Snowkissed!: The Midwife's Marriage Proposal

CHAPTER THREE

TOM watched the staffroom door close behind the two women and fought the temptation to put his fist through the window.

He was boiling with frustration, aggravated to the point of explosion by the less than satisfactory exchange with Sally. There were things he needed to say and she wasn’t allowing him to say them.

But could he really blame her for that?

He ran a hand over his face and cursed softly. All day he’d been aware of her and it had disturbed his concentration more than he cared to admit.

She’d always played havoc with his emotions.

He prowled over to the window and stared moodily down into the car park, his jaw tightening as he saw Sally opening the door of his sister’s car and sliding inside.

He saw a flash of long leg, a glimmer of blonde hair and then she vanished from sight.

For now.

He comforted himself with the fact that Sally Jenner wasn’t going anywhere. She’d made the decision to come home so she was obviously planning on staying around. Which meant that he had plenty of time to engineer the conversation he was determined to have.

His mouth tightened as he watched Bryony drive off.

And the first thing he was going to do was talk to his sister.

Sally settled into her seat and gave a self-satisfied smile. ‘Thanks for the lift. Excellent timing. It’s hard to make a dramatic exit on a mountain bike.’

Bryony caught the smile and laughed. ‘From the look on your face, I gather you won that round.’

Sally took a steady breath. ‘Well, I didn’t make a fool of myself. You would have been proud of me. I was Miss Cool.’

And somehow she’d managed to pretend an indifference that she hadn’t felt.

Seeing Tom had affected her even more than she’d imagined it would.

Bryony waited for her to fasten her seat belt and then drove off. ‘I would have liked to have seen his face when he saw you.’

‘He was shocked,’ Sally said softly, recalling the look in his eyes with a slight shiver. ‘And disconcerted, I think.’

‘Never seen my big brother disconcerted about anything before,’ Bryony said dryly, shifting gears and slowing down as she approached the exit of the hospital. ‘I wish I could have been there.’

‘Well, fortunately Emma was,’ Sally told her. ‘That wasn’t a meeting I would have wanted to have in private.’

‘So what did he say?’

Sally moistened dry lips. ‘He wants to talk.’

Bryony paused at the junction, her expression serious. ‘About what?’

‘The past, I suppose.’ Her eyes met her friend’s and Bryony pulled a face.

‘Well, that was to be expected.’

‘I don’t want to talk about it, Bry. It was bad enough when it happened, without reliving it. What can we possibly achieve by talking about it?’ Sally asked hoarsely, pulling her coat around herself with a slight shiver. ‘Can you turn the heating up in this car? It’s freezing.’

‘The engine will warm up in a minute,’ Bryony said absently, checking the traffic and pulling onto the main road. ‘And you know as well as I do that if my big brother sets his mind on something, he gets it.’

Sally lifted her chin and stared into the frosty darkness. ‘I can be as determined as him.’

In the past seven years she’d discovered reservoirs of strength in herself that she hadn’t known existed.

She wasn’t the same person who had run for cover when he’d rejected her.

Bryony sighed. ‘I know. Which means we’re in for fireworks.’ She gave her a sympathetic glance. ‘You may not want to talk, but if it’s what Tom wants then, trust me, you’ll be talking. He isn’t easily distracted when he wants something. You know that as well as I do.’

Of course she did.

It was that same single-minded approach that had made him such a respected obstetrician at such a young age.

Bryony sighed. ‘You’ll be fine, Sally. You’ve put him behind you.’

A long silence greeted her words and Bryony glanced at her friend in consternation. ‘Oh, no, tell me you’re not …’

‘No.’ Sally’s voice sounded croaky and she cleared her throat. ‘No, I’m not. But it was hard, Bry. Really hard. Even harder than I thought it would be.’

And she’d always known that seeing Tom again would be difficult.

Bryony reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘Just take it a day at a time. What you need is a new love interest. I’m going to find you someone gorgeous to help take your mind off my brother.’

Sally shook her head. ‘No, thanks. I’m better off on my own.’

‘Can I ask you something?’ Bryony pulled up outside her old cottage and switched off the engine. ‘Has there been anyone since Tom?’

Sally turned away, her eyes fixed out of the window. ‘Let’s just say he was a hard act to follow.’ She gave a sigh and then turned to Bryony with a bright smile. ‘But I’m working on it. Truly.’

Somewhere out there was a man who wouldn’t seem like second best.

She sat, lost in thought, and the silence stretched into infinity.

Finally Bryony spoke. ‘Are you truly going to be able to move on?’ Her tone was doubtful and Sally stirred.

‘I’ve moved on. I’m home,’ she said simply, undoing her seat belt and reaching for her bag. Suddenly she needed to be on her own. ‘Thanks for lending me the cottage. I’ll find somewhere of my own soon.’

‘No need,’ Bryony said with a frown. ‘Jack and I don’t use it any more. We were going to rent it out anyway. Does Tom know you’re staying here?’

Sally paused with her hand on the doorhandle. ‘No. He asked where I was living but I dodged the question.’

‘But it isn’t going to take him long to figure it out. What if he comes here?’

‘I hardly think he’s going to go to those lengths to have a conversation,’ Sally said with a faint smile. ‘Goodnight, Bry. Thanks for the lift.’

‘You left your bike at the hospital,’ Bryony reminded her. ‘I’ll pick you up in the morning.’

Smiling her thanks. Sally let herself into the cottage, flicked on the lights and walked through to the cosy kitchen, feeling the tension in her neck and shoulders.

It had been a hard day. Harder than she’d anticipated.

She’d known that the first meeting would be difficult, of course. Known that seeing Tom would be painful.

She’d expected to feel anger and contempt. Expected to dismiss him with a few well-rehearsed words.

What she hadn’t anticipated had been the race of her heart and the kick of her breathing.

Sally made herself a coffee and then sat down at the kitchen table, her hands coiled round the hot mug.

Tom Hunter was still a dangerously attractive man.

But he had no place in her life any more.

She wasn’t that careless with her heart.

Tom sat in his sister’s kitchen, tapping long fingers on the table.

‘She’ll be home in a minute, but I probably ought to warn you that you’re not flavour of the month,’ Jack said mildly, opening two beers and handing one to his friend.

Tom drank from the bottle and then banged it down on the table. ‘Did you know Sally was back?’

Jack settled himself opposite, his feet on the table. ‘No. If Bry wanted to keep it from you, she’s hardly going to tell me, is she?’

‘You’re her husband.’

Jack grinned. ‘And you and I have been best mates since primary school, Tom. Takes more than a woman to come between us, even if that woman is your sister.’

Tom sighed and rubbed long fingers over his aching temples. ‘I wish someone had warned me.’

‘Why?’ Jack took a slug of beer. ‘I thought you weren’t interested in her anyway.’

Tom reached for his beer. He’d thought that, too.

But seeing her again had unsettled him more than he would have thought possible.

Being on the receiving end of her cool indifference had made him feel as though he’d lost something special.

At that moment the kitchen door flew open and Bryony stalked into the room, her whole manner confrontational.

Tom rose to his feet, his own gaze equally accusing. Ordinarily they were as close as a brother and sister could be, but tonight they glared at each other like enemies.

‘Why didn’t you tell me that she was coming back?’ Tom’s voice was hard and Bryony’s gaze was equally hard as she met her brother’s eyes.

‘And good evening to you, too, Tom.’ She leaned forward and kissed Jack, her expression softening slightly. Then she straightened and shrugged out of her wool coat.

‘You should have told me she was coming back,’ Tom snarled, and Bryony lifted an eyebrow, refusing to be intimidated by the dangerous light in her brother’s eyes.

‘Why? What reason did I have to believe you even cared? You ended it, remember?’

Colour touched Tom’s cheekbones and his jaw tightened. ‘That is none of your business.’

‘It’s my business when you expect me to help you smooth the path with her.’

‘I can’t change the past.’ Tom sat back down in his chair and reached for his beer. ‘And Sally and I need to move on. We can’t do that if we don’t have a conversation. We need to clear the air.’

‘You mean you need to make yourself feel OK about what you did.’

Tom tensed, realizing with a considerable amount of discomfort that she was right. His conscience was troubling him. And he had a feeling that a conversation wasn’t going to cure his problem.

‘I did what I thought was right at the time.’

‘Right for her or right for you?’ Bryony put her hands on her hips, her expression disapproving, and Jack frowned.

‘Bry, this really isn’t our business.’

Bryony ignored him, her eyes still on her brother. ‘You drove her away and now you’re expecting her to be pleased to see you again.’

‘I’m not expecting that.’ Tom cursed softly and ran a hand over the back of his neck. ‘And I didn’t drive her away. She left.’

‘Because of you! Because you didn’t want her and she couldn’t live in this small community alongside a man who’d rejected her. Do you know your problem?’ Bryony glared at him. ‘You just can’t bear the fact that there’s a woman in the world who doesn’t think you’re God’s answer to romance. You broke Sally’s heart but you want her to say, “That’s fine, Tom.” Well, it isn’t fine!’

Tom’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re being emotional about this.’

Bryony gave a growl of feminine frustration. ‘And you’re being ice cold, as usual! Show a modicum of sensitivity here, Tom Hunter! You decided you didn’t want her. End of story.’

It wasn’t the end of the story.

Not by a long way.

It had been so much more complicated than that.

‘You should have told me she was back.’

‘Why would I do that? I assumed it would be of no interest to you.’

Tom gritted his teeth. ‘Sally and I were together for almost three years, for goodness’ sake. Of course I would have been interested in the fact that she was back.’

‘You drove her away, so I assumed her return was a matter of the same indifference to you.’

Tom closed his eyes briefly and muttered something under his breath. ‘Whose side are you on?’

‘Sally’s,’ Bryony replied sweetly. ‘And if you want my opinion, she should have blacked your eye seven years ago when she found you with that—that—tart!’

Jack winced. ‘Sweetheart, you—’

‘Don’t sweetheart me!’ Bryony glared at her husband. ‘Tom behaved horribly to Sally.’

‘I wasn’t with anyone,’ Tom gritted, ‘I went on one date with another woman, that’s all! One date and it was after Sally and I had split up. After we’d agreed to see other people.’

‘You’d agreed to see other people,’ Bryony reminded him coldly. ‘Sally was so devastated she just sat in her flat broken into tiny pieces.’

Tom winced at the description. ‘It was the wrong time for both of us and we were in an impossible situation, Bry, as you would realize if you took the emotion out of it and looked at it logically.’

‘And if you took the logic out of it and looked at it emotionally, you might stand some chance of sustaining a relationship with a woman!’ Bryony glared at him. ‘You threw away something really special. You’re as bad as Jack!’

‘Hey!’ Jack put a hand on his chest, totally affronted. ‘I married you!’

Bryony breathed out heavily. ‘Only because I told you some home truths,’ she said bluntly. ‘If I’d left it to you, you’d still be dating half of Cumbria. You were so afraid of emotional involvement I virtually had to tie you up and beat you before you’d agree that you loved me.’

Jack gave her a sexy wink. ‘I’m not sure you should be revealing the details of our bedroom antics to your brother, darling.’

Bryony pulled a face. ‘What I’m saying, as you well know, is that both of you have spent the best part of your adult lives avoiding commitment. Of course Sally doesn’t want a conversation with you, Tom. Why would she? You lost that right when you started dating other people.’

Tom sighed. ‘You make it sound like a crime, but we weren’t together any more, Bry.’

‘That’s right.’ Bryony’s tone was chilly. ‘You weren’t. You left the rest of us to clear up the mess.’

‘I tried to see her, to check that she was all right.’

‘Well, of course she wasn’t all right! And she didn’t want your pity!’

Tom gritted his teeth and drew in a steadying breath. ‘Do you realize how contradictory you’re being?’

Jack groaned out a warning. ‘For goodness’ sake, don’t tell her that.’

‘Well, on the one hand she’s telling me I left her to comfort Sally, and on the other she’s telling me that Sally wouldn’t have wanted me around anyway.’

Bryony scowled at him. ‘You behaved badly!’

Jack yawned and reached for his beer. ‘OK, honey, give the guy a break. He’s not the first person to have ended a relationship that wasn’t working. I think we should all move on.’

‘That is precisely what I’m trying to do,’ Tom said harshly, ‘only Sally won’t give me the chance to discuss it. Perhaps I ought to tell her that she’s allowed to black my eye if it will make her feel better.’

In fact, he half hoped she would. Perhaps it would ease his conscience.

Bryony plopped down on the chair next to Jack and gave a sigh. ‘I don’t think it matters what you promise,’ she said wearily. ‘You’re not going to find it easy to get near her. She doesn’t want to talk to you.’

And why was that?

Tom’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully, his sharp brain clicking into action. Surely if Sally was as indifferent to him as she was pretending, then one conversation was hardly going to cause a problem. She could just listen and then walk away.

Unless she was afraid that the walking away would be hard.

Jack lifted his beer. ‘Never was easy to get near to Sally Jenner. She always kept people at a distance.’