‘Goodnight, Hannah.’ Her real name suited the moment a little better than the joking nicknames.
‘Goodnight, Matt.’ She gave him one last smile, and then she was gone. He heard her footsteps on the stairs that led down to the lobby and he closed the door, leaning back against it.
That should have been a big mistake. Something that led to an embarrassed goodbye and the need to make things right afterwards. But it wasn’t. They’d struggled against this, but it was what they both wanted. Maybe making it clear that it was just for this moment, and it would lead nowhere, had made it all the sweeter.
And somehow it had made things easier. No more wondering what might happen if he kissed her. They had a way forward, and that way was clear. In two weeks’ time it would lead to the greatest test they’d faced.
CHAPTER TEN
HE’D BEEN PERFECT. Kissing her as if she wasn’t just the most beautiful woman in the world, she was the only woman. Dancing her slowly towards the door, and in a gesture of old-fashioned charm kissing her hand. Every time she thought about it, she was back in that moment, feeling everything she’d felt then.
The idea that any man could make her want him so badly should have been terrifying. But Matt understood that this would go nowhere, and so did she. They’d allowed it in because they both wanted it, but it wouldn’t divert them from their purpose.
Texting him had been a lot easier than it had before. Hannah had asked herself none of the agonised questions about whether this was too soon, or not soon enough. When she’d received the email, giving details of their trip to London, she’d just picked up her phone and suggested they meet to discuss it.
Their arrangements to meet up for coffee, at the end of Hannah’s shift, had been put off for a day. A major accident on the bypass around the town had left ten people, travelling on a coach, with serious injuries, and they were both busy. The next day, Hannah was waiting for him in the hospital canteen.
Matt sat down in the chair she’d saved for him, and Hannah pushed towards him the black coffee she’d bought for him.
‘You got this for me? Thanks.’
‘I’m guessing you must be tired.’ She could voice those concerns now that they’d come to an understanding. It was okay to feel something, and okay to notice him.
‘Yeah. We were operating pretty late into the night last night.’ He smiled suddenly. ‘We didn’t lose anyone.’
‘Thanks. I was wondering, and Sophie and I haven’t had a chance to find out yet.’
‘There were a number of injuries that were as a result of passengers being thrown around in the coach that was hit. The driver was badly hurt, and he’ll probably need more surgery, but he’s stable and doing better than I’d expected.’
Hannah nodded. She didn’t often get the opportunity to discuss the patients she brought in with the surgeon in charge of their case, and this was the kind of good news that both she and Sophie always hoped for.
‘I was worried about him. He’d lost a lot of blood from his stomach wound.’
Matt nodded. ‘You were right to be. There was a lot of damage, and we had to remove his spleen. But if my stitches hold, then he should be okay, given time.’
‘They’ll hold.’ Hannah grinned at him. It was okay to recognise that Matt was a talented surgeon as well.
‘I’m grateful for your confidence in me.’ His gaze met hers, and Hannah didn’t try to fight it. They’d acknowledged this, and set their boundaries.
‘So. What about the email, then...?’ She reached into her pocket for the paper copy she’d made, and found that Matt had a similar copy in his hand. They both smiled at the synchronicity.
‘It seems pretty straightforward. Nothing about what we’ll be doing, just that we need to turn up on Thursday evening, and we’ll have no contact with the outside world until the winners are announced the following Monday evening.’
Hannah nodded. She hadn’t explained yet to Sam that she wouldn’t be calling him every day. ‘That’s the first hurdle...’
‘I...um...took the liberty of calling them. I asked whether contestants might be allowed one call to their families every day, and they said yes. Supervised, of course, so that you don’t get to chat about the competition. But you can call Sam and tell him goodnight.’
He’d done that for her. Matt clearly wasn’t too worried about calling his family.
‘Thank you. It didn’t occur to me to do that, I just hated the idea of not being able to talk to him.’
‘Yeah, I didn’t much like the idea either.’ He scanned the paper in front of him again. ‘How are you getting down to London?’
‘I thought the train?’
‘I was going to take my car. The hotel has parking for guests, and you never know, we might need it.’
‘Won’t they provide us with cars if we need them?’