Bride on the Children's Ward / Marriage Reunited: Baby on the Way

BY

&

MILLS & BOON
^®

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Natalie & Chris. Congratulations.
Embrace your new life together.
Mark 5:19

E
DEN
couldn’t believe the apprehensive nervousness clouding her as she entered the hospital and made her way to the spinal ward.

She was back.

Back home in one of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs, walking through the halls of the hospital she’d been born in twenty-nine years ago. She’d fled under the cover of darkness ten years earlier, and until two weeks ago hadn’t made any plans ever to return. Australia was quite a way from where she’d been only a few days ago, but nevertheless she’d promised Sasha, her best friend, she would come home—and come home she had.

She glanced at a few people as she walked down the hospital’s corridor, wondering if she would recognise anyone or if, heaven forbid, anyone could recognise her. Subconsciously, she knew she was hoping to see David walking towards her.

Did he know she was here? Had Sasha told him?

Eden’s heart-rate increased at the thought of David Montgomery—Sasha’s older brother. He was the man she measured every other man against, and no one had yet lived up to the standards of tall, dark and handsome David.

When Eden had left home, only sweet Sasha had known her plans. The two had remained in constant contact over the years, their friendship never waning. They’d shared their deepest secrets from the moment they’d met when they were ten years old. Eden’s leaving hadn’t changed that. They’d written letters, and Sasha had visited her quite a few times. First in Darwin, where Eden had done her medical degree, and later overseas, where Eden had been working for Pacific Medical Aid, a medical relief organisation.

Swallowing over her dry throat, she felt another prickle of apprehension wash over her…as though someone was watching her. She looked behind her, but the corridor was empty. No David anywhere. Disappointed, she shook her head and chided herself for looking for him. David was a busy doctor and was no doubt somewhere in the hospital busy doing doctor duties. He didn’t have time to stand around corridors looking for her…did he?

Laughing nervously, she clutched the present for Sasha tightly to her chest and turned left into another long corridor. There was an information board on the wall and she stopped momentarily to make sure she was going the right way. Yes. The spinal unit should be the second corridor on the right.

The butterflies returned, but she reminded herself it was just Sasha. She was here for Sasha. Not David—the man who had broken her heart all those years ago. Sure, she’d been young, and he’d been her first serious boyfriend, but just as a girl never forgot her first real kiss, she’d never forgotten her first heartbreak either.

Sasha. She had to focus on Sasha. Not David, not her parents or brother or anyone else in the exclusive suburb where she’d done most of her growing up. She was here for Sasha because that was what best friends were for.

When she was finally standing outside Sasha’s door, Eden paused and brushed her free hand down her skirt. It had been two and a half years since she’d last seen Sasha. Eden had been working in Ethiopia when Sasha and Robert, Sasha’s then fiancé, had come for a visit. It had been the first time Eden had met the man who had stolen her friend’s heart, and she’d been delighted with him. The three of them had made lots of good memories during that visit, and for Eden it had been absolutely wonderful to see her friend so happy.

Then, a few months after their visit, Eden’s world had exploded once again. Pain and anguish washed over her as pictures of that time flashed before her eyes, but she quickly pushed the awful memories from her mind, focusing instead on being able to do something for her friend. She had come because Sasha needed her.

Thank God Sasha had survived the horrific car accident which had now left her a patient in the spinal ward. Life wasn’t fair—they both knew that—but at least Eden still had her best friend.

Hitching her handbag onto her shoulder, Eden knocked on the door before pushing it open and looking into the private room. She frowned. It was empty. She walked back towards the nurses’ station and looked over the patient information board to make sure she had the right room. Yes. Room 4 was where Sasha Litchfield should be. Eden went back into the room and sighed.

All that anxiety and trepidation wasted. She laughed brightly at her own ridiculousness and put the bag and present down before heading over to the window, gazing out at the view of a small courtyard garden below.

‘Now, there’s a laugh I haven’t heard in a long time.’ A deep, masculine voice spoke from behind her.

Eden froze, recognising it instantly. ‘David.’ His name was scarcely a whisper on her lips, and one she enjoyed hearing there. Goose bumps spread up and down her arms and she breathed in, trying not to sigh as the sweet and hypnotic scent she would always associate with David assailed her senses. That spicy scent had driven her wild at the age of seventeen, when they’d first got together. Actually, it was starting to drive her wild now. It was amazing that such a thing as the mere smell of him could still affect her after a whole decade. He might have broken her heart, but that was a long time ago. That was then…this was now.

Slowly Eden turned. Their gazes met. He stood in the doorway, all neat and tidy, and as sexy as all get out. Eden let her gaze wander over his lithe frame, knowing he was doing exactly the same thing to her…she could feel it. Could he see the woman she’d grown into? Did he see much difference from the seventeen-year-old she’d been when he’d last seen her? She certainly hoped so.

‘Well…’ David was the first of them to find his voice. ‘Eden Caplan.’ There was a veiled twinkle in his brown eyes and the slight hint of a smile on his lips. ‘I thought I saw you in the corridor just now.’

Eden spread her arms wide, her heart starting to beat a different rhythm. ‘It’s me. In the flesh.’

‘So I see.’ His gaze dipped briefly to her knit top which had a V-neckline. Eden smiled as his Adam’s apple worked up and down and he swallowed.

She quirked an eyebrow. ‘Should I turn around? Give you the full view?’ She couldn’t quite believe she was flirting with him the way she had in the past. Instantly, she felt as though she was seventeen all over again, teasing him, wanting to make him laugh. He’d always been so serious.

David was startled just for an instant, but quickly recovered. He should have known to expect something like that from Eden…the girl who had provided such a bright spark to his otherwise staid life all those years ago. ‘Still saying the most outrageous things, I see.’

‘Still stating the obvious, I see.’

He took a step farther into the room. ‘It must be what…twelve years?’

Eden nodded. ‘Your nineteenth birthday. Remember?’

He swallowed again and put his hands in his trouser pockets. ‘I remember.’ There was an air of determined nonchalance about him, as though he didn’t want her to see how her words were affecting him. Was it possible that she could still knock the ever-steady David Montgomery off balance? She hoped so.

‘You broke my heart.’ She said the words with a hint of jest.

‘I remember.’

‘You broke my seventeen-year-old little heart and then you fled to Melbourne. Two years later, I fled—due to my own circumstances—and went to Darwin.’

‘Opposite ends of Australia.’

‘Until now.’

‘Until now,’ he repeated, and nodded his head slowly. There was a pause, which neither of them rushed to fill. It was as though they were both swept back to the last time they’d been together—that night in the depths of the Montgomerys’ enormous garden—where, beneath the moonlight, Eden had kissed David for the last time. Kissed him goodbye with all the passion and wonder of a seventeen-year-old in the throes of her first love. Back then she’d thought they’d be together for ever. That they’d be able to overcome the objections of both his and her parents and live happily ever after. Wasn’t that what all seventeen-year-old girls thought?

As though catching himself, David shook his head and gestured to the empty bed. ‘Sasha finally got you here.’

Eden instantly became serious and concerned, knowing he wouldn’t sugar coat the truth. He was David—the most honest man she’d ever known. ‘How is she, David?’

‘Coping. It’s been two weeks since the accident, and medically she’ll be fine. There’s still quite a bit of bruising, but that is fading. Of course they say she’ll never walk again, but you and I know Sasha’s determination. She’ll prove them wrong.’ His tone was that of an experienced doctor, but Eden knew him far too well to miss the slight tremor in his voice.

‘You’d better believe it. Sasha’s a fighter. I’m just sorry I couldn’t get here earlier. For the past two weeks I’ve been getting daily updates from Robert. They’ve been like a lifeline to me.’

‘Well, you’re here now. I guess that’s what counts.’

Eden sighed and shook her head, looking at the empty bed. ‘Poor Sasha.’

‘Uh, sorry. That’s not allowed.’ David took his hands out of his pockets and ticked the points off on his fingers. ‘No pity, no lies, no looking back. Those are her rules.’

Eden grinned through the tears which had gathered behind her eyes. ‘That sounds like my Sasha. Determined to find the silver lining and remain positive.’

‘
And
we’re allowed to spoil her as much as we want.’

‘Oh, thank goodness. For a moment there I thought she’d gone totally off her rocker.’

David smiled, and she found it difficult not to sigh. He had the most gorgeous smile. It had always made her heart flutter and now was no exception. ‘I’m glad you’re here for her, Eden. It’ll mean a lot to her.’

‘Hey, that’s what best friends are for. I’d do anything for Sasha.’

‘Yet you didn’t make it to her wedding two years ago.’

Eden’s smile faltered at his words and she looked away, flicking her long auburn curls over her shoulder. Why had he brought that up? ‘Sasha understood.’

David could see walls going up around her. Eden? Walls? She’d used to be an open book—especially to him. Then again, it had been twelve years, and people could certainly change a lot in twelve years. Himself included. ‘Yes, she did. I didn’t.’

Eden shrugged, not about to discuss one of the blackest period of her life. Not here, not now, and not with David. He’d always seen her as a strong person, and at that point she’d been anything but strong. Now, though, she was here for Sasha—to help her friend be strong, to listen and to make her laugh. That was her role because that was what best friends did.

Eden glanced towards the bed and picked up the nursing chart, scanning it briefly.

‘You’re not allowed to read that.’ He sounded as though he didn’t really care, but as David always did the right thing he probably felt he had to say the words out loud, even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop her.

‘So sue me,’ she muttered.

‘Got good malpractice insurance?’

‘Doesn’t everyone?’ She glanced up at him and smiled, the uncomfortable moment over. ‘Why? You want to borrow some of mine?’

‘You’ll share?’

‘If I’m allowed to—which I don’t think I am. But, hey, it’s yours if you want it.’

David chuckled. ‘Still the same old Eden. Confusing, baffling, but always amusing.’

Her smile brightened as the sound of his laughter washed over her. She tried not to sigh with repressed longing. She’d always loved his laugh, and here she was, years later, still enjoying the way it made her feel…the way
he
made her feel.

‘Thank you, Dr Montgomery. I aim to please.’ She returned the chart to its rightful place and prowled around the room, straightening the bedsheets so they’d be ready when Sasha returned. She could feel his gaze on her, watching her movements.

‘I have to say that when Sasha told me you were studying medicine I was surprised.’

‘Didn’t think I was smart enough?’

‘It was never a question of intelligence, Eden. No, I always thought you’d end up as a lawyer. Righting wrongs. Saving the oppressed. Doing your duty.’

‘And you don’t think medicine covers any of that?’

He thought for a moment. ‘I guess it does, but in a different way.’ Silence reigned again before he asked, ‘So, what made you decide on medicine?’

‘Your influence.’ Eden’s words were honest. ‘Watching your dedication during your first year of med school, helping you swot for your exams. I was intrigued.’

It was because she’d helped him study for his first-year exams that they’d become closer friends. He’d started to see her as a person in her own right, rather than just a friend of his sister’s. And then one night, when they’d been exhausted from studying and punch-drunk from too much caffeine, they’d kissed. His mouth on hers. It had been the most seductive and alluring kiss of his entire life…and he hadn’t wanted it to end.

He’d known his parents didn’t approve of Eden, of her influence over himself and Sasha, but he hadn’t cared. She had been so vibrant, so radiant, that he’d been drawn to her like a moth to a flame. She’d brought sunshine into his life and he’d wanted it to remain. So they’d secretly started to date.

‘I remember being surprised that you wanted to help. You had your own studying, your own homework to get through, your own high school exams.’

Eden waved his words away. ‘They were easy. The medical world was exciting and different and I liked being able to help you out.’ It had also given them the excuse they’d needed to spend time together.

Eden had always liked to be of help whenever she could, and when she’d realised that David didn’t have a study partner she had offered her services and hadn’t taken no for an answer. At first he’d thought it was simply so she could be near him, and whilst that was definitely a benefit, he’d been impressed when she’d proved herself to be a more than capable study partner.

David continued to watch her as she once more prowled around the room, glancing out of the window, straightening the different vases of flowers, making sure the sheets had perfect ‘hospital corners’. Was she nervous? Had coming home after all this time made her nervous? Was
he
making her nervous? Did he still have the power to affect her? He wasn’t sure how that made him feel. It was definitely something he could ponder later on.