“The patient in Resus One is declining rapidly, and I just can’t focus anymore.” Faith paused as a huge yawn possessed her. “I was due to knock off over an hour ago, is there someone who can relieve me?”
Phoebe was just arriving, so Sophie called out to her. “Phoebe, double time, I need you in Resus One now.”
“Okay,” Phoebe answered as she hurried off toward the staff room.
“Thanks so much for filling in, Faith. I’ll make sure you get extra pay for the time you’ve worked.”
Sophie sat back in her chair. Yep, it was definitely going to be one of those days.
The morning passed and they managed to get through most of the patients in the waiting room. Sophie only had a couple of episodes of nausea and was starting to feel extremely lightheaded.
Time to get something to eat, she thought.
She went to stand, but the room started whirring around her and her ears buzzed as if her head was the new home for a swarm of bees. She stuck her arm out to get some purchase on something solid, like a wall or filing cabinet or desk, but she connected with a hard surface of warm flesh. Her knees started to buckle and she then found herself being pushed unceremoniously in a chair and her head thrust between her knees.
“Deep breaths, Sophie,” ordered Alex as his fingers wrapped around her wrist to check her pulse.
The buzzing in her mind was receding along with the blackness that had threatened to overwhelm her.
“Your pulse is starting to slow now. Do you want to tell me what happened?” Alex asked as he squatted in front of her.
She kept her head bent for a few more seconds before gingerly lifting it. Her eyes focused on a pair of gray linen clad legs, strong, muscular thighs stretching the material. She recalled the feel of those thighs brushing against hers.
She groaned. How could she thinking about things like that when she’d just almost passed out?
“What’s wrong? Do you feel faint again?” Alex’s spoke the words rapidly. “I’ll call to see if a bed is free.”
She grabbed Alex’s hand to stop it from reaching for the phone. “Alex, stop. I’m fine. I was feeling lightheaded before I stood. I haven’t eaten much in the past couple of days.” She stood, determined to show him she was fine. She swayed slightly but straightened herself. “See? I can stand and I’m not about to faint. I’ll have some lunch and then I’ll be as right as rain.”
As Alex crossed his arms across the strong expanse of his chest, she knew she hadn’t quite convinced him she was totally recovered.
She bent and got her handbag and straightened again. “Look, no swaying, no knees buckling, no more lightheadedness.” She ran her hand along his arm, the fine hairs bristling under her touch. “Can I go now, Doctor?” She was trying to lighten the mood. A small smile broke out over Alex’s face and Sophie blew out a breath of relief.
“Be careful with what you eat. It’s likely your stomach is still sensitive.”
Sophie rolled her eyes at his concern. “Yes, Alex. I’m going to the local deli and get a toasted sandwich and some soda. Is that okay?”
Tremors rippled through her when his lips landed softly on hers. She hadn’t seen the kiss coming and that made it even more special. The kiss was short and sweet and her heart ached at the gentleness Alex was displaying toward her.
“Yes, Sophia, that is fine.” He headed toward the door but turned to look at her before leaving. “I’m going to be tied up with finance all afternoon, going over bloody budgets. But I’m cooking you dinner. My place, seven o’clock.”
It wasn’t a question but a statement of fact and she was grateful for it — she didn’t want to cook and she did want to spend time with Alex.
“Sounds great,” she said. “And Alex, thanks for coming to my rescue earlier.”
He smiled again and walked out of their shared office. She stood for a few more moments before she headed out to get something to eat.
The afternoon passed without too much drama and definitely no more episodes for Sophie. It was a relief to walk through her door and collapse on the couch. She rested her feet on the low coffee table and closed her eyes. She could sit for a few minutes and then have a shower and get ready to go to Alex’s place.
She must have drifted off to sleep because she was jolted awake by the sound of someone knocking on the door. Her living room was darker than it had been when she’d sat down. She raced to the door and flung it open.
“I’m so sorry, Alex, I’m late aren’t I?” She flipped back a loose strand of hair that had fallen over her eye. She must look a mess, still in her crumpled uniform and her hair all over the show.
“It’s okay, Sophie, you aren’t late. I’ve just got home and wanted to make sure you were okay.”
She tried smoothing down her uniform. “Well, as you can see I’m fine. I must have dozed on the couch, but I’ll be at your place on time — if you let me go now, that is,” she said after looking at her watch.
He laughed that sexy, husky laugh and she tightened her grip on the door and tensed her knees — she really didn’t want to show him how much his close proximity and laugh was affecting her.
“See you soon, Sophie.”
“Bye. Oh, and Alex?” She waited until he’d turned his attention back to her. “So it begins?”
It took a moment before the meaning of the words sunk in. They were the same words he’d spoken to her on New Year’s Eve, before they’d danced. Before they’d left together and spent the night in each other’s arms. With those same words, she’d just told Alex that tonight marked the start of a personal relationship between them. What had happened before was in the past. From tonight onwards, it was a fresh start for the both of them.
“Yes, Sophie, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Chapter 11
Twenty minutes later Sophie’s hand was poised to knock on Alex’s door. She pulled it away and swiped her suddenly sweaty palms down her jeans.
Why was she so nervous? She’d had dinner with Alex many times — they’d even shared a meal earlier this week before she got sick. There was no need for her to be this nervous. Nothing had changed from earlier in the week, except that they were taking their friendship to a deeper level. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
The door opened and her breath hitched — Alex was dressed in jeans and a black shirt, the first couple of buttons were undone and showed a glimpse of his impressive chest.
“Hi,” she said, sounding breathless to her own ears. “Hope I’m not too early.”
“Right on time, Sophie. You look lovely.” He stepped back and she entered his apartment.
She’d never been into his home before. The layout was pretty much the same as hers. She was a couple of floors higher but the view from Alex’s balcony was still impressive. The decor had masculine tones of black and grays, with white highlights. It should’ve made the rooms look smaller but the clever use of lighter toned furniture and mirrors gave the rooms an impression of space.
“Wow, your place is really nice, Alex. Your designer has a very good eye. I’ll have to get their name from you when I want to redecorate.”
“Thanks, I’m pleased with how it turned out, and I’ll pass your comments onto my sister — she was the one who decorated it for me.”
His sister. Clearly his family was a talented group of people. “I wish I had a sister,” she said quietly. Then she would’ve had someone to talk to. Having three older brothers, she was always treated as the princess and told never to worry her pretty little head about anything. They still didn’t respect or understand her decision to go into nursing and not the family business. She didn’t see much of them as they were all in various places around the world.
“There is only myself and my sister. She used to follow me and my friends around when we were younger. Always interferi
ng with our plans to dominate the world. Having said that, I wouldn’t be without her.”
“So you planned to dominate the world, did you?” She followed him into the kitchen and took a seat on a breakfast barstool.
“Yes, I was going to cure the world of all disease, my friend Marco was going to ensure that third world countries had clean water, and Tomasso was going to fix the world’s finances.”
“Sounds ambitious. How is everyone doing at achieving their goals?”
He placed a glass of sparkling water before her. “Well, as you know there are still incurable diseases and my specialty is emergency medicine, not research. Marco is actually an architect now so he’s more into building and creating things than designing well systems for third world countries.”
“And Tomasso?” she asked.
“Tomasso … ” Sorrow filled his voice and grief etched his face. She got off her stool and walked around to him.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I’ll understand.”
“No, it’s fine, it happened a long time ago. Tomasso had an accident and died while waiting to get specialized medical help. I was in the car behind. I couldn’t do anything. I felt so helpless.”
Sophie stood beside Alex and laid her head on his shoulder, trying to transmit some comfort and caring toward him. He had shared another hard personal memory with her.
“That’s why you went into emergency medicine, wasn’t it?”
*
Alex stood for a moment longer and soaked up the scent and warmth and caring Sophie was sending his way. He’d surprised himself when he’d told her about his friends and their teenage ramblings. It had been one of the hardest days of his life when he and Marco had stood at the graveside and watched the coffin holding their best friend lowered into the freshly dug soil. If he closed his eyes, he could remember the smell of the roses and the rain-soaked dirt.
“Alex?”
He dragged his mind away from the memory and back to the here and now and Sophie. His beautiful Sophie who was looking up at him, concern darkening the depths of her blue eyes. Something else was hidden, lurking behind the concern, but he couldn’t make it out.
She’d asked him something; he wracked his brains to remember. That’s right, his specialty.
“Yes, that’s why I went into emergency medicine. Too many patients and not enough doctors. Although, to be fair, the paramedics did everything they could at the scene. He was just too far gone.”
Alex gave himself a mental shake — he was happy with the road he’d chosen, he loved the buzz and rush of the ER, he just wished he could get his hands dirty, metaphorically speaking, more often.
“Enough morbid talk, I didn’t ask you here to depress you. I invited you here so that I could wow you with my culinary skills.”
“Any meal that I haven’t had to cook tastes all the better to me.”
He cast a critical eye over her appearance. She had dressed in designer jeans and a plain three-quarter length sweater that hugged her curves and highlighted her slender waist. On a quick glance, she looked happy and healthy. But on a closer look he could see the rings of fatigue under her eyes. Although she’d tried to hide it with makeup, her face was still pale. She should’ve taken the whole week off, not just two days.
“You should take more time off, Sophie, it’s clear you aren’t fully recovered from the bug you had.”
“Alex, I really appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. Now, what are we eating?”
“Fish filets baked with tomatoes and pepper. Served with a garden salad and fresh bread. A light meal for a person recovering from illness.”
“Sounds delicious. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No,” Alex said firmly as he walked to the oven and checked the fish. “It’s all ready. I’ve set the table on the balcony — if you want to make your way there I’ll bring the food out.”
He watched as she walked away, the sway of her hips mesmerizing. If he hadn’t been watching her he wouldn’t have seen the way she paused and put her hand to her stomach. He could see her back rise and fall as she took some very deep breaths. After a few seconds, she began moving again and went out the door.
If she turned up at work tomorrow he would be keeping a very close eye on her and at any sign that she looked like she was about to faint or felt ill he would insist she go home. He didn’t need a sick NUM in an already stretched thin emergency department.
Alex busied himself with collecting up the salad and bread and placing them on a tray before he placed the platter of piping hot fish beside them.
• • •
“It smells wonderful, Alex,” Sophie said. “I can’t wait to taste it.”
Alex smiled and placed a filet on her plate. The steam rose off the fish and curled up in the air, taking with it the aroma of the tomatoes and pepper that garnished the fish.
“Help yourself to salad,” he said as he took his seat.
Sophie took a small portion of salad and placed it next to the fish. She didn’t want to overload her stomach too much. She’d had another nausea attack as she walked out to the balcony. She only hoped Alex hadn’t seen it, otherwise he’d demand she take another day off. She couldn’t afford another sick day. There was too much that needed to be done and with Alex constantly at meetings, she was finding she was beginning to drown in the paperwork.
She picked up her knife and sliced it through the fish. The white, juicy flesh fell away, and she took a bite. It was ambrosial. The meat melted on her tongue.
“Mmmm, Alex, it tastes as good as it smells.”
They chatted about miscellaneous things and eventually the cool breeze blowing off the river forced them inside.
Sophie tried to hide her third yawn in as many minutes behind her hand. She didn’t want the evening to end but exhaustion was seeping into her bones, making them feel like they were filled with lead.
“I think it’s time Cinderella went home,” murmured Alex as he came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist.
“I think you’re right,” she said as she yawned yet again. “I don’t know what’s come over me. I was fine ten minutes ago, now I don’t think I’ll even have the energy to make it upstairs to my apartment.”
Alex stepped beside her and placed a strong arm around her waist. “What sort of man would I be if I didn’t see my date safely to her door? Come on, let’s go.”
She sank gratefully against him as they left his apartment and traveled the short distance to her place.
They stood by her door and the nerves from earlier in the evening arrived back in her stomach, stampeding through like a herd of elephants.
“Well, umm, thanks for a really nice evening.” She leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips. She went to withdraw but he captured her face between his hands, lengthening the kiss. He hands didn’t move from her face. He just held her still while his lips moved sensually over hers. She wanted to ask him in but knew she wasn’t quite ready for that. Although her body was screaming for it, her head was telling her to wait.
She reluctantly pulled away. “I’d better go.” She slid her key in the lock. “Again, thanks for a great evening, I’ll see you at work.”
“Good night, Sophia, sweet dreams.”
She closed the door behind Alex and leaned against the wood. A sense of rightness about her and Alex’s relationship overtook her. She’d never felt this turned on from a simple kiss when she’d been seeing Neil. It had hurt bitterly at the time, but now she was grateful she’d walked into his office and had caught him.
She made her way to the bedroom, her earlier exhaustion seeming to have disappeared. She got ready for bed and when she climbed between the cool, cotton sheets she let her mind wander back to the kiss she’d just shared with Alex. She closed her eyes to relive the sensa
tions the kiss created. Her body hummed and she hugged the feelings to herself as she drifted off to sleep.
Sophie woke to the cheerful tones of the breakfast radio announcers — how they managed to sound so happy and carefree at six in the morning always amazed her. She lay for a further five minutes before moving. Her stomach was still and she’d had no after effects from the dinner she’d shared with Alex.
Finally she was getting better.
She made her way to the shower and let the water warm her up and get the blood flowing so that her mind was fully awake and aware when she stepped out.
Once she was dressed, she grabbed some bread and popped it in the toaster. She planned to get to the hospital early so she could go through some paperwork. Today she wanted to see if she could do some hands-on work with the patients for a change. Like Alex, she missed the rush of dealing with patients and working hard to save their lives, but she also loved her position as NUM.
As she munched her way through her toast, she remembered her first spell as NUM. She’d been so confident she was mature enough to deal with the rigors and stresses of the position. How wrong she’d been.
She shuddered as she recalled how close they’d come to losing a patient all because she’d frozen up and couldn’t deal with all the traumas that had come through the doors. She’d been so grateful when the powers that be had decided to give her another chance in the role.
So far she’d proven to them that she was competent in dealing with both patients and staff management. She was really enjoying her work at the moment.
It also helped she was working with Alex. He brought a dynamic feel to the department and all the staff liked him. He was firm but fair.
Realizing she was wasting her early morning start with musings about her past, she collected up her keys and bag and went to her car. The trip into the hospital was quick, as traffic was light so early in the morning.
She walked through the doors and noticed there were only a couple of people waiting to be treated. It looked like they’d had a once-in-a-blue-moon quiet night.
Lovers Unmasked: The Complete Series Page 14