for a long time—overweight, hypertensive, high cholesterol and a family history of heart disease.
Madeline smiled at Mrs Sanders, who was looking much better. She took her patient’s hand as her eyes sought the cardiac monitor. A regular sinus rhythm blipped on the screen. The last blood pressure taken had been good and the oxygen saturation also displayed was excellent. No doubt this was helped by the prongs sitting inside Mrs Sanders’s nose, blowing a steady supply of oxygen.
Mrs Sanders greeted Madeline warmly, thanking her profusely for saving her life.
‘Nonsense,’ Madeline said dismissively, blushing at the praise. ‘I just did what anyone who had that knowledge would have done. Besides, I didn’t do it all by myself.’
‘Yes, Brett said that a nice male doctor helped, too.’
Madeline grimaced. That wasn’t exactly how she would have described Marcus Hunt. Smug, yes. Sexy, yes. But nice…?
‘Did I hear my name?’ Marcus’s deep voice behind her made Madeline jump.
‘Maddy,’ he said to her suddenly erect back as he entered the room.
Madeline, perched on her patient’s bed, sat very still, awareness of Marcus stiffening her spine. He sauntered around the front of Madeline and sprawled himself in the low chair beside the bed. He offered Mrs Sanders the bunch of flowers he had.
Marcus introduced himself and proceeded to charm the socks off the middle-aged woman. Madeline sat rooted to the spot, unable to move and only vaguely aware of their conversation. Her eyes were irresistibly drawn to his powerful denim-clad legs. He was wearing one of those trendy T-shirts that looked like a toddler had scribbled on it and it clung to his biceps and chest wall perfectly. He laughed and it drew her gaze higher, to his mouth.
Marcus chose that moment to look at her with his strong, direct gaze. It broke her trance-like state and she looked away hastily, heat suffusing her face. I have to get out of here, she thought. I can’t think straight around this damned man.
‘Well, I think I’ll be off now.’ Madeline broke into the conversation with an unsteady voice and made a great show of gathering her things.
Mrs Sanders protested but Madeline could see how even the short visit had taken it out of her patient.
‘Yes,’ said Marcus, rising. ‘I’d better be off, too.’
‘Oh, please,’ said Madeline, panicking slightly, not wanting to spend any longer in his company than she had to. ‘Don’t leave on my account, you’ve only just arrived. Stay. I’m sure Mrs Sanders would love the company.’
‘No, no,’ Marcus assured her. ‘I don’t think we should tire her out.’
‘Yes, I am a little weary.’ Mrs Sanders finally admitted the truth.
‘Righto, we’ll be off, then,’ said Marcus, covering the older woman’s hands with his own. ‘If there is ever anything I can do for you, Mrs Sanders, please, don’t hesitate.’ He pulled a business card out of his back pocket and placed it on her bedside table.
Madeline stared at him, gobsmacked! She fumed silently as she stalked out of the unit. OK, she’d made up her mind to tolerate him but how dared he try and poach her patient? Once they had pushed through the swinging doors and were out in the corridor, Madeline let fly.
‘What the hell was that?’ she demanded.
‘Shh, Maddy…it’s a hospital.’ He wagged his finger at her playfully.
He looked so fresh and vital and she still felt tired and irritable. She wasn’t in the mood for his teasing. ‘I don’t give a damn,’ she snarled.
‘Maddy!’ He feigned a shocked expression.
‘How dare you try and steal one of my patients? How…how…unethical! You’re not doing a very good job of convincing me of your professionalism,’ she snapped, striding off.
He contemplated just ambling along behind her, because her annoyed strut in her snug three-quarter cargoes was very cute, but thought better of it. He caught her up.
‘Conventional medicine doesn’t seem to have done her much good.’
Madeline halted and whipped around, cheeks flushed and eyes glittering. ‘Don’t you dare preach to me, Doctor. You know nothing about this case. It just so happens that conventional methods only work if you follow your doctor’s advice! Mrs Sanders is notoriously uncompliant.’
Madeline’s chest heaved, a fact not missed by Marcus. But unfortunately she didn’t give him that long to appreciate it before she stormed ahead again.
Madeline was dismayed to find that some idiot had parked her in. Her dismay grew to anger when she realised it was Marcus’s MG. She gritted her teeth. She was going to need thousands of dollars’ worth of dental work done in the not too distant future if this kept up!
She kicked one of his car’s tyres out of pure pique and leant impatiently against her boot, foot tapping. She watched his lazy swagger as he approached. Even his strut was sexy.
‘I hope you’re better at your hocus-pocus than you are at parking.’
He laughed and she shivered despite the thirty-degree day. ‘Someone got out of bed on the wrong side. Look I’m sorry, OK? I think we got off on the wrong foot this morning.’
‘Just shift your car, Dr Hunt. I have no desire to speak with you.’ She just wanted to go. Get out of his radius. His presence was too unsettling.
‘Maddy,’ he said, coming nearer, ‘I thought we’d called a truce last night? I’m really a great guy when you get to know me.’
He was too close for her sanity. She found it hard to remember to breathe around this man. He made her inexplicably want to throw caution to the wind and hop on the back of his skateboard and roll off into the sunset.
‘Your car,’ she repeated.
Marcus gave a frustrated sigh at her stonewalling. He’d never had to work this hard in his life. And it just made him more intrigued. More fascinated. More sorry about the diamond rock on Madeline Harrington’s left hand.
He gave her a long, hard look then moved away from her. He put the key in his door and decided she looked just as good in profile. ‘Why don’t we go and have a coffee or something? Get to know each other a little?’ he asked her.
‘Are you still here?’ she said, ignoring his question.
He laughed. ‘OK, OK. I guess I’ll see you later.’
‘Don’t hold your breath,’ she replied, and was pleased with just the right amounts of indifference and ice she’d injected into her voice.
Marcus gunned the engine and gave her another confident grin. ‘It may be sooner than you think.’ His laughter reached out and touched her even after he’d accelerated away.
The muscles of her neck ached and she didn’t have to be a chiropractor to know the cause. Stress. Also known as Marcus Hunt. He made her wary. Tense. On guard. She massaged them one-handed as she drove out to George
