Drew’s already out of bed when I wake up, but still he surrounds me, the sheet and pillows smelling of that light cologne he wears. I could wake up like this every morning and be happy. My nose twitches as it picks up the scent of coffee and toast, and I roll over onto my back and smile.

Last night was stressful and exhausting, but Drew had this way of calming me, surrounding me in him until I forgot about my worries. It’d be far too easy to become addicted to that.

There’s no sign of my clothes, and I sigh as I remember him placing them in the washing machine. I climb out of bed, and open a drawer, finding a light blue T-shirt that I pull out and tug on over my head. It might be clean and smell of laundry powder, but it’s his laundry powder and he’s the one who cleaned it. He’ll be lucky if he gets this shirt back again.

He’s hovering around the dining table as I approach, fussing over the plates and rearranging the cutlery three times as I watch in silence. I sneak up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist, smiling at the way he shivers.

“I didn’t know you were awake,” he murmurs.

“Only just. I hope you don’t mind me stealing one of your shirts.”

I let go as he twists and turns to face me. “You can wear my shirts any time. Your clothes are in the dryer.” He bends a little to kiss me, his warm, soft lips pressing against mine with so much tenderness.

“Guess I’m wearing this until they’re ready.”

He runs his hands down the length of my spine until he cups my arse. “Suits me. Are you hungry? I hope so. I’m cooking breakfast.”

“I can smell.”

“I was wondering whether to bring some in to you or just leave you to sleep. Last night would have been exhausting.”

“No thanks to you.”

His smirk makes me chuckle. When I’m around Drew, I’m always smiling, laughing, having fun. I like this so much—I just hate that he’s so far away.

“It was pretty good. Even if I do say so myself.” He pecks me on the lips again and lets me go. “Now, I’ve got more bacon to cook because I’m starving. There’s some toast out on the table, but I wanted something a bit more.”

“Bacon is good.” I walk around him and sit at the table.

“Coffee? I just made some and I can make one for you.”

I smile. “Coffee would be amazing.”

“Then I might let you get dressed and we’ll go to the hospital. I’m sure you want to check on your patient.”

I nod as he walks to the machine, and the sound of the coffee pouring fills the room. “Hopefully she’s doing well.”

“She is. I’ve already called to ask.” He places the cup in front of me. It’s got milk in it, just how I like it, and I bet it’s got the required two sugars, too. The man has a good memory.

I look up at him. “Maybe I’ll keep you around. This is such great service.”

“Give me a chance and this’ll be just the beginning.”

My breath catches looking at him. His eyes are so earnest, and I know I can believe him. Drew Campbell wants to give me the world, but I’m so scared of taking it.

“Drew, I …”

“Take your time. We have plenty of it. If you’re staying another night, I’ll have another opportunity to prove to you how good this can be. How good we can be.”

I take a sip of my coffee and close my eyes. “You don’t need to prove anything.”

He squats in front of me, and I open my eyes again to see him face to face. “I don’t want you to be afraid to try.”

I shake my head. “I’m not afraid. Being with you is amazing. I’m just worried about when I’m not with you.”

“Do you think I’ll muck around?”

“No.” I shift my gaze away.

“So, what is it?”

I bite my bottom lip to give me courage. “Every time I’m with you, I just get confused. I thought I had my life all mapped out.” I raise my eyes to meet his. “When I worked in Auckland, I didn’t cope. Copper Creek gave me the peace I needed.”

“I won’t ask you to give up that peace. Not yet.”

“It’s the ‘yet’ I’m scared of.”

He places a hand on my left knee. “So, we’ll take things slowly. I mean, it’s gonna be slow with the distance, but I don’t want to give up on this. Whatever it is we have is so special, and I’m really glad that Lucy chose the day Lily gave birth of all days to blow the landlord.”

I can’t help it. I giggle, and a huge smile spreads across his face. “So am I.”

“It’s settled then. I’ll make you breakfast, we’ll go see your patient, and you can be a lady of leisure for the day. You’d better get lots of rest. You’ll need it for tonight.”

I lean over, cup his face, and press my lips to his. “Sounds good to me.”

“Then you can have the pleasure of my company on a drive back to Copper Creek.”

“This also sounds good.”

He wiggles out of my grasp and backs away toward the kitchen. “My stomach’s grumbling. I think I need to feed it.”

As he fusses around, turning the element on with the frying pan and pulling the bacon from the plastic wrapper, I smile at our domesticity. I could get used to this; it’s wonderful and scary. In that moment, I can’t imagine being apart from him, but the reality is our time together will come to an end in less than twenty-four hours.

I have to make the most of it before leaving.

* * *

We get more curious looks as we walk through the hospital hand in hand. Drew doesn’t start work for another half hour, and I’ve got the use of his car to drive around before I pick him up later.

I’m glad he knows where he’s going. After the craziness of last night, I wouldn’t be able to identify what corridors led to the maternity ward, let alone Julia’s room.

“Here we go.” He lets go of my hand and pushes the door.

Julia is sitting in bed, and she smiles as we walk in.

“Good morning. I brought you something to read.” I drop the plastic bag with the magazines I bought on the way on the table beside the bed. There’s a selection of Hollywood gossip and lifestyle books to give her some variety.

“Thank you.”

“How are you feeling?” I sit on a chair beside the bed, and smile.

Julia’s lips twitch. From her hazy gaze, she’s obviously still tired. “Much better than I was. Thank you. You saved my life.”

I shake my head. “Doctor Campbell did that. I just worked out what was going wrong.”

“I still owe you a debt of gratitude. So does my community. I’m sure they’ll all be very grateful.”

Nodding, I’m not sure what to say in response to that, but I clamp my teeth together, remembering that I still need to return to collect my car.

“I’m glad they called you in. There was a lot of debate about it.”

“What do you mean? It was clear you were in trouble.”

She drops her gaze. “When I asked for help, the other ladies didn’t want to bring in anyone from the outside. Ash made the decision.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“What he says goes, but they didn’t like it. He must have looked you up just in case anyway, because he knew who to ring straight away.”

I shiver at those words. Why me?

The baby grizzles, and I lean over the crib and stroke his fuzzy head. “Hey, don’t give your mum a hard time. She’s been through enough.”

He lets out a bleat, and I nod. “I bet you’re hungry.”

I pluck him out, and rock him for a minute before handing him to Julia. It’s awkward, but she puts him to her breast and he sucks as if there’s no tomorrow.

“Thanks, Hayley.”

“You’re welcome. I’m going to get going now and give you some privacy, but I’ll be back again tomorrow before I head home to Copper Creek.”

Her eyes widen. “I never thought about how I’m getting home.”

“We’ll sort something out. You’ll be here for the next few days at least, and even if I have to come and get you myself, I’ll get it sorted.” Not that I’d complain if it gives me an excuse to see Drew.

She smiles. “Thank you. I seem to be saying that a lot.”

“It’s no problem. Just let someone here know if you need anything. They have my details, so they can call me if you need me.” I grin. “From the looks of it, I think you’ll be just fine. Now, because I’m in the big city, I’m going to go and get some retail therapy.”

Julia laughs. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that.”

My heart hurts for her. She can’t be much younger than I am, and she’s given her freedom up for what? I know I shouldn’t judge, but it can’t be healthy.

“If I don’t see you before, see you in the morning.”

Drew’s waiting outside when I come out, and he takes my hand and squeezes. “Everything okay?”

“Aren’t you checking in on her?”

He nods. “I will. Just wanted to give you a few minutes with her alone.”

“Her baby’s doing really well, from what I can see. He’s a hungry wee thing.”

“That’s good.”

I reach into my bag and pull out my phone. There’s a text waiting from Ash.

Thank you for letting me know. I look forward to your return.

My return? He must be referring to Julia, but she’ll be travelling after I do. After her C-section and the complications, she’ll be in hospital for a while yet.

Julia will have maybe a week in hospital recovering. I can update you when she’s due to come back.

You need to come and get your car. I’ll be waiting for your call.

A shiver goes through me. Maybe I’m just imagining things, but after those intense looks yesterday, his words take on more meaning than they should. It scares me.

“Hayley?” I raise my face to see Drew with his head tilted to the right. “Earth to Hayley.”

“Sorry. I sent a text to Ash last night to let him know that Julia was safe. He’s not showing much interest in her.”

I hold my phone up to show Drew the texts, and he bristles. “Someone’s got an admirer.”

“It’s not just me, right?”

He shakes his head. “Be careful around him.”

“I promise.”

Bending a little to kiss me, he lingers before pulling away. “Here are the car keys. The house key is the silver one if you want to go home and rest.” He waggles his eyebrows. “Totally understandable after last night.”

I lick my lips slowly, his eyes never moving off them. “I’ll need plenty of energy for later, won’t I?”

“Something like that.” He shoots me a killer smile that I hope no one else ever gets. How am I going to go all day without him after that? “Give me a call when you’re ready, and I’ll come and get you. If you’re lucky, I’ll cook you dinner.”

“You don’t have to. We can go out for dinner, or I can order something.”

I take the keys from him. “It’s the least I can do.”

He grins. “I should go, but I’ll see you later.”

I walk out of the maternity ward with so many eyes on me, and it puts an extra sway in my hips.

He’s mine.

* * *

I make the most of being in the city.

Mum and Dad still send me money from time to time, and my bank account has enough in it to hit the stores and spend. When you live in a small town for long enough, you miss what the bigger places have to offer. It’s nice to be surrounded by shops and able to splash out a bit.

Drew’s car is soon filled with bags, and I have to stop myself because there’ll be no room for me at the rate I’m going.

It’s been a while since I’ve had my hair styled. The most I’ve done with it in forever is a trim at Fiona’s Cuts, back home. This time I get to pamper myself, having it layered, but still long enough to tie up.

I float down the supermarket aisles, picking out things to cook for dinner, thinking only of this second and final evening with Drew before I go home again. If tonight is anything like last night was, it’s going to be hard to leave.

My mobile rings as I drop the groceries in the boot, and I smile at Drew’s name popping up on the screen. “Hey.”

“Hey, princess. I’m knocking off now if you want to swing by and pick me up.”

I grin. “I’ll be there shortly. I’m still out shopping.”

He laughs. “Good for you. See you soon.”

Drew’s waiting outside the hospital entrance when I pull up, and I step out of the car so he can drive.

His jaw drops. “Wow.”

“I decided you were right. It was time to pamper myself. I can see you approve.”

He wraps his arms around my waist and even slips me the tongue with his kiss. “You look amazing. I mean, not that you didn’t before.”

“You should see all the crap I bought.”

Laughing, he lets go of me and takes the keys from my hand. “I’m glad you had fun.”

“I really did. My reasons for coming here might not have been the best, but it was really nice to splurge a bit.”

He grins. “Let’s get home.”

Home.

* * *

He says nothing as I bring in all my purchases from the car, and shakes his head with a smile when I return a third time.

I dump the last lot of bags on the floor next to the couch. “That’s it.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a shopping spree.”

He nods. “I bet. At least now you have a second reason to come to Hamilton more often.”

I place my hand on my heart. “You mean, now I’ve discovered all these stores I didn’t know existed.”

Drew rolls his eyes as he slides his hands around my waist. “I’m talking about me.”

“Ohhh.” I lick my lips. “I guess you’re a good reason too. Maybe even the best reason.”

His gentle kiss leaves me wanting more, and I forget about cooking dinner for the moment as he pulls me toward the couch. It’s only just wide enough for us to lie on together.

It’s a while before I come up for air, and then it’s to make cheese on toast. Forget the potato bake and steak I’d planned. There’s not time for much else before we go to bed.

We eat the food and then brush the bed down, trying to get the crumbs off the sheets. Drew laughs and pulls me down on top of him, and when his mouth finds mine again, I know I’m home.

“Can I keep you?” Drew asks.

“I love being here, but we both know I have to go back to Copper Creek.”

He gives me that sly smile that gets my stomach doing cartwheels. “Guess I just have to convince you to stay.”

“You could come home with me.”

Drew sighs and shakes his head. “I’d love that. But there’s no future for me in Copper Creek. I wish there was.”

I shrug. “You could always work with me.”

He gives me a wistful smile, one that tells me he’s not lying. “If only it was that simple.”

I reach for him, cupping his cheek with my palm. “It’s okay.”

He turns his head, kissing my hand. “You know I have to do everything in my power to convince you to move.”

“You’d better.”

We sit in silence for a moment, and I snuggle into him.

“Tell me how you ended up in Copper Creek. You said you didn’t cope at the city hospital.”

My stomach churns. I hate talking specifics about what happened, but of all people, Drew will understand. “I lost a patient in my second year of practice.”

He frowns. “I’m sorry to hear that. It’s a tough thing to get past.”

“There was nothing I could have done.”

Drew nods. “Sometimes, things happen that are just out of our control.” He links his fingers in mine. “My third year, I had a mother have a coronary episode mid-caesarean. It was massive. She never stood a chance. The baby made it, but it still haunts me. I wanted to do better.”

I squeeze his fingers. “It doesn’t sound like there was anything you could do.”

He shakes his head. “I’m sure yours was the same.”

“It was a bit different. I tried to report my concerns to a doctor who didn’t really give two shits. My patient had placental abruption.”

His eyes widen. “Holy shit. And you got the blame?”

“He told everyone I hadn’t reported it to him in time. I went through a review process and was put under supervision for six months.”

Drew’s face is tight. I swear if I looked closely there’d be steam coming out of his ears. “No one believed you?”

“I was a second-year midwife. He had much more experience.”

“What’s his name?”

I stroke his face. “It doesn’t matter. Margaret needed another midwife and talked me into moving. I was shattered. So many of my own colleagues treated me like I had the plague. Leaving turned out to be the best thing I ever did.”

“It matters because if I ever run into him at any conference, I might smash him in the face.”

I shake my head. “It’s not worth it. I’m in a good place now.”

“A good place that’s a long way from me.”

“Drew …”

He sighs. “I’m sorry. Everything’s just so fucked up. I had a shitty relationship with someone here, and now have a chance at an amazing one with someone who’s miles away.” Turning, he runs his fingers through my hair. “I miss you when we’re not together.”

“I hate it.”

His eyelids flicker.

“As soon as I was old enough, I was in boarding school. Mum said she wanted nothing but the best for me, and apparently, that was living in another part of the country to my parents. I’ve spent half my life feeling like I’ve been abandoned by them.” I fight back tears. “And then I get attached to the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and he’s miles away.”

I close my eyes as he leans in and presses his lips to my forehead.

“We make a great pair, don’t we?” he asks.

I nod.

“Hayley, I want to try. The way I feel about you is overwhelming, and we’ve barely scratched the surface.” His blue eyes are so full of emotion, it leaves me wanting to cry. “I want more.”

“So do I,” I whisper.

“If you hadn’t ended up on my doorstep, I would be on yours. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that first night.”

Tears roll down my cheeks, but they’re tears of happiness. The thought of a long-distance relationship rips me up, but Drew’s worth it. He’s so worth it.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you either.”

“Maybe I won’t let you go.” He rolls on top of me, spreading my legs with his own. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m not.”

“So, what are the tears for?”

I take a couple of short, sharp breaths. “Because when I’m with you, everything feels right. Like it’s meant to be.”

He smiles. “That’s how I feel.” He cups the back of my head and pulls me in tight.

“I have this problem. I think I’m addicted to you.”

He plants butterfly kisses all over my face as I giggle. “The feeling’s mutual.”

“Let’s do something about that.”