Bride on the Children's Ward / Marriage Reunited: Baby on the Way (16 page)

‘I’d like you to review her. She tried to stop breathing about two minutes ago, but she’s a stubborn one. Fighting for her life.’

‘I’ll be right there.’ Eden left a message for the nurse to pass on to Sasha and headed towards the NICU. She opened the door to the stairwell and ran slap-bang into David. His arms came about her, holding both of them steady.

‘This is getting to be a habit.’

‘One I’d love to continue,’ she returned, loving the way he could make her tingle all over. ‘Right now, however, I need to see Alyce.’

David’s concern was instant. ‘Problems?’

Eden explained as the two of them headed to the stairs. When they arrived at the NICU, it was to find all of Alyce’s vitals were back in the normal range. Eden checked and rechecked all the tubes and wires, then checked and rechecked the machines—even though she knew the nursing staff would have done their own thorough checks.

Once she was satisfied that Alyce was doing as well as could be expected, they headed back out—but not until she’d made sure the nurses had her cellphone number.

‘
I
don’t have your cellphone number,’ David said as they headed back to Sasha’s room.

‘That’s because you’ve never asked for it,’ she retorted. She could feel his gaze on her as they climbed the stairs and it warmed her through.

‘You look lovely,’ he ventured when they came to the top of the stairs.

Eden angled her head. ‘Lovely? A book can be described as
lovely
.’

‘Pretty.’

‘Now I’m a little girl with blonde pigtails in a floral dress. Come
on
. Dig a little deeper.’

‘Eden. Now is not the time to tease.’

‘Why? Why don’t you want me to tease?’ She eased closer, using the confined area to her advantage. ‘Is that what you really want, David? For me to stop?’

He closed his eyes and groaned, placing his hands at her waist and hauling her against him. He looked down into her upturned face. ‘You are driving me insane, lady.’

‘Getting better,’ she murmured, and leaned in to press a feather-light kiss to his lips.

‘You’re wild and fun and sexy and intoxicating,’ he ground out.

‘Now you’ve got the hang of it.’ She kissed him again, revelling in the feel of his body against hers.

‘Sasha’s waiting,’ he whispered against her lips.

‘She’ll understand,’ Eden returned, but knew he had a point. After a few more teasing kisses she shifted back and opened the stairwell door, pleased when he didn’t immediately let go of her.

When they walked in to Sasha’s room, it was to find her friend tucked warmly into a wheelchair, impatiently waiting.

‘There you two are. Right, now, let’s get out of here before any emergencies happen or before someone comes and tells me I can’t go.’

‘You have permission to go,’ Eden said as Robert wheeled Sasha’s chair out to the lifts.

‘I know, yet I still feel as though I’m escaping. Honestly, Ede, being stuck in this place for the past few weeks has started to feel worse than that time we ended up in gaol.’

Robert raised his eyebrows. ‘You were in
gaol
?’

Sasha laughed and started to recount the story, and that set the tone for the rest of the night. The four of them enjoyed a lovely meal at a glitzy restaurant. The food was good. The company was better, and they laughed for most of the time.

‘How are you feeling?’ Eden asked later, as she pressed her fingers to Sasha’s wrist to take her pulse. Both she and David had kept close tabs on Sasha’s health throughout the night.

‘Getting tired.’

‘Not surprising,’ David dropped a kiss to his sister’s head. ‘You’ve done well to make it this far—especially after such an eventful day.’ When Sasha had told him that she’d stood up on her own tears had welled in his eyes. In those few words he knew that with hard work and determination his sister would one day walk again. His sister wasn’t the sort of person to back down from a challenge. Besides, she’d have himself and Robert to support her throughout the entire ordeal. Would Eden stay for that long? It could take months—even a whole year. Would she stay?

After they’d returned Sasha to the hospital, David took Eden back to her hotel. ‘Coffee?’ she asked.

David pointed to the hotel lounge area in the lobby. ‘Down here? Sure.’

She smiled. ‘Not in my room?’ She fluttered her eyelashes at him. ‘Ooh, David. Why ever not? Is it because you find me wild and fun and sexy?’

‘You forgot intoxicating,’ he added as he led her to a comfortable lounge chair, making sure he sat opposite her rather than next to her. To be too close to Eden only meant torturing himself even further. ‘And that’s precisely the reason.’

They ordered drinks and discussed their patients and the exhausting day they’d both had. When David had checked on Dart before coming out this evening, the boy had had colour in his cheeks and was beginning to complain about ‘yucky meddy’ again.

‘And Mrs Wilman?’

David shook his head. ‘She’s in the psychiatric ward under strict observation tonight. Dart’s father has cancelled his business trip and will be here tomorrow morning. He’s as astounded about what has happened as everybody else.’

‘I hope she gets better. Her condition
can
be helped, so long as she’s willing to help herself.’

‘Just like Chelsea?’

‘Just like any patient. People in general have the ability to work through situations and problems, taking things one step at a time, getting help from counsellors or psychologists or even just talking to a friend. Life is far too short to be wrapped up in the what-ifs and maybes of the world.’

‘Is that why you let me pressure you to see your family?’

‘You didn’t pressure me, David. You supported me. And that’s why I knew I needed to see them.’ She smiled. ‘Sometimes
knowing
and
doing
are very difficult things to combine, but with will-power and support it can be achieved.’

Their drinks were delivered, and David eased back in his chair, looking at her for a moment.

‘Why do I get the strange feeling you’re talking about me here?’

‘I guess I’m not so subtle, eh? There’s a cloud hanging over you, David. I’m not saying I know what it is, but it’s there, and it’s stopping you from moving on with your life.’

‘Is this because I’ve said that things wouldn’t ever work out between us?’

‘Sort of. You say cryptic things, you don’t give me explanations for them, and then you kiss me as though you just can’t help yourself.’

‘I can’t.’ He rubbed a hand across his brow, massaging his temple for a moment. ‘It’s true, though, Eden. It can’t work out between us.’

‘You need to give me a solid reason why not, David. I
am
in love with you. I know it for a fact. And although you may not believe me, I am not the sort of girl to fall in love with just anyone.’

‘Not Tony or Jett or the plethora of other men you’ve mentioned?’

‘All of them friends. Most of them colleagues. Despite that, it’s beside the point—because none of them make me feel the way you do.’

‘Eden, we can’t. Don’t love me. Don’t want to be with me.’

‘Why not? You told me that I didn’t know who I was, that I spent my time helping everyone else and never spent enough time just being myself. Well, I listened to you and I’ve realised you’re right. I didn’t know who I was, what I wanted out of life. Of course I’m happy with my job, with helping people, but I do want more.’

‘You want marriage and a family.’

‘I want
you
.’

‘You want what every other woman wants. I can’t provide it.’ His voice had taken on a coolness she’d never heard before, and for a moment she actually believed
he
believed the words he was saying.

‘Just for me, or for any woman?’ she asked, determined to keep her voice calm and controlled. This could turn out to be the most important conversation of her life, and she needed to make sure she didn’t blow it. She tried to mask the confusion and hurt she was experiencing.

She thought she’d dealt with the pain of his first rejection, but it was surging back tenfold and she felt as though she was a teenager again, having him tell her to keep her distance and not to pursue him.

‘Any woman.’

Eden sighed and felt a weight lift from her. It wasn’t just her. She could work with this. ‘I’ve done a lot of soul-searching these past few days—deep soul-searching. I’ve listened to what you’ve had to say, I’ve processed it. And I’ve made peace with my family and myself with regards to the past.’ She pulled her hair from the band and flicked the locks over her shoulder, massaging her scalp a little.

David was mesmerised for a second, just watching her as she pulled her fingers through her gorgeous curls. His mind went blank and he completely lost track of what they’d been discussing. He loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. It was always like that around Eden. He would try to talk sensibly with her, but then she’d distract him and he would become mesmerised by the way her eyes darkened to a deeper shade of green whenever she became passionate about something. Now was no exception, and although she wasn’t getting riled up, the emotions were still there…She was just better at controlling it now that she was older.

She was so amazingly attractive he was having a difficult time keeping his breathing even, not to mention his train of thought. He needed to be harsh, to let her see that this time he wasn’t going to give in, wasn’t going to let her talk him around. It was for her own good.

‘I know exactly what I want to do with my life, David, and that in itself is very freeing. It’s something I couldn’t have done without your help.’ She was having difficulty forming the words, especially when he was looking at her as though he was about to toss aside the coffee table which separated them, not caring if drinks got spilt or if he wrecked the lobby. His eyes told her he wanted her, wanted her so badly he was willing to throw all sense and reason out of the window. So how could his mouth say that he didn’t want to be with her, that she was better off without him?

‘Because you’ve helped me, because I’ve taken those boxes out…the ones I’d hidden for so long…because I’ve looked inside them and really tried to figure things out, I think it’s only fair that I return the favour. That I help you figure out what it is that
you
want out of life.’

‘I know what I want, Eden.’

‘And what’s that?’

‘Peace.’

She waggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively. ‘I can give you peace.’

He laughed without humour. ‘You give me anything
but
peace, Eden. You’re the one who ties me up in knots, who makes me forget where I am, what I’m doing. Who makes me wild with jealousy if I hear you talk about another man—friend, colleague or otherwise.’

‘And why aren’t these good things?’

‘Because I want peace.’

‘Peace is boring. Well…not all the time, but you know what I mean. There needs to be a balance, David, and you’re never going to get that until you talk to me—until you can trust me enough to tell me what it is that has you one hundred percent certain that we can never be together.’

‘Maybe I just don’t love you.’

Eden heard the words, felt them pierce her heart, and then instantly rejected them. ‘That’s not the case.’

‘Are you saying that I
am
in love with you?’

‘You must be—otherwise your actions would be far more rational than they are. You love me. I love you. But we also need to trust each other, David.
Please.
’

Her tone was imploring, and before he realised she’d even moved, she’d reached forward and taken his hands in hers. The touch filled him instantly with desire and need. This woman was everything he’d ever wanted and more. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, he did, with every fibre of his being, but he’d known this conversation had to happen at some point.

Why not now? Why not confess the truth? She would be mortified, hurt, and then she’d leave him alone. It would mean the rest of the time she spent in Sydney they’d just carefully avoid one another until she finally went back overseas to work with PMA.

‘OK.’ The word was spoken very quietly, and Eden’s eyes widened. She didn’t say anything, instead waiting for him to gather his thoughts, to tell her what it was that had been keeping them apart ever since she’d returned to town.

‘When I was an intern—’ He broke off, looking into her eyes, seeing the reassurance there, feeling it in her touch. This was it. He was going to do this. He took another breath and slowly let it out. ‘When I was an intern, there was an accident—a radiation leak.’ His voice was strong, matter-of-fact, as though removing all the emotion from what he was saying helped him to deal with it.

‘David!’ Eden was astounded, and couldn’t help voicing her concerns. ‘Were you sick? Poisoned? How bad was it?’

‘I suffered radiation sickness, but after a few months I made a complete recovery.’

‘Does Sash know?’

‘No. I was living in Melbourne and I didn’t want to worry her. She’d just started her first job as a teacher and was having the time of her life. She didn’t need to be worried about me.’

‘So you recovered, then?’ Even as she said the words Eden started piecing together all the information she’d inadvertently gathered during the past few days. Such as the number of times David had raised the fact that she would want children. Such as Jacquie saying she’d had trouble conceiving for
years
. Such as David saying there were other reasons for his marriage failure.

‘None of us who were affected suffered permanent damage—or so we thought.’ David paused, looking down at their entwined fingers. This was it, and he wanted to savour this last moment—her hands against his, the love he saw in her eyes, the way she cared too much. He was going to hurt her and he was sorry for that.

‘When Jacquie and I wanted to start a family, we had difficulties conceiving.’ He swallowed, forcing himself to go on.

‘The radiation had made you sterile.’ Eden spoke before he could get the words out.

‘Yes.’

She waited, wondering if there was more. When he didn’t say anything else, she pressed. ‘And?’