The Nurse's Christmas Wish (The Cornish Consultants)

‘She seems stable,’ Mac said quietly, his eyes on the child’s chest, ‘but she’s obviously going to need admitting.’

‘We’ll get her to the ward,’ the paediatrician said, and they made the necessary arrangements to transfer the child.

‘Obviously not a great pantomime,’ Josh drawled, humour in his eyes now that the emergency had passed. ‘Remind me to give it a miss.’

Hannah accompanied the child to the ward and ten minutes later Louisa found herself alone with Mac.

‘You did well.’ His voice was gruff. ‘Do you still suffer from asthma?’

She shook her head. ‘No. I grew out of it.’

‘But you suffered badly?’

‘Oh, yes.’ Memories clouded her brain. ‘I can still remember how scary it is not to be able to breathe. You were good with her. You calmed her down.’

He shrugged. ‘We were lucky.’

‘You were amazing.’

His dark gaze fixed on her and the tension built between them. Suddenly she was aware of every male inch of him. The broad, muscular shoulders, the powerful legs, the strong column of his throat. And his mouth. Her eyes drifted from his and rested on the firm lines of his mouth. What would it feel like to be kissed by Mac?

Without realising what she was doing, she swayed towards him and heard his sharp intake of breath.

‘Louisa...’ His tone was suddenly harsh and she gave a start and looked up at him.

‘I—’

‘It’s time to go home. You’re off duty.’ His gaze was hooded, his expression revealing nothing of his thoughts.

He was icily remote once more and she took a step backwards, suddenly flustered.

She didn’t usually react to men like this. She just wasn’t interested.

But Mac was different to every other man she’d ever met.

Suddenly realising just how tired and confused she was, Louisa gave him a brief smile. ‘Off duty. Sounds good. See you later.’

She picked up her coat and her keys and strolled towards her car, wondering why her legs ached so badly. She’d obviously spent too long on her feet. She slid inside with a sigh of relief and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened.

‘No!’ She thumped her palm on the wheel in frustration. ‘Don’t do this to me.’ She turned the key again and pumped the accelerator, but the little car was totally dead.

She tipped her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, too tired to think of an immediate solution to the problem.

The driver’s door was jerked open. ‘What’s wrong?’

She knew it was Mac without even opening her eyes. ‘My car doesn’t like cold weather.’

‘Your car doesn’t seem to like any weather. Are you planning to spend the night here?’ His tone was dry and she smiled without bothering to open her eyes.

‘Dr Sullivan, I’m too tired to care where I spend the night so this is as good a place as any.’

‘That bad?’ His voice softened and he reached into the car and removed her keys from the ignition. ‘Come on. I’ll give you a lift and we’ll sort this wreck of yours out tomorrow. At least it isn’t blocking anyone.’

She shook her head. ‘I can’t move.’

‘That’s what happens when you try and cook, clean and work full time,’ Mac muttered, retrieving her bag and coat and throwing them in the back of his car. ‘Now you know why Josh and I resort to take-aways. Something has got to give.’

‘Yes, well in this case it’s my legs,’ she groaned. Her eyes opened and clashed with his and she felt her heart miss a beat. His jaw was dark with stubble, his eyes were tired and he was still without doubt the mos