A Very Special Proposal

by Josie Metcalfe

  ‘Amy? What’s the matter?’ There was a touch of panic in his voice and she shook her head.

  ‘Nothing,’ she said with a shaky smile. ‘Nothing now, but I just remembered how it felt when I thought that was you lying there in a crumpled heap in the road.’

  He drew in an audible breath. ‘It was probably something like the way I felt when I saw that bike smash into the side of your car.’

  Their eyes met and clung as they each re-lived those moments of terror, speaking without any need for words about their mutual fear, each believing that the other had been seriously injured…even killed.

  ‘I should go…let you have your shower,’ he said, even as his eyes told her that he couldn’t bear to let her out of his sight.

  ‘Don’t go,’ she whispered, her feet carrying her to him without her having to think about it, the need to be with him so great. ‘Share it with me…’

  His eyes widened as her words registered, and she saw him swallow abruptly.

  ‘Do you mean it?’ he demanded hoarsely, then shook his head. ‘What am I thinking? Of course you don’t. It’s just because you’re overtired after a busy day, then there was the shock of finding out about Edward, then you were nearly killed and had to deliver a baby…’

  ‘And the only thing that matters,’ she said softly, when his jerky litany ground to a halt as his eyes followed her fingers as they trembled their way through the row of buttons on the front of her blouse, ‘is that I was terrified that you were dead and you were terrified that I was dead and we need to celebrate the fact that we’re both very much alive.’

  ‘And you won’t regret…?’ She silenced him with a fingertip on the lips she’d been fantasising about for ever.

  ‘The only thing I’ll regret is if you don’t turn that shower on and share it with me,’ she whispered, and replaced her finger with a teasing kiss.

  It hadn’t started out that way. Zach had been determined that what she needed most was a long hot shower to warm her to the core, but then she’d tempted him with a single kiss and it had exploded into something that warmed them both far faster than any shower.

  ‘No…stop!’ he ordered suddenly when she was convinced that he was every bit as eager as she was to start living the fantasy.

  ‘Stop?’ Her heart plummeted. It was the last thing she’d expected him to say.

  ‘I don’t want our first time to be like this,’ he groaned, even as his arms tightened around her to demonstrate just how perfectly their bodies matched. ‘I haven’t put the new shower in and I don’t want it to be hurried because the hot water might run out and we’ll get frozen again.’

  ‘So, does that mean there’ll be a second time?’ she asked, sliding against him provocatively.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ he growled, as he swung her up into his arms and stepped out of the cramped cubicle. ‘And every other time,’ he added, and it sounded like a promise.

  We could have had this for years, if my father hadn’t interfered, she thought with a brief flash of bitterness, then she dismissed such negative thoughts from her mind—they had no place there when this was the start of the rest of her life.

  Like a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky, she remembered the result of the Pap smear hanging over her head and it was her turn to call a halt, even though he was using his hands and his mouth to drive her nearly mindless with pleasure.

  ‘Zach…please…I need to talk to you,’ she pleaded urgently, having to grab both his hands in hers to stop his mind-blowing attentions to her quivering body.

  ‘Talk?’ he rasped in disbelief, and she closed her eyes, cursing the fact that she hadn’t thought about this sooner. She felt him drag in a steadying breath and then he dropped his head down until his forehead was pressed against hers. ‘All right.’ He blew the breath out in a steady stream that did nothing to cool her arousal. ‘But can you talk fast?’ he begged in a pathetic voice that nearly made her abandon the attempt.

  Except the topic was such a serious one that joking had to be put aside.

  ‘I don’t really know where to begin, so bear with me.’

  ‘We’re already as naked as we’re going to be,’ he growled under his breath, then lifted his head to give her an apologetic smile. ‘Sorry about that, but when you’ve been fantasising about something for this long…’

  He shrugged apologetically but it was something that Amy had desperately needed to know, that he’d been fantasising about her, too. She’d never dreamed that she would meet someone like him…to meet him again, in fact, and find that he was the perfect person to complement her in so many facets of her life.

  They enjoyed each other’s company, even doing something as simple as eating take-away fish and chips, and he’d definitely managed to tease her out of her comfort zone, letting her fulfil her fantasy of riding behind him on that powerful machine of his. He even made the manic pace of their work in A and E feel better—more fulfilling—and he made her feel bold enough to think about trying new things, but…but she was dreading the next few minutes.

  ‘I had…’ she croaked nervously, and had to clear her throat and start again. ‘I had a letter this morning about a cytology result,’ she began, in danger of hyperventilating as she searched for the right words.

  ‘About one of the patients?’ He frowned, clearly confused as to why she would bring such a topic up now, while they were…

  ‘No. About me,’ she clarified, then blurted out in a rush, ‘It said that my Pap smear result was ambiguous and they needed to repeat it.’

  His arms tightened around her but his voice was calmness itself. ‘So, have you made an appointment? Of course you have.’ He answered his own question as though it was obvious. ‘When are you having it done?’

  ‘I had it done today,’ she confirmed. ‘Now I just have to wait for the results.’

  While she’d been speaking he’d drawn his head back just far enough so that he could make eye contact with her, this time making no attempt to shield what he was thinking with the thick screen of lashes he’d used as a teenager. A small silence stretched out between them, as though he was waiting to see if she’d finished what she wanted to say, then he broke it with a strangely musing tone.

  ‘I’m glad you wanted to confide in me, glad you felt you could, but…’ He shook his head and deliberately cast his eyes down at the two of them naked. ‘Why now?’

  ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ she pleaded, feeling the sudden hot press of tears threatening and all the nightmare scenarios came tumbling out. ‘Until I get the results, I won’t know whether I’ve got cancer. I won’t know whether I’ll need an operation, or chemo or…’

  ‘Or what?’ he challenged softly, silencing her frantic words with a finger on her lips. A gentle caressing finger that went on to stroke its way through her hair, winnowing it out until it fanned around her head on the pillow. ‘Or whether I’ll want to have anything to do with you if you have got cancer? Is that why you stopped me from making love to you?’

  ‘No…Yes…’ Her breath caught and the tears were that much closer to returning and getting harder to fight. Had she come this close to having everything she’d ever wanted, only to have it snatched away?

  ‘Well, if that was the only reason why you stopped me fulfilling my most precious fantasy, then it’s a particularly poor one,’ Zach said in a fierce growl. ‘I’ve loved you ever since that first titration we did together in the science lab, and nothing—not ambiguous Pap smears, cancer, chemotherapy or the imminent obliteration of the universe—is going to stop that. So, if you don’t mind, I need to find my place again and continue where we left off.’

  Disbelief. Joy. Relief. There were too many emotions flooding through her for her to make sense of them when the only one that really mattered was love.

  She knew her smile was trembling a little but there was no hesitation when she wrapped her arms tightly around him.

  ‘I think you were here,’ she whispered, and tilted her head for the first kiss of the rest of
her life.

  Somewhere in the distance a phone was ringing, but Amy was so warm and comfortable and only just emerging from the most wonderful dream that she really didn’t want to open her eyes and dispel it.

  ‘Zach Bowman,’ rumbled a voice in the depths of the chest under her ear, and her eyes flew wide to discover that it had been far more than just another ephemeral dream. She really was in Zach’s bed, wrapped in his arms, and they really had made…

  ‘Fantastic!’

  …love together last night.

  It was a short call but she could tell that it was one that was putting a smile on his face. She could hear it in his voice.

  ‘What?’ she demanded as soon as he put the phone down.

  ‘That was PICU. Davey’s regained consciousness!’ Zach announced with a broad grin.

  ‘Oh, thank goodness!’ She chuckled. ‘I think his sisters dragged him out of it. They’ve been relentless, talking to him, getting their mother to read to him and enlisting Dee and Jonno.’

  That had been one of the unexpected results of the whole situation, the fact that Davey’s mother had asked to be put in touch with the young couple to thank them for their help and kindness, and the friendship that had sprung up between them. Amy had also been gratified to learn that both youngsters had been making enquiries about possible medical careers.

  Then Zach suddenly flipped her over and loomed over her with a purposeful expression on his face.

  ‘Good morning, beautiful,’ he whispered, but when she expected him to follow that up with a kiss he startled her by demanding, ‘So, you enjoy riding on the bike?’

  It took a moment for her brain to change gears.

  ‘When I’m not soaking wet and inadequately dressed,’ she agreed warily.

  ‘Inadequately dressed,’ he echoed softly, and his eyes darkened. ‘That’s another fantasy we might have to fulfil some time.’

  ‘What fantasy is that?’ She was already beginning to quiver deep inside. They’d already enacted a few and they’d only been together one night.

  ‘Oh, you know the sort of thing,’ he said airily. ‘You, the motorbike and very few clothes,’ he suggested wickedly, and she heard herself gurgle with delight.

  ‘I like the way your mind works, Dr Bowman. Any other ideas?’

  ‘How about that postponed trip to go ice-skating? That would give me an excuse to ogle those beautiful long legs of yours. Are you any good at it?’

  ‘I’ve never tried,’ she admitted, then grinned up at him. ‘But going on last night’s experience, we’ll be spectacular at whatever we do together.’

  ‘And even if we weren’t, we’d have fun,’ he pointed out, and she finally realised that he was deliberately teasing her and making her laugh to take her mind off the fact that her Pap smear result was hanging over her.

  ‘What if I can’t give you a child?’ she demanded suddenly, the words bursting out of nowhere to startle her nearly as much as him. ‘What if—?’

  ‘Shh!’ he soothed, combing his fingers rhythmically through her hair. ‘We’ll deal with that if it happens. Together. There are options and we’d decide which one is right for us…adoption…IVF…no children.’ Then he cupped her face between those clever talented hands as if to make certain that she was looking straight at him when he continued, his unforgettable dark eyes absolutely calm and full of love.

  ‘Amy, there’s only one thing that is totally non-negotiable,’ he declared seriously. ‘You have to love me and I have to love you and we have to spend the rest of our lives together.’

  ‘Mother. Father. We have something we want to tell you,’ Amy said, as soon as the four of them were settled in the restrained opulence of her parents’ sitting room.

  ‘If it’s about him…’ her father began, with a glare in Zach’s direction centred on their intertwined hands, only to subside just as swiftly when her mother shushed him with a glare of her own.

  ‘Actually, it’s about me,’ Amy said, grateful for the supportive grip Zach had on her hand. ‘I had to have a second Pap smear because the result of the first was inconclusive.’ Her father’s frown of incomprehension was almost amusing. Her mother’s gasp and loss of colour wasn’t. She clearly understood the significance, even if her husband didn’t.

  ‘Oh, Amy, why didn’t you say something?’ she demanded. ‘Have you taken the second test? When will the results be through? Have they told you what the likelihood is that it’s cancer?’

  ‘Cancer?’ her father repeated in shocked tones, for once the volume barely above a whisper. ‘You’ve got…?’

  ‘No. I haven’t,’ Amy told them firmly, the confirmation of her reprieve still overwhelming. ‘I didn’t want to tell you anything about it until I had the results, and they came through today. Apparently the original sample had been contaminated with blood, but the second one was completely clear.’

  Zach had called her Machiavellian for coming up with this strategy, and had agreed that it would probably suit their purpose, but when she saw the tears of relief gleaming in both her parents’ eyes, she felt quite guilty.

  ‘Oh, Amy, thank goodness!’ her mother exclaimed. ‘You must be so relieved.’

  ‘Very. If it had been positive, it might have meant that I’d never be able to have any children, and you’d never have been grandparents. As it is…’ She paused significantly to meet Zach’s loving gaze. ‘Zach and I have decided that we want to get on with that project as soon as possible, so this is your warning to get your best suit to the dry-cleaner and buy a new hat, because you’ve only got a month to do it.’

  ‘A month!’ her mother gasped. ‘You want to get married in a month? But that’s not nearly enough time to get anything organised. Surely…’

  ‘Mother, we’ve already been to see the registrar and fill in the forms,’ Amy said, then added pointedly, ‘We’ve waited fifteen years to be together and neither of us sees any point in waiting any longer. The cancer scare made us realise what was important.’

  Zach cleared his throat and Amy saw the colour darken the lean planes of his face as he spoke. ‘Mr and Mrs Bowes Clark, you don’t have to worry about Amy. I love your daughter and I will spend the rest of my life making her happy. I hope you’ll both be there to wish us well when we say our vows, but whether you are or not, we will be getting married in four weeks…’

  ‘And we will be disgustingly happy for the rest of our lives,’ Amy added with a wide, happy grin as words bubbled out of her. ‘And if all goes well, we’ll be making you grandparents approximately nine months after the wedding and hopefully at yearly intervals after that until we’ve got an absolute houseful, so we’ll need some very hands-on grandparents to come over and read them bedtime stories and—’

  ‘Amy?’ Zach interrupted quickly, sounding almost panicstricken. ‘A new baby every year?’

  ‘Well, perhaps we can negotiate that part as we go along,’ she conceded cheekily. ‘But my parents have been waiting a long time for the first one, and—’

  ‘You leave us out of this, my girl!’ her father decreed, apparently not certain whether to look disapproving or delighted by the sudden turn of events. ‘That sort of decision is strictly between husband and wife.’

  ‘But you will be there to wish us well?’ Amy asked, tightening her grip on Zach’s hand and feeling the answering pressure of his, steady and certain. He knew exactly how much it meant to her to have her parents’ approval even though it would make no difference to their decision.

  ‘Of course we’ll be there,’ her mother said with a tremulous smile. ‘How could we not be there for the happiest day of your life?’

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&n
bsp; IMPRINT: Medical

  ISBN: 9781489223111

  TITLE: A VERY SPECIAL PROPOSAL

  First Australian Publication 2016

  Copyright © 2006 Josie Metcalfe

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Mills & Boon®, Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia 2000.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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