Flirting with the Socialite Doc (Mills & Boon Medical)

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  His mouth flattened. ‘Don’t make this ugly, Izzy.’

  ‘You’re the one making it ugly,’ she said. ‘You’re making out that what we’ve shared has been nothing more than some tawdry little affair. How can you do that?’

  A pulse beat like a hammer in his jaw. ‘It was good sex. But I can have that with anyone. So can you.’

  Izzy looked at him in wounded shock. This was not how things were supposed to be. The flag of hope in her chest was slipping back down the flagpole in despair. It was strangling her. Choking her. He was supposed to tell her he wanted more time with her. That he wanted her to stay. That he loved her. Not tell her she was replaceable.

  Somehow she garnered her pride. ‘Fine. Let’s do it your way, then.’ She stuck out her hand. ‘Goodbye, Zach.’

  He ignored her hand. He stood looking down at her with a stony expression on his face as if everything inside him had turned to marble. He didn’t even speak. Not one word. Even the ticking pulse in his jaw had stopped.

  Izzy returned her hand to her side. She would not let him see how much she was hurting. She straightened her shoulders and put one foot in front of the other as she walked back to the lights and music of the community centre.

  When she got to the door and glanced back he was nowhere to be seen.

  * * *

  ‘All packed?’ Margie asked, her smile sad and her eyes watery, as Izzy was about to head off the next morning.

  ‘All packed.’ Izzy had covered the track marks of her tears with the clever use of make-up but she wasn’t sure the camouflage was going to last too long. Fresh tears were pricking like needles at the backs of her eyes and her heart felt like it was cracking into pieces. She’d lain awake most of the night, hoping Zach would come to her and tell her he’d made a terrible mistake, that he wanted her to stay, that he loved her with a forever love. But he hadn’t turned up. He hadn’t even sent a text. But that was his way. She had only known him four weeks but she knew that much about him. Once his mind was made up that was it. Over and out. No going back.

  Doug shuffled forward to envelop her in a hug. ‘Thanks.’

  Izzy knew how much emotion was in that one simple word. She felt it vibrating in his body as she hugged him back as if he too was trying not to cry. ‘Take care of yourself.’

  ‘Where’s Zach?’ Margie asked Doug. ‘I thought he’d be here to say goodbye.’

  Doug’s expression showed his frustration. ‘I haven’t seen him since daylight. Didn’t say a word to me other than grunting something about taking Popeye for a walk. Haven’t seen him since.’

  ‘But I thought—’ Margie began.

  ‘He said all that needed to be said last night,’ Izzy said, keeping her expression masked.

  ‘Should’ve been here to see you off,’ Doug said, frowning. ‘What’s got into him?’

  Margie gave him a cautioning look before reaching to hug Izzy. ‘I’m going to miss you so much.’

  ‘I’ll miss you too.’

  With one last hug apiece Izzy got into her car and drove out of town. She had to blink to clear her vision as an overwhelming tide of emotion welled up inside her; it felt like she was leaving a part of herself behind.

  She was.

  Her heart.

  * * *

  Zach skimmed a stone across the surface of Blake’s waterhole, watching as it skipped across the water six times before sinking. His record was fourteen skips but he wasn’t getting anywhere near that today. He had been out here since dawn, trying to make sense of his feelings after his decision last night to end things with Izzy.

  He kept reminding himself it was better this way. A clean cut healed faster than a festering sore.

  But it didn’t feel better. It felt worse. It hurt to think of Izzy driving away to her next post, finding some other guy to spend the rest of her life with while he tried to get on with his life out here.

  He had never been a big believer in love at first sight. He had shied away from it because of what had happened between his parents. They’d married after a whirlwind courtship and his mother had spent the next decade being miserable and taking it out on everyone around her.

  He didn’t want to do that to Izzy. She hadn’t had enough time to get to know herself outside a relationship. He had no right to ask her to stay. What if she ended up hating him for it after a few weeks, months or years down the track?

  He skimmed another stone but it only managed four skips before sinking. It felt like his heart, plummeting to the depths where it would never find the light of day again.

  He thought of Izzy’s smile, the way it lit up her face, the way it had beamed upon the dark sadness he had buried inside himself all those years ago. Would anyone else make him feel that spreading warmth inside his chest? Would anyone else make him feel alive and hopeful in spite of all the sickness and depravity of humanity he had to deal with in his work?

  Izzy was not just a ray of sunshine.

  She was his light.

  He’d wanted to tell her last night. He’d ached to tell her. The words had been there but he’d kept swallowing them back down with common sense.

  She was young and idealistic, full of romantic notions that didn’t always play out in the real world. He was cynical and older in years, not to mention experience.

  How could they make it work? How did any relationship work? Could they make theirs work?

  How could he let her leave without telling her what he felt about her? If she didn’t feel the same, he would have to bear that. At least he would be honest with her. He owed her that.

  He owed himself that.

  Zach drove out to the highway with Popeye on the seat beside him. ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this.’ Popeye gave an excited yap. ‘I mean it’s crazy. I never do things like this. We’ve only known each other a month. It’s not like she said she loved me. Not outright. What if I’ve got this wrong? What if she says no?’ His fingers gripped the steering-wheel so tightly he was reminded of his grip on the veranda rail all those years ago.

  What would have happened if he’d called out to his mother that day? Would it have changed anything? If nothing else, at least it would have assured his mother he loved her, even if she’d still felt the need to leave. He had never told his mother he loved her. Not since he was a little kid. That was something he would have to fix.

  But not right now.

  Miraculously, he suddenly saw Izzy’s car ahead. He forced himself to slow down and watched her for a while, mentally rehearsing what he was going to say. He wasn’t good at expressing emotion. He had spent his childhood locking away what he’d felt. His job had reinforced that pattern, demanding he kept his emotions under control at all times and in all places. What if he couldn’t say what he wanted to say? Should he just blurt it out or lead in to it? His stomach was in knots. His heart felt as if it was in danger of splitting right down the middle.

  He loved her.

  He really loved her.

  Not the pedestrian feelings he’d felt for Naomi.

  His love for Izzy was a once-in-a-lifetime love. An all-or-nothing love.

  A grand passion.

  A for-ever love.

  He suddenly realised her car was gathering speed. He checked his radar monitor. She was going twenty kilometres per hour over the limit! Acting on autopilot, he reached for his siren and lights switch, all the bells and whistles blaring as he put his foot down on the throttle.

  * * *

  Izzy was reaching for another tissue when she heard a police siren behind her. She glanced in the rear-view mirror, her heart flipping like a pancake flung by a master chef when she saw Zach behind the wheel, bearing down on her. She put her foot on the brake and pulled over to the gravel verge, trying to wipe the smeared mascara away from beneath her eyes. If he wanted a cold, clean break then that’s what she would give him. Cold and clinical.

  His tall, commanding figure appeared at her driver’s window. The rim of his police hat shadowed his eyes and his voice
was all business. ‘Want to tell me why you were going twenty over the limit?’

  She pressed her lips together. So that was going to be his parting gift, was it? A speeding ticket! ‘I’m sorry, Officer, but I was reaching for a tissue.’

  ‘Why are you crying?’

  ‘I’m not crying.’

  ‘Get out of the car.’

  Izzy glowered at him. ‘What is this?’

  ‘I said get out of the car.’

  She blew her cheeks out on a breath and stepped out, throwing him a defiant look. ‘See? I’m not crying.’

  His gaze held hers with his inscrutable one. ‘Either you’ve been crying or you put your make-up on in the dark.’

  Izzy put her hands on her hips and stared him down. ‘Is it a crime to feel a little sad about leaving a town I’ve grown to love? Is it, Sergeant show-no-emotion Fletcher? If so, go ahead and book me.’

  A tiny glint came into his eyes. ‘You love Jerringa Ridge?’

  She folded her arms across her chest, still keeping her defiant glare in place. ‘Yes.’

  ‘What do you love about it?’

  She was starting to feel a flutter of hope inside her chest, like a butterfly coming out of a chrysalis. ‘I love the way it made me feel like I was the most beautiful person in the world. I love the way it made me feel passion I’ve never felt before. I love the way it opened its arms to me and held me close and made me feel safe.’

  ‘That all?’

  ‘That about covers it.’

  He gave a slow nod. ‘So...Brisbane, huh?’

  She kept her chin up. ‘Yes.’

  He took off his hat and put it on the roof of her car, his movements slow, measured. ‘You looking forward to that?’

  ‘Not particularly.’

  ‘Why not?’

  Izzy looked into his now twinkling eyes. ‘Because I’d much rather be here with you.’

  He put his arms around her then, holding her so tightly against him she felt every button on his shirt pressing into her skin. ‘I love you,’ he said. ‘I should’ve told you last night. I almost did...but I didn’t want to put any pressure on you to stay. A public proposal seemed...I don’t know...kind of tacky. Kind of manipulative.’

  She looked up into his face with a wide-eyed look. ‘A proposal?’

  His expression was suddenly serious again. ‘Izzy, darling, I know we’ve only known each other a month. I know you have a life back in England, family and friends and roots that go deep. I would never ask you to give any of that up. All I’m asking is for you to give us a chance. We can make our home wherever you want to be. I can employ a manager for Fletcher Downs. Dad and Margie will be able to keep an eye on things. We can have the best of both worlds.’ He cupped her face in his hands. ‘You are my world, darling girl. Marry me?’

  Izzy smiled the widest smile she had ever smiled. ‘Yes.’

  He looked shocked. Taken aback. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Yes, Zach.’ She gave a little laugh at his expression. ‘I will marry you. Why are you looking so surprised?’

  ‘Because I didn’t think it was possible to find someone like you.’ He stroked her hair back from her face, his expression tender. ‘Someone who would make me feel like this. I didn’t know it could happen so fast and so completely. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I think a part of me realised that the first time we kissed. It scared the hell out of me, to tell you the truth.’

  ‘I felt that way too,’ Izzy said. ‘I was so miserable last night. I couldn’t believe you were just going to leave it at that after all we’d shared. Our relationship was supposed to be a fling but nothing about it felt like a fling to me.’

  He hugged her tightly again. ‘I was trying to do the right thing by you by letting you go. But I couldn’t believe how the right thing felt so incredibly painful. I decided I had to tell you how I felt, otherwise I’d spend the rest of my life regretting it.’

  Her eyes twinkled as she looked up to hold his gaze. ‘Promise me something?’

  ‘Anything.’

  ‘No five-star destinations for our honeymoon, OK?’

  His eyes glinted again. ‘You want to go camping?’

  ‘Yes, and I want to swim naked and make love under the stars.’ She hugged him close. ‘I don’t even mind if Max comes along as long as he has his own tent.’

  ‘No way, baby girl,’ Zach said. ‘Max will have to find another place to stay while we’re on our honeymoon. I’m not sharing you with anyone. Where is he, by the way?’

  She gave him a sheepish look. ‘He’s in the boot. He wasn’t too happy about being stashed in there but your dad and Margie came to say goodbye and I didn’t have time to let him down properly.’

  Zach grinned at her and pulled her close again. ‘Maybe if I kiss you right now I won’t think I’m dreaming this is happening. What do you reckon?’

  She smiled as his mouth came down towards hers. ‘I think that’s an excellent idea.’

  * * * * *

  ISBN: 978 1 472 04536 2

  FLIRTING WITH THE SOCIALITE DOC

  © 2014 Melanie Milburne

  Published in Great Britain 2014

  by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited

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