the medical staff. ‘I’ll go and see her in a minute before I start the ward rounds.’ Katrina switched on the kettle, then she slapped a hand to her forehead. ‘I almost forgot. The new consultant.’ He’d started the day after she’d gone on holiday, and she’d been off duty the day he’d come for his interview and a look round the ward, so she hadn’t yet met him. ‘What’s he like?’
Lynne nodded with obvious approval. ‘Gorgeous. And as soon as you hear that voice you just want it to start whispering sweet nothings to you.’
‘Except he’s unavailable because, like you, he was snapped up as a teenager?’ Katrina teased.
‘Nobody has a clue, but I’d say probably not. He’s excellent with the children, he’s polite and pleasant to the parents and the staff, but as for what makes him tick…’ Lynne shook her head ruefully. ‘Your guess is as good as mine. He’s refused every single invite to a team night out so far—politely, but very definitely.’
Katrina frowned. Most new consultants would accept every invitation going in the first couple of weeks, to help them get to know the team outside work and bond with them. ‘He’s not one of those who spend the bare minimum of time here and as much as possible in private practice, is he?’ she asked.
Lynne shook her head. ‘Far from it. He puts in the hours. He stays late—and if he does leave early, he’ll either ring in or come back to chase up some results.’
A workaholic, then, Katrina thought. Just as long as he didn’t expect everyone else to follow his lead—it wouldn’t be fair on colleagues who happened to have young families. ‘What’s he like to work with?’ she asked.
‘Quick, intuitive and—well, you’re about to find out for yourself. He’s just walked in.’ Lynne glanced towards the door. ‘Morning, Dr Morgan.’
‘Rhys,’ the doctor corrected with a smile.
And what a smile.
Lynne was right, Katrina thought. Rhys Morgan was absolutely gorgeous. Tall, with dark hair and fair skin and blue, blue eyes—pure Celtic colouring. And with a name like Rhys Morgan, she would’ve been very surprised had his voice not had that faint Welsh lilt.
That incredibly sexy Welsh lilt.
And an incredibly sensual mouth.
She pushed the thought away. Rhys Morgan was her new colleague, and she didn’t date colleagues. Not since Pete. She didn’t make the same mistake twice.
‘Good morning, Lynne,’ he said.
‘Rhys, this is Katrina Gregory, our senior house officer.’ Lynne introduced them swiftly. ‘Kat, this is Rhys Morgan, our new consultant.’
‘Hello, Rhys. Good to meet you,’ Katrina said, and stretched out her hand.
When he took it, she was surprised by the jolt of awareness that shot through her. One that was clearly mutual and just as surprising for him, judging by the way his eyes widened very slightly. But then he seemed to regain his control and gave her a polite smile, releasing her hand. ‘Hello, Katrina.’
‘The kettle’s about to boil and our rounds don’t start for another ten minutes. Coffee?’ Katrina asked.
‘Thanks. Black, no sugar, please.’
She spooned instant coffee into three mugs, adding sugar to Lynne’s and milk to her own before pouring on boiling water and handing the first mug to Rhys. ‘Help yourself to biscuits while you still get a chance. As soon as Lynne spreads the word, they’ll be gone.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘And if you’ll excuse me, I want to pop in and see Sadie before we start, to let her know I’m back.’
‘Sadie? The little girl with the clicky hip?’ he asked.
Katrina nodded. ‘Lynne tells me she’s been missing my stories.’
He looked slightly disapproving. ‘As a doctor, you need to keep a certain amount of distance. Don’t get too emotionally involved with your patients.’
‘I hardly think telling a story to a little girl who’s bed-bound is getting emotionally involved.’ And just who did Rhys Morgan think he was, telling her what to do? He may be the new consultant and, strictly speaking, her senior, but that didn’t mean he could tell her how to do her job. In her experience, taking a little extra time with their patients often did wonders—it helped them to settle, and she believed that anything that made the hospital a less scary experience for them was a good thing. ‘I enjoy my job, and I’m not going to apologise for taking five minutes of my own time to make a child’s day that little bit brighter. Excuse me,’ she said coolly. ‘I’ll be back in time for ward rounds.’
When Katrina walked into the cubicle, Sadie’s delighted smile took away that rattled feeling she’d had since meeting Rhys Morgan. ‘Doc-a-rina!’
‘Miss me, poppet?’ Katrina sat on the chair beside her, and ruffled her hair. ‘What a lovely welcome-back smile.’
‘Story?’ Sadie begged.
‘Later today. After you’ve had your lunch and I’m on my break,’ Katrina promised. ‘Hello, Jo,’ she said, turning to Sadie’s mother. ‘I’ll be doing the ward rounds in a few minutes, but I wanted to pop in and see you first. How’s it going?’
‘Dr Morgan says she’s doing really well. Hopefully we can go home at the end of the week—not that it’s horrible here,’ Jo hastened to add.
‘But there’s no place like home,’ Katrina finished, understanding just what Jo meant.
‘Good holiday?’ Jo asked.
‘Brilliant, thanks. I must be three inches shorter after all that walking, but it was worth it.’
Jo laughed. ‘If I’d known you wanted to be three inches shorter…’
‘Sorry. My cousin Maddie has first dibs on my spare height,’ Katrina teased back. ‘I’ll see you later. And my story for you today, Miss Sadie,’ she added, smiling at the little girl, ‘is all about a princess. Because when I was away I actually saw a magic cave—the one where a princess met the prince from under the sea.’
‘Mermaid,’ Sadie said happily.
‘Something like that,’ Katrina said. ‘See you soon.’
When Katrina joined Rhys for the ward rounds, she discovered that he was exactly as Lynne had described. Pleasant to the children, polite to their parents and patient enough to answer every single question and explain in more detail when it was needed. Professionally, she couldn’t fault him. And yet there was a reserve about him. Some kind of invisible wall. Like Lynne, Katrina couldn’t quite work out what made him tick.
She put it out of her mind so she could concentrate on her patients in the children’s assessment clinic for the rest of the morning, and then caught up with her cousin over lunch.
‘Welcome home, hon.’ Madison hugged her. ‘You look fabulous. Though I still think you were mad, going on a walking tour of the Amalfi coast.’
‘I saw a lot more than I would’ve done if I’d been stuck on a beach,’
