by Lucy Clark
Her breathing had now almost reached the point of hyperventilation. She parted her lips to allow the pent-up air to escape, wondering what sort of reception she would receive from him. She wouldn’t blame him at all if he didn’t speak a word to her but she hoped, more for Miles’s and Janessa’s sakes, that that wasn’t the case.
Janessa finished her walk down the aisle and Sheena accepted the bridal bouquet, glad to have something to do. She watched as her two friends held hands—eager to be married, love, honour and devotion shining clearly from their faces.
Throughout the nuptials, Sheena risked quite a number of glances at Will, her mind still processing the fact that he was standing not six feet away from her. Was he still angry about the way things had ended between them? Had he managed to forgive her sometime during the past decade? Had he moved on with his life? Found someone to spend his time with? She quickly checked his hands but found them ringless. Still, that didn’t mean he wasn’t attached. It didn’t matter to her whether or not he had someone—all she’d ever wanted for Will was his happiness.
‘I now pronounce you husband and wife,’ the minister announced, and Sheena jolted her thoughts back to the present, unable to believe the ceremony was done and dusted. Had she been in la-la land the whole time? ‘You may now kiss your bride.’
Miles leaned forward and lifted the veil from Janessa’s face before sliding his arms around his new wife’s waist and drawing their bodies into close contact. Sheena couldn’t help but smile at his antics, knowing Miles was determined to kiss his new wife thoroughly.
She was incredibly happy for both her friends and, with a bright smile still on her lips, she glanced over at Will, astonished to find him once more looking back at her. Sheena’s heart skipped a beat and she couldn’t help but gasp, her eyes widening in surprise. She knew she should probably look away, pay attention to her friends, but she couldn’t. She was like a deer caught in the headlights, his blue eyes as rich and deep and compelling as they’d always been.
His gaze flicked from her eyes down to her lips before quickly scanning her body in a visual caress that filled her with heat and flooded her body with a longing she’d long since forgotten. Did he still like what he saw? She hoped she looked good, especially considering that three months ago she’d given birth to twin girls … and not just any twins but conjoined twins. Her figure, she knew, was more curvy than it had been ten years ago. Did he still find her attractive? And why did it matter so much to her?
Janessa once more brought Sheena’s thoughts back to the present as she reached around for her bouquet. Sheena snapped her eyes away from the alluring Will Beckman and realised that she’d missed the inaugural kiss and that everyone in the hangar was now clapping and cheering the newlyweds.
The bride and groom started back down the aisle, stopping to receive warm wishes from their friends and family. Sheena stepped forward, as did Will. He was the best man. She was the maid of honour. Kaycee, the other bridesmaid, would be partnered by Miles’s father, who was the other groomsman. Sheena took another step closer to Will and breathed in a strong, calming breath … or at least that was what she’d planned to do. Instead, she breathed in the earthy, fresh scent she’d always equated with him and tried not to sigh with longing.
With another step he stood beside her, crooking his elbow in her direction, ready to escort her down the aisle behind the happy couple.
‘Hello, Dr Woodcombe.’ His tone was brisk, crisp and efficient, as though he were simply saying good morning to a member of staff at a ward round. Sheena slipped her hand around his elbow, heat suffusing through her at the touch. She tried not to be concerned with his impersonal greeting. They had been a couple a long time ago but surely the fact that they had been together afforded her something more than a perfunctory greeting. She licked her dry lips, belatedly remembering she was wearing far more make-up than she was used to and it wouldn’t do to have all her lipstick disappear before they started posing for photographs.
‘Hello, Will.’ She tried to ensure her own voice was without emotion. She tried to clear her throat but there was nothing there for her to clear. She continued to keep her pasted smile in place as guests snapped pictures of the wedding party. ‘I see you managed to make it in time. Well done.’
He glanced briefly down at her as they took another few steps and stopped as both Janessa and Miles paused to hug and greet more well-wishers. ‘No doubt you probably wished I hadn’t made it at all.’
She was stunned that his comment was so spot on. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘I saw the look of shock on your face before you started to walk down the aisle.’
She closed her eyes for a brief moment. Oh. Had he? How embarrassing … how telling. His comment made her feel naked, stripped bare as though after all these years he was still able to see right through her, that he still had some sort of power over her. She hated feeling so exposed. ‘Miles wanted you here. That’s all that matters.’
They took another step forward, another camera flash lighting the air around them, both of them smiling politely.
‘I understand congratulations are in order,’ he said after a moment, his words clipped.
‘For?’
‘Did you not give birth to two little girls?’
‘Oh. Yes.’ At the mention of her daughters, Sheena’s smile became natural, her eyes sparkling with happiness, yet at the same time she felt highly self-conscious discussing her daughters with Will. The main reason she’d turned down his proposal all those years ago had been because she’d been unable to have children, and now she had two.
‘I’m sorry, Sheena,’ her specialist had said when she’d been about eighteen years old. ‘The chances of you ever having children are extremely slim. Your endometriosis is too severe.’
When Will had repeatedly talked of his plans for a large family and how much having children meant to him, she’d known she would never end up spending her life with him, even though back then she’d loved him dearly.
Now, though, she had Ellie and Sarah. Her babies, her girls, and they were her two incredible miracles she’d been assured by the finest specialists would never happen.
‘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?
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nbsp; ‘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 e
xpected 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?’
