burns? You’re sure?’
‘Absolutely.’ He pulled up the scrubs on his left leg to show her the carpet burns he had from being made to be a horse by his four-year-old niece Gemma. ‘I’ve got matching ones. But we’ll give him a proper check-over once he’s quiet.’
The mother blushed. ‘Oh, I feel so stupid.’
He smiled. ‘Don’t be. You’re entitled to worry about your baby.’
‘But I’ve wasted your time!’
‘No, you haven’t. It’s always important to get something checked if it concerns you. What if it had been something serious and you’d dismissed it? We’d rather it be a false alarm than something serious. Wouldn’t we?’
He gave another of his winning smiles, hoping the screaming child would soon be quiet, and the mother smiled back, thanking him.
‘I’ll be back in a few minutes.’
He left the cubicle, intending to fill in a chart or two and give the boy time to get his breath back, then glanced up to see how the waiting room was filling up.
And there she was.
The woman from last night, walking towards him in a floaty white blouse and a pencil-slim skirt that hugged in all the right places.
Leah.
She stopped upon seeing him.
He watched in delight as her cheeks flushed once again, and he knew that that was something he would never tire of seeing.
But why was she here? Was she hurt? Or had she known somehow where he worked and come to throw his telephone number back in his face?
‘Hi,’ he said, somewhat lost for words.
He never usually had this. The morning after. That awkward conversation. The embarrassed excuses. He got the good part—the flirting, the excitement, the kissing, the hot sex. He never had to worry about the afterwards because there never was one.
She looked like a startled deer. He saw her swallow.
‘Wh...what are you doing here?’
OH, MY GOD. You idiot! He’s wearing scrubs and has a stethoscope around his neck. What do you think he’s doing here?
She felt her cheeks colour again and sucked in a deep, steadying breath.
Okay, think. He’s obviously a doctor here, but maybe he’s from another department and he’s only down here providing a consult...
Because it would be mortifying to have to work closely with the guy she’d met in a club and slept with last night. A guy she’d kicked out of her flat because he’d overstayed his welcome.
Oh, dear. What must he think of me?
But then a bit of courage pushed its way forward and reminded her that what she’d done last night had not been done alone. He’d done it, too. So what did she think of him?
Her brain provided her with a helpful reminder of what he’d looked like naked on her bed after she’d swooped up with the quilt.
Blushing—again!—she managed a smile. ‘I say stupid things sometimes. Clearly you’re a doctor, here. Obviously...’
He smiled back and it did strange things to her insides. The way he was looking at her...as if she were edible and he wanted to gobble her up!
‘I am. You’re right.’
‘A...um...registrar? Consultant? From... I don’t know. Maybe Orthopaedics, or something?’ she asked hopefully.
‘Consultant. Emergency medicine.’
‘Oh.’
She looked about her, panicking slightly. He worked here? In this department? That wasn’t good. Oh, no, that wasn’t good at all!
‘May I ask why you’re here?’ He grinned his cheeky chappie smile and then leaned in to whisper, ‘Physically you seem to be in full working order, so...?’
She laughed. Almost hysterically. Then stopped. What to say? She could lie and say she was here visiting someone? Or maybe she could say...?
No other lies popped into her head. She was stuck with telling the truth. Because she had to. The ‘visiting someone’ lie wouldn’t help, would it? She had a job to do here. She needed the money and she’d been hoping for the possibility of the position becoming permanent.
‘I’ve...um...come here to work.’
She smiled quickly, alarmingly, then continued before he could say anything.
‘I start today. Here. In this department. As a...locum.’
She saw the dawning realisation on his face and was glad to see that he was somewhat taken aback too. That was good. It was nice to feel that they were on even footing.
He laughed. ‘You’re my new doctor?’
She matched his laugh. ‘That’s me!’
Leah watched him take this in—watched as an interesting fleet of emotions passed over his face—and felt her own heart beat faster as she realised just how much she would be working with this man over the next few months. Her one-night stand. Her boss.
Had she screwed up? Already? Or would he be the decent guy she hoped he was and let them start with a fresh new page?
That was possible, right? To pretend as if nothing had happened when in reality you knew more about a man than you should and exactly what touch would make him gasp with delight and ecstasy? They’d be able to work together as if they’d never met before.
Right?
Right?
Molly, one of the nurses, was asked to show her around as Ben had got called in to Majors. A trauma was coming in via helicopter.
Molly was about the same age as her, and was bright, friendly and chatty. She took her around Minors, showing her where everything was, who to ask for help, and what the password was for the computer system, and then she took her into Majors.
Leah couldn’t help but look at Ben as he assessed his new patient, strapped to a backboard that was being brought in by the helicopter medics. He was more than just handsome. He was breathtaking. No wonder he had caught her eye in the club last night. Broad-shouldered, flat stomach, trim waist...
And I know all the other details, too...
The tiny mole just above his left hipbone. The smoothness of his
