she was trying to curry favour with him!
‘Something has cropped up and I’m going to have to leave,’ she said shortly, heading for the cloakroom.
‘It’s not your father, is it? He hasn’t taken a turn for the worse?’
‘No, nothing like that,’ she replied evasively, handing her ticket to the attendant.
‘But it must be important if you’re rushing off.’
‘It is.’
Natalie took her coat from the woman and hurried across the foyer but if she’d hoped to deter him, obviously she’d failed. He followed her outside, his expression turning thunderous as he watched her flag down a passing taxi.
‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’
‘No.’ She opened the cab door and got in. ‘I’ll see you in the office tomorrow morning. Your pass should be ready so you’ll just need to ask the staff on Reception for it when you arrive.’
She started to shut the door but he was too quick for her. His green eyes flashed as he bent and looked at her.
‘I’m asking you one last time where you’re going, Natalie.’
‘And I’m telling you one last time that it hasn’t anything to do with you. You gave up the right to have a say in what I do when you told me that our relationship wasn’t going to work.’
She went to close the door again and this time he didn’t try to stop her. She told the driver the address of the clinic then sat back in the seat. She could feel Rafferty staring at her as the cab drove away but she didn’t look at him, didn’t dare in case she weakened. She loved him so much, but it wasn’t enough. He had to love her too—unconditionally and without any strings attached—and the likelihood of that happening seemed even more remote after what he’d told her that day.
She closed her eyes, feeling the pain welling inside her again. She might be a rich man’s daughter, she might be a nurse, but she was first and foremost a woman and she wanted a man who would love her for herself.
Helen must have been watching for her to arrive because she came hurrying out of the clinic as soon as the taxi drew up. She whistled when Natalie turned round after paying the driver.
‘Wowee! That’s some dress, girl. You must have really socked it to him in that get-up. I bet he’s still reeling!’
Natalie’s mood immediately lifted and she laughed. She’d become good friends with the attractive Anglo-Caribbean nurse since she’d been working at the clinic and was hoping to persuade her to join Worlds Together at some point. ‘If he is then he managed to hide it pretty well. The last I saw of him, he was glaring after the taxi and looking as though he was about to spit tacks!’
‘No wonder.’ Helen grinned as she opened the clinic’s door and ushered her inside. ‘The poor guy probably thought he was in for a night of passion when he saw you in that outfit, and what do you go and do? Only run out on him!’ She shook her head. ‘That wasn’t very kind, was it?’
‘Tough. He shouldn’t have counted his chickens, should he?’
Natalie refused to feel guilty, because in her opinion she had nothing to feel guilty about. She hadn’t promised Rafferty a night of passion—despite what he might have been expecting.
Her heart lurched at the thought of how the evening might have ended if the situation had been different. The one thing they’d never had any problem with had been sex, and she doubted if either of them could create the same kind of magic with anyone else. However, although the physical side of their relationship may have been perfect, the rest of it certainly hadn’t, she reminded herself. There would need to be a lot of changes made before she would consider jumping into bed with Rafferty again…
‘So how’s Danny doing?’ she said, swiftly changing the subject. The odds on her and Rafferty sleeping together again were approximately zero so there was no point even thinking about it. ‘Any improvement yet?’
‘No. If anything, I’d say he’s slightly worse.’ Helen sighed as she pushed open the door that separated the reception area from the treatment rooms.
The clinic was based in one of the arches beneath a railway bridge and the sound of the trains thundering overhead provided a constant background noise. The space had been used as a garage before it had been taken over by the clinic and on warm evenings the smell of diesel still seeped from the walls. Bright strip-lighting and plenty of white paint had helped to dispel the gloom, however, and the staff did their best to make everyone feel welcome. Maybe it wasn’t the ideal place for a medical centre but the youngsters came, and that was what mattered most of all.
‘I’ve put Danny in the end cubicle because it’s a bit quieter down there,’ Helen informed her. ‘Piers was supposed to be here tonight but he phoned just before you arrived to say that he’s having to work a double shift because they’re short-staffed at the hospital.’
‘So that means Danny hasn’t seen a doctor yet?’ Natalie clarified.
‘Not yet.’ Helen glanced round when one of the other nurses called over to her. ‘I’ll see what Suzy wants then come and find you.’
‘Fine.’
Natalie made her way down the long, arched room to the very end cubicle, which was actually more substantial than it sounded, with solid hardboard walls and a proper door. She tapped on the door and went in, smiling as she saw Danny’s eyes widen in surprise when he saw what she was wearing.
‘I only wear this outfit for my very favourite patients, I’ll have you know,’ she told him, laughing as she twirled round so he could get a good look at her gown.
He removed the oxygen mask he was wearing and smiled shyly back at her. It had been a couple of weeks since he’d visited the clinic and she could tell that he’d lost a lot of weight in that time. He was wearing an old T-shirt and she could see how his chest was heaving from the effort of drawing air into his lungs.
‘The other guys will be really jealous,’ he wheezed.
‘And so they should be,’ she retorted, going over to the bed. She took hold of his wrist and checked his pulse, frowning when she felt how fast it was racing. It was obviously a very bad attack and she really couldn’t understand why it had happened. ‘So when did this all start?’
‘A couple of hours ago…although I’ve not felt well for a few days,’ he admitted reluctantly.
‘And have you been taking your medication like I told you to do?’ she asked, sitting down on the side of the bed.
‘Uh-huh,’ he muttered, avoiding her eyes.
Natalie sighed. ‘Look, Danny, I’m not going to tell you off if you haven’t been taking it…well, not much, at least. But I need to find out why this has happened tonight. I thought we’d sorted you out the last time you came to see us but maybe the drugs we prescribed for you aren’t doing their job properly and we need to try you on something else.’
‘The drugs are OK,’ he mumbled, but she could see tears welling into his eyes.
She squeezed his hand, hating to
