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Jack’s hands slid over her back—a caressing movement that stole the air out of her lungs, nullified the common sense trying to take hold of her mind.
When he wrapped his hands over her shoulders and tipped her slightly backwards she knew he was going to kiss her and she was powerless to stop him. She wanted it. Forget right or wrong. This was Jack and she was finally kissing him. Common sense was highly overrated.
His mouth touched hers: softly, tentatively. Seeking what? A connection from the past? A new beginning? She thrilled as his lips moulded with hers. And when she opened her mouth under his her tongue tasted him. Jack went from slow and quiet to fast and hot in an instant. His kiss deepened so quickly Ruby was spinning through space. Her arms gripped him tighter for support, trying to keep herself firmly in the here and now as she tilted further back to allow Jack better access to her mouth.
At last. She was kissing Jack Forbes again. Memories of other kisses flooded her senses. Nothing over those years had changed. They fitted together. They were two halves that needed their matching piece to be complete. And yet this kiss felt different from every other kiss she’d shared with Jack. Filled with need so long held in abeyance. Filled with the promise of new beginnings …
Dear Reader
Welcome to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city. Affectionately known as Windy Wellington, the city sits on the edge of a large harbour where ferries regularly ply back and forth across the wild Cook Strait to the South Island.
I haven’t set a story in a large city before, and have only touched on a very small piece of this one. I love using real settings that I know, because the moment I sit down to write I’m transported to that place. I can share the memories of wandering along a certain beach or walking through a busy street or cycling in the hills.
Ruby and Jack both love Wellington—it’s just taken Ruby a long time and some life-changing experiences to realise that. Coming home to settle down is exciting for her, while Jack’s finally decided there’s got to be more to life and it’s probably not in his home town.
I hope you enjoy the journey these two take to overcome their previous broken relationship and to find common ground for starting over … together.
Cheers!
Sue MacKay
With a background of working in medical laboratories and a love of the romance genre, it is no surprise that SUE MACKAY writes Medical Romance stories. An avid reader all her life, she wrote her first story at age eight—about a prince, of course. She lives with her own hero in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, at the top of New Zealand’s South Island, where she indulges her passions for the outdoors, the sea and cycling.
Also by Sue MacKay:
SURGEON IN A WEDDING DRESS
RETURN OF THE MAVERICK
PLAYBOY DOCTOR TO DOTING DAD
THEIR MARRIAGE MIRACLE
These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk
The Dangers of
Dating Your Boss
Sue MacKay
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Behind every author is a great editor.
Thank you, Megan Haslam,
for your patience and wonderful encouragement.
CHAPTER ONE
‘IF I DON’T eat in the next five minutes I’m going to slip into a coma,’ Ruby Smith told her boss and crew partner, Dave.
‘Yeah, yeah. Heard it all before. Didn’t you have breakfast?’ Dave stacked the two medical packs at the helicopter door, ready to be taken into the storeroom and replenished.
‘That was hours ago.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Six hours ago, to be precise.’ A call had come through as she’d been about to sit down to a hot steak pie from the local bakery. Now they’d just returned from an MVA on State Highway One. They’d airlifted a young man with both femurs broken and one femoral artery torn to Hutt Hospital.
‘Hey, Red, is that you?’ A deep, male voice with a slight rasp called from down on the tarmac.
Ruby’s heart leapt into her throat. Jack? Even after years apart, that voice was as familiar to her as her own. And it still had the power to unravel her carefully put-together resolve to keep him at arm’s length. That voice had been what had first attracted her to Jack, the only man she’d ever loved. The man she’d walked away from. For the dumbest of reasons.
But what was Jack doing here? Today? He wasn’t due to start until Monday, when she’d have been prepared. Right now she was still getting her head around all the ramifications of working with him. Would it be like old times? Jack the consummate professional watching her like a hawk, always teaching her, helping her improve her nursing skills? And would she be listening impatiently, wanting to touch him every time no one was looking? A sigh tickled over her lip. Want to or not, she had to keep her hands to herself. She’d go around with them jammed in her pockets if necessary. She’d moved on, grown up, knew her worth. So if there were a few blips between them as they got used to working together again, she’d survive.
There was no choice. Wellington was home now. Never again would she toss her few possessions into her pack and head away. She’d even burnt that pack against the day wanderlust struck again. She’d done her searching, found what she’d been looking for and sucked up the pain from knowing she’d wasted years of her life because of it. To let Jack back under her skin would risk her newfound and fragile contentment.
She peered out into the glittering winter sun, gripping the doorframe, her knuckles white. Jack, tall and slim, emanated strength in his stance as he stared up at her. Her mouth dried. Solid need sliced through her, heating and freezing her all at once. Need she believed she’d finally wrestled into submission. Jack Forbes. Her new boss and crew partner. Her old lover.
She couldn’t do this. She had to do this. ‘Hi, Jack,’ she managed feebly. Hi, gorgeous, her brain mocked her.
He grinned his well-practised, impish grin that had always got him everything he wanted, including her. ‘Get your butt out of that flying machine and come say hello to an old mate.’
So that was how he was going to play it. Mates. She could work with that, and it was a better start than she’d hoped for. Ruby jumped down onto the tarmac, grimacing as she jarred her bung knee. Tugging her shoulders back tight, she strode towards the moment she’d been both looking forward to and dreading since returning home to New Zealand. She strode towards Jack, apparently her friend. She hadn’t been sure if she was as over this man as she should be. And now? The jury was out.
‘Jack, it’s great to see you.’ Talk about the understatement of the year. Of her life.
‘Great to see ya, ruby-red girl.’ His old greeting. The one he’d shouted out as he’d come in the door at night, when he’d rolled over in bed in the morning.
Ruby’s heart tripped. Ruby-red girl. Did he even realise what he’d said? She blinked up at him, saw his Adam’s apple bob and shoved down the sense of drowning brought on by that greeting. Fixing a tight smile on her face, she desperately hoped she’d managed to hide the shock blowing through her at the close-up sight of him. Jack had always been a handsome dude, but three years on and wow. Her fingers tingled. Her stomach crunched. Lust, pure and simple, hot and complex, bubbled through her. Oh, boy, this reunion wasn’t supposed to be filled with desire and temptation. Mates, remember? ‘To think you’re going to be working on the helicopters.’
‘Why wouldn’t I?’ His grin faded. ‘I was blown away when I saw your name on the staff list. I didn’t know you were back in the country, let alone Wellington.’ His eyes narrowed as he looked her over with a familiar slow slide down her body that made her blood race and lifted goose-bumps on her skin. Made her want him. Badly.
The whole thing about having to work with Jack had just got monumentally harder. She fought the flare of annoyance that he could make her feel like this so easily after such a long time. ‘I know what you mean. To think you’d even consider leaving the emergency department came as a bombshell.’ That was the truth.
‘I’m full of surprises.’ Was that a hint of sarcasm in his tone?
‘Maybe I’ve got a few of my own,’ she retorted. Like the house she’d bought and the renovations she was doing to it, like her cute little friend sharing the place with her. If those things didn’t astonish Jack then he must have turned to stone over the years she’d been away.
Then a memory swamped her, flattening her with shame.
Three years ago Jack’s face had registered shock and disbelief over her biggest surprise ever. ‘You’re really going? Leaving Wellington? Leaving me?’
‘I have to. I’m never going to find my father by staying here, and since I’ve learned he’s American it makes sense to go over to the States. Come on, Jack, try to understand. For the first time ever I’ve got a starting point. How could I not go?’ Her hands had trembled so much she’d dropped her dinner plate and splattered her meal all over the floor. ‘You could come with me,’ she’d whispered in desperation.
‘Sure, Red, just drop everything and leave. Like it’s that easy. I’ve got nearly a year to go before I qualify as an emergency specialist. Stopping in midstream just isn’t possible.’ He’d taken her cold hands in his. ‘You could wait for me.’
She’d shaken her head, beating down the urge to fling herself in his arms and hold on for ever. ‘I can’t. I’ve waited all my life to meet my dad and this is the closest I’ve ever got to finding him. This is so important to me. I have to go.’ Jack had been just as important, maybe more, but she’d foolishly believed finding her parent had been paramount.
Jack’s face had been bleak, his eyes dark with sadness. ‘Until you do this you’re never going to be completely happy, are you? Not even with me?’
She hadn’t been able to answer him for the lump in her throat.
That was when the arguments had begun, almost as a defence mechanism to protect their shattering hearts. They’d agreed they had to make a clean break but the days before she’d flown out had been intense as they’d crammed as much loving as possible into the little time left.
Now Jack lifted a hand in a stop sign, worry darkening his all-seeing eyes. ‘Hey, let’s leave the past alone. After all, it isn’t called the past for nothing.’
Ouch. ‘True. This is a different job; we’re probably different people now.’ She certainly was. Forcing a smile, she asked, ‘So how’s life been treating you? You’re looking pretty good for an old guy.’
His smoky grey eyes lightened, twinkled, the crinkles at their corners bunching up. That heart-stopping smile lifted his mouth. And cramped her stomach. ‘Can’t complain. And less of the “old guy” stuff. Turning thirty was an event, not a disaster.’
So why the sudden doubt reflecting back at her? Jack had always been confident, in control. Doubt hadn’t even been in his vocabulary. These days she wasn’t in a position to ask anything personal. Not that he’d tell her anyway. Talking about the things that bothered him wasn’t in his make-up. He took everything life tossed at him and moved on with a nonchalance that hid his true feelings. He was a rock. The person everyone could, and did, rely on in all situations. He didn’t ever ask anyone to prop him up.
So she knocked on her head in fun. ‘Of course, you’ve had one of those big birthdays.’ She did a quick tap dance on the spot, checked him out. ‘I hope that means everything’s okay with you, no bits rotting and dropping off your wrinkled old frame.’
‘Heck, Red, I’ve missed your cheek. No one else is ever so damned rude to me.’ Suddenly Ruby’s feet were off the ground as Jack swung her up against his hard-muscled frame and engulfed her in a bear hug.
‘So who’s been keeping you in line, then?’ she gasped against his chest. His heart pounded under her ear. Strong and steady, like Jack. His arms were muscular and warm around her back. Just like old times. As her bones liquefied with longing, she wriggled to be set free in case she did something dumb like press in against him and hold on for ever.
Jack tightened his grip, but he didn’t answer her question. ‘You’re looking good, girl. Even with that weird spiky hair and the glaring scarlet colour you’ve dunked it in,’ he murmured against her ear, sending thrilling shivers down her spine. ‘What happened to that beautiful, sherry-coloured mane?’
It had reminded her of Jack too much. Every time she’d looked in a mirror after they’d broken up her heart had snapped in half all over again. ‘It was a nuisance whenever I put my headpiece on in the ‘copter.’
‘Fair enough.’ His disappointed sigh blew against her cheek. His arms tightened further. ‘Pity, though.’
She murmured against his jacket, ‘You would say that. You didn’t have to look after the darned stuff.’ But he had spent hours brushing the waist-length hair that had been her one vanity. She quickly added, in case he thought she was stirring up trouble, ‘It was a full-time job.’
When his fingers pressed a little harder into her waist Ruby felt a pull of the love they’d once shared. A steady love emanating from Jack’s goodness, strength and caring. Added to by her quirky sense of humour and the wonder she’d felt at someone so smart wanting her. Not even her beloved mother had made her feel as good, as safe, as Jack had. And just as she’d done with her mother’s love, she’d fought that feeling, turned it against herself, shunned Jack’s love for her own needs, thereby ruining something very special and worth holding on to at all costs. Hindsight sucked. Big time.
Would she get a second chance?
Ruby breathed Jack in. The scent of pine needles teased her and brought back recollections of long, frenetic afternoons spent making love. So he still wore the same aftershave. What else did he do the same? Was he even the same person? Not if that doubt in his eyes was an indicator.
Then, as suddenly as he’d lifted her into his arms, he plonked her back on the ground. She stumbled as she struggled to maintain her balance. A firm grip on her elbow helped, until a zing of heat spiralled up the inside of her arm, warming the sensitive skin.
‘Careful.’ His tone was suddenly abrupt.
‘Thanks.’ Tugging her arm free, she rubbed hard to dissipate the heat he’d so easily generated. Looking up, she found Jack studying her with the same disconcerting expression in those eyes that had haunted her from the moment she’d walked away from him at the airport. The expression that said you didn’t know what you had until you lost it. How true that had turned out to be.
Jack jerked his head up, looking beyond them, as though suddenly remembering where he was, who he was talking to. He would soon be in charge of the Wellington Helicopter Rescue base and she was a crew member. ‘So you’re now a paramedic on the rescue helicopters. That’s quite a sideways step from the emergency nurse you desperately wanted to be.’
‘Close enough to the same thing. Emergency department, ambulance crew.’ Her spread hand flipped left and right. ‘No different from what you’re doing by taking up this position, I’d have thought.’ She strove to avoid what he was really saying: that she never finished anything she started. How could she? She’d always been too busy moving on to stay anywhere long enough to see any project through.
But for the first time in her life she had completed something, something very important to her. A genuine certificate hung on her bedroom wall. Signed by the Chief of Ambulance Services, San Francisco.
Ruby Smith, Advanced Paramedic. Honours. Right alongside the citation for bravery during duty. And on the other side hung the nursing certificate she’d finally obtained in the States.
If only her mother could see those certificates. She’d have been pleased with her daughter for once. The only other person she’d wanted to share her success with at the time now stood in front of her and it was too late. He might know she’d finally qualified at something but he hadn’t been there to share in the sheer wonder of achievement. Because of all her stupid mistakes she’d been alone.
From the day she decided to head back here she’d known she’d eventually catch up with Jack. This was the first city she’d ever returned to. She’d come back for Jack, because of Jack. Wellington was Jack. And yet she’d been dragging her heels about calling him. Afraid to find out he’d moved on and barely remembered her.
Ruby closed her eyes briefly. This was way too hard. Be strong, be tough. She repeated the mantra that had got her through the last few years, and then diverted the conversation to safe ground. Again.
‘I didn’t think you were starting with us until next week.’ Ruby huffed out a breath and tipped her head back to stare up at him. ‘Did I read the wrong memo?’
He grinned that grin, though his eyes were a little slow in keeping up. ‘I’ve been at the aero club for a couple of hours. Since the club’s almost next door I figured I’d cruise over here and meet whoever was on duty.’
‘Aero club? Your brother still flying those little things?’ She glanced across the tarmac at the tiny planes pegged down outside the clubrooms.
‘No, Steve’s on jumbos these days. It’s me who’s flying those Tomahawks you’re staring at.’ A deep chuckle rumbled through him. Another familiar, heart-warming thing she’d missed, desperately at times when she’d been terribly lonely.
‘No way.’ She grinned as she swivelled back to gape at him. Jack had never had time for play. ‘Really? You’re learning to fly?’
‘And loving every minute I get in the air.’ Another chuckle. But it sounded brittle. Something was wrong with this picture. Was happy Jack not really so happy?
‘Can you take me up one day?’ Bad question. Mouth on the run.
Taking a backward step, Jack told her firmly, ‘Sorry, no passengers allowed until I’ve got my licence.’
He needn’t look so relieved. ‘How many hours have you flown?’
‘Twenty-seven and I need at least fifty before my flight test.’ He looked towards the helicopter. ‘Want to introduce me?’
Yikes. She’d totally forgotten Dave waiting for her to help tidy up the aircraft’s interior. She spun back to the ‘copter looming above her, talking to Jack over her shoulder, trying not to stare at his beloved face. ‘I thought you two would’ve met already since it’s his job you’re taking over.’
‘When I came out here with the director, Dave was away on a job.’
‘Then you’ll both have lots to discuss.’ She called up, ‘Dave, come out here for a moment. Please.’
Dave poked his head out. ‘So how come you didn’t kill this guy for calling you Red?’
Because Jack had always called her that. She hated anyone else using the nickname because it tainted her sweet memories of him, and played havoc with the sexy ones as well. ‘He’s going to be my boss.’
‘Didn’t stop you reading the Riot Act when I dared to call you Red.’ Dave looked across at Jack, then back at her, a hint of worry in his eyes. ‘So you two already know each other.’ Was he wondering if this would affect the job situation? If it did then Jack could swap crews.
‘We worked together once.’ In another, totally different life. Ruby gritted her teeth. ‘I was a trainee nurse, Jack was a bossy intern.’
Jack grunted. ‘Me? Bossy? I’d have given you that hat, Red.’
‘Medicine’s a small world.’ The older man smiled down at Jack. ‘Well, hi, there, anyway, welcome aboard. You’re in for some adventures for sure.’
‘There’ll definitely be some interesting days,’ Ruby seconded her partner. Like when the weather was atrocious and any flying became scary. She never admitted to those fears, just tightened her harness and pretended nothing was wrong. Now she officially introduced the two men. ‘Dave, this is Jack Forbes.’ She watched them size each other up in a man kind of way as they reached to shake hands.
They must’ve decided the other was okay because within moments Dave handed down the packs to Ruby and invited Jack on board for a cursory rundown on how things worked.
‘I’ll leave you two to it,’ Ruby said as she slung one pack over her shoulders. ‘When I’ve topped these up, I’ll put a brew on.’ And finally get to eat that pie. It’d be cold and congealed but right now it made her mouth water and her stomach expand with hope.
Jack reached for the second heavy bag. ‘I’ll take this one in for you.’
Ruby grabbed it out of his hand. The bags were heavy but she never, ever let the men carry them for her, even on the days her damaged knee played up. Hauling them was part of her job. ‘I’m fine with it. Dave’s got lots to show you.’
‘I’m not a greenhorn, Red. I’ve done the training, know where everything is kept, how to activate the winch, how to use the radio.’ Exasperation tinged his voice.
‘Still, each ‘copter has a slightly different configuration. You might as well take a look with Dave while it’s quiet.’
Jack shook his head. ‘And I thought I was in charge.’
‘Not until tomorrow.’ Ruby winked at him. ‘And only once you’ve been out for three retrievals.’
Not entirely true but the crews checked out a newbie on the first few trips before accepting him or her completely. Being an A and E specialist with loads of experience wouldn’t save his backside. Working with the limited resources they carried in the helicopter was very different from being in a fully equipped emergency department, not to mention the situations they often found themselves in.
Ruby saw a frown developing on Jack’s forehead. He’d hate her telling him to take a back seat, but he’d better get used to it. The other crew members would be tougher.
His eyes narrowed. ‘Three? First I’ve heard of it.’
‘Don’t tell me that you didn’t keep an eye on any new staff in the emergency department?’
‘Of course I did. It goes with the territory,’ he snapped.
Where had that come from? ‘Relax, we’re a friendly lot. You’ll be a perfect fit in our team.’
Jack blinked, flexed and shook his hands, loosened his shoulders, then pushed a cautious smile across his mouth. ‘You’re presuming I haven’t taken up any edgy hobbies lately.’
‘You betcha.’ One thing she could be sure of, he didn’t do edgy. Except he was now learning to fly. For Jack, that really was putting himself out there, a bit like hanging off a cliff on a dodgy rope. Who was this Jack? She didn’t entirely recognise him and yet he looked the same. More mature, more handsome, sexier than ever but still the same. Yet something was different. That flicker of doubt in his eyes, that sudden annoyance with her, for starters.
Maybe she was looking too hard. More likely he was reacting to seeing her again. Not easy for either of them.
Ruby headed for the hangar before she got tangled up in trying to solve the puzzle. The next four months would give her plenty of time to sort Jack out. Not to mention her own mixed-up feelings towards him.
Jack’s hands gripped his hips as he watched Red lug those bags across the tarmac. She displayed all the nonchalance of a weightlifter. Her slight, short frame was taut, her boots heavy as they trod the concrete. She’d already got to him. Anger flared quickly, fizzed along his veins. This was supposed to be the start of a whole new life for him, not a revisiting of the old one. He’d broken his heart over her once. That had been bad luck. To let it happen again would be plain careless.