Falling for the Vet - Chapter 5

Wow…

Just…wow…

Leo cracked eggs into the cast iron skillet where the bacon was already crisp, but he was cooking on autopilot. Most of his brain and a significant part of his body was busy reliving last night. Every kiss. Every touch. Every sound of need and amazement and…sheer bliss.

Slices of sourdough bread were under the grill and he remembered them before they started to burn. He had an avocado to use instead of butter for the toast.

‘Just in time,’ he told Maia as she came into the kitchen. ‘Do you want the avocado smashed on your toast or sliced on the side?’

‘Ooh…smashed, please.’ Maia opened the fridge. ‘Sorry I took so long. Hazel rang.’ She took out a roll of dog food. ‘My friend here is hungry this morning. I think he’s feeling a lot better. He’s not even limping.’

The shaggy Beardie was sitting by Maia’s feet, gazing up at her adoringly, sweeping the floor with his tail.

Leo totally got the way the dog was feeling. He was more than a bit of a fan himself, after last night. He’d never met anyone like Maia. Was that because she understood the kind of loss that made it impossible to risk your heart again? Or because he felt completely safe with her? Perhaps it was simply because she was so unique and her company so compelling.

‘What did she say?’

‘That Kiara’s brain bleed has stopped but they want to watch her for another day or so. Hazel wants her to stay in her apartment in the city after that so she’s close to the hospital.’ Maia put a bowl of dog food down and the dog wasn’t even limping as he followed her eagerly. ‘I said I’d stay and look after things here. I don’t have to be in that hotel in Coogee beach until Monday.’

Leo put laden plates on the table. So Maia was going to stay for the weekend? How good was that? Except…he never broke that one-night-only rule when it came to sex, did he?

Maia picked up her knife and fork. ‘You really can cook,’ she said. Then she glanced up at Leo with what looked like the ghost of a wink. ‘And it’s only one of your splinter skills,’ she murmured. ‘You’re a man of many talents, Leonardo Ronoldo.’

Okay…maybe he could make an exception to that rule just this once. Maia would be disappearing by early Monday, which also happened to be the day he had to be back at work. The next two days could be a kind of escape from reality for both of them. A gift…

‘Hazel told me about the name of this place. She and Kiara came up with it when they were planning their dream of setting up a veterinary clinic that could help fund a rescue centre mainly for old dogs.’ Maia ate in silence for a moment and then smiled at Leo.

‘I think I’m as happy as a dog with two tails, myself, right now,’ she told him. ‘Just like the dogs who’re lucky enough to get rescued and come here to find a new “happy ever after”.’

‘Mmm…’ Leo had his mouth full of food so he couldn’t respond but he was astonishingly happy himself, he realised. And he didn’t want to lose that feeling. Not yet. He swallowed his mouthful. ‘I’ll help,’ he offered. ‘I want to stay too.’

*

Leo was going to stay.

He wanted to stay.

Was it because he’d felt the same way Maia had when they’d woken up this morning thinking that it was almost the end of their time together because someone, probably Hazel, would arrive to look after Two Tails? The realisation that she and Leo would go their separate ways and never see each other again had given Maia an odd knot of sensation in her gut that was kind of heavy like sadness.

But Leo wanted to stay longer and that knot simply evaporated like a puddle in bright sunshine. Sadness was replaced by a burst of happiness that was more intense that any Maia could remember since her life had fallen apart. And, okay, it might be temporary, but she was going to make the most of every moment. She wasn’t going to let it bother her that maybe Leo only wanted to stay because he’d bonded with the baby kangaroo, either. He was here and that was the only thing that mattered.

Leo was holding Cassidy in his arms while Maia cleaned up the dishes from breakfast. He’d mixed up the formula himself and attached the super-long teat to the sterilised bottle.

‘I know what I’m doing now,’ he’d said. ‘Easier if I just keep doing it.’

During the phone call with Hazel—that had felt astonishingly like talking to an old friend—she’d asked permission to give Maia’s number to the local woman who was an expert in fostering orphans and Shirley rang just as Maia dried the last dish. She sent through a photo of Cassidy and then put the conversation on speaker phone so that Leo could join in.

‘So, I can see he’s an Eastern Grey about five or six months old,’ Shirley said a short time later. She answered all the questions Leo had and then apologised as she had to go. ‘I’m sorry I’m out of town for the weekend but you’re doing well with the formula and feeds. Let him out of his pouch for a few minutes and a bit of exercise—out on the grass would be great if it’s not too cold or wet. I’ll come and pick him up on Sunday night as soon as I’m back.’

Sunday night. That meant that Maia and Leo had two whole days and another whole night until anything significant changed and it was all too tempting to completely ignore that ticking clock.

To pretend it wasn’t a cute baby kangaroo that was the reason Leo wanted to stay and help. That it might have something to do with the amazing night they’d just shared. An experience that had been a total revelation for Maia.

She felt like she already knew and liked Hazel even though they’d only spoken on the phone a couple of times. The feeling of connection she’d found with Leo was like that but magnified a thousand times. He’d made her feel like the most desirable woman on earth last night. He’d made her feel…beautiful. Perfect, even…

Which was how she’d felt about his body. His lovemaking.

The connection between them felt as close as two sides of the same coin.

How ironic was it that that connection was only there because they both felt the same way about relationships? And marriage. Leo only ever had one night with anyone.

But maybe that ticking clock was a safety net for him?

Not that it mattered. He was going to stay. They could have another night. Another two nights perhaps seeing as she didn’t need to leave before Monday morning. And that was perfect as well.

*

‘I’m going to call him Colin.’

Leo laughed and the arc of water from the hose he was using to sluice out one of the enclosed dog runs came dangerously close to soaking Maia and the bearded collie who hadn’t left her side since breakfast. She ducked out of the way.

He loved the way her whole face lit up when she laughed. The whole world seemed a bit brighter, in fact.

‘What?’ Maia was trying to sound offended. ‘What’s wrong with Colin?’

‘Nothing.’ Leo was still watching her. He loved the way the sun was catching her hair to give it flickers of flame colours. ‘Colin the collie. It’s very appropriate.’

‘It’s no worse than Cassidy the kangaroo.’

‘At least I didn’t call him Skippy.’ He turned off the tap. ‘We’re done with the chores here. We need to take the dogs for a walk now, don’t we?’

Maia nodded, latching the door of a run being occupied by a small Yorkshire terrier called Mario.

‘Let’s give Cassidy a few minutes on the grass while it’s fine,’ Maia suggested. ‘I don’t like the look of those clouds.’

A short time later, Colin was sitting by her feet, watching the joey with interest as he poked his head out of the pouch bag to sniff the grass.

‘I might ask if I can adopt Colin if he needs a forever home,’ she told Leo. ‘I think I’m falling in love with him.’

Leo was lying on the grass, nose to nose with Cassidy. ‘Me, too—with this guy.’

‘I don’t think a kangaroo would be a good fur baby,’ Maia said. ‘Especially when he grows up.’

‘Hmm…’ Leo propped himself up on his elbows. ‘Which is a good thing. I don’t want babies, furry or otherwise.’

‘I did,’ Maia said quietly, her hand going to Colin’s head to stroke his ears. ‘I was planning a big family. Lots of kids. The house with the white picket fence. The perfect marriage. I was dreaming, wasn’t I?’

‘No.’ Leo sat up abruptly. ‘It’s what you should have. You’re gorgeous, Maia. Inside and out. You’re smart and brave and caring and the best company anyone could have.’ He smiled as he held her gaze. ‘You just need to choose better next time. Hey…find someone with Italian blood. They love big families.’

There was something in Maia’s gaze that threatened to take him into a long-forbidden space. Maybe he needed a reminder of why he couldn’t go there.

‘I work with kids in my real job,’ he told her. ‘I’m a paediatrician. I love them but, sometimes, I have to watch parents go through the agony of losing a child. How do people even survive that? It’s hard enough being the doctor…’

He didn’t need to say he could never risk facing that kind of loss with a child of his own. He could see that Maia understood. She looked as though she wanted to hug him, but Leo didn’t want her touch right now because it might undo him completely. He stroked Cassidy instead.

And Maia put her arm around Colin and rested her head against his. ‘I hate losing pets,’ she said. ‘But the flip side of loving them is getting that love back, for as long as you can.’ She planted a kiss on the dog’s nose and was rewarded with a sloppy lick which made her laugh again.

The sound faded as she looked back at Leo. ‘For me, it’s worth it,’ she said softly. ‘And I think I’m ready to take that risk again—with a dog.’ He could see that sparkle in her eyes that suggested tears but she was smiling again. ‘I know you’re still going to lose them one day but at least they pretty much come with a guarantee that they’re going to love you back.’