Her Mistletoe Wish (11 page)

Reggie sighed against him, unable to believe she was finally back here again, back in his arms, back where she’d yearned to be for so very long. Flynn was here.
Her
Flynn, and he was kissing her exactly as he had during all her dreams about him.

‘Mmm,’ she moaned as he continued to wreak havoc with her senses. She could feel his restraint, feel he was trying to keep things soft and steady, not wanting to scare her away, but didn’t he realise that she didn’t scare easily? She wanted him. Couldn’t he feel that?

The fact that he was taking things slowly was only making her desire for him increase and when he eased his mouth from hers to trace her lips tantalisingly with
his tongue, knowing how the action drove her crazy, his breath mingling and blending with hers, Reggie thought her heart would burst.

‘Flynn,’ she breathed. ‘I want you.’

‘I know.’ He kissed her cheek.

‘This can’t be wrong. Not a second time.’

‘No.’ He kissed her other cheek.

‘Shouldn’t we go…somewhere a little more comfortable?’ the words were a husky whisper as he continued to kiss her neck, Reggie tilting her head to the side to grant him all the access he desired.

‘No.’

Reggie’s eyes flew open, his one-word answer like a stylus scratching its way across a record. ‘No?’

‘No,’ he repeated, his voice thick with repressed desire.

She shifted so she could look at him better and as She did so he seemed to take it as a sign to remove her from his lap and to settle her next to him on the lounge. ‘Flynn?’ She swallowed over the confusion even she could hear in her voice.

‘Reg, I don’t want to rush things.’ He bent and kissed her lips as though needing her to know he was still very much on board with what was happening between them. ‘This time we need to take things slowly.’

‘Because we didn’t take things slowly last time?’

‘Exactly. And…’ he brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek and then pushed some of her dark, spiky locks behind her ear ‘…you deserve better. With everything you’ve confessed to me, plus with everything that’s happened in the past few days, I think we’re definitely starting to move way too fast again. Don’t you?’

Reggie stared at him, unable to believe the words
were coming out of his mouth. How was it possible he could be even more wonderful, more considerate, more chivalrous than she remembered? He cared about her. He
really
cared about her and he was willing to prove that by slowing things down. She opened her mouth to agree with him but found the words were stuck behind the bubble of emotion, so she nodded instead.

‘I was wondering, just this morning, how you were able to deal with your home burning down so easily, how you could just accept the fact and not wallow and cry and scream, as you most certainly have every right to do, but now…’ Flynn brushed his thumb over her lips before bending and mimicking the same action with his lips ‘…with everything you’ve been through, you’ve built up an amazing resilience to things beyond your control. That, my beautiful Reg, is an amazing quality and you have it in spades. You just pick yourself up and keep on moving forward and I want you to know just how much I admire you.’

‘Oh, Flynn.’ She couldn’t believe he was saying such nice things to her and quickly fanned her face with her hand, needing to lighten the atmosphere around them with a touch of humour. It worked because he smiled warmly in response. ‘You say the sweetest things.’

‘I meant every word.’

She dropped the pretence for a moment and nodded. ‘I don’t doubt it.’

‘Good, because I think the next thing we should discuss is getting some sleep—me upstairs, you downstairs and, no, that isn’t a euphemism or meant as a
double entendre.’

Reggie laughed; the sound lighter and freer than she could ever remember hearing before. Flynn removed his
arm from around her shoulders, then stood and pulled her to her feet. He held her hand as he walked her to her room. ‘Make free use of the bathroom. I’ll use the en suite.’

‘OK.’ She stood at the door to her room and looked up at him. She smiled then stood on tiptoe and kissed him. ‘Who said chivalry was dead?’ she asked rhetorically.

‘Taking things slower is a good thing.’

‘Yes.’

‘We deserve the time to really get to know each other again.’

‘Yes.’

Flynn smiled and took her hand in his, raising it to his lips. ‘Sleep sweet, Reg.’ Then he bowed from the waist and headed up the stairs, blowing her one last kiss from the top. Reggie couldn’t help but giggle as she entered the room, sighing romantically.

‘Oh, Flynn, you really do know how to make a girl feel special,’ she whispered, and it was so true. She could trust him. He was showing her that by not rushing into things. He cared about her and it was still a little difficult for her to get her head around that realisation. Was it possible that this time they’d be able to really move forward with their life together? A normal life together? After all, wasn’t Flynn the most perfect man for her?

Surely, with everything they’d discussed tonight, there was no way he’d ever hurt her again. Right?

F
ROM THE NEXT
morning, even though they hadn’t specifically discussed it, they appeared to be back together. When Reggie had come into the kitchen for breakfast, Flynn once more having already made the coffee and toast, he’d crossed to her side, given her a hug and brushed a light kiss across her lips.

‘Good morning,’ he’d said, smiling warmly at her.

‘Morning,’ she’d returned, before hugging him back, unable to believe how wonderful it felt to be so familiar with him again. He drove them to the hospital but still kept his distance in front of their colleagues, which she was happy about because she wasn’t ready for everyone to be staring and gawking at them when she was still trying to figure things out.

He took her shopping for clothes and shoes and all the other little things She needed, not appearing bored by any of the shops they visited or insisting she shop at the most expensive places. She modelled clothes for him, twirling and laughing and smiling and trying to remember when she’d last been this happy. Her car was returned from the garage and he insisted she leave it in his garage, parking his own car in the driveway.

The little girl, Lola, who had been attacked by the
shark, was starting to make progress with her recovery and while it would indeed be a long journey, all the surgeons involved in her care were happy with the way her body was coping with the trauma.

Things were also building up for the hospital’s Christmas auction and Reggie and Mackenzie spent quite a bit of time finalising the details.

‘One of the outpatient ward clerks signed me up for the bachelor auction that very first morning I was in Outpatients,’ Flynn told Reggie when she noticed his name on the sign-up sheet.

‘But you’re not a bachelor anymore,’ she felt compelled to point out.

‘Well, technically I am as I’m not married.’

‘But we are in a…relationship…’ She looked at him with concern. ‘Aren’t we?’

Or did he just think their time together was a fling? Something to keep him occupied during his six months at the hospital? Had she grasped the wrong end of the stick again? Did she feel more for him than he felt—

‘Stop,’ he commanded, and when she looked at him, her eyes wide with concern and worry, she noticed he was smiling at her, slowly shaking his head from side to side. ‘I can hear your thoughts from here, Reg.’ He cupped her face and brought his lips down to warm hers. ‘Of course we’re in a relationship. Together. Both of us. Mutually exclusive. But apart from our closest friends, no one at the hospital knows that. To pull out of the auction now would raise suspicion.’

‘And you don’t want to do that?’

Flynn tugged her into his arms, nuzzling her neck once more. ‘I like having you all to myself, Reg. I like not having people gossip about us as we walk by. During
our lives, and for different reasons, we’ve both been the topic of discussion and while I know it will happen one day, that the cat will be out of the proverbial bag, I just want a bit longer to have you all to myself.’ He pressed his mouth to hers, making her swoon with delight from his glorious kisses.

‘I guess it is for a good cause,’ she rationalised.

‘And I’m absolutely positive that there’s a very special woman who’s going to ensure she wins the auction.’ He glared pointedly at her.

‘Really? Which woman is that?’ Reggie giggled but pretended to ponder the question. ‘Ingrid Brown? She’s very interested in you.’

He wrinkled his nose. ‘A great surgical registrar but not my type.’

‘Clara from Outpatients? Or perhaps—’ Her words were cut off as Flynn kissed her into silence.

‘You are going to win that auction, Reg,’ he whispered in her ear after tantalising her with a thread of butterfly kisses, a spate of delighted goose-bumps flooding her skin. ‘Even if I have to give you every last cent.’ He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. ‘I don’t want to be with any other woman—except you.’

Reggie sighed into him as his wonderful words penetrated her heart, accepting the way his mouth continued to create havoc with her equilibrium.

She was still walking on feathers, on pillows, on air when she met Bergan, Mackenzie and Sunainah for coffee. Christmas wasn’t that far away and everywhere she went there were people collecting for charity, Santa Clauses in every store, tinsel, carollers and a generally festive atmosphere that was difficult to ignore.

‘So…you and Flynn? Still super-happy?’ Mackenzie asked.

‘Do you even need to ask? Just look at her,’ Bergan pointed out. ‘It’s as plain as the nose on your face,’ she remarked, before sipping her coffee.

‘You are even happier than usual,’ Sunainah added.

‘And this time,’ Mackenzie remarked as she grinned widely at her friend, ‘the happiness you’re shining out at the world isn’t forced—it’s real.’

Reggie giggled, nodding her head at the three of them. ‘It’s so wonderful and exciting and new and scary and—’

‘We’ve all been there.’ Bergan’s tone was matter-of-fact. ‘A mixture of emotions that keeps your insides churning with angst and delight. You don’t need to go on about it.’ She wasn’t usually one for gushy sentimentality but she reached over and pressed a kiss to her friend’s cheek. ‘And I couldn’t be happier for you,’ she said softly, and all of them laughed.

‘So are there any plans for a wed—?’

‘Stop!’ Reggie held up her hand, cutting off Mackenzie’s sentence. ‘There has been no discussion about anything except that last time we rushed into things far too quickly and this time, well, Flynn wants to take his time.’

‘Are you two sharing…a room?’ Bergan asked coyly.

‘No. Again, he wants to take it slowly.’

‘But you have told him about your past? He knows who your parents were?’ Sunainah asked quietly.

‘Yes.’

‘Then it is good he is wanting to take it slowly.’ Sunainah nodded in approval. ‘I am liking this Flynn Jamieson more and more.’

‘But it would be great if we could get to know him better,’ Mackenzie pointed out.

‘Uh-oh.’ Bergan rolled her eyes. ‘I’d know that organising look anywhere. Warning. Warning. Cul-de-sac crew gathering imminent.’

Reggie laughed. ‘I think it would be great for Flynn to get to know the rest of you much better, too.’

‘No doubt Elliot, Richard and John will want to take him under their wing, teach him the dos and don’ts of dealing with the four of us?’ Mackenzie clapped her hands. ‘Oh, it’s just the way I’ve always wanted it. The four of us, living near each other, helping each other, being a family together.’

Reggie wanted to point out again that nothing was permanently fixed between herself and Flynn but one look at Mackenzie’s brightly smiling face and Reggie swallowed the words. For now she could keep her concerns to herself. Like Flynn, she wanted to take things slowly, make sure that they were both on the same page, that they wanted the same things out of life.

For example, she had no idea whether he planned to live in the Sunshine Coast once his contract at the hospital had ended. Did he want to have children in the future? Did he want to travel? How did he see their working relationship? Did he want to work at a different hospital from her? When would he be ready to take their relationship to the next level? Was he still in contact with his father? Did he want her to meet his father? What had really happened between himself and Violet, his ex-wife?

When they’d been together in the Caribbean, he’d occasionally spoken of Violet and his family. ‘I’m an only child and so is she,’ he’d once told Reggie as they’d
walked hand in hand along the beach, admiring the breathtaking sunset.

‘Our mothers are the closest of friends and although Violet is a few years younger than me, the two of us have sort of been raised together. We went to the same schools. I was told to look out for her. We played together when we were young. We celebrated birthdays and Christmases with each other’s families.’

‘So she’s just a friend?’ Reggie had asked, slightly jealous of the wonderful life he was describing.

‘Yes. Nothing more than a friend,’ he’d confirmed.

And yet not too long after they’d had that conversation he’d been married to Violet. Now that he’d told her the true circumstances surrounding that union, Reggie still had questions. Was he still friendly with Violet? If so,
how
friendly? Or had their forced marriage been the undoing of a lifetime of friendship? Was that why he didn’t talk about her much?

That evening, as they sat watching an old movie together, Reggie really wanted to ask him about Violet, find out some of the answers to the questions that were spinning around in her head, but every time she opened her mouth to speak, she found the words simply wouldn’t come out. Surely if he was still in close contact with Violet he would have said something. Wouldn’t he? Perhaps the fact that he hadn’t spoken much about her indicated their marriage had indeed wrecked the friendship and now the two of them were estranged.

‘What am I supposed to do?’ she asked Mackenzie as the two of them put the final touches on the ballroom, ready for tomorrow night’s Christmas auction. They’d worked closely with the event co-ordinator and she had to admit that the room did indeed look incredibly
festive, with green and red tinsel around the place, twinkle lights and a large Christmas tree in the corner. Still, they were responsible for the table decorations and as they’d spent the last few weeks making them, as well as getting people to donate things for the auction. But no matter how many great items were up for bidding, the bachelor auction was most definitely the highlight of the night.

‘You’re supposed to talk to him,’ Mackenzie told her. ‘If you want to know about Violet, just ask him. He’ll tell you.’

‘It’s not that I don’t trust him,’ Reggie began, and Mackenzie raised one eyebrow in question. ‘OK.’ She spread her arms wide. ‘So perhaps I do have a few trust issues. I just want to be sure, this time, that he’s not going to up and leave me again. I won’t be able to live through the pain a second time. I just won’t survive.’

‘And you think he’s still in touch with Violet?’

‘He has to be. Their families are connected and yet he’s said nothing about seeing his father at Christmas, or—’

‘OK. OK,’ Mackenzie interrupted, and put her hands on Reggie’s shoulders. ‘The only way for you to get rid of this stress and anxiety you’re heaping on yourself is to talk to him.’ Mackenzie’s phone rang and she stared at Reggie for a moment longer before answering it.

‘You’re right. You’re right. I know you’re right,’ Reggie said, more to herself than to her friend. ‘I’ll talk to him about it tonight. He’d be open to the discussion…’ She bit her lip. ‘I hope.’

Mackenzie finished her call. ‘That was John.’

‘Emergency?’

Mackenzie grinned. ‘Yes, but not of the medical
kind. Ruthie’s having a sleepover at a friend’s house and my husband
needs
me.’ She waggled her eyebrows up and down and Reggie couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Then you’d better get out of here.’

‘I can stay and help you finish up here and—’

‘Just go. You’re lucky enough to have a husband who is crazy about you, so don’t go keeping him waiting.’

Mackenzie hugged her friend close. ‘Thanks, Reggie.’

Reggie sighed as Mackenzie went, going through the motions of setting up the rest of the table centrepieces before standing back and surveying the room. It looked fantastic. The auction night would be wonderful. They were going to raise a lot of money and she was prepared to pay top dollar for Flynn. No way in the world was she letting Ingrid Brown or any other woman secure the auction prize of a dinner date with the man she loved.

‘I’m looking forward to winning you at the auction,’ she’d told him the previous night. ‘Then I’ll have my very own slave.’

‘Hey, that’s not the terms of the contract. Whoever wins the auction gets to have dinner with me. That’s it.’ He’d shaken his head and waggled his finger at her. ‘No one said anything about slave duties.’

Reggie had playfully slid one hand up his arm and then walked the fingers of her other hand up his chest, and Flynn’s grin had widened. ‘That depends on what you classify as
slave duties.’

‘Hmm.’ He’d accepted the kiss she’d placed on his lips. ‘I guess it does.’

After that, they didn’t talked much for a while, the two of them completely absorbed in each other, but when things started to get a little heated, Flynn was the
one to put on the brakes. ‘You make it very difficult to take our time and to go slowly with this relationship,’ he murmured against her lips. ‘Especially when you are so incredibly delectable and addictive,’ he continued, pressing kisses to her neck.

‘Likewise,’ she returned, plunging her fingers into his hair and bringing his head back so their lips could meet once more. ‘It’s difficult, Flynn. I want you so much.’

‘I know.’ He pressed his mouth to hers, slowing things down before lying next to her on the soft rug on the living-room floor. He continued to hold her in his arms, the two of them just lying there. ‘I like just…being with you. There’s no stress or tension or pressure to be something I’m not. I can be myself with you and you can be yourself with me, and all of that means more to me than anything, Reg.’

He levered himself up onto one elbow and looked down into her beautiful face. ‘I don’t want you to think I take you for granted. I know what we have between us is rare and unique and incredibly special and I just don’t want to mess it up.’

Reggie grinned. ‘Slow it is, then.’

‘It’s the right thing for both of us,’ he remarked, before looking past her and frowning.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, a frisson of concern churning within her belly.

‘Huh?’

‘You’re frowning. Is there anything I can help you with?’

The frown cleared at her words. ‘Nothing’s wrong.’

‘Really?’ Reggie shifted her head so she could see him better. ‘Is it your father?’

Flynn shrugged one shoulder. ‘I haven’t seen or spoken to him in over three years and most of the time I’m fine with that but…’

‘Christmas can highlight the fact that families are estranged.’

‘Exactly.’

‘What did you used to do at Christmas?’