Cornish Reunion with the Heart Doctor
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Louisa George
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17
CHAPTER ONE
‘OKAY, EVERYTHING’S QUIET. Fairly sure I’m up to date.’ Lexi Fisher removed her stethoscope from around her neck and dropped it into her work bag.
So long. Farewell. I won’t be needing you where I’m going.
‘Dr Fisher! Hush your mouth! Don’t you know it’s bad luck to say the...’ charge nurse Chantelle grinned as she looked up from her pile of paperwork at the nurses’ station in the general paediatrics Peter Pan ward and mouthed quiet ‘...word. You’ve probably jinxed us to a night shift from hell.’
‘Oops. Sorry.’ Lexi twirled round, barely able to breathe for the excitement rippling through her. ‘But...drum roll. That’s me finished for the week. Seven days. Seven whole days without work. And how sad is it that I’m this excited?’
‘Not sad at all. I don’t remember you ever taking a holiday and I’ve been here almost eighteen months. I hope you have lots of fun, Lexi. You deserve it.’
‘Oh, I will. I see cocktails and beach walks in my future. And probably rain, knowing Cornwall, but I won’t care. It’s holiday rain. Far better than walking to work rain. Or horizontal day off rain. Don’t ask me to send you a postcard. I’ll be too busy doing...’ Lexi closed her eyes and imagined the quirky fishing village she’d seen online, the beautiful beaches and gorgeous sunsets. And the loaded e-reader she’d packed, full of her favourite authors’ summer releases. ‘Nothing. At. All.’
‘Really? Nothing? Come on, Lexi. Sun, sea, sand and...sexy surfers?’ Chantelle winked suggestively. ‘How about a holiday romance? It’s been a while, right?’
Four and a half years. Not that she was counting. ‘Trust me, the only other two “S’s” I’ll be participating in are sleeping...and smiling hard at my friend’s wedding.’
‘A week’s a long time for a wedding.’ Chantelle’s eyebrows rose in question.
‘The wedding’s tomorrow, but a group of us are staying on for the rest of the week. It’s so overdue. I haven’t seen some of these guys since we graduated, back in the Dark Ages—’
‘Dr Fisher! Dr Fisher...thank goodness you’re still here.’ One of the younger nurses came screeching round the corner. Younger? Lexi sighed as she looked at the woman’s swinging shiny ponytail and youthful energy. Who was she kidding? Everyone was younger than her these days. At forty-three she was probably old enough to be this nurse’s mother. As if that could ever happen. ‘Can you come, please? Baby Ahmadi’s oxygen sats have dropped and he’s struggling a bit.’
All thoughts of her impending holiday and her poor parenting prognosis slid from Lexi’s mind. ‘I’ll be right there.’
‘No way.’ Always protective of her colleagues, Chantelle held up her hand but threw Lexi an I told you so look. ‘You’ll have to ask Dr Kowalski. Lexi’s signing off. She hasn’t had a holiday for...’
‘Hey, I know the drill. I said the quiet word, now I have to deal. I just left Dr Kowalski with a patient in ER and she’ll be tied up there for a while. It’s okay. It’s fine. Honestly.’
As she put her bag back down on the chair, Lexi checked her watch. Her old friend Jono’s train was due to arrive in half an hour. She’d planned her timetable to perfection: collect him from the airport, drive down to Cornwall and snatch a few hours’ sleep before Emma and Mark’s big day.
Things were inevitably going to be delayed now. Ah, well. Jono was a medic too. They’d trained together back in the day. He knew the score. He’d understand.
Would he? Surely. It had been over five years since she’d seen him in person; he could have changed. She smiled, remembering the emails they’d sent back and forth during and after her divorce. What had started with a quick check-in from him because he’d heard about her marriage split had become a lifeline that had helped her get through it. Somehow, the anonymity of writing rather than talking had given her a safe space to vent her feelings and he’d always replied with tales of his interesting love life and adventures in the Australian Outback as a flying doctor. Sure, he’d always been part of her friendship circle, but now she counted him as one of her closest friends—on paper anyway.
And he’d always been reassuringly the same; she had never known a man less bothered about rules or timings. God, she couldn’t wait to see him. See them all. A holiday reunion!
But first...she retrieved her stethoscope from her bag. It was still warm.
Two hours later Lexi steered her Mini into the train station car park, jumped out and ran into the waiting room. Where was he?
No grinning, tall, miscreant doctor. No one at all except for an old guy swishing an industrial floor cleaner along the tiled floor.
She checked her phone. Had Jono received her texts about being late? Where was he? Had he left without her? She’d expected him to be standing waiting for her near the exit.
She wandered along a dimly lit platform and there...lying curled up on his side on a metal bench, with one of those wide-brimmed Australian Akubra hats over his face and a large rucksack on the floor, was a shape that resembled Jono Neale. If Jono Neale had taken up weights and grown a scruff of dark beard.
Her heart began to pound.
Would he be angry she was late? Would things be awkward between them after five years? Between all of them tomorrow?
They’d graduated from medical school twelve years ago; no doubt they’d all changed and grown up since then. They were different people...well, she certainly was. She’d been to hell and back since those heady days of study and nightclubs and freedom, and even though she’d had regular catch-ups with some of them, like tomorrow’s bride Emma and the rest of the bridesmaids...who knew how she’d get on with the others?
‘Hey.’ She prodded his arm gently and whispered, ‘Jono. Hey. Wake up.’
An arm lifted. The hat was removed as he turned onto his back muttering something that sounded a lot like, ‘Can we have a quickie?’
She couldn’t help but laugh and tut and eye-roll and smile. Because... Jono. Bad boy and chancer extraordinaire. An older, sun-kissed Jono now, with smatterings of red dust in hair that was longer than he used to wear it. But Jono nevertheless. Her heart settled. He hadn’t changed at all.
‘You can’t shock me, Jono Neale.’ She prodded him again. ‘I’ve got more dirt on you than five years in the Outback will ever match.’
‘Lexi? Dr Lexi Fisher? Is that really you?’ An eye opened. Then the other. He smiled. A broad, happy grin that instantly wiped away any of her anxiety about meeting up with him again.
He was still heart-throb-gorgeous...half the women at med school had lusted after him, and a good chunk of the men too. Not her, though. Not least because Jono was eight years her junior, but also because she’d been infatuated with—and subsequently married to—Ross as soon as they’d finished university.
Jono jerked upright and enveloped her in a huge, warm hug. He was tall and broad and so familiar. And he clung on, and so did she because it really was so good to see him. Her chest heated. Good old Jono. He felt good, strong, safe, familiar and yet new. She’d forgotten what a good hugger he was.
Eventually he let go, held her at arm’s length and looked her up and down. ‘Sorry, you caught me napping. I was fast asleep. Dreaming about...’
‘No! Stop!’ Laughing, she put her hands over her ears, knowing he was playing her. Either he hadn’t been asleep or the quickie reference had been meant to shock her. It hadn’t. She’d stopped being shocked by his antics years ago.
‘Aw. You cut me off. I was just getting to the good bit.’
‘Way too much information. I can’t believe you’re thinking about sex after a twenty-four-hour flight.’ Whereas she never thought about it at all these days.
‘More like forty hours. I don’t even know what day it is. I flew from Kununurra to Darwin, to Sydney to Dubai, to Heathrow. Then the train up to Oxford.’
‘And I kept you waiting. I’m so sorry. I should have picked you up at Heathrow or something and saved you the train trip. But I got caught up with an eight-month-old with RSV. Sats had dropped to eighty-nine.’
‘Poor kid.’ His accent had a tinge of Aussie in it, his sentences inflecting upwards at the end. ‘But I’m betting you sorted them out.’
‘For now. A preemie too. Went a bit floppy so I had to stay around to get those oxygen levels back up and make sure he was stable.’
‘Of course. I got your text so I had a cup of tea, then caught up on some sleep so I can be your wide-awake wingman on the drive down.’
The man was a doctor, he’d been trained to sleep any time anywhere because, when on call, you never knew how much sleep you’d be able to get. But tea?
‘You drank tea? Not beer? Wine? Whisky?’ She looked behind him. ‘Who are you and what have you done with my old mate, Jono?’
‘Yup. Tea. What do they say, a change is as good as a rest?’ He looked very pleased with himself. ‘I’m going to be your sober wingman. It’s a five-hour journey to Cornwall and it’s late. I want us to get there in one piece.’
‘Is this...is this you being responsible?’ She gaped in disbelief.
He shrugged and grinned. ‘I know, right? Who’d have thought?’
Who indeed? She pointed to his rucksack. ‘Come on, then. We can squeeze your bag onto the back seat.’
‘No room in the boot?’ He looked at her the way a parent would look at a disappointing child, but his tone was teasing. ‘Lexi Fisher, did you pack your whole wardrobe for a week’s trip to St Quintin?’
‘It’s a Mini. No room at all. But it’s either squeeze in with me or you wait until the train down to Cornwall in the morning. Which will mean you’ll miss the wedding. And as a groomsman I’m not sure you want to do that.’
‘Mark would kill me. Not to mention Emma. Looks like I’m stuck with you then.’ He pecked a quick kiss on her cheek then led the way outside. She followed him, walking quickly to keep up with his long strides. The man was far more refreshed and awake than anyone should be after a long flight and a sleep. In fact, he was looking better than she’d ever seen him. He’d certainly filled out, developed muscles and a tidy backside, and a sharp jawline she didn’t remember being quite so acute.
Her gaze slid to that backside again. Or...cute.
What? She snapped her gaze away from the denim. Had she really just thought Jonathan Neale was cute? No way. She’d known him since he was eighteen and she was twenty-six, and always thought of him like a younger brother. After dithering about her career choices and making a couple of course swerves she’d decided to study medicine later than most and found herself significantly older than a lot of the other students. But they’d always included her in their plans and she’d made firm and lasting friendships.
No way could she think anything other than Jono is my friend. He’s been there for me through everything.
Cute? Something a lot like panic resonated in her chest. Yep, she definitely needed a holiday. Sun, sea and sexy surfers... Even a holiday romance.
But not with Jono.
Does Jono surf?
Stop it.
Having deposited his rucksack in the back, he folded himself into the passenger seat, filling her car with a scent of Australian heat, travel and something that flung her mind back to when they’d lived in a shared house in their fourth year. Memories tangled with scents and her heart lifted. They’d had a lot of fun back then.
Then they were off. As she drove, he tried to stretch his legs out, then drew them back, his knees bent up to touch the dashboard. He played round with the seat levers, pushing back as far as the mechanism allowed. ‘This is the most uncomfortable car I’ve ever been in.’
‘Because you’re six feet two. For Hobbit me it’s perfect. Look.’ She wafted her left arm in the air. ‘Look at all this space I have. So much space. I could fit three of me in here. Maybe only a half of you would fit neatly.’
He’d always been tall and characterful, but since when had he filled the spaces he inhabited?
‘Never change, Lexi.’ He smiled but the corners of his mouth dipped down as she yawned. ‘You’re tired. Right. I’m going to ask you lots of embarrassing questions to keep you awake.’
She chuckled. ‘Not sure I like the sound of that.’
‘I do. One.’ He ticked it off on his finger. ‘What have you been up to since we last messaged?’
‘Work.’ She shrugged and thought sadly that work had, indeed, been the only thing in her life for the last few years. ‘Yes. Work.’
‘That’s it?’ His tone was incredulous.
‘Yes. I like work.’
‘Me too. But seriously? It’s not my everything. Anything else? Trips? Hook-ups?’
Uh-oh. ‘What?’ She dared a glance at his face. Yes, he was grinning at her embarrassment. ‘No. I’m too old for all that.’
‘Oh, yeah.’ He laughed. ‘Way too old for going on trips.’
‘No. Idiot.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘For hook-ups.’
‘Ancient. You’re forty what?’
‘Forty-three and I feel ancient. And I’m going to look ancient tomorrow compared to all you spring chickens.’
‘Rubbish. What’s a few years between us? We’ve all caught up with you now. Anyway, you look amazing, and you’ve got more energy than all of us put together. Apparently, you kick-box and run half marathons for charity in your spare time. You’re a regular wonder woman. Unless your emails were made up just to make me feel inadequate?’
‘As if anyone could ever do that with an ego the size of yours.’ She laughed. ‘I exercise to exorcise my demons. If I stay still too long, I remember all the crap in my life.’
‘But you got rid of him.’ He shot her a look she couldn’t read.
It felt different sharing things face to face rather than over email. She could see his reactions for one. And she didn’t have time to consider her replies. ‘I did. Well...let’s be honest, he left me. But things had been bad between us for a while.’ And it had hurt so much at the time, but she was definitely over him. ‘I feel great about it now.’
‘I can tell.’ There was something in Jono’s tone that made her turn to look at him. She caught his gaze. Even in the amber glow from the motorway lights his eyes glittered. Had they always been quite so blue? And clear? And warm? She’d never noticed before. He grinned. ‘So...not even thinking about dating anyone?’
‘No. Not since Ross.’ Why did this feel suddenly too personal? The man knew all her secrets. Something weird rattled through her chest. She swallowed and searched for a question of her own. ‘Are you excited about the big move back to England?’
He nodded and if he thought her abrupt change of subject was odd, he didn’t mention it. ‘Absolutely. Feels a bit strange coming full circle back to Oxford where we all studied, but it’s the right time.’
‘Oh? Why now? Did you run out of women in Australia?’
‘Cheeky.’ He gave her a side-smile. ‘I didn’t even get to Tasmania. That’s a whole island I’ve yet to explore.’
‘And yet here you are.’
‘It was time to renew the work visa and I just...’ His expression flattened into something uncharacteristically serious. ‘I guess I ran out of reasons to stay there.’
‘Homesick?’
‘Kind of. Dad’s been ill, and I know he hasn’t exactly been father of the year, but I’m all he’s got so I thought it better to be around in case he needed me...anything,’ he added quickly.
Talking about his dad had always been difficult for Jono. Their relationship had deteriorated in his teens and they’d drifted apart. So this reason for his return was surprising.
‘What’s happened? You should have said. I’d have gone to visit him. Wherever he is. Not that I’ve even met him, and it would be weird to have a complete stranger turning up, but I’m sure I could have done something to help.’ It was the least she could have done after all the support Jono had given her.
‘Really, it’s fine. I wouldn’t have known much at all, but his GP tracked me down as Dad’s next of kin. Apparently, he’s finally settled near the army barracks in Abingdon. I haven’t told him I’m coming home, but the cardiologist vacancy came up at the right time and I jumped. It’s about time me and Dad talked.’ He grimaced. ‘That’s going to be interesting.’
‘What’s the medical issue?’
‘Apparently, he had a myocardial infarction a few years ago. Never told me. He’s also got type two diabetes and high blood pressure. And then last month he was diagnosed with heart failure.’ Jono blinked.
‘Ironic that you’re a cardiologist then.’
‘Yeah. I’m probably going to need a few big drinks after I’ve met up with him. It’s been so long I’m not sure what we’ll have to say to each other.’
She laughed in sympathy. ‘Absolutely count me in for that. It’s about time I gave you support—you’ve been doing it so long for me.’
‘A drinking partner is always welcome. Oh, and thanks for the offer of your spare room until I get myself sorted.’
‘No worries. It’s just sitting there empty.’ The nursery. That was what they’d planned all those years ago, before the endless rounds of failed IVF attempts. Before Ross had upped and left with a woman who could provide him with the child he’d so desperately wanted. But Jono coming back had finally given her the impetus to paint over the soft pastels. ‘It’ll be fun to have some company. Although I don’t want any of your shenanigans like when we were at uni.’
‘Shenanigans? Me?’ His eyes widened and he put his hand to his heart as if shocked.
‘Yes. You. The sock on the door handle to let everyone know you were...ahem...’ she faux cleared her throat ‘...entertaining a guest.’
He grinned. ‘I went through a lot of socks.’
‘No, you didn’t.’ She laughed. ‘You just wanted to.’
‘I’m surprised you even noticed. Didn’t you move in with Ross halfway through our fourth year?’
‘Term three. Big mistake in retrospect.’
‘I know. I never said anything, because it was your choice and you seemed so happy.’ His nostrils flared as if remembering something distasteful. ‘But I always thought it was a bad idea. There was something about him I didn’t trust.’
‘Really?’ Had all her friends thought that? ‘I wish you’d said something at the time.’
‘What? And get my head bitten off? You were totally in love with the guy.’
‘Yeah—and look where that got me. Turns out you were right about him in the end. Now I’m not sure I can trust my own judgement about these things. It’s just easier not to date or think about dating.’ An idea struck her. ‘Hey, maybe you should vet any potential boyfriends in the future. You can be totally honest with me. I promise I won’t bite your head off. Not that I see any romance in my future. But you know...just in case.’ Having been reminded how empty her life was, apart from work, she was starting to warm to the idea of sun, sea and something to spice up her life.
‘Sure. If you see anyone who takes your fancy this week let me know and I’ll suss him out.’
‘Excellent.’ She couldn’t help smiling at the thought of Jono going all macho around any guys who might want to ask her out. ‘A proper wingman.’
‘At your service, ma’am.’ He leaned his head back against the seat and looked out of the window. She followed suit, staring at the long road ahead. The motorway was quiet; the huge overhead lights flashed by as they ate up the miles.
Eventually he sighed. ‘Ah. The M4. Something familiar at last. I’ve spent the last five years getting to know a new place for six months and then moving on, rinse and repeat.’
‘You should be used to it. Didn’t you do that your whole life growing up?’
‘Every couple of years, yes. Thanks to being an army brat. But it gets old.’
She struggled to hide her surprise. She’d imagined this new job in Oxford would be temporary, same as every other thing he did. ‘Not thinking of settling down? You?’
‘Not exactly.’ He shrugged. ‘But who knows?’
‘I don’t believe it for a minute.’
‘Never say never.’ A pause. ‘I am so glad to be back and to see the old gang.’
She could feel his eyes on her, and she turned to look at him again. ‘I wonder if everyone else is the same or if they’ve changed. I’m always wary of reunions because there’s so much comparison going on. Who’s achieved the most. Who’s got the cleverest kids.’ She felt a pang in her heart. ‘I don’t think I’ll be winning that one.’
His smile was sympathetic and his eyes softened. ‘You had a rough time of it.’
‘I’m sorry I blurted it all out to you in my long emails. But writing it down seemed to help.’
‘Hey...’ He squeezed her knee. ‘I’m glad you did. That’s what friends are for.’
She’d been fine about it all recently, but something about having him here, the one person she’d shared everything with, and this tender gesture suddenly made her feel wobbly. Pressing her lips together, she nodded and focused back on the road, not wanting to revisit her past and spoil the journey. ‘It’s going to be a fun week. That’s all I’m after right now.’
‘Me too. Before the job starts and I have to be serious again. Let’s make sure we have the best week.’ He winked, all teasing.
‘Totally.’ She smiled.
If she could stop thinking he was cute.
Maybe she did need to start looking for a date. Someone cuter than Jono. Someone who could take her weirdly treacherous mind off her old friend’s nice backside.
Then there was this...weird feeling she’d had when he’d wrapped her in a hug. And again, when she’d glanced over and caught him smiling. And right now...
Sure, she’d always known he was good-looking. But he’d matured into something even better. A smattering of grey at the temples. Crinkles at the sides of his eyes. And that look in his gaze that was calmer, settled, less restless. But still lots of fun. A woman could lose herself in those eyes.
Oh, God.
It was the worst thing she could realise and so inconvenient given she was spending a week with him. And he was coming to live with her until he found accommodation in Oxford...
Yikes.
Because Jono Neale wasn’t just cute. He was smoking hot.
