to remind himself to keep his eyes fixed on her face and not to ogle her slim calves.
‘The procedure went well. Now it’s just a matter of waiting to see if the grafts take and keeping my fingers crossed that Dylan doesn’t get an infection.’
She looked pleased with herself and so she should. Mila had observed the surgery and Damien had heard from her how impressed she had been with Abi’s ability. It seemed as though Freya’s decision to offer Abi a position at The Hills had been a good one. She was a competent surgeon, more than competent, and he was enjoying the development of their professional relationship, but he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t noticed her other attributes. She was beautiful in a fragile, delicate way but he sensed an underlying strength and he was keen to find out more about her, which brought him to the other reason for his visit.
Freya’s party was only a day away but, according to Freya, Abi was making excuses to avoid attending Saturday night’s function. Damien hadn’t been particularly keen on attending either but when Freya had made it clear that she expected all senior staff to make an appearance at the publicity event he’d decided that one way to make the evening more appealing would be to have Abi there too.
He knew he should attend, it could be good for business, but since he and Brooke had split he’d avoided as many of these social gatherings as he could. He’d had enough of dressing up and parading around and chatting to people who didn’t really interest him. He much preferred to spend his weekend nights lying on the couch, watching a movie and sharing a bowl of popcorn with Summer.
But that revelation had given him a brief glimpse into the future and he hadn’t liked what he’d seen. He was in danger of becoming a sad, lonely old man. While, if anyone asked, he would tell them he wasn’t interested in dating he didn’t really want to end up old and alone. Summer wouldn’t be with him for ever and he knew he should make more of an effort but there wasn’t normally much incentive to do so. Women were trouble. Until now.
Until Abi had come into his world he would have been quite happy to remain a hermit but now the thought of being able to escort her to the function appealed to him and therefore so did the function. Now he had some incentive.
‘Dylan’s case was an interesting one for you?’ he asked, posing the question while he tried to think of a way to segue into his proposition.
She nodded and her unusual amber eyes glowed.
‘Do you feel like celebrating a successful first week on the job?’ he asked.
‘I won’t know how successful I’ve been until Dylan’s bandages come off next week.’
‘Freya has organised this cocktail party for tomorrow night. It’s part promotion, part celebration and we are all expected to attend, but I’d rather poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick. She tells me you feel much the same.’
Abi nodded. ‘Having to mingle with a room full of strangers is my idea of purgatory,’ she said.
‘In that case, I have a suggestion.’ He took a deep breath as an unfamiliar burst of nerves made his heart jump in his chest. ‘Seeing as this party is supposed to be spotlighting the joint venture between The Hills and the Bright Hope Clinic and you’ve just had your very first joint-venture patient, I think that if I have to go, you should come with me.’ He shouldn’t be doing this but he was. He wanted to find out what made her tick. She was intriguing, a mixture of strength and fragility, a complicated combination—her army background combined with her delicate looks. Was she made of steel or spun silk like a spider web? Whichever it was, a mesh or a web, he was ensnared. ‘I’ll pick you up and I promise we’ll just make a brief appearance and then we can escape. I’m going to use the babysitter excuse.’
‘You have an excuse worked out already?’
‘It pays to be prepared.’ He grinned and was relieved to see an answering smile from Abi. ‘And if you let me give you a lift, you’ll have an excuse to leave too.’
She laughed and Damien felt the warm glow spread further through his body. He hadn’t heard her laugh before and the sound burst from her, rich and joyous and completely unexpected. She sounded confident and full of life. Her laugh had wiped out all traces of fragility, leaving a sense of excitement and anticipation, and he knew he was going to do everything he could to make her laugh again.
‘I’ve run out of excuses,’ she said once she stopped laughing. ‘I even tried telling Freya I have nothing to wear but then she offered to lend me a dress. So I think I will use your excuse. I would love a lift, thank you.’
* * *
Abi hesitated in the entrance and fiddled with the small diamond studs in her ears. She had sold all the jewellery Mark had given her during their ill-fated relationship when she’d discovered his deception. She’d only ever liked it because he’d given it to her but it hadn’t really been her style—it was too ostentatious for her. She had simpler tastes and once she’d discovered the truth about Mark the jewellery had made her feel cheap and naive. She’d used the proceeds to buy herself a simple pair of diamond studs. They were the only decent jewellery she owned.
‘Are you coming in?’ Damien asked.
She hadn’t been sure if accepting Damien’s offer of a lift had been a wise decision. She still wasn’t sure but after discussing the facts with her psychologist she had decided not to rescind his invitation. Caroline had convinced her that she needed to start socialising and she had suggested that this cocktail event would provide a perfect opportunity. It was in a safe, familiar location with a large number of people she already knew and there was no need for her to stay for hours. She could make an appearance and once she’d had enough she could leave. Abi wasn’t totally convinced but she had agreed to give it a go, though she had known she wouldn’t have the courage to arrive on her own. Damien’s invitation had seemed like the lesser of two evils.
‘Shall we?’ Damien asked.
He was still waiting patiently for her. She needed to get moving, they couldn’t stand outside all night. She ran her hands down the front of her dress, Freya’s dress, in a self-conscious, nervous gesture.
‘Don’t worry, you look gorgeous,’ he said.
‘Really?’
Abi had been worried about this dress. She’d never owned or worn anything like it but she had no option. It was a simple sheath with thin spaghetti straps but its simplicity belied its eye-catching silhouette. The dress was made of gold sequins that matched her eyes and it shimmered and sparkled as she moved. It looked expensive and it was. There would be no hiding in the corner in this one. She had draped a black wrap over her shoulders in an attempt to tone the outfit down but she still felt very conspicuous. ‘I was worried it might be too much. It’s not too revealing?’
Damien shook his head. ‘It’s perfect.’
‘Thank you.’ His compliment sent a thrill of pleasure through her and boosted her confidence. She wanted to tell him that he looked amazing too but she couldn’t summon the courage. He was in a black evening suit, single breasted, cut to his slim frame, drawing attention to the blackness of his hair and eyes. She wasn’t a girl who was taken in by a man in uniform, years of army life had made her immune to that, but a man in a dinner suit with a crisp white shirt and a bow tie that had been tied on, not clipped, was a different story. Especially when it was carried off as well as Damien did. He could have stepped off the cover of a magazine.
He placed a hand in the
