“I’m not sure what to say. I don’t have the words to acknowledge what you just did for me.”
He felt deeply moved. “You don’t have to say anything.”
She reached up and caressed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“I’m not going to say any time, because, you know, let’s not do that again.” He smiled as she laughed. Without giving it a second thought, he leaned down and pressed a kiss on her forehead, then ran a finger along the baby’s cheek. “You’re welcome,” he said, looking at her, again caught in that sea green gaze. Then he stepped back to allow Rafe and Mikky to take over, sliding the gurney into the ambulance, Mikky stepping in behind. She turned to pull the door shut, giving William a smile and a wave. He looked at Juniper one more time as she held the baby close and dropped her head back on the pillow, her eyes closed and a sweet smile curving her lips.
“Great job, mate. I don’t know what would have happened to her if you hadn’t stopped.”
The two men shook hands. “Cheers,” William said. Then Rafe was in behind the wheel, starting the engine, pulling onto the road. He gave the horn a toot as he pulled away and in seconds, he was around the bend and out of sight. William stood on the side of the road in the dark for a long moment, feeling oddly bereft. Christ, what an experience. He reached for his phone, thinking to call his sister to tell her all about it. His heart skipped a beat when he saw he had twelve missed calls from her and two text messages, imploring him to call her, urgently.
“Cassie, what is it?”
“Jesus, William. Where the fuck have you been? It’s Dad. We think he’s had a stroke.”
“What? How?”
“Please come. I’m so scared. He’s gone in an ambulance, Mum’s with him. I’m on my way to the hospital but I don’t want to be there alone if —” Her voice broke on a sob.
“Okay, I’m on my way, but I’m hours away. Which hospital?” She rattled off the details as he got in the car, his hands shaking as he pushed the key in the ignition and turned it. He swore gratefully when it started. He’d left the headlights on that whole time. “I’m on my way.” He hung up and gunned the engine, pulling out onto the highway, the gravel skittering under his tires.
CHAPTER 1
William
Almost three years later
“Yeah, Cass. It’ll be great.” William, his cell phone in one hand, typed away at his laptop keyboard with the other. “Like we always said, it’s going to be a real point of difference. Not many companies can offer a real, bona fide lighthouse for a corporate retreat.”
“Yeah, exactly. I’ll send you the projections for the first twelve months after we go live. I’ve already scouted out some of our existing clients and they’re very keen to book, so I’m not going to go too conservative on the figures. You just get me the estimated date to work from.”
“Okay. I’m meeting with the builder in about ten minutes. But just a heads up, it’s a lot of work, probably our biggest project yet, so it’s gonna take a while.”
“Oh, poor you, stuck in a pretty seaside town for weeks on end. My heart bleeds for you.”
“Haha, funny. It is pretty nice though.”
“Maybe you could invite what’s her name down to hang out, if you get bored.”
“Her name’s Sharon and ah, no, I won’t be doing that.”
Cassie sighed. “Like that, is it? And we didn’t even get the chance to meet her. Not that we ever do.”
“You’re seriously getting into this with me now?”
Another sigh. “No, sorry. It’s just that Mum and I are a bit worried about you.” She paused. “I swear I just heard your eyes roll.”
“Probably, because they did.” He smiled when he heard her chuckle.
“Okay, well, I’ll let you go, but before I do that, I’m gonna let you know something.”
“What?” He asked with trepidation.
“I’m going to talk my future father-in-law into producing a new reality tv show. It’ll be calledThe Businessman Wants a Wife.I’ll give you one guess who the businessman will be.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t want a wife. And he’s not your future father-in-law until James pops the question.”
“Sure you do. And it’s just a matter of time before James pops the question. He’s not a laggard, like some people I know. Now I’m going to hang up before your eyes roll all the way to the back of your head. Bye!”
