‘Stuff? Is that the technical term the paediatric association is using nowadays?’
Sheena laughed. ‘Yes, as a matter of fact it is, and you were supposed to say, “You don’t stink, Sheena.” But instead you nitpick my vocabulary, which I might add may not be all that coherent at this time of night.’
‘Will you be quiet? I’m trying to give you a present here and you’re rambling on.’
‘The loofah is my present?’ She looked at the item in her hands and gave it the consideration Will obviously thought it deserved. ‘Then again, I thank you and promise to use it for my lightning-quick shower tomorrow morning. Honestly, since the girls were born I’ve learned the true meaning of “quick” showers. Usually, they’re both nice and calm until I’m standing naked in the bathroom about to turn on the water and then you can bet they
both
wake up and start crying. It’s a conspiracy.’ She shook the loofah at him.
‘You really are nervous about tomorrow, aren’t you?’ Will stated, humour laced with impatience in his tone. ‘You’re babbling faster than a brook. Now, if you’ll just listen, I’ll explain about the significance of the loofah.’
‘Oh. The loofah has significance?’
‘It does.’
There was a brief knock at the door and a moment later Raquel-Maria came in. ‘You wanted to see me, Will?’ she asked.
‘Yes. Would you mind keeping an eye on the girls for about three minutes, please?’ With that, he took Sheena’s free hand in his and gently pulled her from the room. ‘Bring the loofah,’ he instructed.
‘How did Raquel-Maria know to come in then?’ Sheena asked as she glanced at her babies before allowing Will to tow her from the room.
‘I asked her to give me five minutes just before I came in.’
‘Will? Where are we going?’ Sheena asked as she walked along beside him, loofah still in her free hand. ‘And why did I need to bring the loofah?’ They walked down a long corridor towards the maternity ward.
‘Because I’ve organised a surprise for you,’ he said as they walked into Maternity. They received some odd looks from people, some smiling, some intrigued, some just confused … much like her. ‘The maternity ward is the only place where there are baths,’ he said as he held open a door that led to one of the private bathrooms.
Sheena went through and then stopped, her eyes wide with complete surprise. In the room was a decent-size tub filled with sweet-scented bubbles. There were no lights on in the room because it had been lit with about a hundred—or so it seemed—little tea-candles. A nice new fluffy towel hung over the rail and next to it was a large fluffy robe and fluffy slippers. The lights from the candles seemed to twinkle brightly, making the room cosy and relaxed.
‘For you,’ he murmured. ‘You mentioned earlier today that you probably wouldn’t be able to enjoy a bath for at least the next five years. I decided that was too long for you to wait. You’ve been under enormous stress lately and now that both girls are well on the road to recovery, I think you’re overdue for some “Sheena” time.’
‘But …’ Sheena was gobsmacked. She looked from the bath to the glowing candles back to Will. ‘I … have to feed Ellie.’
‘I’ve checked the fridge and there’s more than enough milk there for Ellie, which means you can definitely spend some time soaking in the tub and letting all your stress and cares go.’
‘You’re going to … look after my girls?’ Sheena was still trying to come to terms with what he’d arranged.
‘If you’re OK with that, yes. I love spending time with your girls, Sheena. Please let me do this for you.’
Sheena looked at the glorious bubble bath again, almost itching to slip into the soothing water and let all her stresses go. ‘I can’t believe you’ve done this for me.’ She held up the loofah. ‘An incredible bubble bath complete with my own personal loofah.’ She giggled, still somewhat surprised at this unexpected turn of events.
‘You deserve it, Mother of Adelaide’s previously conjoined twins.’ Will raised her hand to his lips and pressed a slow, soft kiss to her skin. ‘Take all the time you need but, above all, relax.’
He released her hand and stepped from the room, leaving her in peace. Sheena stood there for a moment, breathing in the glorious sweet scents surrounding her and noticing some other little treats Will had prepared in the room. Off to the side of the bath was a small table with a plastic champagne flute and a bottle of non-alcoholic wine. Sheena poured herself a glass and took a soothing sip before stripping off and sliding into the water.
As the bubbles and water surrounded her body, she closed her eyes and sighed, unable to recall a time when she’d been afforded such a luxury as a soak in a tub. The stresses of the past few months started to slip away, her thoughts relaxing along with her body.
Will couldn’t have given her a more gracious and precious gift other than some time to herself. He was quite a man and her feelings towards him were intensifying with each passing moment.
Will was standing by the cribs, watching the girls as they slept, when Sheena walked back into the room almost twenty minutes later. She was dressed in the fluffy robe and slippers, the towel and her clothes folded neatly in her arms.
‘Wow.’ She stopped just inside the door, gasping at the sight before her. Just as he’d done with the bathroom, Will had placed small tea-light candles around the room. There weren’t nearly as many here but it still managed to create a romantic, relaxed atmosphere and Sheena couldn’t believe how excited that made her feel. ‘It looks … incredible in here, too.’
‘I’m glad you like it,’ Will murmured, pleased with her response to his idea. He picked up a tea light in his hand and a moment later the light went off.
‘How did you do that?’
‘They’re battery operated. There was no way I was going to risk real candles in here, not with the girls so close.’ He switched the candle back on and placed it on the shelf. ‘I saw that same thought flick across your face just now, concerned the candles were too close to the girls.’ He took a few slow steps forward, coming to stand in front of her before he leaned in to whisper something near her ear. ‘I know your expressions all too well, Dr Woodcombe.’ It had been a mistake to lean in close. He’d known it would be because the glorious scent from her bath hung all around her, but he hadn’t been able to resist. He eased back, putting a bit more distance between them, and she came further into the room, placing her things on a nearby table before going to check on her girls.
‘Both sleeping soundly. Sarah hasn’t woken. Ellie finished her bottle about ten minutes ago and she’s been changed and settled, as you can see.’
Sheena bent and kissed both her daughters then tucked the fluffy robe closer around her body, conscious not only of the fact that she was naked beneath but also that Will would know that as well.
‘Now, why don’t you go and get changed while I set up the next part of the surprise?’
‘There’s more?’ Sheena’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. ‘Will, you don’t have to do this. The bath, the candles, the—’
He stepped forward and pressed his finger to her lips. ‘Stop trying to control everything. Just for the next hour, while the girls continue to sleep, let yourself continue to relax.’
Sheena edged back a fraction, her lips suffusing with heat where his finger had touched her, and the sensation started to spread throughout the rest of her body. Perhaps Will was right. Perhaps putting on some clothes was the best way for her to feel a little less self-conscious, but she also needed a few moments away from him to pull herself together.
‘OK. Good idea.’ She quickly crossed to the dresser by Sarah’s crib and extracted some clean clothes from her pile. ‘Won’t be a moment,’ she said, heading into the small bathroom attached to the girls’ room. It only housed a shower, toilet and handbasin. No big, glorious bath. Once she had changed, still deciding to wear the cute fluffy slippers, she stepped back into the room—and stopped.
Not only were the tea-light candles twinkling their lights around the room but Will had pushed the chairs to the side, and spread a red-and-black checked picnic rug over the hard floor. A few cushions were scattered around the edge of the rug and in the middle was a cheese and fruit platter, a plate of mini-muffins and some biscuits. Will stood at the door to the room, accepting a tray with a pot of tea and two bone china cups from Raquel-Maria.
He turned and saw her standing there, surveying his handiwork. ‘Oh. You’re out faster than I’d anticipated. Never mind. Sit down. Make yourself comfortable.’ He carried over the tea-tray and knelt down on the rug.
‘How … did you do all this? The food? The cushions?’ Sheena shook her head in bemusement as she sat down on a cushion and snagged a grape from the platter.
Will smiled but slowly shook his head. ‘I’m a man of mystery and never divulge my secrets.’
Sheena laughed and settled more comfortably on the cushions. ‘It’s been … amazing, Will. The loofah, the bath, some time away from the girls, and now
this’
She waved a hand at the late-night supper spread before them and sighed. ‘Thank you.’ Her tone was filled with sincerity. ‘For … everything.’
Will heard the honesty in her words as well as the appreciation. ‘It was most definitely my pleasure, Sheena Andromeda.’
She giggled at the name. ‘I can’t believe you remember
that.’
He seemed surprised. ‘The day that you decided to choose your own middle name because you weren’t given one? Yes, my dear Dr Woodcombe, I do,’ he remarked as he handed her a plate. As she put some food onto it, he spoke quietly.
‘We’d just finished a gruelling shift—me in Theatres, you with an epidemic in the children’s ward. We sat outside the front of the hospital, looking up at the stars, talking softly about our night. You told me that one child you’d been caring for had three middle names and that you had none.’
Sheena’s smile was bright. ‘And you told me to choose one. “Choose a name, Sheena. Anything you like and tonight I will christen you with your new name”. That’s what you said.’
Will lay down on his side, propping himself up on his elbow as they revisited the past. ‘You laughed, pointed up at the sky and said, “I choose Andromeda”.’
‘And you immediately christened me Sheena Andromeda Woodcombe.’ Shyly she looked down at the food on her plate before meeting his gaze. ‘That’s one of my favourite memories. When things in my life aren’t going the way I’d planned, that’s one of the memories I take out, dust off and think about.’
‘It’s one of my favourite memories, too,’ he confessed. They both fell silent, the years they’d been apart disappearing as their familiarity and the sense of ease in each other’s company washed over them.
‘Life seemed so simple back then.’ She sighed, and hugged one of the cushions to her chest, needing some contact, needing to feel close to him but knowing she couldn’t possibly ask him to hold her. That would be far too dangerous.
‘We were young.’
She nodded. ‘Yet we felt so old. We thought we knew everything.’
‘But it turns out not nearly as much as we should have.’
‘I’m so glad we’ve been able to start afresh,’ Sheena remarked, her gaze flicking between his eyes and his lips. Did the man have any idea just how irresistible she found him?
‘So am I,’ he murmured, unable to help but notice the way she was looking at him. Now that they’d sorted through a lot of their past, he was well aware of the mounting tension coursing between them. He’d kissed her twice—almost three times—and having that small sweet taste of Sheena had only unlocked the cravings he’d kept hidden away for far too long.
‘Don’t look at me like that, Sheena,’ he whispered quietly into the sudden stillness of the room, the only sound that of two little girls breathing deeply as they slept.
‘Then you shouldn’t have given me such a wondrous evening, Will. No one has ever done something so unselfish for me. Usually, whenever I get a treat, there are strings attached.’ She frowned for a second and looked at him with concern in her eyes. ‘There aren’t any strings attached, are there?’
He thought about her parents, about the boarding school, about her ex-husband, and how it honestly did seem as though Sheena had lived her life always waiting for the axe to fall. Well, not with him. ‘Only that I like seeing you smiling, seeing you relaxed and being able to unwind after everything you’ve been through.’
‘And that’s it?’
‘That’s it.’ He sat up and faced her, knowing it was best to ease the tension surrounding them. ‘Now, before the girls start to wake up, can I interest you in some cheese? Or perhaps milady would like some more grapes. A mini-muffin, perhaps?’
‘You’ve organised way too much food,’ she said with a laugh, pleased he’d managed to break the intense atmosphere. She wanted him. There were no two ways about it but she also knew it was completely the wrong time of her life to be worrying about romance. Friendship—now, that was something she could handle, and for the next fifteen minutes they sipped tea and nibbled at the food until Sarah woke up, demanding their attention.
All in all, though, when Will finally took his leave after helping her to pack away the rug and set up her camp bed for the night, Sheena couldn’t resist standing on tiptoe and kissing his cheek.
‘You’re a
good
man, Will Beckman, with an equally
good
heart. That’s a rare quality nowadays. Thank you again for my wonderful and relaxing evening.’
Will shoved his hands into his pockets to stop himself from hauling her close but smiled and nodded. ‘You’re more than welcome. Now, get some sleep because tomorrow is another big day, both for you and the girls.’
‘And I’m so happy that you’ll be there to share it with us.’
‘There you are.’ Miles walked over to where Will was sitting in the hospital cafeteria, the smells of bacon, eggs, sausages and grilled tomatoes filling the air. Miles pulled out a chair and sat down next to his friend, giving him closer scrutiny. Unshaven, crumpled shirt, no tie. ‘I’ve been looking for you. Aren’t you supposed to be taking Sheena and the girls out for a few hours?’
Will frowned and glanced at his watch. ‘I’m not due to meet her for another hour.’ He looked more closely at his watch and then checked one of the clocks on the wall in the cafeteria. ‘What? My watch battery must have died.’ He quickly finished his half-drunk coffee and rose to his feet. ‘Did she ask you to come and find me? Is everything all right? Are the girls fine? I checked on them just after two o’clock this morning and they both seemed fine.’