The Midwife's Marriage Proposal (15 page)

If anything happened to him …

They transferred him across from the stretcher and Sally slid her hand into his. ‘Tom?'

His hand felt freezing cold and she warmed it with both of hers, feeling weak-limbed and incredibly shaky.

His eyes opened and he winced slightly. ‘What are you doing here? Are you after my body again?'

‘I thought I might ravish you while you're under the anaesthetic.' She kept it light. This wasn't the time to have the conversation she wanted to have. ‘I didn't have anything else to do. I told Sean I'd keep an eye on you.'

He nodded, a faint smile touching his mouth. ‘My leg is killing me.'

‘You've cut it.'

‘Badly?'

Ben lifted the dressing and examined it. ‘Badly enough to give you a scar. Good job you're not a swimwear model.'

‘All I want to know is whether it will ruin my chances of having a decent love life.'

Ben grinned. ‘Did you have a decent love life before?' He poked around a bit more and then nodded. ‘It's not as bad as I first thought. We can stitch it here. You'll just be a bit sore walking up the aisle with Oliver tomorrow.'

Sally watched as Ben finished his examination, noticing how pale Tom looked.

How infinitely precious.

‘Were the kids OK in the end?' Tom closed his eyes and his voice sounded weary.

‘Thanks to you, I gather.' Ben glanced at the nurse. ‘Can I have some more light here, Nicky? It's like working in a cave.'

‘Charming.' Nicky, the A and E sister, rolled her eyes
and adjusted the light. ‘I happen to prefer romantic lighting myself.'

Ben drew the edges of the laceration together, carefully aligning them to achieve the best result. ‘Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I don't fancy Tom.'

Tom smiled, his eyes still closed. ‘I'm gutted. Mind you, I'm amazed you can even remember how to talk, married to Ellie. Having just spent a day on the mountain with her, my ears are still ringing. When do you get to practise talking?'

‘I practise at work,' Ben said gravely, but his eyes twinkled as he carefully stitched the wound. ‘Because obviously at home I can't get a word in edgeways. You're still her hero, by the way.'

‘I don't deserve it.'

‘Actually, I think you probably do.' Ben's tone was calm. ‘Ethan is a wonderful baby and we both know we would have lost him if you hadn't operated so quickly. You didn't hesitate. You got her to Theatre and you got our baby out before the situation had a chance to deteriorate. Other doctors would have hung around and waited.'

Tom still had his eyes closed but Sally thought she saw faint colour touch his hard cheekbones. ‘It was the quickest way I knew to stop Ellie talking,' he murmured. ‘Anaesthetize her.'

‘Well, any time you need your leg sewn up, I'm your man,' Ben said lightly, pushing the stool away and standing up. ‘I'm done here. Nicky will dress it more beautifully than I ever could. Take some painkillers, get home to bed and I'll check it at the wedding tomorrow.'

‘Can I ride the bike?'

‘No.' Ben ripped off his gloves. ‘If that's your only option, I'll give you a lift home.'

Tom nodded. ‘Thanks. I'd better take you up on that offer.'

Sally felt a flicker of desperation.

There were things she wanted to say to him.

Things she needed to say.

But he was already hobbling after Ben, taking the walking stick that Nicky had jokingly offered him.

Sally followed him to the door, holding it open so that he could pass through, wanting to stop him.

He turned to look at her, his handsome face pale and showing signs of strain. ‘Thanks, Sally.' He gave a rueful smile. ‘I appreciate the moral support. I'm going to have an early night and see you at the wedding tomorrow.'

She opened her mouth to tell him that she loved him.

To tell him that she wanted to marry him.

But the door had already swung shut behind him.

He was gone.

‘I
CAN'T
believe I'm standing in this same church, wearing this same suit that doesn't fit properly,' Oliver muttered, sliding a finger round his collar to try and relieve the tension. ‘I wanted to get married on the side of a mountain.'

Tom looked at his brother and tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his leg. ‘Even you can't expect a woman to exchange vows on the side of a mountain in freezing March.'

‘Well, obviously,' Oliver grumbled, ‘that's why I agreed to the church. Now I know why Jack was stressed when he got married. Why is she late? Why are brides always late?'

‘Calm down.' But Tom's eyes were fixed on the back of the tiny village church as well, although he wasn't interested in the arrival of the bride. Just one of the bridesmaids.

He wanted to see Sally.

Last night, when he'd seen her pale-faced and anxious, waiting for him in the A and E department, he'd been completely swamped by love.

And something far more basic.

He gritted his teeth and shifted uncomfortably. Denying himself was becoming more difficult by the minute, and last night he'd had to get away from her before he gave in to the temptation to take whatever scraps she was offering.

Even an affair had started to look good.

Reminding himself firmly that the sort of affair he wanted lasted for a lifetime, he ran a hand over the back of his neck and looked at his brother. ‘Do you want to ask me about my speech?'

Oliver yawned. ‘If you're planning to shock the guests, I probably ought to warn you that they already know all my secrets.'

Tom nodded. ‘Actually, I wasn't really planning to talk about you at all.'

An idea was beginning to form in his mind.

‘I am, after all, only the groom,' Oliver muttered, his tone ironic. Then he caught the look in his brother's eyes and squeezed his shoulder. ‘I don't care what you say. We'll all be drunk by then, anyway.'

The organ sounded and Oliver straightened. ‘Here we go. And I tell you now, this is positively the last time I'm wearing this suit. When you finally get your act together and marry Sally, you take me as I am.'

Tom glanced over his shoulder, tension rising within him as he saw Helen pause at the top of the aisle.

Behind her was Sally, and Tom caught his breath. She was wearing a slinky green silk dress that hugged her figure and her blonde hair was caught up with delicate flowers.

She looked young and vulnerable and Tom felt his throat close.

How could he ever have let this woman go?

He must have been mad.

Watching them walk down the aisle, his eyes met Sally's and held, refusing to let her look away.

Had Oliver not nudged him sharply he would have totally neglected his duties as best man.

But somehow he managed to get through the ceremony and the photographs, and finally he was in the
car with Sally and Bryony on the short journey to the manor house where the reception was being held.

‘These shoes are killing me.' Bryony bent down and undid the tiny buckles that fastened the shoes at the ankles. ‘How does Helen ever walk in these?'

‘I think she's had special training.' Sally laughed, lifting her dress slightly so that she could see her feet. ‘I have to confess that I love them, actually.'

Tom swallowed, unable to drag his gaze away from her legs. She was wearing sheer stockings that shimmered temptingly and suddenly he wished that his sister wasn't in the car with them.

‘You look beautiful, too, Tom,' Bryony said teasingly. ‘Don't you think he looks beautiful, Sal? But you're very quiet, brother, darling. Why are you so quiet?'

Sally looked at him, her green eyes searching. ‘Is your leg hurting?'

The concern in her voice filled him with hope. If she was concerned then it must mean that she cared, and if she cared …

‘My leg isn't hurting.'

‘Perhaps he's nervous about his speech,' Sally said huskily, and suddenly Tom knew exactly what he was going to say in his speech.

And he wasn't nervous at all.

* * *

Silence fell over the room as Tom rose to his feet, and the clink of glasses and the laughter gradually faded to nothing.

Watching him from her seat, it occurred to Sally that while Oliver looked jolly uncomfortable in formal dress, Tom looked staggeringly sexy.

But he was a man who would look sexy in nothing.

And she should know.

She looked at his handsome face, listened to the relaxed way that he opened his speech and the way that he had everyone laughing within moments.

Last night she'd wanted so much to tell him that she loved him, but he hadn't given her the chance.

And that was her fault, of course.

She'd rejected him repeatedly. What reason had she ever given him to believe that he could change her mind?

Realizing with a lurch of horror and embarrassment that everyone in the room was suddenly staring at her, she gave a start and glanced towards Tom, wondering what he'd said to make all eyes suddenly settle on hers with speculation.

His blue eyes gleamed with amusement. ‘As I was saying,' he continued smoothly, ‘one of my duties as best man is to formally thank the bridesmaids and tell them that they look beautiful. So I'll start with my sister. Bryony. You look great. Even if you can't walk in the shoes.'

There was a ripple of laughter around the room and then his gaze focused on Sally.

The silence stretched on and on until gradually the people in the room started to look at each other with puzzled expressions, wondering what was happening.

When he finally spoke, his voice was for everyone but his eyes were only for her.

‘And now I want to tell you something about Sally, apart from the fact that she looks great in her dress. Most of you probably know that I ended my relationship with Sally seven years ago.' His voice was slightly hoarse and he cleared his throat, totally indifferent to the sudden rapt attention of everyone in the room. ‘What you probably don't know is that I've regretted it every day since.
I thought she was too young to settle down. I was wrong. I thought that she needed space. I was wrong. I thought that I knew better than she did what she needed, and I was wrong about that, too.'

There was total silence in the room and Sally felt a few eyes turn in her direction but her own gaze was still locked on Tom's.

An odd smile played around his firm mouth. ‘I was wrong about a lot of things. But most of all I was wrong about how much she meant to me. By the time I discovered that she meant everything, it was too late because I'd already damaged our relationship. Perhaps beyond repair.' He took a deep breath and finally dragged his gaze away from Sally and looked at his audience. ‘You're probably asking yourselves why I'm admitting this in public. I'm going to tell you why. This is a small community and every time Sally and I look at each other someone decides that we should be back together. So I'm doing this in public, once and for all, so that everyone can know what the score is.'

Sally's heart was thumping so hard that she thought she might pass out.

His blue eyes were warm on hers. ‘Sally—it's traditional for the best man to give the bridesmaid a gift. Will you come here, please?'

Her legs shaking, she somehow got to her feet and managed to walk the few paces towards him.

He held out a tiny box.

‘This is my gift to you, Sally.' He spoke clearly, so that everyone in the room could hear what he was saying. ‘I love you. I will always love you and while there is still breath in my body I will always be here for you. I want you to marry me. And I'm asking you in public whether our relationship is beyond repair. Last time I
made the decision for both of us and I was wrong. Now I'm asking you to make the decision for yourself. Will you marry me?'

Her hands were shaking so much that she couldn't open the box. He took it gently from her and flipped open the lid with a finger.

A gorgeous emerald, the exact colour of her dress, gleamed in a diamond setting and she gasped.

‘Oh, Tom!'

He stepped closer still, lowered his voice, and this time his words were only for her. ‘I love you, angel, with all my heart. Marry me and I'll spend the rest of my life proving that you can trust me.'

He lifted the ring out of its box and there was an agonized silence while everyone looked at Sally expectantly.

The hush in the room was almost deafening.

‘I love you, too.' Her voice was little more than a whisper but he caught the words and a satisfied smile spread across his handsome face.

‘In that case, Sally soon-to-be-Hunter, you'd better wear that ring.'

As soon as they saw him sliding the ring onto her finger, there were loud cheers and catcalls and shrieks of, ‘You may kiss the bridesmaid.'

Tom did as he was ordered and Sally melted against him, feeling his mouth on hers.

Then she remembered where she was and pulled away, glancing around self-consciously.

‘This is Oliver and Helen's wedding.'

Helen was by her side, clutching her arm in delight and excitement. ‘Oh, don't apologize! That was the nicest wedding speech I've ever heard,' she said dreamily,
mopping the tears from her eyes, ‘and absolutely no one has fallen asleep.'

‘It suited me, too,' Oliver muttered, reaching for his champagne. ‘Better than all those dull stories about my drunken student days.'

Tom smiled and led Sally away from the table and out of the room, leaving the others to their champagne and gossip.

‘Where are we going?'

‘Somewhere where we can talk in peace without an audience. I don't mind proposing in public but I draw the line at having observers for the next bit.'

He pulled her into a small library where a log fire burned and closed the door, turning the key in the lock.

‘There are still things that haven't been said. Let's start with why you waited up half the night at the rescue centre and then cycled to the hospital.'

She couldn't stop looking at the ring that glittered on her finger. She twisted it, staring down at her finger in awe.

A feeling of perfect happiness spread through her and she lifted her eyes to his, unable to resist teasing him just a little. ‘I waited at the rescue centre because I wanted to keep Sean company.'

His blue eyes gleamed. ‘That's what I thought. And you cycled to the hospital because you thought Ben wouldn't be able to stitch me up without your help.'

She fiddled with the ring again. ‘Sounds about right. And I also thought that, given you were injured, I might be able to have my evil way with your body.'

He laughed. ‘So now the truth is out. Even though I was injured, all you could think about was seducing me.'

‘I'm afraid so.'

‘You had designs on my body.'

‘I've had designs on your body since I found out what a boy's body is for,' she murmured softly, her smile all woman as she finally looked at him. ‘Is it my fault if you're a bit slow?'

His eyes narrowed. ‘Last night in the hospital …'

‘I wanted to tell you that I loved you.' Her voice was soft. ‘But we were surrounded by people and then you seemed so desperate to get away from me.'

He gave a wry smile. ‘I'd reached the point where I could no longer be in the same room as you and not commit an indecent act.'

She gave a chuckle. ‘In that case, I'm glad you just locked that door.'

He slid his hands round her face. ‘I love you, Sally Jenner.' His voice rang with sincerity. ‘Do you believe me?'

‘Yes.' She nodded. ‘And I love you, too.'

He closed his eyes and breathed out heavily. ‘I never thought I'd get you to admit that again. You used to say it to me all the time, and you have no idea how much I missed hearing those words from you.'

‘And I missed saying them.'

His mouth came down on hers and he kissed her gently. ‘Am I allowed to know what changed your mind, or was it just an intolerable increase in your levels of sexual frustration?'

She smiled, stroking a finger over his rough jaw. ‘I suppose you should thank Sean.'

He frowned. ‘Sean?'

‘I never doubted that I loved you, Tom,' she said softly, ‘I just doubted that I could give all of myself to you again. I was afraid to risk rejection for a second time.'

‘And what did Sean have to do with that?'

‘He pointed out that risk plays a part in so much of life, especially the parts that we especially value.' She slipped her fingers inside the buttons of his shirt and heard his sharp intake of breath. ‘And right now we're standing in a library with one hundred and fifty guests less than a shout away. Just how much of a risk taker are you, Tom Hunter?'

He gave a slow smile and brought his mouth down on hers, unzipping her dress with a skill that would have earned admiration from James Bond.

‘I've always been a risk taker, as you know.' His voice was husky as he backed her towards the sofa. ‘And I don't intend to stop now.'

* * * * *