obviously amused by her defensiveness. ‘It’s just going to take me a bit of time to get used to the idea.’
Oh, great. Then this was going to be every bit as bad as she’d feared when she’d first seen him stride into the lecture theatre.
She clutched her notepad harder and changed the subject. ‘So, how long have you been working here?’
‘In this department? Two years. I’ve been a consultant for a year.’
He was young for the post but, then, that was no surprise. He was every bit as bright as her siblings. In fact, she remembered Stephen sulking because Zach had beaten him in several exams.
‘Well…’ She broke off and cleared her throat. ‘I don’t suppose we’ll see that much of each other, will we? I mean, there are four consultants in the department.’
‘True.’ His eyes gleamed. ‘But we each work with three SHOs and you’re on my team. We’ll see plenty of each other, Keely.’
Her heart tumbled in her chest. How was she going to work with him every day without making a fool of herself? Just five minutes in his company had been enough to show her that the man still had a powerful effect on her. And what did he think of her? He’d admitted that he needed time to get used to the idea she was grown up. Did he think of her as the schoolgirl who’d proposed to him all those years ago?
She chewed her lower lip and decided she had to get things into the open.
‘Listen, Zach…’ She coloured furiously and glanced around quickly to check that no one was listening. ‘About what happened when I was sixteen…’
His face was impassive but she thought she detected a brief twinkle in his eyes.
‘I don’t remember anything happening when you were sixteen.’
He was turning a blind eye to the fact that she’d made a total fool of herself over him.
‘You’re very kind, but I want to apologise. I’ve wanted to for a long time.’ She pressed on, determined to have her say. She couldn’t work with him otherwise.
‘There’s really nothing to apologise for,’ he said quietly, and she flushed.
‘How can you say that when I—when I—’ She broke off, totally swamped with embarrassment, and his face was unbelievably gentle.
‘Had a crush on me? There’s nothing to apologise for, Keely. These things happen.’
‘Are you sure?’ She looked up at him anxiously. ‘You’re not cross? You don’t think it’s going to be a problem between us?’
One dark eyebrow lifted. ‘Why should it be? Unless you’re planning to develop another wild crush on me.’
She was beginning to think it was entirely possible but she managed a laugh that she hoped sounded convincing.
‘Goodness, no! I think I’m a bit beyond childish crushes now, Zach.’
And even if she wasn’t, there was no way he was going to find out about it this time!
His eyes locked with hers. ‘Good. Well, in that case we’re not going to have a problem, and we won’t mention it again.’ He held out his hand. ‘Welcome to A and E, Dr Thompson.’
With that he turned on his heel and left the room, leaving her staring after him. If he’d been handsome at twenty-four—and he certainly had been—then at thirty-two he was devastating.
Not that she was going to think about him in those terms, she told herself hastily. She had made a complete fool of herself over Zach all those years ago and once in a lifetime was more than enough for anyone. This time she was keeping a strict control over her hormones.
She was not going to fall in love with Zach Jordan again…
* * *
Zach walked out of the lecture theatre and made his way back to the A and E department, his thoughts full of Keely.
He still couldn’t believe it was her.
Last time he’d seen her she’d been little more than a child—and a very engaging child at that. He’d never been able to understand how her family had managed to produce a child like Keely. She was so totally different from the rest of them. Eleanor and Stephen were both like their parents—academic, emotionally reserved and totally driven.
But Keely…Zach gave a slight smile as he thought of how she’d been—Keely was warm, affectionate and slightly scatty. Unfortunately those qualities hadn’t been valued enough by her family and he remembered several occasions when Eleanor and Stephen had given their little sister a hard time.
He frowned as he pushed open his office door and put the slides from his lecture back in the cupboard. But somewhere along the line she’d obviously changed if her career plans were anything to go by. Funny really. He wouldn’t have thought she was the sort to be happy in a high-powered hospital career. But he was obviously wrong.
He flicked on his computer, checked his messages and then glanced out of the window towards the mountains. This late in January the fells were always topped with snow and the views from the hospital were breathtaking. He loved it here, but would Keely?
Zach frowned slightly as he remembered her breathless enthusiasm for her new job, her transparent embarrassment at seeing him again and her sweet concern that he’d still see her as a child.
Was she right?
Was that how he saw her?
To be honest, he wasn’t really sure. Certainly it was hard to imagine her as a doctor and, frankly, he was distinctly uncomfortable about exposing her to some of the horrors that they saw in A and E. But was that because he saw her as a child? He didn’t think so. It was more to do with her personality. Keely had a vulnerability about her that brought out all his protective instincts.
He could see immediately why Sean had found her attractive. It wasn’t just that she was pretty, although she was. Very pretty. But her appeal went much deeper than just her looks. She had the widest, most compelling smile he’d ever seen, an infectious laugh and a warmth that wrapped itself around you like a blanket from the moment you met her.
And privately he thought she was going to find A and E work emotionally draining. Keely felt things too deeply to be able to successfully shrug off some of the incidents that burst through their doors on a daily basis. Which meant that he needed to keep a close eye on her. A very close eye on her indeed.
* * *
By the end of the week Keely was at screaming pitch.
He was driving her mad. Whereas her colleagues were left to their own devices until they shouted for help, every time she turned round Zach was breathing down her neck. It was doing absolutely nothing for her confidence.
She could do the job—she knew she could. But not if her every move was being watched.
She was going to have to say something. The trouble was, when? Working in A and E was fast-paced to say the least. So far they’d had very little time for
