Page 13 of Prognosis Christmas Baby

Maggie stilled as a sense of dread washed over her, Nash’s features now shuttered. ‘Oh, Nash. I’m sorry.’

‘It’s fine,’ he dismissed. ‘She had leukaemia. I was eight. She was ten. It was a long time ago.’

‘I’m sorry, I just assumed yesterday...you didn’t say,’ she ended lamely.

‘I didn’t think it was appropriate to broadcast my sister’s death on a kid’s radio show in a children’s hospital.’

‘No,’ she murmured. ‘I suppose not.’

Nash was silent for a moment as the overwhelming rawness of that time came back to him. He didn’t often talk about Tammy. Maybe the interview yesterday had sparked the memories again but he found himself wanting to tell Maggie about it.

‘She died in the city because there weren’t the appropriate support services at home to help with palliative care. Having to make long trips into Sydney was a drain on our family life and my parent’s finances. Being separated from Tammy a lot of the time was really, really hard on the rest of us. We missed her.’

Maggie nodded. ‘I can imagine.’

He looked at her, compassion swirling in the fudge-brownie depths of her eyes. It was nice not to have to explain the true impact of that to someone. The PICU got its share of oncology patients and he knew Maggie would understand the true horrors of the illness.

‘It took a long time for Mum and Dad to get over it. I mean, they tried hard...for the rest of us, but they were just...sad.’

‘Of course they were,’ she murmured. ‘I’m sure you all were.’

Nash eyed her, seeing not only compassion but respect. Suddenly she wasn’t regarding him like he was an annoying bug buzzing around. Or a child, to be tolerated or humoured. Suddenly she was taking him seriously. Not dismissing him with a pat on the head.

She was looking at him like he was a man.

Sort of like how he’d felt about her yesterday when he’d discovered her background with Radio Giggle. Instantly she’d become a three-dimensional entity and he’d had to face that there was more than a physical trigger to the tug he felt when they were together.

He didn’t know whether to be pleased by this development or to get up and leave the room. There was something in her gaze that saw deep inside him. Something he knew for sure would demand more from him than he was usually prepared to give.

The television erupted. The crowd cheered and the commentator’s voice rose an octave or two as one of the country team made a mad dash for the goalpost. Nash was grateful for the diversion and he dragged his gaze from hers and feigned interest in the game.

Maggie was also pleased for the distraction. Things had suddenly gotten quite intense and it was the last thing she wanted. Writing Nash off as a frivolous jack-the-lad had made it easier to ignore the attraction between them. But his family tragedy and dedication to his career had added a whole further dimension. A fully fleshed-out Nash Reece was going to be much harder to ignore.

‘Well, my time’s up.’ Maggie stood. Actually, she had another eight minutes but she really needed to get away.

Nash nodded, deliberately keeping his eyes trained on the television. Something had passed between them, making his interest in Maggie Green very unwise. He needed to give up on her pronto, because the Maggie who had just looked at him with compassion and respect in her eyes wouldn’t be so easy to turn his back on come January.

And that he couldn’t allow. There was London and then home. No woman had ever swayed him from his goal and he wasn’t about to get tangled up with one who could.

So...there was chemistry. So...he wanted her. Maggie Green was off limits.

He’d better get used to it.

---