LEO GAVE HER a huge hug as he presented her with a bunch of flowers and gift cards from her colleagues in the department. ‘I’ll miss you,’ he said. ‘But I know you’re doing what’s right for you. Any letter of recommendation you want, just let me know.’
Paige was holding back the tears. Some of her colleagues had been shocked, others not so much. When she’d handed in her resignation Leo had hung his head for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and talked everything through with her. She’d worked her notice, finishing early as she still had holidays owed, and had put some of her things in storage as she planned to go travelling.
Her mum and dad had been stunned, and maybe a little disappointed. But when she’d told them how she’d been feeling about work they’d accepted her decision. She knew that they both hoped that all she needed was a break. Paige was lucky. She had some savings and knew that she would be fine for a few months.
Her stomach gave a little twist and she did the thing she’d been doing for the last few weeks—tried not to think about Stefan. She knew she’d made the right decision about her work life, but had she made the right decision about her personal life? She hated how things had been left, and that even the thought of travelling brought up instant memories of that gorgeous Swiss chalet and the one night she’d spent there in his arms.
Paige sighed as she emptied her locker, put away her scrubs and changed into her jeans and T-shirt. There was a small pang as she closed her locker for the last time and walked out through the front doors of A&E.
Her steps were lighter, and automatically took her over to her favourite café. She smiled as she sat in the bench seat and ordered the specials of the day. Hot chocolate with marshmallows, flake and cream, and some apple tart. She could smell it already and she couldn’t help but smile.
There was a creak, and someone slid into the seat opposite. She blinked. No. It couldn’t be.
‘Hey,’ Stefan said softly. ‘Long time no see.’
‘Sixteen days,’ she said without a blink of her eyes.
He licked his lips. ‘I’m sorry.’
She pressed her lips together and tried to ignore the rapid beating of her heart. ‘I don’t need you to be sorry. I need you to tell me what you’ve done.’
He took a deep breath. ‘I spoke to my father.’
‘You did?’ Her stomach clenched tightly.
He nodded.
‘How did it go?’ Part of her was dreading the answer.
He bit his bottom lip. ‘It probably went as expected. He said my mother was stubborn and he’d told her to see a doctor and she’d refused. The money was a huge aspect for them, and they were both anxious to support me as best they could.’ He sighed. ‘He doesn’t think my mother would have listened to me either.’
She gave a small nod. ‘Did you tell him how you felt?’
That had clearly been tougher for him. He closed his eyes for a second. ‘I told him I felt responsible. I told him I felt guilty I hadn’t been around more to help and give her advice on her health.’
‘And what did he say?’
Stefan lifted his head and looked her in the eye. ‘He told me he felt guilty too. He should have noticed. He should have stopped her. He said he had no excuse, since he saw her every day.’
‘Wow...’ Paige leaned back in her seat. ‘That’s huge.’
Stefan nodded. ‘We both felt guilty, and never told each other. He asked me about work, and I told him about you instead.’
‘You did?’ The tiny hairs on her arms stood on end.
‘I did. He was amused, you know.’
Her brow furrowed. ‘Why?’
‘Because apparently I’ve never spoken about anyone the way I spoke about you. It reminded him of the way he used to speak about Mum.’
She wasn’t quite sure what to say.
‘Apparently all I’ve ever done is talk about my next piece of work. He asked me if I planned to slow down.’
Her skin prickled again. The words caught in her throat. ‘What are your plans?’
He smiled. ‘It might surprise you to hear I’ve taken some time off. All surgeries have been rescheduled. The road has been cleared in Switzerland and is getting repaired. We have another project manager, who is taking over the last of the renovations.’
Paige gave a nod towards her flowers. ‘And I take it you know that I’ve just worked my last day?’
The waitress appeared and put two large hot chocolates and two pieces of pie on the table. ‘Thought I might as well bring two,’ she said brightly.
Stefan gave a nervous smile.
‘You’ve actually taken time off?’
He nodded.
‘And what are your plans?’
His hands closed around the hot chocolate glass. ‘I have one tiny thing I want to do, but then I was hoping we could make plans together.’
Her breathing caught somewhere in the back of her throat. The second he’d sat down she’d just wanted to hug him, to kiss him. Each of the sixteen days they’d been apart she’d been haunted by doubts—wondering if she’d done the right thing by calling him out and walking away. The temptation to wait for him when she’d stepped off the helicopter and seen her patients to safety had been overwhelming. But the place had been chaos, and it had been easy to slip through the waiting people with her small holdall and find a hotel for the night.
He’d phoned her, texted, but she’d known that they both had things to take care of.
‘I’m not sure I want to be a doctor at all,’ she said, her voice wavering. ‘I need time to find out what is right. And I need the person I’m with to support me, to have my back.’
He reached his hands across the table and took hers. ‘I promise I will support whatever you want to do. I’m sorry I tried to push you into staying. I was projecting my feelings and emotions into your situation and I should never have done that. Whatever you want to do, wherever you want to do it—I’ve got your back.’
She raised her eyes to meet his. ‘And if I want to do it in Los Angeles?’
His face broke into a wide smile. ‘Then I’d be honoured if you stay with me while you work things out.’
‘No pressure?’ she reiterated.
‘No pressure,’ he said in a reassuring voice. ‘Just someone who loves you and wants you to be happy.’
Paige breathed. It was like being back in the Alps and breathing in clean mountain air. Then she twigged what he’d mentioned earlier. ‘You said something else—you said you had something to do first. What’s that?’
For the first time since she’d known him Stefan looked a little sheepish. ‘Yeah, about that. You know how I told you I’d spoken to my father?’
She nodded.
‘Well, he was quite insistent about one thing.’
‘What was that?’
‘That he got to meet the woman who’d captured my heart.’
He nodded behind her, and Paige turned around. There was an older man sitting a few booths behind her, drinking coffee and eating apple pie. He lifted his filled fork towards her with a wide grin, and gave a nod.
Paige’s mouth fell open. ‘You didn’t?’
Stefan smiled. ‘He was pretty insistent and, to be honest, having the two people I love most in the world meet each other seemed like a good idea.’
Paige let out a squeal of delight and jumped up, leaning over the table and grabbing Stefan in a huge hug. ‘I’d be delighted to meet your dad!’
Stefan started laughing and stood up, then slipped his hand into hers. ‘He’s going to love you,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Just as much as I do.’
Paige smiled and leaned into his kiss, for now and always.