by Lucy Clark
Alex glanced briefly at Jordanne before looking back at Jed. ‘Everything’s fine,’ he murmured, and sipped his tea.
‘Come on, you’ve got to admit to more than that,’ Jed persisted. ‘Jordanne is an excellent surgeon and even though you were hesitant about creating the position of research fellow, you have to admit it was a brilliant suggestion on my part.’
Alex laughed at his friend’s words, his gaze not meeting Jordanne’s as he spoke. ‘Yes, Jed. Absolutely brilliant. Thank you.’
‘And now, as you work alongside Jordanne, you can almost experience at first hand what it’s like to have a sister—well, surrogate sister at any rate.’
Jordanne looked at Alex. Was that the way he really saw her? As a surrogate sister? Or was that just how Jed perceived the situation?
Alex didn’t reply to her brother’s words but instead sipped his tea and commented on the taste of the blend. ‘I love my coffee,’ he said. ‘But a nice cup of tea once in a while is as relaxing as a breath of fresh air.’
The conversation turned to comparing beverages and favourite foods, and after a few more minutes Alex’s gaze finally met Jordanne’s.
‘I think I’ll boil the kettle so we can try another one,’ Jordanne suggested, and rose from the lounge. She looked pointedly at Alex and inclined her head towards the kitchen.
‘Good idea,’ Kirsten said as she looked through the box of teas.
Jordanne walked out to the kitchen, carrying a few of the dirty cups and saucers. She put them in the sink and waited. When Alex came in, carrying the rest of the cups, she didn’t move. She leant against the bench, her arms crossed in front of her.
‘Is that how you really see me, Alex? As some type of surrogate sister?’
‘You’re not one to beat about the bush, are you?’ he replied as he placed the cups on the bench.
Jordanne didn’t budge. ‘Answer the question,’ she pressed. He was silent as he filled the kettle and switched it on. ‘Look, Alex, I have four brothers and I can tell you right now that none of them have ever made me feel the way you do. Big brothers don’t go around caressing their little sisters with their eyes the way you did earlier tonight.’
He was silent for what seemed to be an eternity but which Jordanne knew was only a few seconds. When he spoke, his tone was solemn.
‘I’m sorry about that, Jordanne. That was a big mistake.’
CHAPTER THREE
FOR a brief moment Jordanne thought her heart had stopped beating. How could Alex possibly think that anything between them could be a mistake?
‘No, it wasn’t,’ Jordanne countered emphatically, their voices still low so they didn’t raise awareness from the other three people down the hallway. ‘Yesterday, after Louise Kellerman’s operation, was the first time you’ve ever indicated that you liked me, let alone found me attractive. The way you looked at me tonight was…’ She trailed off as her breathing started to increase. ‘It was so…sensual.’ As she said the word Jordanne breathed out, her eyelids fluttering closed for a second. She opened them to find him studying her with that same look of desire that had been on his face yesterday. ‘No one has ever made me feel that way before.’
‘Jordanne—’
‘Don’t deny it, Alex. Despite whatever misapprehensions my brother may be under, our relationship is definitely not one of loving siblings. It’s a relationship of one man and one woman who are undeniably attracted to each other.’
She kept her gaze glued to his, almost challenging him to deny it.
Alex looked down at the floor for a moment before returning to meet Jordanne’s eyes. ‘I told you yesterday that I was attracted to you. From what happened outside your brother’s front door tonight, we both know that the attraction is mutual. What we need to focus on is that your brother is my best friend. For me to date you, Jordanne, regardless of what I feel for you, is just not on.’ He lowered his voice even further. ‘I’m sorry I looked at you the way I did.’
‘Don’t be. I enjoyed it,’ Jordanne responded.
‘Stop it, Jordanne,’ he warned, but smiled nevertheless. ‘There are many reasons why we can’t get involved, and Jed being my best friend is one of them. I know I’ll hurt you, and when I do it will ruin my friendship with Jed.’
‘How can you possibly know you’ll hurt me? You hardly know me, Alex.’
‘I know enough. Look, Jordanne, you’re headstrong and very independent. It’s no wonder Jed wants to keep his eye on you. Regardless of this attraction we feel, it’s going no further.’
Realisation dawned across Jordanne’s pretty features. She smiled at him. ‘So that’s why you’ve been practically avoiding me during the past month.’
‘I have not been avoiding you. We work together almost every day,’ he protested.
‘That’s true but you made sure we were never alone for too long.’
He shrugged but didn’t admit it.
‘And all because you’re afraid of my big brother!’ she continued.
‘That’s not the reason,’ he replied with a small shake of his head.
‘I think you’re lying,’ she countered, still smiling. ‘Alex, I know Jed is very protective of me but let’s get one thing straight. If I’m attracted to a man and I want to start dating him, I don’t ask anyone’s permission except that of the man in question.’
‘Well, if you’re asking, the answer is no.’
‘Why not?’
‘Jordanne! Why can’t you accept my response?’
‘Because I don’t believe it’s the truth. I don’t believe it would make either of us happy to deny this attraction. I come from a family that embraces happiness, Alex. You must know this from your friendship with Jed.’
‘And it’s a friendship that I value extremely highly,’ he pointed out.
Jordanne nodded with understanding. ‘So you’d rather not risk that friendship to find out what you and I might mean.’
‘I guess you could put it that way.’
Jordanne looked at him for a long moment, realising he was struggling with emotions deep inside himself. ‘OK,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘From now on, we’ll be surrogate brother and sister. Purely platonic,’ Jordanne announced as the kettle whistled before switching itself off. Jordanne turned to the sink and began rinsing the cups.
‘Perhaps that’s best,’ Alex murmured, before returning to the others.
As they all drank tea and enjoyed themselves, Jordanne started to formulate a plan. She’d had years of practice at being a loving sister and she knew just how to get Alex to change his mind. Alex had witnessed the way she and Jed were around each other, and in the McElroy family it was their custom to be very demonstrative. Alex, as her new surrogate brother, was about to get a dose.
‘So, Alex,’ Sally said as she drained her teacup, ‘Jordanne tells me you still haven’t been out for your dinner yet. Too busy?’
Alex looked quickly from Sally to Jordanne and back again. ‘Yes. As a matter of fact, we’ve been hectic since she started.’
‘Hectic,’ Jordanne agreed, and smiled sweetly at him. He gave her a cautious look but her smile simply increased.
Kirsten yawned. ‘Oh, excuse me. I think it’s getting close to my bedtime.’
‘Me, too,’ Jordanne agreed. Soon they were all collecting their belongings and saying their goodbyes. Jordanne embraced her future sister-in-law, thanking her for the lovely evening.
‘Let me know what type of plan you’re hatching to get Alex to come to his senses,’ Sally whispered in Jordanne’s ear. ‘I’d love to help.’
Jordanne looked with surprise at her friend and then realised that she’d sadly underestimated her. Sally had never been one to be so totally absorbed in her own life that she couldn’t see what was happening in others’.
‘You’re on,’ Jordanne said softly, before turning to her brother. ‘Thanks for a great night, bro,’ she said, and soundly kissed him on both cheeks before hugging him close. ‘Love you,’ she said in his ear, and Jed re
turned her affection.
‘We should do it again some time and soon,’ he added.
‘Great idea,’ Jordanne agreed.
‘Actually,’ Alex said, after clearing his throat, ‘as Jordanne and I haven’t had our official dinner and as you all gatecrashed Sally’s dinner, why don’t you do the same for this one?’ He turned to face Jordanne and raised an quizzical eyebrow. ‘You don’t mind, do you, Jordanne?’
‘Uh…no. No, of course I don’t mind. The more the merrier,’ she said, knowing he’d only invited the others so he wouldn’t have to be alone with her. The revelation made her feel triumphant that she had that type of power over him.
‘How about next weekend?’ Alex suggested. ‘We’re on call on Saturday so what about Sunday night?’
Sally and Jed looked at each other and nodded. ‘Sounds great,’ Jed responded.
‘I don’t have anything planned from what I can remember,’ Kirsten agreed, giving Jordanne a quizzical look.
‘Great. I’ll organise it and let you know the details,’ he said with a satisfied nod.
‘It seems silly to all go in separate cars,’ Sally piped up. ‘Jed and I can pick up Kirsten as she’s quite close. Jordanne, why don’t you swing by Alex’s house and pick him up?’
‘Oh, no,’ Jordanne replied, almost kissing Sally for her ingenuity. ‘After seeing him pull up in that sporty Jaguar, I demand a ride as part of the dinner package!’
Alex laughed nervously.
‘It’s all settled, then,’ Sally said. Jed held the door open, letting the cold wind in.
‘Don’t come out,’ Jordanne said. ‘Stay where it’s nice and warm. Bye, and thanks again.’
‘It was great,’ Kirsten added.
‘Drive carefully,’ Jed called to all of them.
The three of them walked out to their cars. ‘Now, which one was mine,’ Jordanne said, looking from Kirsten’s old car to Alex’s new sporty one. Jordanne kept walking alongside Alex as Kirsten veered off. ‘I think it’s this one,’ she said, crossing to the Jaguar.
Kirsten laughed as she unlocked her car. ‘I’ll call you later, Jordanne. Alex, it was great catching up with you.’ With that, she got in her car, started the engine and drove off.
Jordanne waved, quite happy to stand by Alex’s car. ‘Now, what did I do with my keys?’ she jested as she pretended to pat her pockets.
‘Cute,’ he said, and kept his distance—he at the rear of the car, she beside the driver’s door.
‘All right, I’ll go. Thanks for an enjoyable evening, surrogate big brother,’ she said lightly, and covered the distance between them. Jordanne knew she’d taken him by surprise as she wrapped her arms about his neck in a hug. Pulling him slightly off balance, he was forced to reach out and put his hands onto her waist. He dropped them the instant he regained his balance.
Jordanne reached up and kissed first one cheek and then the other—just as she’d done with Jed. When she’d finished she let her hands rest on his shoulders for a moment, their gazes locked, her face turned expectantly up to his own. Millimetres, she thought. A few more millimetres and their lips would touch, but brothers and sisters didn’t kiss the way she was aching for Alex to kiss her.
She stepped back, gave his upper arm a playful tap and said, ‘See you at work on Monday, bro.’
Jordanne walked across the road to her own car, fumbling with the keys. After she’d unlocked the door she turned to look at him again. He hadn’t moved and was watching her with amazement at what had just transpired.
‘Drive carefully,’ she called, and climbed into her car. She had planned to toss a casual ‘love you’ in his direction, just as she would have to any of her brothers, but Jordanne knew that although she cared for Alex as a friend, to say the words, even in jest, would probably scare him off for good. She bit her tongue but settled for winding down the window and blowing him a kiss as she drove past.
Yep, by dinner next Sunday night, Alex would be begging her to stop playing sisters in favour of a more ‘grownup’ game.
Alex was relieved when he let himself into his three-bedroom house later that evening. From now on he needed to keep one step ahead of Jordanne. He knew exactly what type of game she was playing with her surrogate sister act and he only had himself to blame. Instead of being cautious around him—well, as cautious as Jordanne could be—she was now going to be touching and hugging and kissing him in front of people, just as she did with Jed.
‘Why didn’t I have a sister?’ he grumbled as he crossed to his answering machine. ‘At least then I’d know how to handle her.’ The light was flashing once, indicating one message. Alex pressed the button and waited as the tape rewound itself.
‘Alex, it’s Scott. Was hoping to catch up. It’s early morning here in Boston so give me a call when you get in. Just some good news I wanted to share.’ Beep.
Alex glanced at the clock—almost midnight. The perfect time to call his brother in the States. The last time Scott had given Alex some ‘good news’ it had been about his move to the States. Alex had really missed his brother during the past two years as they’d always been and still were good friends. He checked the number and dialled through to Scott. The phone was picked up on the second ring.
‘Hey, Scotty,’ Alex said down the line.
‘Alex, glad you got back to me.’
‘Sorry. I’ve been out at a dinner party.’
‘With a beautiful woman?’ Scott teased.
‘Not one—three, little brother.’
‘Really? That’s my bro—stud-muffin extraordinaire,’ Scott said laughingly.
‘Not quite. It was dinner at Jed’s house.’
‘I thought Jed was engaged?’
‘He is—we had dinner at his house with his fiancée, one of his sisters and a friend.’
‘I see. So who’s the…friend?’
‘Why are you so interested? You’re a married man.’
‘That’s why I need to take a keen interest in your love life.’ Scott laughed.
‘Garbage. You worship the ground Amy walks on. So, what’s your news?’ Alex waited patiently for his brother to speak.
He heard Scott sigh. ‘I don’t know any easy way to break this to you so I’m just going to come right out and say it. I’m going to be a father—again.’
Alex felt his gut twist. Scott knew the truth of Alex’s previous attempt at marriage and why it had failed.
‘Congratulations, Scotty.’ Alex forced a jovial air into his tone. After all, he was happy for his brother. ‘When’s the baby due?’
Scott was only three years younger than himself and already had two children in primary school.
‘About two months after we return from the teaching exchange here.’
‘Mum should be pleased. She’ll have another grandchild to fuss over.’
‘Yeah. I wanted you to hear it from me first, not Mum. I know it must be like a kick in the teeth to you—’
‘Scott,’ Alex interrupted. ‘I’m glad you told me and don’t worry about it. I’m happy for you and Amy—really I am.’ He changed the subject and they talked about other things as well as how Alex’s two nephews were doing in school. He had a talk to both of the boys before Scott came back on the phone.
Alex took a breath, knowing he wanted to ask Scott a question but not sure just how his brother would take it. ‘Scotty? I know Amy has two sisters. How do you…get along with them?’
‘Fine. Why?’
‘No reason. I was just watching Jed with his sister tonight and they’re all huggy and kissy—sibling stuff, you understand—and I wondered whether it’s like that with your sisters-in-law.’
‘Not really. Just a peck on the cheek when we see each other, but Amy and her sisters are a different story all together. Hugs and kisses all round, and when their mother is about—well, look out! You could get smothered by all that emotion.’
Alex laughed. ‘Thanks, bro. I needed to hear that.’
‘Hey, aren’t you working with
Jed’s sister?’
‘Yeah.’
‘So I should be asking you what it’s like. Isn’t Jed’s sister just like the sister we never had?’
‘That’s what I’d anticipated.’
‘She’s not nice?’
‘She’s…nice.’ Alex tried to keep any stray emotion of how he really perceived Jordanne out of his voice.
‘What’s her name again?’ Scott probed.
‘Jordanne.’
‘That’s right. So, Jordanne’s…nice, is she? Not at all what you’d imagined for a surrogate sister, eh?’ Scott chuckled.
‘Look, Scott, it’s getting late. I’d better go.’
‘I’ve hit the nail on the head,’ Scott crowed. ‘So, should I brush off my tux?’
‘Goodbye, little brother,’ Alex said, and disconnected the call before Scott could say anything more. It was far too late to call his mother. He made a mental note to speak to her tomorrow and congratulate her on becoming a grandmother again. She would probably want to talk about how Scott’s news had affected him, but in all truth he didn’t really fancy rehashing the past. It had been seventeen years since he’d signed the divorce papers and Alex now felt that those memories belonged to someone else. He’d changed so much since then.
He focused on the present and Scotty’s teasing remarks came to mind. He raked a hand through his hair as he stood. All he’d said had been that Jed’s sister was nice. How could Scotty have picked up on anything just from that one adjective?
Regardless of how he felt about Jordanne McElroy, any relationship between them was pointless and it had nothing to do with his friendship with Jed.
Monday morning saw Jordanne feeling on top of the world as she walked through the department to her office.
‘You’re certainly bright and cheery this morning,’ Alex’s secretary commented when they met in the kitchenette.
‘Today is a new day.’ Jordanne laughed as she made herself a cup of coffee. ‘Is Alex in?’
‘Yes. He wants a quick cup of coffee before ward round and clinic.’