Best Friend to Perfect Bride (Contemporary Medical Romance) (11 page)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

M
AC
WAS
ALMOST
beside himself with fear by the time he returned to Dalverston General. He would have happily sold his soul to the devil if it had meant he could have gone with Bella in the ambulance that had ferried her and Katie to the hospital, but there’d been no way that he could have left Laura on her own. He’d had to stay, even though it had been the hardest thing he had ever done. Bella was injured and he needed to be with her even if it wasn’t what she wanted.

The thought weighed heavily on him as he made his way to A&E. Nick Rogers, one of the senior registrars, was on duty and he grinned when he saw Mac coming in. ‘Bit of excitement today, eh? I drew the short straw and had to stay here. Story of my life—I never get the really interesting jobs!’

Mac knew that Nick was joking and that he was as committed to his job as they all were, but he took exception to the comment. ‘You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen the state of those poor souls who were on the train,’ he snapped.

‘Sorry.’ Nick held up his hands in apology and Mac sighed, aware that he had overreacted.

‘No. It’s me. Take no notice. Anyway, you’ve got Bella in here. Can I see her?’

‘Sure. She’s in cubicle four... No, wait a sec; she’s just gone down to radiography.’

‘Radiography?’ Mac repeated. His heart gave a little jolt as he looked at Nick in horror. ‘She’s having an X-ray?’

‘Yep. That cut on her neck is deep and I wanted to check there was nothing lodged in it so I’ve sent her down for an X-ray.’

‘I was hoping it would just need stitching,’ Mac murmured, his stomach churning sickeningly. If there was something lodged in the cut—a piece of glass or a sliver of metal, perhaps—then Bella might need surgery and he couldn’t bear the thought of her having to go through such an ordeal.

‘Probably will,’ Nick replied cheerfully. ‘It’s just best to err on the side of caution, as I said.’

‘I...er... Yes, of course.’

Mac did his best to pull himself together as he thanked the other man. He knew he was overreacting but he couldn’t help it. This was Bella and he simply couldn’t take a balanced view where she was concerned. He hurried to the lift, tapping his foot with impatience as it carried him down to the radiography unit. There was nobody in the waiting room so he pressed the bell, his impatience mounting as he waited for someone to answer. When the door to one of the X-ray suites opened, he spun round, his heart leaping when he saw Bella being wheeled out by a porter.

‘Mac, what are you doing here?’ she exclaimed when she saw him. ‘I thought you’d still be at the accident.’

‘All the children have been either moved to hospital or sent home,’ he explained as he went over to her. ‘Nick told me you were here, having an X-ray done on your neck.’

‘Yes. Thankfully, there’s nothing in it. Once it’s stitched up I should be right as rain.’

She dredged up a smile but Mac could see the wariness in her eyes and realised that she wasn’t sure what was going to happen. All of a sudden he couldn’t stand it any longer, couldn’t bear to tiptoe around any more. He loved her! He wanted her! And he wanted her to know that too.

His heart was thumping as he turned to the porter and told him that he would take Dr English back to A&E. Once the man had disappeared, he pushed Bella to a quiet corner where they wouldn’t be disturbed. Crouching down in front of the wheelchair, he looked into her eyes, knowing that he was about to take the biggest gamble of his life. Telling her that he loved her had felt like a huge risk at the time, but it wasn’t nearly as massive as this. This was so enormous that it scared him witless and yet it was what he
had
to do if he was to have a chance of achieving what he wanted so desperately—Bella and that happy-ever-after he yearned for.

Capturing her hands, he raised them to his mouth, feeling his panic subside as soon as he felt the warmth of her flesh against his lips. He could do this. He really could! ‘I love you, Bella. I know I already told you that but then I went and ruined things by overreacting when Tim phoned. There’s no excuse for what I said. I was wrong and I bitterly regret it.’

‘I would never have slept with you just to work out how I feel about Tim,’ she said softly.

‘I know that.’ Mac had to force the words past the lump in his throat when he heard the pain in her voice. He knew that she was telling him the truth and the fact that he had caused her such anguish filled him with guilt. ‘I am so sorry, my love. Can you ever forgive me?’

‘Yes. If I’m sure that you believe me.’ She looked steadily back at him. ‘I couldn’t cope if you kept on doubting me all the time. I have to know that you believe in me, Mac. Our relationship won’t work if you’re continually wondering if I’m telling you the truth.’

‘I know that.’ He sighed as he leant forward and kissed her gently on the mouth. He drew back when he felt his body immediately stir. It was too soon for that. They needed to sort this out before they went any further.
If
they went any further. The thought spurred him on.

‘I hate myself for hurting you, Bella. However, the truth is that I’ve always had a problem about trusting people since I was a child and my mother left.’ He dredged up a smile, uncomfortable about admitting to what he considered a weakness. ‘I know I should have got over it years ago, but sometimes it comes back to haunt me.’

‘We’re all the product of our upbringing, Mac.’ She lifted his hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to his palm and her voice was so gentle, so tender that it brought a lump to his throat.

‘Think so?’ he murmured huskily.

‘Oh, yes.’ She smiled into his eyes. ‘Look at me. My parents aren’t demonstrative people and they didn’t encourage me to show my feelings either. That’s why I’ve always had such difficulty relating to other people—I tend to hold everything inside me rather than show how I really feel.’

‘Really?’ His brows rose and he grinned at her. ‘I would never have guessed from the way you responded when we made love.’

‘That was different,’ she protested, a rush of colour staining her cheeks.

‘Was it? Why?’ He brushed her lips with the lightest of kisses, drawing back when he felt her immediately respond. His heart filled with joy, although he shouldn’t assume that her response meant that it was
him
she wanted...

All of a sudden Mac couldn’t wait any longer. Cupping her face between his hands, he looked into her eyes, knowing that this was the most important moment of his life. Whatever happened in the next few seconds was going to determine his whole future.

‘Do you love me, Bella? I know I shouldn’t put you on the spot like this, but I need to know before I drive myself crazy!’

* * *

Bella could feel her heart thumping. It was beating so hard that she could barely think, let alone answer the question. And then slowly through all the confusion in her head one thought rose to the surface. Of course she loved him. There was no doubt about that.

‘Of course I love you,’ she said indignantly, glaring at him. ‘I’d have thought that was obvious.’

‘Not to me.’

His voice was filled with a mixture of pure amazement and utter joy. Bella felt her indignation melt away as fast as it had appeared. Placing her hand on his cheek, she smiled at him, stunned by the fact that he was so vulnerable. Mac had always been so together, so in charge of himself—or so she had thought. To suddenly discover this whole different side to him was a revelation. She realised in that moment that she would do everything in her power to make sure that he never regretted letting her see the real man beneath the confident façade he presented to the world at large.

She kissed him softly on the mouth, letting her lips show him in no uncertain terms how she felt. She loved him so much and she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her days proving it to him...

If he would let her.

She drew back, feeling the first tiny doubt gnawing away at her happiness. Mac had asked her if she loved him. He had told her that he needed to know. However, he hadn’t said why.

‘I love you, Mac, but are you sure that you love me? You were so quick to think that I’d used you to clarify my feelings for Tim and you wouldn’t have done that if you’d really loved me. You would have known that I would never have slept with you for that reason.’

It was the hardest thing Bella had ever done. She had never done anything like this before, never delved into emotional issues, and it scared her to do it now when it was so important. Whatever Mac told her would affect the rest of her life and she wasn’t sure if she could handle the thought.

She stood up abruptly, suddenly too afraid to sit there and listen to what he had to say. If Mac didn’t want her then there was nothing she could do about it. She had to accept his decision and not make a scene, certainly not make a fool of herself by begging him to reconsider! Tears stung her eyes as she went to push past him but he was too quick for her. Reaching out, he drew her to a halt, his arms closing around her so that she couldn’t move, couldn’t escape him or the truth.

‘Bella, stop! I know you’re scared because I’m scared too, but you can’t run away. I won’t let you.’ Bending, he pressed a kiss to her lips and she felt the shudder that passed through his body and into hers. Raising his head, he looked steadily at her. ‘We both need to be brave if we’re going to make this work. I love you and I want to spend my life with you. I think...
hope
...that you feel the same. Do you, my darling? Do you love me enough to live with me from now to eternity because I warn you that’s what I want. Nothing less.’

Bella could feel her heart thumping. This was it. Whatever she said now would determine her future. Did she want to be with Mac for ever? Did she want to live with him and spend each and every day making him happy? Of course she did!

Reaching up, she drew his head down and kissed him, letting her lips answer his question. There was a moment when he held back, a tiny beat of time when he seemed to hesitate as though he wasn’t sure that what was happening was real, and then he was kissing her back, kissing her with a hunger he didn’t attempt to hide. They were both trembling when they broke apart, both shaken by the depth of their feelings for each other. Mac cupped her cheek and she could hear the love resonating in his voice.

‘I didn’t know it was possible to feel this way, Bella, to want someone
this
much.’

‘Me neither.’ Turning her head, she pressed a kiss against his palm and felt him shudder. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to tell him how she felt, to lay bare her emotions completely and totally. ‘I want you so much that it hurts, Mac. I want to spend my life with you and spend every single second of every minute loving you. Even then it won’t be enough. Nothing would be when I feel this way.’

‘And you’re sure? Sure that you want me and not Tim? After all, you agreed to meet him—’

‘Yes, I did.’ She laid her fingertips against his lips to silence him. ‘And the reason I agreed was because of how I feel about you. I wanted to draw a line under past events and, if possible, make my peace with Tim. I want the future—our future, together—to be perfect and not tainted by anything that’s happened in the past.’

‘Oh, my love!’

He kissed her again, hunger replaced by a bone-melting tenderness that brought tears to her eyes. He smiled as he wiped them away with his fingertips. ‘Don’t cry, sweetheart. Although I have to confess that I feel very much like shedding a tear or two myself.’

‘Just not right for your macho image,’ she teased, smiling up at him through her tears.

‘Definitely not. I should really be beating my chest right now, shouldn’t I?’ He grinned back at her. ‘I mean, I’ve just won the woman I love and I should be celebrating before dragging you back to my cave.’

‘Hmm. Let’s not get too carried away by the macho theme.’ She laughed up at him. ‘I’m a modern woman, after all, and I value my independence.’

‘And so you should. I don’t want you to change, Bella. I want you to stay exactly the same as you’ve always been.’

‘I don’t think that’s possible,’ she said quietly. ‘I’ve changed a lot in the past few weeks and changed for the better too. I now understand my feelings and I’m not so afraid to show them, thanks to you. And, hopefully, I shall get even better at it as time passes too.’

‘I’ve always thought you were perfect from the moment we met.’

His voice grated and Bella’s eyes filled with tears once more because it was obvious that he was telling her the truth. Mac loved her exactly how she was and it was marvellous to know that he didn’t want her to change. Reaching up, she kissed him, showing him without the need for words how much she loved him and how much she needed him. He’d said she was perfect but to her mind he was perfect too!

EPILOGUE

One year later...

M
AC
CAREFULLY
LAID
the baby in her crib. It was two a.m. and the rest of the town was sleeping. With a bit of luck, three-week-old Isobel Grace MacIntyre would follow suit.

‘Has she dropped off at last?’

‘Not yet.’

He turned, thinking that Bella had never looked more beautiful as she sat there propped against the pillows in their bed. They had married as soon as they had discovered that she was expecting the baby. He knew that they would have got married anyway but he had discovered that he was surprisingly old-fashioned in many ways and had wanted their child to be born in wedlock. The simple ceremony in the hospital’s chapel had been perfect too, the final seal on their happiness, not that they had needed to prove it. He loved Bella with every fibre of his being, just as she loved him, and anyone could see how they felt too!

‘I think she’s debating whether or not to give her poor mum and dad a break.’

He lay down on the bed and gathered Bella into his arms, inhaling the warm womanly smell of her. She had decided to feed Isobel herself and he loved watching her do so, loved how her face filled with adoration for their baby, loved how fulfilled she looked with the infant nursing at her breast. Love, as he had discovered, was infinite and expanded on a daily basis.

He kissed her gently on the lips, drawing back when he felt his body immediately stir. It was too soon for them to make love because Bella needed time to heal after the birth. Anyway, waiting only made his desire for her even stronger, not that it hadn’t been pretty strong to begin with!

‘Mmm. I think I can guess what’s on your mind,’ she said, pulling back so she could look into his eyes, and he chuckled.

‘Is it that obvious?’

‘Yes.’ She snuggled against him and sighed. ‘Not just on your mind either.’

‘Never mind. Just another couple of weeks and we can resume relations, as they say,’ he said comfortingly, pulling her back to him.

‘I can’t wait,’ she murmured against his chest. She suddenly drew back again. ‘Did I tell you that I spoke to Freya this morning? Apparently, the results of her mock A-levels were so good that she’s been offered a place at Lancaster. She will make a brilliant nurse, don’t you think?’

‘I do. I’m so glad that her parents saw sense in the end. She needs their support if she’s to make a success of uni,’ he said, pulling her back into his arms. He kissed the tip of her nose and smiled. ‘Another set of grandparents who’ve been won over.’

‘Like my parents, you mean.’ She burrowed against him. ‘Dad phoned as well this afternoon to let me know they’re coming up to visit us at the weekend.’

‘Again?’ Mac laughed softly. ‘That’s the third time in as many weeks. Why do I get the feeling that they’re going to turn into doting grandparents?’

‘Oh, I’ve no idea, but don’t knock it. Dad mentioned something about him and Mum babysitting if we wanted to go out for dinner. Sounds good to me.’

‘Me too. So long as Isobel is all right, of course,’ he added, glancing over at the crib.

‘She’ll be fine.’ Bella snuggled even closer. ‘Now, why don’t we take advantage of the fact that she seems to have dropped off at last?’

‘Mmm, sounds interesting. What do you suggest?’ he asked, leering comically at her.

‘I’m not sure. I shall leave that up to you.’

Mac laughed as he pulled her to him and kissed her hungrily. Maybe they couldn’t make love just yet but there were other ways to show how they felt about one another. They just needed to be creative...

* * * * *