This was a woman who had told him straight-out she wasn’t interested. She didn’t date doctors, ever. But the sparks that had flown at the first meeting had never died. No matter what she said.
She was a good doctor. Conscientious. Caring. Even when completely out of her depth. No wonder she was doing so well at the DPA. They were lucky to have her.
His stomach gave a few flip-flops as he thought about what came next. He hadn’t been able to access emails for days. He’d been having a few tentative exchanges about job possibilities. He’d need to make a decision soon.
Amber groaned and shifted position, her arm draping across his chest. He wanted to nudge and kiss her awake. Every cell in his body was currently screaming at him. But he couldn’t do that. Not like this.
They’d been pushed into a forced proximity. It didn’t matter how much of a pull he felt toward Amber. After waiting two years to connect with someone, he wanted to be sure. And he wanted her to be sure. Because Amber Berkeley gave off a whole host of conflicting signals. Oh, sure, she kissed really well. But just because she kissed him didn’t mean she wanted anything to progress between them. And how did you have that conversation with someone you’d really only just met?
Amber moved again, her lips brushing against the skin at his shoulder. Jack almost groaned out loud.
One thing was clear. Carrying on like this would drive him plain crazy.
*
Amber checked the obs chart in front of her. Aaron was on his way to a good recovery. Zane was finally making progress too, allowing her to breathe a big sigh of relief.
Jack came up behind her. “How you doing?”
He’d been a little awkward this morning. Not unpleasant. Just a little brisker than before. When she’d woken up and found herself wrapped around him again, all she’d been able to think of was how right things felt.
By the time she’d got her five-minute shower she’d tried to be more sensible. In a few days she’d have to leave and get back to Chicago and the DPA. Jack still had no idea what to do next. And she’d no right to have an opinion on anything about that.
He nudged her again. “Hey? Are you with me?” His voice was soft, like velvet touching her skin, and she jerked back to attention.
“What? Yes. I’ve just finished checking on Aaron’s mom. Her lung has reinflated and she’s feeling a lot better.”
Jack nodded. “I checked his dad. The pins in his tib and fib look good. He’s got a walking cast on and they’ve had him on his feet already. Once he’s mastered the hospital stairs on his crutches, he’ll be good to go.”
“Aaron should be ready to go in a few days. I’ve taken some more bloods this morning and he seems to be responding to the antibiotics well.”
Jack gave a nod. “How about if I told you that I managed to find a shop that’s opened?”
“Really?” That had her instant attention. She wanted to buy some toiletries and some food. Probably in that order.
He nodded again. “Apparently they had a delivery today from the mainland. They have some fresh food. I might have bought some.”
“You might have bought some?” She arched an eyebrow at him. “What exactly might you have bought?”
“Chicken. Potatoes. Veg. Bread. Butter.”
She rolled her eyes upward. “Sounds like heaven. Do we get to eat this food in a place that doesn’t hold two thousand other people?” She wrinkled her nose. “And smell like two thousand other people.”
“Oh, yeah,” breathed Jack. “I also heard a rumor that the utilities might be turned on for a bit longer tonight. We might get more than an hour of water.”
“Now, that would really be bliss.” She leaned back against the nearest wall. Then something came into her head. “Hey, tonight, who’s cooking? Shall we flip for it?”
He gave a sneaky kind of smile. “Well, since I managed to find the food…”
She shook her head. “Oh, no. Oh, no, you don’t. We flip for it.”
“Or?”
“Or I steal the food and eat it myself.”
He pulled a quarter from his pocket. “Okay, then. Heads or tails?”
“Tails.”
He flipped the coin. It spun in the air and landed on his palm.
She grinned. “Tails.” She lifted one finger and prodded his shoulder. “Just remember. I prefer barbecue chicken. Or maybe chicken cordon bleu.”
She gave her stomach a little rub to tease him.
He shook his head. “Don’t let it be said that anyone calls you Bossy Britches.”
She batted her eyelashes. “Dr. Campbell, I have absolutely no idea what you mean.”
*
He was strangely nervous. And he had no idea why. He was a perfectly capable cook. He could throw together a dinner without too many problems—even with his eyes on the clock to make sure he coordinated it with the bursts of power. The apartment they were temporarily residing in was only a few streets away from the beach. Since there were still a number of other emergency helpers using the apartment, Jack decided it might be easier to pack up the food and take it outside.
Their belongings had been dropped off from the hotel around an hour ago. In the chaos after the hurricane, the hotel was being used as a temporary shelter for some families. It seemed that his belongings had been more or less thrown into the case. But everything seemed to be there.
He undid the zipper on the inside lid of the case and slipped his hand inside. The wave of relief passed over his body instantly as he felt the battered edge of the photograph, but he froze as he went to pull it out. He knew it was there. He knew he hadn’t lost it. But he’d lost her.
Did he need to keep looking at her photograph?
His fingers released the edge of the photograph as he knelt by the case. He breathed for a minute. In. Out. In. Out.
He pulled back his hand and fixed his eyes on the door. He’d used to have the picture on permanent display. That had stopped a few months ago. Would he ever get rid of it? No. Never.
He would always be respectful of Jill’s memories. Her life. Her love. Her laughter.
But in the last few days it was as if the shadows had lifted from his eyes. And from his heart.
His head had stopped focusing only on the research. He’d never been interested in the business side of things. He’d only ever been interested in developing the best product that might actually save lives. Now he’d done it and he had the evidence base to prove it. But his obsession had started to diminish.
Today, he’d finally managed to access a working computer for a few minutes. Seven hundred emails. Mostly about the wound dressing.
But the only ones that he’d opened had been the emails about job opportunities. Doctors Without Borders. Seven private clinics throughout the world. Six NHS posts highlighted to him by friends and colleagues who thought he would be suitable. Three possible aid agencies postings in far-off places that would be similar to what he was actually doing right now in Hawaii.
He’d always thought he’d know the right job opportunity as soon as it came along. But somehow, in among all of this, for the first time he was uncertain.
He’d always had a career path in his head. Up until this point it had served him well. But now? Here, in Hawaii, with his senses awakening for the first time in years, he just didn’t know what path to take.
The door banged and Amber walked in. She was wearing a pair of thin blue scrubs with her hair tied up on top of her head. Her eyes widened as she saw him crouched on the floor. “Our luggage? We have our luggage?”
He nodded, and before he got a chance to point her bright green suitcase out, she’d spotted it and ran across the floor, throwing herself on top of it. “Come to Mama, clean clothes, shampoo and moisturizer.” She laughed as he shook his head at her while she stayed in position.
“What? Are you trying to tell me that you haven’t craved your own clean shirt and underwear in the last few days?”
She jumped up and dragged her case toward the bathroo
m. “Leave me alone. I might be some time.” Her eyes were gleaming.
He smiled and stood up, waiting for a few seconds until he heard the inevitable signs of the shower running. He lifted his hand and knocked on the door.
“What?” came the impatient shout.
He leaned on the wall and folded his arms across his chest as he kept grinning. “Amber? Just to let you know, you have—” he glanced at his watch “—nine minutes.”
“What?” Her horror-struck face appeared at a tiny gap in the door. “Tell me you’re joking?”
He tapped his watch as he walked away. “Tick, tick, Amber.”
*
It was the quickest shower in the history of the world. She’d been vaguely aware of the smell of cooking food as she’d entered the apartment, but the sight of her suitcase had been too good. When she’d flung it open inside the bathroom there had been a note on the top asking her to collect her valuables from the hotel and to bring her passport with her. That had to mean that they’d emptied the safe in her room and taken her locket someplace else.
She ran across the hallway with only a towel wrapped around her so she could blast her hair with the hair dryer. Sure enough, in around two minutes, the lights and power flickered off. She let out a groan. Jack appeared at the door smiling, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. “What? You didn’t quite make it in time?”
She threw back her still-damp hair. “Darn it. At least I’ve got rid of some of the wetness.” She frowned as she remembered the state of the clothes in the bathroom. “But I think I’m going to look like some kind of dishrag tonight. I wasn’t able to iron any of my clothes.”
Jack gave her a steady glance. “I think you’ll look fine, no matter what you’re wearing.”
A little tingle ran over her skin. There were a few flickering candles in the main room but very little other light. She licked her lips and wondered if she could put on some makeup in the virtual darkness. It was almost as if he read her mind. He strode through the main room and walked back with a candle. “Here. You’ll need it to get dressed. I’ll pack up the food in the kitchen.”
She was surprised. “Aren’t we eating here?”
He gave her a wicked glance. “We’re sharing with four other people—what’s the chances of them coming in and stealing our food? The beach nearby looks safe enough. I thought we could eat down there and pretend we were still in the Hawaii we came to.”
She reached out and took the flickering candle as her stomach gave a little squeeze. “Give me five minutes. That’s all I’ll take.”
And she did. Grabbing a red beach dress from her case that she’d planned to wear for a more casual day, and a pair of flat sandals. Her hair was still damp but she left it around her shoulders in the hope it might dry in the warm evening air. Finally she slicked on some red lipstick as she squinted in the mirror in the candlelight then grabbed a light black cardigan.
When she walked back out in the corridor, Jack was standing with a package wrapped in aluminum foil in one hand and a bottle in the other. She laughed and shook her head as she walked up. “What? No wicker basket? No picnic rug or crystal glasses?”
“I’m all out.” He shrugged. “This is going to be more like some high-school midnight feast than some big seduction scene.”
She stepped forward, closer than she would normally dare. They were currently alone. The only light was the flickering candles. “Is that what this is?” she asked teasingly. “A big seduction scene?”
Jack’s pupils seemed to dilate a little. She liked that. She liked that a lot.
He gave the slightest raise of his eyebrows and dared to lean a little closer, letting her inhale the dark woody aftershave he’d put on.
He adjusted his package and held one hand palm up. “Let’s see. We’ve already shared a bed—how many times? We’ve kissed.” He gave a little smile. “Maybe twice. Do we need a seduction scene?”
She was fixed on his eyes. Had he always had such thick eyelashes? Why was she just noticing them now? She licked her lips subconsciously. “You can’t seduce me,” she said, her voice more hoarse than she’d expected. “I don’t date doctors, remember?”
He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “Who said anything about dating?”
*
Maybe it was the dim lighting. Maybe it was the slow buildup of momentum in their mutual attraction. Maybe it was the combination of reasons that they shouldn’t really be together.
But whatever their pasts, whatever the world had against them, it seemed that somewhere above those stars had aligned for tonight.
They walked down to the beach with her hand tucked inside his elbow. The tidy-up around them had started. There were lots of areas still needing attention. Buildings still requiring massive repairs. The path to the beach had a number of heavily bent palm trees, one appeared to have been completely torn from its roots, but other than that there were no major issues. The beach was deserted, just a pale expanse of sand and a virtually black sea.
Jack had grabbed a towel from the apartment so they had something to sit on. They settled down and he eased the aluminum foil open. The crinkling sound seemed to echo around them.
Amber bent down and inhaled, her hair falling around her and shielding her face. He resisted the temptation to reach out and pull it back. She sat back up, smiling. “You made it. Barbecue chicken.” Her eyes were gleaming in the pale moonlight. “You actually made it.”
“Of course I did. You requested it.” He gave a simple shrug as he handed her one of the plates that he’d brought from the kitchen. It only took a few moments to share out the chicken and potato salad that he’d made. Ingredients had been few but it was still better than eating at the evacuation center. He also opened the wine he’d acquired at the nearby shop.
“Darn it.” He shook his head. “We have no glasses.”
Amber gave him a fake look of horror. “You mean we’ll have to drink from the bottle? How classy.” She shook her head as she took the bottle from his hands and expertly removed the cork with the bottle opener. “Do you honestly think I’m that kind of girl?” She winked and put the bottle to her lips, extending her neck and tipping her head back, giving him a perfect view of her profile in the moonlight.
He caught his breath. It had been a long time since that had happened—in fact, had it ever happened before? In the space of a few days Amber Berkeley had started to burrow her way under his skin. He’d found himself looking for her constantly. Picking up on the sound of her voice, even when they weren’t in the same room. Wondering what she thought of him. And that last kiss—it had haunted him. In more ways than one…
Amber handed the bottle back to him, still smiling, then leaned back on her hands and sighed. “Wow.”
“Wow?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Look around. From here we can hardly see any sign of the damage. Just a beautiful beach with a mile of sand, an endless dark ocean with stars in the sky above.” She nodded in appreciation. “This is the Hawaii I imagined coming to. The one I had in my head. The daytime being yellow sand, bright blue ocean and a multitude of colored flowers, and the nighttime being beautiful, quiet and romantic.”
Jack smiled as he shifted to face her. “Romantic?”
From here she was bathed in the pale moonlight. It caressed her skin, showing the glow and the vitality. She closed her eyes for a second and breathed again. Then turned her head to face him. “Yes. Romantic.”
He paused. “What happens next, Amber?”
She licked her lips. He knew exactly what he wanted her to say.
She shifted on her hips so they were face on. She hadn’t stopped smiling. “I guess I’m not entirely sure. The last few days have been…strange.”
“Strange?”
She held up her hands. “Challenging. In a whole host of ways. Challenging for work. Challenging for life and…challenging for me.”
He could tell she needed to talk out loud. He nodded. “It’s been…different. I didn’
t come here expecting to find anything.”
“And have you?” Her eyes were wide with expectation.
He put his hand up to his chest. “I feel like I have. I came here wondering what came next. I came here just to present at the conference—to tell the rest of the world about our product. And that was it. That was all that I was here to do.”
“So what happened?” There was a teasing edge in her tone.
He met her twinkling gaze. “I met an unstoppable force. And it made me feel as if I found a little bit of myself again.”
“You did?” Her voice broke.
He nodded slowly as he licked his lips. “She made me feel as if I found a little bit of myself again.”
Amber moved. She hitched up her dress and put one leg over him, so she was sitting facing him.
“This is getting to be a habit,” said Jack hoarsely.
She slid her arms around his neck and tipped her head to the side. “I think it might be.”
His hands went to her waist. “Maybe we need to rethink your rule. Don’t most people say that rules were made to be broken?”
She lowered her head and whispered in his ear. “How about you convince me?”
“I think I can do that…”
And he did.
CHAPTER NINE
THE DOOR TO the room burst open. Amber sat bolt upright in the bed then remembered she didn’t have quite as many clothes on as she usually did. Kino, one of the emergency workers who was sharing their apartment, only momentarily blinked. “Amber, Jack. You’re needed. We’ve all been called in.”
Jack moved seamlessly. He stood up, grabbed a set of scrubs that were lying on the floor and stepped into them. He pulled on his shoes and immediately started asking questions. “What is it? What’s happened?”
Amber was still in the process of waking up and Jack was already dressed. Of course. An army doc. He was used to emergency calls. She’d never been good at the intern hours of putting your head on the pillow only for a page to sound yet again.
Kino kept talking. “A landslide. It’s caught one of the villages on the outskirts of Kailua Kona. Multiple casualties.”
Locked Down with the Army Doc Page 14
