Was that why he’d been wanting her to make peace with her family? To give her stronger ties and keep her coming back to Sydney? David shook his head. Eden needed to heal the rift with her parents if for no other reason than to help take away some of the sadness he’d seen behind her eyes.
The protectiveness surged within him again, and he knew if he didn’t stop just sitting around thinking about her, he’d get nothing accomplished before she arrived at the hospital. He looked at the clock and groaned. He’d wasted another ten minutes thinking about Eden. The woman was trouble…but it was a trouble he was drawn to.
‘Hi, Francie,’ Eden said as she walked towards the nurses’ station. ‘How are things this morning?’
‘Frantic,’ Francie replied. ‘I have an eleven-year-old girl suffering from an eating disorder in Room 3, refusing to let me put a drip in.’ Francie gathered supplies as she spoke. The phone was ringing, but someone else quickly answered it, and two sets of visitors had just come into the ward.
‘Want a hand?’
Francie looked at her, a little protective, and Eden quickly continued, ‘I have dealt with this sort of problem before. Unfortunately anorexia nervosa and bulimia are disorders the world over.’
‘OK. If you can convince her to let me put the drip into her arm, then I’ll be mighty grateful.’
‘Room 3?’ Eden pointed to the left.
Francie nodded. ‘Rooms 2 and 3 have cameras in them. Sometimes it’s necessary for the patients own wellbeing that we monitor them at all times.’
‘I understand completely.’ The two women headed into the room, where Eden was introduced to Chelsea. ‘Hi. I’m Eden. I’m a paediatrician.’
‘I haven’t seen you before.’ Chelsea’s sunken eyes looked uninterestedly at Eden for a moment, before moving to gaze out of the window once more.
‘I’m only a visiting doctor here. I usually work overseas.’
‘Yeah?’ The tone was still bland, but Eden managed to pick up something else. The smallest hint of interest. She guessed Chelsea wanted to know more, but she certainly wasn’t going to ask. If she didn’t interact with those people trying to help her, then it was easier to hear the voices in her mind—the voices which told her not to eat.
‘I’ve been all over Europe, and to China, India and Argentina. I’ve worked in Ethiopia, Africa, and until recently I was in the Ukraine.’
‘Yeah?’ That same tone, but this time Chelsea was looking at Eden as she spoke. If she could keep it up, establish some sort of bond with Chelsea, then that would be the first hurdle over. She wanted to make it clear to Chelsea that she was only here temporarily, that she wasn’t a permanent employee of the hospital or some specialist brought in to talk to her. Sometimes if patients knew you weren’t going to be around for long they would more often than not open up and tell you things they wouldn’t tell their local doctor.
Eden felt David’s presence behind her. She had no idea whether he was in the room or just outside the door, but she knew instinctively he was there. A small, delightful shiver of awareness trickled throughout her body, and whilst she wanted nothing more than to turn around and drink him in, she pushed her impatience aside and focused on the girl before her.
‘Travelling is great. I love it. So many places to see. So many things to do. So many adventures to have.’ Eden smiled as she remembered her last trip to Egypt. ‘Do you know where Cairo is?’
‘Duh! Egypt.’
That one answer was enough to show Eden that this girl had a desire…and one desire was all it might take to get her back on the rails again. Most eleven-year-olds had no idea where Cairo was, but it appeared Miss Chelsea was quite a smart little cookie.
‘Right—well, the last time I was there I was in a market and there were lots of pushy men trying to sell me things. One wanted me to buy watches, another had scarves, some had food, but one very pushy salesman wanted me to buy a carpet—a rug.’ Eden came around the bed and sat down on the edge. Chelsea shifted away from her. It didn’t matter, though, because she was still looking at Eden. ‘Now, you might not think anything was wrong with buying a carpet. He even tried to tell me that his carpets were of the flying variety.’
Chelsea scoffed at that idea. ‘A flying carpet! Did they think you were dumb?’
Eden smiled. ‘I must have looked it. Anyway, I was looking at one carpet that was hanging up, admiring the work and the pattern, when I thought I saw something move to my right. I looked over, but all I could see were other carpets, rolled up in a big, bulky way. I went back to my study of the carpet I was considering buying. And just then…’ Eden leaned forward, her voice dropping a notch or two ‘…I heard a noise.’
Chelsea’s eyes widened with interest. ‘What sort of noise?’
‘It’s hard to describe, but it was sort of like a far-off sound of someone talking—sort of muffled talking. It was really strange. The carpet seller tried to cough to cover up the noise, and it was then I realised that I had heard something.’
‘Otherwise he wouldn’t have tried to cover it up.’ Chelsea spoke with authority, but Eden was just pleased she had the girl’s attention.
‘Exactly. So I pointed to the rug which was rolled up on the ground, and I said, in my bravest voice, “I’d like to see this one, please.” Well, the owner tried to talk me out of it, pointing to other rugs and different carpets hanging up, already unrolled, giving me excuses and telling me he couldn’t unroll it because it was too heavy and would take too long. He wanted me to buy, and buy quickly. He was becoming quite insistent.’
‘What did you do?’
‘I kept pointing to the one which was rolled up. “I want to see this one,” I kept saying, and he kept trying to put me off. He was all dressed in robes, but as he moved I saw the folds of material shift back and noticed there was a gun in a holster on his back.’
‘What?’ Chelsea was in shock. ‘Oh, my gosh! What did you do?’
‘I kept insisting I wanted to see the rolled-up carpet, and in the end I actually leaned down and started to push the carpet so I could roll it out. He hadn’t been joking when he’d said it was heavy, but I persisted—even though he was trying to stop me, to pull me off.’
‘But he might have shot you!’
‘I know, but by then, we’d caused such a scene that other tourists had stopped to see what was going on. At first I think they thought it was a theatrical performance.’ Eden shook her head and Chelsea rolled her eyes.
‘Dumb.’
Eden smiled. ‘Anyway, I kept rolling the carpet out, and as I did I realised that the reason I’d seen the carpet move and the reason why I thought I’d heard muffled yelling was because there was a man rolled up in the rug!’
Chelsea was dumbstruck, blinking her eyes several times in disbelief. ‘Well? What happened?’
‘The man who was in the carpet jumped to his feet, gasping for air and shouting at the carpet-seller in their native language. Then the carpet man pulled out his own gun and pointed it at the carpet-seller.’
‘What did you do?’
‘I kept asking them both to stop, but I don’t speak Arabic all that fluently, and there are so many different dialects I wasn’t quite sure what I was saying. For all I know I was asking how much it was to buy a camel!’ She laughed at her own silliness.
‘Well…what happened next?’ It was a deep, masculine voice that asked the question, and Eden turned to see both Francie and David as mesmerised by her story as Chelsea.
‘Oh…yes. Well, obviously no one got shot—especially not me, because I’m still here—but it turned out the man who had been rolled up was a spy.’
Chelsea was so excited at this information that she clapped her hands. ‘A real spy? You’ve met a real spy!’
‘I have. His name was Tony.’
‘Tony?’ Chelsea scoffed. ‘That doesn’t sound like a spy name. It should have been James or Ranulf or something exotic.’
‘Perhaps it wasn’t his real name. Either way, he used my
phone to call some of his colleagues and they came and took the carpet-seller away. Tony took me out for a drink—non-alcoholic, of course—to say thank you for saving his life.’
‘Was he good-looking?’
‘Tony?’ Eden thought for a moment before shrugging. ‘He wasn’t classically handsome, but he was a nice man.’ She glanced to her right and saw David shifting uncomfortably. She worked hard at hiding her smile. Surely he wasn’t jealous? But it wouldn’t hurt if he was. After almost admitting that she’d been dreaming about him this morning, she’d come to the conclusion that she should pursue the attraction which existed between them to see where it led. That was if David would let her.
‘You’ve met a spy.’ Chelsea’s words brought her attention back into the room. ‘A real spy. I can’t believe it.’
‘Neither could I—but, as I said, travelling means you can have lots of adventures.’
Chelsea sighed and leaned back against her pillows. ‘Have you had lots more?’
‘Oh, I’ve had plenty—and I have the promise of still more to come.’ She glanced at David again as she spoke. He would definitely be an adventure.
‘Will you come and tell me some more later?’
Eden smiled warmly. ‘I’d love to. I’ll see if I can find some photographs as well.’
‘Do you have one of Tony?’
Eden shook her head. ‘No, I don’t. But I do have his telephone number, and he told me that if I was ever in Egypt again, or in a tight spot, to give him a call.’
‘He’ll rescue you.’ Chelsea clasped her hands together in the way that young girls did when they thought something was romantic.
‘Let’s hope I’m not in a position to need rescuing. Anyway…’ Eden stood from the bed. ‘Francie’s going to put a drip in your arm now, and I want you try and keep it in until I come tomorrow. Think you can manage that?’
Chelsea’s eyes lost their brilliance within an instant, but she reluctantly agreed.
‘I’ll tell you all about how I met a sheikh of Dubai.’
‘Where’s Dubai?’
‘Why don’t you try and find out before tomorrow? I’m sure Francie could find an atlas for you to look at.’
‘Certainly,’ Francie said as she set things up.
‘Great. OK, Chelsea. I’ll see you later.’ Eden smiled at the child as she walked from the room, David close behind her.
‘That was quite a story,’ he murmured as they reached the nurses’ station. ‘Is it true?’
‘Every word.’
David shook his head. ‘Still getting into mischief.’
Eden smiled sweetly up at him and fluttered her eyelashes. ‘You weren’t there to stop me. My knight in shining armour.’ She clutched her hands to her chest as Chelsea had done, and sighed theatrically.
‘You do that well.’
She dropped the pretence. ‘Thank you. Besides, I didn’t go looking for mischief—as you call it. Tony probably would have suffocated if I hadn’t happened along. He was wrapped really tight.’
‘Was he really not that good-looking?’ The words were out before he could stop them. That seemed to be happening to him a lot lately.
Eden glanced up at him, astonished he’d asked the question but pleased he had. It showed he was interested in her, and it was just what she needed right at that moment. ‘I’m not that shallow, David. I look at the person on the inside rather than what’s on the outside.’
‘Of course.’
‘But for the record…’ She took a step closer and brushed her fingers through his hair, grazing the top of his ear. ‘He was nowhere near as good-looking as you.’
David swallowed, feeling exposed and uncomfortable and yet delighted at her words. He took her hand in his own and lowered it. ‘Not here.’
She waggled her eyebrows at him. ‘Then where?’
‘Eden. We need to work. To focus.’
‘I am focused.’ She edged closer to him, bringing her other hand up to touch his hair, but he caught it before she got there.
‘On work.’
‘Oh. On work. Well, of course I’ll focus on work…if you’d be so kind as to stop holding my hands.’ She chuckled as he let go of her wrists.
‘Maybe I should have let you sleep? It would have been an easier day.’
‘Maybe you should have kissed me goodnight last night, because then we’d both be having an easier day.’ Her tone was deep, rich and seductive, low enough for only David to hear.
‘How do you know I didn’t?’
Eden’s eyes widened at this, but she knew that David would never have taken advantage of her. He just wasn’t that sort of man. He always did the right thing, and last night wouldn’t have been the exception. It did, however, present the most perfect opportunity for her to turn the flirting up by a notch or two. ‘You did? Darn. That means I missed it. Well, there’s nothing for it but a do-over.’
‘A do-over? Do I want to know what that is?’
Eden winked at him and swished her hips. ‘Oh, honey.’ She nodded slowly. ‘You’ll want to know, all right.’
David closed his eyes for a second, determined to find some semblance of control. ‘Why don’t you go see Sasha? Say hello, get your giggles out, and then come back when you’re ready to work.’
‘I’ll do that—and then I promise to really work it.’
‘Eden!’
She smiled warmly at him as she left the ward, then stopped and called over her shoulder. ‘Have Dart moved into Room 2.’
‘Why Room 2?’
‘Just a hunch. Room 2—OK?’
He nodded and watched her walk away, her hips swishing in a way he was positive was designed to drive him crazy. It was working.
CHAPTER SIX
WHEN David knocked on her hotel door that night, he wasn’t sure which version of Eden was going to be answering the door. Was it going to be Dr Eden—the dedicated paediatrician who also seemed to be a minor miracle-worker? Was it going to be nervous Eden—the one who really wanted to see her family, but wasn’t quite sure? Or was it going to be flirty Eden—the one who could tie him up in knots with one simple smouldering look from those amazing green eyes of hers?
He hoped it was either of the first two, as he was sure if she opened the door dressed in nothing more than a hotel robe, her come hither eyes inviting him in, he wouldn’t be held responsible for his actions.
After Eden had spent some time with Sasha, she’d returned to the paediatric ward ready to concentrate. He’d been most appreciative of it, and of her help. She saw things differently and seemed able to read people, knowing instinctively what sort of help they needed to ensure their recovery.
Young Chelsea was a prime example. When he’d walked into that room and seen Chelsea listening eagerly to the story Eden was telling, he’d been surprised at how different the child had looked. There had been no problems afterwards with Francie getting the drip in place, and when Eden had returned from visiting Sasha she’d had a large atlas beneath her arm.
‘Borrowed from the hospital library,’ she’d declared as she’d handed it to Francie. She’d assisted with Dart’s transfer to Room 2, and when David had enquired of Eden what her hunch might be regarding the young boy, she’d merely put a finger over her lips and shaken her head.
‘I never discuss my hunches,’ she’d whispered.
‘Why not?’
‘Because things always go wrong if I do.’
Her answer hadn’t made any sense to him, but he didn’t care. If she could solve the riddle of why Dart’s health was up and down like a yo-yo, then he’d leave her to her hunches.
She’d done an informal ward round with him, meeting the other patients on the ward, talking to mothers, cuddling some of the toddlers who’d held out their arms to her. It was as though she wore a perfume which made everyone she came into contact with relaxed and happy. It didn’t matter whether children were having serious treatment or were just in for a broken bone. They seemed to flock to her and she absorbed al
l of it, giving back twice as much as she received.
David frowned as he looked at the closed door, wondering why she hadn’t opened it yet. He knocked again, a little louder this time. Had she backed out? He’d been delighted when she’d said she’d visit her parents, even if she would only go if he went too. The last thing he needed was more time in Eden’s company.
‘Sorry.’ The door was opened a moment later. ‘I’m on the phone.’ She indicated the mobile at her ear. ‘Won’t be long,’ she said softly. ‘Sorry, Jett. You were saying?’
David walked in, looking around the room he’d carried her into last night. Now that the lights were on, he could see two suitcases, still half-packed, and other clothes lying about the room, over chairs and the end of the bed. Eden climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged in the middle, leaning back against the pillows.
‘You’ll need to figure out what she’s allergic to first. This reaction isn’t normal.’ She paused. ‘Yes, I understand you can’t stop all treatments, but at least ease off on perhaps two and see if the rash clears. Is it an eczema type of rash or—?’ She listened to her colleague, but watched as David seemed to prowl about the room.
‘Have a seat,’ she whispered. David shrugged, as though he wasn’t sure where to sit. ‘Just throw those clothes into the suitcase.’ She watched him do as she suggested, smiling when he placed everything neatly and gently on top of her bags. It was so…David.
‘What about zinc? If you stop two of her meds and put her on zinc?’ She frowned. ‘Of course there’s zinc. It’s one of the minerals we can get. At least requisition some, and you’ll get it in about a week’s time.’ She listened again, still watching David as he leafed through the hotel’s compendium. ‘Oh, David might know. Just a second and I’ll ask him.’
He looked up at her. ‘Problem?’
Bride on the Children's Ward / Marriage Reunited: Baby on the Way Page 9
