Brides of Penhally Bay - Vol 3 (61 page)

Turning off the main light, leaving the room illuminated by the rosy glow of the bedside lamps so Lauren could get her bearings, Gabriel stripped off his clothes and returned to the bed. Desire rippled through him as he began kissing his way softly up her silky smooth legs, whispering along her calves and lingering at the back of her knees before skimming over her creamy thighs. Lauren murmured, moving gracefully under him as she gradually came awake. He allowed her to roll over and, sleepy-eyed, she looked up at him with a smile…a smile that was so beautiful, so welcoming and so sexy it almost overwhelmed him.

‘Gabe.’

‘Hey, sleepyhead,’ he whispered, his voice rough with emotion and arousal. ‘Sorry I was so long.’

‘Are you all right? Was it bad?’ she asked, her concern evident.

‘It wasn’t pretty but I’m fine.’

He sat back on his heels and indulged himself, running his hands up and down her body, his fingertips catching on the lace covering nipples that peaked to his touch. Lauren pulled him back down to her, her kiss hot and intense, matching his own hunger. Her hands glided over him, her touch tender, reverent, setting him on fire. He forced himself to slow down, concentrating on removing her camisole and French knickers, kissing each fragment of flesh he exposed. He felt as if he was unwrapping the most precious gift he had ever been given.

‘Please,’ she begged, moving against him. ‘I want you.’

‘Soon.’

He nuzzled against her, wanting to take his time and cherish every inch of her but as needy and impatient as her. The subtle, flowery scent of sweet peas, mingled with her own womanliness, intoxicated him. She was so responsive to his touch. Her body quivered beneath his lips and fingers, and the little purring sounds of pleasure in the back of her throat drove him crazy with want.

‘Now, Gabe…’

Succumbing to her pleas, unable to resist her or deny her anything, he gave himself up to the magical passion that grew more intense and fiery and special every time they came together.

An age later, sated and relaxed, Gabriel held Lauren close, arms and legs entwined, as she slept. They had gone into this with the pledge of no ties and no commitments. At one time he would have felt relieved that a woman made no demands, but with Lauren he was disappointed and felt a flicker of unease. He had not been looking for any kind of relationship when he had come to Cornwall but what he’d found with Lauren was unique, and he very much feared that nothing between them was ever going to be as simple as they had both vocalised at the start. Instead, he had the sense that he was at a crossroads in his life and what happened here was going to be far more important and life-changing than he could ever have foreseen.

Each day he fell more in love with her. But he hadn’t told her. She’d made it clear there were no expectations and she’d given no indication that what they shared meant any more to her, that she felt more for him. He had ten months left in Penhally…ten months to convince Lauren that they were right together. But before he could pledge himself to her, he needed to settle the family issues that dogged him, as well as decide what to do about Yvette and her demands.

Confiding in Lauren, knowing she believed in him and supported him, had helped him rationalise that he could never give up medicine. She had told him about her adoption but he needed her to show the same level of trust, to face up to the problems with her sight and share it with him. Could she ever do that? Would she?

Hugging her tighter, he let out a shaky breath. As they headed into a new year, filled with new hopes and endless possibilities, he vowed to show her in every way how much he
loved her. One day, when the time was right, he would tell her how permanently he wanted them to commit to each other. Until then he could only pray that the future would be kind to them and that Lauren would come to love and trust him, too.

L
AUREN
stood on the pavement by the construction site where the demolished Anchor Hotel was in the process of being rebuilt and gave her details to the policeman beside her. How did her voice sound so calm when inside she was shaking? She looked at her beloved Renault as it sat by the kerb, the driver’s side dented and crumpled. A few yards farther along Harbour Road was another car, its front caved in, its angry and foul-mouthed driver arguing with two other policemen.

‘I’m sorry about this,’ she murmured as the constable put his notebook away.

‘It’s not your fault, Ms Nightingale, not according to all the witnesses.’ He gestured to the gathered crowds and then to the young man who had hit her. ‘Luckily there was an off-duty policeman on the scene or the other driver would have driven off. Turns out he has no insurance and was driving while disqualified.’

Lauren didn’t know what that would mean in terms of a claim to repair or replace her car, but apparently everyone was satisfied that she had not been to blame for the accident. Everyone but her. She had finished her morning home visits—her final appointment having been with Harry Biscombe at Gow Court, whose osteoporosis was increasingly troublesome—and had been returning to the surgery for lunch before
her afternoon clinic when the crash had happened. Having stopped at the junction of Bridge Street and Harbour Road, she had pulled out into a gap in the traffic, only to have an oncoming car plough into the side of her. Apart from a few bruises she was unharmed but shaken…and she felt impossibly guilty.

The witnesses all attested to the fact that the young man had been speeding and driving erratically, having almost hit a pedestrian and a parked car farther along the seafront before colliding with her. What Lauren hadn’t said, but could not ignore, was the simple fact that she had never seen the car at all. It had come out of nowhere and sideswiped her. Her explanations had been silenced by the behaviour of the young man, his unsuccessful efforts to flee the scene and the discovery that he had no business driving at all taking precedence with the police.

‘Lauren!’

Hearing her name and the sound of running feet, she looked round to see Gabriel and Oliver hurrying towards her. Someone must have phoned the surgery, she realised, stifling a groan. The last thing she needed was to have people fussing over her and asking her more uncomfortable questions. However, she couldn’t deny how comforting it felt to be enfolded in Gabriel’s embrace, and she allowed herself a few moments to lean against him and absorb his strength.

These first months of the new year had been the happiest she had ever known. Everything would have been one hundred percent perfect if only she hadn’t had to hide two things…how much she loved Gabe and how frightened she was that her sight was deteriorating further. The night blindness she had managed to excuse and cover up, but the fuzziness, the blind spots and decreasing peripheral vision that had begun to occur in recent weeks terrified her.

‘Lauren,
ma belle
, what happened? Are you all right?’
Gabriel demanded, holding her slightly away from him so he could look her over, one hand stroking her hair before his fingers trailed down her cheek. He tilted up her chin and looked into her eyes. ‘Are you hurt?’

‘I’m fine.’

Gabriel frowned, clearly disbelieving her, and glanced over his shoulder. ‘Oliver?’

‘Here.’ The smile curving Oliver’s mouth failed to mask the concern in his brown eyes as he stepped forward. ‘Hi, Lauren, how are you?’

‘She says she’s fine,’ Gabriel answered for her, increasing her annoyance.

‘I’m perfectly all right and able to speak for myself.’

‘OK.’ Oliver smiled, but she wanted to stamp her foot as the two men shared a glance before Oliver eased Gabriel aside. ‘Let me take a look at you to be sure.’

‘For goodness’ sake,’ she muttered ungraciously, aware that the shock of the crash and the fright about her eyes was making her uncharacteristically grumpy.

‘Did you bump your head at all?’ he asked her.

‘No.’

With a gentle but impersonal touch, Oliver carefully checked her neck for any pain or stiffness. After assessing her pulse and her breathing, he cupped her face and she noted his slight frown as he studied her. What had he seen? She bit her lip to keep from asking, not ready for the answer.

‘Do you have any discomfort with this bruising?’ Oliver queried, moving on to check her arms and discovering the marks beginning to colour along her right forearm that had taken the brunt of the bang as the driver’s door had distorted inwards. ‘Any nausea or dizziness?’

‘Nothing, really. My arm isn’t even sore. Honestly, I’m OK. I was just a bit shaken up.’

‘I’m not surprised.’ Gabriel stepped close again and slid an
arm around her waist, his angry gaze on the young man who was being arrested and put into a police car. ‘I’d like a few moments with that driver myself.’

Oliver rested a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. ‘Let the police take care of him. There are enough witnesses to make sure he doesn’t get away with it and from what I hear, he has no licence or insurance, so he will definitely be charged.’

‘I should hope so. He could have hurt or killed someone.’ Gabriel drew her closer and she could feel the tension in him. ‘Come on, I’ll take you home.’

‘No, it’s OK. I need to go back to the surgery,’ she insisted, determined to carry on as if nothing had happened.

Gabriel turned her to face him. ‘Lauren, be sensible, you’ve had a shock. You need to rest,
chérie
—’

‘What I need,’ she stressed, her anger mounting as she pulled away from his hold, ‘is not to be babied and told what to do. I make my own decisions. And I’m going back to work to attend to my patients.’

‘Lauren…’

Aware that Gabriel and Oliver were staring after her, she picked up the belongings that had been rescued from her car and walked purposefully along the pavement towards the surgery. She was not yet ready to deal with the consequences of what had happened today—or to face the horrifying truth that the problems with her eyesight were getting worse.

‘Leave her for a while,’ Oliver advised.

Angry, confused and scared, Gabriel wanted to shake off his friend’s hand and rush after Lauren, needing to cuddle her and satisfy himself that she was really all right. The rational part of him accepted the sense of Oliver’s words, so he fell into step with him and followed Lauren back to the surgery at a discreet distance. At least he was keeping her in sight.

Her outburst had been so unlike her. She had been genuinely irritated by his concern, while all he had wanted to do was take care of her. The day was mild and the March sunshine gleamed off the lighter streaks in her hair as she moved on ahead of them. Another three weeks and they would be in France for their long weekend. He couldn’t wait for them to be alone, away from the usual distractions and demands on their time and energy.

Professionally, things had been hectic since the new year, with the surgery busier than ever. Oliver and Chloe had returned from Scotland to much fuss and celebration of their marriage. Only Nick had displayed any sign of disapproval about the elopement, not that anyone had taken much notice of him because it was clear to everyone how happy the couple were and how perfect for each other.

Some of the pressure had been taken off for all the doctors, the workload easing, especially for out-of-hours and weekend calls, with Dragan Lovak back from paternity leave. Gabriel admired the calm, quiet Croatian and was enjoying getting to know him.

Adrian Wescott, the local schoolteacher with long-term tinnitus, had seen the specialist at St Piran and had been declared a suitable candidate for surgery. The operation to remove the stapes and implant an artificial plastic bone was scheduled for the Easter holiday when Adrian would have time off school to recover and, if all was successful, to accustom himself to his altered hearing before the new term began.

Personally, things between himself and Lauren had been just as blissful as they had at the end of the previous year. If anything they were even closer physically, their relationship more intense, but still neither of them had spoken of the future or their feelings, and Gabriel was becoming edgy as almost half his time here in Cornwall was already over. He’d noticed
more small moments of concern with Lauren’s sight but she refused to confide in him and that lack of trust hurt.

Gabriel thought back to his talk with Chloe in December and her request that he talk to Oliver if he became worried about Lauren. He’d been worried for a while but…He let out a rough sigh. Maybe now was the time to consult his friend and get some advice.

‘Did you notice Lauren’s eye?’

Oliver glanced at him. ‘The right one?’

‘Yes.’ Gabriel paused, a frown on his face as he watched Lauren disappear through the entrance to the surgery a few yards ahead of them. ‘What did you see?’

‘Her eyelid was a bit droopy and I thought I detected a squint I’d not noticed before,’ Oliver admitted, his voice serious and concerned.

As if by mutual consent, they slowed their pace, coming to a halt outside the car park and turning to look out over the harbour. ‘But you’ve noticed other things before—about Lauren’s sight, I mean—since you’ve been here?’ Gabriel asked, sliding his hands into his trouser pockets.

‘Nothing I could be definite about, Gabriel.’ Oliver sighed and leaned against the wall. ‘As an outsider coming in, I was suspicious about Lauren’s supposed clumsiness. Everyone laughed at her mishaps and said she had always been that way. I had a hunch there was more to it…but no facts.’

‘Me, too,’ Gabriel agreed. ‘From the first day I met her I knew she was having trouble with her night vision, but I didn’t know if it was a long-standing problem or a symptom of something else.’

‘And now?’

Gabriel shook his head. ‘I’m still worried. She’s definitely night blind but copes well and manages to cover it. I’m sure that’s why she changed her work hours. And she never drives after dark now. There have been a few other incidents lately
and over the last couple of days I saw what you did with her right eye.’ He hesitated but decided to keep his nagging suspicions about today’s accident to himself.

‘Have you spoken to her about it?’ his friend asked, meeting his gaze.

‘No. Once or twice I’ve tried to mention the night blindness, as well as the fact that she’s stopped painting, but she gets defensive and changes the subject.’ Shifting with restless impatience, he let out a shaky breath. ‘I’m scared of rocking the boat, Oliver, of pushing her away if I press too hard. I have a feeling that Lauren is increasingly worried but she’s not facing up to the problem.’

Oliver gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. ‘I never said anything either, even though I noticed that Lauren didn’t judge distances well, that she tripped on kerbs and didn’t see things in shadow. I didn’t know that had progressed to such serious night blindness, though.’

‘So should I wait a while longer?’ He looked up and saw the answering worry in Oliver’s eyes, as if neither of them wanted to voice out loud the various and increasingly frightening explanations that could be the underlying cause of Lauren’s sight problems. ‘You think it’s right that I don’t confront her about it?’

‘Until Lauren admits it to herself, she’s not going to appreciate or accept anyone else challenging her on it. Especially you.’

‘Would
you
try to talk to her?’ he asked, knowing he was expecting a lot of his friend.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Oliver ran his fingers through his hair and moved away. ‘Damn, Gabriel.’

‘Please. I’m worried about her.’

‘If the opportunity presents itself, I’ll see what I can do,’ he agreed with evident reluctance, a warning in his eyes when he turned back to face him. ‘But I have to tell you, Gabriel,
that if Lauren confides in me as a doctor, I’m not going to break her trust and divulge anything if she asks me not to. Not even to you.’

Gabriel felt rigid with tension, his hands clenched to fists. He wanted to argue, but he knew Oliver was right, knew he would do the same if the situation were reversed—their oath allowed them no other option. ‘On a personal level I don’t like it, but I understand. And I’d just be relieved to know that Lauren was getting some help.’

‘I know it’s difficult.’ Oliver’s smile was sympathetic. ‘If the chance arises, I’ll be advising her to talk to you—count on that.’

‘Thanks.’

Knowing there was little more he could do right now, Gabriel tried to be satisfied with the progress he had made. At least now he had voiced his fears to Oliver and he knew his friend would do his best. But knowing he wasn’t alone in recognising Lauren’s problems was a double-edged sword—while it confirmed it wasn’t his imagination, it increased the real possibility that there was, indeed, something wrong. Filled with a mix of emotions, he walked back into the surgery with Oliver, planning to check on Lauren before taking his afternoon appointments. For now his most important job was to be there for her, to love her…and hope that she would trust in him.

Lauren hesitated outside Oliver’s consulting room, her hand poised to knock on the closed door.

It was early Friday evening at the end of March and the surgery was quiet. Most of the staff were having a farewell drink with practice nurse Eve Dwyer, who was leaving not only the surgery but the country, too, and heading out to Switzerland to marry Dr Tom Cornish. Lauren didn’t know the whole story but apparently the couple had been reunited at the time of the October flood and had spent the last few months rekindling their relationship. Now they were getting
married in Tom’s adopted country where he was based for his work with the international rescue organisation, Deltraron.

Lauren had been for a drink and had said her goodbyes. Oliver, too, had been at the pub but had returned to the surgery to finish some paperwork while waiting for his wife. Chloe was out with Gabriel attending Diane Bailey, the mother-to-be who had been under their joint care since the autumn and who was determined to have her baby at home—a baby that was now on its way. It was the perfect time to see Oliver alone and confide in him. If she could pluck up the nerve.