Page 31 of Only for Christmas

Lucas rubbed his forehead. ‘It was a brief affair.’

‘Very brief.’ Sarah folded her arms across her chest.

Carla looked between them. ‘And now it’s over? So soon?’

Lucas sighed. ‘Apparently so.’

‘Definitely so.’ Sarah pointed to the flowers. ‘So, what’s with the flowers?’

Lucas looked uncomfortable. ‘They’re not from me.’

Sarah opened her mouth, but then her brain caught up with her ears. ‘They’re not?’

‘Nope.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Although I can guess who did send them. In which case, you might want to rethink our “break-up”,’ he said, mirroring her use of air quotes.

Carla leant forwards in her chair. ‘Does that mean you’re getting back together?’

‘No,’ Sarah said, even though her bluster was rapidly waning. The flowers weren’t from Lucas? She’d just made a right fool of herself.

Lucas’s gaze softened. ‘Sure about that?’

‘Quite sure. I’ll deal with this myself.’ Mortified at her mistake, and wanting to escape as quickly as possible, she almost ran across the room. She stopped by the door and turned back. ‘Sorry, for you know… bursting in here and having a go. I just assumed they were from you.’

Lucas lifted his hands. ‘Easy assumption. They were last time.’ His smile was warm and kind and she hated the way it made her feel, all wobbly and foolish. ‘I’m here if you need me. Or, you know, you change your mind about… us?’

‘Thanks, but I’ll be fine.’ Head down, she made to leave.

‘Don’t forget your flowers!’ Carla gestured to the bouquet.

‘You keep them, or better still, give them to a patient.’

‘Of course, love.’ Carla’s smile was sympathetic, which only made Sarah feel worse. ‘Shame to see them go to waste.’

As she scuttled down the corridor, her skin burning from humiliation, she overheard Carla say, ‘Well, someone’s been busy. Care to elaborate?’, which only made her run faster.

It hadn’t occurred to her the flowers might be from Stephen. What a fool she was.

As she rounded the bend, she screeched to a halt. Further down the corridor she could see Stephen Stokes heading her way with one of the nursing staff. Dealing with Stephen in the state she was in was the last thing she needed, so she reversed her steps and raced back down the corridor away from him.

As Stephen’s voice grew louder, she knew time was running out. The moment he rounded the corner, he’d see her. Panicking, she yanked open the door next to Lucas’s consulting rooms and almost threw herself inside.

As she slammed the door behind her with force, a broom slipped from its hook and smacked her on the shoulder. Great, she was hiding in a cleaning cupboard. Could today get any worse?

Pressing her ear against the door, she tried to hear what was happening on the other side.

Stephen’s voice grew louder. She held her breath, willing him to keep walking and not discover her hiding in a cleaning cupboard. What possible excuse could she provide for being in here? She would just look unhinged. Her job would be at risk.

Annoyingly, far from continuing down the corridor, he seemed to stop right outside where she was hiding. Her panic levels increased another level.

She looked around the room, hoping for another way out, but there was only a small window at the back, no other exits. She didn’t even have her phone with her, so she couldn’t call Georgia and ask her to distract Stephen so she could escape.

Then she remembered she was on the ground floor; the window opened onto the flowerbeds at the side of the hospital by the car park. Could she climb out?

Stepping over the metal wheely-buckets, she carefully made her way towards the window. It lifted upwards, leaving a medium-sized gap at the bottom. Bending down, she pushed her torso through the gap, checking to see if she had enough room to climb out. The drop below was a good few feet, but the landing would be soft. Except for the rose bushes. They might scratch a bit. Could she make it?

‘I hope you’re not thinking of jumping?’

The woman’s voice made Sarah startle so hard that if the window had been bigger she might have fallen out. She turned to see Carla leaning out of the adjacent window, smoking a cigarette. ‘Goodness, you scared the life out of me.’

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