The Nurse's Twin Surprise. Sue MacKay
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on the third floor. Think I can manage,’ she muttered. ‘See you tonight.’ The lock clicked and she nudged the wide door open. ‘I’m glad I went to breakfast. It was fun.’
Warmth stole across his skin and he had to refrain from reaching out to touch her. ‘Glad you came. Now, I’d better get going. I’ve got things to do before I pick Cole up from the airport.’
A frown appeared between those fall-into-them eyes. ‘I thought he wasn’t going to be around for her birthday.’
‘It’s a surprise. He managed to wangle a weekend’s leave. The rest of his contingent is on the way home via Darwin, while he’s coming direct from KL.’
‘There goes the shopping.’ Molly smiled. ‘She can’t work tonight.’
‘I organised that without letting slip what’s going on. I’ll tell her when I drop Cole off.’
‘Good on you. It’d be awful if she had to waste this opportunity of having time out with her man.’ Though filled with longing—for what, he had no idea—at least Molly’s sigh was better than her quiet, mousy look.
Not mousy. Not any more. Sauntering towards his car, he called over his shoulder, ‘See you tonight.’ Time to put distance between them before he did something silly, like ask why it had taken weeks for her to front up and socialise with the people she worked with. That would put a stop to getting closer.
Nathan remained beside his car until Molly went inside and the door had closed behind her. Then he got in and drove on to Coogee and his small piece of paradise, his mind busy with all things Molly. She’d tipped him sideways by wanting little to do with him.
Except go for a spin in this beast.
No matter what else came up, he’d find time to follow through on that. Hopefully this weekend, so he could get to spend time unravelling the façade Molly showed the world.
Don’t think that’s going to happen in a hurry.
Better remember to get her number tonight.
Pulling up at traffic lights, Nathan tapped the steering wheel in time to the rock number playing on the radio. A strident ringing from the passenger side of the car intruded. Leaning over, he fossicked around until his fingers closed over a phone. Had to be Molly’s. His finger hovered over the green circle, but of course he couldn’t answer it. If for no other reason than she’d kill him.
A smile slowly spread across his face. Now he had a reason to return to her apartment and speak to her, and get her phone number at the same time.
‘HOT DAMN.’
Molly leaned back against her apartment door as it clicked shut and tried not to think about Nathan. Like that was going to happen.
A grin spread across her face. What a morning. They’d gone from grumping to talking to smiling and then he’d driven her home and insisted on walking to the entrance with her. He’d have come up here if she’d let him.
She looked around the tiny space, smaller than Gran’s chicken coop, and sighed, glad he wasn’t seeing this. The shoddy apartment block would’ve already given him reason to wonder why a nurse on a reasonable wage would choose to live here. But it was ordinary, wouldn’t attract attention.
She kept the apartment simply furnished with the bare basics in an attempt to make the rooms feel larger. The polished wood furniture came from her grandmother’s cottage after Gran died. The furniture had lain in storage until Molly had moved to Adelaide and set up house on her own. The only good thing about Gran’s passing was that she didn’t get to hear she had been right about Paul. She would’ve gone after him with her sewing scissors.
No one came to the apartment. Lizzie, her best friend back in Perth, kept saying she’d visit but never managed to make it happen with her job taking her offshore for weeks at a time. Molly missed her more than anyone from her previous life. They’d done so much together, shared a lot of laughs and tears, always been there for one another. But, more important, Lizzie had believed her right from the beginning when she’d said Paul hit her, and she hated him almost as much as Molly did.
Paul Bollard. Nathan Lupton. They were nothing alike. One evil. The other caring. Both could be charming, strong, over-confident. That spooked her. Paul had wooed her as though she had been a princess, at first making her feel like one. Nathan confused her, sometimes making her cross and occasionally, especially this morning, all soft on the inside.
She huffed the air out of her lungs. Nathan wasn’t wooing her and, by the expressions that crossed his face at times, had no intention of doing so. Fine. With a hideous marriage behind her, the wedding ring long gone in the bin, as of this week she was single and wanting to trust and love again, but she was very, very cautious.
Going out to breakfast had been the best thing to happen to her in a long while. She worked with a great bunch, and from now on she’d attend every get-together anyone proposed. She’d also get involved with more than the charity shop. Fake it till she made it. This latest and final version of herself would not be the socialite of the past, or the cowering abused woman. Married two years, separated for two, now alone. If nothing else, she’d become more caring and understanding of other people. Mrs Molly Bollard was gone for ever.
In the kitchenette she filled the kettle for a cup of tea. Sleep would be elusive while her mind was going over the morning. Pride lifted her chest. She’d managed to fit in with her workmates to the point she’d relaxed enough to forget everything that had brought her to that point. So much so, she’d even managed to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. Now, there was a step in the right direction, and she mustn’t stop at that. There was a city out there to get to know, and if she was careful not to keep her distrust to the fore, she didn’t have to carry on being alone, could make friends in all facets of her life.
Did Nathan go to the meals every time the staff got together? She chuckled. He wouldn’t do the shopping expeditions. She mightn’t be fully ready for a partner or even a lover, but spending time over a meal with a man who laughed, grumped, looked out for others, could not be time wasted.
The doorbell chimed. Molly spun around. No one visited her. Bang went her heart. Crunch went her stomach.
Knock, knock. ‘Molly, it’s Nathan. I’ve got your phone.’
Relief prodded her towards the door. How had he managed to get inside and up to her floor without knowing the apartment number? Peering through the peephole, she got a grainy view of the man who’d driven her home.
‘Molly?’ That familiar irritation was back.
She opened the door. ‘Sorry to be a pain. It must’ve fallen out of my bag with my hairbrush.’
Nathan was watching her with that intensity that was more familiar than his smiles. ‘You had a call. That’s how I found it.’
‘A call?’ she asked. ‘Who from?’
He shrugged. ‘I didn’t look. Figured you’d be cross if I did.’
‘You bet,’ Molly admitted sheepishly as she checked out the caller ID. An unknown number. Her smile snapped off.
‘Problem?’
‘What?’ She shook her head and glanced up at Nathan to soak up the warmth in his gaze. ‘No. Wrong number probably.’ As far as she knew, Paul only had access to the prison phone and that number was definitely in her contacts file so she could ignore it if he tried to get in touch. Anyway, he’d stopped calling her after his guilty verdict. Though who knew what receiving the divorce notice might’ve done to his narcissistic brain. He hated losing control over her more than anything.
The kettle whistled. Molly glanced toward the kitchenette. ‘Thanks for this.’
Nathan