The Marry-Me Wish (7 page)

She blinked. Hard. ‘I'll be fine,' she said with a good attempt at bravado. ‘In fact, I think the worst is over now. I probably didn't realise how much it was all due
to this complication. Being sick on top of everything else. I'll bounce back in no time now.'

‘But you can't go home by yourself.'

 

‘No. She can't.' Mac, with a sleeping infant in his arms, had come quietly into the room.

David saw something like fear flare in Anne's eyes. Did she think that Mac might have overheard what she'd been saying? It was obvious she didn't want her sister or Mac to know how difficult she was finding this situation. She was still protecting her baby sister, wasn't she? Prepared to go through hell herself. By herself.

He almost groaned aloud as he felt himself getting entangled a little further in that complicated web of emotion, past and present. There was respect. And caring. And…a moral duty, perhaps.

‘I could stay here overnight, I suppose,' Anne said. ‘If things don't get too busy. I'll have to go home in the morning anyway and sort out what needs to be done to sort out the mess.'

‘I'll take care of that,' Mac said. ‘I'll get hold of your insurance company. They can send their assessors and they'll know what needs to be done to dry things out and what will have to be replaced.'

Anne looked like she was trying hard not to cry. Seeing the damage to her home and belongings was the last thing she needed when she was, by her own admission, an emotional basket case.

Julia had come into the room again now and she was holding a baby in her arms that was as quiet as the one Mac was holding. She stood beside her husband. Had
the babies been fed and changed already or had they only needed a cuddle from their parents to settle? Not that it mattered. They were content and their parents stood close enough for their bodies to touch. They were the picture of the perfect family and suddenly David could see that picture through Anne's eyes. Could see the babies she had given birth to but had to distance herself from.

How much harder would it be to have to stay in the same house?

‘I have an idea,' he heard himself saying aloud. His words held the confidence of a brainwave and it was no surprise to find three sets of adult eyes focusing on him. He couldn't not say it now.

‘Anne could come home with me.'

G
OOD
grief!

Had David really said that?

Anne stared at him, her lips parted but there were no words available to emerge. Her brain felt fuzzy. Short-circuited in some way by that simple statement.

Come home with me

Could it be that simple? Did he want her back? Enough to compromise the dreams he'd had for the future? How good would that be, to have David in her life again? And her career uninterrupted. And a little nephew and niece to include in their world. It was going to be enough for her to have that extended family. Maybe it could be enough for David, too?

No. Of course it couldn't. The stupid, romantic fantasy was just an indication of what a basket case she was at the moment.

‘No,' she said aloud into the stunned silence.

Julia was biting her lip. She looked up at Mac.

‘It's a big house,' David added. ‘And I'm working pretty long hours. I'd be around but she probably wouldn't even see that much of me.'

‘She'? They were talking about her as if she wasn't there. Mac was actually nodding at what David had said. ‘Be more peaceful than our place,' he said. ‘And it
would
only be for a few days.'

Anne tried very hard to keep any tremor out of her voice. ‘So I'd be by myself in a big house. And that would be better for me how? I could go to a hotel. I'd have plenty of peace and quiet that way. Room service as well.'

‘You wouldn't be alone at my place,' David said.

He said it so calmly. As though she shouldn't be surprised. But she was. More than surprised. She was shocked. David was sharing his house with someone. Another woman? Entirely plausible. It had been more than a year after all. How many men went that long without finding a companion? Especially when they were pushing forty and they'd made no secret about their need to find a life partner that shared their dreams.

David was still talking. With an effort, Anne tuned back in.

‘…coming and going all day. The guest suite is private enough but there would certainly be company, or assistance, if it was required.'

Anne tried to fish missing clues from her head. Words that had floated past without being listened to while she dealt with that shock. He'd mentioned builders. Decorators. Gardeners perhaps?

Yes. He was talking about a restoration job on his property. Contractors. Julia didn't seem to be listening any more than Anne had been. She was looking at her sister and as Anne met her gaze, she was drawn into the close connection they had always had. The ability to
communicate without words so easily. And this was such a familiar pattern of reassurance. Julia was worried. More than that. In that glance, Anne realised she hadn't been hiding her confusion about the babies as well as she'd thought. There was an awful lot riding on how she handled this.

I understand,
she signalled silently with a tiny smile.
But everything's going to work out just fine, you'll see.

‘What do you think, Annie?' Mac was looking just as anxious as Julia.

‘No,' she said again. The word lacked the conviction of her earlier refusal, however. She was trying to think of an alternative.

David was looking uncomfortable. Maybe he was regretting his offer? ‘Do you have any other friends you could land on at short notice?' he asked.

‘No.' A quiet word this time. Was David implying that he could be a friend? A
friend
? How could it sound like such a small, insignificant thing when only an hour or two ago she'd been trying to catch his gaze? To smile at him and let him know that she approved of him describing her as nothing more than that.

This was really rock bottom, wasn't it? Here she was, virtually incapacitated and faced with two choices that were equally undesirable for very different reasons. Both of them were emotional minefields.

Another glance at Julia finally made the decision simple. Neither choice would be great for herself but one would definitely be much better for her baby sister. She couldn't stay here using up a bed in a busy emergency department when she didn't need to. Nobody in
this room was going to allow her an independent choice like a hotel and she was too tired to fight. It would only be for a day or two after all. A mere blink in a lifetime.

‘David's house is a lot closer to mine,' she said. ‘It would certainly make it easier to supervise getting my place sorted.'

‘And you'd be doing me a favour,' David nodded. ‘For the same reason. I've only got a limited time frame to get the work done on my house. Having someone they think might be looking over their shoulders occasionally would keep the workmen on track.'

There. It was settled. Anne managed to smile. Now that the decision was made she had a goal. All she had to do was focus and get her home and then her life back in order. Knowledge was power. Strength. She could do this.

‘I'd like a quick cuddle with those babies, please,' she said calmly. ‘And then you'd better get them home.'

‘Before they start howling again, you mean?' Mac's tone was gentle as he stepped forward to place one of the neatly wrapped bundles in Anne's arms.

‘Exactly. One of the many benefits in being an aunty.'

 

The guest suite was next to the garage complex but the bedroom had a pretty bay window that would have a lovely outlook into the garden in the daylight. It also had a small sitting room with a desk and couch and, thankfully, it had its own bathroom. No need to risk running into David elsewhere in the house.

‘No shower, sorry, but you're welcome to go upstairs and use the main bathroom when you feel up to it.'

‘This is fine,' she assured him. ‘What a fabulous old bath.'

‘The feet look a bit rusty.' David poked one of the cast iron claws with his foot, sending flakes of rust onto cracked linoleum. He turned a big, brass tap on and a stream of rusty water came out. Something clanged ominously within the walls.

‘Maybe this isn't such a good idea,' he muttered.

‘No…' The prospect of David changing his mind was disturbing. Now that Anne had made the difficult decision she wanted to be here. Kind of. ‘Look…the water's coming clear now. It just hasn't been used for a while.'

‘There's a plumber due tomorrow to have a look at things. There's someone coming from an electrical firm as well. I used the time you were in ED to make a few calls and found a representative from an interior design company who's keen to come and do a quote. She says they've won all sorts of awards for their restoration work. They all know I've left a key for them outside but I hope they won't disturb you too much.'

‘No problem.' Anne moved back to her bedroom. The suitcase David had carried in was on the floor beside the old brass bed. ‘Do I need some linen?'

‘I'll take care of that.'

The thought of David tucking in sheets and putting fresh cases on the pillows for her was embarrassing. Too personal. The tension in the room suddenly escalated.

‘You need to rest,' he reminded her. ‘Hauling things around or lifting heavy stuff is not on the agenda.'

Anne couldn't help smiling.

‘Hey! I'm not joking here.'

‘I know. Thank you for your concern.'

His eyes were still narrowed suspiciously. ‘So why were you smiling?'

‘You sounded as stern as Mac and Julia did back when I first got pregnant. It always amused me because I felt like I'd spent my whole life worrying about Jules. It was a bit of a U-turn to have her fussing over me.'

Special, though, to have someone so concerned about her physical well-being. To feel so cared for.

‘I'm not fussing,' David assured her. ‘Just being sensible. I don't want to be scooping you up and carting you back to the emergency department again.'

‘Perish the thought.' One that was even more embarrassing than having household chores like changing bed linen being done on her behalf.

Was David also embarrassed by the reminder of being forced to hold her in his arms for so long? The silence certainly felt horribly awkward.

‘I haven't even thanked you for rescuing me.'

David shrugged. ‘Just in the right place at the right time, I guess. Now, why don't you find the kitchen and make sure you'll be able to find everything you need in the morning? It'll only take me a minute to sort this lot out.'

Obediently, Anne made a slow circuit of the ground floor. Things were just as she remembered them in the big, farmhouse-style kitchen. A glance into the refrigerator was a surprise. So was the pantry.

‘You look like you've prepared for a siege,' she said when she returned to her room to find David stuffing the last pillow into a fresh white case. ‘So much food!'

‘Mmm.' David put the pillow down and gave it a prod. ‘I've discovered the convenience of online shopping. Guess I went a bit overboard.'

No surprises there for a man who loved to plan things in meticulous detail. He was like that in his work, too. Nothing got missed. He'd wanted to plan his future like that, too, hadn't he? To make sure he didn't miss out on anything. Like a family.

Again, the silence was awkward. So full of shards of the past that had to be avoided to risk injury.

David cleared his throat. ‘It's getting late. I'll leave you to settle in. I put towels in the bathroom.'

‘Thanks.' Exhaustion was setting in. The aftermath of the physical and mental roller-coaster she'd been on for days now. Anne eyed the high bed and soft looking pillows. ‘Sleep is looking like a very good idea.'

David turned back again as he was going through the doorway. He wasn't smiling but there was a softening to his face that deepened the lines around his eyes and made his lips look fuller. Softer. A kind of precursor to a smile. Or a kiss…

‘I'm only upstairs,' he said. ‘If you need any help in the night.'

 

Anne opened her eyes to bright sunlight coming in through windows she had neglected to pull curtains on. The moment of wondering where the hell she was turned into astonishment that she must have fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep the instant her head had touched those wonderful feather pillows.

She felt rested. So much better, in fact, it was a shock
to find her head reeling when she tried to stand up. It took a good minute for the dizziness to recede but making it to the bathroom and finding that her bleeding had virtually ceased made up for feeling as weak as a kitten. The pain had gone from her belly as well. Even her breasts felt much less tender.

Not that she had time for more than a quick physical self-assessment. A glance at her watch made her jaw drop. She had slept for nearly twelve hours and it was 9:30 a.m. She would be lucky to have time to make herself look respectable and find time for a coffee before the first of the contractors arrived.

There was an eerie silence to the house when she made her way to the kitchen. David would be long gone. Had he felt her presence in the house this morning, the way she was aware of his absence?

Maybe. There was a note held onto the fridge door with a smiley magnet button.

Checked on you before I left
, it said.
Didn't want to wake you. Be home around 7 p.m. Call or text if you need to.

He'd checked on her? Been in her bedroom and watched her sleeping? For how long? The thought of him standing in the same room while she had been in bed created a warmth that moved from her belly right up into her cheeks. It wasn't embarrassment this time. It was…

Not something she was going to analyse. She read the note again instead. It finished with his mobile phone number but she had no intention of interrupting his working day if she could help it.

She almost changed her mind less than an hour later.

‘What sort of fittings are going in?' The plumber had come looking for her.

‘What do you mean?'

‘Well, you can go reproduction. Some of it's lovely stuff, like copper cisterns and slippers baths and the like. But if you're looking to modernise, it will affect the pipes. You can conceal cisterns in the wall, for instance. And have a hanging loo that leaves a gap underneath. Easier for cleaning around, you know? Any idea which way you might be heading?'

Anne had to shake her head. ‘Sorry but it's not up to me. I can make a note and get the owner to call you.'

‘Oh…' the plumber looked disconcerted. ‘I thought you were the missus.'

Whatever could have given him that idea?

Had it been because she'd complied with his request on arrival to show him where the main bathroom was? Had something shown in her body language? It had been impossible not to have those flashbacks to the first time David had ever led her up that magnificent sweep of ornate wooden staircase. Holding her hand. Stopping, too many times to count, to kiss her senseless on their way to his bedroom.

‘No,' she told him. ‘I'm just a friend.'

It was surprisingly easy to say. After a good night's sleep, the implications of that word had changed again. Become something if not desirable then acceptable.

Better than nothing, anyway.

Anne found a pad of paper and a pen and noted all the plumber's immediate queries. He went off to measure the pipes and a couple from an interior design firm
arrived. They sailed around the house, becoming progressively more enthusiastic and bouncing ideas off each other after the initial, somewhat awed inspection.

They ended up in the main living room. A wonderful, warm room with a fireplace big enough to roast the proverbial ox, ancient but supremely comfortable leather couches and armchairs and French doors that opened to a terrace and the garden beyond.

It was a room Anne had always loved so it was too hard not to stop and eavesdrop as she went past on her way back to her room.

‘It's divine,' the slightly effeminate voice of the male decreed. ‘The feature ceiling. That fireplace!'