Love Islands: Summer Kisses. Joanna Neil

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       CHAPTER SEVEN

      NATHAN SAT ON the sidelines while Rachel had dinner with Ron. It was clear she was onto the health promotion part. She was pointing at his plate and obviously talking about food choices. Next she swapped his soda for a diet one. Then she persuaded him to have some salad with his steak.

      Ron wasn’t eating much but the flushed colour of his cheeks had faded. Next, Rachel held his GTN spray for angina in her hands and talked him through how and when to use it.

      ‘Earth to Planet Nathan. Are you home?’

      Len was grinning at him from the other side of the table.

      ‘What is it?’

      Len gestured with his fork. ‘You haven’t taken your eyes off her for the last ten minutes. I keep expecting you to make an excuse to go on over there.’

      ‘What? No way.’ He speared a bit of his steak.

      Len raised his eyebrows. ‘I know.’

      ‘Know what?’

      ‘That you two have history.’

      He almost dropped his fork. ‘What do you mean?’ He shot a quick wayward glance in her direction again. He’d love to say that Len was far too observant for his own good. But Len was one of the crew members he had a rapport with. He hoped Len would be on his side.

      Rachel reached across the table and put her hand over Ron’s, obviously offering some words of comfort.

      Just as well he knew there was absolutely nothing in it, otherwise he was pretty sure his stomach would be twisting right now.

      Len had started eating again. ‘I knew it when I talked to her down at the bar. She mentioned you then.’

      ‘She did?’ All of a sudden Len had his instant attention. ‘What did she say?’

      Len laughed. ‘Oh, nothing good. I take it you didn’t leave things on the best of terms?’

      Nathan started toying with his food. His gaze drifted back to Rachel. Her dark hair had fallen in waves over her shoulders and she’d put a pink wrap around her shoulders.

      Rachel liked pink. She always had—at least seventy per cent of her wardrobe was pink. But what she probably didn’t realise was just how good she looked in the colour; it didn’t matter what the shade was. It seemed to make her lightly tanned skin glow and her dark hair and eyes shine.

      He hesitated. It was obvious Len was waiting for an answer. ‘We’ve not been on the best of terms for eight years.’ The words kind of stuck in his throat. ‘Before that, we were good together …’ he paused ‘… really good.’

      As he said the words out loud he realised how much they hurt. How little he understood about what had happened in his own life. Charlie was settled now. He’d grown up before his time and was married with a family. If his parents hadn’t died that was pretty much where he’d expected him and Rachel to end up. Married with a family, probably here in Australia.

      But he’d lost all that. He’d lost not just the woman, but also his dreams and aspirations. The life he’d been supposed to live. The career pathway he’d had all plotted out in his head without even knowing if he could be a decent surgeon. He’d barely had the chance to hold a surgical scalpel.

      The resentment had flowed through his blood for years. He’d resented her for walking away and leaving him. He’d resented her for carrying on with her career. He’d resented the fact she’d had a life whilst he felt as if he’d been stuck in limbo.

      His training in London hadn’t fulfilled him; it hadn’t captured his passion and enthusiasm and he’d wondered if he would ever get that back.

      Joining Doctors Without Borders was his way out. It was his way of trying to live again. Trying to feel useful. He’d saved lives. He knew he had. And knowing that had helped in a way. He might not have been able to save his parents, but he had been able to save others. And for five years he had. In lots of different ways. He still felt a little numb. Some days that had been the only way to survive out there, to just block out certain things so you could continue to function. But the camaraderie with the other staff had been amazing. He’d felt valued—an essential part of the team. He’d worked hard to make others feel that way too and do the absolute best job that he could.

      And he’d made friends—good friends that he would have for life.

      But the truth was that everyone burned out over there. He had too.

      And once you’d burned out it was time to leave. The bosses at Doctors Without Borders often recognised it before the staff did.

      Australia had always been the aspiration. Now, it was a reality. But it wasn’t working out quite how he had thought. Lewis was a good colleague. And the hospital he’d been working in was fine. But, the truth was, when he woke up in the morning his job wasn’t the first thing on his mind.

      He’d changed. Life had changed. And as he glanced across the canteen he wondered how life had changed for Rachel too.

      Len cleared his throat, then took a drink СКАЧАТЬ