She shook her head. ‘Never again.’ She huddled deeper inside her coat and stamped her feet to keep warm. Surely he’d touch her soon? ‘My home is here. With you. If you want me, that is.’
And finally the tension seemed to drain out of him.
He gave a groan and dragged her into his arms, his voice muffled as he buried his face in her neck. ‘Oh, God, Helen, I thought I’d lost you. When I saw you with David I thought I’d lost you.’ He squeezed her tightly and then pushed her away slightly so that he could look at her. ‘Once I heard you say you were glad he’d come, I thought that was it.’
‘When you walked out, I almost died.’ Helen put her arms around his neck, sliding her fingers into his hair, loving the way it felt. ‘I couldn’t get rid of David fast enough. But then I came to the surgery and you were so cold…’
‘It was the only way I could stop myself from breaking down and begging you to stay,’ he confessed in a raw tone, ‘and I didn’t want to do that to you. I wanted you to make the decision yourself, without pressure from me. I thought you’d already made that decision.’
‘I’d already sent David away when I found you at the practice. I came to tell you that I loved you,’ Helen told him, oblivious to the biting wind which buffeted both of them. ‘But after you told me that last night was a mistake, there didn’t seem much point.’
Oliver groaned and cupped her face in his hands. ‘Last night wasn’t a mistake, angel.’ He lowered his mouth to hers, his kiss so hot and full of promise that she felt her body shiver. Only when both of them were struggling for breath did he lift his head. ‘Last night was the single most perfect thing that has ever happened to me. When I woke up this morning and you were already downstairs, I assumed I’d frightened you away by telling you that I loved you.’
‘I think I frightened myself,’ Helen admitted, colour rising in her cheeks. ‘It was so…I mean, I never—’
‘Neither did I.’ Oliver kissed her again. ‘And when I saw you with David…’
‘I told him that I was glad he’d come, because I thought there were things I wanted to know,’ Helen said quietly. ‘I wanted to know how he could have ended our relationship the way he did, without seeing me face to face. Then I saw him and realised that actually I didn’t even care anymore. I didn’t care why he did it that way. All I cared about was you.’
‘You were in his arms.’
‘He pulled me there. I left them very quickly,’ Helen said and Oliver let out a long breath.
‘He’s rich, Helen.’
She glanced around her, breathing in the air and sighing with pleasure as she looked at the mountains. ‘What’s rich?’ She turned back to him. ‘Rich is being with the person you love.’
He cupped her face in his hands. ‘I thought you didn’t believe that love could happen quickly.’
‘I’ve learned a lot of things in the past few weeks,’ she said softly. ‘Like the fact that I love mountains. And that I don’t want to go back to London. And that love can happen in a breath and when you’re least expecting it. I arrived here broken-hearted but you made me see that what I felt for David wasn’t love. Love is what I feel for you.’
‘And is it enough?’ His voice was hoarse and he stroked a hand around her face and tilted her chin. ‘Is it enough to make you leave behind the stilettos and the suits? Your big city life? Is it asking too much of you to make you live here?’
She smiled. ‘I want to live here. I want to be here when Hilda moves into her new flat. I want to know how things go with Anna and her new boyfriend and—’ her eyes twinkled ‘—I even want to know about Howard Marks’s sex life.’
Oliver grinned. ‘I can assure you, you don’t!’
Helen laughed. ‘Well, what I mean is, I want to be part of this great community. I know I can’t carry on being your practice nurse, but I still want to be part of everything.’
‘Ah.’ Something flickered in Oliver’s eyes. ‘About the practice nurse job…’
Helen’s gaze softened. ‘I can’t believe you paid for Maggie to visit her daughter just to create a job for me.’
Oliver rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. ‘It seems my generous gesture has rather backfired.’
‘How?’
Oliver gave a wry smile. ‘Maggie called this morning to say that she’s enjoying herself so much she’d like extended leave of absence. I need a new practice nurse.’
Helen’s mouth fell open. ‘Oh!’
‘Yes—“oh.”’ He shook his head. ‘I must admit I didn’t have the best morning. First I saw you with David and then my practice nurse decides not to come back.’
Helen kissed him. ‘But the day is improving,’ she said softly, ?
?because I happen to know someone who would make a great practice nurse. If only in the short term.’
Oliver dragged his mouth away from hers reluctantly. ‘Short term?’ His voice was husky and his eyes were still on her lips. ‘Why short term?’