Rescue Heat (20 page)

Matt groaned, “That was just a cruel thing to say.” He leaned in and bit her ear lobe. “Unless you intend to strip off.”

“You’d probably deserve the shock, if I actually did that, here, where we could be caught,” Brigid laughed.

Matt put his mouth on hers for a final kiss.

“OK, if we’re going back in, we’re going to have enforce a one metre rule,” he said, as he took one large step back from her. “Let’s talk about something less exciting.”

“What do you suggest?” Brigid asked, her senses still reeling.

“Your parents.” said Matt. “I can tell you’re not shrugging off their failure to visit as easily as you might be pretending.”

“Actually the worst of it is, I’m not actually sad,” said Brigid. “My father is a chronic philanderer and my mother decided a long time ago that she preferred being the wife of a surgeon, rather than facing the reality of who he really is. I do love them, but there is a reason why I live so far away.”

“I don’t cheat on the women I am with, in case you were wondering.”

Matt’s simple statement, rather than offering meaningless platitudes, moved Brigid more than she felt it should.

As the spell of their shared passion faded away, Brigid’s doubts crept back.

“Matt what are we doing?” Brigid asked. “We might still want each other but nothing else has changed.”

“I know how much I care about you and things have changed. I commissioned a new painting for my living room and ordered a new ceramic drinking bowel for Moby. He deserves the best don’t you think?”

That he would make any sort of effort choked Brigid. She needed to get away so she walked towards the ballroom door, knowing he would have to take a minute to follow.

Inside, she joined the table. At least here she was away from the risk to her heart that Matt posed.

“Did you have a good dance?” asked Wendy.

Brigid hoped the enquiry was as idle as it appeared. “Matt’s an excellent dancer. So good, that I’m pretty sure his mother made him go to dance lessons.”

Brigid felt a shiver down her neck that told her of Matt’s approach.

“Matt, Brigid has been telling us your secret,” said Wendy.

“What’s that then?” Matt’s voice was more relaxed then she imagined he might have felt, given the possibilities that must have been floating through his mind.

“She was telling us about your skills on the dance floor, twinkle toes.”

“Was she now?” said Matt. “Well you’ll get the chance to check it out, I hope. I’m having a barbeque at my new house and I’m hoping that all the crew will give me permission to dance with their wives.”

A babble of interested murmurs greeted his announcement, but Dave’s laconic drawl cut through. “Pretty boy, as long as moving about the dance floor is all you’re proposing, we might say ‘yes’.”

“Good luck trying to give us permission to do anything!” said Wendy. “So Matt, where did you buy a house?”

Brigid looked over at Matt, wanting to see how he would answer. He didn’t look like a man reluctant to share. “It’s at Angel’s Beach, great house with a pool so you can bring the kids for a swim.”

“Fancy spot, Matt. The US army must pay its medics better than I thought,” said Dave, hardly flinching when his wife hit him for being nosy.

“Not all paid for with my wages, the army just isn’t that generous,” said Matt. “I’m lucky enough to be a trust fund baby who has great taste in cities and real estate.”

Brigid couldn’t believe that Matt was actually admitting to his background; here to everyone; here in front of her. She felt a tap on her foot; Matt was sending her a message.

He sat back in his chair and laughingly, accepted the good-natured ribbing that came his way.

Matt sat down on his bed. He was alone in his house again, but tonight something inside him had opened up. Seeing her cool and beautiful and feeling her passion in his arms, he had realised why his unhappiness had run so deep when they were apart. For the first time in his life, he was completely, irrevocably in love.

Now, he had to convince Brigid that he was worthy of her trust. Her explanation of her father also explained the way she held some parts of herself back. Even tonight, after he had made his declaration to the crew about his wealth, she had sat there remaining her contained self, nothing given away.

At the end of the evening, she had gathered up her wrap and clutch and gone with Jennifer, kissing everyone else and taking care not to touch him. If he hadn’t seen the shimmer of emotion in her eyes earlier, he would have been deeply affronted. Now, he knew she feared revealing too much of herself.

Matt rummaged in his cupboard and then went to the phone. When Brigid’s voice answered, he said, “Don’t argue. Just meet me at the beach outside of your house.”

He hung up before she had a chance to refuse.

The beach was peaceful with the kind of calm that came after midnight. The moon was less full than the night they had first kissed, but a clear sky made up for the fact that most of the houses along the beach were dark.

Matt had arrived at the designated spot before Brigid. Alone, he had no choice but to stand and listen to the small waves lapping against the sand. Matt was surprised how quickly this place had become part of him. He didn’t know if he could sleep without the sound of the sea now.

The creak of Brigid’s garden gate had him turning towards her. She was clad in a cotton nightdress. In it, she looked miles apart from the elegant sophistication she had so easily inhabited just an hour before. A ponytail replaced the elegant up-do and, instead of severe tailoring, her nightdress had thins straps and a hemline that hung loosely mid-thigh.

The sight of her, wearing that, reminded him of just how much they had missed during the limited confines of their affair. He had never seen her in a nightdress, because apart from one memorable night in Port Douglas, they had never spent the night together. The intimacy of sleep hadn’t been something they’d shared.

“As you didn’t give me time to accept your invitation, I decided you didn’t get to dictate the dress code,” said Brigid, when she got close enough to speak.

“And yet you managed to capture the mood perfectly,” said Matt, laughing when she stuck out her tongue.

“So, what was so important that I had to leave my comfortable bed?” she asked.

She was within arm’s reach now, and Matt could see that bed was probably where she had been. Her face was scrubbed clear of makeup, her hair was slightly messy and her nightdress looked less than perfectly pressed.

“We had to meet here, because if we meet anywhere more private, I’d probably take you to bed before I say everything I need to say,” Matt said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“You seem pretty sure I’d say yes to that.”

“Be careful about offering an army man a challenge like that,” Matt warned. “Especially, a man who wants to be inside you, almost more than he wants to take his next breath.”

He could have proved his point by taking her in his arms, but instead he gently took her hand. Before, he could start though, Brigid interrupted. “They took you being a rich boy better than you thought, didn’t they?”

“Yeah, they did,” Matt admitted. “I should have known better, especially after they welcomed me to their homes.”

“They know you and they know you wouldn’t throw your wealth in their faces and they certainly aren’t the kind of people to ask for a loan,” Brigid said, seriously. “Hey, if I was worried about their reaction, I wouldn’t attend social events wearing a ten thousand-dollar necklace.”

“So I have you to thank for acclimatising them to wealthy members of staff,” said Matt.

He had suspected that elaborate gold rope was real and she had been wearing it to send a message. Anyway, they were rapidly getting off his chosen topic.

Stubborn Brigid, she was fearless in some ways and yet so unwilling to open herself up to potential hurt. He could feel her nerves in the way her hand quivered in his own.

“When I said I cared about you, I wasn’t being completely honest,” said Matt.

He had to grip Brigid’s hand tighter, against her trying to pull away.

“I love you,” he declared. “And I’ve probably loved you since the moment you wanted to sock me because I wouldn’t let you crawl under that damned tractor. So at the risk of sounding high school, do you have any feelings for me?”

Now, Matt really regretted choosing the dark beach for his admission. He wanted to see Brigid’s face, which she had ducked down in shadow.

For a long moment, the only sound he could hear was the water lapping just metres from their feet.

When Brigid lifted her face to him, tears were in her eyes. “I adore you Matt. I adore and love you but I don’t think I’d survive us working together and breaking up again, especially if this time we go all in for a proper relationship.”

Brigid put her other soft hand to his cheek with heartbreaking gentleness. “I don’t think you realise how devastated I’ve been.”

“I don’t think you realise what I meant when I said I loved you,” he said.

He took a deep breath to fortify himself, “I am not talking about giving it a go and maybe breaking up.” With her hand in his, Matt knelt, placing one knee in the damp sand. “I am thirty-three and this is the first time I’ve experienced real love and I want this for myself. What I’m asking you, Brigid Adair, is will you marry me?”

With his hand now shaking, Matt fished in his pocket for the solid gold signet ring he had gone searching for tonight. “We can choose the diamond together but I wanted to have something to put on your hand.”

As Brigid continued to silently stare, Matt went to stand up. “Or not put on your hand, as your case may be.”

As he pushed himself up, his arms were suddenly full of an excited woman.

“Don’t you dare, Matt,” she said. “You’re definitely not allowed to take your proposal back. I’ll sue you for breach of promise if you do.”

He tumbled back onto the sand, as Brigid laughed. She followed and tugged his head down to hers so they could roll and kiss in the sand.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, laughing with her.

“Damn right, it is a yes. Where’s the ring? I won’t believe it until you put it on me.”

Matt pulled them both up, so she was sitting on his lap. By now, her long warm legs were dusted with sand, but that didn’t make them any less appealing.

He opened his palm, which by now had the ring imprinted on it, so tightly he had gripped it in his anxiety. Placing it on her finger, Matt felt a sense of pride and pure joy, unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

One week later, Brigid stood next to Matt at the top of his veranda stairs and looked down at their friends and colleagues. This week, secure in Matt’s love for her, Brigid had found a sense of happiness and peace. Now, they were about to share their news with their team.

Brigid was nervous. Her career in emergency medicine had found its home with this crew, in this town. There was no protocol against an engaged couple, or even a husband and wife, working on the same rescue crew, but the acceptance of the rest of the team was essential to them continuing to perform efficient rescue missions. Added to that, no one, with the exception of Jennifer, knew they were dating, let alone committing to a life together.

Matt cleared his throat and Brigid looked on as the man she loved climbed on a chair and got the party’s attention.

“Just a quick announcement.” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to get the lovely Brigid Adair to agree to marry me, so you will have congratulate me on my good fortune.”

The rise of voices, which signalled genuine shock, came with a chorus of congratulations. Brigid found herself separated from Matt, as her friends embraced her and showered her with felicitations. Everyone wanted to know about how long they had been together and everyone wanted to see her ring. The perfect two carats of yellow Argyle diamond were definitely not to be worn while on duty. However, the solid gold wedding band, she would be wearing in just a month, was never going to leave her hand.

By the time Brigid made her way back to Matt, he was standing with Pete, Chris and Dave.

“So that’s why you guys have been having that voodoo communication thing on accident scenes,” Dave quipped. “I thought one of them had become psychic but it turns out the magic ingredient is sex.”

“Maybe you’ll have to notify the training program of that finding,” said Matt.

In a moment of wifely synchronicity, Brigid found herself pinching Matt at the same time that Wendy swatted Dave’s shoulder.

“For the sake of my dignity, can you tell him that it was love that made great communication,” she laughed.

At the choking sounds of the rest of her team, she smiled with Matt and knew that their shared future was assured.

Nina Hamilton grew up in the northern New South Wales town of Mullumbimby and always loved the escape that the world of fiction offered.

Nina graduated from the University of Queensland with a journalism degree in 2003 and has always nurtured a fascination with pop culture.

Now based in the beachside town of Byron Bay, she shares her love of reading through her work in the local library.

Rescue Heat
is her first published novel.