while for you to process things, both with the mounds of insurance paperwork and on an emotional level, but staying at Flynn’s keeps you close to us, to
your
family, and right now you need to be surrounded by family. We’re all here for you and we’ll do whatever we can to help—and so will Flynn,’ she added. ‘He’s a good guy, Reggie, and no matter what happened between the two of you all those years ago, you know, deep down inside, that it’s true.’
‘It’s not a question of whether he’s good or not, Mackenzie, it’s a question of whether or not I can resist him,’ Reggie blurted.
‘Oh.’ Mackenzie said the word slowly as though realisation was just dawning. ‘Ah. Yes. I hadn’t thought of things from that angle, just the logistics of your present predicament.’
‘Well, start thinking that way. I can’t stay here with Flynn. I can’t stop staring at him, remembering how it felt to be held by him, to be kissed by him, to be in love with him.’ She closed her eyes, the pain from her past beginning to return. ‘He hurt me, Mackenzie, and, yes, it’s all in the past, but what if I allow myself to get close to him and he hurts me
again?’
‘What if he doesn’t? Reggie, the one thing I rememberyou telling me a few years after you’d broken up was that you thought Flynn had never really opened up to you, that the attraction between you two had happened so fast—’
‘And the break-up even faster,’ Reggie put in.
‘That at times you wondered if you ever really knew him. Plus,’ Mackenzie continued before Reggie could say another word, ‘there was also a lot about your past that you never told him.’
Reggie opened her eyes and looked at the blank mushroom-coloured wall opposite her. ‘True.’
‘Maybe this is the chance to rectify that.’
‘What point is there in opening up to him now? Rehashing the wounds of my past?’
‘Call it finishing unfinished business. You always wondered how Flynn would react once he learned who you really were. Now is your chance. Who knows? It might be cathartic. Once he knows the truth of your past, if he reacts the way you always thought he would—’
‘By rejecting me, like everyone else from that world,’ she interrupted again.
‘Then it might help you get him out of your system once and for all. Then you can really move forward with your life.’
‘I have moved forward,’ Reggie declared, not wanting to open the box she’d hidden in the back of her mind, the one she’d marked ‘Do Not Open’. ‘I’ve changed a lot. I’m happier than I used to be. I’ve put myself out there. I’ve dated other men and—’
‘And secretly used Flynn as your yardstick the entire time. No man was ever good enough. Or, on the flip side, you’d end up solving your date’s problems and helping them get back together with their old girlfriends.’It was Mackenzie’s turn to interrupt. ‘Think about it, Reggie. You and Flynn have unfinished business. Talk to him. You might be surprised at what you discover.’
Reggie pondered Mackenzie’s words for a moment, realising there was a hint of common sense in them. ‘I didn’t know he could cook and those pancakes were delicious.’
‘There you go, then. Plus, if you think about it, with the way Christmas tends to get hectic in surgical theatres, you’ll probably be spending most of your time at the hospital, rather than catching up on sleep at Flynn’s place.’
‘It does get busy.’
‘Then after Christmas you’ll have plenty of time to look around and find somewhere to live that suits your needs, and once the insurance money comes in, I’ll gladly volunteer to go furniture shopping with you.’
‘Yeah.’ Reggie sat up a little straighter, her confidence beginning to return. ‘I don’t need to stay here forever, just the next few weeks.’ She thought it through rationally. ‘And I do spend a lot of time at the hospital over Christmas. I really wouldn’t be here all that
your
family, and right now you need to be surrounded by family. We’re all here for you and we’ll do whatever we can to help—and so will Flynn,’ she added. ‘He’s a good guy, Reggie, and no matter what happened between the two of you all those years ago, you know, deep down inside, that it’s true.’
‘It’s not a question of whether he’s good or not, Mackenzie, it’s a question of whether or not I can resist him,’ Reggie blurted.
‘Oh.’ Mackenzie said the word slowly as though realisation was just dawning. ‘Ah. Yes. I hadn’t thought of things from that angle, just the logistics of your present predicament.’
‘Well, start thinking that way. I can’t stay here with Flynn. I can’t stop staring at him, remembering how it felt to be held by him, to be kissed by him, to be in love with him.’ She closed her eyes, the pain from her past beginning to return. ‘He hurt me, Mackenzie, and, yes, it’s all in the past, but what if I allow myself to get close to him and he hurts me
again?’
‘What if he doesn’t? Reggie, the one thing I rememberyou telling me a few years after you’d broken up was that you thought Flynn had never really opened up to you, that the attraction between you two had happened so fast—’
‘And the break-up even faster,’ Reggie put in.
‘That at times you wondered if you ever really knew him. Plus,’ Mackenzie continued before Reggie could say another word, ‘there was also a lot about your past that you never told him.’
Reggie opened her eyes and looked at the blank mushroom-coloured wall opposite her. ‘True.’
‘Maybe this is the chance to rectify that.’
‘What point is there in opening up to him now? Rehashing the wounds of my past?’
‘Call it finishing unfinished business. You always wondered how Flynn would react once he learned who you really were. Now is your chance. Who knows? It might be cathartic. Once he knows the truth of your past, if he reacts the way you always thought he would—’
‘By rejecting me, like everyone else from that world,’ she interrupted again.
‘Then it might help you get him out of your system once and for all. Then you can really move forward with your life.’
‘I have moved forward,’ Reggie declared, not wanting to open the box she’d hidden in the back of her mind, the one she’d marked ‘Do Not Open’. ‘I’ve changed a lot. I’m happier than I used to be. I’ve put myself out there. I’ve dated other men and—’
‘And secretly used Flynn as your yardstick the entire time. No man was ever good enough. Or, on the flip side, you’d end up solving your date’s problems and helping them get back together with their old girlfriends.’It was Mackenzie’s turn to interrupt. ‘Think about it, Reggie. You and Flynn have unfinished business. Talk to him. You might be surprised at what you discover.’
Reggie pondered Mackenzie’s words for a moment, realising there was a hint of common sense in them. ‘I didn’t know he could cook and those pancakes were delicious.’
‘There you go, then. Plus, if you think about it, with the way Christmas tends to get hectic in surgical theatres, you’ll probably be spending most of your time at the hospital, rather than catching up on sleep at Flynn’s place.’
‘It does get busy.’
‘Then after Christmas you’ll have plenty of time to look around and find somewhere to live that suits your needs, and once the insurance money comes in, I’ll gladly volunteer to go furniture shopping with you.’
‘Yeah.’ Reggie sat up a little straighter, her confidence beginning to return. ‘I don’t need to stay here forever, just the next few weeks.’ She thought it through rationally. ‘And I do spend a lot of time at the hospital over Christmas. I really wouldn’t be here all that
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