a bit it would take to get to their destination.
Nash inspected her face, her black lashes throwing shadows on her cheekbones. She looked exhausted, her creamy complexion wan, her cheekbones a little more prominent. The pregnancy was obviously already taking its toll on her.
‘Here,’ he said, raising his voice to be heard over the noise of the engines as he nudged her arm.
Maggie opened her eyes reluctantly, to find Nash holding up a stick of chewing gum. Before she even knew what she was doing she was reaching for it. Something sweet that wouldn’t sit in her belly like a rock.
A lifesaver!
‘Thanks,’ she said, ripping off the wrapper and stuffing it in her mouth before closing her eyes again.
Nash blinked as it disappeared in one second flat and made a mental note to always have a packet on him. And then he sobered when he remembered he was only here for a few more weeks.
He’d been thinking a lot the last few days and wasn’t any closer to a solution. But maybe if they actually talked about it?
Rationally? They did have an hour...
He lowered his mouth to the vicinity of her ear. ‘Are we going to talk or just ignore each other?’ he asked.
Maggie opened her eyes and turned to face him. He was disturbingly close, his mouth within easy reach. The gum was having a marvellous effect on her constitution but with all the extraneous noise she really wasn’t up to a discussion they’d have to yell at each other anyway.
‘Ignore each other,’ she confirmed, returning her head to its neutral position and closing her eyes.
Nash smiled despite himself. Okay, fine. It wasn’t exactly easy to talk in the plane. But they were going to talk have this conversation - today.
They landed in Rockhampton and jumped into the waiting ambulance with their equipment for the two-minute drive to the hospital.
Thankfully, the pick-up was easy enough with everything already pretty much done for them. The quick actions of a local anaesthetist had diagnosed the surgical emergency and performed a tracheostomy, so all the child needed was transport to a primary care facility.
All up they were at the Rocky General for half an hour before leaving in the ambulance again for the airport and by seven a.m. they were pushing through the swing doors of the PICU. It was another hour before the patient was settled, notes were written, equipment packed away and they were ready to leave.
‘Come on,’ Nash said, catching her as she was about to get into her car. ‘I’ll buy you breakfast.’
She sighed. ‘No. Please. I’m really tired.’
Nash could see she was tired – hell, he was tired too - but he wanted this sorted. Now. ‘Yes,’ he insisted gently.
‘I can’t eat anything these days.’
Nash shrugged. ‘So I’ll eat and you can watch.’ He fished in the pocket of his Levi’s. ‘I have more gum.’
Maggie was about to say no again, get in her car and drive off but then he looked at her with those eyes and said, ‘Please, Maggie,’ and she folded like a deck of cards.
‘Fine,’ she huffed.
She followed him to a nearby café precinct and sipped on water while he tucked into a full English breakfast.
Plenty of those where he was going.
The thought of him leaving, of him being on the other side of the world eating authentic English breakfasts while she was here, with his child, loving him, was depressing as hell.
Nash placed his knife and fork on his empty plate and wiped his mouth on a napkin. His full stomach gave him fortitude to face the conversation they needed to have.
‘So...Where do we go from here?’ he asked. ‘Have you given any more thought to coming to London with me?’
Had she?
She’d thought of little else. And had she been ten years younger and a baby wasn’t involved she’d have jumped at it. Thrown caution to the wind and taken the biggest gamble of her life, hoping he would come to love her while accepting that he never might. But this wasn’t just about her any more.
She had the baby to think about.
‘I’m not going to live in London, Nash. I’m sorry, that’s just not an option.’ She wasn’t going anywhere for anything less than love.
Nash nodded slowly. It had been a long shot — she’d been so adamant the other day. He sighed heavily. ‘I understand.’
‘We’re just going to have to compromise. I know you feel it’s your duty to support the baby, right?’
Maggie held her breath, waiting for him to