by Lucy Clark
‘I wanted to talk about what’s going on between us.’
‘What? Now?’ She spread her arms wide as she crossed to the other side of the main road. ‘George, we’re both a little busy.’ She pointed to the restaurant. ‘Go back and do your job and leave me to do mine.’
‘Wait. Why are you angry with me again?’
Melody opened the side door leading to a staircase that came out near her office. George followed her, their footsteps echoing off the walls. When they came out in the department, she headed up the corridor and went directly into her office. She held the door for him and closed it the instant he was inside.
‘What is it that you couldn’t wait to tell me?’ she asked.
George didn’t stop walking and paced restlessly around her office. ‘Well, now I feel stupid with what’s just happened and how—’ He stopped and raked a hand through his hair, then looked at her for a long moment. ‘You get in my head, Melody.’
‘Huh?’
‘Last night at the dinner, today at the lecture, just now at lunch—you get in my head and turn my thoughts to mush, and that’s not good.’
‘What are you talking about?’
He covered the distance between them with a few easy strides, then slipped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer. ‘Do you feel that?’
The heat of his body? The spicy scent surrounding him? The way such a touch could cause her body to come instantly to life, so much so that she forgot all rational thought? ‘Y-yeah.’
‘That’s what I’m talking about. You’re in my head and I can’t think straight when I’m near you, so I think to myself, Look, George, just keep your distance. Be professional. But then when I’m not around you, I’m thinking—about—you.’ As he spoke the last two words, his gaze dipped to once more encompass her mouth. ‘I think about kissing you. I think about holding you like this—and so much more.’
Melody closed her eyes against the heady combination he was presenting. ‘I know.’ She needed to think clearly, to say what she needed to say. ‘But how am I supposed to know you don’t give this spiel to every woman you meet in a new town? You’ll be gone at the end of the week and I’ll probably never see you again.’ She opened her eyes after speaking the words, wondering if he was listening to what she was saying or whether he was just intent on following the physical attraction between them.
‘And I keep thinking that you might be the sort of woman to bewitch every man you meet. How am I supposed to know that you don’t flirt with every new surgeon you meet? Or whether you really do like me for who I am—underneath the pomp and ceremony of the title—because, believe me, I’ve seen it all.’
‘Have you?’ Melody eased back slightly and George immediately dropped his arms.
‘You’d be surprised.’ George slumped down into the chair and sighed heavily. ‘I guess for some people sex is just sex. It isn’t linked with emotions or consequences, but for me, well, I’m afraid it comes with both.’
‘So you never took anyone up on their…offer?’ She walked around her desk and sat in her chair.
George met her gaze and slowly shook his head. ‘I haven’t been interested in anything but work—until yesterday morning when I met you.’
‘Oh.’ Again, there was that honesty. He was being as open and as forthcoming as he’d been last night when she’d finished in surgery. Both of them were clearly perplexed by this instant and mutual attraction yet both of them also knew it was pointless to give in to their feelings. However, when George held her the way he was, Melody had a difficult time remembering anything to do with rational thinking. ‘I guess that does change things.’
‘It does, Melody. It really does and I have this overwhelming urge to tell you about my life, to share my thoughts and concerns with you.’
‘Such as whether or not to take up your previous position when you return?’
‘Well, that and—and I want to tell you about my life, about the things that matter to me, about what movies I like, about what makes me laugh and—and about—my wife.’
‘Your wife?’ She was surprised at this.
‘Yes. You see, the way you make me feel—which I had never expected to feel again—is making me question everything.’
‘It is?’
‘Yes.’ He buried his face in his hands for a moment before standing to pace once more. ‘Look, I’ll just blurt it out because chances are, as I sneaked away from the lunch without Carmel’s permission, she’ll be calling me in a minute to tell me I’m late for my next appointment. Also, you have clinic so—Right.’ He stopped pacing and shoved his hands into his pockets. ‘I’ll just come out and say it.’
‘OK.’
‘My wife, Veronique was her name.’ He paused and looked down at the floor, clenching his jaw. A moment later he lifted his head and met her gaze. ‘She was my admin assistant for about a year before we were married. It was her idea to apply for the VOS and, in fact, when I was successful in obtaining the post, Veronique was the one who arranged everything.’ He clenched his jaw then forced himself to relax before saying softly, ‘She died in a road accident six months before the VOS began.’
‘She was supposed to be with you on this tour? In Carmel’s job?’ Melody sighed and nodded, realising how difficult things must have been for him.
‘Yes. We were supposed to be experiencing all of this together. She was proud of me and my work and she wanted the world to know about it.’ He shoved his hands into his pockets again. ‘After she passed away, I felt I owed it to her to do the tour, to carry out her wishes, as it were.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘Obligation, eh? It makes us do things we don’t want to.’
‘Your wife was right to be proud of you and to want the rest of the world to know about your techniques and the device you’ve invented. Obligation or not, the VOS will help so many surgeons to perfect their techniques and, in turn, will help their patients and that, George, is very noble. You are noble.’
‘No.’ He shook his head for emphasis. ‘I’m far from it because what man has these sorts of feelings for another woman eighteen months after his wife’s death?’ He gestured to the two of them. ‘That’s not noble. That’s not respectful. That’s not the type of legacy I want to leave to Veronique.’
His words were raw and painfully honest and it allowed Melody see that the man before her was still a man very much in love with his wife. He may have feelings for her but they were clearly feelings he didn’t understand and neither did she. Both of them were trying to make some sort of sense of this undeniable instant attraction they felt for each other.
His phone rang and he sighed heavily when he saw the caller.
‘Carmel?’ she asked.
He nodded and connected the call, not bothering to say hello but just listening before saying, ‘I’ll be right there.’ He disconnected the call and put his phone back into his pocket. ‘Duty calls.’
‘For both of us,’ she added, as she crossed to the coat rack near her door and picked up her white clinic coat. George, the gentleman that he was, took the coat from her and helped her into it before passing her the stethoscope from her desk. ‘Thank you for being honest.’ She angled her head to the side and smiled. ‘It’s refreshing.’
‘Thank you for listening to me ramble and I don’t mean to scare you or confuse you any further but I wanted you to know—’ He stopped and raked both hands through his hair. ‘I’m probably not making any sense.’
‘Yes. Yes, you are, George. In telling me about Veronique, in sharing what this tour meant to both of you, it might help us both to put the brakes on these crazy feelings we’re having.’
‘Exactly.’ He shook his head. ‘But when you say things like that, when you understand what it is I’m trying to say, that only makes it worse because it highlights just how well you seem to know me and that only intensifies the attraction I feel for you, because the last woman who understood me the way you instinctively do was—’
‘Veronique,’ she finished for him.
‘Yes.’ He stared at her for another fifteen seconds then turned and opened her office door. ‘We’re both going to be late if we stand here trying to make any sense out of this.’
‘True. Work. Work is always dependable.’
‘Work will see you through.’ He followed her out of the office and waited while she locked her door. ‘It’s what I told myself after Veronique’s death.’
‘Yeah. It’s what I told myself after my break-ups.’ She smiled sadly at him. ‘Have fun at your next meeting.’
‘Have fun at clinic,’ he stated, then grinned. ‘Ah—clinic. Those were the quiet and uncomplicated days of my past.’
She laughed, pleased they’d been able to lighten the atmosphere a bit. ‘You sound nostalgic.’
‘I am.’ He pointed to the stairwell door. ‘I’m going this way.’
She pointed towards the direction of clinic. ‘And I’m going this way.’
‘Will you be at the dinner tonight?’
‘Yes.’
‘See you then.’
With that, she turned and walked away from him, proud of herself when she didn’t look back. George Wilmont had just provided her with another reason why she needed to keep away from him—the fact that he’d clearly adored his wife. ‘And that only makes him more attractive,’ she grumbled as she headed into clinic, apologising to the sister for her tardiness.
She did her best to push thoughts of George and everything he’d told her to the back of her mind so she could concentrate on clinic. Thankfully, with the back-to-back patients she hardly had time to draw breath let alone dwell on thoughts relating to George. She managed to finish seeing all her patients just after five-thirty, which was only half an hour late. Melody wrote up the last of the notes as her registrar, Andy, stopped by to let her know he was also finished. ‘Are you coming to the dinner tonight?’ she asked.
‘After missing last night’s dinner? I’ll definitely be there.’
‘See you there.’ She returned her attention to the notes but heard Andy’s voice in the distance, talking to someone. The nurses had left the instant the last patient had departed so Melody wondered who it might be. Seconds later, she heard footsteps heading towards her consulting room and looked up expectantly at the open doorway.
‘Hi,’ George said a moment later. ‘I hope I’m not disturbing you?’
Melody’s heart lurched happily at the sight of him and a shiver of excited anticipation worked its way down her spine. Yes, he was disturbing her—far too much for her liking. ‘No. I’m just finishing up.’ She motioned to the notes, all the while trying to calm the effect he was having on her.
‘Don’t let me interrupt,’ he said, and looked at some of the posters stuck up on the wall around the clinic room. Melody quickly finished writing the notes and the instant she’d closed the file and put her pen down, the phone on the desk rang.
‘Excuse me,’ she said, but George merely nodded. ‘Dr Janeway.’
‘Oh, Melody. Good, I caught you. An emergency has just come in. They’re demanding the head of unit,’ the triage sister said.
Melody groaned resignedly. ‘Details?’
‘Right scapula, right Colles’ and dislocation of the neck of humerus. Melody, it’s Rudy Carlew.’
‘Is that name supposed to mean something to me?’
‘Honestly, Melody, don’t you ever go to the movies?’
‘Sure. So?’ She glanced at George only to find him watching her.
‘Problem?’ he asked softly.
‘Emergency,’ she mouthed, and he nodded.
‘Rudy Carlew is the hottest thing in movies,’ the triage sister was saying. ‘Mr Gorgeous? Everybody’s Hero? That’s the latest superhero movie—surely you’ve seen that one?’
‘Oh, yeah. I’ve seen that one. Right.’ Melody at least had a picture of the actor in her head.
‘He’s been filming his latest film in several locations around Sydney and today they were doing a stunt, and he fell.’
‘OK. I’m on my way.’ She hung up the receiver and turned her attention to George.
‘What’s happening?’
‘Rudy Carlew is in the ED.’
‘Who?’
Melody laughed. ‘I’m glad to see I’m not the only one out of touch. He’s a movie star,’ she continued as she packed up her desk and headed for the door. Turning out her light, she looked over her shoulder at him. ‘Want to accompany me to the ED?’
‘Sure.’ His enthusiasm was evident.
‘I guess most of the operating you’ve done has been scheduled, right?’
‘Exactly. I can’t recall the last time I dealt with an emergency.’
Melody pressed the button for the lift and while they waited she tilted her head and eyed him thoughtfully. ‘What’s the deal with your operating and practising licence? You must have operated in some of the finest facilities in the world.’
‘I have. For visiting professorships, the recipient is granted an international operating licence.’
‘So you could quite easily operate with me right now if I asked?’
‘Yes.’ The lift arrived and they rode it to down to the ED. ‘Will you?’ George asked the question with the delighted anticipation of a child at Christmas. ‘Please?’
Melody couldn’t help but smile at him. ‘I don’t know.’ She pretended to consider him thoughtfully. ‘How’s your upper-limb expertise?’
‘Pretty rusty,’ he confessed. ‘But I’d only be assisting,’ he was quick to point out.
‘Let’s see how his injuries present. Chances are he won’t require surgery at all.’ She told him what the triage sister had said and he nodded, all pretence gone as they walked into the ED. If she’d wanted to get people’s attention, she had it—walking in with the visiting orthopaedic surgeon to treat a movie star.
What had started out as a difficult day was turning into one that most definitely had its perks.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE NOISE COMING from outside was deafening and hospital security was stationed at the front door, as well as the door that led through to the treatment area.
‘Oh, there you are, Melody,’ the triage sister said, a hint of excitement mixed with exasperation in her voice. ‘He’s in treatment room two.’
‘Thanks.’ Melody pointed to where the security guards were standing. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Mr Carlew’s fans!’
‘Oh.’ Melody shrugged and led the way to treatment room two. ‘Hello,’ she said to the patient lying on the bed. She did indeed recognise the talented Rudy Carlew. ‘I’m Dr Janeway, Head of Orthopaedics. This is my colleague, Professor Wilmont.’
Rudy Carlew nodded slightly and then winced in pain.
‘Can’t you people do something?’ the woman standing next to him complained. ‘He’s in pain.’
Melody accepted the patient chart from one of the nurses and checked his analgesics. ‘Are you still experiencing pain, Mr Carlew?’
‘Rudy,’ he said softly.
‘Any pain, Rudy?’
‘Minor.’
‘You people have got to do something,’ the woman shrilled again.
‘I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.’ Melody politely.
The woman sighed with dramatic exasperation. ‘I’m his manager. Now do something.’
‘I will,’ Melody said. ‘Unfortunately, you’ll need to wait outside. The sister here will show you where.’
‘I’m not leaving him.’ The woman grabbed his hand and poor Rudy cried out in pain.
‘It’s all right, Astrid. I’ll be in good hands.’
Astrid looked at him, then back to the doctors. ‘He’s worth a lot of money to the studio, so fix him.’
‘Why don’t you appease the fans, Astrid,’ Rudy stated.
‘Yes. I can do that.’ Astrid headed out.
‘Now, Rudy.’ Melody moved in for a closer look at his injuries. ‘Let’s see what sort of damage has been done.’ She inspected both his
arms gently. He had a few cuts and scratches on his legs and upper torso, which had been attended to by the ED staff.
‘I think we’ll let Radiology enjoy your company next.’ Melody smiled as she wrote up the X-ray request forms. ‘You’ve dislocated your shoulder but I don’t want to put it back in without it being X-rayed first.’
‘Why not?’ he asked.
‘Because you may have fractured the top of your humerus, which is the upper arm bone. If you have, we’ll need to operate in order to fix the pieces of bone together before we can even attempt a relocation.’
‘If not?’
‘Then I can put it back in.’
‘Will it be painful?
Melody smiled. ‘We’ll make sure you have sufficient analgesics to cover the pain. Your Colles’ fracture, which is your wrist, looks straightforward and can probably be fixed with a simple plaster cast.’
‘I can’t have a cast on my arm,’ he stated in a normal voice. ‘I’m right in the middle of shooting a movie. The hold-up of waiting for my arm to heal in a cast would cost the studio millions.’
‘I’m sure we can arrange for you to have your arm strapped and then in a half-cast for the hours when you’re not on camera.’ Melody continued calmly. ‘There are options.’
‘Can I get a second opinion?’
‘Of course,’ she replied, not at all offended. ‘First of all, let’s see what the X-rays show and then we’ll know exactly what we’re dealing with.’
‘Right you are, Doc,’ he said with a smile. He was a handsome man, Melody thought, but his looks were too…polished.
‘You handled that well,’ George said once Rudy had been wheeled off, with three adoring nurses at his side, towards Radiology.
‘Why do you sound so surprised?’ She laughed as she led him into the ED tea room. ‘Coffee?’
‘Thanks,’ he said as he took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie.
‘Black. No sugar, right?’
‘How did you know?’
Melody chuckled. ‘Let’s see, since you arrived here, I’ve already had three meals sitting next to you. I simply noticed you didn’t add anything into your coffee before you drank it.’
