Stupid. She was nearly twenty minutes late now, and it would have a knock-on effect on the rest of the day. She didn’t have time to daydream, and particularly not about a man who probably practised his smile in the mirror!
‘Get a grip, Ellie,’ she told herself, took a gulp of her tea and pressed the button to call her first patient.
* * *
Predictably she finished her morning surgery late, checked some results and wrote two referral letters and then, just because why not, when she went upstairs to their temporary staff room to make herself a coffee and eat the lunch she’d hastily thrown together at crazy o’clock, Nick was in there alone.
Time to eat humble pie again...
He looked up from the paperwork scattered on the table in front of him, and his unbelievably blue, improbably beautiful eyes locked on hers with that clear, steady gaze that she was beginning to find unnerving.
‘OK?’
She laughed. Was she? Probably. ‘I’ll live. People don’t normally die of embarrassment. Have they abandoned you?’
‘They’re all busy. I’m fine. I’m reading through a pile of stuff they gave me and I was sort of hoping you’d come in so we could start again.’
‘No need, Nick, it’s fine, and I think I’ve probably said enough to last a lifetime. Can we just drop it? I’m not normally so inexcusably rude.’
‘I’m sure you’re not, but you were hassled and I was in your space. And you’d just trashed your car.’
She shrugged and headed for the kettle. ‘It’s hardly trashed, it barely shows, and I still shouldn’t have been so rude. You could have been anyone.’
Though how anyone else would have been worse than the new partner it was hard to imagine.
He got to his feet and headed over to where she was standing, moving with a lithe, easy grace—and a slight wince? ‘Let’s start again. I’m Nick.’
‘And I’m Ellie.’
She took the hand he was holding out to her, and as his fingers wrapped around her hand she felt warmth and reassurance and strength. And about a million volts. She dropped it like a hot potato, and he switched on the kettle and settled back against the worktop edge, legs crossed at the ankle, arms folded, sex appeal pouring off his perfectly honed body in waves.
Why did he have to be so darned sexy?
‘I’ll get you a drink, you eat your lunch,’ he said, that smile flickering again. ‘And while you do that, you can tell me why you were up at five twenty-seven.’
She rolled her eyes, handed him her empty mug and ripped the lid off her lunch box, retreating to the other side of the table for a bit of much-needed distance.
‘Coffee, please, white, no sugar. And since you asked, it was nothing unusual, I’m often up that early. I put the washing on, hung out the load which had done overnight, showered, dressed, hung out the second load, got the kids up, finally got them dressed after the usual arguments, we had breakfast, then Maisie had another strop because her best dress was on the line, Oscar lost a shoe and then had a meltdown and wouldn’t put his other shoes on, and Evie did a poo so I had to change her nappy, by which time Oscar had taken his shoes off again and hidden them, and Maisie was changing her dress for the third time. So, just another day at the office, really.’
He put the coffee down in front of her, his eyes wide and brimming with something that could have been sympathy if it hadn’t been for the laughter fighting its way to the top.
‘Ouch,’ he said softly, sitting down again and propping his elbows on the table as he held her eyes with that gorgeously blue and now sympathetic gaze. ‘That’s not a great way to start the day!’
She tried to smile but it was a wan effort and she abandoned it, making him frown. He leant slightly towards her, his eyes searching.
‘Are you OK, Ellie?’ he asked softly, and she shrugged.
‘Of course. I’m just tired. And it could have been worse,’ she said, forking up another mouthful of salad and trying not to think about the gorgeous eyes. ‘At least none them had thrown up in the night or had a temperature, but I pity the people at nursery. Oscar was still screaming by the time we got there because I’d put him in the car without his shoes on, and Maisie was mutinous and grumpy for England.’
‘And Evie? You did say Evie, didn’t you?’
She felt her face soften into an involuntary smile at the thought of her baby girl and put her fork down, the salad forgotten. ‘Yes, it’s Evie. She was her usual sweet, sunny little self, bless her heart.’
He grinned, his eyes crinkling and making him suddenly even more approachable. ‘Small mercies?’ he murmured, and she laughed.
‘Absolutely. I live for them, and I’m sure it won’t be long before she gets the terrible twos and it all falls apart. I’m enjoying it while it lasts.’
He sat back, his eyes still searching hers thoughtfully. ‘So, where’s your husband while all this is going on?’ he murmured.
The urge to smile evaporated, along with any trace of humour she’d been feeling, and she sat up straighter and dropped her eyes to her salad, prodding it around for something to do before she looked up again. ‘No husband,’ she said crisply. ‘I’m divorced.’
‘Ah. Join the club. I tell you what, let’s not go there, shall we? It’ll take all day and we’ve got much better things to discuss.’
It was his turn to look away, but not until she’d seen a subtle change in those fascinating eyes, a flicker of something like regret or disappointment or—grief? No matter. She was happy to let the subject drop and sip her coffee. Divorce was always a bit messy, and some were messier than others. Clearly not everything in life had gone his way...
‘So, how long have you been working here?’ he asked lightly, moving the subject on, and she was happy to pick it up and run with it.
‘Since after Maisie, so a little over three years? We had a flat in London, but David’s parents live in Yoxburgh and we’d bought a holiday home just round the corner from them, but he was away all the time working abroad so after we had Maisie we moved up here to our house and kept the flat on for when he was doing a fast turnaround, and I started work here when she was ten months old. And then two months in I realised I was pregnant with Oscar, which wasn’t planned, and then Evie came along.’
Although she wasn’t going into that, because David’s reaction had devastated her. It still hurt now, nearly two years later, and probably always would, but she was fine without him. Better, really, no matter how tough it might be sometimes.
‘So, how old are they now?’ Nick asked softly.
‘Maisie’s just four, Oscar’s two and a half, and Evie’s nearly fifteen months.’
His eyes widened. ‘That’s...’
‘Three in thirty-four months. I know. It’s ridiculous.’
He let out a long, slow breath. ‘I don’t know about ridiculous, but that’s pretty hardcore, for a single parent. For any parent, come to that, especially if you’re working. It must be a nightmare.’
She shook her head. ‘They’re a joy, really, when I have time to draw breath and think about it. Today was just one of those days, but I wouldn’t change it for the world, tantrums and all.’
‘No, of course not. I’m sure you love them all dearly.’
‘I do.’ She eyed him steadily, wondering if she’d heard something odd in his voice. ‘So, your turn. Why here?’
He shrugged. ‘Why not? I wanted a total change, I don’t have any ties, and it’s the sort of job I’ve always wanted. I was ready for it, it was there—it seemed sort of meant.’
‘What about your kids?’ she asked, blatantly fishing, but he just shook his head, his eyes steady but expressionless now.
‘No kids. If we’d had kids, I’d still be there. Children are a lifetime commitment. You don’t walk away. It’s not negotiable.’
She gave a little snort. ‘Tell it to the f
airies. My ex walked out when I was eight weeks pregnant with Evie.’
He blinked, his eyes startled. ‘Seriously? He left when you were pregnant? Did he know?’
He sounded appalled, and she couldn’t help the bitter little laugh. Oh, yes, he’d known. It was why he’d gone.
‘I thought we weren’t going into this?’ she said, trying to keep it light and move on, but he didn’t let it drop.
‘Does he see them?’
‘Oh, yes. He comes up every fortnight and stays with his parents, who think it’s dreadful that he walked out on his marriage, and they’re not thrilled with me, either, because I won’t have him back, but they’re sticking by us because they want a decent relationship with their grandchildren, and the kids adore them. His loss.’
‘And the children’s. Idiot.’ He held up a hand. ‘Sorry, not my place.’
‘Oh, no, feel free. Nobody’s going to argue with you except him, and he’s not here, thank goodness.’ She gave him a wry smile. ‘Just as well, or he’d be ranting at me for scraping my car on the wall this morning.’
He pulled a face, his mouth tipping ruefully up at one side. ‘Sorry—again. I ought to pay for it to be fixed.’
‘Why? You weren’t driving it.’
‘No, but it was my fault and I didn’t exactly make your morning any better, did I? And I really am sorry about that. You obviously have enough on your plate.’
She answered his smile, wondering why that little tilt of his lips was having such a weird effect on her. Crazy—
‘Yes, well, I think we need to forget all about it, and I think I need to do something a bit proactive or my afternoon’s going to go down the tubes as well. I’m duty doctor this afternoon so I’ve got all sorts of patients slotted in. I need to go.’
She got to her feet, hesitated a second and then leant across the table, holding out her hand, telling herself it wasn’t to find out if she felt that electric tingle again. ‘Friends?’ she asked, and he smiled and took her hand.
Yup, still there, fizzing all the way through her body.
‘Friends,’ he murmured, and she smiled and dropped his hand and straightened up, resisting the urge to rub her tingling palm on her trousers.
‘Good. I’ll see you on Monday, then,’ she said, as the door opened and Lucy Gallagher came in.
‘You’ll see him tonight at ours for dinner, I hope?’ Lucy said, and she turned to her friend and colleague, her jaw dropping.
‘Dinner?’ she said blankly.
‘Yes—Nick’s welcome dinner?’
Oh, no. ‘Isn’t it next Friday?’
‘No, it’s tonight, at seven. Ah...’ Lucy tilted her head to one side. ‘No babysitter?’
She closed her eyes and counted to ten. Could Liz help out? Maybe. Another favour—oh, lord.
‘No. I didn’t need one, but David changed his weekend, and I didn’t join the dots. Idiot me. I’m so, so sorry, Lucy. I’ll ask my mother-in-law, and I’ll let you know. I’ll come if I possibly can, but it might just be for a short while.’
Lucy smiled and shook her head. ‘Don’t worry, I quite understand. Give her a ring, do what you can.’
‘I will. I need to go; I’ve got a stack of patients. I’m sorry.’
She threw a vague smile in their direction, scooped up her coffee and headed for her room, her salad forgotten, but her hand was still tingling from his touch, scrambling her brain even further.
* * *
Liz said yes, bless her heart, and even volunteered to pick the children up from nursery for a sleepover, so after her surgery was finished she drove home, packed their things and dropped them round, then went back, threw the breakfast things in the dishwasher, brought in the washing off the line and then went to change. But into what?
She studied the contents of her wardrobe blankly, but nothing was right. Ridiculous. She was going for an informal supper with the rest of the doctors and their partners and the practice manager and her husband, just to welcome Nick. It didn’t matter what she wore. Anything would do.
Except it wouldn’t, somehow, because she’d already made a disastrous impression, and she wanted a chance to remedy that. If it wasn’t already way too late...
So, the blue dress? No, too dressy. Pink? No. Too casual. Black? Too formal. OK, not a dress, then. Trousers and a top and pretty pumps?
Better—but which top?
She tried all of them, in the end, and went for the one that hung well, disguised her flabby bits and made her feel good about herself. That alone was quite an ask, but hey. Not that it mattered, she reminded herself crossly. The only thing that really mattered was getting there on time, because if she knew Lucy’s husband, he would have been in the kitchen all day cooking up a storm, and the last thing she needed was to upset anyone else!
She touched up the makeup she’d hurled on hastily at six thirty this morning, slipped on her shoes and coat, grabbed the bottle of wine she’d bought for them and walked out without checking herself in the mirror again because it just didn’t matter.
The Gallaghers only lived round the corner, and the drive would be full, so she walked, timing it so she’d be there just after seven so that hopefully some of the others would have arrived and she could melt into the background without having to talk to him. Not that she wanted to be rude to Nick, she’d done enough of that today to last a lifetime, but she didn’t want to look over-keen either.
And heaven knows why she was letting it worry her! He was a work colleague, nothing more, and never would be. She’d be polite, friendly enough, and stop thinking about his cute behind and that lazy, oh-so-sexy smile. Surely she could manage that?
She arrived at five past seven, just as Dev and Reeta got there. Perfect.
Brian’s car was there, and she could hear the others talking as Dev opened the door, but there was no sign of Nick’s car on the drive. Had he walked? Or was he late? No. He didn’t seem like the type to be late—or totally forget that he’d been invited for dinner.
Thank God for her mother-in-law. She would have been sunk without Liz in so many ways. The woman was a saint.
She plastered on a smile and followed Dev and Reeta in.
* * *
He was sitting in between Julia Wade, the practice manager, and Sarah Baines, another part-time doctor whose husband was at home with their children, and on the other side of Julia was Brian Rowlings, the practice principal. He’d met him and Julia before at his interviews, and also Dev Patel, the only other full-time doctor apart from him and Brian.
Dev was seated on the other side of the table, his wife Reeta, another part-time doctor, on one side and Ellie on his other, with Julia’s husband next to Ellie on her other side, which put her right opposite him and gave him a perfect opportunity to study her. It was threatening to become a habit...
He dragged his eyes off her and looked up at their hosts. Lucy Gallagher, the most senior doctor after Brian, and her husband Andy, who he gathered was a part-time ED consultant at Yoxburgh Park Hospital, were busy piling food on dishes and setting them down along the length of the table, watched longingly by their black Labrador, Stanley.
‘Just dig in, folks,’ Andy said, so they did, passing things around, spoons waving in the air and not a trace of inhibition. It felt like a noisy, cheerful family Sunday lunch, he thought, not a formal introduction to the practice, and he liked it. He liked all of them, but he wanted to know more about them, most particularly Ellie.
He didn’t get a chance to talk to her, though, because not surprisingly everyone wanted to ask him questions or tell him interesting and useful things about the practice, and he had to force himself to pay attention, but he was still aware of every breath she took.
After the main course they swapped places, and he ended up next to Ellie, which would have been fine if it hadn’t been for the unmistakeable current of something seriously t
empting that ran between them.
She wanted trifle but she couldn’t reach it, so he stood up and leant across her, feeling the brush of her arm against his thigh as he picked it up, and he nearly dropped the dish.
‘Here,’ he said, sitting down again and holding it for her, then passing it across to Brian when she was done. And then Brian started to tell him things about the practice, things he probably needed to know, and at any other time would have been interested in, so he still didn’t get to talk to her. Didn’t mean he wasn’t still utterly aware of her, of her scent, the sound of her laugh, the hitch in her breath and slight shift of her leg away from his as his thigh accidentally brushed hers—
‘Coffee, anybody?’ Lucy asked when they’d all ground to a halt, and Ellie shook her head.
‘No, it’s been lovely, Lucy, but I need to make a move. Sorry. I had a very early start and I’m running out of steam.’
‘Yes, me, too,’ he said, getting to his feet with a rueful smile. ‘It’s been great to meet you all, and I’m looking forward to working with you and getting to know you all much better, but I’ve got a lot to do over the weekend before I start on Monday. My house is in chaos and I need to be able to find my clothes, at the very least.’
‘Give us a shout if you need a hand,’ Andy offered, which produced a chorus of other offers, and he nodded and thanked them all, thanked Lucy and Andy for the meal and ended up on the drive at the same time as Ellie.
‘Did you walk or are you driving?’ he asked her.
‘I walked—why?’
‘So did I. I’ll walk you home.’
‘You don’t need to do that—’
‘Yes, I do. I don’t want you on my conscience.’
She laughed at that. ‘Nick, this is Yoxburgh! Nothing’s going to happen to me.’
‘Nevertheless,’ he said with a smile, with no intention of backing down. ‘And anyway, I want to talk to you. I have questions.’
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