His Diamond Like No Other (Mills & Boon Medical) (11 page)

‘What? Here?’ Jane looked at her surroundings, astonished. Then she looked back at Sean. ‘You distracted me.’ It was almost an accusation and Sean couldn’t help but laugh. She looked so indignant it was adorable.

‘It was clear you were over-thinking things and, besides, I really did want to know about your initial methodology.’

Jane slowly exited the car and looked over at him. ‘Hmm. I guess I’ll believe you.’

‘Oh, thank you. Very much.’

There was a wonderful, natural smile on his face, such as she hadn’t seen before. Combined with the delight in his eyes and the way his deep laughter vibrated through her, it was a wonder she could
 
stand. Now, however, was not the time to be thinking about Sean or about the way his nearness affected her. She was here to meet Spencer.

Jane tried to calm her breathing. She’d looked forward to this day for so long...well, almost from the day Spencer was born. How she’d longed to be a part of his life and now, thanks to Sean, she was getting that opportunity.

‘Coming?’ Sean asked, and it was only then she realised he was walking up the path towards the house where loud drum beats could be heard. She slowly moved away from the car.

‘Does he know I’m coming?’

‘Yes. He’s very interested to meet you.’ He waved away her concerns as he pushed open the door and walked right in. ‘You’ll be fine,’ he called, speaking a little louder over the drum beats.

To her surprise, the house they entered had a large practice room with a baby grand, a drum kit, keyboards and several other instruments set up, ready to play. But it was the boy sitting behind a set of drums that looked far too big for him, hammering out a steady beat in time to some rock music, who really caught her attention. The boy was a mini replica of his father, except that Spencer’s hair was a little longer, curling slightly at the back.

Spencer finished playing the song, doing a drum-roll flourish at the end and hitting the cymbal loudly. Jane couldn’t contain herself and let go of Sean’s hand before she started clapping. Sean joined in and, in the next moment, Spencer’s face lit up at the sight of his father.

‘I’m so purple at it.’ He held his drumsticks high in the air and they clapped louder. Jane beamed from ear to ear, unable to believe this moment had finally arrived.

‘Purple?’ she asked, momentarily looking towards Sean.

‘It means brilliant.’ He shrugged. ‘Don’t ask me more than that. Kids nowadays make up their own lingo and sometimes I think it’s purely to keep us adults in the dark.’

Jane giggled, unable to believe how happy she felt, and she hadn’t even spoken to Spencer yet. She didn’t have long to wait as the boy wriggled out from behind the drum kit and raced over to his father.

‘Dude.’ Sean held up his hand and Spencer dutifully gave his father a high five. ‘That was so purple.’

‘I know, right!’ Spencer grinned at his father then turned and looked at Jane, before angling his head to one side. ‘Are you my new aunty? Aunty Jane?’

Jane pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and nodded. ‘Yes. Yes, I am.’

‘That’s
totally
purple!’ he yelled jovially, and within the next instant the young almost-seven-year-old had launched himself at her, wrapping his arms about her waist. Tears flooded into Jane’s eyes as she put her hands on Spencer’s back then looked over at the boy’s father.

‘It is. It’s totally purple.’ She laughed, happier than she could ever remember being.

CHAPTER SEVEN

T
HE HUG DIDN’T 
last long at all. In fact, it was over and done with as Spencer seemed to jump around the room, shifting from foot to foot as he told his father about his day. He kept looking at Jane, accepting her so instantly that her heart was overwhelmed with a pure love she’d never felt before.

After a moment he stopped still in his tracks, tipped his head to the side and looked at Jane intently. ‘Hang on. You’re the Aunty Jane who always sends me those cool presents for my birthday and Christmas, right?’

‘That’s right.’

‘We did discuss this last night as well as this morning,’ Sean gently reminded his son, but it appeared Spencer only had eyes for his new aunt at the moment.

‘I love the microscope you sent for Christmas. Dad and I looked at a drop of blood on a slide and I wrote you a letter to say thank you but I didn’t know where you lived so I didn’t get to send it but now that you’re here, I can give it to you.’

Jane’s heart turned over with delight. ‘I’d like that.’

‘Super green. Did you want to come to my house?’

‘Uh...yes. I’d like that very much. Thank you, Spencer.’

‘Green,’ he said with a nod. ‘I’ve gotta pack up my stuff.’ He took a step towards the drum kit then stopped and turned to look at her. ‘Hey, because you’re here and it’s my birthday soon, does that mean I’m not gonna get a cool present?’

‘Spencer!’ Sean immediately chastised his son.

‘It’s all right, Sean. It’s a fair question,’ Jane interjected. ‘Perhaps we can work something out. Perhaps we could go shopping together?’

‘Really?’ Spencer’s eyes lit up.

‘It means the present wouldn’t be a surprise but you could definitely choose what you wanted.’ And she’d get to spend time with him. ‘If it’s OK with your dad,’ she added, looking at Sean. Although he was willing to give her access to Spencer, Jane still didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. She needed to keep things on an even keel lest Sean retract his permission. Jane was very good at not rocking the boat, at realising where her boundaries were, but with Sean...when he was close to her, speaking in those deep and sensual tones, telling her she was lovely...when that happened, she had no idea where the boundaries were!

Being around Sean was unsettling but in a good way. He had definitely ignited a spark when he’d confessed he wanted to run his fingers through her hair. How was she supposed to take a comment like that? How was she supposed to keep things on an even keel so she could continue to see Spencer, when Sean continually knocked her completely off balance?

Spencer picked up his music books and put them into his bag. ‘It’ll be OK, won’t it, Dad,’ he stated with confidence. ‘Aunty Jane and I can go shopping, can’t we?’ He looked pleadingly up at his father. ‘And after the shops we can all go home and play with whatever I get and you and Dad can have a coffee.’ Spencer slung his music bag over his shoulder, looping the bag across his body, and spread his hands wide, as though everything seemed organised and perfectly normal.

Jane was still holding onto the way the words ‘Aunty Jane’ had rolled so easily off his tongue. Oh, to be so innocent, to be so secure in parental love. It was clear, even after just a few minutes of meeting Spencer, that Sean had done a wonderful job of raising his son.

‘I love meeting new aunties,’ he remarked with an air of superiority, as though he had relatives popping out of the woodwork every single day of the week. ‘I already have two aunties, two uncles and three cousins and two grandparents and Dad, and now I have
another
aunty. This is so purple.’

Spencer waved goodbye to his music teacher, remembering to thank him for the lesson before his father scolded him for having bad manners, then headed to the door.

‘Are you all right?’ Sean asked softly. Jane had been unaware he’d moved to stand beside her, the warmth emanating from him surrounding her like a comfortable, snuggly blanket, safe and secure. She blinked and smiled, then laughed through the blend of emotions. Happiness, joy, confusion, acceptance, awareness. It was all too much for her so, instead of trying to figure things out, as she usually did, she was simply going to accept that this was the way she felt and there was nothing else to do except go with it.

‘I’m purple and super green and all the other colours of the rainbow. I have no real idea what any of it means but I’m quite impressed that the younger generation understand their colours so well.’ She laughed again, delight filling her, and then, because her emotions were so overwrought from being on edge for far too long, she followed Spencer’s example and threw her arms around Sean’s neck, hugging him close.

‘Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you
.’

Sean’s arms came easily around her waist and he closed his eyes, allowing her addictive scent to wash over him. He’d watched Jane throughout her first encounter with Spencer and to be able to offer her such joy and happiness, to unite her with her only living relative, filled Sean’s heart with a sense of completeness. As a child, his mother had often told him about the power of giving, of how it made the giver feel happier than the receiver.

Closing his eyes, he tried to commit every second of this spontaneous embrace to memory before Jane pulled back, still grinning up at him, and turned to follow Spencer. There was no doubt in Sean’s mind, seeing Spencer talk in his usual animated way, telling Jane all sorts of superfluous things, that it had been the right decision, both for woman and boy. The fact that he himself was drawn to Jane, admiring her intelligence, appreciating her gentleness, accepting her shyness, was the bigger problem.

With Jane now having been introduced to Spencer, it meant that Spencer would classify her as part of his family. It meant that they’d be inviting Jane to their family get-togethers, that he’d be seeing her more and more away from the hospital, in a relaxed, casual setting, and while he was definitely on board with the concept of her enjoying everything his family could offer her, and while he was happy to jump at any excuse to get to know her better, at the back of his mind was the niggling thought that all of this could end in disaster.

The attraction between himself and Jane was very much a fact. At first, he’d thought it was only on his side but after the way she reacted when he’d told her how lovely she was, staring at his mouth and trembling slightly from nervous awareness, Sean was interested to see what would happen if he kissed her.

Even the thought of touching his lips to Jane’s made his heart rate increase and yet he questioned himself about the logical implications of such an action. If he were to pursue a romantic relationship with Jane, what would happen if everything went sour? Would he be able to bear seeing her interacting with his family? With his son? Would it be difficult for the two of them to be in the same room together? It would be bad enough at the hospital but at least there they could focus on their patients. However, seeing Jane at his home with Spencer...could he do that? Perhaps it would be better to keep their relationship on a friendly, platonic and professional level to avoid hurting all concerned?

Sean’s thoughts continued to spin as he drove home, thankful that Spencer kept up a steady stream of chatter, telling both adults about his day and how Johnny Madalzinski had got into trouble because he’d brought a water squirter to school and squirted the teacher.

‘But before he got in trouble we all had a go at lunchtime and when I did it it went the longest and nearly squirted Lanie, and all the boys were jealous because I was the best at it.’

‘Does he ever stop for breath?’ Jane murmured, and Sean instantly smiled, returning his thoughts to the present.

‘Not often.’

As soon as they pulled up in the driveway and Sean garaged the car, Spencer was out of the vehicle like a tornado, picking up his school bag and music bag but dropping bits of paper, a pencil and a lunch wrapper on the ground as he raced into the house. Jane could hear him calling out, ‘Grandma? Grandpa? I’m home!’

‘He certainly is vibrant and energetic,’ Jane remarked as she helped Sean pick up all the things Spencer had dropped.

‘He’s a healthy, happy, almost-seven-year-old boy.’ Sean gestured to a stool at the kitchen bench. ‘Please, have a seat.’

‘I can see that.’ Jane shook her head in bemusement. ‘I just hadn’t expected...’ She stopped and shrugged as she sat down on the bench stool, watching him turn on his coffee-maker. ‘I don’t know what I expected.’

‘That he’d be like Daina?’ Sean asked the question quietly as he took two mugs from the cupboard.

‘I don’t know. I guess so.’ She frowned for a moment. ‘It’s all so different from how I grew up.’

Sean smiled. ‘Not for me. Growing up with two younger sisters in a rowdy but happy home was my normal.’

‘It’s nice you’re able to provide that for Spencer.’

‘Some days it’s not easy but I have a lot of help and support and that makes all the difference.’ He pressed buttons on his impressive coffee-machine and within a minute or two was placing a fresh latte before her. ‘I’m guessing your upbringing wasn’t exactly normal?’

‘No.’ Jane stirred the drink and scooped some milk froth up to her lips. She didn’t elaborate any further and Sean had to quash his impatience.

Thoughts and questions about Jane had kept him awake for several nights now and maybe if he had some deeper level of understanding of what made Jane Diamond tick, of why she appeared to have such a hold over him, then he’d be able to control the way she made him feel. Sean watched her scoop more milk froth from her drink before licking the spoon. She did this a few times, and one time ended up with froth on her upper lip.

‘Wait a sec,’ he murmured, and leaned across the bench, brushing her upper lip with his thumb. Jane gasped at the contact, her gaze never leaving his. ‘You had a little bit of...’ Sean stopped and swallowed, desperately wanting to follow the action with his mouth but knowing that was impossible. Jane was...family now. That was the only way he could allow himself to think of her and yet it was a struggle to do so, especially when she sat there, staring at him with those big, hypnotic green eyes.

He reached out with his other hand and touched her mouth again, his fingers caressing her cheek, his thumb rubbing gently across her lips. Jane sat still, her gaze fixed on his. She was unable to breathe, his touch such a soft caress. His gaze dipped to her mouth. ‘I find you quite remarkable, Jane Diamond.’

Before she could say a word he brushed his thumb over her lips again but this time the action was slower, more sensual, more intense. There was no excuse of milk froth, this was just pure desire. It was as though he wanted to touch her, to excite her, to let her see herself through his eyes. But could she trust him?