Dr Dark and Far-Too Delicious

Perhaps he picked up on the tension because he looked from Penny to Jasmine and she noticed then that his eyes were green and that his jaw needed shaving and, yes, despite being completely not interested, some long-dormant cells demanded that she at least deign to acknowledge just how attractive he was, especially when his deep voice spoke on. ‘Sorry, am I disturbing something?’

‘Not at all.’ Penny’s response was rapid. ‘This nurse was just asking for directions to get back to Emergency—she’s got an interview there.’

‘You can hardly miss the place.’ He gave a wry smile and nodded to a huge red arrow above them. ‘Follow us.’

‘Mrs Phillips?’ Jasmine turned as she heard her name and saw it was the receptionist from Security, where she had just come from. ‘You left your driving licence.’

‘Thank you.’ Jasmine opened her mouth to say that she was soon to be a Ms, but it seemed churlish to correct it as technically she was still a Mrs—it was there on her driving licence after all. Still, in a few weeks’ time she’d be a Ms and she’d tell everyone the same.

Jasmine couldn’t wait for the glorious day.

For now, though, she followed Penny and her colleague towards Emergency.

‘I didn’t mean to literally follow,’ Jed said, and he waited a second for her to catch up. Jasmine fell into reluctant step alongside them. ‘I’m Jed … Jed Devlin—I’m a registrar in the madhouse, as is Penny.’

‘Jasmine.’ She duly answered. ‘Jasmine Phillips.’

‘So?’ he asked as Penny clipped noisily alongside them. She could hear the anger in her sister’s footsteps, could feel the tension that was ever present whenever the two of them were together. ‘When do you start?’

‘I haven’t got the job yet,’ Jasmine said.

‘Sounds promising, though, if you’ve been sent up to Security.’

‘They have to do a security check on everyone,’ Penny said abruptly.

They all walked on in silence for a few moments.

‘Here we are,’ Jed said. ‘See that big red sign that says “Accident and Emergency”?’

‘How could I miss it?’ She gave a brief smile at his teasing as they headed through the swing doors and stepped into Emergency. ‘Thanks.’

‘No problem.’

‘Good luck,’ Jed said.

Of course Penny didn’t offer her best wishes. Instead, she marched off on her high heels and for a second Jasmine stood there and blew out a breath, wondering if she was mad to be doing this.

It clearly wasn’t going to work.

And then she realised that Jed was still standing there.

‘Do I know you?’ He frowned.

‘I don’t think so,’ Jasmine said, while reluctantly admitting to herself that they had definitely never met—his was a face she certainly wouldn’t forget.

‘Have you worked in Sydney?’

Jasmine shook her head.

‘Where did you work before?’

She started to go red. She hated talking about her time there—she’d loved it so much and it had all ended so terribly, but she could hardly tell him that. ‘Melbourne Central. I trained there and worked in Emergency there till I had my son.’

‘Nice hospital,’ Jed said. ‘I had an interview there when I first moved to the area, but no.’ He shook his head. ‘That’s not it. You just look familiar …’

He surely hadn’t picked up that she and Penny were sisters? No one ever had. She and Penny were complete opposites, not just in looks but also in personality. Penny was completely focussed and determined, whereas Jasmine was rather more impulsive, at least she had been once. She was also, as her mother had frequently pointed out throughout her childhood whenever Jasmine had burst into tears, too sensitive.

‘There you are!’ Jasmine turned as Lisa came over and Jed made his excuses and wandered off.

‘Sorry,’ Jasmine said to Lisa. ‘They took ages to find all the forms I needed.’

‘That’s Admin for you,’ Lisa said. ‘Right, I’ll walk you through the department and give you a feel for the place. It just got busy.’

It certainly had.

It had been almost empty when Jasmine had first arrived for her interview and the walk to Lisa’s office had shown a calm, even quiet department, compared to the busy city one Jasmine was more used to. Now, though, the cubicles were all full and she could see staff rushing and hear the emergency bell trilling from Resus. Not for the first time, Jasmine wondered if she was up to the demands of going back to work in a busy emergency department.

The last two years had left her so raw and confused that all she really wanted to do was to curl up and sleep before she tackled the process of healing and resuming work, but her ex didn’t want to see their son, let alone pay child support, and there was no point going through appropriate channels—she couldn’t wait the time it would take to squeeze blood from a stone, but more than that Jasmine wanted to support her son herself, which meant that she needed a job.

However much it inconvenienced Penny and however daunted she was at the prospect.

‘We do our best with the roster. I always try to accommodate specific requests, but as far as regular shifts go I can’t make allowances for anyone,’ Lisa explained—she knew about Simon and had told Jasmine that there were a couple of other single mums working there who, she was sure, would be a huge support. ‘And I’ve rung the crèche and said that you’ll be coming over to have a look around, but you know that they close at six and that on a late shift you don’t generally get out till well after nine?’

Jasmine nodded. ‘My mum’s said that she’ll help out for a little while.’ Jasmine stated this far more generously than her mother had. ‘At least until I sort out a babysitter.’

‘What about night shifts?’ Lisa checked. ‘Everyone has to do them—it’s only fair.’

‘I know.’

‘That way,’ Lisa explained, ‘with everyone taking turns, generally it only comes around once every three months or so.’

‘That sounds fine,’ Jasmine said confidently while inwardly gauging her mother’s reaction.

It was a good interview, though. Really, Jasmine was confident that she’d got the job and, as she left, Lisa practically confirmed it. ‘You’ll be hearing from us soon.’ She gave a wry smile as Jasmine shook her hand. ‘Very soon. I wish you didn’t have to do orientation before you start—I’ve just had two of my team ring in sick for the rest of the week.’

Walking towards the exit, Jasmine saw how busy yet efficient everyone looked and despite her confident words about her experience to Lisa, inside she was a squirming mess! Even though she’d worked right up to the end of her pregnancy she hadn’t nursed in more than a year and, again, she considered going back to her old department. At least she’d maybe know a few people.

At least she’d know where things were kept. Yet there would still be the nudges and whispers that she’d been so relieved to leave behind and, yes, she should just walk in with her head held high and face the ugly rumours and gossip, except going back to work after all she had been through was already hard enough.

‘Jasmine?’ She turned as someone called her name and forced back on her smile when she saw that it was Jed. He was at the viewfinder looking at an X-ray. ‘How did you get on?’

‘Good,’ Jasmine answered. ‘Well, at least I think I did.’

‘Well done.’

‘I’m just going to check out the crèche.’

‘Good luck again, then,’ Jed said, ‘because from what I’ve heard you’ll need it to get a place there.’