The Australian's Proposal (Mills & Boon By Request): The Doctor's Marriage Wish / The Playboy Doctor's Proposal / The Nurse He's Been Waiting For

by Meredith Webber

  ‘How’s Emily holding up?’

  ‘She’s loving every minute of it but going absolutely mad. And she’ll need a lot of make-up tomorrow to cover red cheeks from all the affectionate pinching she’s getting.’ Susie’s head was still turning as she scanned the rest of the arrivals. ‘Let’s go and find your bag before we get swamped. If Sophia starts introducing me as the chief bridesmaid, I’ll probably get my cheeks pinched as well. Oh, my God!’ Susie did a double take as she lowered her voice. ‘Who is that?’

  There were two men standing a little to one side of the crowd, their attention on the signs directing them to the baggage collection area. One of them was Ryan. His head started to turn as though he sensed Hannah’s gaze so she transferred it quickly to the other man. It was easy to recognise the person who had been dozing in the seat beside her on the last leg of her long journey. In that suit, he had to be even hotter than Hannah was in her jeans.

  ‘He’s an American,’ she told Susie. ‘A neurosurgeon. Alistair … someone. He’s here for the wedding but he didn’t say much about it. I got the impression he wasn’t that thrilled to be coming.’

  ‘That’s Gina’s cousin, then. Gorgeous, isn’t he?’

  ‘I guess.’ Hannah hadn’t taken much notice. Who would, when someone that looked like Ryan Fisher was nearby? ‘Gina?’

  ‘Also American. A cardiologist. She’s getting married to Cal next weekend. I told you all about her at Christmas. She arrived with her little boy, who turned out to be Cal’s son. Cal’s one of our surgeons.’

  ‘Right. Whew! Two weddings in two weeks?’

  ‘Wedding city,’ Susie agreed. She was leading the way past where the men were standing. Hannah could feel the odd prickle on the back of her neck that came when you knew someone was watching you. She didn’t turn around because it was unlikely that she’d feel the stare of someone she didn’t know with such spine-tingling clarity.

  ‘Some people are going to both weddings,’ Susie continued, ‘and they’ve had to travel to get here so everybody thought they might like to just stay and have a bit of a holiday in between.’

  ‘He won’t have much of a holiday if he stays in that suit. And I thought I was overdressed!’

  ‘Oh! The guy in the suit is the American?’ Susie threw a glance over her shoulder. ‘So who’s the really gorgeous one who’s staring at you?’

  Hannah sighed. ‘That’ll be Ryan.’

  ‘Ryan Fisher? The best man?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Wow!’ Susie’s grin widened. ‘My day’s looking up! Mike told me what a fabulous guy he is but he forgot to mention he was also fabulous looking.’

  ‘Don’t get too excited,’ Hannah warned.

  ‘Why? Is he married?’

  ‘No, but he might not be too friendly.’

  Susie’s eyebrows vanished under the curls on her forehead. ‘Why not?’

  Hannah sighed inwardly, feeling far too hot and weary to start explaining why her sister could well have to deal with unreasonable antipathy from someone because he disliked her mirror image.

  ‘I’ll fill you in later.’ It was much easier to change the subject. Very easy, in fact. ‘Good grief!’

  ‘What?’ Susie’s head turned to follow the direction of Hannah’s astonished stare at the small, dark woman wearing black leather pants, a top that showed an amazing cleavage and … red stiletto shoes. ‘That’s Georgie.’ She smiled. ‘You’ll meet her later.’

  As though that explained everything! ‘She must be as hot as hell in those clothes.’

  ‘She’s got super air-con for travel. She rides a Harley.’

  ‘In stilettos?’ Hannah’s peripheral vision caught the way Ryan was also staring at the woman. There was no mistaking the appreciative grin on his face. ‘Good grief,’ she muttered again.

  ‘I guess Georgie’s here to meet Alistair. Georgie’s Gina’s bridesmaid and Alistair’s here to give Gina away. He was supposed to arrive yesterday but his flight from the US was delayed by bad weather, and Gina and Cal are on one of the outer islands today, doing a clinic. So wow! Georgie and Alistair …’ Susie shook her head. ‘Leathers and pinstripes. They look a perfect couple. Not! Is that your bag?’

  ‘Yes. Coming off first for a change.’

  ‘Let’s go, then.’

  While it was a relief to escape the terminal building—and Ryan—it was a shock to step back out into the heat. And the wind. Huge fronds on the palm trees were bowing under its strength and Hannah had to catch her hair as it whipped into her face.

  ‘Hurry up, Hannah! My car’s over here and we’re going to run out of time if we don’t get going.’

  ‘But the wedding’s not till 4 p.m. tomorrow.’ It was too hot to move any faster. ‘What’s the rush?’ Hannah climbed reluctantly into the interior of a small hatchback car that felt more like an oven and immediately rolled down her window.

  Susie started the engine and fiddled with the air-conditioning controls. ‘It’s all a bit frantic. I’m sorry. There’s a rehearsal later this afternoon and I’ve got a couple more patients I just have to see before then.’ She turned onto the main road and the car picked up speed rapidly. ‘If you roll up your window, the air-con will work a lot better.’

  Hannah complied and a welcome trickle of cool air came from the vents.

  ‘Are you seeing your patients at your rooms?’

  ‘No, I’ve finished the private stuff for today. These are hospital cases. Old Mrs Trengrove has had a hip replacement and absolutely refuses to get out of bed unless I’m there to hold her hand, and Wally’s been admitted—he’s one of my arthritis patients and it’s his birthday today so I’ll have to go and say hello.’

  ‘Do you want to just drop me off at your place? I’m sure I could find my way to the beach and have a swim or something.’

  ‘No, you can’t swim at the beach. The water’s all horrible because of the awful weather we’ve had in the last few days and it’s stinger season. With the big waves we’ve been getting, the nets might not be working too well. Besides, I want to show you around the hospital. If you take your bathing suit, you could have a dip in the hospital pool.’

  ‘Sounds good.’ Hannah tried to summon enthusiasm for the busman’s holiday delight of visiting the hospital.

  ‘It’s fabulous. You’d love it, Hannah. Hey …’ Susie turned to look at her sister. ‘They’re always short of doctors. You could come and live with me for a while.’

  ‘I couldn’t stand working in heat like this.’

  ‘It’s not always like this.’

  ‘It is beautiful.’ Hannah was looking past sugar-cane plantations and the river towards rainforest-covered mountains in the distance.

  ‘Wait till you see the cove. You’ll fall in love with it just like I did.’

  ‘The roads are quieter than I expected.’

  ‘Bit quieter than usual today. I expect it’s got something to do with the big fishing competition that’s on.’

  They crossed the river that gave Crocodile Creek township its name, drove through the main part of town and then rattled over an old wooden bridge to cross the river again. Rounding the bend on a gentle downhill slope, Hannah got the postcard view. The picture-perfect little cove with the white sandy beach and the intriguing, smudged outlines of islands further out to sea.

  ‘The sea’s the wrong colour at the moment,’ Susie said apologetically. ‘It’s usually as blue as the sky. That’s the Athina.’ She pointed at the sprawling white building with Greek-style lettering on its sign that advertised its function as a boutique hotel. ‘That’s where the reception is being held tomorrow. And that rambling, huge house on the other side of the cove is the doctors’ house.’

  ‘Ah! The original hospital which is now the hotbed of romance.’

  ‘Don’t knock it!’ Susie grinned at her sister. ‘You could live there if you didn’t want to squeeze into my wee cottage. Who knows? You might just find the man of your dreams in residence.’

  �
�Doubt it.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Susie chuckled. ‘The man of your dreams is probably buried in a laboratory somewhere. Or a library. Or an accountant’s office.’

  ‘Dad was an accountant,’ Hannah reminded her. ‘It didn’t stop him being a lot of fun.’

  ‘True.’ Susie was silent for a moment. ‘And Trevor was a brain surgeon and had to be the most boring man I’d ever met.’

  ‘Hey, you’re talking about the man I was engaged to for three years.’

  ‘And why did you break it off?’

  Hannah laughed. ‘Because I was bored to tears. OK, I agree. There should be a happy medium but I haven’t found it yet.’

  ‘Me neither,’ Susie said sadly. ‘There always turns out to be something wrong with them. Or, worse, they find something wrong with me.’ She screwed up her nose as she turned towards her sister. ‘What is wrong with me, Hannah?’

  ‘Absolutely nothing,’ Hannah said stoutly. ‘The guys are just idiots and don’t deserve you. You’re gorgeous.’

  ‘That makes you gorgeous as well, you realise.’

  ‘Of course.’ Hannah grinned.

  This was what she missed most about not having Susie living nearby any more. The comfort of absolute trust. Knowing you could say anything—even blow your own trumpet—without having it taken the wrong way. Not that they didn’t have the occasional row but nothing could damage the underlying bond. And nothing else ever came close to the kind of strength a bond like this could impart.

  ‘We’re both gorgeous,’ she said. ‘Smart, too.’

  ‘I’m not as smart as you. You’re a brilliant doctor, soon-to-be emergency medicine specialist. I’m only a physiotherapist.’

  ‘You could have easily been a doctor if you’d wanted, as you well know, Susan Jackson. You’re doing what you want to do and you’re doing it brilliantly. Anyway, being seen as clever isn’t an advantage when it comes to men. It intimidates them.’

  Although Hannah had a feeling that Ryan Fisher would be stimulated rather than intimidated by an intelligent woman if he ever bothered trying to find out.

  ‘Look!’ Susie was distracted from the conversation now. ‘That’s the Black Cockatoo, our local. And that’s Kylie’s Klipz. Kylie’s amazing—looks like Dolly Parton. She’s our hairdresser and she’ll be doing all the hair and make-up for tomorrow. That’s the Grubbs’ place with that rusty old truck parked on the lawn and … here’s my place.’

  Susie parked outside a tiny cottage with two front windows in the shade of a veranda that was almost invisible beneath bougainvillea.

  ‘Cute!’

  ‘Speaking of cute.’ Susie was unlocking her front door as Hannah carried her bag from the car. ‘What’s wrong with Ryan Fisher? Was he rude to you on the plane or something?’

  ‘Not exactly. I just happen to know he’s a player.’

  ‘How do you know that? Do you know someone that works with him in Sydney?’

  ‘He doesn’t work in Sydney any more. He works in Auckland.’

  ‘As in the same place you work?’ Susie had opened the door but hadn’t made any move to go inside.

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘He’s in your ED?’

  ‘He’s the guy who’s after my job. I told you about him.’

  Susie’s jaw dropped. ‘Ryan’s the holiday king? The Aussie playboy who’s been driving you nuts with all those blonde jokes?’

  ‘That’s him.’

  ‘The one who’s out to date every nurse in the department in record time?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘So why have you been calling him Richard the third in your emails?’

  ‘Because he reminds me of that bastard that Mum fell in love with when she’d finally got over Dad’s death. And the creep who dumped you just before you went to Brisbane. He’s a certain type. Skitters through life having a good time and not worrying about hurting anyone along the way. A flirt.’

  ‘I’ll bet he doesn’t have any trouble getting a response.’

  ‘He drives a flashy car. A BMW Roadster or something.’

  ‘Nice. Soft top?’

  Hannah ignored the teasing. ‘He knows I can see right through the image. He hates me, too.’

  Susie finally moved, leading the way into one of the bedrooms at the front of the cottage. ‘I didn’t get that impression from the way he was staring at you at the airport.’

  ‘He was probably staring at you. At us. Wondering how he could be unlucky enough to be partnered with my clone.’

  ‘That bad, huh?’

  ‘Yep.’ Hannah threw her suitcase onto the bed and snapped it open. ‘No time for a shower, I don’t suppose?’

  ‘Not really. Sorry. Put your togs on under your clothes and take a towel. You can swim while I do my patient visits.’ Susie made for the door. ‘I’d better throw a shirt over this top so I look more respectable to go to work. It’s lucky we don’t stand on ceremony much around this place.’

  It was blissful, pulling off the denim and leaving Hannah’s legs bare beneath the pretty, ruffled skirt that she chose. The lacy camisole top was perfectly decent seeing as she was wearing her bikini top instead of a bra. Hannah emerged from the room a minute later to find Susie looking thoughtful.

  ‘I just can’t believe that the guy Emily was telling me about is the same guy you’ve been describing. As far as Mike’s concerned, he’s a hero. Practically a saint.’

  Hannah dampened the image she had of Ryan when he was about to ignore the captain’s direction to stay safely seated during severe turbulence to go and help where he was needed. He certainly had the courage that provided hero material. But a saint? No saint could get away with emitting that kind of sexual energy.

  ‘Mike’s not a woman,’ she said firmly. ‘I doubt there’s a saintly bone in that body.’

  ‘You could be right.’ Susie’s forget-me-not blue eyes, the exact match of Hannah’s, were still dreamy. ‘He’s got that “bad boy” sort of edge, hasn’t he?’

  ‘I wouldn’t say it like it’s a compliment.’

  Susie closed the front door behind them. ‘Shall we walk? It’s only a few minutes if you don’t mind being blown about.’

  ‘Yes, let’s blow the cobwebs away. I could do with stretching my legs after all the sitting in planes.’

  With a bit of luck, the wind might blow the current topic of conversation away as well.

  No such luck.

  ‘You have to admit, it’s attractive.’

  ‘What is?’

  ‘That “bad boy” stuff. The idea that some guy could give you the best sex you’ve ever had in your life because he’s had enough practice to be bloody good at it.’

  Hannah laughed, catching her skirt as it billowed up to reveal her long legs. A car tooted appreciatively as it shot past. Thank goodness she was wearing a respectable bikini bottom instead of a lacy number or a thong and that her summer tan hadn’t begun to fade yet. Despite being blonde and blue-eyed, she and Susie both tanned easily without burning.

  ‘I don’t do one-night stands or even flings,’ Hannah reminded Susie. ‘You know perfectly well the kind of trouble they lead to.’

  ‘Yeah.’ But Susie seemed to have finally got over her last heartbreak. ‘But you always think you might just be the one who’s going to make them want to change. And they’re such fun at the time. To begin with, anyway.’

  They walked in silence for a minute and Hannah looked down the grassy slope dotted with rocks and yellow flowers that led to the beach. A quite impressive surf from the murky sea was sending foamy scum to outline the distance up the beach the waves were reaching.

  ‘You’ve never done it, have you?’ Susie asked finally. ‘Let your hair down and gone with sheer physical attraction? Slept with someone on a first date or fallen in love just because of the way some guy looks at you.’

  ‘Never.’ If she said it firmly enough she could convince herself as well, couldn’t she? She couldn’t admit, even to Susie, how often Ryan infiltrated her thoughts in th
e small hours of the night. It was lust she felt for the man. Nothing more.

  Or should that be less?

  ‘Sometimes I wish I were as strong as you,’ Susie said wistfully.

  ‘Someone had to be, in our family. The voice of reason, that’s what I was. The devil’s advocate.’

  ‘You were always good at picking out what was wrong with the men Mum brought home.’

  ‘Just a pity she never listened to me. She lost the house because she went ahead and married that slimeball, Richard the first.’

  ‘Yeah. At least she’s happy now. Or seems to be. Jim adores her.’

  ‘And he’s comfortably off and perfectly sensible. I’m sure Mum’s learned to love fishing.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  Hannah couldn’t blame Susie for sounding dubious. She made a mental note to ring her mother as soon as she got home.

  ‘Come this way.’ Susie pointed away from the signs directing people to the emergency and other departments of Crocodile Creek Base Hospital. ‘We’ll cut through the garden to the doctors’ house and I can show you the pool and then shoot off and see those patients. Might be better if we leave the hospital tour until Sunday. Your flight doesn’t leave till the afternoon, does it?’

  ‘3 p.m.’

  ‘Bags of time. I’ll be able to introduce you properly to every hungover staff member we come across instead of confusing you with too many names.’

  ‘I’ll meet them at the wedding in any case.’

  ‘You’ll meet a few of them tonight. We’re hoping to whisk Emily away after the rehearsal and take her out to dinner to give her a kind of hens’ night. Which reminds me, I need to pop into the house and see who’s going to be around. Gina might be there and Georgie should be back by now.’

  ‘Is the dinner going to be at the Athina?’

  ‘Heavens, no! Sophia already has the tables set up and about three thousand white bows tied to everything. She’ll be making the family eat in the kitchens tonight, I expect—or they’ll be roasting a lamb on a spit down on the beach. Such a shame about this weather.’

  The lush tropical garden they were entering provided surprisingly good shelter from the wind thanks to the thick hibiscus hedges, and Hannah found she was too hot and sticky again. Her head was starting to throb as well, probably due to dehydration.