The Australian's Proposal (Mills & Boon By Request): The Doctor's Marriage Wish / The Playboy Doctor's Proposal / The Nurse He's Been Waiting For (23 page)

Then the silence was broken.

‘What are you saying?’ came a loud, horrified, female voice. ‘She can’t
walk?
How can we have a bridesmaid who can’t
walk?
’

‘Oh, no!’ Susie groaned. ‘Sophia!’

‘I was wondering how she’d take the news,’ Mike said gloomily. ‘Em didn’t sound too thrilled either.’

A young woman with honey-blonde hair and rather serious grey-blue eyes rushed into the cubicle.

‘Susie, are you all right? Is it broken?’ She leaned over the bed to hug her friend. ‘You poor thing!’

Hannah’s eyes widened as the curtain was flicked back decisively. It wasn’t just Mike’s mother who had accompanied Emily. There were at least half a dozen women and they were all talking at once. Loudly. Anxiously.

‘Susie! Darling!’ The small, plump woman at the forefront
of the small crowd sailed into the cubicle and stared at Hannah. ‘What
have
you done to your hair?’

‘I’m not Susie,’ Hannah said weakly, as her sister emerged from Emily’s hug. ‘I’m her twin, Hannah.’

‘Oh, my God!’ The young, dark-haired woman beside Sophia was also staring. ‘You
are
identical. Look at that, Ma! You wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.’

An excited babble and an inward flow of women made Hannah back into the corner a little further. Alarmed, she looked for an escape route, only to catch the highly amused faces of both Mike and Ryan. There was nothing for it but to hold her breath and submit to the squash of people both wanting to pat and comfort Susie and to touch Hannah and see if she was actually real.

Jill looked as though she knew even her seniority would be no help in trying to evict this unruly mob from her emergency department and was taking the crutches out of the way for the moment, but the movement attracted Sophia’s attention.

‘What are those?’

‘Susie’s crutches.’ Jill picked up speed as she backed away.

‘She needs
crutches?
’ Sophia crossed herself, an action that was instantly copied by all the other relatives. ‘But we can’t have crutches! The photographs!’

‘It’s all right, Ma.’ The woman who had to be Mike’s sister, Maria, was grinning. ‘It doesn’t matter if Susie can’t walk.’

‘It doesn’t matter? Of course it matters!’ Sophia’s arms were waving wildly and Hannah pressed herself further into the corner. ‘There are six dresses. We have to have six bridesmaids and Susie is Emily’s best friend. She has to be in the photographs. In the ceremony.’ A lacy handkerchief appeared from someone’s hand and Sophia dabbed
it to her eyes. ‘But with crutches? Oh, no, no, no …’ The sympathetic headshakes from all directions confirmed that this event was cataclysmic.

‘Never mind Willie,’ Mike murmured audibly to Ryan. ‘This is going to be worse than any cyclone, believe me.’

‘Ma, listen!’ Sophia’s shoulders were firmly grasped by Maria. ‘We can use Hannah instead.’

‘What?’
The word was wrenched from Hannah and everybody was listening now. And staring. And then talking, all at once.

‘No, her hair’s all wrong.’

‘She’s the same size. She’ll fit the dress.’

‘Nothing that curling tongs couldn’t fix.’

‘No crutches!’

‘Nobody will know the difference.’

‘I’ll know,’ Emily said emphatically. ‘And so will Susie.’ She still had her arms protectively around her friend.

‘Would it matter?’ Susie spoke only to Emily. ‘I’d rather it was Hannah than me in the photos, Em. I’d just spoil them.’

‘No, you wouldn’t.’

‘Yes, I would. It would be the first thing anyone would notice when they looked at the pictures. Or when they’re sitting in the church. Instead of saying, “Look at that gorgeous bride,” they’d be saying, “Why is that girl on crutches? What’s wrong with her?”’

The chorus of assent from the avid audience was unanimous. Emily looked appealingly at Mike but he just shrugged sympathetically and then grinned.

‘Up to you, babe,’ he said, ‘but it does seem fortuitous that you chose a chief bridesmaid that’s got a spare copy of herself available.’

Hannah looked at Ryan. If this crazy solution was going
to make everybody happy then of course she would have to go along with it. But would Ryan?

Clearly, it
was
going to make everybody happy. Especially Susie.

‘I’ll still be there,’ she was telling Emily. ‘And Hannah’s like part of me anyway.’

‘Hannah? Are you OK with this?’

‘Sure.’ Hannah smiled warmly at Emily. ‘I’d be honoured.’

‘Hannah! Darling!’ Sophia was reaching to squeeze Hannah’s cheeks between her hands. ‘Thank you! Thank you!’

Nobody asked Ryan if he was OK with the plan. Hannah caught his gaze and for a moment they just stared at each other. Another moment of connection. They were the two outsiders. Caught up in a circus over which they had no hope of exerting the slightest control.

It was a bit like dealing with the turbulence on that plane trip really. Had that been only this morning? Fate seemed determined to hurl them together. As closely as possible.

Ryan’s expression probably mirrored her own. There was nothing they could do about it so they may as well just go with the flow.

There was something else mixed in with the resignation. Maybe it was due to the almost joyous atmosphere in the cubicle at having solved a potentially impossible hitch to the perfect wedding. Or maybe, for Hannah, it was due to something she didn’t want to analyse.

It was more than satisfaction.

Curiously, it felt more like excitement.

C
LOUDS
were rolling in towards the North Queensland coast by 5 p.m.

Stained-glass windows in the small, Greek Orthodox church in the main township of Crocodile Creek were rattled with increasing force by the sharp wind gusts.

‘Did you hear that?’ Emily tugged on Mike’s arm. ‘It’s getting worse.’

‘Last report was that Willie’s heading further out to sea. Stop fretting, babe. Spit for luck instead.’

‘I’ve given up spitting, I told you that.’ The smile Emily shared with her fiancé spoke of a private joke and Hannah found herself smiling as well. Emily and Mike had the kind of bond she had only ever found with her sister. One where an unspoken language said so much and just a look or a touch could convey a lot more than words.

If she was ever going to get married herself, Hannah would want that kind of a bond with the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. She had known it wouldn’t be easy to find a man she could trust to that extent. No, that wasn’t quite true. Trevor had been as reliable and trustworthy as it was possible to be—perhaps because he was so
hard working and scientific and couldn’t tolerate anything that required imagination or spontaneity.

The relationship had gone from one of comfort to one of predictability. And then boredom had set in. In the end, Hannah had been quietly suffocating. The opportunity that moving to Auckland to take up her first registrar position had afforded had been too good to miss. Much to poor Trevor’s unhappy bewilderment, she had also moved on from their relationship.

She hadn’t been in another relationship since. Hurting another nice, kind, trustworthy man was not on the agenda. Risking personal disaster by trying the kind of man who was fascinating was also a place Hannah had no intention of going. Of course Susie was right. That ‘bad boy’ edge was attractive. It would be all too easy to think like most women—that
they
would be the one to make the difference—but it never happened like that. Not in real life.

Emily tore her eyes away from Mike to smile apologetically at Hannah. ‘I must sound like a real worry wart,’ she said, ‘but I’ve got a long veil. Can you imagine what it’s going to be like in gale-force winds?’

‘There are six of us.’ Hannah glanced at the lively group of young women milling behind her that included Mike’s sister, Maria. ‘I’m sure we’ll be able to keep your veil under control.’

Sophia put the finishing touches to yet another of the large, alternating peach and white bows she was tying to the ends of the pews and then clapped her hands.

‘Another practice!’ she ordered. ‘Michael! What are you doing? Go back up to the front with the others. Ryan! You’re supposed to be making my son behave.’

‘That’ll be the day,’ Ryan muttered. ‘Come on, mate. Let’s get
this over with and then we can hit the bright lights of Crocodile Creek for a stag party, yes?’

‘That really
would
be the day,’ Mike responded with a grimace. ‘There’s a lamb on a spit turning as we speak and every member of the family has about six jobs to do later. I think you’re down for potato-peeling duties. Or possibly painting the last of the damn chicken bones.’

‘Chicken bones?’

‘Quickly!’ Sophia’s tone suggested that there would be trouble if co-operation did not take place forthwith.

The two men shared a grin and then ambled up the red carpet of the aisle, and the rear view made Hannah realise how similar they were. Both tall and dark and handsome. They were wearing shorts and T-shirts at the moment but Hannah could well imagine what they’d look like tomorrow in their dark suits, crisp white shirts and bow ties. Just … irresistible.

Emily was watching the men as well and she sighed happily. ‘I can’t believe this is really going to happen,’ she whispered. ‘It’s just too good to be true.’

Her eyes were shining and Hannah could feel the glow. What would it be like, she wondered, to be
that
happy? To be so sure you’d chosen the right person and that that kind of love had a good chance of lasting for ever? Mike looked like Ryan in more than an outward physical sense. They both had that laid-back, mischievous gleam that advertised the ability to get the most enjoyment possible out of life. And that did not generally include settling down with one woman and raising a family. Had Emily been the one to change Mike? Did being Greek make the difference? Or was she heading for unimaginable heartbreak?

No. Hannah didn’t believe that for a moment. She had seen the way Mike and Emily had looked at each other.
They had found the real thing, all right. Standing in this pretty church, about to rehearse the steps for a ceremony to join two lovers in matrimony, Hannah couldn’t help a flash of envy. It was a bit like winning the lottery, wasn’t it? Only it was a human lottery and you couldn’t buy tickets. And even if you were lucky enough to find one, you might forget to read the small print and think you’d won, only to have the prize snatched away. It had happened to both her mother and to Susie, and Hannah knew why. Because ‘the Richards’ had had that hint of a ‘bad boy’ edge. They had been playboys. Fun-seekers. Like Ryan.

The pageboys and flower girls were being rounded up from their game of chase between the empty pews. They were holding plastic beach buckets as a prop to represent the baskets of petals they would hold tomorrow. Sophia herded them into place and repeated instructions they had apparently misheard on the first rehearsal.

‘Gently!’ she insisted. ‘You are throwing rose petals, CJ, not sticks for Rudolf!’

Maria was examining her nails. ‘They’re full of silver paint,’ she complained. ‘I never want to see another chicken bone in my life.’

‘What’s with the chicken bones?’ Hannah queried. ‘I heard Mike saying something about them as well.’

‘Wishbones.’ Emily was moving to take her place in the foyer. ‘Painted silver. Sophia’s planning to attach them to the little bags of almonds the guests will be given. Not that anyone’s found time to put the almonds in the bags yet, let alone attach the wishbones.’

‘They’re for fertility,’ Maria added. ‘The almonds, that is. And boy, do I wish they hadn’t been scattered around at my wedding. Watch out for the ones in your bed, Em. I’d sweep them out if I were you or you might end up like
me, with four little monsters under five.’ She was peering anxiously past Hannah to see if her small children were doing what they were supposed to on reaching the end of the petal-throwing procession.

‘Uncle Mike!’ one of them shrieked. ‘Did you see me pretending to throw petals?’

Mike swept the small girl into his arms and kissed her. Ryan held out his hands and got high-fives from two small boys—a gesture that was clearly well practised. Then he pulled them in, one on each side of his body, for a one-armed hug.

‘Good job, guys,’ Hannah heard him say.

When did Ryan get to spend enough time with young children to be that at ease with them? Did he have a big family with lots of nieces and nephews? Maybe he’d been married already and had his own children. The notion was quite feasible. It would explain his frequent trips back to Sydney. Not that it mattered to Hannah. She was just aware of how little she knew about her colleague. Aware of a curiosity she had no intention of satisfying.

‘I hope the aisle’s going to be wide enough.’ Emily had come back to her cluster of bridesmaids. ‘My dress is
huge.
A giant meringue. Do you think there’ll be room for a wheelchair beside me?’

‘A wheelchair?’ Hannah was glad she’d paid attention to Susie’s emails. ‘Is Charles Wetherby giving you away?’

‘Yes. He’s the closest thing to a father figure I’ve got.’

Reading between the lines of those emails, Hannah had the impression that Charles was a father figure to more than just Emily. With an ability to know more about what was happening within the walls of the hospital he directed than his staff were always comfortable with. A man with a quiet strength and wisdom that provided the cement for a remarkable
small community of professional medics. A community that her sister was very much a part of now.

‘I’m sure there’ll be room,’ she said confidently.

‘Susie!’ Sophia was sounding flustered. She was waving frantically from the altar end of the aisle. ‘Pay attention, darling!’

‘It’s Hannah, Ma, not Susie,’ Maria shouted.

‘I knew that. You know what I mean. Come on, girls. In your pairs.’

Hannah and Maria were first. They walked along the red carpet beneath the elaborate chandelier, the gilt frame of which had miniature copies of the paintings of various saints that decorated the walls of this church between the stained-glass windows. The tiny crystals tinkled musically overhead as another gust of wind managed to shake the solid brick building.

Maria glanced up at the chandelier and muttered something under her breath that could have been either a curse or a prayer. Maybe a bit of both, Hannah decided, as Mike’s sister flashed a grin at her.

‘It’s going to be a wild wedding at this rate!’

Hannah nodded agreement but found herself swallowing a little nervously. Even if Willie was out to sea and moving in a safe direction, this was still as close to a tropical cyclone as she felt comfortable with.

The first rehearsal made it easy to remember what to do this time. Hannah and Maria climbed to the top of the three steps and then waited until the other pairs of bridesmaids were on the lower steps before they all turned gracefully in unison to watch the bride’s entrance.

Hannah felt a complete fraud. If only Emily and Susie weren’t so set on her standing in. She couldn’t even follow someone else’s lead. She was the chief bridesmaid. It was
up to her to make sure all the others did the right thing at the right time. There was a point when she would actually be a closer part of this ceremony, too. When the bride and groom were wearing the matching orange-blossom wreaths on their heads that were joined by satin ribbons, they would take their first steps as man and wife with a tour three times around the altar. It would be Hannah’s job to hold up the train of Emily’s dress and keep her veil in order. As best man, Ryan would be right beside her, holding up the ribbons joining the wreaths.

He would be wearing his tuxedo and Hannah would be so dressed up and groomed she wouldn’t even feel like herself. She would have to be Ryan’s partner in this ceremony and probably at the reception. She might even have to dance with him, and she was going to feel so uncomfortable she would be hating every minute of it.

And you’ll look miserable, a small voice at the back of her mind warned. You’ll make Susie miserable and probably Emily and definitely Ryan, and they’ll all wish you’d never been invited to this wedding. Hannah noticed the nudge that Mike gave his best man by bumping shoulders. There was a whispered comment and then a frankly admiring stare from both men as the girls behind Hannah proudly arranged themselves on the steps. The men grinned approvingly. The girls giggled. They were all enjoying every moment of this circus.

And why not? It was going to be a huge party. The wild weather would probably only enhance the enjoyment of those safely tucked away inside. It was play time, not work time. Why couldn’t she just relax and have fun, like they were?

Everybody thought she was boring. Too focussed on her career. Too ready to troubleshoot problems before they even occurred. It should, and probably did, make her a very
good doctor, but too many people had criticised that ability in the last few days. Jennifer thought she had no life of her own outside work. Ryan thought she was dull. Even her own sister had commented on her lack of spontaneity or willingness to reap the rewards of taking a personal risk.

Hannah had never allowed sheer physical attraction to be the deciding factor when it came to men. Or slept with someone on a first date. Not that she intended to jump Ryan’s bones, of course. Or fall in love with him because of a look, or, in his case, more likely due to the kind of smile she’d experienced in the plane that morning. The kind her junior bridesmaids were enjoying right now.

She could, however, throw caution to the winds for once, couldn’t she? Given the current weather conditions in Crocodile Creek, it would be highly likely to be blown a very long way away, but would that be so terrible?

For the next twenty-four hours or so, she was going to have to pretend to be Susie. Someone with a rather different perspective on life and taking risks. This could be the perfect opportunity to step outside her own comfort zone. To really let her guard down and simply enjoy the moment, without trying to see down the track to locate potential hazards.

What did she have to lose? On Sunday she would get on a plane again to go home. Back to being herself. Back to working hard enough to ensure the success she craved. Hopefully, back to a new position as an emergency department consultant. And how much time would she get to have fun after that? This weekend could be seen as a kind of hens’ party really. A final fling before Hannah became wedded to a new and intense phase of her career.

And it wouldn’t hurt to show Ryan Fisher that she
did
know how to enjoy herself. That she wasn’t all work and no play and as dull as ditchwater.

Yes!

Hannah hunched her shoulders and then let them drop to release any unconscious tension.

And then she smiled at Ryan. Really smiled. Here we are, then, her smile said. Let’s have fun!

Good grief!

What had he done to deserve a smile like that? One that actually touched Hannah’s eyes instead of just being a polite curve of her lips.

Ryan had to fight the urge to glance over his shoulder to see whether the real recipient of the smile was standing nearby.

Hell, she was gorgeous. It was going to be more than rather difficult to stick to his resolution if she was going to do things like smile at him like that. Almost as bad as discovering it had been Hannah and not Susie wearing that frilly skirt. The one that the wind had whipped up to reveal a pair of extremely enticing legs as he and Mike had driven up to the hospital earlier that afternoon. He’d never be able to see her wearing scrubs trousers in the ED again without knowing what lay beneath the shapeless fabric.