Falling for the Vet - Chapter 6

Maia’s words came back to haunt her later that day.

A busy day. There were four dogs in the rescue centre at the moment and it took some time to walk them as the old golden retriever was so slow he needed a walk by himself, according to Hazel’s instructions, and there was a schnauzer who was a bit grumpy and also preferred to walk alone. Mario the Yorkshire terrier and an overweight Labrador called Mavis were great friends and could go together. By late afternoon, Maia and Leo were getting to know the tracks through the forest in this tiny patch of the Blue Mountains rather well.

They were getting to know each other a lot better, too. They talked about their most memorable travel destinations and movies and discovered they were both avid readers and that they’d both tried, and failed, to learn to surf.

‘Favourite food?’ All the walking had made Maia hungry and, because they walking Nancy, the elderly retriever, they had to pause at frequent intervals to let her catch up.

‘My nonna’s lasagne,’ Leo said without hesitation. ‘It’s the ultimate comfort food. Home-made pasta, the richest meat sauce and her bechamel… Mmm…’ He kissed his fingers and threw the chef’s kiss into the air. ‘She’s a legend, my nonna.’

His face was doing that lighting up thing again and Maia could actually feel the love he had for his grandmother. It gave her that same melting feeling she got every time she saw Leo cradling that vulnerable baby kangaroo and she knew her lips were curving into a smile as she soaked it all in. That feeling. The sound of Leo’s voice. His face… She wanted to store every detail away in her memory so that she could pull it out if she ever needed to be reminded of the best moments life could deliver.

Leo caught her gaze and it seemed as if he had also caught her thought. He was looking at her as if he was also capturing something he would never forget. As if this was going to be one of the best moments of his life?

That was when it happened.

When Maia could hear the echo of the words she’d spoken only hours ago.

I think I’m falling in love…

She’d been talking about Colin the dog. Making a truthful but light-hearted comment but those words were suddenly far more significant. The emotional attachment she felt for Colin was absolutely real but this was on a very different level.

The physical tingling sensation was unmistakeable. She’d experienced that rush of overwhelming emotion once before so she recognised what was so close. That alchemy of euphoria and hope…and the irresistible urge to give whatever she could but most of all her love. All her love.

Yep. She was in danger of falling in love with Leo.

Oh, help… This was not meant to be happening. What on earth was she going to do about it?

Nothing, she decided as she surrendered to his kiss. She might be on the verge of falling in love but surely there was still an element of choice about whether she let it happen? It couldn’t happen, anyway, even if she wanted it to. It was the last thing Leo would want. And fate would soon see them going their separate ways and they’d never see each other again.

So Maia decided she might as well soak in every second of feeling like this because, if nothing else, she’d learned that it was possible to feel this way again.

To feel this alive again and to feel the hope for the future that believing dreams could come true could bestow. She’d told Leo she thought love was worth the risk of loss and it was. Even if you didn’t succeed, the fact that you’d tried was something to be celebrated, wasn’t it? Because that was part of life and Maia was done being on the side lines and watching it happen to other people.

She had the rest of her life to look forward to and she was going to embrace every moment of happiness that she could find.

Including this.

Especially this…

*

Shirley had texted to say she was on her way to Two Tails. She would be collecting Cassidy within the hour.

So this was the last time Leo would get to feed the baby and he’d taken the joey out of the pouch to let him explore the kitchen floor while he mixed up the formula. Maia and Colin were outside feeding the other dogs and the weather hadn’t been nice enough to let Cassidy have any time on the grass today.

Leo was delighted that this orphaned kangaroo was going into the care of an expert. Shirley would know exactly what to do to give him the best chance of being released back into the wild eventually to live his best life. It wasn’t as if Leo could look after him any longer even if he wanted to. He’d be back at work tomorrow morning. Maia would head off to Sydney to enjoy her luxury holiday in that honeymoon suite at the beach and this extraordinary blip of time in his life would be over.

And that was a good thing.

Because, if he was honest, there was something disturbing about this bubble of a fantasy life he’d unexpectedly found with Maia. It hadn’t bothered him that it was all too good to be true—this romantic hideaway in a forest with a gorgeous woman and the best sex ever—because he’d known it was a very limited experience. A safe experience.

But… He hadn’t expected what had happened last night.

This was only a three-night stand. Which was one plus one plus one. But the second night had added up to being far more than simply an additional one-night stand. Maia had felt different in his arms. Making love to her had held a note of…what had it been…poignancy? The way she’d fallen asleep with her lips curled into a half-smile was an image he’d had in the back of his mind all day.

Not that that was a problem, exactly. Or it wouldn’t be, if Cassidy hadn’t chosen that moment to hop across the floor to cling to Leo’s leg. He looked down, smiled at the cuteness overload but then sighed.

‘I’m going to miss you, little guy.’

He offered the pouch to the joey and let him clamber back inside because it made it easier to hold him while he drank his milk.

He was already missing this little creature he’d bonded with.

Was that why Leo was feeling unsettled about Maia? Because this bubble of time away from reality had magnified a connection they had with that fear of getting close enough to someone it could mean having their lives turned inside out and almost destroyed. Did that mean that making the most of the last night they were ever going to have together tonight might be a mistake?

Cassidy had milk all over his face by the time he’d guzzled his meal and that made Leo smile again.

‘Messy little tacker, aren’t you? Let’s get you cleaned up before your new mum gets here.’

In the end, it was easier than Leo had expected to hand Cassidy over to Shirley. In her sixties, Shirley cleared adored her role as a foster mother and fell in love with Cassidy on the spot.

As she drove away, Leo could feel his own doubts going with her. He’d loved looking after the joey and would never forget the experience, but it was over now and Cassidy was where he needed to be. It would be the same with Maia. Tomorrow, he’d be able to say goodbye to her and watch her leave with this same gratitude that they’d had this time together to remember always. Which meant he could make the most of this last night of being alone with this amazing woman.

Or maybe not.

Moments after Shirley’s car disappeared down the driveway, a cute, vintage van came into view with two women in the front seats. The van stopped and the driver got out.

‘Hi… I’m Hazel,’ she said. ‘I’ve brought Kiara home.’