The War Hero's Locked-Away Heart. Louisa George

just got his equilibrium back. So he would muster polite. Nothing more.

      He felt along Lukas’s arm, noticed the bruising and swelling, the wincing as he touched the forearm. ‘Pain here? What about here? It’s swollen. Could be a fracture, hard to tell with the naked eye. You’ll need an X-ray—’

      A siren cut him off. He followed Sky’s gaze to the main road and watched with relief as an ambulance drove down the small boat ramp. He hauled on his jeans and helped Lukas to stand.

      Within minutes they’d handed over and lifted their patient into the back of the van. As he shook hands with the ambulance officer Adam decided to come clean. It would be strange turning up to work on Monday morning knowing they’d all shared this rescue and them not knowing his identity.

      If he was going to settle here—and he was going to settle this time—he’d need to give more of himself than name and rank. Truth was, opening up after everything that had happened often proved hard.

      He spoke to the AO first. ‘I guess you should know, I’m Adam. Adam Miller. Paramedic. I start on Monday, at Wellsford base.’

      ‘Hi, Adam. Thought there was a look of expertise to this job. What a welcome, eh?’

      ‘Lucky I was here. Just one of those things.’

      ‘There I was thinking I was dealing with an average Joe and all the time you’re a medic in disguise.’ Sky blinked up at him. ‘Are you going to live here, or closer to the base in town? Have you got a family here too?’

      He turned his surprise at her inquisition into a cough. He’d forgotten how small-towners liked to chat. In retrospect maybe moving to Auckland would have been a better choice. He could have lost himself in the anonymity of crowds. ‘I’m renting up the road.’

      ‘We’re very pleased to have you.’ Dan, the AO, shook his hand. ‘Kick back a bit and get out of the rat race? Atanga Bay’s usually pretty quiet, but the towns round about keep us busy. Now they’ve extended that motorway we get our fair share of MVAs.’

      Adam helped Dan close the van doors. ‘Judging by the hairpin bends, I’m not surprised.’

      ‘You’re ex-army, is that right? No wonder you made mincemeat out of those waves. Quite the hero.’

      ‘I don’t think so.’ Hero? No chance. Adam swallowed back his usual dismissive retort and the memories of his last day in action. He forced himself to be friendly. It had been so long he’d almost forgotten how. ‘Before I joined up I was a surf lifeguard. I just follow my instincts.’ He caught Sky’s glance and remembered the importance of a positive debrief. ‘And Sky was great too.’

      ‘Our Skye is great. And we’re all going to miss her.’ The AO winked at the shivering woman and wrapped an arm round her shoulders. ‘How long to go now?’

      She peered up at him, her fists all screwed up like a kid’s at Christmas. Her lips were slightly parted, her mouth soft. A wave of something unfamiliar washed over Adam. He ignored it. Put it down to adrenalin.

      ‘Four weeks, three hours and …’ She glanced at her watch, and laughed. A light, unencumbered sound, something he hadn’t heard much, or done himself, in a very long time. ‘Thirty-two minutes. Not that I’m counting. Much.’

      ‘And then?’ Adam asked, despite his misgivings at having a conversation with her.

      ‘Then I live my life. This is just a rehearsal.’ More smiles. This time they were backlit with blatant excitement. ‘I’m going on a tour, travelling through Asia to Europe. To see the sights, the food, the people. Then I’m going to hit London. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I can’t wait. I’m so excited.’

      ‘So I see.’ A shot of relief mixed with a sense of something ending before it had begun mixed in his gut. ‘But is Europe ready for all that enthusiasm?’

      Her eyes darted across to him in question, for the first time since he’d met her, she frowned. He ducked his gaze away.

      See? Exactly why he shouldn’t attempt a normal conversation with her. He was so out of practice he’d made her excitement fizzle. Better to just keep quiet and wait until he could get the heck away.

      Dan squeezed Skye in under his shoulder, like a kid sister or a pet. ‘We’ve been trying to convince her to stay, but she’s adamant she wants out of here. God knows why. Atanga Bay has everything you could ever want. A decent chippy. A fine pub. Old friends. She’s mad. What has Paris got that we haven’t?’

      ‘Style. History. French accents.’ She shrugged her shoulder in a Gallic gesture. ‘Pain au chocolat.’

      ‘Pah! Pollution. Too many people. And no ocean.’ Dan eased away from Skye, climbed into the van and gunned the engine. ‘Well, Adam, good to have you on board. It’ll be a pleasure having you around.’

      A pleasure? Skye didn’t think so. Adam was rude and disturbing. And that ruggedness just deepened and deepened. But, with little regard for his own life, he’d saved Lukas so for that she should be grateful. ‘Thanks for everything you did out there. By the way, we’ll probably bump into each other over the next few weeks until I’m gone. I’m the practice nurse at the surgery here. Skye Williams. That’s Skye with an “e”. I’m named after an island, in Scotland.’

      ‘With an “e”.’ He huffed out a breath and scuffed his bare toes into the cold sand. ‘That makes a world of difference.’

      ‘Sorry?’

      ‘Nothing.’ He stuck out his hand. ‘I should thank you for your help with Lukas.’

      Don’t force yourself.

      ‘No worries. Civil duty and all that.’ She doubted he knew what civil was.

      Just to show him she could rise above his rudeness she put her hand into his and shook it, trying to ignore the shot of electricity that tickled up her arm at his touch. Her eyes found his and there was a sudden connection there, a fleeting warmth she hadn’t seen before. A shy heat that rebounded and hit her cheeks.

      She realised that the rest of her was shivering. She looked down at her sand-covered legs and the goose-bumps along her arms. And felt the heat of his eyes over her body as he followed her gaze. It had been a long time since she’d felt that kind of warmth, uncurling something in her gut, spreading through her abdomen.

      Then when she locked eyes with him again the guarded shadows had returned.

      She was used to her brothers, who wore their pubescent hearts on their sleeves, whose every emotion she could read like it was her own. She’d learnt pretty quickly to understand exactly what her stepdad had thought too, even before he’d thought it himself, just so she could avoid the inevitable.

      But reading Adam Miller? It was like he had so much going on behind those eyes but fought frantically to keep it all sealed away. At least, he clearly wasn’t interested in sharing it with her.

      Good idea. He’s grumpy and bad-mannered and way too attractive for your own good.

      It was time to go home. She didn’t want to feel stirrings of anything. Not lust or desire. Or anything that would lead to hurt all over again. She didn’t have the time or the energy. She had to focus on sorting out her life and finalising her travel plans. She dropped his hand, letting the heat evaporate. ‘I should go.’

      ‘Yes.’ Without so much as a goodbye he walked towards the car park, his boots hanging from one hand. She noticed a slight favouring to the left. A barely perceptible limp, and she remembered the scarring. It didn’t detract from him, no. Not at all. The way he carried himself, erect and proud, the way he hid his limp like a secret, intrigued her. Compelled her to watch him again.

      ‘Oh, and next time you’d better keep your clothes on!’ Duh. The words were out before she had a chance to stop herself. One day she’d learn to keep her mouth shut.

      He turned slowly and