A Christmas Knight (5 page)

When they'd finished their meal, Louisa shooed Tyler upstairs for a bath.

‘And I ought to go,' Dominic said. ‘Can I help with the washing up first?'

‘No, it's fine. It won't take me two minutes.'

‘If you're sure.' He called up the stairs, ‘See you at the stables, Ty.'

‘Bye,' the little boy called back.

‘Thank you,' he said as Louisa walked with him to the front door. ‘I've enjoyed this evening.' He bent to kiss her cheek, but he misjudged it and somehow ended up kissing her on the mouth. It was the briefest, briefest touch, but it made his mouth tingle.

He pulled back sharply. ‘I'd better go. See you tomorrow at work.'

‘See you tomorrow,' she echoed.

 

When Louisa had closed the door behind him, she stood there for a while, just touching her mouth. It was the first time she'd been kissed by a man other than her father, son or brother for a long, long time; and the first time in years that she'd felt such a zing of attraction.

She liked Dominic. A lot. She liked the way he worked, the way he cared for his patients, the way he treated all his colleagues with respect, no matter how junior they were. The way he noticed if a student was struggling and would spend time afterwards explaining what he'd done and why—and she'd just bet he did exactly the same thing at the stables. He was patient with Ty without being patronising, and took Ty's quirks in his stride.

Not to mention the fact that he was spine-tinglingly gorgeous, too.

It would be very, very easy to fall for Dominic Hurst. But she had Tyler to think about. He was still young, and
he needed more consideration than the average child; he found talking about emotions difficult, and was much happier with facts and figures.

So she'd better be sensible and keep things strictly professional between herself and Dominic. Anything more would be risking heartache—and not just for herself. This wasn't going to happen.

D
OMINIC
had visions of Louisa all the way home, with her hair loose spreading over the water like a mermaid's; he'd just bet that she was a graceful swimmer. And he was cross with himself for not being able to get her out of his head. This was crazy. He didn't have room for a relationship in his life. He'd made sure of that, filling his time with work and his horse. When he wasn't at the hospital, he was at the stables. He went on team nights out with his colleagues, because he knew it was good for staff morale and helped to build solid working relationships; but he didn't do relationships. Before Oliver's accident, he'd never met anyone who'd tempted him to settle down—he'd been happy to keep his relationships light and just for fun. After the accident, he'd avoided personal relationships, not wanting to let anyone else down the way he'd let his family down.

Louisa Austin was different.

What was it about her that drew him so much? It wasn't just the way she was at work—kind, efficient and professional with patients and colleagues alike. And it wasn't just the way she was so selfless with her son. There was a calmness about her, a warmth, that made him want to stop driving himself so hard and just
be
.

He'd made a bad mistake, kissing her like that.

Admittedly, it hadn't been a passionate kiss. But it had
been more than the friendly peck on the cheek he'd intended. And the softness, the sweetness of her mouth against his…it had made him want more. So much more.

‘It's not going to happen. There are too many complications. We're just colleagues,' he told himself firmly.

But even so, he found himself seeking her out at lunchtime the next day. ‘Can I steal some of your lunch break for a quick debriefing?' he asked.

‘Sure.'

To his relief, she wasn't wary with him. So he might not have spoiled things between them completely.

‘So which patient are we talking about?' she asked when they were sitting in a quiet corner of the hospital cafeteria.

‘Um, not a patient exactly. I wanted to talk to you without half the ward as an audience—to apologise about last night.' He could feel his skin growing warm.

‘It's OK. I know you didn't mean anything by it,' she said.

It had been accidental. But he couldn't take his eyes off her mouth. Which was crazy. He knew that neither of them was in the right place for a relationship. And he didn't do relationships, not since Oliver's accident. Nothing had changed.

But Louisa still drew him. He wanted to kiss her some more. Properly, this time.

He pulled himself together with difficulty. ‘What did the garage say about your car?'

‘They've got to order in a part. It should be done tomorrow.'

‘I can give you a lift home tonight, if you like.' The words were out before he could stop them. But he could see on her face that she was going to say no.

‘Thanks for the offer, but I can't make you go out of your way.'

This was where he should be relieved at the get-out, but his mouth was on a roll. ‘It's not really out of my way. I have to go right past your place to get to the stables from here.'

‘I need to pick up Ty from after-school club first.'

School was nearby, too. ‘Not a problem.'

‘Then thank you.' She looked relieved. ‘I was going to ask Mum to bail me out, but I hate having to rely on my parents—it's not fair to them, asking them to help.'

‘I'm sure they don't mind. And you seem pretty independent to me.'

‘I try to be.'

He noticed that she turned the conversation away from herself after that; she was as cagey as he was.

But for some crazy reason he found himself smiling all afternoon.

When they met Tyler at school, the little boy seemed delighted to see him. ‘Does this mean you're coming swimming with us tonight?' he asked.

‘Sorry, I don't have my swimming things with me. I'm just giving you and your mum a lift home because her car's still being fixed.'

‘We're going to take the bus to the pool and then Nanna and Grandad are going to meet us there,' Louisa explained.

‘But you will come swimming with us another time?' Tyler asked.

‘We'll see,' Dominic said, glancing at Louisa; her expression was unreadable.

‘That's grown-up speak for “No”,' Tyler said with a sigh.

‘No, it means I don't make promises unless I'm
absolutely sure I can keep them,' Dominic said. ‘If I'm treating a patient, I can't suddenly stop just because it's the end of my shift. And that means sometimes I'm late for things or I don't manage to get there at all. And I don't like disappointing people, so I don't make many promises.' He smiled at the little boy as he pulled up outside Louisa's house. ‘See you later—enjoy your swim.'

‘Are you going to the stables now?'

‘I am indeed.'

‘Give Pegasus a pat for me,' Tyler said, scrambling out of the car. ‘And thank you for bringing us home.'

‘Pleasure.' The little boy was so earnest and always so polite; he found it touching.

‘And thanks for being so patient,' Louisa added quietly. ‘I do try to limit his questions. But I can't keep telling him off in front of people—it's not his fault that he finds social cues so hard.'

‘He's a nice kid,' Dominic said. ‘And you're doing a great job.'

He was still thinking about her when he was grooming Pegasus. ‘The problem is,' he told his horse, ‘I really like her. I like everything about her. She's bright, she's warm and kind, she's good with patients and staff alike. And she's gorgeous. Well, hey, you've seen her. Her mouth's like a rosebud, her eyes are the clear grey of a winter sky, and—'

‘You're waxing a bit poetic there,' Ric said.

Dominic blew out a breath. ‘Thanks for nearly making me stick the hoofpick into my hand! Why are you creeping about the stables?'

‘I wasn't creeping. You didn't hear me because your attention was focused…' Ric coughed ‘…elsewhere.'

Dominic grimaced. ‘Well, thanks.'

‘You were describing Louisa, I take it? She's nice.'

‘And she has commitments.'

‘Tyler, you mean?' Ric was utterly relentless. ‘You get on well with him. I've seen you. So the problem is…?'

‘She's not the type to do a casual relationship.'

‘So try having a proper relationship for a change,' Ric suggested.

Dominic shook his head. ‘That's not what I want.'

‘Isn't it?'

Dominic didn't want to think about it, let alone answer the question, so he continued grooming his horse.

‘It's time you forgave yourself,' Ric said softly.

‘What if I let her down?' The question slipped out before Dominic could stop it.

But Ric didn't seem fazed at all. Didn't back away. Didn't make a big deal out of it. ‘What if you don't?' he countered. ‘Look at what you do every day. Do you let your patients down? No. If anything, you push yourself harder to make sure you don't. Do you let anyone down at the stables? No.'

‘I don't have room in my life for a relationship.'

‘Of course you do. If she deserves you, she'll understand you and you'll work out some kind of compromise. Just like Bea and me.'

‘It's complicated.'

‘You'd be bored with something easy.'

Dominic sighed. ‘Have you got an answer for everything?'

‘Yup. And if I haven't, Bea has.' Ric paused. ‘Look, I've seen you together. You like her and she likes you. And you've got work in common—she'll understand about your job not being nine to five. Her son loves horses, so she'll understand that side of you, too.'

‘It's a bad idea to mix work and pleasure.'

Ric ignored him. ‘What's the worst that can happen?
She'll say no? Then you can still be friends.' He regarded his friend. ‘But I think she'd be good for you. She might teach you to be kind to yourself.'

‘As you've known me since we were both in nappies,' Dominic said, ‘I'll forget you said that.'

‘Because I've known you that long, I'm about the only person who could say it to you.' Ric gave him a searching look. ‘Except maybe for someone who's known you a teensy bit longer. Who worries about you, too.'

Dominic frowned. ‘Have you been talking about me?'

‘If someone rings me when I'm up to my eyes in paperwork and in a filthy mood,' Ric said, ‘then I'm not really responsible for my mouth running away with me.'

Dominic narrowed his eyes. ‘Mum or Oliver?'

‘Irrelevant.'

‘Oliver,' Dominic guessed, ‘otherwise I would've had a parental summons to Sunday lunch and general smothering. What did you say?'

Ric sighed. ‘Just that I agreed with him. That it's time you let people back into your life.'

‘Don't be ridiculous. Of course I let people into my life.'

‘Let people close, then. Someone besides your family, me and Bea. And Pegasus agrees with us—don't you, boy?'

The horse whickered.

Dominic grimaced. ‘Traitor.'

‘We're worried about you,' Ric said. ‘Because we love you. So just ask her, will you?'

‘Yeah, yeah. If I get time.'

But Dominic thought about it a lot, over the next few days. Days during which the more he saw of Louisa, the more attracted he was to her. Just as he'd admitted to Ric, she was warm, she was kind, she was great with people.
And those serious grey eyes drew him. Particularly when they were lit with laughter.

And maybe his best friend had a point.

 

‘It's the team night out on Friday. Ten-pin bowling. Are you coming?' Essie asked on the Monday morning.

‘I'm not sure yet,' Louisa hedged.

‘If you can't get a babysitter, Ty could come and watch a film with my lot. They're going to have pizza, so he's very welcome.'

‘Thanks for the offer, but—' Louisa began.

Essie patted her arm. ‘It would do you good to have an evening out, plus it's good for team-building. Even Dominic always turns up to team nights out.'

The idea of seeing Dominic outside work, and not just at the stables—oh, help. But Louisa duly rang her parents that evening. ‘Mum, I hate to ask, but there's a team night out on Friday and Essie asked me to go—I wondered if you could come over and sit with Ty for a couple of hours, if you're not already doing—?'

‘Going out with your workmates would do you good,' Gillian cut in firmly. ‘Of course we'll have Ty—he can have a sleepover at ours, and you can pick him up before his riding lesson on Saturday.'

‘Thanks, Mum. I owe you.'

‘Nonsense.' Gillian sighed. ‘You're too independent, you know.'

‘I don't want you to feel I'm taking you for granted.'

Gillian tutted. ‘Don't be so silly. Of course you don't take us for granted. We love spending time with our grandson. I'd be very happy for you to ask me to babysit more often.'

Particularly, Louisa thought, if a date was involved. It was one of her mother's favourite subjects: how it was
long past time that Louisa put Jack behind her and started dating again. Not that she intended to be drawn on that one. ‘Thanks, Mum,' she said.

On the Friday lunchtime, Dominic said casually, ‘I'm giving Ronnie and Jess a lift to the bowling place. So there's a spare seat in my car if you'd like a lift, too.'

‘Thank you. That'd be nice.'

‘So are you a demon bowler, Louisa?' Ronnie asked as they walked into the centre later that evening.

‘I'm afraid I'm absolutely hopeless,' Louisa said. ‘I've been about half a dozen times in my life—always for work, and I always come last.'

‘We'll stick you on Dominic's team, then,' Ronnie said with a grin. ‘That'll bring his average down and give the rest of us a chance.'

Dominic scoffed. ‘I'm not that good.'

But he turned out to be brilliant. He scored strike after strike after strike. And, when Louisa had her third frame in a row without knocking down a single pin because her ball had gone straight into the gutter, he disappeared briefly. By his return, two barriers had sprung up between the bowling lane and the gutter.

‘That's cheating,' Aiden, one of the junior doctors, informed him.

‘No, it isn't. The bumper bars are up on your lane, too, and Ronnie's a genius at zig-zag bowling,' Dominic retorted. ‘So your team has just got an advantage.'

Louisa flushed when she realised what he'd done: now there was no way she could fail to knock down at least one pin. ‘I feel like a baby.'

‘No, it's to do with confidence,' Dominic said. ‘Once you realise you can do it, you won't need the bars up.' He walked with her to the line when it was her next turn. ‘It's a bit like tennis—your finishing position affects where the ball goes.
Your last three frames, you ended up too far to the left, so try either finishing with your hand straight in the middle, or start off aiming very slightly to the right. Like this.' He stood behind her and guided her arm very gently.

Louisa was incredibly aware of the warmth of his body; she wished now that she'd worn a thick sweater instead of a strappy T-shirt, because she could feel her body reacting to his touch. Hopefully, as it was a special ‘glow bowling' evening and all the lights were down except over the bowling lane itself, nobody else would notice the physical signs of her arousal.

‘You can do this,' he said. ‘It's like learning to put a line in. The first few times, when you practise on an orange, you don't think you'll ever be able to do it to a real, live person. And then suddenly it clicks, and after the first couple of times you do it in Resus, you wonder why on earth you thought you couldn't do it.'

‘I suppose so.'