happened?’ Bella demanded, glancing at the list. From what she could see, there were fifteen children waiting to be seen, plus another six receiving treatment: three in cubicles, one in the treatment room, plus two more in Resus.
‘A lorry ran into the bus taking the kids to the high school,’ Trish explained. She put the cap back on the pen and placed it in the tray. ‘To say it’s been a tad chaotic in here this morning is an understatement.’
‘I can imagine,’ Bella agreed, shrugging off her jacket. ‘Right, who’s next on the list? Freya Watson from the look of it,’ she continued, answering her own question.
‘I thought you were supposed to be off today,’ Trish pointed out as they went back to Reception.
‘I am. But I can’t just take off and leave you to it when something like this has happened.’ Bella picked up the girl’s notes and looked around the waiting room. ‘Freya Watson?’ She smiled reassuringly when a tall red-haired girl hesitantly stood up. ‘Come with me, Freya, and we’ll get you sorted out.’
Best Friend to Perfect Bride (Contemporary Medical Romance) Page 5