‘It’s always safer to get these things checked out,’ Polly murmured, feeling guilty that she hadn’t asked him earlier if he had been injured. She had been too busy putting him in his place and it wasn’t like her to behave that way but, there again, nothing that had happened in the last eight hours was normal. Once again she felt panic well up inside her. Could she cope with a future that was going to be so very different from the one she had planned?
‘Look, do you want a lift or not? You may have nothing to do today but I need to get home.’
The impatience in the man’s voice was just what she needed to steady her. Polly glared at him. ‘Are you always this charming? Or are you making a special effort just for me?’
‘Believe me, I have treated you exactly the same as everyone else,’ he retorted.
‘Then you obviously need to work on your people skills,’ Polly shot back, wrenching open the taxi door.
She settled back in the seat as the driver set off, feeling weariness wash over her. The lack of sleep plus all the emotional turmoil she’d been through had left her feeling drained. Opening her bag, she took out the letter that Martin had left for her, forcing herself to re-read the few brief lines it contained. It was still hard to believe it was true but there it was, in black and white. He had met someone else and, although he was very sorry, he had realised that he wanted to be with her and not Polly. In the meantime, he was going away and would leave it to Polly to tell everyone that the wedding was cancelled. If she preferred to say that it had been a mutual decision then that was fine with him. He only hoped that in time she would understand that he had made the right decision for both of them.
Polly took a deep breath as she folded up the letter and put it back in her bag. She hoped so too, hoped that a time would come when she didn’t feel so completely and utterly at sea. She glanced at her watch, feeling the ready tears scalding her eyes. In a couple of hours’ time everyone in Beesdale would know that she wasn’t getting married today.
ELLIOT REACHED FOR his wallet as the taxi drew up. He still wasn’t sure why he had offered the woman a lift. Normally, it wouldn’t have crossed his mind and yet the moment he had seen her standing outside A&E he had felt compelled to help her. Why? Because she had looked so lost, so forlorn? Why should he care how she felt? He had no idea but he could have no more left her standing there than he could have...have flown to the moon!
‘Here we are then,’ he said, dismissing that ridiculous thought as they climbed out of the cab. He drummed up a smile, making an effort to appear a shade more cordial than he had been earlier. Just for a moment he was tempted to explain about the frustrating week he’d had before he thought better of it. Explanations were for the weak, for those people who were prepared to give others an advantage over them. And he had decided many years ago that he would never let anyone take advantage of him again. ‘Right back where we started.’
‘Oh...erm...yes.’
The woman jumped as though she had been lost in a world of her own and once again Elliot’s interest was piqued. Was she worrying about Lauren and her baby, he wondered, or was there something else troubling her? The question hovered on his lips but he forced it back. He wouldn’t ask, wouldn’t invite any confidences, wouldn’t get involved in any way at all. His life was fine the way it was. He had Joseph and his work to fill it and he didn’t need anything else. If and when he needed sex then he organised it with the same attention to detail that he arranged everything else. He always chose a woman who felt the same as he did, who didn’t want commitment but merely wanted to satisfy a need. He knew without even having to think about it that this woman didn’t fall into that category. No, she would expect the lot—marriage, commitment, a lifetime of togetherness—all the things he had sworn he would avoid after he and Marianna had divorced.
The thought of his ex-wife made his mouth tighten and he saw the woman beside him colour. Reaching into her bag, she took out her car keys. ‘I won’t detain you any longer. Thank you for the lift. I appreciated it.’
With that, she walked over to her car. Elliot watched her go, wondering why he felt as though he should have said something, but what exactly? Should he have thanked her for stopping earlier, perhaps? After all, if the accident had happened in the city then few people would have stopped—they would have been too busy with their own affairs to help a stranger. He would have had to deal with it himself, deal with the other driver as well. Although it wouldn’t have been a problem as such; after all, he was medically qualified. But would Lauren have told him that she was pregnant or would she have been put off by his attitude? The thought that she might not have disclosed the information settled like a heavy weight inside him. He couldn’t help wondering what other information he had missed over the years because people had been deterred by his less than encouraging approach. What had the redhead said before—that he needed to work on his people skills? It seemed she was right.
Elliot could feel all sorts of emotions swirling around inside him as he headed to his car. It was years since he had felt so unsure about his actions and it shook him. Every aspect of his life, from the tiniest detail to the most major decision, was always planned in advance. To find himself awash with doubts all of a sudden was scary. It made him feel vulnerable, defenceless.
‘Is everything all right?’
Elliot jumped, his heart racing, when he discovered that the woman was bending down beside the open window. Before he could stop himself, he found himself taking rapid stock of large hazel eyes, a straight little nose, a perfectly curved Cupid’s bow, and his racing heart raced a bit faster. He hadn’t noticed it before but all of a sudden he realised how attractive she was...
‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
A slim hand reached in and closed around his arm and Elliot flinched. It wasn’t her touch per se but the effect it had on him. Heat poured through his veins so that all of a sudden it felt as though he was on fire. What the hell was going on? Why was he burning up because this woman had touched him? It certainly fell beyond the range of rational explanation. All he could do was pray it would stop—and stop soon. Stop before the damage became permanent.
Panic rose inside him, adding to the conflagration. He didn’t want to respond to her this way, didn’t want to start yearning for things he had sworn he didn’t need. He wanted his life to remain exactly the same as it had been for the past eight years, and yet he had a feeling that it was already too late, that what had happened today had changed things, changed him. He took a deep breath as his vision swam. Today was going to affect his whole future and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it either!
* * *
Polly could feel the heat of the man’s skin flowing through her fingertips and frowned. Although it was a warm day for April, it wasn’t so warm that it should have caused such a rise in his temperature. Sliding her hand down to his wrist, she checked his pulse, her frown deepening when she discovered how rapid it was. He’d told her that he had strained a muscle but that didn’t explain why his pulse was racing like this, did it?
‘Do you feel sick or dizzy?’ she said, bending closer so that she could look into his eyes. Maybe he had hit his head when he had run into the back of the van, she thought anxiously. It was a known fact that a head injury could take some time to present itself and if it was left untreated it could have disastrous consequences. The thought sent a rush of fear scudding through her.
‘Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?’ Polly said urgently, checking his pupils for any irregularities, a sure sign of a head injury.
‘No. I just wrenched my neck.’
His voice was deep, husky, and Polly felt a frisson run through her. All of a sudden she was aware of him in a way she had never expected to be. She let her gaze travel over his face in the hope that she would find some clue there to explain what was happening. His