Photo Opportunity

by Jess Dee

  Wherever she went she saw him. She mistook complete strangers for her best friend. As soon as she blinked and her vision cleared, she realized she was being foolish. But it was how she lived at the moment. In a state of perpetual arousal, her body a voracious pit of desire.

  She didn’t want their relationship to change. Didn’t want the added complication of sex. All she wanted was the same old friendship they always had. Period.

  Amy closed the door to Mary’s room and left the maternity ward. She yawned. The situation between her and Daniel was all messed up. She was losing sleep over the man. What she really needed right now was a good dose of caffeine. It was only noon and she still had the rest of the day to get through.

  As she walked into the hospital coffee shop, she cursed herself for tumbling into another one of her daydreams. Sitting at a table, innocently drinking a coke, was none other than the cause of all her grief.

  However, no matter how many times she blinked, Daniel’s features did not change. It took her a good couple of seconds to realize she was staring at the real thing and not some conjured vision of him.

  “Danny?”

  He looked up and his eyes flashed with surprise a heartbeat before a very wicked smile spread across his face. “Hey, babe.”

  Uh oh. She’d seen that smile before. Alarm bells shrieked in her head as he stood, his eyes gleaming with intent.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Visiting.” His voice was low and seductive. The bells rang louder. “Come here. Let me say a proper hello.” Right there in the middle of the hospital canteen, he took her hand, pulled her close and kissed her.

  What the hell was he doing? Had he completely lost his mind? Oh God, did it even matter? Amy simply melted, her body liquefying right there. Chaste as his kiss was, his lips were warm and sexy and held a hint of a million forbidden fantasies. In the space of a couple of seconds, she identified every single one of them.

  Daniel pulled away and it was over. She was weak at the knees and craved more.

  Holy crap. What was it about Daniel and kissing her in public? He was developing a bit of a thing for it. Never mind public places, what was he doing kissing her, period? She agreed to think about him differently, not act differently towards him.

  Her temper started to simmer. Of all the inappropriate places for him to try his luck. For God’s sake, they were in a hospital. “Just what the hell—?”

  He cut her off with his mouth, kissing her again until the last drop of anger drained from her body and she clutched him helplessly. His taste lingered on her tongue when he withdrew his head and Amy realized it had become familiar. Too familiar. Friends shouldn’t recognize each other’s flavor. Then again, his mouth wasn’t the only taste she was familiar with, was it?

  Bottom line, she had sampled several parts of Daniel and each one was better than the last. She’d never forget the tang of his desire for her, not when she’d relished every last drop. She licked her lips as the salty memory of Daniel’s come filled her mouth, replacing the sweetness of the Coke he’d been drinking.

  A soft, strangled groan came from Daniel. “Christ, babe.” His voice was hoarse. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

  She poked her finger at his chest. “You kissed me.”

  “Yeah, but that look in your eyes. You’re just begging to be—”

  “Daniel?”

  A voice from the table where Daniel sat broke into their conversation. They both turned to stare.

  Leona Ramsey looked a little pissed off. “Hello? I thought you were having coffee with me?”

  So that explained Daniel’s irrational behavior. Amy could almost hear the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place. Leona was Daniel’s married admirer. He was continuing their charade from the beach. No wonder he kissed her.

  “Sorry ’bout that.” Daniel smiled. He didn’t appear the least bit apologetic. “Here, let me introduce the two of you.” He held Amy’s hand and said, “Amy, this is Leona Ramsey, a pediatrician from POWS. Leona, this is Amy Morgan, my…friend.”

  Amy struggled to regain her composure.

  It wasn’t easy. First of all, she was hot and bothered. Second, Daniel was hard and bothered. Third, Leona Ramsey was having a drink with Daniel, and that was just plain bothersome. Amy hadn’t even noticed her sitting there. Not surprising considering she’d developed tunnel vision around Daniel. He was the only thing she ever saw nowadays. Real or imagined.

  Daniel squeezed her hand, and she belatedly realized she eyed the doctor with distaste. She pasted a smile on her face. “Forgive me, I never saw you there. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Leona stared daggers at her. “Yes, I’m sure.”

  Silent tension simmered between the two women. “Leona was just telling me about the ward,” Daniel said. “All the renovations are finished and it looks pretty good. I’m on my way up there.” He looked at Amy. “Why don’t you join me? Come and see what they’ve done.”

  She hesitated. A quick glance at her wrist watch told her she really needed to get back to her office, but at the same time she wanted to see the ward.

  “Vicky’s back in hospital,” he said quietly. “I was going to drop in and give her a little gift. Would you like to meet her?”

  The pained look in Daniel’s eyes as he conveyed that bit of information helped her decide. “I’d love to.”

  “I have patients to see so I’ll head up with you,” Leona said. Not entirely sure whether this was true, Amy suspected Leona used it as an excuse to spend more time with Daniel.

  Odd woman. Perhaps someone should explain to her that subtlety was a far bigger turn on for her friend than the obvious advances she made? Daniel wasn’t interested. Couldn’t she see that? It was so glaringly obvious. If she had been Daniel’s girlfriend, she would’ve happily spelled it out for Leona.

  But she wasn’t. So she kept her mouth shut.

  The three of them caught a lift up to the eighth floor and walked across a long, narrow corridor to POWS. Amy was struck by Daniel’s easy, sexy stride and she suppressed a grin. “You’re not limping anymore. Your knee must be improving.”

  Daniel had the grace to squirm before he shrugged and said, “It twinges every now and again, but it feels fine. No thanks to my sister.”

  “And your shoulder?”

  “A bit tender still.”

  Amy resisted the urge to shake her head and laugh. She could attach a microscope to his knee and shoulder, study them intensely for three solid days and still not see any sign of bruising. Daniel was just a big baby.

  With a very adult body.

  Oh God. Don’t go there.

  Leona pushed open a pair of swinging doors and they walked inside. “I have patients to see.” She nodded curtly at Amy and gave Daniel a slow once over before walking off.

  They shared a little smile as they watched the doctor stalk away.

  “You could have warned me.” Amy laughed, both relieved and disappointed that Daniel’s kisses had been nothing more than a ruse. “I didn’t know what the hell you were doing.”

  “There wasn’t time to explain. I had to act. I was on my way to the ward when Leona blindsided me. I didn’t want to be rude, so I agreed to have a drink with her. I can’t begin to tell you how extremely happy I was to see you. You saved me from another grueling invitation over to her place.”

  “Glad I could help.” Was she? In essence, Daniel had kissed her. Again. And once again she was left aroused and hungry for more.

  “Me too.” He grinned. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see a client.”

  “Everything okay there?”

  “Better than okay. She just had a baby.”

  “Congratulations. Must be nice to reap the rewards of your work, I’m sure.”

  “As it must be for you.” She stared over his shoulder. “The ward is charming.”

  Daniel looked around, his face absorbed and curious. He shook his head and a huge grin spread
over his face. “This place looks incredible.”

  She could only agree. Although she’d never been in the ward before, Daniel’s exhibition had given her a good idea of how it had been. Run down with old wallpaper peeling off the walls, its designs faded and dull.

  Now the passages gleamed with fresh paint and bright wallpaper. If one had to be in a children’s hospital, this was a good one to be in.

  “Look in there.” Daniel headed to an alcove filled with toys and books. “They’ve replaced all the old junk. Everything’s new and unused.” He was like a small kid and she suspected more excited about the changes than most of the children.

  He should be. He was the one responsible for them.

  They stopped at the nurses’ station. New filing cabinets lined the walls while boxes from recently unpacked computers lay on the floor, waiting to be discarded. Not only was the ward more presentable, it also had a lot more modern technology, making administration easier.

  Amy recognized a few of the nursing staff from Lexi’s party and from the exhibition, and she and Daniel chatted with them a while, until Daniel asked for Vicky’s room number. She sensed a little apprehension in his gait as they made their way to her room.

  “Maybe I should stay outside while you go in.” She was reluctant to invade the little girl’s privacy.

  “No. I’ve told Vicky all about you. I’m sure she’ll want to meet you.”

  Why would he have told Vicky about her? There wasn’t time to ask. Daniel had stepped up to a closed door and knocked softly before sticking his head inside.

  “Hi there. Feeling up to visitors?” She didn’t hear a response but Daniel opened the door wider and motioned for her to walk inside with him.

  A quick glance revealed a cozy, inviting room, the walls done in the same colors as the corridors. The bed was made up with crisp linen in soft pastel shades of orange, lime and lemon. There were two armchairs covered in matching fabric and a bookshelf sat against the far wall, overflowing with books and toys. A TV and DVD player hung suspended from the ceiling.

  The only difficult thing to take in was the slip of a girl lying in the bed. She was so tiny that at first look, Amy would have estimated her age to be around seven or eight had she not known Vicky was ten. Her hair looked as though it had been shaved off and was only just beginning to grow back. The wonders of chemotherapy.

  “Hey, slugger,” Daniel said affectionately. “I thought they sent you home weeks ago.”

  “They did,” a small voice responded. “But then they brought me back.” Vicky laughed weakly. “I guess they like me too much to let me go.”

  Amy’s chest tightened and she blinked back her tears.

  “Nah,” Daniel said, “I think they just wanted a professional opinion on the wallpaper.”

  “It’s nice.” She looked at Amy. “Who’s your friend?”

  Amy walked forward. “My name’s Amy.” She held her hand out.

  Vicky took it in hers and gave it a firm shake, firmer than Amy expected. “You don’t have to be scared, you know,” she told Amy. “I’m sick, but I won’t break.” Wise eyes, so out of place on the face of a girl so young, seemed to probe and then she said, “You’re Daniel’s girlfriend.”

  Amy smiled. She couldn’t help but like the girl. “I’m Daniel’s best friend. I’ve known him since high school.”

  “I have a best friend too, but he doesn’t come visit me here. His mum won’t let him.”

  “That must upset you.”

  “Kind of. But I understand. It’s frightening for him to come into a hospital where there are very sick children.” She looked solemnly at Amy.

  “You understand a lot for someone so young.”

  Vicky shrugged. “It’s taken a while to get it. At first I was hurt coz I thought he didn’t like me anymore. But now I understand it’s just the cancer he doesn’t like. He doesn’t know how to deal with it. Neither does his mum. That’s why she won’t let him come see me.”

  “You must miss him.”

  “I did. We speak a lot on the phone now and he tells me what’s going on at school. He promised to come visit as soon as I get out of hospital this time. And,” she turned to Daniel, “he’s going to bring all the Harry Potter DVDs so we can watch them together.”

  “Cool!” Daniel said with enthusiasm. “Did you finish the fourth book?”

  “Yep.” Vicky looked at Amy to explain. “Daniel gave me the first five Harry Potter books. I started reading them in hospital and when I felt too sick to read myself, Daniel read to me.”

  “So, what did you think?”

  “I loved number four. And number five.”

  “You read that one too?” Daniel was clearly impressed.

  Vicky nodded. “When I got home. Theodore and I read it together. Theodore’s my little brother,” she told Amy.

  Amy nodded. Daniel had told her about Theodore. “Did he like the books?”

  “Very much, although he was a little young to understand it all. I had to explain a lot of it to him.” Amy imagined Vicky had explained a lot of things to her little brother, and not just about Harry Potter.

  “Well then,” Daniel said, “I guess I’m just in time.”

  “For what?” Vicky’s eyes grew large.

  “To give you this.” He handed her a wrapped parcel.

  She pushed herself up slowly. Amy saw how much effort it cost her. But the child’s smile was enormous. A touch of pink shaded her pale cheeks.

  “I know what it is,” she exclaimed before she’d even opened the present. “And it’s perfect. Thank you.”

  Little fingers worked at the sticky tape until she had the paper off. She held it up and grinned in delight. “It’s the sixth book.”

  “Let me know when you’re done with it. There’s the seventh one too. The last in the series.” Daniel’s smile was just as large.

  Amy stared at her friend, her heart filled with silly warm fuzzies. Daniel honestly was a sweetheart. Without a doubt the nicest man she knew.

  Vicky nodded. “You’ve got a deal. I just know Theo will love this too.” She changed the subject. “Last time I saw you, you told me I encouraged you to do something. Have you done it?” She smiled at him and winked, scrunching up the right side of her face.

  Daniel smiled back. “I’m in the middle of it.”

  Amy listened with interest.

  “Is it working?”

  “Too early to tell. I’ve made some progress though.”

  Vicky looked at Amy then back at Daniel. “You won’t give up, will you?”

  “And let you down? Not a chance.”

  “Well, let me know how it works out, okay?”

  “Okay,” Daniel agreed. “Now we’d better let you get some rest.”

  The dark circles under Vicky’s eyes stood out on her abnormally white skin. “I think I need it,” she admitted.

  “I’ll be in soon to see you again.”

  And no doubt drop off another gift. Amy smiled at the thought. “Nice meeting you, Vicky. Hope you feel better.”

  “See you soon, slugger. Bye.”

  “Bye Amy. Bye Daniel, and remember…don’t give up.”

  He winked at her and then they left the room.

  Daniel led her to the doctors’ room, where he sagged into a chair with a heavy sigh. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Damn, she looks awful. Worse than she did in the middle of her chemotherapy.”

  “She adores you. Her face lit up when she saw you.”

  “Yeah, well I’m pretty crazy about her too. It’s amazing how much she taught me about life.”

  “She’s learned a lot in her short one.” Amy regarded Daniel thoughtfully. “What was that whole conversation about? What did Vicky inspire you to do?”

  He looked at her, his eyebrow arched. “You don’t know?”

  “How could I? You were both so cryptic in there I didn’t know what you were talking about.” Nevertheless, her heart began to pound.

  Daniel stared at her, his
blue eyes bright with intensity. “It’s all about you.”

  “Me?” She swallowed. “You discussed me with Vicky?”

  He smiled a mysterious, sexy smile. “We both spoke about the important things in our lives.”

  “So what are they?” A memory intruded just then, of the two of them sitting at Tamarama the day after he finished his shoot. What were the words he had used then?

  Vicky forced me to look at my life and my behavior quite thoroughly. I’m just not happy with where I am right now.

  It was all connected. Whatever he was about to tell her, it was exactly the thing he felt he wasn’t ready to discuss back then. And it was about her. What on earth could it be?

  “Danny? What did you say about me?” Her heart drummed unsteadily.

  The door opened and Leona walked into the office. She looked at them in surprise. “You’re still here? I thought you’d be gone by now.”

  Amy nearly moaned out loud. Leona’s timing couldn’t have been worse.

  “I’m glad you haven’t left yet.” She looked coquettishly at Daniel, oblivious to Amy’s turmoil. “I wanted to discuss tonight with you. I thought we could get together.”

  Amy shook her head in disbelief. Was the woman stupid? Leona had seen Daniel kissing her at least twice now and still she could not take a hint. Apart from that, Daniel looked harassed. He’d just seen Vicky and was upset by her appearance. The last thing he needed was Leona bugging him.

  To top it all, the good doctor had interrupted a very private, very pivotal, moment.

  She checked her watch. Time was running out. She had an appointment with a client in less than half an hour. Daniel wasn’t going to get a chance to tell her his big secret.

  Damn the woman.

  Enough was enough. “Look Leona,” she interjected before Daniel could say anything. “Daniel has plans tonight—with me.” Actually, he didn’t, but Leona didn’t need to know that. “So no, I don’t think you’ll be getting together with him. Not tonight, nor any night soon. Get it?” She turned to Daniel and softened her tone. “My place, around seven?”