‘Don’t doubt yourself. You’re doing a great job.’
‘I…’ Colour washed into her face, and she muttered something he couldn’t catch before she left his office.
Stop wishing, Kieran thought. She’s not yours, she’s not going to be yours. You just work together. Leave it at that.
Except his heart most definitely wasn’t listening.
The following Wednesday night, Tess looked dubiously at her brother. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to leave Charlie.’
‘It’s only for a couple of hours. He’ll be absolutely fine. He likes Rosemary, she used to be a childminder before she retired so she knows everything there is to know about babies, and I’ll keep my mobile phone switched on so she can get us if she needs us.’
‘I thought you weren’t allowed to use mobiles in hospitals?’
‘It’s in the hospital social club. Different building,’ Kieran explained. ‘Come on, Tess. It’ll be fun.’
The doorbell rang, and he saw the panic in Tess’s eyes. He sighed inwardly. ‘Look, if you really don’t want to come, I understand. But it’d be nice for us to go out and let our hair down. Just for a couple of hours. We don’t have to stay late.’
‘I won’t know anyone.’
‘You’ll know me.’ He wrinkled his nose at her. ‘Anyway, it’d be a waste of good lippy if you stay in now.’ Lipstick that he’d bought her on the way home from work, hoping it would tempt her into making an effort with her appearance.
‘I look a frump.’
She certainly didn’t dress as fashionably as she had before Charlie’s arrival, but no way could anyone call Tess Bailey a frump. He’d once teased his kid sister that she’d manage to look great in a bin bag. ‘Course you don’t. And you’re going to be on the arm of the best-looking man in the hospital.’
She pursed her lips. ‘I thought I was going with you.’
Kieran grinned. That was more like the old Tess—teasing and keeping her big brother in his place. ‘You are. Come on, let’s get Rosemary settled.’
Tess had an enormous list of things to check, but finally Kieran and Rosemary persuaded her out of the door. And when they got to the hospital social club and Tess froze, Kieran slid his arm round her shoulders. ‘You’re going to enjoy this,’ he said, hugging her. ‘And if you’re a very, very good girl, I might even let you buy me a pint.’
‘Oh, you,’ Tess said, but to his relief she let him usher her into the building. They handed over their tickets, Kieran bought them both a drink, and they found a quiet table at the side of the room.
The little room filled, then the hubbub stopped, the lights dimmed and the spotlight lit up the stage.
Kieran’s jaw dropped. Judith looked incredible. She was wearing a little black dress and high heels, her hair was loose, she was wearing just enough make-up for him to notice, and his body went straight into caveman mode. His mind followed. All he could think about was rushing onto the stage, yelling ‘Mine!’ and carrying her off somewhere very private.
And then she started to sing.
Her voice was amazing. Husky and soft. And he felt as if his bones were melting as he listened to her. She looked and sounded like an angel. And he wanted her. Badly.
It was different, tonight, Judith thought. Something was different. She couldn’t put her finger on it but…
And then she glanced round the room and saw him.
Out of his suit and white coat, Kieran Bailey was gorgeous. Dark trousers, what looked like a silk shirt—a mixture of purples and blues and greens. All he needed was the earring and a trace of stubble, slightly longer hair, a hat and boots, and he’d be the perfect pirate.
She almost stumbled over the words of the song, despite the fact that she knew it well. Kieran the pirate king. Carrying her off to have his wicked way with her on his ship. Her libido rose and she panicked inwardly. Please, no. She wasn’t going to let herself fall for him. She wasn’t going to get involved with someone who wasn’t free.
Then she saw the woman sitting quietly at the table with him. Holding onto his arm very tightly, as if to advertise to everyone that he was hers. Like Kieran, she had dark hair, but her skin was much fairer. She was pretty, though she looked slightly tired and washed-out. But, then, Kieran had smelled of baby sick. Clearly they had a young baby. And with Kieran working doctors’ hours, his wife would be doing most of the childcare, taking the brunt of the broken nights.
Hell, Judith thought. Hell and double hell. He was completely off limits. And she’d just have to stay out of his way until she grew out of this crush, or whatever it was.
The problem was, even knowing what she did, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Which made her the biggest bitch under the sun.
She caught Zoe’s gaze and flashed her a look to say, Help!
And Zoe, to her relief, pushed Brad onto the stage. At least singing a duet with her best friend’s husband helped to take her mind off Kieran. Though she was intensely aware of those dark, dark eyes. That beautiful mouth. And the fact that he was staring just as hard at her. That he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
How could he, when he was married—and, even worse, his wife was sitting right next to him? How could he?
Whoever the blond guy was, Kieran decided he didn’t like him. He definitely didn’t like the way the man was singing with Jude. At one point, the man actually put his arm round Jude’s shoulders. Way, way, way too familiar. Kieran had to dig his fingernails into his palms to stop himself snarling, ‘Take your hands off my woman.’
Because Jude wasn’t his woman.
Yet.
‘Are you all right?’ Tess asked.
Oh, hell. He was supposed to be giving Tess a good evening, not drooling over Jude. ‘Fine. Just a bit hungry.’ Maybe his blood sugar was a bit low. Maybe that was why he was feeling dizzy—it had nothing to do with being jealous of the blond guy. ‘Margot said there was a buffet. Shall we go and get something?’
Tess looked slightly nervous, but nodded.
‘Great. Come on.’
But food didn’t help. Even with his back to the stage, he was intensely aware of Judith. And he was sure that she was just as aware of him. She’d looked pole-axed when she’d met his eyes—just for a second, and then she’d gone back into professional singer mode and looked as if nothing had happened.
He was going to have to do something about this.
Like asking her out.
Tomorrow.
‘MORNING.’ Kieran
