The Secret Between Them Read online

  Elliot had laughed and told both his children they’d see Sunainah soon enough, but now he had the feeling that might not be the case. He recalled the way she hadn’t been able to meet his gaze, the way she’d been a little jumpy when he’d come into the playroom, and how the instant Nicole had come to whisk Caitie away Sunainah had also high-tailed it out of there, as though she hadn’t wanted to be left alone with him.

  He closed the case notes with such force he made the nurse seated beside him jump.

  ‘Something wrong, Elliot?’ she asked.

  ‘Er...no.’ He thought quickly for a moment. He needed to talk to Sunainah. It was best he find out what he’d done to upset her and apologise immediately. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable at work, in her own department, simply because he’d been an insensitive cad, even if he hadn’t realised it.

  ‘Actually, yes. Yes, there is something wrong.’ He picked up the case notes and tucked them under his arm. ‘I think I need to discuss this patient with Sunainah.’ As a cover, it was one good one. Doctors were always discussing their patients with other doctors.

  The nurse nodded. ‘Nothing I can help with?’ There was an interested gleam in her eyes and he didn’t miss the double entendre of her words. Elliot smiled nervously but shook his head.

  ‘I think it’s Sunainah I need.’ Without another word he turned on his heel and headed down the corridor towards Sunainah’s office. He glanced back over his shoulder, noticing the nurse was watching him carefully, a look of delight on her face, as though he were a cream pie and she wanted to eat him.

  Feeling rather awkward, Elliot knocked twice on Sunainah’s office door then, wanting to escape the leering nurse’s gaze, he opened the door and entered the office without waiting for Sunainah’s permission.

  His thoughts quickly turned from the nurse to the woman before him who, much to his surprise and astonishment, was sitting behind her desk, tissues in hand, sobbing quietly.

  ‘Sunainah?’

  ‘Uh...Elliot!’ She stared at him for a whole second, one that seemed to last far longer, before quickly composing herself, blowing her nose and sitting up straighter in her chair. ‘My apologies.’ She cleared her throat and forced a polite smile. ‘What can I help you with?’

  Elliot immediately walked towards her, putting the case notes on the desk before coming around to kneel by her chair.

  ‘I think it’s me who can help you. What’s wrong?’

  ‘Oh? Uh...’ She shook her head. ‘Sometimes I just need an outlet. To cry.’

  ‘Are you worried about Caitie?’

  ‘No. No. She is doing a tremendous job of getting better.’ She dabbed once at her eyes then put the tissue into the bin before starting to straighten the papers on her desk. ‘Sometimes, although I am happy to see them get better and head home, I do worry. And I miss them. Like Rory and Matthew and Dean. They’re all now coping at home and although I will see them in my clinic in a few weeks’ time, sometimes the leaving part can make me quite sad.’

  Elliot nodded, watching her closely for a few moments, noticing the way she still wasn’t meeting his gaze. His gut instinct told him there was far more going on here than she was saying. ‘Are you sure that’s all that’s upsetting you?’

  ‘Of course. Releasing the tension. All doctors do it.’

  He watched her for another moment then decided that if she didn’t want to talk to him, she didn’t have to. Perhaps whatever was on her mind was too new, too scary, too intense to discuss openly. If that was the case, he was right there with her. This natural attraction between them was something he was butting heads with on a daily basis. If, by some crazy random happenstance, Sunainah felt the same way, then he most definitely understood her confusion.

  He nodded again then stood, realising it was probably better to change the subject. ‘That’s good. It’s good you know when to release the tension. I release my tension by cooking.’

  ‘Cooking?’ That did surprise her and she immediately met his gaze. It was a mistake. To look into those wonderful blue eyes...eyes that seemed to have the ability to see right down into her very soul... She looked away before he saw anything too private and went back to organising her desk.

  ‘Yes. In fact, why don’t you come round for dinner this evening?’

  Her hands stilled for a moment but she managed to resist the temptation to look at him. ‘Thank you for the invitation, Elliot, but as you can see from the state of my desk I must get this paperwork under control this evening.’

  ‘Bring it along.’ He strode round to the other side of her desk, picking up the case notes he’d entered with. ‘Once Daphne and Joshua are in bed, we can sit down and tackle those papers together. You’ll get through it a lot quicker and it will also help me to learn the department’s protocols a bit better.’

  ‘Uh...’ She watched as he headed to the door, smiling warmly at her over his shoulder, exuding that natural charm of his that made it difficult for her to resist him. It was right that she should distance herself from him and the children, that she should refuse his kind offer, but the words somehow did not seem to come to her lips.

  ‘Both Daphne and Joshua have been asking to see you again, to spend some time with you. Plus, it’s Joshie’s second birthday next weekend and I was hoping you’d be able to help me with the planning.’ He looked down at his feet for a moment then met her eyes once more. ‘I’m afraid I didn’t do much last year to celebrate his first birthday so I’d like to make it up to him this year.’

  She was silent, staring at him with a mixture of delight and regret.

  ‘Help me, please? For Joshie?’ he added, knowing his words were bordering on emotional blackmail but right now all he could think about was getting her to agree. Whatever was bothering her was clearly something she couldn’t discuss at work. Being at home, in a relaxed environment, was a much better way to entice her to open up more to him.

  ‘It would be nice for him to have a party but—’

  ‘Excellent. I’ll see you tonight. Around six would be great.’ With that, he winked at her and headed out of her office before she could decline.

  Sunainah continued to sit, staring at her closed door. How had that happened? Not three hours ago she had been lecturing herself to be nothing more than a professional colleague and a polite neighbour towards Elliot, and now, somehow, she was going round to his place for dinner to not only spend time with him and his children and help plan Joshua’s birthday party but also to focus on work. Was there any part of her life this man had not somehow managed to infiltrate?

  The phone on her desk rang and she immediately picked it up, pleased with the interruption.

  ‘Hey, there.’ Mackenzie’s voice came down the line.

  ‘Er...hello.’

  ‘I’ve just spoken to Reggie and Bergan. We’ve all got forty-five minutes spare to head across the road to the café for a quick lunch. Any chance you’re free in about half an hour?’

  Sunainah looked at her paperwork then closed her eyes. With Elliot’s promise to help her tonight, she would be able to get things sorted. Plus, she could really use the diversion of seeing her friends. That way she could forget about Elliot Jones and her upcoming evening.

  ‘Sounds perfect,’ she replied with relief. ‘See you then.’ Sunainah hung up the phone and stared at the work on her desk. She closed her eyes, unable to think about anything except the way Elliot had burst into her office and found her crying.

  She was extremely grateful he had not pushed the subject, because if he had, he would have realised she had been crying because of him, because of the way he made her feel and how she simply seemed unable to control the overwhelming need for him to hold her close.

  Just once. She wanted to feel what it was like to have his arms around her. She raised a hand to her cheek where his lips had left an i
nvisible mark on her skin and wished she had had the courage to return the favour. She had often dreamed of him kissing her, of smiling down at her as he declared his attraction to her.

  ‘But it is just a dream,’ she told herself, snapping her thoughts back to reality. ‘And you need to get at least some work done before meeting your friends for lunch.’ To that end, she straightened her shoulders and took the first piece of paper from her in-tray.

  Later, as she walked through the hospital with Mackenzie, heading across the road to the coffee shop, she at least felt a small sense of accomplishment, having dealt with at least three small things in that half-hour. Perhaps she wouldn’t need to spend too long at Elliot’s tonight, working side by side with him. She shook the thought away as her stomach started to churn with anticipated delight.

  ‘I hear you have a dinner date with Elliot,’ Mackenzie said as they walked along.

  Sunainah almost tripped. She stared at her friend in mortification. ‘How did you hear that?’ Was there already hospital gossip about this impromptu dinner?

  Mackenzie laughed at the look on her friend’s face. ‘Don’t stress it. I bumped into Elliot just now in the stairwell. I invited him and the children to join us for dinner tonight as John has the day off and will be doing all the cooking. So imagine my surprise when he tells me he’s unavailable as he already has plans tonight—with you.’

  ‘It is business, Mackenzie. He is helping me with the paperwork and learning more about the department.’

  ‘And in return you’ll help him plan Joshie’s second birthday party.’ Mackenzie waggled her eyebrows up and down then clapped her hands with glee. ‘It’s good, Sunainah. This is a good development. He is definitely into you.’

  ‘What? No, he is not.’

  Mackenzie stared at her as though she was thick. ‘What man in his right mind offers to help a woman as beautiful as you with just paperwork?’

  Sunainah stopped in the middle of the road and stared at her friend in complete astonishment. ‘Do you mean he will not help me?’

  Mackenzie laughed and grabbed Sunainah’s arm, pulling her to the other side of the road. ‘I’m saying that Elliot is interested in you. Seriously, Sunainah.’

  ‘No. You are wrong. He is still in love with his wife.’

  ‘He might have moved on,’ Mackenzie suggested.

  Sunainah shook her head again. ‘He cannot be interested in me and if he does not help me with my work tonight then I must go back to my office right now and at least get something done.’

  ‘Of course he’ll help you.’ Mackenzie rolled her eyes. ‘He’s the type of man to help a damsel in distress.’

  ‘I am not in distress. Just busy.’

  The two of them walked into the café where Reggie and Bergan were waiting for them. Sunainah immediately turned to Mackenzie, a pleading tone in her words. ‘Please do not discuss this with the others. Not yet. I am sure you are wrong about Elliot. You have to be because I am not the woman for him. In fact, I am not the woman for any man. Please, I do not want a post-mortem of my life, past, present or speculative future, over lunch.’

  ‘All right. If you insist, but we will be discussing this at a future date. Mark it in your diary, my darling Sunainah. And where your past is concerned, perhaps it’s now time to deal with it.’

  Sunainah instantly shook her head but Mackenzie nodded, her tone encouraging.

  ‘You can deal with it. You’re much stronger than you realise but I also want you to tell me exactly why you think you are not right for our new handsome neighbour because I think you’re made for each other.’

  Were they? Made for each other? Sunainah shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she focused on enjoying the company of her friends, but all throughout the lunch and indeed throughout the rest of the day she kept wondering why Mackenzie thought she might be a good match for Elliot.

  * * *

  ‘Daddy. Phone. Daddy. Phone.’ Daphne was calling louder than the ringing phone as Elliot finished stirring the pasta sauce in preparation for his dinner with Sunainah.

  ‘All right, all right. I’m answering it,’ he said as he connected the call, smiling at his daughter, who was busy playing with her toys, trying to keep her favourite doll out of Joshua’s reach. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Elliot?’

  ‘Gillian?’ The last person he had expected to hear from tonight was his sister-in-law.

  ‘Have I caught you at a bad time?’

  ‘No. It’s all right. I just...hadn’t expected to hear from you.’

  ‘You mean after the appalling way my family treated you?’

  ‘Well, there is that.’ Elliot started layering the pasta sauce and lasagne sheets into the dish as he waited for Gillian to reveal the purpose of her call.

  ‘So...how are you?’

  ‘Good.’

  ‘And the children?’

  ‘They’re both fine. Joshua had a bit of a cold but he’s all right now.’

  ‘Poor baby.’

  ‘What about you? How’s Linus? The kids?’

  ‘They’re all well. Linus is still at work but should be home soon.’ There was a pause, and Elliot was determined not to fill it. Out of all of Marie’s family Gillian was the only he was willing to maintain contact with. It had been Gillian who had alerted him to the fact that Marie’s parents had been intent on filing for custody of Daphne and Joshua and it had been Gillian who had apologised to him for her terrible behaviour.

  ‘I was grieving the loss of my sister,’ she’d told him not long before he’d made the decision to leave Melbourne. ‘I took it out on you. I’m sorry, Elliot.’

  When she didn’t speak, he decided to push for the reason. ‘So, Gillian, what can I help you with?’

  ‘Nothing really. I was just thinking that Joshua’s birthday is coming up and wondered if you were planning on having a party or...something.’

  ‘Yes we are having a party. In fact, a friend is coming around tonight to help me.’ He finished layering the lasagne and put it in the oven to bake.

  ‘A...female friend?’

  ‘She’s my neighbour.’

  ‘Oh, really?’ He could tell Gillian was smiling as she absorbed this information. ‘Well, that’s great, Elliot. I’m happy for you.’

  ‘She’s just a friend, Gill.’ But even as he said the words he knew it wasn’t exactly true. Sunainah was... He closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to figure it out. She was his neighbour, his colleague and his friend. Of that he was certain, but she had to be more than a friend given he couldn’t seem to stop dreaming or thinking about her.

  ‘Marie told me she wanted you to find someone else. She wanted you to be happy, Elliot. You do know that, don’t you?’

  It was odd. He’d had these same discussions with himself but hearing Gillian’s voice on the phone, sounding so much like Marie’s, Elliot felt the love he still had for his wife fill his heart. But it wasn’t the same as before. It was a love tinged with sadness and regret.

  ‘She told me. Only hours before she died she told me to find someone else.’ He shook his head as he leaned against the bench. He opened his eyes and looked off into the past, seeing Marie lying in the stark white hospital bed, Joshua’s humidi-crib as close as he could get it. ‘I vowed after her death never to move on. That it would never happen.’

  ‘But this woman? Your friend who’s coming over tonight...she would have to be someone special, right? I mean, if she’s going to replace Marie—’

  ‘No one will ever replace Marie,’ he interrupted.

  ‘Of course not,’ Gillian instantly agreed. ‘Bad choice of words. All I meant was that this woman, if she’s even made you think of moving forward, must be someone special. Really special.’

  Elliot closed his eyes, easily picturing Sunainah’s face. Her twinklin
g eyes, her white teeth, her exotic scent, her jet-black hair he was almost itching to free from the pins she bound it with. Yes, she was someone special and she was starting to drive him to distraction.

  ‘Yes.’ His voice was soft. ‘Yes, Gillian, she is someone special.’

  ‘Good to hear.’ Gillian sighed long and loud. ‘I have to say I’m relieved.’

  ‘You are?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because Marie made me promise to help you to move on eventually. I’ve done a pretty lousy job of it so far but now, hearing you so happy, knowing the kids are settling in...it’s all good news, Elliot.’

  ‘It’s scary, Gill.’

  Gillian laughed. ‘Of course it is.’

  ‘What if this...friend turns out to be nothing more than a friend? What if I’m making a huge mistake? What if I do more damage to my children by introducing them to a woman who has absolutely no interest in me?’ It wasn’t until he finished speaking that he even realised his confusion had run that deep.

  ‘You’re a smart man, Elliot. You took a chance on Marie and you were both very happy.’

  ‘True.’ Elliot walked to the archway to watch his children playing together. He’d already made so many mistakes during their short lives and although they wouldn’t remember them, he always would. Was Sunainah someone who would stick around? Become part of their family? She liked his children, of that he was certain. He was fairly sure she liked him, too, even though she often gave him mixed signals.

  ‘Take a chance, eh?’

  ‘Living life is good,’ Gillian replied, and after she’d rung off and Elliot had finished preparing the salad, he realised the chances he’d taken recently really had paid off. Sure, he’d uprooted his family but he’d found a better job at a nicer hospital with great staff. He was a member of the cul-de-sac crew, had found a brilliant daycare centre for his children and had wonderful neighbours.