‘I doubt she’ll be surprised. Mum doesn’t miss much. She probably even guessed we’d grab takeaways and head back here.’ Jodi winked at him. ‘Though you needn’t think you’re getting out of taking me to dinner at one of those fabulous restaurants down on the Viaduct.’ Jodi trailed her fingers through the light hairs on his chest. ‘I was really looking forward to that, but somehow we got sidetracked.’
Yeah, the moment he’d thought about them having a deep and meaningful discussion over dinner he’d changed his mind about going to the amazing restaurant he’d chosen. That was for fun, for romance, not for dissecting their past relationship. ‘I’ll definitely take you there another night. Soon, I promise.’ He crossed his fingers briefly.
Jodi chuckled. ‘I’ll keep you to that.’
‘Anyway, you sidetracked me. Not the other way round.’
She blushed. ‘I did, didn’t I?’ Her eyes widened, big brown pools that drew him in. ‘I’d decided this wasn’t going to happen again. At least not until everything else was out of the way.’ The smile she bestowed on him was wicked and cheeky. ‘But when you came out of your bedroom looking so mouth-wateringly gorgeous I lost the argument.’
‘So why did we get into my four-wheel drive and start heading into town?’ It was Jodi who was gorgeous, not him. Dressed in a knee-length dress that floated around her as she moved, the colour—not quite emerald, not quite turquoise—suited her perfectly. His heart had thumped wildly at the sight of her. Wild horses wouldn’t have stopped him from kissing her then. And that stunning dress hadn’t stayed on very long.
A while later they’d had to get ready all over again, only to get as far as the first Chinese takeout shop before buying some food and racing home again.
‘I’d just bought the dress. I had to wear it out somewhere.’ Had she thought this might happen when she’d packed it? Her finger circled his nipple. Her tongue replaced her finger, licking slowly, tantalisingly.
Hot need shot through him, waking up every muscle in his body. Again.
‘You want more? So soon?’ He pushed up on his elbow and leaned over her, kissing those fingers, taking them into his mouth.
‘It’s this, or having a quick shower and going back to the hospital.’ Her hand reached down between his legs. ‘Your call.’
It was no contest. Sliding his body over hers, he gave her his answer.
CHAPTER TEN
‘JODI? CAN WE COME IN?’
Jodi dragged herself upright from Jamie’s bed and ran her hands over her hair and down her face. ‘Claire? Of course you can. I’m a bit of a mess but, hey, it’s good to see you.’ Exhaustion dragged at her muscles, numbed her mind.
Claire stepped closer, tugging a little girl with her. ‘I’ve brought you something for your lunch.’
‘You’re an angel, you know that?’
‘Don’t talk daft. How’s Jamie doing?’ she whispered.
‘It’s okay, you won’t disturb him. He wakes and sleeps as he needs to and no amount of noise will unsettle him.’ She stretched her kinked back as she looked at the child hanging on to Claire. ‘Hello, you must be Lilly.’
‘Lilly Silly Billy.’ The girl grinned and shook her head in all directions. ‘That’s what my friends call me cos I’m always dancing and singing and laughing. Want me to show you a dance?’
Claire quickly cut off that line of thought. ‘No, Lilly, no. We’re in hospital, remember? Sick people don’t like lots of noise.’
‘I’d do it quietly, Mum, promise.’
Claire rolled her eyes. ‘You don’t know the meaning of the word.’
Jodi smiled at Lilly. ‘Maybe another time. I know, what about when we’re at Mitch’s house? Do you go there with your mum sometimes?’
‘After play centre I do. Can I see Jamie? Why’s he asleep in the morning?’ Lilly began climbing up on the bed.
‘It was a mistake, bringing you here.’ Claire lifted Lilly back down to the floor.
Jodi pushed a chair towards Claire. ‘No, I’m glad you dropped by. Lilly’s not a problem. It’s okay if Jamie wakes up. Truly. A little distraction would be good for him. But, Lilly…’ Jodi lifted the girl onto her knees. ‘See all those tubes?
‘They’re stuck to Jamie with plaster.’
‘Yes, those ones. Now, you have to be very careful not to bump any of them because you could hurt Jamie if one gets pulled out by accident.’ Her heart ached for her boy who, if he woke up, would be gutted that he couldn’t play with Lilly. He’d missed out on so many opportunities to have fun with other kids over the years. It seemed so unfair. Sometimes having all the stories in the world read to him just didn’t cut it.
‘I’ll be good,’ Lilly assured her earnestly. Then her face split into another wide smile. ‘I’m always good, aren’t I, Mum?’
Again Claire rolled her eyes. ‘Of course you are.’ Then she turned to Jodi. ‘I dropped your mum off at the airport.’
‘You’re kidding! Mrs Independence accepted a lift?’ Mum held on to her money like it was a lifeline but she also never took offers of help from people she didn’t know very well. Oh. ‘I get it. She grilled you on Mitch.’
Claire looked uncomfortable. ‘A little bit.’
‘Mum doesn’t do little. All or nothing is my mother.’ She’d changed her flights by a day so that she could sit with Jamie last night. But now she was heading back to Dunedin to check on her shop, but she’d be back in a week.
‘You’re right. I got a barrage of questions thrown at me. I think she was disappointed when I explained Mitch was my boss and I wasn’t prepared to talk about him behind his back. When I added how much I need my job and why, she backed off.’ Claire grinned. ‘A little. Actually, I like your mum. She cares about you all.’
‘Yeah, she does.’ Even Mitch.
Claire sat up straighter on her chair. ‘Mitch, hi. I’ve got your groceries in my car. I’ll drop them off after we leave here.’
Looking around, Jodi gaped, then smiled at the man standing a couple of metres away, studying Jamie thoroughly. ‘Max, what brings you here?’ But she knew already. He’d come to check out Jamie, to take another look at his nephew. He’d been doing that regularly since the team consultation.
Claire stared at Jodi. ‘Max? Who’s Max? This is Mitch.’ Then her eyes widened further. ‘Blimey, has the guy been using two different names? That could get him into all sorts of trouble.’
‘Claire, meet Max Maitland, Mitch’s twin. Max, Claire is Mitch’s housekeeper.’ She’d never had any trouble telling them apart. Max’s eyes were set slightly wider, and his smile didn’t have that lopsided thing going on that Mitch’s did.
‘I never knew Mitch had a twin. Or any family, for that matter.’
Max’s mouth tightened but he sounded his usual charming self when he spoke. ‘Nice to meet you, Claire.’ Then he instantly turned those knowledgeable eyes on Jamie.
Actually, no. Try hungry eyes. Now, there was something to think about. Did Max want kids of his own? Why wouldn’t he? She’d judged him on Mitch’s standards, which was hardly fair. She stood and crossed to Max, gave him a hug. ‘I’m glad you came.’
Max returned her hug before gently setting her aside. ‘Just keeping an eye on my patient.’
Sure, buddy. ‘Not a problem. He’s doing fine, if you call having daily dialysis fine. Which I don’t.’
‘Okay, watching over my nephew. Feel happier?’ He chucked her under the chin with his forefinger, a smile lightening his face.
‘Absolutely.’ More than happy, ecstatic.
Then the smile slipped. ‘Jamie hasn’t had a lot of fun in his short life, has he?’
‘Very little.’ She tried to read his eyes but Max had always been good at hiding his true feelings. It was a family trait. Came with the twin gene. Only one way to deal with either Max or Mitch when they did this. Speak bluntly. ‘No fresh kidneys on their way from somewhere around the country, then?’
‘You’d be the first to know.’ He grunted, shoved
his hands deep into his pockets. Another Maitland gesture. ‘Ever felt you wanted to step outside and knock someone off so you can save your child? Because that’s how I’ve been feeling all week.’
When Claire gasped, Max turned to her with a self-deprecating smile. ‘It’s all right. I have no intention of spending the rest of my life behind bars. But this is my nephew. It’s a whole different ball game now.’
Claire was staring at Max again. ‘You and Mitch must cause a lot of problems around here, being so alike and all.’
‘We don’t work in the same departments.’ Then he shrugged. ‘Yes, occasionally I get grumped at by a staff member for forgetting something when it wasn’t me they talked to.’
‘Bet you two have caused all sorts of trouble over the years.’ Claire grinned as she took her daughter’s hand and said, ‘Okay, come on, Lilly. We’d better go and unpack those groceries before the ice cream melts. You can see Jamie another time.’
Jodi and Max watched them leave, neither saying a word. As Lilly, looking over her shoulder and waving hard, disappeared around the corner, Jodi turned back to her boy, who had slept through everything. Which brought tears to her eyes. Just another little thing he’d missed out on. A visit from a sweet little girl who wanted to be friends. When was this going to end? How was it going to end? Where was Mitch? Suddenly she wanted him there with her more than anything. His arms around her, sharing his strength, sharing her fears. Guarding their son together.
‘How have you managed?’ Max’s shoulders rolled. ‘You still look sane. And strong, which I guess answers my question. But to do this on your own? Obviously still stubborn too. You should’ve told Mitch. Hell, you should’ve told me,’ he growled.
‘Too late for this conversation.’ Jodi shivered.
‘How’s Mitch taking it? It must’ve been a hell of a shock. Is he okay? I know he seems to be stepping up but what’s going on inside that skull of his? Does he need to talk to someone?’
Jodi’s jaw clenched as she tried not to gasp in surprise at Max’s apparently genuine concern for his brother. Totally out of left field. Perhaps Jamie would be the catalyst that got them talking to each other. Really talking, not sniping. ‘Maybe you should be talking to Mitch about those things.’