CHAPTER TEN
‘OKAY, YOUR TURN...what else can we add to the list?’
‘Daniella, it’s impossible to drive a lumpy old van safely and think about these kinds of things.’ But Zac grinned as his mind whirled with images of Dani and a whole lot of trouble. ‘Chocolate mousse?’
‘Oh, God...’ She leaned in, her flowery scent driving him mad with desire, and nibbled on his ear. ‘Just stop the damned van. Now. Look! There’s a motel... Oh. You passed it?’
‘I told you, we have a lot more surprises in store. And all night.’
‘All night?’
‘One day, you said. Last time I looked that was twenty-four hours. Of which a good ten are at night. We could do a lot with chocolate mousse in that time.’ He pulled the van into a lay-by and took her into his arms again. After the longest, sweetest kiss so far he dragged himself apart from her. If he wasn’t careful one day with Dani could rapidly turn into one week. One year. One lifetime.
Whoa. Steady. He couldn’t lose focus. On the Jets winning. On the trust. On what happened after the madness.
But images of Dani in her smoky-grey dress, the heated kiss after dinner, the light in her eyes with Lamb Chops, with him. The way she’d refused to let Jaxon be punished for a mistake...the way she felt in his arms as if she was meant to be there. Everything about her mesmerised him, made him ache for more. Forget the yellow campervan, Dani was fast becoming a slice of sunshine in his dark life and he was in danger of being dazzled. ‘At this rate we’ll never be able to tick the things off my list.’
‘But I prefer the other list.’ She snaked her fingers down towards his zipper.
‘Oh, God, I’ve created a monster.’ He couldn’t help smiling. ‘But we have a—’
‘Yeah, yeah. Your blessed timetable.’ She snatched her hand away and planted another kiss on his cheek. ‘God, I just love that dimple. Okay, drive on McSexy.’
As Zac turned the van up the Treetops driveway a weird prickling at the back of his neck chased the desire from his veins. Something didn’t feel right. A large menacing black car with heavily tinted windows sat bang in the middle of the car park. Too executive, too fancy, for a kids care centre. Like the godfather had come to tea. His stomach knotted. Surely not.
‘Why are we coming here again?’ Dani’s grip on his knee tightened as they neared the house. ‘Is this part of the surprise?’
I wish. ‘I’m dropping off those tickets we promised Karl for the game tomorrow. Then you and I are supposed to be going horse-riding. I arranged with Tom that we could use the centre’s horses.’
‘Hoping for a Lady Godiva rerun?’
‘Well...now you come to mention it...really, more like a ride into the woods.’ As he saw Davide, then Matt, and then Jaxon step out of the sedan wearing dusky frowns he knew that plan was over. As was the rest of Dani’s special day. It didn’t look exactly like a welcoming party. His heart thumped strong and fast. ‘But right now I think we might be headed to hell.’
He cranked the handbrake and turned to Dani. Gone was the cheeky smile and the light in her eyes, replaced with dark shadows and a grim taut line for a mouth. ‘Hey, it might not be bad.’
‘Oh, yeah? Just look at Davide, all puffed up like a damned blowfish. It’s bad, all right.’
‘Davide, Matt, Jaxon.’ He nodded to each in turn. ‘Fancy seeing you all. How did you know we’d be here?’
‘Jaxon suggested you might be.’ Matt stepped forward; his breathing seemed laboured today. Unusual for him. His cheeks were unnaturally red and he stooped slightly. Probably the stress of Davide and the tournament getting to him. After the chaos was over there needed to be stress management talks and decent strategies put in place. ‘We needed to speak to you urgently, but neither of you answered your phones. Jaxon eventually told us about this place.’
‘Why? What’s the problem?’ Dani’s voice shook along with her hands.
Couldn’t this wait? And why the hell did this strong beautiful woman crumble every time she looked at her father? It drove him insane. ‘My phone never rang, must have been out of range. And just what is the problem that you needed to speak to us on our day off? We are allowed some time out and privacy.’
‘You want privacy? Then stay out of the headlines.’ Matt pulled a newspaper out of the car and squashed it into Zac’s outstretched hand. The look on the coach’s face told him everything he needed to know. There would be no after the tournament, no winning, no bonus—not for Zac anyway. A vice tightened around his chest. He had a sense of everything slipping away, out of reach. This day. His job. Daniella.
Everything he’d worked so hard towards—gone. In a moment of weakness when he’d made the wrong choice. Again.
‘No...’ He shook the paper and looked at the pictures of Jaxon staggering into the bar, waving his arms wildly and demanding alcohol. Of Dani and Zac carrying him out. Grainy CCTV images, but clear enough to see that the country’s great rugby hope had been drunk and disorderly, with two accomplices to clear up the mess. All the while C.J. had stood in the shadows, watching, calculating, a towel in his hand, relentlessly cleaning glasses. No point in explaining, it was all there. ‘You just can’t trust anyone, eh?’
‘Well, he made big bucks selling his story.’ Matt sneered. ‘And ruined our reputations in the process. The media’s having a field day.’
The paper crumpled in Zac’s tight fist. ‘Wait till I get hold of him.’
‘Leave it. He’ll be long gone.’ Dani’s hand covered his wrist and she shook her head. ‘They always are.’
It was as if she’d expected the betrayal. Her face was almost as red as Matt’s, eyes brimming with tears, but she smiled and shrugged. How could she take it so calmly? Her acceptance almost tore his heart to shreds.
That fierce protective streak she brought out in him fought its way to the surface. Whatever happened he had to convince her father that she had nothing to do with any of this. He wouldn’t stand by and watch her get hurt again. No point her losing her job or Davide’s respect when she’d worked so hard to get it back. She was a damned good physio; she’d see the team through to the final. On her own if she had to.
He glared at Matt, then at Davide, screwed the paper into a ball and threw it onto the plush leather car seat. ‘Yes, Jaxon made an error of judgement. And I may have done too, in hiding this from you. But Dani had absolutely nothing to do with this.’
‘But...it was...’ She stepped forward, her fingers hovering over her mouth.
Zac closed her down with a slight raise of his hand. ‘I made an executive professional decision. Alone. Jaxon was suffering from an acute setback. His mind wasn’t focused on the implications of his actions. As his doctor I assessed him and believed it was a temporary lapse. I wholeheartedly believe he won’t do it again.’ He looked towards Jaxon, who stared blankly at the ground. ‘And I know he’s very sorry.’
‘Not good enough.’ Davide spat his words out, anger shimmering through his body. ‘I won’t tolerate people going behind my back. Jaxon belongs to the Jets. To the nation. He’s in my team. I should have been told.’
‘No. Absolutely not. Break my code of conduct for you? No way.’ But he’d sold his soul to the devil when he’d signed his contract. All medical matters had to be discussed with management. He searched for Dani’s gaze, the fire in her eyes gave him added strength. Yes, they’d trodden difficult ground, but ultimately they had done the right thing. And, in the end, that was all that mattered. He could still hold his head high professionally; he’d just need to find another job. If only there was one that he’d want as much as he’d wanted this. ‘Talking broken bones is one thing, but acute stress is entirely different. I knew we could work it out, given time. And we had plenty of that before the next game. He’s my patient and is entitled to confidentiality.’
‘Not at the cost of the rest of the team. We have rules.’ Davide’s finger waved in Zac’s face. ‘You broke them and dragged my daughter down with you.’
&nb
sp; ‘No!’ Dani stepped forward again.
‘Leave her out of it.’ He fought back the anger surging through him. ‘I have professional standards to abide by. And common sense to adhere to. Your petty rules only serve for you to laud power over everyone, Davide. But they don’t work so well for the rest of us. Give the boy a break, everyone makes mistakes. Even you, when you left your daughter high and dry and desperate for help.’
‘How dare you. You don’t know anything about what happened then.’ Davide’s hand dropped to his side.
Zac opened his mouth to speak, to rally back at the old man, but Dani’s hand was on his arm. ‘No. Leave it please.’
‘Oh.’ Matt’s gasp had them all turning to the car. His grip on the door had his knuckles turning white. His shoulders slumped forward, his head dipped.
Knowing he wouldn’t want any fuss Zac turned him away from the staring group. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I could do without all this. I’m fine.’ Matt nodded, gasped. And again. ‘Darned indigestion. Won’t go away.’
‘Let’s go sit down.’ Zac started to peel Matt’s fingers from the door. But the coach wouldn’t budge. Held on to the metal for grim life. ‘I’m not having a discussion about this, Matt. We need to go inside, or go back to the hotel. And you need to rest up.’
‘The hotel...is a zoo of hacks...braying for the...story.’ Matt’s breathing had worsened. He seemed to be sucking in air as fast as he could. With a trembling hand he rubbed his chest. ‘The media...want Jaxon’s blood. Mine... Yours.’
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ Zac grabbed Matt’s wrist and took his pulse. Too fast. ‘Dani. Quick. Matt’s not well. I think he’s going to...’ As Matt slumped into his arms Zac steadied himself and took his friend’s weight. Dani ran over and helped lower him to the ground. She loosened Matt’s tie as Zac made as quick an assessment as he could. Conscious. Tachycardic. Tachypnoeic. He ran his hand over their patient’s sticky forehead. He was burning up. ‘Where’s the pain, mate?’
‘Here. Man...make it stop.’ Matt curled into the pain and rubbed his right side.
After a few seconds he seemed capable of speaking again. Zac continued with his questioning. ‘Sharp? Dull? Cramping?’
‘All the bloody time. Sharp.’
Right-sided upper abdominal pain. Not cardiac. Zac blew out a breath. Good. A heart attack out here in the middle of nowhere would not be good news. He glanced over to Dani; she looked up at him with such trusting eyes—but with a flare of defiance in there too. She was probably fuming over his refusal to allow her to take any blame for the Jaxon fiasco. The way he’d talked over her, which he’d never normally do, but under the circumstances... And right now he wanted to slap a kiss on those hungry-looking lips. But he had work to do. Always, always work came first. ‘Is the pain radiating anywhere?’
‘Back. Shoulder.’ Matt tried to sit up, winced and lay back down again. ‘But...game tomorrow...’
‘Let’s worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Do you feel sick at all? Have you been sick?’ Or was that on the list of Davide’s stupid rules too? No showing any kind of weakness. Zac examined Matt’s eyes. Very slight yellowing of the sclera. ‘Have you had the pain for long?’
‘On and off....a few days. Didn’t want to say anything.’
As he’d surmised. ‘Okay. We have to get you to the hospital. I think you might have gallbladder inflammation. Possibly gallstones. But it could be a lot of things. You need an ultrasound, X-ray and a whole screed of blood tests first.’
Davide finally joined them after watching the events unfold from a distance. He looked shaken and frail, and if it wasn’t for the fact this man held his future in his thick livery hands Zac might have felt a stab of pity for him. His team was falling apart in the middle of his most important effort at garnering success. And his daughter was at the centre of controversy, again. That had to hurt.
Her shaky smile bit him to the core. He wanted to wrap his arms round her and take her away from all of this. Now her day was spoilt, and depending on her father’s whim, her immediate future too.
Take control. This time—this time—he had to make the right choice. Not put himself first. Follow his heart, not his head. And this meant choosing for her.
They both knew his job was over. He needed to pick himself up and walk away, not drag her down with him, as Davide had so eloquently put it.
If he distanced himself from her now, made a clean break of it, then her mission to make things better with Davide could begin again. She’d get the respect she’d been seeking for years. Maybe the chance to bask in her father’s favour. ‘Dani, why don’t you drive your father and Jaxon back to the hotel in the campervan? Try to get some rest before tomorrow. It’s going to be a big day. I’ll take Matt to hospital in the car.’
‘Wouldn’t an ambulance be quicker?’
‘No.’ He forced himself to look away. The sooner he left, the better. He’d head straight home to Auckland once he got Matt settled. He focused again on his patient, forced all emotions to the back of his mind. Ignored the sharp stab of pain in his heart. The day was shot to hell. His life was shot to hell too. ‘It’ll take too long for an ambulance to get out here and then back into town. Can you phone ahead to the hospital and let them know to expect us?’ He helped Matt into the back seat, made him as comfortable as he could. ‘I’ll see if Tom has any pain relief I can give you. Are you okay with that, mate?’
Matt waved weakly. ‘Sure.’
Dani nodded, drew Zac to one side. Okay, so the emotions hadn’t been quite pushed as far back as he’d hoped. Just looking at her made his heart hurt. Knowing he’d probably never be this physically close to her again rocked him to the core. But he resisted the temptation to touch her.
She smiled a hopeful smile, haunted and anxious. ‘Let me know how you get on. Call me.’
‘Okay.’
‘And...?’
‘And. Nothing. I guess. Day over.’ He shrugged. Hating himself for coming across so cold. But the mask he’d worn for ten years had slipped and he was fitting it on again for size. He didn’t want to hurt her or himself. But if that was the price they had to pay to save themselves, then he’d pay it. They needed to end everything now.
Dani bit her bottom lip. Swallowed deeply. Took a huge breath and blew slowly out. Steadying herself, he guessed. She knew as well as he did that this was not the time and place to say goodbye. But she also had to know things couldn’t possibly work out between them. Never could have. ‘Okay, you take the car, that’ll be faster and smoother for Matt. And I’ll...’ She hauled in another breath. Her lip wobbled. ‘I’ll drive the campervan. Talk later?’
He leaned close. ‘I’m sorry, Dani.’
She nodded. Wiped a tear before it ran down her cheek.
‘But...’ Davide interrupted, oblivious to his daughter’s heartache. Again. His mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. ‘I can’t go in that thing.’
‘Davide, get in the van.’ Zac could barely contain his anger.
‘I can handle this.’ Dani stopped him, took the keys from his outstretched hand. She turned to face her father, dark clouds whipping behind her eyes. And Zac glimpsed a steel he’d never seen from her before. The same steel, he guessed, she’d used to conquer her demons. The same steel she’d use to get over this fling, this day...whatever it was they’d had. ‘Daddy. Get in the damned campervan.’
Davide gaped and flustered. His cheeks reddened further. ‘But...’
‘To hell with your image. Arriving in a bright yellow campervan might not be your idea of a good PR campaign...’ Zac could have sworn he saw a flicker of amusement in her face now. But it disappeared as she glared at her father. ‘It’s an emergency, so suck it up and put yourself further down the pecking order.’
‘But...’
This time her shoulders snapped back and she looked her father square in the eyes. The strong woman Zac had always known was there finally blossoming in front of her father. ‘For God’s sake. It’s not alway
s about you. The man’s ill. For once in your life, show some sympathy. Have a bloody heart.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘ZAC, ARE YOU back yet? What’s happening with Matt?’
What’s happening with us? Dani threw her cell phone onto the hotel bed. ‘Answer your phone!’
He’d been gone hours and hadn’t responded to any of her texts. All through the contretemps with her father she’d watched as he’d carefully withdrawn. Bit by bit he’d distanced himself, until there wasn’t a hint of warmth in those dark eyes any longer. He’d become the ultimate detached doctor. The heat of their frivolous chatter and long kisses had faded into nothing and there’d been nothing she could do about it.
Guilt bit deep. Guilt and a whole lot of something she didn’t want to put a name to. She’d stood by and let him do it. Didn’t fight for him. Or for the decisions they’d made about Jaxon. She’d let Zac take the blame for something she’d begged him to do. No one had ever protected her like that, taken the blame for something she’d done. Normally she was the first thing they’d trample over in order to get closer to her father. But Zac had put everything on the line for her.
And he’d fired back at her father too. Given her the courage to do the same. But then he’d edged further away, almost as if he’d made a conscious effort to do so. Fought for her, but not for himself and definitely for any kind of notion of them.
Her brain whirred with confused emotions. The fizz of their kisses, his tender touch, the sexy chatter, the crushing realisation that C.J. had sold them out. And now the reality that Zac would leave and she would stay and there was nothing she could do about it.
A weight pressed in her chest, heavy and dark and tight. She fought for a breath, tried to steady the nerves pinging through her body like a crazy pinball machine. It was over. Could never be real no matter how much she’d wanted it to be. She’d endured a lot in her life, but nothing had prepared her for how much she’d fall for him, or how much she’d hurt when things spiralled out of control. She felt like she was clinging to crumbling rock as everything collapsed around her.
The Last Doctor She Should Ever Date Page 14
