‘How are they coping?’ he continued when she didn’t elaborate. ‘Of course I’ve received status updates from Miles but it would be good to have the mother’s opinion of the situation, especially as she’s a trained paediatrician.’
‘As a paediatrician, I have to say they’re doing incredibly well. As a mother …’ She paused for a moment and smiled. ‘I have to say that they are the most beautiful, wonderful little girls on the face of this earth.’
Will clenched his jaw at her words, annoyed with himself for being affected by the sweet smile on her face. She hadn’t changed much in the ten years since they’d parted. Her hair was shorter and she looked tired around the eyes, even beneath the make-up.
Sheena. A mother. The woman who had told him she couldn’t marry him because she could never give him children. Well, she’d been able to give some other man children so perhaps there had been other reasons why she hadn’t wanted to be with him but hadn’t been courageous or honest enough to admit them. Never again would he allow himself to succumb to her. Once bitten, twice shy and all that. She’d had her chance and she’d rejected him. He’d moved on and he congratulated himself for being professional and polite towards Sheena.
They took another step down the aisle and stopped as more people greeted the bride and groom in front of them.
‘Hang on, what did you think I was congratulating you for?’ he asked a moment later.
‘Uh … nothing.’ She shook her head.
‘You may as well tell me everything because we’re going to be stuck halfway down this aisle for another few minutes. Besides, if you’ve achieved more milestones in your life, how am I to congratulate you if I don’t know about them?’ Although his words seemed polite, she could hear slight curiosity in his tone. Was he as curious about her as she was about him?
‘It’s no big deal.’ She shrugged a shoulder. ‘It’s just I signed my divorce papers last week.’ She went to take another step forward but found that Will had stopped. She looked up at him.
‘You’re not married?’ There was a hint of incredulity in his tone.
‘That’s generally what the word
divorced
means, Will,’ she countered.
‘And you thought I was offering congratulations on that?’
‘You did mention that Miles had been giving you updates.’
‘On the
girls,
not your private life.’
Sheena shrugged, knowing that even if Miles had let something slip about Sheena’s present life, it would never have been done with malicious intent. Janessa and Miles both wanted Sheena to be happy with someone new, but she was the mother of twins and her girls had to be her main focus from now on. The chances of she and Will reuniting as a couple wasn’t on the cards either. A decade was a long time and both of them had clearly changed.
‘In a way, my divorce is sort of worth celebrating.’
‘How so?’
‘I’m ending a part of my life which, ever since I was told I was pregnant, has given me nothing but grief. Now, at least, I can focus solely on the girls.’ There was complete commitment and determination in her tone. ‘I’m going to be the best mother I can possibly be.’
‘You always were full of determination.’ Will glanced down at her and she was surprised to see a small half-smile teasing his mouth. ‘Some might say stubborn—’
‘Hey!’ she interrupted, but found her own lips twitching into a smile.
‘But we’ll stick with determined for now.’
‘Thank you.’ Sheena was secretly pleased that after a few minutes in each other’s company, Will had felt comfortable enough to tease her a little. Was it possible they could form a relationship that was more than just professional? A loose friendship perhaps?
Even when they’d been dating, they’d always been good friends and right now, given that she wasn’t looking for any sort of permanent relationship with any man, she needed as many friends as she could get.
Of course, there was no doubting Will’s appeal. The man was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen and with the way she was still tingling with excitement at being so close to him, it was clear he still maintained that unassuming sensuality she’d first been attracted to all those years ago.
They managed to take another few steps down the aisle, drawing closer to the end. The heat from his body, the scent of whatever aftershave he was wearing, so earthy, so spicy, settled around her, enticing her to remember just how close they’d been in the past. Soon she would be able to let go of Will’s arm and at least put a bit of breathing room between them before they had to pose for more photographs. When they finally reached the end of the aisle, Sheena quickly slipped her hand from his arm.
‘Excuse me. I’ll be right back,’ she murmured, before slipping away from where the photographer and everyone else was busy snapping photographs of the bride and groom. She knew as maid of honour she should be there, that she should stay by Janessa’s side, helping her with whatever she needed, but … well, Janessa had Miles now and Sheena needed some air.
Heading around the outside of the hangar, the heels of her shoes sinking into the grass, she walked to the small bathroom and ran her hands beneath the cool water for a moment. She wanted to splash water onto her face, to shock her thoughts back to reality, but she couldn’t even do that because of the make-up she was wearing.
High heels, dresses, make-up, fancy hairstyles—they just weren’t her, and right at that moment, even though she loved Janessa and Miles very dearly, all she wanted was to be back at the hospital with her little girls. Kissing them, talking to them, feeding them, loving them. She closed her eyes, missing them so badly it was starting to hurt.
Seeing Will again had rocked her neat and ordered little world from its axis. Her comfortable life had been turned upside down and inside out at the first sight of him.
The fact that he still looked incredible didn’t help at all. Where she’d thought she’d be able to put what had happened between them into the past, to look forward to her new life with her girls—even though she knew the next nine months weren’t going to be an easy road—her anxieties had hit the roof the instant she’d seen him standing at the other end of that aisle next to Miles.
Will Beckman. She closed her eyes, remembering how incredible it had felt being held by him, being close to him, laughing with him, kissing him. She sighed, breathing out her memories with soft longing. However, that was all in the past.
‘Sheena?’ Kaycee called. ‘Are you in there, honey?’ A second later, Kaycee walked into the small room. ‘Oh, there you are. The photographer needs us.’
Sheena turned, putting on a smile for her friend, knowing she would not let Janessa down even though she felt like hiding in the bathroom for the rest of the day. ‘Ready when you are.’
They headed back out to where Janessa and Miles were posing against
Ruby,
Janessa’s beloved biplane that her father had lovingly restored and named after her mother.
‘They look so happy,’ she murmured.
‘Yes. They do,’ a deep voice replied from just behind her, and she turned, a little startled as she’d been expecting Kaycee to answer. ‘Are you all right, Sheena?’
‘I’m fine.’ She swallowed over the obvious lie. Being near Will, standing close to him, talking to him, made her feel anything but fine. He was the reason she was in a dither but there was no way she was going to confess that to him.
Kaycee headed off to find Miles’s father so that the entire bridal party could be reassembled for more photographs. Will leaned in closer, his breath fanning Sheena’s neck as he spoke. ‘Liar,’ he whispered softly, before easing away.
‘What do you know about it?’ she asked as they both headed over to where Miles was helping Janessa up onto the wing of the plane, ensuring her wedding dress and veil didn’t tear. The heels of Sheena’s shoes once more sank into the grass as she walked and she realised she must look highly undignified … but at the moment she really didn’t care.
Will stopped walking and looked at her. ‘I know you, Sheena. I know you better than I know myself sometimes and I know when you’re lying.’
She scoffed at that but knew he spoke the truth. He
did
know her, just as she knew him equally well. ‘Fine. Then I’m not all right. OK?’
‘Because of me?’
‘Yes, because of you. I … hadn’t expected to see you today. Janessa said last night that you weren’t able to make it.’
‘I was only able to make it because the patient I’ve been caring for stabilised early this morning, giving me a short window in which to fly from Melbourne to Adelaide and attend the ceremony. At this stage I’m not quite sure how long I’ll be staying as we’re due to be flying back to the States later this evening.’
‘Transferring a patient from Melbourne to Philadelphia?’ When Miles had told her Will wouldn’t be able to make it because he was transferring a patient, Sheena had assumed Will was still in the States, not already here in Australia.
‘Yes. Two-year-old boy with early signs of rheumatoid arthritis. Some vascular colleagues have developed a new way of assisting young children with this disease and have asked me to consult in an orthopaedic capacity, hence why I’ve flown to Australia to escort the patient and his family to the States.’
‘That sounds like incredible research, Will.’ She could talk about medicine with him, especially as it meant the conversation wasn’t focused on her. ‘You were always so good with sick children. You have a knack of making them feel relaxed and cared for.’
Will paused for a moment then cleared his throat. ‘Thank you, Sheena.’ Her words had surprised him. He’d been prepared to see Sheena again, prepared to keep his distance, to treat her merely as the mother of the conjoined twins he would one day help separate. What he hadn’t banked on were the effects of her smiles and sincere words. He’d also expected her to be married and the news that she was recently divorced had thrown him. He shook his head. It didn’t matter if she was single, it didn’t matter if she looked as incredible now as she had ten years ago. She was still the woman who had turned down his marriage proposal and then years later married another man and had had children—children she’d told him she would
never
be able to conceive.
‘You’re a brilliant doctor, Will, and I know your work can be rather intense,’ Sheena continued. ‘Being an orthopaedic paediatrician who specialises primarily in neonatology carries with it a heavy workload. Miles has often talked of the work you’ve done together and now other specialities are appreciating your gift.’ She looked up at him. ‘Does the work you do make you happy?’
He frowned at the question, finding it a little odd. ‘Of course it does. I wouldn’t do it if it didn’t challenge me or make me happy.’
‘Good.’ She nodded. ‘I’d hate you to be hiding yourself away in your work.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean? That because you turned my marriage proposal down a decade ago, I’d be so lost without you I would throw myself into my work and forget about living?’
Mortification crossed Sheena’s face. ‘No. I merely meant that as a vibrant, handsome man it would be a great shame if you focused solely on work.’ He continued to glare at her and she started to feel a little uncomfortable. ‘Despite what you might think, Will, I’ve only ever wanted you to be happy, to be able to fulfil your dreams.’
He caught a glimpse of Kaycee, the other bridesmaid, heading in their direction, with Miles’s father in tow.
Will eased a little closer to Sheena, his voice low, his eyes sharp and piercing. Sheena tried not to gasp at the darkness around him. ‘Are you saying that you turned my proposal down because you didn’t want to destroy my dreams?’
She’d never seen him look like that before—ever. This was a new expression, a different side to Will, and in that one moment she realised that perhaps she didn’t know him as well as she’d previously thought.
‘Yes.’ The word was barely a whisper and she tried to step back, to put a bit of distance between them, but the heels of her shoes had sunk into the grass.
‘And what about the other man you married?’ Will continued. ‘Did you care about his dreams?’
Sheena winced a little at Will’s words. Did he think her devoid of all emotion? Pain pierced her heart to think he thought ill of her. ‘Of course I did.’ She frowned as she answered, conscious of keeping her voice down so they didn’t disturb Janessa and Miles. She was aware that at any moment they’d be called on to stand side by side and smile brightly for the camera but first there was something she needed to say.
‘You know nothing about my life, Will. A lot can happen to a person in ten years and that’s exactly what has happened to me—a lot. My relationship with Jonas is none of your business, just as your own relationships over the past decade have nothing to do with me. We were a couple. We broke up. We moved on.’
‘Agreed, but—’ he leaned even closer, his blue eyes flashing with dangerous excitement ‘—aren’t you the least bit curious?’ His gaze dipped to encompass her parted lips, unable to believe the way he’d felt watching her eyes light up with emotion. He’d always been attracted to her, even more so when she’d been angry. He breathed in, tantalised by the strawberry scent he’d always equated with her. He looked at her eyes again, admiring the way they’d widened in surprise at his nearness.
It was clear he could still affect her and he tried not to preen a little at that realisation. ‘Curious about me?’ His tone was deep, rich, sensual, yet with a hint of menace, drawing her in, hypnotising her. ‘I’m definitely curious about you. I want to know what you’ve been doing. Why you finally married and had children, especially when you told me you couldn’t.’
Her gaze was fixed on his mouth, her heart pounding as she watched his lips form the words. ‘I find myself wanting answers to the questions that have been buried in the back of my mind for so very long … and given I’ll soon be in Australia, caring for your daughters, seeing you every day, I intend to get them.’
S
HEENA
paced back and forth in front of the crib that held her two very special little girls. Her agitation level was high, her anxiety was through the roof, and for some reason she seemed unable to stop wringing her hands.
Ellie and Sarah, her two beautiful babies, were sleeping peacefully in their specially designed crib, the girls conjoined at the hip. Sarah had her thumb in her mouth and Ellie sucked on a pacifier. They may be conjoined but the six-month-old twins most certainly had their different personalities. Sarah, so gung-ho, letting everyone know she was around, whilst Ellie was placid and patient.
The pacing, however, didn’t cease. Back and forth Sheena went. Wringing her hands, heart pounding wildly. The girls had been moved one month ago from the neonate intensive care unit to a private room in the paediatric wing. They were still garnering a lot of media attention, especially with the date of their impending separation drawing closer every day.
‘You can do this. You can do this,’ Sheena said over and over, wiping her hands down her pale pink skirt. She fidgeted with her cream-coloured shirt and checked her short black hair in the mirror, her blue eyes wide with fear. Anyone watching her might think she was nervous and apprehensive because in a few days’ time her daughters would be undergoing one of the biggest and intricate surgical procedures of the medical profession … but that wasn’t the case.
‘You can do this. You can do this,’ she repeated, giving her hands a shake before starting to wring them once more.
Her girls had already had several smaller operations to insert tissue expanders, helping them to grow extra skin so that when the separation was complete, there would be skin to cover the open wounds around their hips. They’d also had many anaesthetics, especially when having CT scans. This was so the neonate team could quite clearly see what veins and arteries the two girls shared. As a paediatrician herself, Sheena was well aware of all the negatives and positives surrounding these procedures and whilst she’d been anxious and concerned for her girls each and every time they were wheeled away, it was nothing compared to the complete and encompassing agitation she was feeling now and it was all because of Will.
Seeing him at the wedding had been nerve-racking enough, without him saying that he was curious about her. When he’d leaned forward, looked at her so intently with those big blue eyes of his and a look that could still weaken her knees, she’d known she was in trouble. She knew she’d hurt Will all those years ago when she’d rejected his proposal, but she’d had to. Loving him the way she had, she’d chosen to make the sacrifice of breaking it off while there had still been a chance for both of them to find some sort of happiness with someone else.
He had desperately wanted children. She hadn’t been able to give them to him. In her mind, it had been as clear as that. She’d rather he hated her for rejecting his proposal, for breaking their relationship, than agreeing to marry him and then having him reject her when he discovered he could never have that family he’d always dreamed about.
Hearing him say he was curious about her, about the decisions she’d made in her life since they’d parted, had caused a mass of tingles to wash over her in anxious anticipation. He’d been so close, his breath fanning her cheek, his lips moving almost in slow motion as his rich, earthy scent, tinged with hypnotic spices, had wound its way around her, causing her to almost hyperventilate.
A second later, Kaycee had marshalled them all into position for the next group photograph, Sheena powerfully aware of every slight move Will had made. When the photographer had asked Will to place his hand around Sheena’s waist, her body had become a riot of suppressed excitement at being so close to Will once again. His hand hadn’t been shy or tentative but instead he’d drawn her close, as though it had been the most natural thing in the world. As they’d smiled for the camera, she’d felt the heat radiating out from his body, felt his veiled determination in the quest he’d just started and could feel the high level of awareness they’d both felt at being so close to one another again.
When they’d shifted positions, this time standing behind the bride and groom, almost facing each other, her hand on Will’s shoulder, his hand resting in the small of her back, Sheena had found it not only mentally distracting to be so close to him but increasingly difficult to keep her smile in place as Will had been moving his thumb in slow, small circles, driving her to distraction.
‘Stop,’ she whispered between her polite smiles.
‘Why? I know you like it.’
‘Will!’
‘I can’t help it if I have intimate knowledge about you, Sheena.’
‘So you’re going to deliberately use it against me? To drive me wild with annoyance?’ The photograph was taken and they were told they could move. Will, however, held her for a second longer.
‘No. To drive you wild with
longing.’
His deep, dark voice had washed over her and even when he’d released her from his hold, she wasn’t able to move for a whole thirty seconds. His eyes told her he was determined to follow through on his quest to extract from her the answers he required.
Then, before she’d had a chance to suss him out further, before she’d been able to get a firm hold on exactly what he wanted to know, Will was forced to leave the wedding before the reception even started because his patient in Melbourne required his immediate attention.
Sheena had been left with a sense of impending doom hanging over her head for the past three months. Every now and then she would wake from her sleep, gasping with that wild longing he’d promised her she’d feel. How was it that after so many years he still had the ability to affect her?
‘Breathe. Breathe,’ she whispered again, trying to listen to that small, still voice in her mind that was desperate to calm her down.
‘Hey, Sheenie.’
Sheena jumped and whirled round, her eyes becoming even wider as someone entered the room. A split second later she relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief as Janessa walked towards her.
‘Oh, Nessa. You scared me.’ She pressed her hands to her chest.
Janessa hugged her friend, the two women as close as sisters. ‘What’s wrong? Is it the girls?’ Janessa immediately looked across at the twins, lying in their specially designed crib. As one of the neonatologists assigned to the twins, Janessa was completely in love with both her goddaughters, and was providing the best care possible for them.
Janessa’s husband, Miles Trevellion, was the neonate surgeon in charge of the entire team of specialists responsible for the upcoming separation of the twins. During the past six months, Miles and Janessa had been Sheena’s stabilising support but now Sheena wasn’t at all sure they’d be able to do anything about the impending doom that awaited her.
‘The girls are fine. Perfect. Beautiful. Fine.’
Janessa looked closely at Sheena. ‘You’re pacing. You’re wringing your hands. You’re … highly agitated.’ She continued to watch her friend, thinking quickly. ‘In fact … I haven’t seen you this agitated since my wedding.’
Sheena stopped pacing and flung her arms out wide. ‘There’s only one man in the world who can bring me to this level of agitation!’
‘Will.’ Janessa nodded. ‘Do you know, when you spotted him at the other end of the aisle, I had the briefest thought that you might turn tail and run.’ She smiled warmly at her friend, her words carrying no malice.
Sheena laughed without humour, the sound holding a tinge of repressed hysteria. ‘I was highly tempted but I wasn’t going to ruin your big day.’
‘And I thank you for that. What I don’t quite understand—’ Janessa sat down in one of the comfortable chairs ‘—is that you’ve known for months that Will would be treating the girls. Besides, you both seemed OK at the wedding.’
‘That’s only because neither of us wanted to make a big fuss on your special day but now he’s not here for a few hours, he’s not here to pose and smile for the camera. He’s here for at least the next two months and I’ll no doubt be seeing him almost every single day of those two months.’
‘Are you worried that the old spark might rekindle?’ Janessa waggled her eyebrows up and down for emphasis.
Sheena closed her eyes, not ready to admit that the ‘old spark’, as Janessa termed it, had been reignited at the wedding … or at least something had been awakened. Seeing that determined look in Will’s eyes had made him seem ruthless, dangerous, tempting … and that had excited her.
She sighed with confusion and looked at her friend, starting to pace again. ‘I don’t know,’ she told Janessa. ‘I’m the type of person who likes to understand her parameters so I can work within them. I’ve had to make some very difficult decisions throughout my life, I’ve had to endure a lot of unfun things, but the whole time I at least knew where I’d come from and where I was going.’ She shook her head. ‘That doesn’t happen with Will. He twists me up inside and turns my otherwise intelligent mind to mush with just one of his gorgeous, deep, smouldering looks.’ Sheena stopped pacing, her hands now clutched against her chest.
‘Wow. This guy really does wind you up, doesn’t he?’ Janessa stated rhetorically.
‘Arrgh. What am I supposed to do?’ Sheena covered her face with her hands then indicated the door. ‘He’s coming here
today,
Nessa. He’ll be here soon. Will! Will is coming here. To see me and the g—’ She stopped talking, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe as the impact of her situation seemed to hit with full force. She felt hot and cold and fanned her face with her hands as she tried to calm her breathing. She didn’t resist when Janessa forced her to sit.
‘You’ve gone as white as a ghost. I had no idea that Will sent you into such a tizz. Quick, put your head between your knees before you faint.’ Janessa urged Sheena’s head down. ‘Now stay there while I go and get a paper bag.’
Sheena closed her eyes, doing as she was told. Why was it that the mere thought of seeing Will again could affect her in this manner? Was it because he was determined to find answers? Would she be able to give him answers that would satisfy him? They’d met in England while both working on their registrar rotations. They’d become friends then started to date. They’d become serious, more deeply involved than Sheena had thought possible.
Then her rotation had come to an end and the week before she’d been due to return to Australia Will had proposed. Seeing the devastation on his face, the shock, the disbelief when she’d told him she could never have children, that it was a medical impossibility, had broken her heart but confirmed the truth of why she’d needed to turn him down. There was no way she could give him the happiness he deserved. Sheena had finished the last week of her rotation, avoiding Will wherever possible, and had then returned to Australia, to her life without him.
Now Will was one of the world’s leading orthopaedic paediatric specialists for conjoined twins. He was coming here to care for the daughters she’d been told she would never have.
Her
miracle
babies.
The door to the room opened. ‘Quick. Give me that bag,’ Sheena urged, and, with head still down between her knees, she held out her hand.
‘Hello, Sheena.’ The deep, rich, unforgettable tones of William Beckman filled the room and Sheena froze for a second before dropping her arm, lifting her head and standing up. The sudden action, especially as she’d had her head down, made her feel dizzy and she stumbled.
‘Whoa. Easy.’ He was by her side in a flash, his firm, muscled arms slipping about her waist as he drew her close, steadying her against him. ‘No need to get up on my account.’ The vibrations from his voice rumbled through her as she placed a hand weakly against his chest, memories of the last time he’d held her like this, been this close to her, within kissing distance, flooding through her mind as she slowly raised her gaze to mesh with his.
Blue eyes met blue eyes and she sighed, transported back to the day they’d spent together at Brighton. Two Aussies, out to find a bit of sun during a typical English summer. Having a few days off from the hospital, they’d headed off to Brighton, standing on the pebbly beach, their arms about each other as they’d watched the sun disappear and the stars start to twinkle above them. They’d both been so happy.
Sheena sighed, allowing herself this one brief moment of reflection, her gaze still locked with his. How was it possible that after all this time she was still so affected by his nearness? As she continued to stare into his eyes, she saw that hint of darkness, that strong, powerful difference she’d witnessed at the wedding. He quirked an eyebrow at her.
‘Feeling better?’ The words were rich and deep and resonated throughout her entire body.
Sheena stared at his lips, hoping her mind was capable of understanding what he’d just said. It was clear that she was uncomfortable but with the way he’d just caught her sitting, it brought instantly to mind the very first time they’d met. Sheena had been lying on the floor, trying to get a tiny toy car out from beneath a heavy cupboard in the paediatric playroom. She’d located the toy car, stood and then thrust the car high into the air in triumph.
The children around her had clapped, impressed with her rescue skills, and it hadn’t been until one of the children had pointed out that another doctor had entered the playroom that Sheena had even known he’d been there all along, watching her every move—
and
she’d been wearing a skirt. After they’d been dating a while, he’d confessed to her that it had been the sexiest toy rescue he’d ever witnessed.
She’d handed the car back to the child, all the time staring at Will in a way that had made him incredibly aware of the instant tension buzzing between them. When he’d held out his hand to introduce himself, she’d stood there for several seconds before shaking it.
‘Sheena?’ he prompted, trying not to breathe in her sweet, strawberry scent.
‘Uh … Um …’ As though only just realising she was still in his arms, she instantly shifted, moving away, putting some distance between them. ‘Yeah … I’m … I’m fine. Thanks.’ She waved her hands in the air, as though she was trying to make the past minute or two disappear. ‘And you? How are you since I saw you last?’ Her gaze flicked over him in a quick but thorough appraisal and she swallowed, unable to believe he looked better than he had at the wedding.