interrupted, ‘we’re going to be caught making out in the IV cupboard.’ She gave him a grin. ‘And I have no intention of going there again.’
Except she was lying.
She was looking at his mouth as she said it.
And he was looking at hers.
Had Greg not come in, that was exactly what would have happened and they both knew it.
Yes, the air needed clearing.
‘WHY IS HE waiting for the medics?’
Despite not having to start till eight, Penny was in at a quarter to seven, standing and staring at the admission board and determined to make the most of a rare opportunity to clear the board and start her working day with not a single patient.
‘He’s brewing something.’ Jed shrugged.
‘We’re not a holding pen,’ Penny said. ‘I’ll get the nurses to order him transport home.’
‘Let him have his breakfast at least.’
‘Of course he can have his breakfast—by the time transport gets here he’ll probably have had lunch as well.’ She glanced briefly at a weary Jed. ‘You look awful.’
‘It’s easier when it’s busy,’ Jed yawned.
‘Go home,’ she said.
‘I might just do that.’ And then he looked at Penny, who was rather determinedly not turning round to face him, just staring fixedly at the board. ‘Speaking of looking awful …’ he waited till she reluctantly turned to face him and he saw her red swollen eye ‘… what happened?’
‘I walked into a branch.’
‘Ouch.’ Jasmine walked over just as he was taking a look.
‘Ooh.’ She winced when she saw Penny’s red eye. ‘Penny, what happened?’ And then she remembered she wasn’t supposed to be her sister.
‘My neighbour’s tree overhangs,’ she said darkly. ‘Though it won’t by the time I get home—I’ve left them a note, telling them what’s happened and that they’d better cut it.’
Jasmine could just imagine she had, and what was in it. And she could picture the branch, too, and Penny’s gorgeous old neighbours who would be so upset.
Trust Penny to handle things so sensitively!
Of course she said nothing.
‘I’ll have a look,’ Jed said, and went to buzz Reception to get Penny an admission card.
‘I don’t need to be registered,’ Penny snapped. ‘It’s just a scratch.’
‘A nasty scratch on your cornea,’ Jed confirmed a few minutes later. Penny was sitting at the nurses’ station and Jed had put some fluorescein drops into her eye. It made her eye bright yellow but any scratches showed up green. ‘You need antibiotic drops and to keep it covered. When was your last tetanus booster?’
‘I can’t remember,’ Penny said. ‘I’m sure I’m up to date.’
‘Penny?’ Jed checked, as Jasmine walked in.
‘Ken Jones just spiked a temp—his temp’s thirty-eight point nine.’
‘I’ll do cultures.’ Jed grinned, and Penny rolled her tongue in her cheek because now the old boy would have to be admitted.
‘I’ll do them,’ she sighed.
‘Not yet,’ Jed yawned. ‘I’ll just give you your tetanus shot.’
‘I’ll go to my GP.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Jed said, already opening a trolley and pulling out a syringe.
It was then that Jasmine had to say something.
‘I’ll do that.’ Jasmine smiled. ‘You can do the cultures.’
‘I’ll do the cultures,’ Penny said. ‘You go home, Jed, and think about shaving.’
Jasmine said nothing, not a single word as they headed into a cubicle and Penny unbuttoned her blouse. She just handed her a wad of tissues as Penny started crying.
Penny was, as Jasmine knew only too well, petrified of needles.
Not a little bit scared, completely petrified of them, though she didn’t blink when sticking them in others.
‘If you breathe a word of this …’
She was shaking on the seat as Jasmine swabbed her arm.
‘No, wait!’ Penny said.
‘For what?’ Jasmine said, sticking the needle in. ‘Done.’ She smiled at her. ‘You big baby.’
‘I know, I know.’ Penny shuddered. ‘Just give me a minute, would you? Go and set up for those blood cultures.’ She had snapped straight back to being Penny, except this time Jasmine was smiling.
Jed didn’t think about shaving.
He had a shower and tried not to think about Jasmine.
And then he pulled on some running clothes and ran the length of the beach and told himself to just concentrate on work.
Only this time it didn’t work.
And he saw where she lived and her car pull up in her carport and he saw Jasmine minus an armful of Simon but holding a bottle of champagne, which confused him, and he tried to continue to run.
What on earth was he going to say to her if he knocked at her door?
At least nothing would happen, he consoled himself, as ten minutes later he found himself doing just that, because given he wasn’t exactly fresh out of the shower, there would be no repeats of yesterday.
Except she was fresh out of the shower when she opened the door and he prided himself on the fact that he did not look down, that he somehow held her eyes, even though her dressing gown did little to hide her womanly shape.
‘Bad timing?’
‘A bit.’
‘Well, I won’t keep you from your champagne.’ He didn’t want to make her laugh, except he did so, only he wasn’t here for that.
‘It’s in the fridge.’
‘Good.’
‘A present.’
‘That’s nice.’
