Page 57 of Only You

Andrew had arrived at the hospital in plenty of time. The heart was being shipped from the North of England, a road traffic accident, on Christmas Day of all days. Andrew’s heart went out to the family of the person who had lost their life, but as always, he could not think of that. His focus was on his patient. Adrian had been in good spirits. At twenty-four, he still had so much of his life ahead of him, and now he had the chance to experience it.

“Come on, let’s get cleaned up.”

He had spaced out for a moment, having just finished five hours of intense surgery. His body was tired yet wired, all at the same time.

“Yes, I could do with a shower,” Andrew said, following his colleague to the changing rooms.

They chatted about their day as they got changed, letting the stress of the past several hours ebb away. Andrew would pop up to the ICU before he left and check Adrian was settled in, but his job for the time being was done.

As he stood under the water spray, his mind wandered back to Ana. Would she be there when he got back? Her enthusiasm for their kiss appeared to be as great as his. Andrew stopped as he felt his body react to the memory of their kiss, of the way she had responded in his arms. He was not even sure they would have made it to the bed if he hadn’t received a call. He had never felt that connection with another person in such a long time. Ana made him feel things. She made him look at the world in a different light. She’d had a tough upbringing, but her openness to experience new things and her love for life made her shine. Andrew had allowed himself to become addicted. He needed to tread carefully. She was younger than him. She was still a student with her whole life ahead of her. She was his ex-sister-in-law. How would the world view their relationship? They’d probably see him as some dirty old man who had taken advantage of his young nanny. Was that the case? Had he taken advantage?

Andrew leant forward and placed his head against the shower wall, letting the hot water cascade over his back. He needed advice, but who the hell did he turn to? John’s face swam into view. He’d known Andrew forever. He’d be honest with him. Tell him whether he was making a huge mistake. His dates had been disasters. He now knew why. The woman he wanted was already living under his roof. Loved his daughter and, it seemed, liked him. He had attempted to erase her from his thoughts but couldn’t manage it. When he’d kissed his dates, the physical contact had stopped there. He couldn’t take it any further, even when the women had been willing.

Switching off the water. Andrew dried himself off and redressed. He stared at himself in the mirror. He would call John in the morning. However much his friend loved him, he didn’t think two AM on Boxing Day morning was appropriate. He would go home and sleep on it. He and Ana could talk in the morning before they went to collect Olivia.

Olivia, he needed to think of her. If things went wrong with Ana, what would happen to his daughter? She would be devastated if Ana left. He was sure Ana would want to maintain contact, but would he be able to? His mind swam as he walked into the ICU to check on Adrian.

The update and his vitals were all positive. Andrew stared down at the young man whose life was about to restart. When they’d met previously, Adrian had said he needed to live and love as if each day was his last, that he didn’t want to be filled with regrets when he met his maker. It seemed Adrian had done exactly what he had said he was going to do. When Adrian had checked in earlier, he had introduced Andrew to his college sweetheart. The one he’d let get away. It was clear they were in love. As they had wheeled Adrian away, she had begged Andrew to take good care of him.

Adrian was right, he did only get one shot at life, and he must embrace it with both hands.

Andrew left the hospital and headed home. Whatever this was, he needed to relax and stop overthinking. He had been overthinking since Eva had walked out. Maybe it was time to live and see what life had in store. He would deal with the consequences as they happened.

Chapter Thirty-eight

Andrew

The house was quiet when Andrew entered. He wandered into the kitchen and made himself a hot drink. He needed to come down from the high that surgery gave him. His body was exhausted, but his mind was racing. His encounter with Ana before he left was also playing on his mind.

What the hell had happened? He couldn’t believe that his feelings were not one-sided. He knew he should nip their relationship in the bud for many reasons. Olivia being one of them, but Andrew wanted to be selfish. Andrew wanted to have something for himself. The way he felt when he was around Ana was like nothing he had ever felt before. He had never felt this close to someone, not even Eva, and he had been married to her for three years. Then, of course, there was Eva. Why did Ana have to be related to his ex-wife? Why did life have to be so complicated? Andrew leaned forward on the island, staring at the steam wafting up from his cup.

He jumped slightly as arms encircled his waist, a head resting on his back. He stood up, turning in the arms that encircled him, pulling the body into his chest, absorbing their warmth.

“Hi,” he said, kissing her hair before resting his cheek on top of Ana’s head.

“Hi. You need some sleep,” Ana said, snuggling closer.

“You didn’t need to wait up,” Andrew said, enjoying the closeness.

Ana pulled back and looked up at him. “I didn’t. I’m a light sleeper. I remember how Dad would sit up for the rest of the night after surgery.” Ana took Andrew’s hand and led him towards the stairs. “You, Mr Dennison, need some sleep.” Andrew followed as Ana led him up the stairs. It was strange having someone take care of him for a change. For so long, he had been the one taking care of everyone else.

Andrew smiled. “Are you always this bossy, Ms Lewis?” Andrew asked as they reached the top of the stairs.

“Only with the people I care about,” Ana said as she pushed him towards his bedroom door.

Andrew grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, encircling her with his arms. “We need to talk,” he said, looking down into her eyes, his body waking up at the sight and touch of her body against his.

Ana placed her hand on his chest, plucking at his jumper.

“We do,” she said, patting the jumper flat. “But is it a conversation for three AM?”

Andrew’s hands absently wandered up Ana’s back as if they had a mind of their own. Ana shivered at his touch, her eyes closing, a soft moan escaping her lips. Her loungewear pyjamas were soft under his hands and did little to hide the contours of Ana’s body. Andrew’s hands tightened on her waist, and she moaned, dropping her head forward onto his chest. She sighed as his hand travelled lower to the curve of her hip, pulling her firmly against his growing desire.

Andrew moved his head, dropping gentle kisses against her neck. Ana tilted her head, encouraging him, her hands winding themselves up and into his hair, cradling his head as he nibbled his way down to her collarbone. A deep inhale of breath let him know he’d found a sensitive area, so he continued his assault on her senses until he felt her knees give way beneath her, his grip tightening.

Andrew knew he was playing with fire. He should send Ana back to her room. What was he thinking? This was wrong. She had her whole life ahead of her and did not need to be saddling herself with a single father who was too old and set in his ways. But his willpower was spent. He’d spent weeks dreaming about how it would feel to have her sensational body beneath him. He’d tried to ignore it, but now that she felt the same way, it was impossible not to look at her and want her.

Another tremor wracked her body. Andrew placed his hands on her shoulders, moving her away from him.

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