The Secret Between Them Read online

  ‘Well...’ Sunainah realised it was not the time or the place to make a scene, and as her friend Reggie always said, ‘Why stop a man from being chivalrous? Just say “Thank you” and move on.’

  ‘Thank you, Elliot. That is very kind.’ Sunainah returned his smile and bowed her head for a moment in a gesture of added thanks.

  Once they were free of the supermarket, she led the way to the parents’ room, Daphne still holding her hand and Elliot pushing Joshua in the trolley behind them. The room was equipped with three baby-changing stations, chairs for parents to sit in, toys for young children to play with, a sink, a microwave and a television. There was also a parent toilet cubicle with one large and one small toilet, specifically provided to make it easier for both mums and dads.

  ‘Do you have a change of clothes for him?’ Sunainah asked as Daphne was instantly captivated by the toys.

  ‘I do.’ Elliot pulled a bag out of the trolley and opened it up. Nappies, clothes, drinks, fruit snacks and other paraphernalia required for taking children out was contained inside.

  ‘Did you also pack a change of clothes for yourself?’ She smiled as he lifted the grizzling Joshua from the trolley and placed him on the change area.

  ‘Unfortunately, no. Must remember that in future.’

  ‘Daddy. Daddy.’ Daphne came running over to him, jumping up and down and crossing her legs, a pained expression on her face. ‘Toilet.’

  Elliot groaned. ‘It never rains but it pours.’

  Sunainah chuckled. ‘Go. I can deal with Joshua.’

  He seemed to pause for a moment, looking at her as though he was amazed a complete stranger was really willing to help him out. ‘Er...right. OK. Thanks.’ With that, he reached for his daughter’s hand and quickly entered the parental toilet cubicle.

  ‘Right, Master Joshua. Let us get you settled,’ she stated, and after finding what she needed in the bag quickly changed him with the experience of a woman who did this sort of thing several times a day. By the time Elliot emerged with a happy and relieved Daphne by his side, Joshua was making himself comfortable in Sunainah’s arms, resting his head on her shoulder.

  Elliot stopped and stared at the sight they made. Joshua, with his mop of blond hair, resting his head close to Sunainah’s exotic skin was a contrast of delight. She was gently patting his back, singing a soft lullaby in her native language. Her eyes, such a deep, rich brown with long dark eyelashes, were closed. She swayed gently from side to side, lulling his son to sleep.

  Who was she? Of course he knew her name and where she worked, and it was clear from the evidence before him that she definitely had a way with children, especially as Joshua detested being held by strangers, but apart from that she was like some sort of angel, sent from heaven right when he’d needed her most.

  Even Daphne, who did everything at the fastest speed possible, simply stood there and watched the stunning woman sing Joshua to sleep.

  ‘Enchanting.’ Elliot whispered the word, realising he could quite easily listen to Sunainah sing all day long. Who was this woman? His gut tightened at the question in a way he hadn’t expected. She was attractive. There was no denying that but the fact he was attracted to her was a startling revelation and one he really didn’t need right now. His life was complicated enough as it was. To add a romantic flavour to the mix could possibly tip him over the edge into insanity.

  The past two years had almost broken him but now the move to a new city, new home, new job was providing a new start for him and his children. That’s what he was working hard to accomplish and at no point did any romantic attachment fit into that plan.

  Sunainah finished her lullaby and, as though feeling someone was watching, slowly opened her eyes, looking directly into the startled blue gaze of Joshua’s father. The moment their gazes held, the world around them seemed to stand still, just as it had when they had shaken hands. Sunainah was highly aware of her heart pounding, the sound reverberating in her ears as Elliot’s gaze momentarily dipped to encompass her mouth.

  She swallowed, surprised she was unable to look away from him. His gaze met hers once more and he opened his mouth as though to say something but then seemed to change his mind. His mouth looked perfect and a flash of desire pulsed through her as she wondered what it might be like to feel the pressure of that perfect mouth pressed against her own.

  The thought shocked her. It was so unlike her. She was not the sort of woman to ogle strange men, nor was she the sort of woman to simply stand there and stare, but for the first time in her life she was unable to control her unbidden reaction to this handsome stranger.

  Perhaps she was acting out of character because two of her closest friends had recently married, and seeing them both so happy had started her wondering whether she would ever have the courage to find happiness. Perhaps it was simply that at times she was very lonely, wishing she had someone to share those little inconsequential moments with. Perhaps it was that Elliot appeared to be a nice, kind man and that had sent her imagination into overdrive. Her experience with nice, kind men—with the exception of her father—had been few and far between. Besides, Elliot was no doubt happily married and was surprised at the strange language in which she had been singing.

  ‘Sing a song. Sing a song,’ Daphne demanded, running to Sunainah’s side and tugging on her skirt. The distraction seemed to snap both adults out of their trance and Elliot immediately came over and scooped Daphne into his arms.

  ‘Uh...’ Sunainah quickly cleared her throat, forcing her mind to work, to click back into ‘normal’ mode rather than the one it was presently in where she seemed to be highly aware of every little nuance about Elliot... Elliot who? She did not even know his surname and yet here she was, pondering what it might be like to spend hours just staring into his eyes, eyes that were the most glorious shade of blue she had ever seen.

  ‘Uh...Elliot, do you have any child-strength paracetamol?’ She forced herself to look away as she asked the question, pleased her mind had finally clicked back into ‘useful’ mode. She still felt highly self-conscious and aware of every small move he made as he reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of liquid paracetamol.

  ‘Here.’ Elliot quickly drew up the correct dosage of paracetamol in the provided syringe then carefully squirted it into the sleeping Joshua’s mouth. The child swallowed dutifully but didn’t stir in Sunainah’s arms.

  ‘That should help him to settle even more,’ she murmured, glancing up with a small smile on her lips. It quickly disappeared as she realised just how close she was to Elliot and even though he still did not smell the best, the warmth exuding from him seemed to surround her like a comfortable blanket.

  What was it about this man that was making her behave so uncharacteristically? She needed distance from this little family so she would help him get his children settled in his car, collect her belongings and then head to the hospital, and she would probably never run into Elliot or Daphne or little Joshua ever again. She ignored the instant pang of disappointment and pushed it aside. The sooner she was away from his captivating presence, the better.

  She forced herself to look away from his enigmatic eyes. ‘Uh...perhaps if you show me the way to your car, I can carry Joshua so you do not need to disturb him any further.’

  ‘OK.’ With that, Elliot put Daphne into the shopping trolley and wheeled it out of the parents’ room. He headed down the travelator to the basement car park and Sunainah followed, the sleeping Joshua in her arms.

  It felt warm and wonderful, holding the little boy so close. Poor little thing. Since becoming a paediatrician, she had loved so many of her little patients, watching them grow strong and healthy. Nothing gave her more pleasure...but one day she would love a few children of her own. She shook her head, not wanting to think about how that would never happen. No, she must be content to love the children in her care at the hospital. That
was her vocation.

  Being an only child had not been much fun and it had not been until she had started medical school in Sydney that she had formed a lasting friendship with three other women, who now felt more like sisters to her.

  The bond between herself, Mackenzie, Reggie and Bergan had only grown stronger over the years and now, with all four of them working together at Sunshine General Hospital on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Sunainah loved meeting with them, enjoying lunch or breakfast or just a quick coffee, depending on their varying schedules.

  They were people she could rely on and that had been proved six weeks ago when Sunainah’s father had finally, after over a decade of being ill, died peacefully in his sleep in the nursing home.

  She rubbed her hand on Joshua’s back, drawing comfort from the sleeping boy as she once more felt a pang of loneliness. Even though her father had been in the nursing home for the past two years, his death had still left an enormous, gaping chasm in her life. At the insistence of her friends, Sunainah had moved from her one-bedroom flat, which had been close to the nursing home, to a lovely two-storey town house, and was now living next door to both Mackenzie and Bergan.

  There were four town houses in a small cul-de-sac and now only one of them was vacant...although now she thought about it, she did remember Bergan mentioning it had recently been rented so perhaps there would soon be new neighbours for her to meet.

  Elliot pulled a set of car keys from his pocket and pressed the button to unlock a nearby vehicle, the car’s indicators flashing along with a short beeping sound. ‘Here we are.’ He opened the back passenger door for her and smiled politely. ‘Are you all right to put him—?’

  ‘It is fine. I can manage.’ She kept her own smile equally as polite and was relieved when he stepped away to the rear of the car to stow his purchases.

  Daphne kept saying over and over, ‘I help!’

  Once both children were strapped securely into their car seats, little Joshua’s forehead not feeling so hot as it had earlier, Sunainah closed the door and walked around to where Elliot was holding her shopping bag out to her.

  ‘Thank you.’ She accepted it gratefully.

  ‘No.’ He exhaled slowly. ‘Thank you, Sunainah. You’ve been a real lifesaver.’

  She smiled, unsure what else to say. ‘It was nice to meet you.’

  ‘Likewise.’ He stood there, staring at her for a moment, drinking her in. A small bubble of excitement started to build in his gut, knowing he would no doubt see her tomorrow when he started his first shift in the paediatric department at the hospital. He should probably tell her and was just about to when her phone rang.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said as she dug her cell phone from her handbag. She checked the caller identification. ‘It is the hospital. I had better go. I have an irate parent to deal with.’

  ‘Sounds like a barrel of fun.’ Elliot flicked his car keys from one hand to the other.

  She chuckled then indicated the phone, which was still ringing, and took a few steps away from him. ‘Goodbye...Elliot.’

  ‘Until next time, Sunainah,’ he remarked as she turned away, connecting the call.

  ‘I am sorry, Nicole. I was unavoidably delayed,’ he heard her say as he watched her walk away. Why he stood there, watching until she was out of sight, half wanting her to look back at him, half wanting her to disappear from view as quickly as possible, he had no idea.

  Finally, he turned and walked to the driver’s side of his car. ‘Until next time.’ Elliot couldn’t help the excited smile that touched his lips at the thought.

  CHAPTER TWO

  SUNAINAH SAT AT the nurses’ station situated in the centre of the very bright and colourful paediatric ward at Sunshine General, working her way through a mound of case notes, reviewing the previous night’s notes. At least, that was what she was trying to do, except her mind kept flicking back to her encounter with Elliot.

  Until next time. Those had been the last words he had spoken to her. What had he meant by that? Was he planning to bump into her at the grocery store another time? She smiled. That would be nice but how would he accomplish such a thing?

  Until next time. Sunainah sighed and closed her eyes, remembering all too clearly just how wonderful his smile had been. It had been clear his children loved him and vice versa. Although the situation had been quite disastrous with Joshua being sick and Daphne running around the store, he had not snapped or yelled at them. Indeed, when they had been in the parents’ room he had been quite calm and attentive towards Daphne when she had needed to go to the toilet. Yes, a good father.

  ‘Who more than likely is married to the equally good mother of those children,’ Sunainah muttered with a sigh, and opened her eyes. It was not the first time she had told herself this fact...but why, if he was happily married, had he stared at her in such a way? Was it usual for a man to simply look at another woman with that much intensity and not be interested in her?

  ‘Mother of which children?’ Nicole asked as she walked back into the nurses’ station, handing Sunainah a much-needed cup of coffee.

  ‘Er...nothing.’ Sunainah sat up a little straighter in her chair as she sipped the coffee. ‘Perfect. You are a lifesaver, Nicole. Thank you.’

  Nicole sat down beside her, putting her own coffee cup onto the desk and picking up another set of notes. There was a note clipped to the front, and she pointed it out to Sunainah. ‘Rory Preedy’s file. Bethany said she’d be available to talk to the father this morning at ten o’clock.’

  ‘Good.’ Sunainah read the note from the social worker. ‘Poor little Rory. No wonder he is finding it difficult to get better. He does not want to go home.’

  Nicole nodded and edged closer, lowering her voice. ‘Do you suspect child abuse?’

  ‘No, not at all.’ Sunainah sighed. ‘I suspect it is more a case of a father pressurising his poor son to get better quickly because he expects Rory to be as robust as himself. He might be under a lot of strain at work and does not know how to deal with having a sickly child. Rory was ten weeks premature and now, at the age of three, has spent more time in hospital than his parents probably expected. Hopefully, with Bethany’s assistance we can help Mr Preedy to accept his son needs a bit longer to recover than most children.’

  Nicole nodded. ‘I hope you’re right.’

  ‘When I spoke to him last night, I will admit, it was a little difficult to get through to him but...I have a sense that behind all his bluster he is a man who is very worried about his son but has no idea how to show it.’

  Sunainah reread the note from Bethany before making a note in her cell phone. ‘Ten o’clock. I shall need to excuse myself from the heads of department meeting. OK. Shall we try to get through this work before the new paediatrician arrives? It would be nice for everything to be up to date so I can show him around without—’

  ‘Say no more,’ Nicole interrupted and handed Sunainah the next set of case notes for them to review.

  The two women worked together for the next five minutes, engrossed in their work. While the ward itself was quite noisy, with the sounds of children talking and laughing, they were used to it so when a deep male voice spoke from the other side of the desk, both women looked up, startled.

  ‘Excuse me. I was hoping you could help me.’

  Sunainah stared at the man, blinking one slow, long blink to ensure she was not dreaming. ‘Elliot?’

  He smiled at her. ‘Hello again, Sunainah.’

  She frowned. ‘Is everything all right? Joshua? Has his fever spiked?’ Sunainah stood, worry clearly etched on her features, but as she did so she realised Elliot was wearing a white coat. Not only that, he also had a hospital identification badge hanging from a lanyard around his neck.

  She was trying to process why on earth he was dressed that way when she saw a smile cross his lips and real
ised, belatedly, that she had spoken her thoughts out loud. She put her fingers over her mouth as though to retract the words but it was too late.

  ‘I’m a doctor.’ He nodded. ‘Paediatrician, to be exact. The new Sunshine General paediatrician and I’m pleased to report that Joshua is much improved.’

  ‘Until next time.’ Sunainah whispered the last words he had spoken to her and slowly shook her head from side to side as the penny finally dropped. She looked at his hospital badge and saw his surname was Jones.

  ‘Dr E Jones.’ Sunainah spoke the words quietly, recalling the paperwork she had previously signed, approving the appointment. It had been only days after her father’s funeral and Sunainah had much preferred to assuage her grief by hibernating at the hospital, working as much as she could. That was why she had not remembered that the E on Dr Jones’s application had stood for Elliot. It was why she had not put two and two together and come up with four.

  She now remembered reading his CV and being impressed. She had been delighted the hospital board had finally agreed to provide funding for another paediatrician as they had been incredibly understaffed for the past year.

  ‘That’s me. Elliot Jones.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Look, I know I should have said something yesterday and I did try but...well, it was busy and...’

  Sunainah straightened her shoulders, managing to recover some of her composure. ‘I understand, Elliot. Your son was not well and you clearly had other things on your mind...as well as on your clothes.’ Her lips twitched and she was rewarded with a bright smile from him.

  She immediately put out a hand to the desk for support because the instant he turned his full-megawatt smile in her direction, her knees immediately began to buckle. Was he aware his smile could be classified as lethal? Sunainah closed her eyes for a brief moment before once more taking in the badge and white coat. Elliot was a doctor! Was this why he had trusted her so quickly with his children? He had known the instant he had seen her identification that they would be working together.