by Lucy Clark
‘Come to think of it, where are your girls? I mean, you’re here at work. Do they have a day-care lady or a friend who looks after them at night?’
‘They’re with my parents.’
‘Oh, of course. I forgot your parents usually look after them. Sara did mention that. So, do your parents live close?’
Jasper thought of them living on the first floor of his house. ‘Uh…you could say that.’
‘So the girls have a room at their house and just sleep over when necessary?’
He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Something like that.’
‘Jasper, you’re being coy.’
‘Coy?’ He laughed at that. ‘Men aren’t coy. Only women are coy. I’m being…deliberately evasive.’ He shook his head and chuckled. ‘Coy. What a word. You do make me laugh, Jennifer.’
‘I think that’s a compliment.’
‘It is.’ His tone and his look were equally as expressive. He stared at her for a moment, as though not sure what to say next.
‘Oh.’ Jennifer wasn’t used to getting such direct compliments. In fact, she wasn’t used to getting compliments, full stop.
‘And if you must know,’ he continued, ‘my parents live with us.’
‘You still live at home?’ She was surprised at that, her lips twitching with amusement.
‘No. No,’ he said firmly. ‘I said my parents live with us. There’s a difference.’ He looked around them but there was no one else about. ‘I’ll have you know that I moved out of home a long time ago. I bought my own house, got married, had a couple of kids, then when Elisha died, I remodelled the house so that my parents could sell their big rambling home and move in. It’s an arrangement that works well for everyone, especially the girls.’
‘Fair enough.’ She was touched that he’d explained because it showed her he really was willing to cross that line between the professional world and the personal one they were both so desperate to keep separate. Jennifer knew she’d been crossing the line more often than not of late and to know he was willing to do it too made her feel a little more comfortable.
‘So are we going to get this next patient done so we can both go home?’
‘I guess so but honestly, Jasper, you can go now and—’
‘Paper beats rock.’ He took her hand in his, wrapping his fingers loosely around hers again, watching the way her eyes flared with a spark of excitement before it was quickly veiled. ‘Remember?’
Jennifer’s breath caught in her throat not only at his touch but at the look in his eyes. It was deep, rich and seriously intimate. Where his touch had been mildly playful before, this time it was as sensual as if he’d brushed a thumb across her lips. His body was close to hers, closer than before, and as her heart rate increased, she found it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe.
‘Jasper?’ His name was a confused caress on her lips and as his eyes dipped to take in the lush fullness of her mouth, her breath caught in her throat. ‘Don’t look at me like that,’ she whispered hoarsely.
‘Why not?’
‘Because you make me sizzle and I don’t know how to deal with that.’
‘Sizzle?’ His resolve to keep things light, to keep on ignoring the enormous tug he continually felt towards her, was beginning to crack. He’d felt the tug of something new and exciting between them since the first moment they’d met—even before they’d discovered their external connection—and he’d worked extremely hard to ignore it. So, it seemed, had Jennifer. When she said things like that, it was enough to make his logical thought processes shut down and instinct take over—and his instinctive reaction was to press his mouth firmly to hers and show her what it would really feel like to sizzle.
The phone on the wall rang and both of them sprang apart, startled and jumpy. They stared at the inanimate object for a moment before Jasper snatched it up. ‘Eddie,’ he said into the receiver.
It was the distraction Jennifer needed and she quickly walked from the room, heading to Theatre One, hoping Jasper would change his mind and decide not to join her because right now she wasn’t sure she could deal with him being so close when she was supposed to be concentrating on a patient.
Never before had she had this problem. Never had she been unable to focus her mind on her work, as she’d experienced a few times thanks to Jasper Edwards and his overwhelming, enigmatic presence.
She’d scrubbed and had just started working when he entered the room. Again she felt him before she saw him and was surprised at her own intuitiveness where he was concerned. She found it difficult to meet his eyes and so simply kept her gaze down and on the job, wanting to get this night over and done with so she could sneak quietly into Sara’s house, wrap herself up in her blankets and just disappear.
Thankfully, at some time during the two hours they spent working on their patient, Jennifer began to relax and realised that as there was currently nothing she could do about the obvious attraction she felt towards her handsome colleague, she’d do well to simply push it aside.
‘Finally!’ Jasper pulled off his gloves, mask and gown, putting them in the appropriate bins and heading out of Theatre with Jennifer not far behind him. ‘Have we beaten the sunrise?’ he wanted to know as they walked towards the changing rooms.
‘Uh…I think we might have but not by much.’
Jasper stopped outside the door marked MALE and looked at her. ‘Listen, Jennifer, I know this is no doubt against the unwritten rules we seem to have made and I don’t want you to feel pressured at all but…would you like to come over for breakfast?’
‘Over?’
‘To my house.’
‘House?’ Her brain seemed incapable of rational thought and it didn’t help at all when his lips started tugging upwards.
‘Sure. We’ve both been up all night long and could do with some breakfast.’
‘Breakfast?’
Jasper’s lips beamed into a full-blown smile and she wished they hadn’t. ‘Yes. Obviously spending a busy night in and out of Theatre affects your powers of speech—or at least the power of forming sentences. Breakfast. The meal you eat at the beginning of the day?’
‘Hmm.’ She nodded slowly, still totally mesmerised by his smile.
‘Anyway, the girls would like to see you and after breakfast we could wander down and see if Mr Attenburgh is happy for you to see the house.’
‘Oh!’ Jennifer covered her mouth with her hand. ‘The house! I’d totally forgotten about the house and my appointment.’
‘I didn’t. I called him before going into my first theatre case and told him we’d reschedule.’
‘Thanks.’ She sighed, unable to believe she’d forgotten. She’d tried several times in the past fortnight to view the house but various obstacles and problems had kept delaying her. Now she simply wanted to get it over and done with. If it was as perfect as Jasper seemed to think, hopefully she’d be able to settle and move in quickly.
But first things first. Jasper had asked her over to his house for breakfast. Her first reaction was to accept instantly but her second was to weigh up the pros and cons. His nearness was starting to do things to her she wasn’t sure she could control in such a personal and comfortable setting and that in itself was scary enough. Control had been her close friend for many years but it was also sort of exciting to have that little bit of spontaneity in her life. Besides, not only would she have the opportunity to see over the house and get that crossed off her list but she’d get to see Jasper’s girls again. She’d enjoyed playing with them when they’d been at Sara’s house and she had to admit she was becoming more curious about Jasper Edwards—the man, not the surgeon.
Jasper could see her internal struggle. ‘I’ll make you pancakes,’ he offered temptingly.
Her eyes glazed over for a moment, then he saw the beginnings of a small smile. ‘Really?’
‘I make them light and fluffy.’ He almost had her. He was reeling her in and he was loving every moment of it.
‘They’re m
y favourite.’
‘There you go, then. I’ll even do bacon and eggs to give breakfast a bit more of a…sizzle.’ He waggled his eyebrows up and down as he spoke and Jennifer looked away, surprised when she felt her cheeks suffuse with colour.
‘Don’t, Jasper.’ Her words were barely audible but he heard.
‘Don’t what?’
‘Tease. I…I didn’t mean to say that.’
‘What? That I make you sizzle?’
‘Stop it.’ Even his words, the way he was looking at her now made her start to sizzle once more. If she was totally honest with herself, she would accept that she wanted to spend more and more time with him and she wanted to do that as far away from her life at the hospital.
‘Why?’ Jasper checked the corridor, pleased to find it still deserted. He reached out and placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. When he spoke, his tone was soft, intimate. ‘You’re the first woman who’s ever said that to me. That I make her sizzle. I liked it.’
When she didn’t say anything else, he gave her shoulder a little squeeze before dropping his hand. ‘It’s just breakfast, Jen. The girls will be there, so will my parents. It’s not as though it’s a date or anything. Think of it more as eating food together in a non-hospital environment.’
‘Like the other night?’
‘Exactly.’
He was right. She was over-thinking things again, something she’d promised herself she’d try not to do. She wanted to have breakfast with him, she wanted to see his girls again and she wanted to take a look at the house. Spending all of that time with Jasper would be an added bonus…and to top it all off he’d called her Jen. Wasn’t that the first sign of acceptance? The move from colleagues to good friends?
Her smile was small but her eyes sparkled with interest. ‘OK.’
‘Excellent.’ With a matching smile, he turned and entered the change rooms, leaving her feeling as though she’d just taken a very important step towards living. Really living.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘DADDY! Daddy!’ Both girls hurled themselves at the door the instant they heard it open, and within a moment Jasper had an identical twin wrapped around each leg. He laughed as he dropped his briefcase and bent down to scoop them up, one on each side. Jennifer couldn’t believe the absolute delight on his face, especially when they put their arms around his neck and began kissing his cheeks—again, the attack was performed with perfect synchronicity.
‘Hello, my monkeys.’ Jasper kissed them both, one then the other and back again for a repeat.
‘We’re not monkeys,’ one said, blonde ringlets bobbing from side to side as she wriggled in her father’s arms.
‘We’re princesses,’ the other replied, then rolled her eyes at her sister. ‘He always gets it wrong.’
Jasper bent to put them down and it was then Lilly, or maybe it was Lola—Jennifer was having a difficult time telling them apart, especially in their matching pink princess pyjamas—looked over and saw her.
‘Jen.’ She stood there with her little hands on her little hips and angled her head to the side, a ringlet springing up and down. ‘What are you doing here? You’re s’pposed to be at Sara’s house.’
‘Jen? Why aren’t you at Sara’s?’ the other one said, mimicking her sister’s pose.
‘Hello, girls.’ Jennifer smiled at both of them. ‘Jas—er…Daddy invited me over to have breakfast with you.’ Jennifer licked her lips and rubbed her tummy with exaggeration. ‘He told me he’d make pancakes and they’re my favourite.’
‘Mine, too.’
‘Yeah. Mine, too,’ repeated the other twin.
‘I’m gonna tell Grandma.’
‘No. I’m gonna tell Grandma.’ With that, the two of them raced off towards the stairs and a moment later footsteps could be heard above them as they ran through the upper floor.
‘Sorry.’ Jasper shed his coat then picked up his briefcase from just inside the door where he’d quickly put it down before being bombarded by his daughters.
‘What for?’
‘Uh-h…’ He stopped for a moment and looked at her. ‘You know? I’m not sure.’
Jennifer smiled at him, liking the way he looked in these surroundings, liking the way he looked when he looked at her with twinkling, shining eyes. She turned away, indicating the living room which contained a wall-to-wall bookshelf, a large television and DVD player, two comfortable sofas and lots of big, bright throw pillows on the floor. On two of the walls were various pieces of abstract art which no doubt the girls had done at pre-school.
‘I like the way you’ve decorated.’ It was then she remembered that he’d mentioned his wife had decorated their bedroom. Had she done this room, too?
Jasper turned and looked at the room, then laughed. ‘Lots of…colour.’
‘That’s what children do, isn’t it? They fill your world with colour.’
‘And a lot of other things along the way.’ He picked up two soft toys that had been left on the floor as he walked through an archway. ‘Come through. Let me take your coat.’ He threw the toys onto a nearby chair then quickly hung up his own coat before helping her off with her own. Jennifer was conscious of his nearness, his warm, earthy scent surrounding her and making her very aware of him. ‘You can either sit at the table or keep me company at the bench while I cook.’
He hung up her coat, then headed into the kitchen, his voice a little deeper than before. He cleared his throat to try and make it sound more normal. Jennifer’s perfume had wound its way about his senses and for a split second he’d found himself unable to move as he’d helped her out of her coat. There was definitely an awareness between them…or at least that’s the way he was reading the situation. The woman was stunningly beautiful and intelligent and although he knew she was fresh from a shower, as was he, whatever it was that she wore would continue to drive him crazy long after she’d left.
As he entered the kitchen, he was glad he’d spent the few extra minutes cleaning up before heading to work the previous morning. The bench was wiped, the dishwasher cycle was finished and the stove was ready for him to cook on. It would have been embarrassing to bring home a woman—for the very first time—to a messy kitchen.
‘Coffee?’ he asked.
‘Actually, a cup of tea would be lovely.’
‘Tea coming right up.’ He filled the kettle then switched it on.
‘So do you make pancakes most mornings? I’m only asking because the girls seemed overly excited at the prospect.’
‘Usually only on weekends. I think their overexcitedness pertains to having someone over to share it with them.’
‘Oh. That’s nice. So why did they need to go and tell your mother they were having pancakes?’
Jasper’s eyes twinkled as he spoke. ‘They’ll be telling her about you, not the food.’
‘Oh,’ she said again, not sure what to make of this news. He didn’t seem to mind so she could only presume he was all too happy to introduce her to his parents. Was that good? Did that mean things were moving way too fast? Or was it simply a fact that she would meet his parents sooner or later, given their connection through Sara? ‘Is that a problem?’
‘Not at all.’ He brushed her worries aside. If he told her he’d never brought a woman into his home, into his life, she might start to feel even more self-conscious than she already was. ‘Now, as pancakes are your favourite food, I’m expecting an open and honest assessment of my secret recipe.’
‘Secret, huh? Very intriguing.’
He leaned a little closer, then looked first one way then the other, as though he was about to impart the greatest secret in the world. ‘I use buttermilk.’ He straightened, then shrugged. ‘Not so secret but, oh, so light and fluffy.’
Jennifer licked her lips. ‘I can hardly wait.’
‘But wait you shall. It’ll be easier if I feed the girls first.’
‘Of course. That’s the one problem with making pancakes at home—unless you have a big griddle plate, you basica
lly can only make one at a time.’
‘You make them often?’
Jennifer shrugged. ‘When I was living in Melbourne, I did. It’s been a bit hard at Sara’s to just whip up a batch at two o’clock in the morning when I’ve finished wading through my mound of inherited paperwork.’
Jasper laughed. ‘I’m so glad the paperwork is your headache now and not mine.’ As he spoke, they could hear footsteps coming down the stairs.
‘Heads up.’ His words were soft as he continued to pull out the utensils and ingredients for pancakes as well as the eggs and bacon.
‘Good morning, Jasper.’ His mother’s calm tones greeted him as she came in to the room. Jasper’s mother was no taller than Jennifer, had short grey hair and sparkling blue eyes, big and vibrant, like those of her granddaughters.
‘See!’ Lilly remarked.
‘We told you Jen was here.’
‘So you did,’ their grandmother replied, and held out her hand, not waiting for Jasper to introduce them. ‘Hello. I’m Iris.’
‘Jennifer.’ The two women shook hands. ‘I’m happy to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.’
Iris arched an eyebrow in her son’s direction but Jasper shook his head. ‘Not from me, Mum.’
Jennifer smiled warmly. ‘I’m a friend of Sara’s. I’ve been staying with her for the past few weeks so I’ve seen the girls there a few times.’
‘Oh.’ Iris came and sat down beside her. ‘That’s what the girls were talking about. They said that Sara’s friend was here but that their daddy had brought someone home for pancakes. I was getting confused so I thought I’d come and see what they were on about.’
‘As it turns out,’ Jasper said, whisking the mixture, ‘Jennifer is my new boss.’
‘You work together?’ Iris was stunned as she looked pointedly at her son and then back at Jennifer.
‘Yes.’ Jennifer was working hard at not squirming—and she wasn’t doing too badly, if she did say so herself. She’d been scrutinised from all angles before, given her job in medical administration, yet she hadn’t been looked at this closely by a man’s mother before. ‘Is there something wrong?’
