Playing for Love (Summer Beach Vets 1) - Escape Down Under (6 page)

Sara sank slowly back into her seat. She took her time drinking her coffee after Craig had gone, savouring the view of the beach from the terrace. The sky was inky black now, except for a pale moon hovering low on the horizon. Its silvery light was reflected on the surface of the sea, which looked deceptively calm from a distance.

Sara drew a deep breath, then released it in a sigh. She couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed herself so much. The whole evening had a dreamlike quality.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Would he? How many men had used that clichéd line carelessly with no intention of ever following up?
No
, thought Sara.
Craig was different
. There was a solid integrity to him that she had never felt with any of the men she had dated back in L.A. Certainly not with Jeff!

She smiled to herself as she looked out towards the ocean again. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

“So how did dinner go with Craig last night?” Ellie asked as Sara shuffled into the kitchen the next morning.

Sara felt her cheeks reddening and cursed herself. If she was going to start blushing every time his name was mentioned, the whole town—no, the whole state of New South Wales—was going to know about her crush on the handsome vet soon.

“It went great,” she said as non-commitally as she could. “The food was fantastic. I had this white fish called barra… barra… barramundi, which was absolutely delicious. And I don’t know how they do their hand-cut chips, but they were amazing. Nothing like those processed fries we get back in the States; this tasted just like real, old-fashioned potato—”

“Sara! I’m not interested in a food review of their menu!” said Ellie with an exasperated laugh. “I want to know what happened with Craig.”

“Nothing happened!” said Sara. “I mean… I had a really nice time and he’s great company and… and he said he’d call me today…” She caught Ellie’s eye. “Okay, okay, I really like him, but…”

“But?”

Sara shrugged helplessly. “Well, I’m leaving to go back to the States in two weeks. This can’t go anywhere… Anyway, why are you so interested? I thought only last night you were warning me that it was too soon after what happened with Jeff and everything.”

“Yeah, well… I don’t know. It was different when I saw you together.” Her cousin looked at her thoughtfully. “You were sort of… glowing. I never saw you like that with a guy before. Not even Jeff when you first met him.”

Sara didn’t try to hide her blush this time. “Craig is special.” She took a deep breath. “But like I said, it can’t really go anywhere.”

“Why not?”

“Ellie! I live on the other side of the world!”

“So? Move here.” Ellie tilted her chair back, a mischievous grin on her face.

“What? You want me to give up my life in L.A. and just move here?”

“
I
did.”

“But that’s different! You moved here for work reasons. I… I’d be moving here for a guy. I’ve been stupid about a guy before. I’m not making that same mistake again.”

Ellie raised her eyebrows. “Different guy.
Very
different guy. Come on… you’re always telling me how much you wish you could escape sometimes, to go live in another culture, another country. You don’t really enjoy your job, you don’t like the L.A. scene so… what have you got to lose?”

“What about Coco?”

Ellie waved her hands. “A bit of quarantine won’t kill her. She’d love the lifestyle here—she’d have so much more space to run around in, beautiful beaches to walk on… and you’d have so much more time for her too. The work hours here are a joke compared to the States.”

Sara looked at her cousin in surprise. “How come you’re suddenly so keen for me to move over?”

“Well, selfishly, I’d really like you to be closer. I miss hanging out together. And you’re a much better cook than I am, so if you lived here I could scrounge leftovers from you all the time.” Ellie grinned. “But seriously, I do think if you’ve met someone special… well, you’d be stupid not to grab it with both hands.”

“Yeah, you’re a good one to talk,” said Sara dryly. “I can’t believe
you
are giving me advice on my love life.”

“Hey, I’ve met my special someone,” said Ellie chuckling. “His first name is Microsoft and his last name is PowerPoint.”

Sara rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, think about it,” said Ellie, getting up and putting her empty mug in the sink. “You know you can stay with me as long as you like. Even if you decide to get your own place eventually or whatever, you won’t have to worry about somewhere to stay when you first come.”

“And what about work?” asked Sara.

“Oh, you can always find positions in HR. Besides, this resort I’m working for might have something suitable—they’re really growing and expanding. I can ask around if you like.”

“I don’t know…” Sara said hesitantly.

As her cousin went off to take a shower, Sara made herself some breakfast and thought about what Ellie had said. Could she do it? Leave everything and just move over here? Wasn’t this what she was fantasising about at dinner last night? But that was the whole point: it was a
fantasy
… everyone fantasised a bit sometimes… it didn’t mean that they would really do it. Sara sighed. This was making her head hurt. She didn’t want to think about it.

Instead, she went into the living room and retrieved the magazine she had bought at the airport. She spread it open before her cereal bowl as she sat down at the small table in the kitchen.
Nothing like a bit of celebrity gossip to take your mind off things
, she thought as she sipped her coffee and idly flicked through the pages.

Then her hands froze as she saw the photograph on the page in front of her. It was Craig. Looking tanned and sexy in jeans and a crisp, cotton dress shirt, he was standing in front of a building which seemed to be some kind of animal rescue shelter. He was holding a kitten in his arms and a cockatoo with a big yellow crest on its head was perched on his other shoulder. Around him stood a small crowd of people, all smiling and clapping, as Craig laughingly cut a ribbon looped around the front entrance of the building.

Beneath the photograph was the caption:

Celebrity TV vet, Dr Craig Murray, lends a helping hand at the opening of the Haven Paws Rescue Sanctuary, the first of its kind in the Sydney Metro area. Murray, who is the star of the hit TV series,
Aussie Beach Vet
, has been enjoying a well-earned break, but shooting is about to begin on the third season of the series soon. The programme, which follows the heart-warming—and sometimes heart-wrenching—stories of local pets and their owners at the Summer Beach Veterinary Hospital, has become one of the top-rated shows in the country. Murray is also rumoured to be in talks for a six-figure sponsorship deal with one of the biggest pet food manufacturers in South East Asia.

Sara stared at the page. Her hands felt cold and her head was spinning.
No
, she thought.
No! No!
Craig couldn’t be a celebrity, could he? He was so down-to-earth, so genuine and unassuming!
But the picture in front of her didn’t lie. Craig was a TV star. And being with him would mean that the cameras would be on her again. Sara felt her heart shrink inside her. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t go through all that again.

“Sara?” Ellie was standing in the kitchen doorway, drying her hair with a towel. “Are you okay?”

Sara’s lips felt numb. “He’s a TV vet,” she mumbled.

“What?” Ellie came over to look at the magazine. “Oh, yeah… that’s right. Craig’s TV show.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sara burst out. “You knew! Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”

Ellie looked at her in surprise. “I… I guess it just slipped my mind. Around here, nobody thinks of Craig as some celebrity. He’s just a regular guy.”

“What d’you mean he’s ‘just a regular guy’? Look at him! He’s in the damned tabloids!” Sara jabbed the magazine with her finger. “Don’t tell me that people don’t treat him differently now that he’s some hot-shot household name. People always treat celebrities differently. I saw enough of that when I was with Jeff. In fact, they began to treat
me
differently just because I was dating a celebrity.”

“Well, maybe…” Ellie looked doubtful. “But all I can tell you is what I’ve seen and heard. And from what I’ve seen, they treat him pretty normally around here. And he expects it too. It’s the whole Australian ‘tall poppy’ thing.”

“The what? What’s a tall poppy?”

“It’s… it’s hard to explain. It’s a really big part of Australian and New Zealand culture… like, it’s really important to be humble and be ‘one of the mates’, as they call it. If they think anybody is trying to be superior—you know, to be a ‘tall poppy’ growing above others—then they’ll immediately cut you down to size.” Ellie made a face. “And they can be pretty harsh about it too.”

She looked down at the magazine again. “Especially for someone like Craig, it’ll be even more important for him to show that he hasn’t forgotten his small-town roots now that he’s hit the big time. Not that he acts like some hot shot. You’d never guess the crazy money he’s making from the show, from the way he acts. He’s a really decent, modest guy.”

“Who’s probably still got paparazzi following him everywhere.” Sara shuddered. She wondered why she hadn’t seen any photographers at dinner last night. Come to think of it, Kylie hadn’t treated Craig all that deferentially, Sara admitted. Still, that didn’t mean anything. The feisty waitress would probably treat the President of the United States with the same irreverence!

“Actually, the paparazzi aren’t that welcome in Summer Beach,” said Ellie. “Craig might get photographed a lot if he goes down to Sydney, but up here, the people are pretty protective of their own and the paps have learnt to leave him alone.”

“Paps?”

“Paparazzi.” Ellie chuckled, shaking her head. “I’m turning Australian. They shorten everything here. You know—footy for football, barbie for barbecue.”

“Bickie for biscuit,” said Sara, remembering.

“You see? You’re turning native already.” Ellie smiled. “By the—”

The phone rang in the living room. Sara turned panicked eyes on Ellie.

“That might be Craig. He said he was going to call me today.” She twisted her hands. “Can… can you answer it? Tell him I’m out. I… I don’t want to talk to him. Oh, but ask him how that puppy is!”

Ellie gave her a look, but she went into the living room to answer the phone. Sara could hear the murmur of conversation. Five minutes later, Ellie came back.

“It was Craig. The puppy seems to be doing okay. I told him you’re busy. He left a number, said he was hoping to take you out for drinks this evening. He asked you to call him back if you’re free.” Ellie raised her eyebrows.

Sara shook her head violently. “I can’t.”

Ellie sighed. “It’s your call, Sara. But I hope you’re not making a terrible mistake. Craig isn’t Jeff. Don’t let the crap of one lousy man stop you from finding happiness with another.”

Craig put the phone down and frowned. Something wasn’t right. Ellie had been pleasant and vague but he just didn’t buy it. Sara was busy? Busy doing what? Why did he get the feeling that she just didn’t want to talk to him?

He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined one side of his living room and looked out. One of the best things about this modern, converted beach house perched at the top of the cliffs was the view out over the sea. With its four bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, separate formal lounge and family living room, spacious dining room, sound-proofed study, and gleaming entertainer’s kitchen—not to mention the wraparound terrace that was bathed in all-day sunshine—this house was one of the premium properties on the east coast. When he had bought it, some had thought that it was the award-winning architectural design or elegant décor of the rooms or even the heated swimming pool that had swayed him. But it was none of those things—it was the view from the top of the cliffs. Craig would have paid the same sum just to live in a beach shack with that view. After a long day at work or filming, he always felt soothed when he returned home and looked out of his windows.

Not now, though. For once the view was giving him no comfort. Instead, he stared blindly at the horizon as he relived last night, trying to think of anything he had said that might have offended or upset Sara. He could come up with nothing—unless she had been upset with him for having to leave early. His mouth tightened. He had dated women like that before—women who had thrown a tantrum over his dedication to his work and career—and he had little patience with them. But Sara had seemed genuine when she had insisted that he should leave first. Somehow he didn’t think she was the type to kick up a fuss because their romantic dinner had been interrupted by an emergency.

So what was it? He was sure he hadn’t read the signals wrong. There had been an instant attraction that sizzled between them—almost from the first moment they’d met in the vet clinic reception. He didn’t think he had mistaken the warmth in Sara’s soft blue eyes or the adorable way she had blushed under his intent gaze. Then there was the frangipani…

And the almost-kiss…

Craig thought of Sara’s enthusiastic attempt to try the Tim Tam Slam last night. He liked that in a woman—that she was game to try new things and not so self-conscious that she wouldn’t do something for fear of looking unattractive. He knew some girls who wouldn’t want to mess up their make-up or be seen from a bad angle. But Sara had embraced the ritual whole-heartedly.

He groaned silently as he remembered the way those full lips of hers had looked, pursed around the biscuit, as she sucked the coffee up. He didn’t know when he had ever found chocolate biscuits such a turn on!

Sighing, Craig turned impatiently away from the windows and stalked to his study. He had to go over the proposed episode outlines for the new season of
Aussie Beach Vets
. While most of the show was spontaneous “reality TV”, there had to be an element of planning beforehand to make sure that the crew were briefed on certain procedures, but more importantly, to make sure that no patients ever found the filming intrusive. Craig had been adamant about that. The show might have made him one of the highest-paid stars on Australian TV but his first concern was still his patients. He remembered suddenly that he was seeing his agent down in Sydney on Tuesday. He might as well get the outlines done now, he decided. It would hopefully take his mind off Sara too.

Craig managed to keep his thoughts from straying too often towards the beautiful American for the rest of the day, although he couldn’t quite stop himself from listening for the phone, hoping that it might still ring with a last-minute acceptance from Sara to his drinks invitation. But though the phone rang several times, none of the calls were from Sara.

By the time Monday morning rolled round, Craig was starting to feel angry. If Sara didn’t want to see him, why couldn’t she just tell him? He was a straightforward Aussie bloke and he didn’t like playing games.

He went for his regular morning beach jog, trying to pretend that he wasn’t hoping to see Sara’s curvy figure on the horizon, and then showered, changed, and headed into work. Things seemed to be quieter this morning—the car park was relatively empty and there was nobody in the waiting room yet. Of course, the morning appointments had barely started. Still, it looked like the mad wave of emergencies in the last few days was over. Typical, Craig thought, as he spied Dan and Charlie chatting in the hallway. Of course things would quieten down now that most of the team was back.

He gave his colleagues a wave but didn’t stop to talk to them. They were covering the main clinic this morning which meant that he had a couple of hours free to catch up on some post-operative notes and other admin. But first he would check in to see the patients on the ward. He smiled to himself suddenly as he thought of the puppy with the paralysis tick bite. At least there was some good news there. It looked like the pup was going to pull through.

Craig pushed through the swing door that led to the hospital ward at the back of the building and came to a sudden stop as he saw Sara crouched down by one of the crates. She jumped up when she saw him and rubbed her hands nervously on her jeans, not meeting his eyes.

“G’day,” said Craig, going slowly forwards.

“Uh… hi.” Her voice was soft, hesitant.

She looked like she hadn’t slept very well—there were shadows under her eyes and her face was pale. Craig felt his anger evaporate. Whatever it was that was bothering Sara, whatever the reason she had suddenly shied away from him, she wasn’t playing games. This seemed to be upsetting her as much as it was annoying him.

“I… I just came to check on the Beagle,” said Sara, still not meeting his eyes. “Um… Megan on reception said it was okay for me to come back here and say hello. I thought if I came early, I wouldn’t get in anyone’s way.”

And I wouldn’t see you.

She didn’t say it, but the words hung in the air between them. Craig felt his mouth tighten. The silence stretched awkwardly between them.

“Um… how’s the puppy? Megan said things were looking hopeful.” Sara gestured towards a crate on the other side of the room.

“Yeah, I was up half of Saturday night with him but it looks like he’s going to make it,” said Craig. “The family will be thrilled. Those kids would have been gutted if they lost him.”

Silence descended over them again. Craig glanced at the crate next to Sara. The Beagle was sitting up, its head cocked to one side as it looked up at them. It was wagging its tail slightly and its caramel-brown eyes were bright and curious. Its front right paw was still bandaged, but Craig had checked it yesterday and the wound seemed to be healing nicely.

He crouched down next to the crate and, after a second’s hesitation, Sara dropped down beside him. The Beagle put its muzzle up to the bars of the crate and sniffed Craig’s hand, its nose cold and moist against his skin. Then it turned to Sara and whined softly until she laughed and reached out to pat him too. The Beagle moved its head at the last moment, so that her hand missed and brushed Craig’s instead.

Craig felt a surge of awareness from the brief contact and he saw an answering colour in Sara’s cheeks. Her hand trembled as she quickly moved it away from his. So… she wasn’t as unaffected by him as she liked to pretend, he mused. Somehow the thought made him feel better.

“He’s doing well,” he said at last, keeping his voice carefully neutral. “If we can just find the owners now…”

“I’d love to know his real name,” said Sara, stroking the Beagle’s fur through the bars of the crate.

“If you’re free later, would you like to take him for a short walk? Not far, especially on that paw, but he needs a bit of exercise anyway and I thought since you—”

“I’d
love
to!” Sara looked up at him, her eyes shining.

Craig caught his breath. Anyone would think that he had given her a designer handbag or jewels, not a limping dog to walk. She looked so beautiful with her lips parted in delight and her blue eyes sparkling. He had to resist the urge to reach out for her. Something of his thoughts must have shown in his gaze, though, because he saw Sara’s cheeks flush even more and her eyes darted to his mouth for a second before skittering away.

Sara stood up hastily. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you to get on with work…”

She turned to go. Craig stood up too and looked at her retreating back, frustration surging within him. This was bonkers! Was she really going to act like nothing had happened, that they hadn’t shared that amazing evening together?

As if she read his thoughts, Sara swung around just before she reached the door. “Sorry… I forgot. I meant to say ‘thank you’ for a lovely meal on Saturday. I… I had a really good time.”

Craig moved swiftly to her side. “So did I. And I was hoping we could repeat it the next day—did Ellie give you the message that I called on Sunday morning?”

“Yes, she did. I’m sorry… I was busy.”

Craig frowned. “Sara—did I say something to upset or offend you at dinner on Saturday night?”

She looked up in surprise, finally meeting his eyes properly. “No, why?”

“Well… I thought we hit it off really well at dinner. I thought you enjoyed yourself—”

“I did,” said Sara quickly.

“So… I can’t understand why you seem so reluctant to see me again?”

She licked her lips. Craig groaned silently to himself as his eyes watched the tip of her tongue stroke over the pouting curves of her mouth. If she did that again, he was going to grab her and kiss her, chivalry be damned!

“It’s not you,” she said at last in a low voice. “I mean, it is… sort of.” She gave a nervous laugh. “It’s more about what you do.”

He raised an eyebrow. “As a vet?”

“As a
celebrity TV
vet,” she said.

“Ah.” Craig gave her a puzzled look. “But that’s such a small part of my life. Anyway, I don’t understand why—”

“I was dating a TV celebrity. Back in L.A.” Sara ducked her head. “I found the media attention a real challenge. And then I found…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I found that he was cheating on me. That he was only using our relationship as a way to boost his image and ratings.”

Craig felt a flicker of anger. “And you think that I would do the same—”

“No, no,” Sara said quickly. “I just… I don’t know… and anyway, I’m going back to the States in two weeks. I’m not really the type to have a vacation fling. I thought it would be better if things didn’t get too serious, you know?”

Craig said nothing. All he was conscious of was that he wanted to get serious—
very
serious—with Sara. He looked at the pain in her soft blue eyes and knew that there was more to the story than she was telling. His hands curled into fists as he thought of her ex-boyfriend. If he ever met the bastard…

“Sometimes you have to take risks in life, you know,” he said softly. “Sometimes the thing that you think you shouldn’t do is the very thing you
should
do.”

“I—” Sara licked her lips again.

Craig drew a sharp breath. He didn’t quite grab her, but he reached for her and she didn’t resist. He pulled her into his arms and claimed her lips—those soft, pouting lips that had been tormenting him ever since he first laid eyes on her. Sara froze for an instant, then melted against him. She kissed him back, tentatively at first, then more passionately as she sighed and slid her arms up around his neck. Craig pulled her closer, loving the way her womanly curves fitted into the hard planes of his body. He deepened the kiss, wanting to taste more of her. Dimly, he was aware that anybody could walk into the hospital ward at any moment and find them like this, but somehow he couldn’t make his body listen to his mind. It was the sound of a sharp bark near them that finally made him raise his head.

It was the Beagle. He was standing up in his crate and barking at them. A minute later, they heard footsteps approaching. Quickly, Craig let Sara go. By the time Megan popped her head around the door, Sara was back beside the Beagle’s crate, several feet away from him.

Craig looked at the dog thoughtfully. First that time by the crate when the Beagle’s sudden head movement had caused Sara’s hand to brush his, and now the barking which had provided them with a timely warning. You could almost imagine that the dog was playing matchmaker and guardian angel!

He smiled inwardly at the fanciful thought and pushed it aside. He nodded absently at what Megan was telling him and, when she had left, he turned back to Sara.

“I’m going to Sydney tomorrow. I need to see my agent—but I can stay the whole day; I don’t need to get back until evening. Why not come with me? You haven’t seen any of the big sights in Sydney yet, have you? It would be a shame to come to Australia and not visit the Opera House or any of the other famous landmarks.”

Sara hesitated, then gave him a shy smile. “I’d love that.”

“Great. Then I’ll come by Ellie’s place tomorrow morning and pick you up. Say eight o’clock… is that too early? It’ll take us a couple of hours to drive down.”

“No, eight is fine. I’ll be ready.”

“Beauty. See you then.”