Playing for Love (Summer Beach Vets 1) - Escape Down Under (10 page)

Sara woke with a start. There was bright sunshine streaming in through her bedroom windows. She sat up in bed, grimacing as she realised that she had fallen asleep still fully dressed on top of the bedclothes. She stood up stiffly and stretched. Then her eyes fell on the clock on her bedside table. 7:46 a.m.

The Beagle! What had happened to him? Was he still hanging on? Why hadn’t Craig called? Did it mean…?

Sara flung the door of her bedroom open and ran out. In the kitchen, she found a note from Ellie who had left for work earlier than usual. It was just a smiley face and the word “Hugs”. Sara glanced at the wall clock. She couldn’t just keep on waiting. She had to find out.

Rushing into the bathroom, she hurriedly brushed her teeth, splashed some cold water on her face, and ran a comb through her hair. Then she dressed in fresh clothes and, grabbing the spare keys, let herself out of the house.

Sara entered the vet clinic and glanced around. Morning consults hadn’t started yet—the waiting room was still empty. There was nobody behind the reception counter. Frowning, Sara made her way down the hallway to the back of the building. As she approached the hospital ward, she could hear the sound of animated conversation coming from behind the door. It sounded like there were several people in there. Sara strained her ears, then her heart gave a sudden jerk.

Was that the sound of someone crying?

She pushed the door open, her heart in her mouth. She found herself looking at a crowd of people gathered around the oxygen chamber. She recognised Craig’s tall frame instantly. Standing next to him was a middle-aged man talking excitedly to Craig. And in his arms, wagging his tail and wriggling with joy, was the Beagle.

He had recovered!

Sara felt a smile break out over her face. Craig looked up at that moment and his deep blue eyes met hers.

“Sara!” He drew her into the crowd. “Come and meet Happy—all recovered and as good as new! And this is Rob McDonald, Happy’s owner.”

The middle-aged man grabbed Sara’s hand and pumped it up and down. “Nice to meet you. You’re the young lady who found my Happy, is that right? Really grateful, really grateful.”

“We finally managed to track Rob down this morning,” explained Craig. “He’s holidaying here with his wife. They’ve driven down from Queensland. I was rapt to be able to tell him that Happy was making a good recovery. We didn’t need to do surgery in the end.” Craig smiled and put a hand out to pat the Beagle on the head. “I think seeing Rob was probably the best medicine Happy could get.”

Sara reached out to pat the dog too. The floppy ears were velvety soft beneath her fingers and she laughed as Happy wriggled eagerly towards her, his pink tongue lolling out. She felt a wet slurp on her cheek.

“I dunno about that,” said Rob, grinning. “Seems to me that Happy really perked up when Sara came in the room. Look at him now—he loves you, he does.”

He beamed at Sara, offering the dog towards her. Sara took Happy in her arms, hugging the warm body close. He licked her chin enthusiastically and she laughed again. She bent her head and buried her face in his fur, inhaling the warm, doggie smell.

Finally, she put the wriggling Beagle down and let the others fuss over him. Aside from Craig and Rob, there was also Megan and the vet assistant, plus two other people in scrubs and white coats. They must be the other vets at the practice, thought Sara, eyeing the big, good-looking man with the athletic body and the pretty girl with her blonde hair bunched up in a messy ponytail.

“Sara, meet Dan and Charlie, two of the other vets here at the practice,” said Craig, confirming her guess. She smiled and shook hands with them, then he drew her gently away to the other side of the ward, away from the others, so they could talk in privacy.

“You said you’d let me know as soon as there was any change,” Sara said half-accusingly.

“I did ring early this morning—Ellie answered the phone and said that you were still sleeping. I told her about the good news—didn’t she pass it on?”

“No, I guess not,” said Sara. “She had an early meeting—maybe she was in a rush. Or she might have thought that since Happy was out of danger, it didn’t really matter and I would find out later anyway. Ellie can be really ‘practical’ like that.” She rolled her eyes.

“I wanted to speak to you anyway,” said Craig, his face serious. He indicated something on the counter next to them. “I wanted to apologise.”

Sara followed his gaze and saw the gossip magazine with the picture of her and Craig on the cover. She must have left it here last night when she had come in to see Happy and completely forgotten about it. The sight of the magazine brought all the bitterness and anger surging back.

“Oh, yeah… I guess I should be congratulating you on getting that sponsorship deal,” said Sara, unable to keep the hostility out of her voice. “All this extra publicity with dating a ‘Hollywood babe’ really helped your rating, just like Wendy said.”

Craig stiffened. “Sara, you know I would never have approved anything like this.”

“I heard you!” said Sara. “You were talking to Wendy just before lunch and you told her to go ahead—”

“That was for something else entirely. She was talking about an interview with the
Sydney Morning Herald
. I wasn’t telling her to go ahead with
this
!” Craig’s face was dark with anger. “Bloody hell, did you think that I’d be the type of bloke to sanction this? Is that what you really take me for?”

Across the room, the others were starting to look at them curiously. Sara shifted uncomfortably, wishing they could be somewhere else.

“I… I don’t know what to think,” she said. “When we saw Wendy and—”

“I’ve fired Wendy,” said Craig. “She’s no longer my agent.”

Sara stared at him. “Oh.”

He sighed. “You were right, Sara. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you complained about Wendy’s behaviour. I guess I never thought she could be that devious. I’ve always just taken everything she said at face value.”

Sara gave a small smile. “Yeah, I think maybe that’s a guy thing.”

“A
stupid
guy thing,” said Craig wryly. “But I’ve learnt my lesson. And I really am sorry.” He leaned close and said, his voice low, “Will you give me another chance?”

Sara knew she shouldn’t do it; she knew that this still had no future, that
she
was being stupid to even contemplate it, but somehow she couldn’t make herself say the words. She was no match for the tender plea in his deep blue eyes.

She nodded. “I’m only going to be here for eight more days though,” she felt compelled to add.

“Then we’d better make sure they’re bloody good ones,” said Craig with a grin. “Have you ever been kayaking?”

Sara shook her head.

“How would you like to go kayaking with me? We’ll head down the Hawkesbury River, take a picnic, maybe even look for that
mirreeulla
monster. What do you think?”

Sara smiled, her eyes sparkling. “I think that sounds
ripper
.”

The week that followed was the most magical seven days of Sara’s life. Craig took some time off from work just so he could spend his days with her and show her some of the beautiful spots on the New South Wales Central Coast.

They climbed the Skillion, a famous local outcrop with wonderful 180-degree views of the Pacific Ocean, followed by an exhilarating roll down the grassy slope afterwards. They visited the Norah Head Lighthouse where Sara huffed and puffed all the way up the ninety-six steps to the top and was thrilled to catch a glimpse of a humpback whale out at sea, on its southern migration.

On Sunday, Craig took her to the Avoca Beachside Markets where they soaked up the sunshine as they listened to local bands, wandered past the colourful stalls, and enjoyed some gourmet treats. Sara got to sample more Australian cuisine—and she finally tasted a yabby—although her favourite meal remained a long, lazy lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf in Woy Woy, where they shared a seafood platter and Craig introduced her to some local boutique beers.

The highlights of the week for Sara, though, were the animal experiences. First a visit to the Australia Reptile Park where she met the giant Galapagos tortoise, Hugo, during his daily walk. And then an encounter with the pelican colony living at The Entrance, a quaint town sitting on a strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and Tuggerah Lake, surrounded by beaches and lagoons. The enormous seabirds, with their gigantic pink bills and comical walk, came every day—rain or shine—to a public feeding on the waterfront. Sara was surprised at the huge crowds that turned out to watch these birds during their feeding frenzy. They were a star tourist attraction!

Craig was recognised several times during their excursions and inundated with autograph and photo requests from fans, but Sara noticed that he was careful to keep the sessions fairly short and she was grateful. She still found it uncomfortable watching him from nearby and tensed up whenever she thought the cameras might be pointing in her direction, but overall, she tried to ignore the attention as best she could. She didn’t know what the magazines were saying about her and Craig now—she had decided the best thing was not to read them—but she guessed, from the envious looks that other women sent her way, that they were probably the subject of nation-wide speculation. Craig was a national heartthrob and any woman who was lucky enough to spend time in his company was a guaranteed gossip item.

The time slipped by even faster than Sara had thought and, before she realised, it was the night before her last day in Australia. Tomorrow was Friday, and on Saturday she was flying back to the States. They had spent a lovely day along the Gosford waterfront and were now back at Craig’s house. Sara had visited Craig’s place a few times now, but she still couldn’t get over its incredible location at the top of the cliffs overlooking Summer Beach, with panoramic views in all directions.

She stood looking out of the living room windows at the darkened sea, trying to fight off the feeling of sadness that was overwhelming her. She couldn’t believe that she was leaving in a day’s time. So far, she had succeeded in pushing thoughts of the future out of her mind and just enjoyed each day as it came, but it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the looming threat of goodbye.  

“Wine?”

She turned to see Craig standing behind her, offering her a glass of chilled white wine. She took it and sipped it. It was a Hunter Valley
Chardonnay
—she had learned to recognise some of the local wines now—and this was one of her favourites, with a light, peaches-and-cream flavour.

Sara followed Craig out onto the terrace. A soft breeze ruffled her hair and fluttered the folds of her dress. The sea rushed and murmured far below them and, beyond it, the night sky stretched up like a black velvet cloth covered with a thousand jewels.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars,” said Sara, looking up in wonder. She stretched a hand up. “You almost feel like you could touch them. The sky never looks like this at night back in L.A.”

“Probably because there is too much light pollution from the city,” commented Craig. “There are actually about two and a half thousand stars that are visible to the naked eye, but you’d be lucky to see more than a dozen if you’re in a really big city.” He took her hand and eased her down with him into the massive papasan chair at the edge of the terrace.

Sara put her wine glass down on the deck beside the chair and snuggled back against Craig’s body. His arms came around her, encircling her waist and cradling her against him. She had never felt so warm and cherished. She felt his lips brush her right ear and a shiver of pleasure coursed through her body. She turned her head slightly and his mouth captured hers, hungry and possessive. She felt an answering passion rise within her. She twisted so that she could mould her body closer to his, pressing her curves against him, and felt Craig stiffen.

“Sara… Sara… I’m not made of stone,” he groaned.

Sara pulled back, slightly ashamed at her own wantonness. Craig had been a perfect gentleman all week and she had been touched and grateful. She had never been the kind of girl to jump into bed with a guy—she just couldn’t treat sex casually, the way many of her college friends did. For her, sex was intimately linked to love and she didn’t feel comfortable giving her body before giving her heart.

The one time she “rushed things” had been when she met Jeff Kingston. The Hollywood star had pressured her, making her feel like a silly prude, until she had broken down and let him make love to her within the second week of them dating. Sometimes Sara wondered if that hadn’t played a huge part in her blind infatuation with Jeff. Would she have fallen as hard if she hadn’t succumbed so quickly?

So this time she had held back. Even though she knew that she had lost her heart to Craig already—and what she felt now was ten times stronger than the shallow feelings she had had for Jeff—still, she hesitated. Crossing this last line, giving herself to Craig completely… Sara knew that it would remove the last defence, break down the last barrier And she was scared. She had never felt this way about any man before.

“Sorry,” she murmured and made as if to move away from Craig.

His arms tightened around her. “Don’t. I like you next to me. Just maybe lie still, eh?” He laughed and ran his hand lightly over her hips and thighs. “This body of yours would tempt a saint.”

Sara smiled and settled against him again. “Where’s the Big Dipper?” she asked, tilting her head up and looking languidly at the sky.

“You can’t see it in the Southern Hemisphere,” said Craig, his voice a deep rumble in his chest. “You can’t see the North Star either.”

“Oh… how do you find your way if you’re lost then?”

“You look for the Southern Cross.” Craig nodded up towards a far corner of the sky. “Do you see those four stars together there, in the shape of a cross?”

“No… I… Oh yes! I see it!” Sara sat up, excited. “They do form a perfect cross!”

“That’s the Southern Cross. They’re the stars on the Australian flag. Well, there are actually five, but the fifth one is very faint. And see those two bright stars nearby? They’re known as the Pointers because they point towards the Southern Cross. They’re actually part of the constellation Centaurus—the Centaur. Well, in the West anyway. In Aboriginal Dreamtime legends, they represent two sulphur-crested cockatoos.” He chuckled.

“I could sit here and gaze at the stars forever,” said Sara with a happy sigh as she sank back against Craig’s body again.

“No worries, I could arrange that.”

His tone was light, but Sara heard the seriousness in his words. She was afraid to look at him. She knew that at some point they would have to talk about her leaving, but she had been trying to put off that moment.

“I’m sure the night sky back in L.A. would be just as fascinating if I learned to read it,” she said, trying to match his light tone. “Guess I’d better find somebody to teach me when I get back.”

He stiffened. “I was hoping that this would be more than just a temporary position.”

Sara pushed away from him and stood up. She said gently, “Craig… you always knew that this would be coming to an end. I… it’s been wonderful but—”

Craig made a violent movement. He stood up as well and reached for her, his voice low and urgent, “Sara, listen to me. I know this sounds crazy—I know we’ve only known each other a short time—but I know there’s something special between us. I don’t know how we can make it work… I know you live in the States and I have my practice here in Summer Beach… but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to give us a chance.” He smiled whimsically. “Ever since I met you, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

Sara felt her heart pounding in her chest. A part of her wanted to throw her arms around him, to say, “Yes! Yes! Me too!” But another part of her was shaking its head vehemently. She had always told herself that this was just a vacation romance—a brief chance to live out a romantic fantasy in a beautiful foreign country—and it had allowed her to enjoy the past week without thinking too much about the future. But what was fine for a few weeks on vacation was totally different when it became your everyday reality. If things continued with Craig, if they started to have a
relationship
, then she would be dealing with a lot more than just a few suggestive photos.

What happened with the magazine might not have been his fault, but it was a taste of what life would be like as his girlfriend. As the girlfriend of a celebrity star. Did she really want to go through all that again?

“Craig, I can’t,” she whispered. “I just… I don’t think I’m cut out to be a showbiz girlfriend. I know some people can take those things in their stride, ignore the stuff in the media, but I… that’s just not me.”

Craig let go of her and stepped back, his face like stone.

Sara twisted her hands and said, not looking at him, “Thank you again for a wonderful two weeks. You’ve made my whole stay in Summer Beach really special. But… I’m going home the day after tomorrow and I think it would be better if we just keep things light.” Even as she said the words, her heart was shrinking from the thought of never seeing Craig again.

“Are you really just going to write us off as a holiday romance?” He shook his head impatiently. “I don’t believe it—and I don’t think that you really believe it in your heart either. This isn’t just a fling, Sara!”

She took a step back from him. “I… I don’t think we should see each other tomorrow. Maybe it would be less painful if we just say goodbye now.”

Craig swore under his breath and Sara bit her lip. She hesitated, then reached up and pecked him on the cheek. Feeling like something was crushing her chest so that she couldn’t breathe, she turned to go.

“Wait, Sara…” He caught her hand, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet jeweller’s box. “I wanted to give you this. I don’t want to call it a goodbye present because I don’t want to think that this is goodbye. Call it a keepsake for your first visit to Australia.”

He opened the box and Sara gasped softly as she saw what was inside. Nestled on a bed of silk was a stunning black opal. In the light from the stars above, it glowed with a kaleidoscope of colours—the fire of ruby, the brilliance of emerald, the shimmer of turquoise, the sparkle of gold. Craig took it out and Sara realised that it was a pendant strung on a delicate silver chain. He reached forwards and clasped the necklace around her neck. Sara looked down. The opal glimmered against her cleavage, changing colours with every breath.

“So you will always have a little bit of magic in your life,” said Craig with a small smile.

“It’s beautiful,” whispered Sara. Her throat was tight and she felt tears start to her eyes. She blinked rapidly. “I will treasure it.”

She stretched up and pressed her lips softly to his. His arms came around her again, crushing her to him, and he kissed her with a desperate passion that was frightening and yet thrilling too. Everything ceased to exist. Nothing mattered except Craig and his mouth on hers, his arms around her, and the feeling that they were alone in this world. She wanted that moment to go on forever.

Finally, with an enormous effort of will, Sara broke the kiss and moved out of Craig’s arms. She knew that if she didn’t find the courage now, she would never be able to go. She took a deep breath, gave him a sad smile, then turned and hurried out of the house.