Page 31 of New Year, New Guy
‘That’s me. I didn’t get my Enforcer nickname by being agreeable.’
‘The taxi’s on its way.’ Johnny strolled in and offered Polly her coat. ‘Thanks for everything, Laura.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘Where’s Hunter?’
‘Gone.’ Polly answered before Laura had a chance.
He glanced between them both but wasn’t stupid enough to pursue the subject.
A few minutes later Laura fought to be grateful for her quiet house.
* * *
The three-mile hike helped his lingering headache and should have given Hunter a healthy appetite but he stared listlessly at his cream tea. If Laura was sitting across the table from him wearing her funny reindeer hat they’d be arguing about something silly and wolfing down their food together. It had been a lousy choice to return to Dartmoor and attempt to finish their day out. Usually his relationships with women foundered around the two-month point because they started to ‘expect’ things from him. Things he couldn’t live up to. But Laura? He suspected that he would have done whatever she asked to keep the glittering twinkle in her dark, serious eyes.
‘Would you like to take the leftovers home with you?’ The waitress pointed at the neglected scones. ‘It’s a shame to waste them.’
‘Sure that would be great, if it’s not too much trouble.’
‘None at all my ’andsome.’ She bustled away and soon he found himself standing outside the café holding a white paper bag.
I popped you in a tub of cream and one of strawberry jam. There’s an extra scone too because it’s getting late in the day and we won’t sell them now. They’ll only be thrown out to feed the birds, the waitress had said.
That’s probably what would happen with them anyway, but he hadn’t told her that. Hunter shoved the bag of food inside his backpack and headed for the bus stop. He had stirred up enough trouble for Johnny and couldn’t stick to his original plan to bail out before Saturday’s big day. The fact it gave him the opportunity to see Laura one last time was either a bonus or the worst thing ever; he couldn’t be sure. On the way back from Dartmoor last time he distracted her by asking for some details about the wedding She had winced and described her pale silver, heavily sequinned bridesmaid’s dress.It makes me look like the Shard building in London when it’s all lit up. To keep her barearms warm in the old granite church there was also a short white feather jacket, which she claimed made her resemble a swan caught in a strong gale of wind.
This morning the crisp, dry weather allowed him to glimpse Dartmoor in a more appealing light but now the drizzle was rolling back in. Hunter pulled up the hood of his coat and smiled at the idea of Laura being proud of him. Damn it, why couldn’t he stop thinking of the woman? He jerked the hood back down. If he caught pneumonia at least he knew where to track down a good nurse.
* * *
The first slivers of light eked into the morning sky as Laura hurried towards the hospital from the bus stop. She couldn’t stop wondering where Hunter had spent the night despite the fact he was an intelligent, grown man with enough money and command of the English language to have secured a hotel room.
Talk about books and their covers. No one looking at Hunter would guess the extent of his crippling anxieties. Professionally, she longed to encourage him into therapy and treatment for the PTSD he clearly suffered from but the suggestion couldn’t come from her. While she ran through a few names in her head as to who might be able to help Hunter, she almost bumped into someone coming out of the back door of the A&E department.
‘Well, if it isn’t my favourite nurse.’ Mike swaggered to a halt in front of her. ‘Has your Yankee boyfriend gone back where he belongs? Hopefully he got the hint he wasn’t wanted around here.’
‘What business is it of yours?’ Laura’s heart raced. Years ago that same reaction would happen in a good way every time the handsome surgeon sought her out. At first she put his arrogance and need for control down to the pressures of his job but thatwas before they married and she discovered the full extent of his domineering personality.
‘You’ll always be my business, Laura.’ He captured her chin in a tight grasp and the breath caught in her throat.
‘Tell that to your barmaid.’
‘We all make mistakes.’ Mike’s thin lips curled in a sneer. ‘Except for you.’
From the distance of time she saw how he had placed the blame for the failure of their marriage on her alone because his conceit wouldn’t allow him to admit any fault on his part. ‘I’m on duty in five minutes. I need to go. Please move out of my way.’
He loomed over her. ‘Are you going to make me?’
‘You really don’t want to find out.’
Mike yanked her into his arms, brought his mouth crashing down on hers and forced his tongue between her lips.
You asked for it. Laura brought her knee up between his legs at the perfect angle to exact the most damage and sent him crumpling to the ground.
‘Bitch.’
She crouched down and hissed in his ear. ‘Don’t ever come near me unless it’s in a professional capacity. I’m never going to be your victim again.’ Laura hurried towards the door with her legs shaking so badly they barely functioned. In the ladies’ loos she splashed cold water on her face and tidied back her hair.
