Doctor On Her Doorstep. Annie Claydon
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Rob came to her rescue. Kind of. ‘What I love about this woman is that you can say anything you like to her, and she’ll hear you, but she won’t listen. Eh, Jen?’
Adam pursed his lips thoughtfully. ‘In that case, perhaps I can just put my bag downstairs and take you all to lunch before my lecture.’ He glanced at Ellie, his face breaking into a smile. ‘Go and ask your dad if you can wear your new dress.’
The dress fitted perfectly. Adam and Rob had disappeared downstairs with the keys, while Jenna stripped off Ellie’s jeans and T-shirt and drew the dress over her head, running her fingers over the hand embroidery and arranging it just so.
‘Can I have some perfume?’ Ellie was obviously keen on playing the lady.
‘No, you know what your mum says about perfume.’ Ellie’s idea of a dab behind her ears was to tip half a bottle of Cassie’s anniversary gift over her head. ‘Tell you what, this is much better.’
She trimmed a couple of stalks of lavender from the bunch in the fireplace and tied them firmly with a ribbon from the drawer. ‘Here, I’ll fix it onto your dress … like this … and you’ll smell nice and look nice as well.’ She leaned back and admired her handiwork. Ellie looked beautiful.
‘Are you going to dress up, too?’ Ellie had unpinned Jenna’s hair and was arranging it around her shoulders.
‘No, I’m fine as I am.’ Jenna looked down at her jeans and cotton, sleeveless top. This was about as good as it got, and however much she wanted to make an effort to look nice today she wasn’t going to do anything that might betray that to either Rob or Adam.
‘Perfect.’ Adam’s voice boomed behind her and she jumped. He obviously meant Ellie.
‘Doesn’t she look pretty?’ She flashed a smile at him.
‘Yes, she looks perfect, too.’ His mouth twisted in a smile as Jenna flushed. ‘Thank you for the flowers.’
She’d arranged lavender and sweet-smelling greenery in a vase, putting it downstairs in the hearth to break up the stark, white walls and bring a little of the garden into the flat. And he’d noticed them. ‘They’re not really flowers.’
He shrugged. ‘Thanks anyway. You have a good eye, they look stunning.’ He ignored the redness, which was now spreading across her cheeks, and turned his attention to Ellie. ‘And you look like a proper young lady.’
Ellie seemed to take as much delight as Jenna did in Adam’s approval, but she was more straightforward about showing it. ‘I did Jenna’s hair, too. Look.’ She tugged at one of Jenna’s curls.
‘Maybe I’ll just fix it back up again.’ Jenna gathered her hair behind her head, looking for the elastic tie that Ellie had discarded somewhere on the floor. She’d never quite got around to liking her hair much. Too many memories of her mother tugging mercilessly at the tangles and bemoaning the fact that it wasn’t smooth like her sister’s. And that, horror of horrors, it was red.
‘Don’t.’ Something about Adam’s tone made her freeze, stock still. ‘It really suits you like that.’ There was no indication in his face that this was anything other than a polite compliment.
Rob came to her rescue again. Friendly, open and perfectly unmoved by the intensity of Adam’s voice. ‘Yeah. Fiery, eh, Jen? Doesn’t take any nonsense from anyone.’ He gave Adam a pointed look and held his hand out to Ellie. ‘Come on, then. If we’re going, let’s go.’
‘Flame-haired.’ Rob missed Adam’s quiet comment in the kerfuffle of getting Ellie out of the door and down the stairs, but Jenna caught it, as she guessed she had been meant to. She shot him a glare and he grinned innocently, as if he’d meant nothing by it. Maybe he hadn’t.
‘So what’s the story with Julie, then?’ Adam had waited until Rob had taken Ellie home and he and Jenna were sitting alone in the open-air enclosure on the pavement outside the restaurant.
‘Julie? You mean Julie Taylor?’
‘Yes. Her consultant, Iain Simms, emailed me on Friday evening, copying you in.’
‘Oh. I haven’t had time to look at my email for the last couple of days.’ He was making her feel self-conscious again. His eyes had wandered towards her far too many times already, cool, assessing, as if he was sizing her up, and Jenna couldn’t help wondering what he saw. Wishing that it wasn’t what she saw in the mirror. Pale limbs, untouched by the sun. A slim waist, but precious few curves. Red hair.
If he noticed her agitation, he paid no heed to it, leaning forward across the table towards her. ‘Too busy dragging furniture and boxes around, eh?’
Actually, yes. Those golden eyes were far too perceptive for Jenna’s liking. And she didn’t want him to see the effect they had on her when she met his gaze. ‘Shall we walk?’ Walking seemed a better option than sitting here, staring straight at him.
‘If you like.’ He stretched his arms, flexing his shoulder as if it was stiff, and signalled for the bill. ‘Along the river? Somehow the river always makes me feel as if I’m home again.’
Jenna nodded. The pavement to one side of them dipped and meandered its way down to the south bank of the Thames. Tower Bridge was in the distance to the right. The footbridge to their left, with a stream of Sunday afternoon day-trippers dawdling their way across the river. ‘I’ve never been away long enough to have that feeling of coming home. I’d like to travel. Learn a little about life.’
‘You don’t need a plane ticket to learn about life.’ His eyes focussed somewhere else for a moment, as if he was straining to catch a last glimpse of the place he had left behind. ‘Let’s walk. I’ll tell you what Iain’s email said.’
They strolled together down the broad steps that led to the river path. He was all sun-drenched charm, relaxed grace, and Jenna allowed herself to wonder what it would be like to walk arm in arm with him. She gave herself twenty seconds to feel the warmth of his body next to hers and then consigned the fantasy to the breeze that blew in from the river.
‘So I guess we’ll be working together on this one.’
‘Uh?’ If she’d been listening then she would know what they were working together on. ‘You mean you’re going to be working at the hospital? As well as lecturing?’
The slight twitch of his eyebrow told her that he’d already said that. ‘Yeah. Iain’s asked me to work with him on a few specific cases. I’m also working down in A and E for one or two days a week, while Dr Bryant’s on paternity leave. I’m hoping to get the chance to observe some of the techniques and practices you employ.’
‘And teach us a thing or two as well?’ The idea of being observed for any length of time by those amber eyes was … well, it would be interesting, if nothing else.
‘Yes. That too. I do have something to offer in return.’
‘I’m sure you do.’ Jenna wasn’t even going to think about what Adam had to offer. ‘So why your particular interest in Julie? We’re hoping that she won’t need much reconstructive surgery.’
‘It’s not all about surgery.’ He grinned down at Jenna. ‘Iain