Ultimate Heroes Collection

by Various Authors

  Lazily leaning against Annie’s locker!

  ‘Excuse me,’ she mumbled to him when Jackie paused for breath.

  ‘Have you any idea how hard it is to arrange a wedding and work up to the last minute? All I asked is that you get here at eight sharp this once.’ He wasn’t leaning against the lockers now—in fact, he was heading for the door, turning his back on the consultant. Enraged, she called him back.

  ‘I haven’t finished yet, Dr Kolovsky.’

  ‘I’ve heard enough,’ he called over his shoulder as he opened the door, and Jackie literally froze on the spot. Iosef was possibly the first person to ever really stand up to her when she was in one of her moods, but Iosef hadn’t actually finished yet. Before walking out, he turned and looked at her. ‘In fact, to be totally honest, I think everyone’s heard enough about your wedding! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got patients to attend to.’

  The silence that followed the slam of the door was excruciating. Jackie’s cheeks flushed with rage and embarrassment and Annie wished a trapdoor would magically open beneath her, especially when anxious eyes met hers.

  ‘Is that true?’ Jackie’s voice was wobbly, the efficient controlled consultant gone as she ran a shaking hand through her newly highlighted hair. ‘I mean, I might have gone on a bit …’ Her voice trailed off, her eyes darting as no doubt she relived the past few weeks through her colleagues’ and family’s eyes. ‘Did he mean that?’

  ‘He’s just upset,’ Annie attempted. ‘A woman collapsed at the gym this morning.’

  ‘At the gym.’ Jackie frowned.

  ‘In the shower next to me. Iosef was there, swimming. He must have heard the commotion and stepped into help. She was wedged behind a door—it took for ever to get her out.’

  ‘That’s why he was late?’

  Annie nodded. ‘Mind you, given the circumstances, I guess stopping at the canteen for a dose of bacon and coffee was pushing it a bit.’

  ‘He’s supposed to be on a day off,’ Jackie said through pale lips. ‘He’s covering for me—I’ve got back-to-back clinics this morning as well as covering Emergency. Hell, I’d have stopped for something to eat—he’s not going to get a chance all day. I’ve been a real pain, haven’t I?’

  ‘You’ve been like any excited bride,’ Annie attempted, ‘just a bit …’

  ‘I’ve been awful,’ Jackie moaned. ‘You know, when Jeremy asked me, I wanted something quick and easy. I mean, I’m forty-two—who the hell wants a big white wedding at forty-two?’

  ‘You do.’ Annie smiled softly, taking her friend’s hand and welcoming her back, even teasing her as she would have in another life—one before the engagement. ‘You want the church and the flowers and the bridesmaids all colour co-ordinated and all the trimmings that go with it. And that’s fine, Jackie. You’ve waited a long time and you want your day to be perfect.’

  ‘I’m just so worried that something will go wrong if I don’t stay on top of everything.’

  ‘Nothing’s going to go wrong,’ Annie assured her. ‘It’s going to be wonderful. Now, you’d better get going. I’ll see you tonight at the rehearsal.’

  There was a whole day to get through before then, though, and her leg was really starting to hurt. Heading over to the nurses’ station, Annie offered her apologies to Cheryl but she waved them away.

  ‘Iosef told us what happened. You’re to register and pop into cubicle two.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘He said you gashed your leg.’

  ‘It’s just a cut, there’s no need—’

  ‘I wouldn’t argue with Iosef if I were you,’ Cheryl sighed. ‘He’s like a thundercloud this morning. He’s only been here ten minutes and he’s upsetting everyone. If I were you, I’d just go and register.’

  Sitting on the chair in cubicle two, Annie dabbed at the cut with some antiseptic, dreading him coming in and pathetically grateful that, thanks to Jackie’s unwavering schedule, she’d had her legs waxed yesterday. Not that he’d care. As he swept in to the cubicle he barely even looked at her as he instructed her to climb up on the trolley.

  ‘I don’t need to lie on the trolley.’

  ‘I would rather you did.’ He stood his ground. ‘Because I’d rather not bend.’

  God, he was loathsome. Annie prickled as she climbed up onto the trolley and sat up with her legs outstretched. But even if he was an arrogant brute of a man, he was, she reluctantly if gratefully conceded, a very gentle doctor, gloved fingers gently probing the swollen bruise, then pouring antiseptic fluid over the wound to clean it rather than probing it.

  ‘You need a couple of stitches.’

  ‘I don’t!’

  ‘When was your last tetanus injection?’ he asked, completely ignoring her response.

  ‘I can’t remember.’ Annie frowned. ‘When I was training—eight, nine years ago, I guess.’ She gave a rather pathetic shrug. She must give out fifty tetanus injections a day, and yet here she was not up to date.

  ‘So you need a tetanus shot as well as stitches. I will put you on some antibiotics, too.’

  ‘It’s a small cut.’

  ‘It’s deep; it was sustained on the top of a damp shower cubicle. Tell me, when do you think the last time was that the cleaners went up on a ladder to disinfect the top of the partitions? Of course, we could leave it, wait and see.’ He was scribbling on the pad as he wrote his orders. ‘Maybe on Saturday you’ll come back when it’s swollen and infected and we can start you on them then. Oh, but you have a wedding to go to on Saturday, don’t you?’

  She didn’t want stitches. Really, after the morning she’d had, all Annie wanted was to be left alone. But as he disappeared, returning moments later with a stainless-steel trolley laden with suture material and packs, all she could do was lie back and get it over with.

  ‘Poor thing …’ Cheryl tutted as she came in and headed to the sink to wash her hands before assisting. ‘Let’s hope it’s OK for Saturday—we can’t have you hobbling up the aisle behind Jackie.’

  ‘There’s no need for you to assist.’ Iosef’s tone was supremely polite but completely non-negotiable. ‘I’m fine by myself.’

  ‘Of course you are.’ Cheryl gave a tight smile. ‘But I’ll just stay and keep Annie company for moral support.’

  ‘I can manage that, too!’ Iosef responded without looking up, draping Annie’s leg and pulling on surgical gloves. ‘Actually, could you bring me a sick certificate so I can sign her off for the rest of the day?’

  Annie didn’t even argue, rather grateful, in fact, for his display of brusqueness, because till now it had seemed solely reserved for her. But her mind was too fuddled to work that one out, though she was kind of relieved not to have a colleague holding her hand and murmuring the ‘right’ thing while Iosef stitched her up. Nobody needed to witness her grimacing over a few measly stitches when they witnessed so much worse every day. But, damn, it hurt.

  ‘That’s the worst over.’ His voice was low and soothing as he gave her a local injection. ‘I’m gloved so I can’t give you a tissue—there are some beside you.’

  ‘I’m not crying.’

  ‘Well, you can.’

  She didn’t say anything, didn’t open her eyes and reach over, scared she would cry now he was being nice to her. Really nice to her. She heard him peel off his gloves, pull a couple of tissues from the box, which he pressed into her hand, before resanitising and opening up another pair of gloves.

  ‘Sorry!’ Annie sniffed, still refusing to cry but horribly, horribly close to it. ‘It actually doesn’t hurt that much.’

  ‘Can you feel that?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The needle I am sticking into your wound.’ He caught her eyes as she started a touch, smiled at her for the very first time and waited till she managed a small watery smile back.

  ‘It hasn’t exactly been the best morning for you,’ Iosef said.

  ‘For you either,’ Annie sniffed, ‘but you’re not close to tears.’

/>   ‘Yes, but I’m an insensitive bastard—remember?’

  He made her giggle—actually made her giggle—as he clipped the needle onto the suture holder. Maybe he was just being a doctor now, putting her at ease as he did all his patients. Which was as nice as it was confusing—making her like him when really she shouldn’t.

  ‘OK.’ He turned his attention back to her leg. ‘I’ll get started.’

  It shouldn’t take long, all that was needed was a good clean-up and a couple of stitches, but he clearly planned to take his time, pulling a stool over with his foot and making himself comfortable before he started. And even though the silence was sort of comfortable, Annie still felt as if she ought to fill it with the sort of nervous chatter that always came when it wasn’t needed.

  ‘What was wrong with Mickey?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Mickey Baker, the patient you admitted to Obs on Monday.’

  ‘The head injury?’

  ‘That’s the one—there was something else going on.’ ‘I can’t remember.’

  ‘Yes, you can.’ She saw the edge of his mouth briefly twist in a smile.

  ‘Check his notes.’ Iosef shrugged. ‘I really can’t—’ ‘I tried to check his notes, only they’re still signed out to you.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘So—where did you work?’ Annie moved on, staring up at the rather dirty ceiling as she spoke, horrified at the view the patients had of the emergency Room. ‘Before you came here.’

  ‘Russia.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Moscow.’

  ‘For how long?’

  ‘Five years.’

  ‘Nice?’

  There was an incredibly long pause, long enough for Annie to stop looking at the ceiling and drag her eyes to him.

  ‘Not really.’

  ‘But you stayed for five years.’

  ‘And I should probably have stayed for a good few more.’ He continued with the task in hand as he spoke, and though she couldn’t see or feel anything she knew what he was doing, heard the snip of the scissors as he cut the thread of her stitches, saw him shift slightly and then the trickle of antiseptic on the bit of her leg that wasn’t numb. ‘There—you need these out in five days, perhaps a week. You can go to your own GP for that or have one of the nurses here—’

  ‘Sure!’ Annie sat up just a touch too quickly, tiny stars dancing in front of her eyes. And then there was the pressure of his hand pushing her back down.

  ‘Rest here for a while. Have you had breakfast?’

  ‘There wasn’t exactly time!’

  ‘You should make time,’ he answered in a matter-of-fact voice. ‘You need a drink and something to eat before you drive home.’

  ‘I really could work. After this shift I’m off till Monday.’

  ‘Good!’ he said, snapping off his gloves. ‘I’ll see you on Monday. Or perhaps on Saturday if.’ She felt her heart stop as he turned around, a massive blush spreading on her face as for a second, for a teensy-weensy momentary flight of fancy, she dared to dream he was about to ask her out. ‘Jackie still wants me at the reception after this morning.’

  ‘Finished?’ Cheryl popped her head around the curtain and gave Annie a big smile. ‘You’ve got a visitor, Iosef. She says it’s personal.’

  ‘Candy?’ he asked, and Cheryl nodded.

  ‘Thanks. See that Annie has a drink and something to eat before she drives home. Perhaps we can arrange a taxi.’

  ‘I’m fine to drive,’ Annie insisted. Still, she did make her way to the canteen and, no matter the calories and a dress that didn’t fit, rummaged for change in her pocket. She did the sensible thing and ordered a large mug of hot chocolate and a round of toast and enjoyed the peace for a few minutes, waiting for the queasy feeling in her stomach to subside before slowly heading out to her car.

  Though where she thought she was going without her bag and car keys was anyone’s guess.

  Maybe she should get a taxi, Annie mused, limping back through the car park to the department to retrieve her bag from her locker.

  Pale but a little more together, she slipped into the staffroom, deciding to leave through the obs ward than go through the rigmarole of saying goodbye. She almost instantly wished that she hadn’t as she walked into the staffroom to find Iosef slouching against her locker, braving his second confrontation in less than an hour.

  She was seriously beautiful.

  It was the first thought that entered Annie’s head as she swung in and saw Iosef up to his neck in long limbs and fabulous red hair, the ravishing woman crying in his arms so reed thin, so exquisitely dressed that Annie had never felt more drab or fat as, blushing, she stumbled out an apology for disturbing them. Not that Iosef said anything to her—and the ravishing Candy gave her barely more than an irritated glance as she turned her attention back to a more deserving cause.

  ‘Please, don’t do this, Iosef,’ she sobbed. ‘It’s been so long. Tonight, please …’

  ‘I’m working tonight and late every night this week.’

  ‘The weekend, then.’ Candy begged as Iosef pulled her aside slightly, just enough to allow Annie access to her locker.

  ‘I have plans this weekend. Candy, I would really rather you stop coming here and disturbing my work.’

  Bastard.

  ‘So tell me when, then,’ Candy sobbed as Annie’s burning face dived into her locker.

  ‘I’ll try to ring you tomorrow.’

  ‘Promise.’

  ‘I just said that I would try—I’m not going to promise you anything.’

  An honest bastard, though, Annie allowed. As Candy flounced off she realised they were alone—realised that had she shot out of the door just a couple of seconds earlier she wouldn’t have had to face him till Monday when the embarrassment she was feeling now would be far less acute. She wouldn’t be standing here now, shuffling her feet and wondering whether she should say anything—acknowledge what she’d just overheard or just mumble goodbye and thank him for the stitches!

  ‘It’s really not turning out to be your day, is it?’ She settled for somewhere in between, and watched, quietly pleased as his crabby, angry face broke into a dry smile.

  ‘Given the run that I am having—you’ll probably slap my face for saying it—but every woman I’ve come in contact with today is either premenstrual or I really need to lift my game.’

  She didn’t want him to make her laugh, didn’t want him to be able to do that to her again, but he did.

  Oh, he did.

  ‘I think we’d have both have been better off if we’d just decided to spend the day in bed.’ She knew what she had been trying to say and he knew what she had been trying to say, but somehow her perfectly innocent statement took on a double meaning as soon as it was delivered. She saw the light in his eyes, his eyes scorching hers as she rued every thoughtless word, as suddenly they were staring at each other and thinking only about one thing.

  And she missed him being horrible to her.

  Missed it because when he wasn’t being nice or sexy or funny—as impossible as he was to deal with—that Iosef was a whole lot easier to deal with than this one.

  ‘I’d better go …’ She attempted a smile and a casual wave and tried to walk rather than run for the door, biting on her bottom lip as for just a fraction of a second he stalled her at the door with his answer. ‘You’d better!’

  The combination of the diet, the pain and the anaesthetic must have fuddled her brain, Annie decided later as she arrived at the church where Jackie was barking orders like a sergeant major. As if someone as divine, gorgeous andutterly dismissive as DrGorgeous had really been flirting that morning. It had been a miscommunication—just a funny little thing that if it had been anyone else, had it been, say George, they’d both just have laughed.

  As if Iosef Kolovsky, who had the pick of the worlds truly beautiful people would even be remotely interested in a rather plain, rather neurotic nurse.

  As if someone as well heeled
, well groomed and utterly fabulous as Iosef wouldn’t have a ravishing beauty on his arm.

  That was what the Kolovskys were famous for after all—it was in their blood.

  His elder brother Levander had had more women than the tabloids could keep up with till his recent marriage, and it was an open secret that Ivan had had a string of extramarital affairs. Why wouldn’t Iosef have the requisite super-model on ice, frantically waiting for the master to call.?

  And why did it matter so much to her?

  ‘Over here, Annie.’ Jackie was jangling with nerves as she shifted her two millimetres to the right. ‘I want you in front of Claudia and Bella the flower girl. Oh, where the hell’s Iosef?’

  ‘Iosef?’ Annie couldn’t help but ask.

  ‘I left my wedding folder in my office—Iosef said he’d drop it round once Marshall arrived. And Jeremy’s best man is stuck doing an emergency appendectomy. The whole rehearsal is turning into a disaster. We really can’t start till he gets here, so I’ll just run through a couple of details, if that’s OK.’

  Annie really wished she wouldn’t or at the very least that they could sit down for it. She already knew that they were to exfoliate tonight for their spray tan at ten tomorrow, that they weren’t to wash their hair again after tonight so that it stayed up beautifully on Saturday. Her leg was starting to throb again and apart from that glass of hot chocolate and toast and thanks to a rather extended midday nap, she hadn’t had another calorie all day.

  ‘Your dress fits OK?’ Jackie’s headlamps were thankfully on Claudia.

  ‘It’s fabulous.’ The tiny Claudia beamed.

  ‘Annie?’

  ‘It looks marvellous!’ Annie assured her, crossing her fingers and praying that it would. But Jackie wasn’t listening, that morning’s exchange clearly forgiven and forgotten as she greeted her saviour.

  ‘Iosef! Thank goodness!’