Hired: GP and Wife / The Playboy Doctor's Surprise Proposal (25 page)

‘Let’s get this over with,’ Andrew replied through gritted teeth.

Caitlin kicked her horse into a canter, turning around in the saddle to see how Andrew was doing. Unfortunately he was bouncing around like a sack of potatoes, holding on to the reins as if his life depended on it. Trying not to laugh, Caitlin yelled, ‘Relax, Andrew. Just go with the movement,’ before kicking her horse on.

When she next risked a backward glance she was surprised to see that Andrew was beginning to get the hang of it. He was moving more comfortably with the horse and had loosened his grip on the reins.

Half an hour later they found the watering hole and Caitlin dismounted and waited for Andrew to catch up. The sun was still high in the sky and that, combined with the exercise, had left Caitlin with a sheen of sweat covering her body.

As Andrew came to an undignified stop, she gathered the reins of his horse and tied them to a tree close to hers.

‘I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk for days,’ he groaned. ‘Or do anything else for that matter.’ He slid her a devilish grin.

‘Is there anything likely to be lurking in there?’ Caitlin pointed to the pool of aquamarine water.

‘No, I think it’s pretty safe,’Andrew said, slipping off his T-shirt. ‘But even crocs won’t keep me out.’ His jeans and boxers followed the T-shirt and then he was in the water. ‘Come on in,’ he called. ‘It’s great.’ And then he disappeared from view as he submerged his head in the murky water.

Caitlin stood confused. Since their discussion over lunch, she had resolutely refused to think about the significance of Andrew’s words. But could she really act as if they had meant nothing? Perhaps now was the time to speak to him, before she got in any deeper. But before she had the time to formulate her words, Andrew strode out of the water and picked her up in his arms. Ignoring her squeals of protest, he removed her glasses and baseball cap, placing them a safe distance from the horses, and carried her, fully dressed, into the cool water. Caitlin gasped as the water seeped over her skin, soaking her shorts and T-shirt. But he was right. It was a delicious relief.

As she gasped from the shock of the water on her overheated skin, he brought his mouth down on hers. Despite her reservations of only moments before, she responded hungrily, drawing him closer and kissing him back with all the pent-up passion of the last few years.
Just let me have this time. I’ll be sensible later,
was her last coherent thought as Andrew carried her out of the pool and placed her on a bed of leaves. Then they were both pulling at her clothes, urgent in their need. As Andrew’s face swam before her, Caitlin once more was powerless to prevent herself giving in to him.

Later, they unpacked the provisions the owner of the stables had provided and Andrew showed her how to brew tea in a billy can while they munched on fruit and fresh bread. Caitlin watched as he worked, relishing the look of his bronze skin and the way his muscles rippled as he moved. As she picked leaves out of her hair that lay in a mass of tangles around her shoulders, she wondered where the cool, calm, collected Dr O’Neill of only a couple of weeks ago had disappeared to. She knew that that woman was gone for ever, but who had replaced her? Certainly not the woman Andrew had described earlier.

As they sipped their tea, Caitlin made up her mind. Regardless of the change in her, she was still a woman who needed to know what lay ahead. She couldn’t pretend to herself, no matter how much she wanted to, that she was able to continue with a relationship, no matter how heady, under false pretences. But still she hesitated, knowing somewhere deep in her soul that once she spoke, things would never be the same between them again.

‘Tell me about your family,’ she said, trying to ease her way into the conversation.

‘Not much to tell,’ he said. ‘Parents are first-generation Australians, came over here just after they got married and have worked incredibly hard to build a successful business.’

‘I thought your mother didn’t work.’

‘She worked to support my father by looking after the home and the children.’

‘Children?’ Caitlin queried, feeling slightly guilty as she already knew the answer from what Brianna had told her. But she wanted to hear Andrew’s story from his own lips. Perhaps it would offer another glimpse of the real Dr Bedi. ‘I thought you were an only child?’

Andrew rose to his feet and, keeping his back to her, spoke softly. ‘I had a sister, an older sister.’

‘Had?’ Caitlin prompted.

‘She died following a post-partum haemorrhage. The baby died too,’ Andrew said curtly.

‘I am so sorry.’ Caitlin came to stand behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his back.

‘It was ten years ago,’ Andrew said. ‘I still miss her.’

‘Did she leave any other children?’

‘No. It’s only me left.’ He laughed shortly. ‘I’m my parents’ whole world now. They depend on me for their future—to carry on the family line.’

‘What do you mean?’ Caitlin asked, prompted at the strange emphasis he gave the words.

‘They hope I’ll meet someone—someone from the same background—who will have the same values as we do.’

‘Are you telling me that you are considering an arranged marriage? That your parents want you to marry an Indian girl?’ Caitlin asked, feeling a cool breeze run through her soul.

‘It would make them very happy,’ he said. ‘But it wouldn’t be an arranged marriage as such. I couldn’t ever marry someone I didn’t like and admire. Not even to keep my parents happy. But you should know, Caitlin, that this isn’t something my parents are forcing on me. While I do have a duty to them, I happen to truly believe that Western marriages are more likely to fail than Indian ones, precisely because they aren’t built on mutual respect and common values.’

Caitlin was reeling from Andrew’s revelations. But hadn’t she, until recently, thought the same thing? That the best marriages were based on respect and affection rather than passion, which would inevitably pass with time? And why was she now so certain that she had been wrong? She knew now, with absolute certainty, that she could never marry anyone she wasn’t totally, desperately, head over heels in love with. The way she loved Andrew.

‘What does that mean for us?’ she said softly, willing her voice to remain steady.

Andrew turned and looked at Caitlin, holding her away so he could look directly into her eyes.

‘Us?’ he echoed. ‘I’m sorry, Caitlin, I hadn’t really thought about an us. You are a beautiful, exceptional woman, a woman who I want to spend time with, but…’

‘But…’ Caitlin repeated, feeling chilled to the bone.

‘We have different ambitions, goals in life. You want your career—you’ve made that very clear, and you should be proud of yourself that you are so successful. But as for me, I want my career and eventually, not for years yet, to find someone my parents approve of, who will want the same things in life that I do. We both want different things from our futures. In the meantime, can’t we just enjoy what we have? Make the most of our time together?’

She turned away from him, lest he see the disappointment in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Andrew. I know it’s late in the day, and I suppose you could say I came into this with my eyes wide open, but I’m not the sort of woman who can take a relationship casually. Just for sex. That, I suppose, is the main difference between you and me.’

He grabbed her arm and turned her back to face him. ‘What are you saying, Caitlin?’

‘I’m saying, Andrew, that as much as I’ve enjoyed this time with you, it’s over.’ The words sounded formal and stiff, but Caitlin was finding it difficult to speak through the tightness in her throat. If this weekend had meant anything to him, and from the way he had held her, made love to her, she couldn’t believe it hadn’t, then he’d be willing to try and meet her halfway. But, then, she reminded herself, she really didn’t know how men thought.

He gave her one last searching look and then dropped his arms in defeat. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘I have been a selfish idiot.’

Unspeakably disappointed at how easily he was giving her up, Caitlin tried a smile. If he felt so little for her, she was damned if she was going to let him see how much he had hurt her.

‘I think we should go now,’ she said quietly. ‘I’d like to get back to Brisbane tonight, preferably before it’s dark.’

‘Caitlin.’ He reached out towards her and touched her hair. For a second Caitlin thought he was going to say something that would make this whole horrible mess all right. But instead he stepped away from her. ‘We’d better get going,’ he said.

The journey back to Brisbane was a quiet affair, both of them preoccupied with their thoughts. They had stopped at Andrew’s beach house to collect their belongings and freshen up, but the light had gone out of the day. Caitlin was relieved when they pulled up outside her sister’s house. In the fading light, Caitlin could see that no one was home and she was glad that she wouldn’t have to face her sister’s questions about her early return until later. Her stomach was churning and she felt mildly nauseous.

‘Thank you,’ she said stiffly as Andrew handed her her bag. ‘I’ll see you on Monday.’

‘Sure. And, Caitlin, I’m not sorry we had this time together.’ He looked at her for a long moment.

‘Don’t worry, Andrew, I won’t let it affect our professional relationship. I’m as much to…’ She searched for the right word. ‘Blame for what happened as you,’ Caitlin said. Then, before she lost all self-control, she bolted inside. She only just made it to the bathroom before she was sick.

* * *

‘Hey, we didn’t expect you until tomorrow,’ Brianna said predictably when she found Caitlin wrapped in her dressing gown on the front veranda. She looked at her sister quizzically. ‘You don’t look great. Are you all right?’

‘I think I’ve picked up a tummy bug,’ Caitlin said. And if it was only part of the truth, Caitlin wasn’t lying. She had felt dreadfully ill and had been sick twice since her return home.

‘Up to bed with you,’ Brianna said firmly. ‘I’ll bring you some peppermint tea. You can tell me all about it tomorrow when you feel better.’ Reluctantly, Caitlin let her sister propel her upstairs, dismally aware that it was she who should be looking after Brianna, not the other way round.

When she brought up the tea, she sat on the edge of the bed looking concerned. ‘Should I ring someone? Andrew perhaps?’

Caitlin was horrified at the thought. ‘It’s probably only a twenty-four-hour thing. Plenty of fluids and bed rest is what any doctor would recommend. Honestly, Bri, I’m fine. But how are you?’

‘We had a lovely day,’ Brianna said. ‘It’s funny how being ill can make you appreciate all the little things. Every day is special.’

‘You’re not worried, Bri? You’re feeling okay?’ Caitlin sat up, almost knocking over her tea in the process. ‘You’ve not felt any new lumps, have you? You’re looking a little flushed to me. And I can hear you still have that cough.’

‘Caitlin,’ Bri said warningly, ‘you’re fussing again. I’m probably a bit flushed because I caught the sun. And as for the cough, it’s hardly more than a tickle. It’s just that I have my check-up this week and I guess I’m just feeling a bit ansty, wondering if they’ll be recommending more treatment. I wish Niall wasn’t going to be in Sydney so he could come with me for moral support.’

‘I didn’t know your check-up was this week. I’ll come with you.’

‘What about the hospital? I’m sure they won’t be keen on you having time off so soon after you’ve started. Really, Cat, I’m just being silly, I’ll be fine on my own. I know how much you hate missing work.’

Caitlin was shocked that her sister would think, even for a moment, that she’d put work ahead of her. But, then, Caitlin admitted ruefully, all Brianna had ever known of her sister was this work-obsessed dervish, who rarely had time for anything else. Was that how everyone saw her? Someone who couldn’t imagine a life without work?

‘I’m coming with you and that’s that,’ Caitlin said firmly.

Brianna leaned across and gave her a hug. Again Caitlin was dismayed at how fragile her sister felt. She was so strong willed, so determined and upbeat, it was easy to forget how much her illness had taken out of her. ‘Thank you, love. It means a lot to me.’ She lifted the empty teacup from the side of the bed. ‘You get some sleep now, if you want to be fit for work on Monday.’

‘Bri,’ Caitlin whispered just before her sister left the room, ‘I’m sorry, if I haven’t been a very good sister to you. You know I love you.’

Brianna’s smile lit up the room. ‘Of course, you idiot, and I love you too. Now, go to sleep.’ And she turned out the light, leaving Caitlin to her dismal thoughts.

Andrew let himself into his flat and threw the car keys down on the sideboard. Feeling restless, he contemplated going for a walk, then discarded the idea and switched on the television to watch the news. But it was no use. He couldn’t concentrate on the flickering images in front of him. Instead the image of green eyes and red hair kept intruding on his thoughts. He hadn’t meant to make love to Caitlin—it had just happened and when it had it had felt so natural. The memory of holding her in his arms, the feel of her satin skin against his, made him groan aloud. He had been attracted to Caitlin from the moment he had pulled her from the water. He smiled as he remembered the set of her mouth as she had tried to hold on to her dignity, the way that she had slowly melted in his arms and the flash of temper whenever she thought herself thwarted. He had loved watching her change from the almost uptight woman with every hair in place to the passionate, fiery, laughing woman whom he had held in his arms. But what had he been thinking? If he had been thinking at all.

He stood and went over to the window, looking out over the lights of the city. Caitlin O’Neill wasn’t the sort of woman a man treated lightly. But neither was she the woman he could see himself spending the rest of his life with. He could never be satisfied with a woman who didn’t put him and their children first. He admired her as a doctor, of course he did. What was there not to admire in her clinical skills and her obvious empathy for her patients? But…and this was the part he couldn’t accept…Caitlin was the sort of woman who would want life on her terms. And it was beginning to dawn on Andrew that perhaps he had met his match in Dr Caitlin O’Neill. She wasn’t the kind of woman a man could forget easily. In fact, he realised, as he thought of never holding her again, she was the sort of woman a man couldn’t forget at all.