Her Mistletoe Wish (5 page)

‘And the break-up even faster,’ Reggie put in.

‘That at times you wondered if you ever really knew him. Plus,’ Mackenzie continued before Reggie could say another word, ‘there was also a lot about your past that you never told him.’

Reggie opened her eyes and looked at the blank mushroom-coloured wall opposite her. ‘True.’

‘Maybe this is the chance to rectify that.’

‘What point is there in opening up to him now? Rehashing the wounds of my past?’

‘Call it finishing unfinished business. You always wondered how Flynn would react once he learned who you really were. Now is your chance. Who knows? It might be cathartic. Once he knows the truth of your past, if he reacts the way you always thought he would—’

‘By rejecting me, like everyone else from that world,’ she interrupted again.

‘Then it might help you get him out of your system once and for all. Then you can really move forward with your life.’

‘I have moved forward,’ Reggie declared, not wanting to open the box she’d hidden in the back of her mind, the one she’d marked ‘Do Not Open’. ‘I’ve changed a lot. I’m happier than I used to be. I’ve put myself out there. I’ve dated other men and—’

‘And secretly used Flynn as your yardstick the entire time. No man was ever good enough. Or, on the flip side, you’d end up solving your date’s problems and helping them get back together with their old girlfriends.’
It was Mackenzie’s turn to interrupt. ‘Think about it, Reggie. You and Flynn have unfinished business. Talk to him. You might be surprised at what you discover.’

Reggie pondered Mackenzie’s words for a moment, realising there was a hint of common sense in them. ‘I didn’t know he could cook and those pancakes were delicious.’

‘There you go, then. Plus, if you think about it, with the way Christmas tends to get hectic in surgical theatres, you’ll probably be spending most of your time at the hospital, rather than catching up on sleep at Flynn’s place.’

‘It does get busy.’

‘Then after Christmas you’ll have plenty of time to look around and find somewhere to live that suits your needs, and once the insurance money comes in, I’ll gladly volunteer to go furniture shopping with you.’

‘Yeah.’ Reggie sat up a little straighter, her confidence beginning to return. ‘I don’t need to stay here forever, just the next few weeks.’ She thought it through rationally. ‘And I do spend a lot of time at the hospital over Christmas. I really wouldn’t be here all that much.’

‘See?’

‘And it was very nice of him to offer.’

‘He’s a nice man and, if you let yourself admit it, I think you’ll see he’s also a good friend.’

‘Friend?’ She tilted her head to the side and considered the word. ‘I guess I’ve never really thought about Flynn that way, as a friend. It was so powerful and intense between us we didn’t really have the opportunity to truly become friends.’

‘So you’ll stay?’

‘You know…’ Reggie levered herself up off the floor ‘…I think I will.’

‘Yay! A temporary member of the cul-de-sac crew.’

Reggie laughed at Mackenzie’s words, feeling a return of her usual optimistic self. ‘I can already hear your thoughts, Kenz. Dinner parties, games nights and Christmas parties.’

‘You know me too well, Reggie.’ Mackenzie laughed along with her friend. ‘Feel better?’

‘I do. I really do, which, given I’ve lost practically everything, is not a bad feeling to be having.’

‘Good. Oh. I’ve gotta go. Ruthie’s just woken up.’

‘Right-oh. I’ll talk to you later.’

‘You know it, cul-de-sac crew member!’

Reggie was still smiling as she entered the bathroom, finding a set of towels waiting there for her along with a fresh bar of soap. ‘How thoughtful.’ And he really was, she realised. Taking care of her last night, making her breakfast this morning and offering to help relocate her neighbours. ‘Friends,’ she repeated to herself as she stepped beneath the soothing spray of the shower. ‘I can be friends with Flynn.’ She was proud of the conviction in her words.

By the time he returned from wherever he’d had to go, Reggie was showered and dressed in the borrowed clothes.

‘Wow.’ Flynn’s eyebrows shot up as he saw her standing there dressed in a navy skirt, white shirt and navy jacket. Her short feathered black hair was still drying and her face was clear and fresh and devoid of make-up…and she looked incredibly beautiful. ‘You look—’

‘Like Mackenzie?’ Reggie shook her head and looked
down at the demure clothes in disgust. ‘No colour. No vibrance. No pizazz.’ She snapped her fingers as she spoke, which only made Flynn laugh as he carried the shopping bags through to the kitchen. He dumped them on the table before turning to look at her once more.

‘I mean, I love her and everything and I really do appreciate the loan of the clothes but we have absolutely nothing in common as far as how we dress,’ she continued as she followed him.

‘It’s true that you prefer to wear bright colours, sometimes even mixing and matching different print materials that ordinarily should
never
go together but somehow look completely perfect on you.’

Perfect?
She brushed the thought aside. ‘You’re a textile expert, eh? Now,
that
I definitely didn’t know. Please, continue, oh, wise fashionista.’

Flynn’s eyes flashed with repressed humour and, while keeping a straight face, he slowly walked around her, murmuring and nodding as though deep in thought. ‘Yes. Yes. I can see what you mean. It
is
rather conservative for the likes of Ms Regina Smith, General Surgeon Extraordinaire, but I think I can solve the dilemma quite easily.’

‘You can?’ She couldn’t help the way she felt so incredibly self-conscious with him walking around her, looking her up and down, and although she knew they were only pretending, somehow his visual inspection had become more of an intimate caress. She fought against the sensation, determined not to spoil this light-hearted moment. They’d always been able to joke together, to tease each other in a good-natured way, and now that it was happening again she started to realise just how much she’d missed him.

‘Oh, yes, indeedy I can.’ He crossed to the bags he’d placed on the table and reached inside, pulling out a small white box. He held it out to her.

‘What’s this?’ she asked.

‘Open it.’

Dropping all pretence, Reggie accepted the gift box with surprise. It wasn’t tied or secured in any way and after She gently eased the lid off she saw white tissue paper. She glanced at Flynn, who only nodded with encouragement. She moved the folded tissue paper aside to reveal a bright and beautiful Christmas-patterned silk scarf.

‘Oh!’ She stared at it in astonishment for a moment before carefully pulling it from the box. Flynn instantly took the box from her hands as she ran the silken threads through her fingers. ‘Flynn. It’s…’ she met his gaze ‘…lovely.’ To her astonishment, she felt tears begin to gather behind her eyes and she quickly looked away, desperate to pull herself together and gain some sort of control over her emotions. Always difficult when Flynn was so close.

‘I thought you might need a bit of colour in your life, particularly this morning, and I couldn’t go past the bright Christmas theme.’

‘It’s perfect. Thank you.’ Reggie continued to sift the scarf through her fingers as she tried to ignore the lump in her throat. Then, out of nowhere, logical thought seemed to click in and she looked at him, angling her head to the side, a slight frown marring her brow. ‘Wait a moment. It’s not even eight o’clock in the morning. How did you manage to buy this when the shops aren’t even open?’

Flynn shrugged. ‘I know a guy.’

‘Of course you do.’ Reggie shook her head, remembering how easily things came to wealthy people. It annoyed her that the knowledge put a dampener on what was yet another thoughtful gesture from Flynn. He’d gone out of his way to do something nice for her and she shouldn’t care about the logistics. Deciding to ignore it, she tied the scarf around her neck, the bright reds and greens instantly bringing more colour to her outfit.

‘Definitely perfect.’ Flynn stepped forward and fixed the back of her collar before bringing his fingers to his lips and blowing a kiss into the air. ‘Very festive. The fashionista has done it again.’ He raised one arm in the air with a flourish.

Reggie’s previous annoyance instantly fled in light of his antics and she laughed. She’d always believed that if a person didn’t want to be in a bad mood, they could simply decide not to be, that they had the power over their own emotions to change the way they were feeling, and that was exactly what she was going to do right now. She wasn’t going to dwell on the fact that Flynn came from money, that he’d lived a pampered life, that his family’s wealth had been one of the reasons for him breaking their engagement.

No. She was going to step forth into her new life. The life where she was Flynn’s housemate for the next few weeks. The life where she had the opportunity to buy new things, to start afresh. The life where that fresh new start might even include Flynn.

R
EGGIE TOLD HERSELF
she didn’t feel self-conscious driving to work with her new housemate, that she didn’t care if people saw them pull into the doctors’ car park together or that they walked side by side into the hospital and onto the ward for the early morning round. She and Flynn were friends and colleagues and it wasn’t uncommon for friends and colleagues to carpool. So many people working here did it. Being with Flynn, constantly, was nothing to be remarked on.

‘Whoa, Reggie,’ Ingrid, the general surgical registrar, commented quietly as they waited in the nurses’ station for the rest of the ward-round participants to arrive. ‘Did I just see you arriving at work with Dr Gorgeous Legs?’

Reggie couldn’t help but grin widely at the nickname. ‘Dr Gorgeous Legs?’ she asked with a hint of incredulity.

‘Sure. Nice long legs that lead up to a firm torso and a perfectly handsome face.’ Ingrid eyed Flynn as she spoke.

‘You’re almost licking your lips.’

‘Who could blame me?’ Ingrid sighed then looked
pointedly at Reggie. ‘So give. How did you score a lift with him?’

‘My car’s still being fixed at the garage, you know, after those joyriders smashed into it the other week.’ She shook her head innocently, hoping to change the subject. ‘There it was. Legally parked on the side of the road while I did my grocery shopping and, wham—the next minute it was destroyed as they smashed fair into it. Still, at least it can be repaired. After the fire and all last night, the last thing I would have wanted was to have to buy a new c—’

‘Yes, yes. I’m sorry about your car and your apartment.’ Ingrid impatiently waved her words away. ‘That doesn’t explain how Gorgeous Legs gave you a lift.’

‘Oh. That’s easy. Flynn and I are old friends.’ Reggie said the words as matter-of-factly as possible, picking up a pen and pretending to study that day’s ward-round sheet with great interest. Ingrid wasn’t being sidetracked or fooled by Reggie’s faked nonchalance.

Ingrid’s eye brows almost hit her hairline. ‘Really?’ There was an insinuation in Ingrid’s very interested tone and Reggie was sorely tempted to spin her a yarn, to say that they were actually a long-lost brother and sister, separated at birth. Or that Flynn had saved her life by donating a kidney. Flippant and funny. Anything to hide her true self behind a mask of bright happiness, but as she looked over to where Flynn was chatting with a heavily pregnant Geetha, who was doing her final ward round before handing over her patients to Flynn, Reggie realised that he deserved better.

‘We worked together during our final year of general surgical training.’

‘Oh.’ Ingrid was clearly disappointed with her answer
and as Geetha was calling the ward round to order, there was no time for the registrar to say anything else. Throughout the round Reggie frequently found herself standing beside Flynn, remembering past ward rounds they’d conducted together in that small Caribbean hospital.

‘Do you remember the first time we did a ward round together?’ he asked her as they walked towards the cafeteria to grab a quick coffee before their clinic started.

Reggie smiled. ‘You were dressed in a three-piece suit.’

‘You wore a bright yellow sundress.’

‘We were working in the Caribbean, Flynn. It’s hot there.’

‘It was practically see-through, Reg. Gave my heart a mighty big flutter.’

She grinned at his words, hearing the teasing note. ‘Really?’

‘I’d been working in the UK, where it had been freezing cold and raining, before catching my flight. I literally got off the plane in the Caribbean, raced to the hospital and arrived three minutes before the ward round started. You were the first person I saw and you were…a vision of loveliness.’

‘Oh.’ She could feel her cheeks beginning to suffuse with colour at his sweet words.

‘For a moment I thought I was hallucinating.’

‘Really? You looked very uncomfortable.’ She laughed nervously, trying to disguise the fact that his words had affected her. He’d really been that instantly attracted to her? She couldn’t remember him telling her that. She gazed up at him, their eyes locking, silently communicating. The moment between them was starting
to stretch, starting to change, starting to become more intense than she was ready for. She needed to lighten the mood somehow.

‘I was.’

‘But you were determined not to show it.’

‘I was exceedingly stubborn back then.’

‘Yes. Yes, you were.’ As they stood in the cafeteria line, she smiled up at him. ‘And very stiff and rigid.’ She picked up his arm and gave it a shake. ‘You’re much more loosey-goosey now.’

‘Loosey-goosey?’ Flynn chuckled as he reached out with his free hand and straightened the bright Christmas scarf around her neck. He exhaled slowly as Reggie released his arm, their fingers brushing lightly, almost caressing. The smile started to disappear from his mouth as he continued to gently tug and pull the scarf, smoothing it with his fingers.

‘All fixed, Mr Fashionista?’

It was the sound of her voice, a little softer, a little huskier than normal, that made him shift his gaze to encompass her. ‘Yes,’ he replied softly. ‘Perfect. As usual.’

‘Perfect?’ There was that word again and Reggie cleared her throat, desperate to try and keep their previous light-hearted banter in her words.

‘As usual,’ he repeated, his intense gaze penetrating deeply into her soul.

‘You thought I was perfect?’ The words were barely a whisper and for a moment she wasn’t even sure she’d spoken until he nodded, the movement small but definite.

‘Always.’

‘Oh.’

‘Are you two moving forward in the line or do you
mind if I cut in front of you?’ the impatient male nurse said from behind them.

‘Er…’ Reggie blinked, looking away from Flynn, unable to believe she’d been standing in the busy hospital cafeteria line just staring at him. Her only saving grace was that he’d been staring back at her. Flynn stepped aside and gestured for the nurse to precede them.

‘We’re not in as much of a rush as you. Please,’ he offered politely. The nurse rolled his eyes before walking between them and advancing before them in the line.

‘You really are more…I don’t know.’ Reggie shrugged her shoulders and gave him a quirky smile. ‘Relaxed, I guess, is the best word to describe you.’

‘Plus, I’m not wearing a three-piece suit.’

‘True,’ she said, indicating his navy trousers, white shirt and tie, which had a parachuting Santa Claus on it. ‘Very loosey-goosey.’

‘And…’ he remarked, picking up the end of his tie and pressing it.

A moment later Reggie heard ’Jingle Bells’ playing in an electronic, tinny way. It lasted for a whole ten seconds and she couldn’t help but giggle.

‘Your tie plays “Jingle Bells”?’ She was amused but also pleasantly surprised. When they’d first met all those years ago he would never have worn anything like this.

‘Yes.’

‘Your tie plays “Jingle Bells” and you’re only showing me this
now.’

Flynn grinned widely as they edged forward in the line. ‘I knew if I’d shown you before ward round you would have wanted to play it for every patient and ward round would have taken way too long.’

‘That’s exactly what I would have wanted to do.’ She pushed a hand through her hair and shook her head in stunned amazement.

‘I know you, Reggie.’

‘So you keep reminding me.’

As she said the words she felt the smile begin to slip because there was still so much he
didn’t
know. How would Flynn react when he found out about her past, about what had happened to her, what she’d lived through? She’d managed to hide it from him before but would it make any difference now to their burgeoning relationship?

After the way they’d just openly stared at each other, it was clear the attraction was alive and well and yet she had no real idea what she felt for him, apart from enjoying his company, and right at this moment she wasn’t sure she was ready for that to end. Flynn made her feel special and pretty and feminine and no other man had ever been able to achieve all three…and most certainly not with a simple lift of an eyebrow.

They ordered their coffees, Flynn paying for them before she could pull her money from her pocket, and after thanking him, something she seemed to be doing a lot of lately, they headed to Outpatients.

‘Now you’re both late?’ Clara said as they walked in together. She pointed to the different piles of case notes waiting for them both. They grinned at the outpatient clerk. ‘One day I’d love it if clinic could actually start on time,’ Clara said pointedly.

‘We’ll try and make it a Christmas miracle,’ Reggie promised as she scooped up the notes, ensuring she didn’t spill her coffee in the process.

‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’ Clara joked, smiling and shaking her head in bemusement.

Today Reggie was in no hurry to avoid Flynn. Instead, she was delighted every time they met in the corridor or headed out to call in a patient at the same time. It was as they were almost finished with clinic that she received a call from Bergan in Accident and Emergency.

‘Reggie? I need you.’

‘OK. Can you give me fifteen minutes or—?’

‘Now,’ Bergan interrupted, and before she rang off she added as an afterthought, ‘And bring Flynn. I need him, too.’

‘OK.’ Reggie hung up and headed out into the corridor. Instead of calling in her last patient, she knocked on Flynn’s consulting-room door. They’d have to leave it to Ingrid to finish up with the clinic list but, thankfully, there were only two or three patients left to go.

‘Yes?’ he called, and when she entered it was to find him and one of the clinic nurses helping their elderly female patient to her feet, the nurse ensuring the woman’s walking frame was stable. ‘Ah, Dr Smith. Good timing. Could you hold the door for Mrs Baladucci, please?’

‘Certainly.’ Reggie held the door as the nurse and Mrs Baladucci exited the consulting room, then she turned to face Flynn, who was quickly writing up the case notes before closing them and adding them to the ‘completed’ pile.

‘Let me guess. Emergency?’ Flynn asked.

‘How did you know?’ She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head in astonishment.

‘You have a…certain look in your eyes and around the corners of your mouth whenever there’s an unknown medical problem.’

‘I do?’ Reggie touched her fingers to the corners of her mouth, feeling a little self-conscious.

‘I know you.’

‘Oh, will you stop saying that? Please?’ She spread her arms wide. ‘There’s actually quite a lot you don’t know about me, Flynn. Yes, you knew me six years ago and, yes, we were very close and, no, I may not have changed in essentials, but will you stop constantly pointing out that you know me because, in reality, you don’t.’ The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Flynn stared at her in surprise. ‘I didn’t realise it upset you so much.’

‘Well, it does.’ Reggie gritted her teeth for a moment. ‘I don’t know what you want from me, Flynn. I don’t know if the offer to help relocate my neighbours or having me stay at your place comes with any sort of strings attached but I just can’t deal with too much more right now.’

‘There are no strings attached,’ he said quickly. ‘And what I want from you, Reg, is quite simple.’ He stood and looked her directly in the eyes. ‘I want your forgiveness.’

‘Forgi—’ She stopped, too stunned to speak. She couldn’t remember anyone ever asking her for her forgiveness before, especially someone who had hurt her so badly.

‘So…we’re needed in A and E?’ he asked, breaking the moment and tidying the desk.

‘Y-yes.’ Reggie blinked, working hard to compartmentalise her thoughts. Flynn wanted her forgiveness. Bergan needed her in A and E. Patients. Trauma. Expertise. That’s what she needed to focus on right now and,
dragging in a breath, she pushed her personal thoughts aside. ‘Retrieval team.’

‘I’m part of the retrieval team? I don’t remember—’

‘Bergan said she needed you.’ Reggie threw her arms in the air in complete exasperation. ‘That’s all I know.’ Then she turned and headed out, wanting to get down to A and E as soon as possible so she could concentrate on something other than the way Flynn was constantly spinning her first one way then the other. She wished he’d stop because the motion was starting to make her feel ill.

In A and E, several of the retrieval team had already changed into the blue and yellow jumpsuits that stated they were part of the medical team at Sunshine General. Reggie headed over to where Bergan was gathering everyone together in the nurses’ station, feeling rather than knowing that Flynn was directly behind her.

She tried hard to switch off her awareness of him and focus on whatever Bergan had called them down to assist with. Professional. She needed to be professional. After all, she’d worked alongside Flynn before; in fact, they’d worked exceptionally well together in the Caribbean…and that had been part of the problem. Too good, too close, too quickly.

Bergan cleared her throat and everyone around fell silent, waiting for her to speak. ‘The key players are here. We’re just waiting for Mackenzie but she’s just getting out of Theatre so we’ll begin without her.’ Bergan pointed to the computer monitor, which was revealing a picture of the main beach in Maroochydore. ‘We’ve had a report from the surf lifeguards that a shark has been sighted on the beach. They’ve closed the area but have just spotted a person, out to sea, floating. One
male, approximately in late fifties to sixties. They’re sending out a boat now and request immediate assistance.’

She turned to Flynn and Reggie. ‘You two, go in the chopper. You both have the relevant experience when it comes to shark attacks, having treated and operated on victims before. I want you at the scene, stat. The instant they have that body out of the water, you need to be standing by.’

‘Is there just the one victim?’ Reggie asked, her mind going through the different injury scenarios they might be facing.

‘That’s the report at this time. Go and change. Get to that chopper.’ With that, Bergan turned her gaze to the rest of the team. ‘Everyone else, listen for your posts.’