Worth Waiting For (The O'Connors Book 1) Read online

  Worth Waiting For

  Book One (The O’Connors)

  Jax Burrows

  Jax Burrows / Manchester UK

  Copyright © 2019 by Jax Burrows

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  Jax Burrows

  P O Box 599

  Manchester

  M12 0DY

  United Kingdom

  https://www.jburrowsauthor.com

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Cover design by James T Egan, http://bookflydesign.com/

  Formatting by Polgarus Studio

  Worth Waiting For/ Jax Burrows — 1st ed.

  Print Edition ISBN 978-0-0000000-0-0

  Kindle Edition ISBN 978-0-0000000-0-0

  Also by Jax Burrows

  Roses for his Rival

  Rescuing the Rossini Heir

  Love, Lies and Weight Loss

  Sign up for my newsletter and get Roses for his Rival Free.

  Just click https://jburrowsauthor.com/

  This book is dedicated to my Auntie Sheelagh who died recently.

  A lovely lady who will be sadly missed.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Chapter One

  ‘Clear!’

  The crash team shocked the patient and moved away from the bed. Staff Nurse Lexi Grainger stepped forward and started CPR straight away, increasing the chances of the defibrillation technique working. But it was hard going. Soon her arms started aching and she was panting with the exertion. Another member of staff would soon take over, and continue the rotation process, but she had to keep up the rhythm until then.

  An elderly man brought into A&E a couple of hours before with bruises, lacerations and a periorbital haematoma, from being catapulted over the handlebars of his bicycle, was fighting for his life. He hadn’t seen the debris that was scattered across the road after the high winds the previous night and ended up in Resus. One minute he was chatting happily to Lexi as she gently wiped the blood off his face, the next she was shouting for the Medical Emergency Team. He had an IV inserted, had been intubated and was receiving oxygen but his heart was stubbornly refusing to start again.

  That was A&E. You never knew what was going to happen next.

  ‘Right, we’ll shock him again.’ Lexi kept up the chest compressions until given the word by the doctor. While she worked, she thought over the “Chain of Survival”; the sequence of steps that maximized the patient’s chance of living. The first was recognizing the cardiac arrest and starting resuscitation immediately. Tick. The second was prompt initiation of CPR. Tick. The third was performing defibrillation as soon as possible. Tick. The fourth was post resuscitation care. That would be provided as soon as they could bring him back.

  ‘Clear!’

  They all stepped away while the patient was shocked again, his body jerking with the current passing through it.

  ‘Okay, continue,’ said the team leader, and Lexi was just about to start compressions again, when someone beat her to it. Large, male hands had already started pumping the patient’s chest and Lexi felt intense relief. Someone had taken over and she could have a rest. Something about those hands looked familiar. Short, perfectly manicured nails, strong fingers with black hairs near the knuckles. Her heart started racing again, for a completely different reason.

  Her gaze moved upwards to the man’s face. He had his head bent over the patient’s chest and she couldn’t see him properly. But she didn’t need to. She knew who he was.

  The shock must have shown on her face, as the team leader chuckled and said, ‘This is Dr Casey O’Connor, our new trauma consultant; he’s joining us from a large teaching hospital in London and we’re lucky to have him.’

  ‘Oh.’ He glanced up briefly before looking down again at the patient. But that brief glimpse had been enough to transport her back four years.

  Casey O’Connor. So, that was his name. She’d tried many different names for her man of mystery when she daydreamed about him. Then at night, when the sexual fantasies had left her tense and frustrated with longing, she tossed and turned, eventually getting out of bed to gaze at the moon from her bedroom window. The moon was shining that night, too. The full moon of summer solstice that had shone just for them, during the best twelve hours of her life.

  ‘Clear!’

  They all moved away again, and she stared into his eyes across the bed, a mesmerizing green with a dark black ring around the irises. He was staring back at her, and not in a particularly friendly way. Was it the tension of trying to save a man’s life, she wondered, or because she’d left the following morning without even saying goodbye?

  ‘We’ve got him back,’ said the team leader. Lexi nearly collapsed with relief. The man had been in her care when he arrested, and she felt personally responsible for his welfare.

  ‘Thank you everybody.’

  They all went about the business of attending to the patient’s after-care, calmly and professionally. Lexi, however, felt too emotional to do anything useful, so turned to move away from the cubicle.

  ‘Just a sec.’

  Lexi froze at the sound of that voice. She turned around slowly and came face-to-face with the man of her dreams. Seeing him now, without the drama of the last half hour, she thought he was even more gorgeous than she remembered. His dark blue scrubs made the green of his eyes even deeper. He was tanned and fit, and Lexi’s heart was beating so fast, she thought she was going to pass out and join the patient on the bed.

  ‘Yes?’ She waited for him to speak. He glanced at her name badge then looked back at her face.

  ‘We meet again. Lexi Grainger.’

  If ever there was a time to try to deny it, it was now, but Lexi couldn’t speak. She was struck dumb by the suddenness of his appearance in her life again. She had assumed that he was back in London, forging his brilliant career, whatever that was. They had deliberately not disclosed personal details. She had been sure their paths would never cross again. What was he doing in Leytonsfield?

  ‘Yes. I’m surprised you remember.’ She att
empted to smile and act as if it had all been a long time ago and of no consequence, but she wasn’t the fantasy woman she had pretended to be then, acting a part. She stood before him now as the real Lexi. No more pretence. Her priorities in life had changed completely since that night.

  He took a step closer and lowered his voice so that only she could hear. She stared into the depth of his green eyes and shivered.

  ‘Oh, I remember, Lexi Grainger. I remember everything about that night. Against my better judgement and despite four years of trying, I haven’t been able to forget you. Even though you obviously never gave me a second thought after you crept out of my flat the following morning.’

  Heat rose to her cheeks at his closeness, caused by desire, and the depth of the guilty feelings that had been impossible to shake. At the time she believed there’d been no choice about leaving the way she did, but the accusation that she hadn’t thought about him stung.

  ‘Why obviously?’

  ‘Why didn’t you stay long enough to say goodbye? Wouldn’t that have been the polite thing to do?’ He clenched his fists and then relaxed them again, the frown lines deepening.

  ‘I don’t think either of us were concerned with etiquette that night, were we?’

  Lexi was conscious of the Resus team quietly working all around them preventing them from talking freely, but she didn’t want to talk to him at all. She wanted to get away to think and work out what she was going to say to him. In a moment of madness, she thought about not telling him, but that was crazy. They were going to be working together, and he had already said that he remembered everything. But she wanted to tell him in her own way. Prepare him first.

  Then his bleep went off, and he cursed under his breath. ‘I need to get this. We’ll talk later.’ He strode off to find a phone and she made her escape out of Resus and towards the reception area and the staff room. She was due a break anyway and desperately needed a strong coffee.

  *

  Theresa, another staff nurse, was already in the kitchen making herself a drink. She turned when she heard Lexi come in and gestured to the kettle. ‘Want a brew?’

  ‘Coffee please. Strong with sugar. Are there any biscuits left?’ Lexi collapsed into an armchair and breathed out slowly, trying to calm her nerves.

  Theresa made the coffee and searched the cupboards for the biscuit box. The doctors were always putting it back in the wrong place.

  ‘How about the new consultant then? What a hottie! Have you met him yet?’

  Theresa put the mugs on the table with the Tupperware box containing the biscuits.

  ‘Thanks. Yes, I just did.’ Lexi selected a custard cream and bit into it.

  ‘And? What did you think?’ Theresa was watching her. She was single and on the lookout for a husband. Single doctors of senior registrar grade and above were scrutinized and judged according to Theresa’s list of essential requirements. Her standards were incredibly high, which was why she was still single.

  ‘He seems very nice.

  ‘Very nice! Are you mad? The guy’s as hot as freshly roasted chestnuts. He’s gorgeous! Very nice indeed.’

  ‘Okay, so he’s good looking and knows it. He came across as a bit arrogant, in my opinion.’

  Theresa stared into space whilst munching on a biscuit. ‘I bet he’s really assertive in the bedroom. You know, the type that just takes charge and sends you into orbit in three seconds flat.’

  Lexi felt heat spread up into her neck. The memories of Casey O’Connor’s expertise in the bedroom flooded into her mind and she nearly choked on her custard cream. Theresa wasn’t far wrong in her assessment. What she wouldn’t give for a repeat performance. As if that’s ever going to happen. When the good doctor found out the truth, he’d be the one going into orbit. He’d go ballistic. She shivered at the thought of the confrontation to come.

  Theresa was watching her.

  ‘What?’ she asked.

  ‘I worry about you sometimes.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Lexi frowned at her and took another biscuit. Her diet was far from healthy when she was on duty in A&E. Any break she took was a chance to ingest as much sugar as she could to keep her energy up until she got home and could eat lots of fruit and vegetables.

  Theresa spoke with her mouth full of biscuit. ‘You’re twenty-nine years old, a single mother, you work all the hours you can to make ends meet, you never go out and haven’t had nooky for four years. And then sex-on-legs turns up on our doorstep and you’re finding fault with him. You should think about dating again.’

  Lexi was tempted to tell her friend to mind her own business, but Theresa was only looking out for her.

  ‘I’m fine as I am. Jade and I are fine. It’s because I have a three-year-old daughter that I’m careful who I see. She’s my priority. Has been since the day she was born – and always will be.’

  Theresa’s voice softened. ‘I understand that, honey, and I think you’re doing a great job. I’m not sure I could manage as well as you do. But…’ Theresa looked watchful as if she wasn’t sure if she should say the next part.

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘Well, don’t you ever get lonely? Don’t you think about a man’s strong arms around you?’

  The only man she dreamt about had just barged back into her life and she didn’t know how she felt about it. It was one thing using the memories of a hot night of sex to fuel her sexual fantasies; whenever she day-dreamed about being one of the heroines in the romance novels she loved, or when she read a chapter or two before sleeping, the hero always morphed into her mystery man whose identity she now knew. It was his strong arms that held her, his mouth that crushed hers and dark green tantalizing eyes that gazed at her in adoration. But it was quite another issue to be faced with the reality of an angry, hurt man who she had to work with every day.

  This man was Jade’s father. He was no longer a man of mystery who she could fantasize about. He was flesh and blood, moods, personality, intellect and genes. She often wondered, as she watched Jade speak her first words, smile, frown, throw tantrums and laugh – did she take after her mother or her father?

  ‘And there’s another thing.’ Theresa hadn’t finished.

  ‘What?’ Lexi didn’t want to ask but knew that her friend was going to tell her anyway.

  ‘One day, you’re going to have to find a father for that little girl. It’s not fair otherwise. If she can’t have her real daddy, she’ll need a step-daddy.’

  ‘She’s got me, she doesn’t need anyone else.’ It was time to get back to work. She didn’t want to have this conversation. Theresa didn’t know what she was talking about.

  ‘You have to admit, children do better with two parents, don’t they?’

  Lexi got up. ‘I wouldn’t know, I’m afraid. I was abandoned as a baby, I didn’t have either parent growing up. I was brought up by the state. Thanks for the coffee, Theresa.’

  Lexi swept from the room, leaving Theresa staring after her open mouthed.

  What was wrong with her? She never talked about her childhood to anyone. Jess was the only one who knew the truth. The appearance of Dr Casey O’Connor was already affecting her. He could potentially turn her life upside down, and she liked her life exactly the way it was. Well, she wouldn’t let him. She’d be on her guard and make sure she didn’t let her mouth run away with her again.

  Chapter Two

  Casey finished his conversation with the on-call registrar in Cardiology and put the phone down. The patient may need stenting, so before the specialists could review him, he would stay in Resus for monitoring, then be sent to the Cardiac Unit to be stabilized before surgery. Casey’s older brother, Riordan, was Lead Consultant in Cardiology and his patient would be in good hands.

  Resus was filling up, most of the bays had patients being treated, waiting to be scanned or sent to a ward or ICU. It was busy, but nothing like the frenetic, out-of-control atmosphere of the London teaching hospital he had just left behind. He’d been getting close to burn-out
there and had needed to make a major decision about his future.

  Like a homing pigeon he had landed back in Leytonsfield, to talk it through with the people who loved him and knew him the best. The welcome he’d received had been warm. From his family, the few old school friends he was still in touch with and the staff of the A&E department which would become his new home.

  What he hadn’t expected to find was the woman who, four years ago, shared with him the best sex he had ever experienced, and then vanished like morning mist.

  He still wasn’t sure how he felt about Lexi Grainger. She’d captivated him the first time he’d seen her sitting alone while her friends were on the dancefloor. Her ash blonde hair was soft and hung down her back like a fragrant waterfall. Her pale grey sleeveless dress moulded to her body like a second skin. She wore little make-up but didn’t need it. Her complexion was a natural peaches and cream; the colour even the most expensive products never achieved.

  He’d asked her to dance, and instead of saying yes immediately as he’d expected, she looked him up and down with a half-smile.

  He’d tried for light-hearted and said, ‘Most women I ask to dance don’t have to think about it for this long.’

  ‘I’ve always believed that if something’s worth having, it’s worth waiting for.’

  ‘And you, I would guess, are definitely worth having?’

  She got up slowly and sashayed towards him. ‘Oh yes,’ she said, ‘I’m definitely worth waiting for.’

  She was gorgeous, and he suspected she had wanted him as much as he wanted her. It was lust that had pounded his heart and caused adrenaline to surge around his system. He’d felt the same way about another woman once, but he’d let his feelings for Helen develop into more than lust and he’d paid the price. She’d broken his heart and he was not about to let another woman close enough to so much as touch it. It was under lock and key to everyone except family and close friends. People he could trust.