Would she have said no if she wasn’t responsible for the twins? Would she have interpreted the invitation as one of friendship if not for Lucy and Charlie? Yes, he’d already figured she wasn’t the type for brief flirtations. Generally speaking, he didn’t much go in for them either. But there were other ways to spend time together, ways that would work better for him, too, give him some company, some down time, without threatening his focus on work.
‘I’m going to Campbell Parade for my regular Sunday morning coffee around ten, probably followed with a stroll along the beach. Why don’t you join me then, with the children? That way you don’t need to choose between me or them and we’re all happy.’
He could see her thinking this over, still wavering, still wary. ‘Like I said, no pressure. We’re both new here, it’d be nice to have some company.’ Which was the truth, as far as it went. And given their claims to be looking for friendship, it was the most convenient truth.
‘Nippers’ training finishes at ten so, barring any other emergencies, we’ll be getting our milkshakes from Marie just after.’ She looked at him for confirmation.
‘Excellent.’ It was a tentative yes but he’d be happy with that. For now.
‘So it’s a date. Except it’s not. A date.’ She was stumbling a little with her words. ‘Just friends, right?’
‘Sure. Just friends.’
After that night, he would go over and over that moment. He remained adamant he’d meant every word of it when he’d spoken. Friends. But immediately afterwards he’d been hit with a sudden, almost overwhelming desire to unbuckle his seat belt and lean across to take her face between his palms and kiss her.
Soundly.
And nothing like ‘just friends’.
But he’d said the words, ‘Sure, just friends.’ And he was a man who kept his word.
Besides, for every reason he wanted to kiss her there was another perfectly good reason why he shouldn’t. Her mother was babysitting and probably waiting up, and he didn’t want them to be caught on the front porch necking like a couple of teenagers. She was his patient’s guardian and, not against the rules, but a little unorthodox. And he had no intention of getting seriously involved with any woman who might be a threat to his focus on rebuilding his career, a focus that was only just now paying off.
He followed his better judgment and got out of the car, walking around to Rosie’s side and giving her his hand to help her out. Pulling her to her feet, there was a moment where they were standing very close, her hand still held in his, presenting a perfect opportunity to break his promise.
In the streetlight, he thought he detected a deeper blush on her cheeks. Her fingers were resting at her throat and he swore he could see the pulse point in her neck beating apace. No doubt about it, they were both aware of the chemistry between them. Maybe both regretting their claim of friendship moments before?
A car backfiring nearby broke the moment and Rosie looked down, opening her purse and taking out a key. ‘Thanks for the lift. You don’t need to walk me in, I’ll be okay. See you tomorrow?’
He lifted a hand in farewell as Rosie stepped up to her front door, turning as she put her key in the lock and waved. Then she was gone.
Leaving him to contemplate whether they’d just missed an opportunity to experience something incredible or had had a lucky save.
Rosie closed the front door and leant back on it, giving herself a few moments to sort through her thoughts. She’d been so sure Nick had been about to kiss her that she’d almost closed her eyes in anticipation. Thank God she hadn’t. She would have looked like a right twit.
Why had he waited?
Hadn’t he wanted to kiss her as much as she’d wanted to be kissed? By him?
She should be glad he hadn’t. Yet despite her claim that the twins were her priority, she wouldn’t have protested if he’d taken her in his arms and kissed her.
But she should be grateful he hadn’t. She had enough on her plate, a new relationship was not an option. Not that he’d been offering that. She was sure she’d read the subtext of his invitation correctly, sure she’d heard the fleeting suggestion of a fling. A vastly different proposition to a relationship. One she could manage? She thought of all the things she had to do, all the responsibilities mounting up daily.
If she didn’t have the time or energy to get up to date with sorting bills, filing school notices and the laundry, she didn’t have time for a fling.
But that wouldn’t stop her imagination from filling in the blanks for her.
And for that, she thought as an image of Nick’s lips at the exact moment she’d thought he was about to kiss her came into mind, she’d make time.
CHAPTER FIVE
NICK stretched his arms out wide before dropping them to his sides as he strode the last of the blocks before the beach, revelling in the freshness of the early morning, his favourite time of the day. A new day carried with it a feeling of promise, of possibility.
The sun was still low in the eastern sky, warming the pavement as he made his way to the coffee shop. The streets were relatively empty, although the crowds would soon start to appear for Sunday brunch. He’d checked on his hospital patients and now he could relax over coffee, something he always did after his swim, not before. He could always swim later, depending on what happened with Rosie and the twins. Missing one day didn’t mean he was losing his focus. Even if today it wasn’t his swim, or even his latte, he was looking forward to, as much as seeing Rosie.
Entering his regular coffee shop, which was, in fact, almost next to Marie’s Milk Bar, he ordered before taking the Sunday paper to an outside table where Rosie would easily see him. From here, he had a good view of the beach. Nippers’ training was coming to an end and the equipment was being packed away, so as the waitress delivered his coffee he took a guess and ordered a latte for Rosie before flicking through the paper.
The Sunday paper wasn’t usually good for much except the sport and television guide, but a story on page five caught his eye. He’d just finished reading it when he looked up to see Rosie and the children approaching. Pure. Fresh. Glowing. In fact, more relaxed than he’d seen her so far. Maybe the beach, barring medical emergencies, was where she felt happiest. A flicker of appreciation deep in his gut reflected his instant thought that she looked as good today as she had last night in that sun-yellow dress. That finely fitted, yellow dress that had figured prominently in his dreams last night. With her in it. Or out of it, depending on the stage of the dream.
He banished thoughts of his nocturnal preoccupations, and stood to greet them, saying hello to the children first. Lucy immediately stuck her hand out to shake his like they were old pals rather than having only met briefly once before. She was very unlike Charlie, in confidence at least. Meanwhile, Charlie stepped closer to Rosie but gave Nick a huge smile. Pleased with that, Nick winked at him but let him be.
He turned to Rosie, kissing her cheek, the softness of her skin beneath his lips taking him by surprise. She turned her face slightly as he kissed her other cheek, and her hair brushed lightly against his neck. His gut clenched as a half-remembered dream from only a few hours ago shimmered into focus. Rosie. Naked in his bed. Her hair loose over his chest as she lay across his body.
He closed his eyes briefly, shaking off the image that gave the lie to his claim of friendship only. This was Rosie, who had agreed only to spend some time with him. As friends. He wasn’t sure she’d take too kindly to finding out she’d kept him tossing and turning, deliciously so, for the best part of last night.
‘Morning, Nick.’ She’d found her voice first. Luckily, the twins were preoccupied with the cartoon section of the paper he’d left on the table and hadn’t noticed the taut silence between the grown-ups.
It was then he noticed her footwear and laughed out loud, restoring the ease that had been between them before he’d steered them off course last night with his thinly veiled proposal. She was smiling as she followed his gaze down to her feet. ‘I se
e you’re impressed with Lucy’s choice of shoes for me.’ At the mention of her name, Lucy looked up from the comic strips.
‘Very becoming.’ He nodded, keeping a straight face for Lucy’s sake. The bright green flip-flops were each resplendent with an enormous plastic yellow flower attached to the rubber strap between Rosie’s toes. ‘Fascinating choice, Lucy.’ The little girl beamed at the praise and took a step closer to their new friend. Nick gestured at the chairs around his table. ‘Would you like to join me?’
‘It’ll be the end to your peaceful morning,’ said Rosie, but she wasn’t making any effort at a real protest.
‘Peace and quiet I can get any time but the company of three such wonderful people is hard to come by. Besides, I’ve ordered you a coffee.’
‘What sort did you order?’ Lucy piped up. ‘Rosie is very fussy about her coffee.’
‘Is she now?’ Nick pretended to consider Lucy’s concern seriously. ‘I ordered a latte. How did I do?’
‘You got it right,’ said Lucy.
Rosie added, ‘She’s right, I am fussy about coffee but after such a late night and an early start today, I think I’d eat the coffee straight from the tin.’ Rosie smiled and the Bondi sun paled by comparison.
‘Why don’t you two go and get your milkshakes from Marie next door and bring them back here?’ Rosie said as she handed Lucy some money. The twins ran off, happy with the responsibility, and Rosie settled in the chair he had pulled out for her.
‘Have you seen the paper?’ he asked as he sat down again.
‘Not for the past two months!’ She laughed. ‘It gets delivered and week after week goes in the recycling before I get to it. Why?’
‘You’re in it.’
‘What?’
Nick opened the paper up to page five, folding the pages back on themselves so it didn’t take over the table, and passed it to Rosie, tapping the article. ‘There.’
He waited while Rosie read the short article, watching as her lips moved silently as she perused the paper. He was interested to hear her comments on one remark in particular.
She read a sentence out loud. ‘Mr Philip Garrett said, “It was lucky for the PM’s Chief of Staff that my partner was here. Dr Jefferson saved his life, her quick actions…” Not just lucky for Howard, lucky for Philip, too,’ she commented drily.
‘What do you mean?’
‘That’s one way to get his name in the paper.’
‘You don’t mind that he used your goodwill for self-promotion?’ Nick asked curiously.
She shook her head, seemingly unperturbed, which surprised him. He’d really expected her to be offended, to feel she’d been used. Did she think using other people to make opportunities for oneself was acceptable? If so, even this friendship caper wasn’t going to work out. He waited for her to explain more.
‘It goes with the job. He even thanked me last night for averting bad publicity. Although in Phil’s opinion, there’s no such thing as bad press. It’s better to have his name in the paper for any reason than to be forgotten about.’ She stopped suddenly and added, ‘That sounds uncharitable, but it’s not meant to be. It’s not just Philip who is like that. It’s the nature of politics, I think.’
If she wasn’t going to comment on the part that was bothering him, he’d just have to come straight out and ask.
‘What about him claiming to be your partner?’
She shrugged. ‘He would have done that to give more weight to his comments. Why would the journalist bother to interview him otherwise? They could have interviewed any number of people but I guess, as my date, he would seem like a more desirable witness, thereby getting his name in the paper for an event that he wasn’t involved in. Clever, really.’
‘Clever?’ Nick’s hopes even for a friendship were being tested.
‘Sure, if you need publicity like you need air, you either hope you have a knack for generating it or you have to learn to take your opportunities. Philip has a knack, he’s good at it.’ Nick’s heart had sunk about as low as his first cup of coffee. ‘Personally, I can’t think of a worse way to have to live my life and I realised that anew last night.’
‘In what way?’ His heart was tentatively creeping back up into his chest.
‘When I was with Philip I was happy to support him but it’s not my thing, I don’t enjoy the networking. But it was important to him, and I understood why.’
‘Which is why you helped him out by going last night?’
She nodded. ‘And why I’m now thrilled I’ve done my duty and I don’t have to be part of that world any more.’ She was flicking through the paper as she spoke, apparently unfazed by the idea of Philip moving on. At this sequence of announcements, Nick’s heart lodged firmly back where it should be.
The twins returned, slurping noisily on their straws, concentrating on their treat. Rosie was now pulling the paper apart. ‘Do you mind if I take this bit out?’ She pulled out the sports section and held it up to him.
‘No, go for it.’
She folded up the remainder of the paper and put it to one side, passing the sports pages to Charlie, who immediately turned to the cricket section.
‘Do you like cricket, Charlie?’
He looked at Nick and nodded and Nick was pleased to see that Charlie kept eye contact. He’d spent a bit of time over the past couple of days refreshing his knowledge of selective mutism, checking up new advances and any new theories. Charlie didn’t show signs of withdrawing completely and Nick was determined to work on gaining his young patient’s trust.
‘The Tri-Nations One Day Series is about to start. I’m from New Zealand originally. Do you think we can beat the Aussies this year?’
Charlie shook his head vigorously and Nick grinned. ‘You’re probably right, but we’ll have a good go.’
‘Hey, you live here now, shouldn’t you be barracking for Australia?’ Rosie teased.
‘I’m not an Australian citizen yet. I’ll support the Aussies when they play against anyone else, but not against the Kiwis. My family would disown me.’
‘Do you go to the cricket?’
‘I always plan to, but I never quite seem to make it.’
A loud slurping sound interrupted their conversation. ‘Lucy!’ Rosie remonstrated.
‘Sorry,’ Lucy replied, looking anything but. ‘That was the best milkshake.’ She leant across the table, peering into Rosie’s glass. ‘Have you finished your coffee yet? Remember you said we could go to the Smiggle shop to get a present for Emma.’
‘Who or what is a Smiggle?’ Nick asked, imagining a new type of furry toy.
‘It’s a stationery shop.’
‘Yeah, they have really cool stuff,’ Lucy added.
Rosie saw Charlie roll his eyes. ‘It’s okay, Charlie, we’ll be quick.’
‘Where is this shop?’ Nick asked.
Rosie pointed north. ‘Up that way.’
‘That’s my direction.’ It wasn’t, but it could just as easily be. His swim fell further off his list of activities for the day and he found he didn’t care if it meant more time with Rosie. ‘I’ll walk with you.’
She hesitated, meeting his gaze and holding it for a moment. He couldn’t read the look in her eyes but she seemed to be mulling the offer over. Was she doubting his claim of friendship? She nodded and he grinned, reaching across the table to gather the rest of the paper.
She was hesitating and she didn’t know why. Since she didn’t have an answer, she nodded. It was what she wanted, after all. More time with Nick, and he looked genuinely happy with her decision, a thought that made her feel good. She reached across the table to gather the scattered sports pages and Nick must have had the same thought as his hand came down on top of hers and she froze as her heart skipped a beat. She forgot what she’d been doing, totally absorbed by the touch of his hand. Looking up at him, she was afraid her desire would be written all over her face, but there was small chance she could change that.
Nick ran his thumb over the
back of her hand before he moved away, leaving a trail of heat across her skin. It had all happened so quickly she could have imagined it, just like the moment last night when she’d thought he’d been about to kiss her. Glancing at the twins confirmed they’d noticed nothing unusual, even Charlie, who was highly observant, largely thanks to his mostly silent existence. Rosie snatched her hand off the table, holding it in her lap, breathing rapidly, leaving Nick to fold the papers.
She pushed her chair back and stood up, needing to move. ‘Let’s walk along the esplanade.’ Her speech was flustered.
Seemingly unfazed, Nick fell into step beside her as the children raced each other along the esplanade, leaving the two of them in their wake. She took a deep breath, willing herself to be as together as he was. Easy, she told herself, all I need to do is control my hormones and stop having imaginary meaningful moments with my nephew’s specialist.
‘The three of you seem to be doing well.’ He’d stuck his hands in his pockets, a picture of nonchalance. ‘They’re lovely children.’
‘We have our moments, although I seem to be having more of those than the children. Being a full-time carer is very different from having them for a few hours. I feel I’m being split in half a lot of the time. Other than Nippers, they don’t do the same things. They have different interests and I can’t please them both at the same time.’
‘Is it even possible?’
She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. None of my friends have children, they’re all busy with their careers, so I’m flying blind a lot of the time.’
‘I’ve got twelve nieces and nephews. I’m sure between them they’ve created every scenario known to man, so if you need any information, just ask.’
‘I think our situation is a little out of the ordinary. The kids have to deal with losing both their parents and with Charlie’s mutism on top of that.’
‘It’s a big load, there’s no argument, but don’t forget I’m your new Sydney buddy and if I can help, I’m happy to. And speaking as Charlie’s specialist for a moment, I’ve got hold of the expert on selective mutism in the States since Charlie’s last consult. She’s reassured me that the fact Charlie talks to you, while it puts more of a burden on you, is a highly protective factor. As long as he’s got someone to talk to and, don’t forget, he also talks to Lucy and your parents, he has a way of expressing his feelings. He’s not bottling things up because of his mutism so don’t attribute problems to him any more than you would to Lucy.’
Italian Doctor, Dream Proposal / Wanted: A Father for her Twins Page 24