French Fling to Forever

by Karin Baine

  Lola was right. It was progress. He was going to have to defer to her on the subject of his niece. However much it galled him.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  AS LOLA MADE her way to the hospital the next morning her mind was less preoccupied with work than with her personal issues. There was no doubt that sharing her experiences with Gabrielle had been the key to getting the teenager to open up, but it had cost her a night without sleep. Nightmares and tears over those dark days, and worry over keeping Gabrielle’s secrets from Henri, had kept her awake. Yet it would all be worth it to prevent Gabrielle any further pain.

  If she didn’t want the school or her mother involved, then all Lola could do was offer her friendship. Perhaps if she’d had someone to turn to, life mightn’t have seemed so bleak to her back then.

  Lola went about her rounds, treating fractures and poorly patients without incident, the distraction of work good for settling her nerves.

  As she power-walked down the corridor, she encountered Henri for the first time since their impromptu dinner. A meal which had come to a surly end after she’d refused to divulge any information about his niece. Poor Bastien had been forced to eat his ice cream much more quickly than he would have liked.

  As they marched towards each other she braced herself for another attempt to break her loyalty. She nodded an acknowledgement and Henri grunted something unintelligible as he strode past. Whilst she didn’t want another guilt trip about keeping him out of the loop, this was plain childishness.

  She pivoted around. ‘I appreciate how frustrating it is for you, under the circumstances, but I’m sure Gabrielle will come to you when she’s ready. Snubbing me at work, however, is ridiculous. Surely we’re adult enough to separate our personal issues from our professional lives?’

  When she said ‘we’, she meant you. He needed to realise that she wasn’t required to jump at every click of his fingers. No doubt his control freakery was part of the reason Gabrielle didn’t want him involved. One whiff of the goings-on and he would be at the school, sandblasting everyone he came into contact with. In Lola’s opinion the matter needed handling with kid gloves—not a sledgehammer.

  He did a heart-stoppingly slow U-turn to face her. ‘I am trying to keep the matter private. That is why I hadn’t intended discussing it in the middle of the corridor. I’m grateful for your help with my niece, but do not use that as an excuse to undermine my authority at work.’

  Another one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn and he took off, leaving Lola with her mouth hanging open wide enough to fit both feet in. When would she ever learn that she and good-looking men simply didn’t mix?

  ‘Can you take this one for me? I’m run off my feet.’ Jules offloaded a file into her hands as soon as she walked into the department.

  ‘Sure.’ Lola’s heart sank as she scanned the case notes, but she didn’t have the option of saying no. This was her job, and she was going to have to treat all patients equally—regardless of age or gender.

  She paused outside the cubicle and took a deep breath. The way her heart seemed to be lurching into her throat one might have been forgiven for thinking she’d never been alone with a man before. It was the actions of a few who’d caused her to distrust the rest.

  ‘Okay, Mr... Smith. I see you’ve been in the wars today.’

  A man in his mid-twenties was lying bare-chested, his face and jeans covered in blood and dirt. With his once blond hair matted red, and the area around his right eye a beautiful shade of violet, he was a painfully colourful sight.

  ‘I walked into a door,’ he said with a smirk.

  He’d clearly been on the receiving end of someone’s fist, but Lola didn’t argue. All she had to do was patch him up and get him out. She leaned in to clean away the blood and find the source. The smell of stale cigarettes and beer assaulted her, taking her back to another time and place.

  Think of somewhere safe...someone safe.

  As she dabbed at the cuts on his scalp and face with cotton wool she imagined Henri beside her, despite their recent difference of opinion. She could almost smell his clean fragrance, so reassuring and familiar. It gave her the push to carry on.

  ‘I think you need a couple of stitches. Nothing serious.’

  Once she’d cleaned the wound in order to start suturing, she became aware of her patient’s eyes almost burning into her.

  ‘Do I know you from somewhere?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  She withdrew her hand as it began to shake. It wouldn’t do to send a patient out with crooked stitches.

  ‘I’m sure I’ve seen your face before.’

  He propped himself up on his elbows to peer at her, crossing so far into her personal space his breath prickled her skin.

  ‘I get that a lot.’

  A step back to deposit the soiled cotton balls in the wastebin meant she could breathe again.

  ‘I know you.’

  He was up off the bed before she could react, pinning her into the corner of the tiny cubicle. ‘We went to the same high school.’

  Lola gasped for air as her throat closed over. This was her worst nightmare come true—being confronted with her past with no obvious means of escape.

  ‘You’re mistaken. Now, if you’ll climb back onto the bed, we’ll get those stitches finished so you can go on your way.’

  ‘I remember you. Lola Roberts.’

  His revolting sneer confirmed that he’d witnessed the horrendous incident in her teens, maybe even been part of it.

  He moved closer. She stepped back until she hit herself against the trolley.

  ‘Please...’

  It was a plea for him to stop. The same pathetic voice she’d used ten years ago. It hadn’t worked then, either.

  He ran a hand along her arm and her goose-pimpled flesh reacted violently against it, despite the barrier of her white coat.

  ‘You’re definitely all woman now, Lola.’

  In her mind’s eye she could envisage that sea of faces staring at her, feel the hands holding her down, hear their drunken jeers ringing in her ears as she sobbed. This time she would scream for all she was worth if it came to it. She’d worked hard to overcome that paralysing fear—this was her chance to finally lay some demons to rest.

  ‘You can either sit back down and let me finish your treatment, Mr Smith, or I can call Security.’

  A strategic crossing of her arms shrugged him off and hid her shaking limbs at the same time.

  He narrowed his eyes at her. ‘Don’t get all uppity, now, Doctor. You’re no better than me. I can still picture you, with your DIY haircut and secondhand clothes. If I remember well, you weren’t so high and mighty when you were lying on the floor with your underwear pulled down.’

  Lola’s eyes burned with tears and memories, but she wouldn’t let those bullies continue to have power over her.

  ‘You were there that night? Perhaps I can pass on your details to the police. They’re still looking for witnesses and accomplices to the sexual assault of a minor.’

  It was a lie, of course. The incident had gone unreported since her brothers had taken the law into their own hands and risked being arrested themselves. The handsome rugby captain who’d lured her into the trap had taken quite a few weeks to heal after the beating he’d taken, and Lola had left the school soon after that fateful night.

  However, the threat of police involvement was enough to make her patient turn pale and get him to back off. The sense of power and relief at finding her voice again made her question why she didn’t start every day by kicking some arrogant male ass.

  That immediately brought a certain frosty registrar to mind. Henri was the perfect sparring partner—strong enough to boost her ego when she got a verbal win against him, intimidating without ever being a threat. A lot of her anxieties about
him had been laid to rest since seeing the way he was with his niece and nephew. Behind the grouchy outer shell there was a loving man with a heart of gold.

  She ignored the thought about kicking his ass. It wouldn’t do to linger on how cute it was when she was seeing more of him than her own family at the minute.

  Unfortunately her lapse in concentration was an open invitation for a predator like Smith. He clamped his hand around her elbow and jolted her back into the present danger.

  ‘If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep me out of it. Right?’

  She refused to let the mask slip and tried not to react to the fingers digging into her skin—or the inner voice telling her to knee him where it hurt and run. A big part of this job was keeping calm in the face of adversity, and it didn’t come more adversarial than physical assault.

  ‘Take. Your. Hands. Off. Me.’

  She maintained eye contact, kept her voice steady, even though every part of her was screaming either to karate chop him away or crumple to the floor. If she ever wanted to succeed and shake off the demons of her past she would have to front this out. This was a test of her courage and an indicator of how far she’d come in the past couple of years. One immature thug wasn’t going to break her now.

  ‘You’re needed at Reception, Dr Roberts. I can deal with this.’

  Henri barged in and the grip on her arm immediately relaxed. Mr Smith was decidedly less intimidating with someone bigger and stronger on the scene.

  Although Henri’s presence had changed the oppressive atmosphere in the cubicle, Lola wasn’t thrilled at his interference. If she wanted Gabrielle to stand strong it was important that she lead by example and not rely on someone else coming to her rescue.

  ‘I’m almost done here.’

  ‘They need you now. I’m sure your patient won’t mind if I take over.’ He didn’t give either of them a choice, bustling in to prep for suturing.

  The story didn’t quite add up. Why would anyone be so desperate for a first year’s expertise over a registrar’s? No doubt he thought she’d been taking too long with what was a minor injury. If he’d bothered to give her a chance to explain the delay in private he would have realised seeing this through to the end was more important to her than waiting times.

  ‘If you insist.’

  Not so long ago she’d have gladly deferred to her superior, but Mr Stompy-Boots had marched over her progress a second time. It was like taking one step forward and getting rugby tackled to the ground before ever reaching the touchline. For Henri’s sake, this had better not be about his personal issues with her. Now that her inner badass was getting airtime, if he wasn’t careful he’d find himself next on the list for a piece of her mind.

  Her body shook with suppressed rage and residual fear. She didn’t know which of the two men had done her more damage in the past few minutes. It was only the fact that she was physically and emotionally exhausted that put an end to her fight.

  * * *

  Henri waited until Lola had left and he knew she was safe before turning on the lowlife who’d had his paws all over her. She’d held her ground, but he’d seen the terror in her eyes as someone nearly twice her size had her cornered with no obvious means of escape.

  He’d only come down to apologise for the way he’d spoken to her earlier. After he’d had time to dwell on his behaviour he’d realised he should be working to keep her onside for the sake of his niece. As he’d waited outside the cubicle, trying to form adequate words to express his regret, he’d heard part of the conversation going on inside. Enough to prompt him to get her the hell out of there.

  Sexual assault of a minor?

  It didn’t bear thinking about that she’d been a victim of such a serious crime, and thus it came as no wonder that she had a tendency to be wary of others. Someone had stolen her trust, her innocence, and here she was working to help others.

  Lola was braver than he’d given her credit for. He’d burdened her with his personal problems without a thought for her own, even though since day one he’d pegged her as the weak link in an otherwise dynamic group of ambitious new doctors. Now not only was she his student, she was his family counsellor—someone he’d come to count on as his friend.

  It tore him apart that he hadn’t been able to prevent her from being hurt. Since no one had apparently been charged there seemed little he could do now except be there for her and play the role of protector that he’d perfected over the years.

  As he approached the patient he was duty-bound to treat, Henri’s hands weren’t as steady as they should have been with the needle. In his opinion Mr Smith didn’t deserve any compassion, and he’d be lucky if he didn’t leave with more injuries than he’d arrived with. But despite his personal feelings Henri knew his career depended upon him being a professional at all times.

  ‘Oww!’

  A professional whose bedside manner had a tendency to slip now and again.

  He closed the wound efficiently and without finesse. ‘You’ll need to come back in a few days to have the stitches removed.’

  Henri leaned in until he was nose to nose with Lola’s patient, taking some delight in turning the tables as the other man backed up against the pillows.

  ‘Make sure you ask for me. There’s no need for you to disturb Dr Roberts again. Do you understand?’

  If people insisted on labelling him as intimidating, he’d use it to his advantage when called for.

  There was no response.

  ‘Perhaps we should involve the police after all. We both know your injuries weren’t sustained by accident. I suspect men like you have a habit of getting on the wrong side of people. I can make the call now, if you’d like?’ Henri stuffed his hand in the pocket of his trousers to retrieve his phone.

  Smith scrambled to his feet and whipped the curtain back, showing more fear than Lola ever had. ‘It’s no skin off my nose. She’s still a freak.’

  Bare-chested, he crawled back to whatever hole he’d slunk out of. It wouldn’t end there, as far as Henri was concerned. Even with only partial knowledge of what had happened before he’d arrived on the scene, he wouldn’t rest until he knew the full story and found out what he could do to help Lola.

  * * *

  ‘You had no right to do that.’

  Lola ambushed him the minute he set foot back in his office. Henri should have known she wouldn’t take kindly to being sent on a wild goose chase to some non-existent emergency. But one look at her arms wrapped around her waist in a self-conscious hug and he knew he’d made the right call.

  ‘I want to know what happened, Lola. I’m as responsible for my junior doctors as I am for my patients. You don’t have to put up with anyone trying to make you uncomfortable when you’re trying to do your job.’

  His interference was a common source of discontent amongst all the womenfolk in his life. But after what he’d overheard he deemed it justifiable on this occasion.

  ‘Trying to do my job? Admit it—this is about your lack of belief in my abilities as a doctor. You don’t think I have what it takes, but I will prove you wrong. Difficult situations are part of the learning process, and I won’t get anywhere if you keep jumping in to bail me out.’

  She made no reference to the deeply personal aspect of the confrontation, but he could see the trauma of it reflected in those expressive sea-green eyes. If this was only about her journey into the world of medicine he would agree—the best thing for him to do would be to back off. After all, getting her to step up to the plate was what he’d wanted from the start. But this was about keeping her safe.

  He toyed with the idea of dropping the subject altogether, to save her from further discomfort, but she was the one who’d made the passionate plea about Gabrielle needing someone to talk to about her problems. And Henri hadn’t got his reputation from tiptoeing around people’s
feelings.

  ‘I heard what you said. About the police.’

  ‘It’s not your concern.’

  She stood firm, as obstinate as his sister and niece. Such independent spirit made it difficult for a man to be gallant without being accused of tyranny.

  ‘When one of my staff is accosted in my department it becomes very much my concern, chérie. Were you hurt?’ He balled his fists as his protective streak reared its ugly head.

  ‘I told you—I was handling it.’

  ‘I mean before. The assault.’

  Even saying it left a bad taste in his mouth. He couldn’t begin to imagine how it made Lola feel. She flinched, and he hated himself for making her relive it.

  ‘No. I wasn’t physically harmed, but I was humiliated... I really don’t want to discuss this with anyone.’ Lola shook her head and the tears sitting like dew on her eyelashes spilled down her face.

  It came naturally for Henri to go and put an arm around her shoulders. Despite his outward appearance, he was still a tactile Frenchman at heart.

  ‘If you need closure you can still press charges. I’ll support you.’

  Lola made a hiccupping sound as she swallowed a sob. ‘I don’t need your pity. Yes, things happened, and I had a hard time moving past them for a while, but that has no bearing on my training. If anything, I’ve become a stronger person for it. Not that it is any of your business.’

  ‘As my niece is none of yours. Yet I understand your involvement is best for her welfare.’

  He wanted her to take her own advice and let someone in. Despite the mention of her older brothers, he got the impression Lola was someone who preferred to work through her problems herself. He could empathise with that. Not once had he confided in anyone about the burden of guilt he carried over Angelique’s failed medical career. It didn’t mean it was healthy.

  ‘The difference is that you came to me for help with Gabrielle. I, on the other hand, can fight my own battles.’

  She was so determined to prove her strength she didn’t even wipe away her tears. As though denying their existence would render them invisible.