Unveiled
Page 18

I glance around at the other beds on a slight smile, thinking Nan’s probably been sending these poor folks crackers. And the nurse definitely looked like she’d had her fill. ‘How are you feeling?’ I ask, finding her seated form again, seeing her fiddling with the lines in her arm. ‘Leave them!’
Her palms slap the arms of the chair on a huff. ‘I’m bored!’ she squawks. ‘The food is crap, and they’re making me piddle in a pot.’
I chuckle, knowing her cherished dignity is being seriously compromised and she’s evidently not happy about it. ‘Do as you’re told,’ I warn. ‘You’re here for a reason.’
‘A mild flutter of my heart, that’s all.’
‘You make it sound like you’ve been on a date!’ I laugh.
‘Tell me about New York.’
My laughter is sucked up in a second and I’m back to fidgeting awkwardly as I search my brain for anything to say. Nothing is coming to me.
‘I asked you to tell me about New York, Olivia,’ she says soothingly, and I chance a glance at her, finding a face to match her tone. ‘Not how you came to be there.’
My lips must be white from the force of them pressed together in an attempt to stop my emotion from gushing out on a sob. I couldn’t love this woman any more. ‘I missed you so much.’ My voice is ragged, and I let her pull me into a hug when she reaches for me.
‘Darling girl, I missed you terribly.’ She sighs, holding me to her squidgy body. ‘Although I was kept busy feeding three strapping men.’
I frown into her bosom. ‘Three?’
‘Yes.’ Nan lets me free from her embrace and brushes my blonde mane from my face. ‘George, Gregory, and William.’
‘Oooh,’ I breathe, visions of all three men gathered around Nan’s dinner table, tucking into some hearty meals, crawling all over my mind. How cosy. ‘You’ve been feeding William?’
‘Yes.’ She shows complete indifference with a flap of her wrinkled hand. ‘I’ve been looking after all of them.’
Despite my growing concern at the news that Nan and William have evidently been keeping cosy company, I smile. While Nan’s slightly delusional mind thinks she’s the one who’s been looking after them, I know different. William said he’d take care of her, but even if he wasn’t in the picture, I know Gregory and George would do a fine job. But my smile soon recedes when I remember where we are. In a hospital. Because Nan’s had a heart attack.
‘Time’s up.’ Miller’s soft voice pulls my attention, and I watch as his eyes dull from the lovely, relaxed twinkle into concern.
He gives me a questioning look, which I ignore, shaking my head a little and standing. ‘We’re being booted out,’ I say, leaning down to hug Nan.
She embraces me hard, squeezing some of my guilt away. She knows I’ll blame myself. ‘Smuggle me out with you.’
‘Don’t be silly.’ I remain where I am, surrounded by Nan, until she’s the one to break our clinch. ‘Please, be a good girl for the doctors.’
‘Yes,’ Miller interjects, stepping forward and kneeling down next to me to get level with Nan. ‘I’ve been craving beef Wellington, and I know no other who can make it like you, Josephine.’
Nan visibly turns to mush in her chair, and happiness sails through me. She cups Miller’s shadowed cheek and moves in, getting almost nose to nose with him. He doesn’t shy away. In fact, he welcomes her tender gesture, placing his hand over hers while she feels him.
I just watch in wonder as they share a private moment in the openness of the ward, everything around them seeming to pale into insignificance as a million words are passed between their locked eyes.
‘Thank you for taking care of my baby,’ Nan whispers, so quietly I almost don’t hear.
I’m biting my lip again as Miller takes her hand and brings it to his mouth, kissing the back tenderly. ‘Until there is no breath left in my lungs, Mrs Taylor.’
 
 
Chapter 7
I settle in the back of William’s car, feeling like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. There are a million other burdens that should have me crumbling under their pressure, but I can’t think past the elation of seeing with my own eyes that Nan is OK.
‘My place, please, Ted,’ Miller says, reaching over to me. ‘Come here.’
I ignore his outstretched hand. ‘I want to go home.’
Ted pulls into traffic, and I catch him glimpsing in the rearview mirror, that fond smile gracing his friendly, rugged face. I narrow suspicious eyes on him briefly, even though he’s no longer looking at me, then return my attention to Miller. He’s watching me thoughtfully, his hand still hovering between us. ‘I’m being intuitive here, and I’m going to suggest that when you say “home”, you don’t mean my place.’ His hand drops to the seat.
‘Your place isn’t my home, Miller.’ Nan’s traditional terrace house, full of clutter and that familiar, comforting smell, is my home. And I need to be surrounded by all things Nan right now.
Miller’s fingers tap the leather seat, his eyes regarding me carefully. I retreat in my chair, wary.
‘I have a request,’ he murmurs, before reaching across to claim my right hand that’s currently spinning my new diamond ring repeatedly on my finger.
‘What?’ The word rolls from my mouth slowly. Something tells me he’s not going to request me to never stop loving him. He knows how I’ll answer that request, and his slightly ticking jaw tells me he’s nervous of the answer that I might give to this one.
He starts his own twiddling session of my diamond, thinking hard as he watches his playing fingers, leaving me with a whirling mind, bracing myself for him to voice his wish. It’s a long¸ long, uncomfortable time before he takes a deep breath and his blue eyes lazily crawl up my body until his bottomless pits of emotion sink into me. They steal my breath away . . . make me comprehend very quickly that what he’s about to ask means a lot to him. ‘I want my home to be your home, too.’
My mouth drops open and my mind blanks. No right words are coming to me. Except one. ‘No,’ I blurt on a rush of air before I consider wording my refusal a little more considerately. I wince at the clear disappointment that jumps onto his perfect face. ‘I mean . . .’ My damn brain is failing to load my mouth with anything that could redeem myself, and guilt is instantly crippling me for being the cause of his hurt.
‘You are not staying alone.’
‘I need to be at home.’ My eyes drop, no longer prepared to face the pleading in his intense stare. He doesn’t come back at me with an argument, instead sighing and squeezing my little hand in his. ‘To Livy’s home, please, Ted,’ he instructs quietly before falling silent.
I look up to see him staring out the window. He’s pensive. ‘Thank you,’ I whisper, shuffling across the seat to curl into his side. I’m not encouraged or helped and he doesn’t welcome me once I’m settled, keeping his eyes on the outside world whizzing past the window.
‘Don’t ever thank me,’ he answers quietly.
 
‘Lock the door,’ Miller says, my cheeks cupped in his palms, his worried eyes scanning my face as we stand on the doorstep. ‘Don’t answer to anyone. I’ll be back as soon as I’ve collected some clean clothes.’