Always (Time for Love Book 4)

by Miranda P. Charles

  Brenna’s eyes widened. “Gemma and Greg?”

  Magda sighed heavily. “Something’s brewing between those two, but they’re still oblivious to it. And I’m afraid my grandson will fight it all the way. Honestly, I don’t see what he sees in the single life.”

  “Maybe we should simply trust that both Greg and Gemma will follow their hearts when their soulmates call,” Brenna said softly.

  Magda smiled. “Now, that’s very wise.”

  “It would be great if they end up together, though,” she mused, liking the thought of Greg and Gemma as a couple.

  “It would. But you should concentrate on your problems first before getting distracted with other people’s issues,” Magda censured lightly.

  “I will. Thank you, Magda. I think I’ll go see Darren now.”

  *****

  Brenna sat next to Patty in the lounge room, pleased to see the older woman looking relatively well.

  “I’m glad you guys visited me tonight,” Patty said. “I didn’t think I’d see you until next weekend.”

  Darren grabbed his mother’s hand, stroking it lovingly. “Mum, you know I love you, right?”

  “Of course, darling,” Patty said.

  “And you know Brenna loves you too?” Darren continued.

  “Yes,” Patty said suspiciously, looking first at Darren, then Brenna with her brows furrowed.

  Brenna tried to remain relaxed, focusing on sending Patty loving vibes. What she and Darren had to say to the sick woman wasn’t going to be easy.

  “Oh, no,” Patty said. “You guys are breaking up again, aren’t you?”

  Brenna exchanged glances with Darren.

  “Mum, I know my happiness means a lot to you. If I’m unhappy, would you be okay with that?”

  “No, of course not, Darren. Is this your way of telling me to be okay with the fact that you guys are no longer together?”

  “Yes,” Darren said with a gulp.

  Brenna rolled her eyes at him. “Patty,” Brenna said softly, taking Patty’s other hand. “Darren would do anything to make you happy. Do you know that?”

  Patty nodded, her eyes round.

  “Do you know that if you lose your hope and zest for life, it would make him lose his?”

  Patty’s eyes widened even more, seeming to see that particular truth for the first time.

  “It was hard for me to watch you be ill and not want to fight, Mum,” Darren said.

  “I don’t want to be a burden to you,” Patty whispered.

  “If you died because you gave up, instead of dying because it couldn’t be helped, it would be a big burden that I would carry with me for the rest of my life. I’d think I’d failed you.”

  “Oh, Darren, please do not ever think that!” Patty cried. “I’m much happier now though, am I not? Because I see you happy?”

  “Do you know that being with Brenna doesn’t make me happy?” Darren asked gently. “And Brenna feels the same way about me. We care about each other, but we’re not in love with each other.”

  Brenna held her breath for Patty’s response, her heart pounding. To her immense surprise and relief, Patty nodded, a resigned smile forming on her face.

  “I guessed there was something amiss when the two of you refused to get an engagement ring,” Patty said.

  “You’re okay with this, right, Mum?” Darren asked hopefully.

  Patty smiled. “Darling, why would I want you—the two of you—to stick with each other if you don’t love each other? I’ve been worried about how you were coping with my illness so soon after your dad’s death. As long as you promise me that you won’t hold your life back for me, Darren, even though you want to look after me, then I won’t worry.”

  Darren’s eyes misted. “I promise, Mum.”

  Patty turned to Brenna. “How are you with all this, Brenna?”

  Brenna smiled serenely, letting Patty see her relief. “I’m fine, Patty. Thank you.”

  “There's something else, Mum,” Darren said.

  Brenna and Darren told Patty the whole truth, both of them letting her know that their actions were born out of love and concern for her.

  Patty’s expression was horrified. “Oh, my darlings. You shouldn’t have.”

  “It’s all my fault, Mum,” Darren said.

  “I’m so sorry,” Patty whispered.

  “Oh, Patty, why are you sorry?” Brenna chastised. “Please see what we did for you as a gift to make you feel better. Please.”

  “Okay,” Patty said, tears choking her. “Thank you.”

  “Um, and there’s another thing, Mum,” Darren said.

  “There’s more?” Patty asked. “Oh, Lord, I don’t know how many more surprises I can take tonight,” she said, looking up to the heavens.

  Brenna grinned. She knew Patty would be okay.

  “I want to introduce you to someone I’m going out with,” Darren said shyly, flushing a little.

  Brenna almost laughed out loud. Darren blushing? This new girl must be someone really special.

  “You have a girlfriend?” Patty asked with restrained glee. “A real one?”

  Darren laughed. “Yes, a real one.”

  “Oh, thank God,” Patty said, slumping back in her seat.

  Darren’s face went alight, his relief obvious. He looked at Brenna and mouthed ‘thank you’.

  She nodded, smiling.

  “What about you, Brenna? Are you going out with someone?” Patty queried.

  The smile faded from Brenna’s face.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Ash was in the middle of reviewing a patient file when someone barged into his office. He looked up and his heart skipped, before galloping a thousand beats per minute. Brenna.

  “I know you’re busy, Ash,” she said in a low voice, although the edge in her tone was hard to miss. “I’ll only take a few minutes of your precious time and then I’ll be gone.”

  He stared at her, immobilised, except for the broken pieces of his heart that were jumping around madly in his chest, wanting to fly out to attach themselves to her.

  “I am so mad at you,” she said, giving him a deadly glare. “I’ve been trying to contact you for the last few days, but you keep on ignoring me. You’re even avoiding your own sister so you can continue keeping your distance.”

  He felt himself start to melt just because she was around—as was his tendency. But did she really not know how devastating it was for him to learn she’d gone back to her ‘great love’? He needed to stay away from her to keep his head together. If he didn’t have patients to see, he would even have gone overseas and disappeared for a while. In fact, he was working towards making that possible—

  “How could you even think I was back with Darren, Ash?” she whispered furiously, halting the direction of his thoughts. “How could you even think I actually got engaged to him—for real?”

  His jaw dropped. “But that’s what you told me. When I asked you,” he pointed out, finding his voice for the first time since she’d arrived.

  “Everything I was doing with Darren was pretend, Ash,” Brenna said, her eyes filling up. “I didn’t see the need to keep on saying that word. I thought it was obvious.”

  He stared at her. What was she saying? That she and Darren weren’t really engaged? That it was all part of the pretense?

  “I admit I was wrong for keeping the engagement—the fake engagement—from you,” she continued. “I’m so sorry about that. But it hurts me so badly that you could even think I was lying when I said I loved you. And how could I be having amazing, incredible sex with you and be engaged to another man? How could you even think that of me? I thought you knew me better than that.” Tears flowed profusely down Brenna’s cheeks.

  “Are you saying you and Darren never got back together?” he asked in a daze, his own eyes smarting.

  “No! How could I do that, when I love you!” she cried, wiping her face with angry strokes. “Anyway, that’s all I want to say.”

  Brenna t
urned around and left in a huff, leaving him to gape at her in disbelief.

  She wasn’t engaged to Darren! And she loved him!

  “Bren!” he called, rising from his chair so fast he almost stumbled. He caught up with her by the lifts.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I don’t have any excuse except that it drives me crazy thinking you and Darren are always together, holding hands, perhaps even kissing and... I’ve obviously lost my mind.”

  “Obviously,” she muttered, not looking at him.

  “For the record, it never occurred to me that you were sleeping with the both of us at the same time. I know you're not like that. What I thought was you were preparing to break up with me.”

  The elevator doors opened, and out came a pretty woman wearing a low-cut top.

  “Dr. Payne. Hi! I’m ready for my surgery,” the woman said, smiling at Ash and batting her lashes.

  Ash mentally rolled his eyes. Just when he was having an important conversation with Brenna, his most flirtatious patient turned up five minutes early. “Thanks, Vivian. Go on in. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  With a sultry smile, Vivian sashayed to the clinic.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Brenna asked after Vivian had gone inside. She crossed her arms and glared at the clinic’s front door.

  He smiled at the little snark in Brenna’s voice. It made him feel good that she got jealous. “She’s having laser eye surgery today.”

  “Well, I suppose you have to attend to her now.”

  “Can I see you tonight?”

  “No. My parents are back from Africa and I’m spending some time with them.”

  “Oh, okay.” He wanted to ask if he could join them, but Brenna hadn’t seen her parents in a long time and she’d probably prefer to be alone with them. “Tomorrow night?”

  She shook her head. “I’m with the girls.”

  “Friday night?”

  “I’m co-managing an expo that will be running from Friday to Sunday. I’ve agreed to do the night shift. It doesn’t close until ten each night. And I have things to do Saturday and Sunday days.”

  His heart sank. “When can we talk?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied, staring straight at the lift doors, waiting for them to open again.

  “Are you too mad to want to talk to me?” he asked, hazarding a guess.

  Brenna sniffed. “Partly. But I didn’t deliberately fill up my schedule just so I wouldn’t have to talk to you. I planned those after I tried and tried to contact you but you wouldn’t even return my calls.”

  His heart pinched, guilt and regret poking him. He put his arms around her and kissed her hair. But Brenna kept her arms crossed, her stance stiff. He’d hurt her. Badly. And he had a lot of making up to do for his stupidity.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he said again, vowing to make it up to her even if it took forever.

  “You have to go back in,” she said.

  “Yes. I do. I’ll see you soon, okay? There’s so much we need to talk about.”

  Brenna gave a very small nod, but it was more than enough to make the pieces of his heart start to glue themselves back together.

  *****

  Ash looked around in confusion at the lack of cars parked on the street near Patty’s house. He couldn’t spot any that he recognised, so he knew none of the gang had arrived.

  Well, he had gotten there ten minutes early. He’d given himself plenty of time in case the traffic was bad. He didn’t want to be late.

  He walked the path leading towards Patty’s front door, carrying a bunch of flowers and a gift for the ‘engaged’ couple. He wondered how Brenna would react when she found him there today. He hoped she’d take it for what it was—a gesture to show her that he did trust her.

  After everything that had happened, he wanted to let Brenna know that he completely supported her decision to pretend with Darren for Patty’s sake. He’d realised he’d let his past hurt and fear dictate his actions, causing untold damage to their relationship. In his heart, he knew Brenna was only trying her best to do the right thing for everyone. He hated that he had been quick to put his walls back up, when the heart he was trying to protect within was lost without her anyway. Crazy overreaction, like Amanda had said.

  He’d do anything—anything—to fix what he’d broken. He’d even smile and clap if Brenna and Darren kissed and cuddled in front of him today.

  He rang the bell, palms sweaty with nerves.

  A lady opened the door and stared at him in surprise. “Can I help you?”

  “Hi. I’m Ash Payne. I’m here for the surprise engagement party for Darren and Brenna.”

  The lady’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh dear. Did someone not tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “There’s no party. It’s been cancelled.”

  “Cancelled?”

  “Yes... uh...”

  “Sally? Who is it?” another woman said, appearing in the living room. Ash could easily tell this was Patty.

  “Hello,” he said with a smile. “You must be Patty. I’m pleased to meet you. I’m Ash Payne.”

  “Ash?”

  He nodded. “I’m one of Brenna’s friends. Oh, and I’ve brought these flowers for you.”

  “Oh, aren’t you sweet? Thank you so much. Please have a seat.”

  “I’ll bring out some refreshments,” Sally said, disappearing to the back of the house.

  “I hope it’s okay that I’m a little early,” he said conversationally. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve driven to this part of Sydney, and I wasn’t sure what the traffic was going to be like.”

  “Did I hear you say you came for the engagement party?” Patty asked, looking at him in a funny way.

  “Yes. It’s been cancelled?”

  “You obviously haven’t spoken to Brenna,” Patty said, more to herself than to him.

  “No,” he answered tentatively.

  To his surprise, Patty reached for his hand. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  He frowned, not comprehending. “For what?”

  “It’s all because of me,” Patty said.

  He stared at Patty. Did she know that Brenna and Darren had only been faking it?

  They heard the door open. It was Darren.

  “Ash!” Darren said in surprise.

  “Hi, Darren.”

  “Ash turned up here for the, um, party,” Patty said.

  “Oh. You haven’t talked to Bren?” Darren asked.

  “We haven’t had the chance,” he said cautiously, aware that he had to watch his words in front of Patty.

  “You do know that Darren and Brenna did it for me, don’t you, Ash?” Patty asked softly.

  “Uh... yes,” he answered, although he didn’t know exactly what Patty was trying to say.

  “Thank you, and I’m sorry,” Patty said, her eyes watering.

  “Oh, Mum. Don’t start with the waterworks again,” Darren teased.

  “I just want to make sure everyone’s okay and happy,” Patty said tremulously, looking at Ash with question in her eyes. “I heard you and Brenna had a fight.”

  Relief burst with unexpected force within Ash. The pretense was over! When had it happened?

  “I hope the two of you have sorted out your differences,” Patty continued, worried. “I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to watch Brenna pretending to be in love again with her ex-boyfriend. I’d feel very insecure too, if I were in your shoes.”

  “Don’t worry, Patty,” Ash said with a big smile, squeezing her hand. “I admit that for a while there I thought Bren and Darren got carried away with the pretense, and had decided to make it real. But Brenna set me straight. She’s still quite mad at me for thinking that. But we’ll be fine.”

  “So you thought the engagement party was still on?” Darren asked.

  “Yes. I wanted to show Bren that I trust her and support her with your plans. After my appalling behaviour, I wanted to make
amends. I thought this was one of the ways I could make it up to her.”

  “Oh, Ash,” Patty said, touched. “It’s a pity there’s no party. Brenna doesn’t get to see this gesture of yours.”

  “Hey, all is not lost,” Darren said.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Brenna arrived back at her apartment after having brunch with her parents. She hadn’t expected to be home until later in the afternoon, but she was grateful. She now had time to do her laundry and tidy up her place before she went to work tonight.

  She sighed. She loved her work, but for a few weeks each year, it was a real drag.

  Her phone rang.

  “Hey, Darren,” she answered, wishing she didn’t get so nervous and hopeful every time he called.

  “Hey, Bren. Are you busy? Could you come around to Mum’s right now?”

  “Why?” she asked in alarm.

  “It’s not a medical emergency, so don’t worry.”

  She breathed a little easier. “I am a little busy right now. Can we make it some other day?”

  “Unfortunately not. It’s important, Bren.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “I can’t tell you until you get here.”

  “But your mum’s okay?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Yes. But can you please get here as soon as you can?”

  “Darren, you’re making me nervous. Why?”

  “Trust me on this, Bren. Please.”

  “The last time I trusted your judgement on something, we got into all sorts of trouble,” she reminded him.

  “Well, this is part of fixing that.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Darren exhaled loudly. “Can you make it or not, Bren?”

  She rolled her eyes. She was sufficiently intrigued to drop everything and go. “It better be important, Darren.”

  “It is,” he promised.

  *****

  Brenna turned into Patty’s street, in time to see a small car pull up on Patty’s driveway. Then she saw Darren walk out of the house, smiling widely at the female driver.

  She grinned. That must be Monica, Darren’s new girlfriend. Why didn’t Darren just tell her that he wanted to introduce Monica to her? Didn’t he think she’d come?

  She parked in front of the house and walked up to meet the couple.