‘Shh. Shh. Mummy’s here. Mummy’s here,’ Sheena crooned. ‘It’s all right. I’m here.’ Thankfully, Sarah started to respond to her mother’s voice and when Raquel-Maria came in, Sheena smiled. ‘Sorry to disturb you from your duties,’ she said to the nurse.
‘Sarah’s woken up?’ Raquel-Maria’s smile was wide and filled with delight. ‘Well, of course I can
hear
that she’s awake. Oh, how wonderful. That’s just wonderful. I take it you want to feed her? Right, then. Let’s get you settled.’
A few minutes later Sheena was seated in another comfortable chair, silence filling the air as Sarah greedily suckled at her breast. It was incredible to be able to hold her children one at a time and to feed them, rather than having to constantly express milk. ‘Oh, baby. Slow down,’ she crooned, settling Sarah a bit better. ‘The last thing you need right now is a tummyache.’
‘Too true,’ Janessa remarked. ‘Look, Sheenie. Ellie’s fallen back to sleep with just the last bit of her bottle left, but when I try to take it from her mouth, she starts madly sucking again.’
‘I know. She often does that. It’s so cute.’ Sheena sighed and looked across at her other daughter. ‘They’re both going to be fine. Sarah’s awake now and they’re both going to be fine.’ There was determination in Sheena’s tone, mixed with a healthy dose of relief.
‘Yes, they are,’ Janessa agreed. ‘Both Miles and Will are extremely happy with their progress and no doubt Raquel-Maria is off phoning them to let them both know that Sarah’s awake.’ Janessa looked at the clock on the wall. ‘I give Will … under ten minutes before he gets here.’
‘He won’t just drop everything and race here.’
‘Why not? Technically, the girls are his only patients, although now that the major surgery is over, I have to tell you that Charisma is looking to headhunt Will for the hospital.’
‘Really?’ Sheena looked away, focusing her attention back on Sarah as she tried to process this news. If Will stayed, that would mean he would be here in Adelaide longer than his currently scheduled two months. Could it be possible that they could be granted more time together to figure out what on earth was happening between them? Was the attraction they still felt only residual? Would it stand the test of time? Would she be able to open up to him completely, tell him her deepest, innermost thoughts and secrets? She didn’t know but having more time definitely increased the odds.
‘H-how long do you think Charisma wants him to work here?’ She tried to make her words sound as though she were asking the question about any other member of staff, as though Will working here at Adelaide Mercy was really nothing special.
‘Stop trying to be so casual about it.’ Janessa saw through her bluff neatly. ‘I know you far too well. Of course you want Will to stay.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘I’ve seen the way the two of you look at each other.’
Surprised that they’d been so closely observed, Sheena raised her eyebrows. ‘What way?’
Janessa smiled. ‘The way Miles and I look at each other.’
Sheena shook her head. ‘No. Will does not look at me the way Miles looks at you. Miles worships the ground you walk on. He would get you the moon if you asked him to.’ She shook her head again. ‘Will doesn’t look at me like that.’
‘Oh, no? Then why was it that I almost walked in on the two of you kissing yesterday?’
‘What?’ Sheena’s throat went instantly dry and her cheeks tinged with pink as heat washed over her. ‘You …’
‘I came to check on the girls and opened the door—saw you sitting in this chair, holding Ellie, Will kneeling beside you, locking his lips to yours.’ Janessa’s smile was very bright. ‘So?’ Excitement filled her friend’s voice.
‘So?’ Sheena replied.
‘So … what does it mean?’ Janessa blurted. ‘Are the two of you back together? The old feelings have come to the surface once again and if Will stays here in Adelaide, you’ll be able to—’
‘Whoa! Whoa, there.’ Sheena held up her free hand. ‘For a start, Will and I are not back together. He kissed me quickly on my lips because we were caught up in the moment. That’s all. Nothing romantic about it. Ellie had just woken up and it was …’ She shrugged as she searched for the right words to describe how she’d felt. ‘I don’t know … it was … it just felt right. Like a celebratory kiss.’ There was no way she was telling Janessa about the kisses she and Will had shared in the chapel.
‘Are you trying to tell me that you’re not well on your way to falling in love with Will all over again?’
Sheena swallowed. ‘No. I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying that I’m confused and emotional and … I rejected him, Janessa.’ She shook her head as though that one strike against her could never be fully removed. ‘I refused his marriage proposal. It doesn’t matter whether we’ve cleared the air or not, no man is going to come back for more when he’s already been rejected.’
‘But Will is no ordinary man, Sheena. From what I’ve seen, he’s not the sort of man to let a past mistake stand in the way of true happiness.’
Sheena absorbed Janessa’s words, hope starting to rise. ‘Do you really think so?’
‘I do. Now, tell me straight. Do you still have feelings for him?’ Janessa persisted.
Sheena looked away, then back to her sister, knowing she couldn’t lie. ‘Yes. Of course. We had a past. I keep remembering the good times we shared and all the things we wanted to do. We were happy. I want that happiness again.’
‘Good. Admitting it is the first step. Uh …’ Janessa thought of another question. ‘Do you want these feelings to continue to grow?’
‘Yes, but—’
‘Ah. No buts. Do you want Will to reciprocate these feelings?’
‘Well, of course I do but I hurt him—’
‘Shh.’ Janessa cut her off. ‘Let it go. Let the past and the hurt and the rejection and everything that went along with it … go. That’s the first step in gluing this relationship back together.’
‘Nessa, it’s not that simple. I have the girls to think about now. I can’t put my needs and desires before theirs. They need me and I need them. I don’t have time for any sort of romance. I’m a mother first and foremost and unlike my own mother, who didn’t give me the time of day, I intend to be there for Ellie and Sarah, to let them know without a doubt that they are truly loved. There’s simply no time now for romance.’
As she finished talking, Will walked into the room and Sheena’s heart instantly jumped with delight. Her mouth lifted in a smile and her eyes sparkled with happiness.
‘Right,’ Janessa said softly, not believing her friend for a moment. She glanced pointedly at the clock. ‘Eight and a half minutes. Not bad.’
‘Quiet,’ Sheena said, but turned and smiled at Will. ‘Hi.’ She couldn’t help the way her heart thrummed with delight the instant he appeared, the way her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him and the way she could feel a blush suffuse her cheeks at being noticed by him. Thank goodness she was already sitting down because with the demanding and protective way he’d entered her room, like a knight coming to rescue his princess, Sheena knew her knees wouldn’t have been able to support her. Was Janessa right? Was Will still interested in her? Sheena could only hope. The fact that he had indeed come to the room less than ten minutes after Raquel-Maria had left to notify him surely meant something? Right?
Of course, given that he was such a brilliant doctor, he would be concerned about his patients, but Sheena wanted to believe it was more than that. After the moments they’d shared yesterday when Ellie had initially woken up after the long, life-changing surgery, Will had been so pleased that he’d been there to witness it. He’d been as excited as Sheena that Ellie was doing so well. Was he like this with all his patients and their parents, or was it just her? Was she special to him?
Twice Will had kissed her. Twice she had responded. Were they really moving towards some sort of reconciliation and they hadn’t even realised? Was he able to forgive her for turning him down all those years ago? It seemed so and if things did progress, if they
were
able to rekindle their relationship, would he be able to accept Ellie and Sarah as his own? Sheena watched him as he immediately came to her side and knelt down beside the chair, hope filling her heart.
‘I was told Sarah had woken up. That’s excellent news. I only wish I’d been here for it, as I was with Ellie.’
‘I’ll bet,’ Janessa murmured beneath her breath, a secret smile on her lips.
Sheena ignored Janessa and looked from Sarah, who was sleeping contentedly in her arms, to Will … his face so close to hers. ‘Yes. My darling Sarah opened her eyes, dragged in a deep breath and screamed until she was fed.’ Sheena told him.
Will’s deep, rich chuckle was her answer. ‘I can well believe it.’ Tenderly he stroked the baby’s head. ‘Hello, Sarah,’ he whispered. ‘Good to have you back with us.’ Sheena watched Will closely, a lump in her throat at the way he seemed to adore her girls. Their heads were almost touching as he bent and placed a kiss on Sarah forehead. ‘So small. So precious. So special.’
‘Yes.’
When he looked at her, the rest of the world seemed to melt away and all that was left was the two of them and the girls. The possibility of a family. Her heart was linked with his, pounding in unison to the same rhythm.
With the increase in her breathing rate due to his nearness, due to the way his gaze seemed to bore into hers with repressed need and desire, Sheena parted her lips to allow the pent-up air to escape. Her tongue slipped out to wet her dry lips and she swallowed, wondering if she was imagining the way Will’s mouth seemed to be drawing closer to her own.
Was he going to kiss her again? Was it that he was happy that Sarah was awake or was it something else? Was this really happening? Confusion continued to war with barely veiled passion that seemed to burn through her whenever he was this close.
‘Sheenie,’ he whispered, his breath fanning out to warm her, to caress her, to lure her closer.
Almost … almost.
Beep, beep, beep.
‘Blast!’ Janessa murmured, digging in her pocket to switch off her pager at the same time that Will instantly straightened, putting distance between himself and Sheena. The outside world returned with a bang. Will stood and straightened his tie before shoving his hands into his pockets.
‘Sorry. Don’t mind me,’ Janessa said.
Sheena could quite clearly see the look on her friend’s face, the one where she was trying not to grin too widely at the ‘almost kiss’ she’d witnessed.
‘It’s the unit,’ Janessa remarked after looking at her pager. ‘Sorry, but I need to go. Will, can you help me put Ellie back into her crib, please? Then I’ll leave you to help Sheena.’
‘Of course.’ Will carefully worked with Janessa to wheel the machines connected to Ellie back towards the crib, and after Janessa laid the baby on the soft mattress he quickly checked Ellie’s vitals, ensuring the machines were working correctly.
‘Now that Sarah’s awake,’ Janessa continued, brushing her finger over Ellie’s cheek, ‘Charisma will no doubt schedule the press conference for first thing in the morning. You can give your prepared statement, have your photograph taken with the girls and then hopefully the media will leave you in peace.’
Sheena groaned. ‘The press conference. I’d forgotten about that.’
‘Well, I’m needed in the NICU, so I’ll leave the two of you to discuss the ins and outs of PR … and anything else that might come to mind.’ Janessa winked at them before heading to the door. Soon Sheena and her girls were alone with Will once more.
‘Do I really have to do the silly photo shoot?’
Will nodded. ‘PR helps with the hospital budget,’ he pointed out, but jerked his thumb towards the door. ‘What’s with Janessa? She was acting a little strange, don’t you think?’
‘Janessa saw you kiss me yesterday.’ As well as witnessing the ‘almost kiss’ they’d just shared, she wanted to add, but as Will hadn’t actually kissed her, she didn’t want him to think she was jumping to conclusions.
‘Ah.’ Dawning realisation crossed his face and he shoved his hands into his trouser pockets again. ‘That would explain it.’ He paused as though completely uncertain what to say next. He looked at her, she looked at him and the rest of the world seemed to disappear. It was how it had always been when they were alone together. Sheena could sense the tension increasing between them and when Will held her gaze for a moment, the increase in her breathing rate was automatic.
‘We were good together,’ he murmured, still standing beside Ellie’s crib as though he needed to keep some distance between them.
Sheena nodded. ‘Always. We were friends first, though.’
‘We were,’ he agreed.
‘Do you think …?’ She paused and swallowed. ‘I mean, is it possible for us to become close friends again?’
Will shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment before meeting her gaze once more. ‘I want to be friends, Sheena. I’ve really missed just being with you, talking to you. We share the same sense of humour, the same outlook on things. I think, after you left, that’s what really hit me the most. That my friend was gone … gone from my life.’
‘I’m here now,’ she offered quietly. ‘Perhaps reconnecting through the girls is our second chance to rekindle our friendship.’
He nodded. ‘Perhaps it is.’ Friendship was a good place to start but he had to confess that sharing in her quiet moments with Ellie and Sarah, feeling the joy and elation pass through her as she held her girls, made him want more than just friendship. Deep down inside, he admitted he wanted to be a part of her life. He wanted to help her make decisions, to spend more time with the girls, not only in a medical capacity but as an important person in their lives.
Sarah shifted a little in Sheena’s arms and Will smiled.
‘Is Sarah getting too heavy?’
‘I think it’s time to put her back in her crib.’ Sheena looked down at her baby and smiled. ‘It’s so wonderful to be able to hold both of them individually. So …’ She searched for the right word.
‘Heart-warming?’ Will suggested.
‘Exactly. See? We’re still very much in tune with each other. Friendship is a good place to start.’
Will came over and together they settled the still sleeping baby into her crib and again Will checked the machines to ensure they were working correctly and performed Sarah’s observations, pleased with the outcome.