Midwife's Mistletoe Temptation - Chapter 13
Matt waited for Holly outside the patient’s room. He wanted to make sure she was okay. After all, as far as he knew, this was the only surgery she’d ever been a part of.
His ex had gone from being a fellow nurse to getting her physician’s assistant degree. He’d been so proud of all she’d accomplished and had done everything he could to support her. But the second he’d given her a congratulatory kiss after graduation, her attitude had shifted as if she’d been elevated to another plane. One he hadn’t been able to reach. They were engaged, but Eleanor suddenly seemed embarrassed by him, rarely speaking to him when they were at work, even moving away when she saw him from a distance. As the months wore on, tensions between them only grew.
She’d finally broken their engagement, saying she needed to concentrate on her work now, as if he didn’t. But instead of feeling sad, he’d been relieved. Had felt free for the first time in months.
It had made him wary of dating anyone else in the medical field. And so far he’d steered clear, which was why kissing Holly had taken him by surprise.
He was not an impulsive person. He tended to mull over every possible outcome before acting on something.
Until that kiss. And he still wasn’t sure how that had happened. She’d claimed it was the mistletoe. But he hadn’t even seen it before he touched his mouth to hers.
Holly pushed through the door and then stopped as if shocked to see him standing in the hallway.
‘Is there something wrong with the baby?’
They’d taken Sara’s infant over for an EEG and some other scans to make sure things were okay.
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. As far as I know things are looking up. They’re both very lucky.’
‘Yes, they are.’
Holly’s scrubs depicted myriad rubber ducks on a blue background as if swimming on an endless lake. They made him smile.
Her head tilted. ‘What’s so funny?’
‘Not funny…cute.’ He gestured at her attire. ‘The ducks, that is.’
She glanced down before returning his smile. ‘I love ducks. They were one of the first things I saw after I gave…’ Her voice cut out abruptly, and her smile faded. ‘It doesn’t matter. What did you want?’
She’d gone from warm and approachable to stiff and cold within the space of seconds. So fast that it made his head spin. Just like Eleanor had.
‘I just wanted to make sure you were okay. The theatre can be intense.’
‘Oh.’ Her muscles seemed to uncoil. ‘Yes, it was. It was actually my first surgery. I’m surprised Marty asked me to join in.’
‘He knew what he was doing. You were incredible in there.’
Why on earth had he said that? It was true, but he’d just lectured himself on keeping his distance and here he was handing out compliments as if they grew on trees.
But why should he punish her for the mistakes of his past? She had been incredible and had probably kept their patient calmer than she might have been otherwise.
‘I think “incredible” is a bit of a stretch.’
‘No, Holly, it’s really not.’ They stared at each other for a long moment and then a shocking set of words exited his mouth. ‘Do you have plans for dinner?’