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The Boss: A Cozy Romance 62
‘SO HOW was your first day?’ Rhiannon asked as Georgie came home later that evening. Georgie tossed her bag on the sofa and clamped her hands to the sides of her head above her ears. ‘Arrrggghhhh!’ Rhiannon winced. ‘Oh, dear,’ she said. ‘That doesn’t sound so good.’ ‘I cannot believe everyone thinks that man is God’s gift to the public health system,’ Georgie ranted. ‘He was insufferable!’ ‘Insufferable, huh?’ Rhiannon curled up on the sofa and, tucking a cushion against her middle, waited patiently to hear the rest. ‘Yes,’ Georgie said, still pacing the floor in agitation. ‘Insufferable, arrogant, rude and … and …’ ‘Nice-looking?’ Rhiannon offered helpfully. Georgie turned to face her with an irritated expression on her face. ‘That’s completely irrelevant.’ Rhiannon’s finely arched brows lifted. ‘Is it?’ ‘Of course it is,’ Georgie said. ‘You know what we said. No dating until after Easter.’ ‘Just checking,’ Rhiannon said with a little grin. ‘So what did he do to get you so
The Boss: A Cozy Romance 63
‘SO WHERE is the registrar this morning?’ Ben asked Irene Clark, the unit head nurse on duty.‘She called the unit a few minutes ago. She’s going to be a few minutes late,’ Irene said. ‘She said something about an accident.’Ben gave a grunt and turned to the four medical students and the intern hovering in the background. ‘Just for the record if you need to make up an excuse for being absent or late, make sure it’s an original each time,’ he said. ‘I will be keeping a mental record of how many grandmothers’ funerals, toothaches or minor traffic accidents occur.’There was a snigger from the group just as Georgie burst onto the ward. ‘Sorry I’m so late,’ she said a little breathlessly. ‘I was caught up in an accident and—’Ben hooked one brow upwards. ‘Another one, Dr Willoughby?’Georgie stopped in her tracks, her eyes taking in the interested stares from the medical students and Jules Littlemore the intern. She drew her shoulders back and met Ben’s dark satirical gaze with an e
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Georgie disguised a little swallow as her gaze dipped to his mouth. She was so close to him she could see the pepper of dark stubble on hisface as if he had skipped shaving that morning. It gave him an arrantly masculine look that was devastatingly attractive. She tried to edge her fingers away from his but somehow one of his hands had come down over both of hers, trapping them beneath his.‘W-what consequences?’ she croaked as her eyes returned to his. Long seconds seemed to pass before he spoke.‘I’m not going to tolerate this sort of performance, Dr Willoughby. If there is any more slacking off, you’ll be out on your ear. Understood?’‘Perfectly,’ she said through tight lips.He released her hands as he straightened, his hands going to his trouser pockets, the deep thrust of them drawing her eyes like a magnet. He had such long, strong legs, toned by hours of hard exercise, his waist lean and his stomach flat and ridged with muscle that was clearly visible through the lightwei
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‘HAS anyone seen Dr Willoughby about?’ Ben asked in the unit later that day. ‘I think she’s left for the day,’ the afternoon shift nurse Carla Yates informed him. ‘She was on call last night so I expect she was feeling a bit tired. It was a busy night. Do you want me to get her on the line for you?’ ‘No,’ he said, reaching for his phone. ‘I’ll call her myself. It’s not urgent.’ ‘She’s nothing like her father, is she?’ Carla asked after a little pause. Ben looked at her with as little animation as possible. ‘What?’ ‘Georgie Willoughby,’ she said. ‘She’s rather a sweetie, don’t you think?’ He gave the nurse a noncommittal shrug. ‘She’s OK, I guess.’ ‘Jennifer Patterson was telling me Georgie quite possibly saved a young baby’s life this morning,’ she carried on. Ben felt another wave of remorse begin to tighten his stomach. ‘Oh, really?’ ‘Yes, she was first on the scene at a minor accident but insisted on the baby being brought in for observation. It turns out the little girl ha
The Boss: A Cozy Romance 66
THE Italian restaurant he had chosen was small but full of the delicious aromas of garlic and basil and home-cooked pasta. It was run by an Italian couple in their late fifties, Gina and Roberto, who greeted Ben warmly as he came in with Georgie a step or two behind. ‘Buona sera, Dottore Blackwood. Is this your new lady friend? And about time, too. We have been waiting for this for months. Leila Ingham was not pretty enough for you. This one magnifico!’ ‘She’s my new registrar, actually,’ Ben said, clearly bursting the restaurateur’s bubble. ‘Georgie, this is Roberto and Gina Di Copella.’ ‘Piacare di conoscerla,’ Georgie said with a friendly smile. ‘Parlate Italiano!’ Georgie rocked her hand back and forth in a gesture of modesty. ‘A little.’ Ben waited until they were seated and drinks ordered before he said, ‘I didn’t realise you were a bit of a linguist. That must come in handy at times.’ ‘My parents paid for me to go on a siX-week holiday to Italy when I finished high schoo
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GEORGIE buried her head in the menu, her fingers still tingling where Ben’s had touched hers. She was ashamed at her weakness. She had been so confident she would win the bet with Rhiannon but she could see that things were going to get tricky if she didn’t put a stop to this right now. She couldn’t remember a time when she had been so instantly attracted to a man. Sure, she’d had a few boyfriends, and Andrew McNally, the last one, had been relatively serious. She had even considered herself in love enough to contemplate marriage until she had found out his previous girlfriend hadn’t quite moved out of his life.Georgie realised that it had been her pride that had taken the beating, not her heart. But falling in love with Ben Blackwood was not just going to lose her a thousand dollars. He had a chip on his shoulder that was going to take quite some shifting and she wasn’t sure she was up to the task of doing it.Besides, she was supposed to be focusing on her career, not marriage an
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‘GOSH, whatever happened to your brand new trousers?’ Rhiannon asked as soon as Georgie came in later that night.Georgie looked down at the brown stain on the front of her white cotton drawstring trousers, a funny sensation passing deep and low through her belly at the thought of how it had got there. ‘Um … I spilt my coffee.’Rhiannon’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘Who’d you have coffee with?’Georgie avoided her friend’s piercing gaze by making a show of emptying her gym bag. ‘It wasn’t a date so stop looking at me like that,’ she said.‘So who was it? Someone from the gym?’ ‘It was my boss.’‘That’s all right, then,’ Rhiannon said, folding her arms. ‘He doesn’t count.’Georgie turned to look at her. ‘What do you mean, he doesn’t count?’ ‘He’s not your soul mate.’This time is was Georgie who narrowed her eyes. ‘Have you been talking to Madame Celestia about me again?’Rhiannon gave her a sheepish look. ‘I happened to run into her buying a book on anger management at Bondi
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BEN was on the phone when Georgie knocked on his office door and he called out for her to come in before continuing his conversation with the person on the line. ‘I told you it’s fine, Mum,’ he said. ‘I haven’t got any commitments this weekend. I’m not on call and the weather’s going to be good so just relax and enjoy yourselves.’Georgie felt a little uncomfortable listening in on what was clearly a private family conversation. She stood shifting from one foot to the other, pretending an interest in the books on the shelves running alongside his desk.‘If it will make you feel a little better, I’ll rustle up some female company for Hannah in case she gets sick of her boring older brother,’ he said. ‘Shopping is not exactly my strong point but I’m sure I can find someone who will show her where all the best shops are.’Georgie felt the point between her shoulder blades begin to prickle as if his dark blue gaze had centred there. She reached for a heavy textbook on emergency neurosu
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The Boss: A Cozy Romance 78
‘AREN’T you going to the gym any more?’ Rhiannon asked two days later. ‘This is the third day in a row you’ve missed.’ Georgie scrubbed at her red eyes. ‘I don’t want to run into Ben-Break- Your-Heart Blackwood,’ she said. ‘I’m going to switch my membership to another gym.’ ‘Poor you,’ Rhiannon said, as she stroked Georgie’s head. ‘He really did a good job on you, didn’t he?’ Georgie blew her nose and tucked the sodden tissue into her bra, joining the others for a lumpy potato effect. ‘I’m so dumb when it comes to dating,’ she said. ‘I’m not going on another date for siX months, I swear it.’ ‘That’s a long time, Georgie.’ ‘I don’t care,’ she said as she got to her feet. ‘If I so much as look at a man with a view to dating him, I’m going to donate a thousand dollars to the hospital research foundation … no, make that five thousand dollars. That should make me think twice before I fall into the same trap again.’ ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’ Rhiannon said. Georgie set her shoulder
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‘ONE hundred, two hundred, three hundred—’‘Stop,’ Rhiannon said as Georgie counted out the hundred-dollar bills the following morning. ‘I have something to confess.’Georgie let the next note flutter to the table. ‘What?’ Rhiannon bit her lip. ‘I’ve been seeing someone.’ Georgie’s eyes went out on stalks. ‘You have?’Rhiannon nodded. ‘I was going to tell you a couple of days ago but I wasn’t sure if the guy felt the same way about me. We weren’t really dating …. sort of catching up.’ She gave a little grimace and added, ‘Sorry.’‘Who is it?’ Georgie asked. ‘Anyone I know?’ ‘Jules Littlemore.’Georgie gaped at her. ‘Jules?’‘Why are you so surprised? He’s a really decent man. I know he’s a couple of years younger than me but I’ve always liked him and when he kissed me I sort of … fell in love with him.’‘I’m really glad for you, Rhiannon,’ Georgie said. ‘Jules is a great guy and perfect for you when I think about it.’‘So you’re not angry at me?’‘No,’ she said, smiling at he
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BEN answered the door with a towel hitched around his hips, his hair still dripping from his shower.‘Oh … sorry …’ Georgie bit her lip and tried to keep her eyes north of the border. ‘Um … I picked a bad time to drop in on you.’‘Not at all,’ he said, stepping aside to let her in. ‘I just got back from the gym.’ He closed the door and added, ‘I thought I might have seen you there. You didn’t hang around at the hospital so I thought you’d gone straight there.’‘I’m so sorry I didn’t keep our appointment,’ she said. ‘I got a bit distracted by … by something that happened just after I left you with Mr Tander.’He frowned as he looked down at her. ‘Jonathan Tander didn’t have another go at you, did he? I left him with the hospital chaplain in the relatives’ lounge. Did he somehow track you down again?’She shook her head and cupped her elbows with her crossed-over hands. ‘I had a bit of a run-in with Richard DeBurgh … well, not exactly a run-in, more of a misunderstanding … of sorts
The Boss: A Cozy Romance 75
GEORGIE didn’t leave anything to chance the next morning and left extra early so she could turn up on time in Theatre for Emma Stanley’s case. She had found it hard to sleep the previous night, thinking about the young girl who had so much at stake, not to mention Ben, who as Emma’s neurosurgeon had so much pressure on him to perform a miracle when the chance of one was not very likely.Linda greeted her as she came into the change room. ‘Tough morning this one,’ she said. ‘Ben’s really feeling it. He hides it pretty well but I’ve worked with him long enough to know the signs.’‘He told me about the case yesterday,’ Georgie said as she put her bag into one of the lockers. ‘It’s hard, what life tosses up, isn’t it?’‘Sure is,’ Linda agreed. ‘The parents are such lovely people who would move heaven and earth to get their daughter back to full health. I only hope Ben can pull this one off. Mind you, if anyone can, he can. He’s got that steely determination to succeed where others woul
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BEN had to force his eyes to stay fiXed on Georgie’s face as she opened the door at his summons. She was dressed in a knock-out pink dress that skimmed her slight curves and highlighted the healthy glow of her skin. Her hair was loose about her shoulders, its sun-kissed light waves full of body and bounce, making his fingers twitch yet again to reach out and thread through its silkiness. Her perfume drifted towards him, a different one this time. It was a subtle but totally intoXicating scent that reminded him of sun-warmed honeysuckle.‘Hannah is waiting in the car,’ he said by way of greeting, not able to think of anything else on the spot. ‘She had a good day today. Thank you.’Georgie followed him towards the lifts. ‘I had fun, too,’ she said. ‘She’s a lovely girl and great company.’He stabbed at the lift button without looking at her. ‘I can’t help worrying about her,’ he confessed with a small frown. ‘She’s lived in the country all her life. She’s not as street smart as city
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BEN called Hannah on her mobile to arrange a meeting place and half an hour later caught sight of her and Georgie sitting on the grass near the Hyde Park fountain, a pair of ibis coming closer and closer for the crumbs Georgie was tempting them with.‘Even the animal kingdom isn’t safe from her natural beauty and charm,’he muttered under his breath as he made his way towards them.‘Hi, Ben, look what I bought,’ Hannah said, leaping to her feet and showing him her jeans and top inside the boutique bags she had in her possession.‘Mmm, very nice,’ he said. Swinging his gaze to Georgie, who was still sitting cross-legged on the grass, he asked, ‘What did you get?’‘Sore feet,’ Georgie said wryly, as she made to get up.He smiled and offered her a hand, pulling her up so strongly she tumbled forward into his arms.‘Ooh!’ she said breathlessly, her hands flat against the hard wall of his chest.‘That’ll teach you to wear those ridiculously high heels all the time,’ he admonished h
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BEN had seen Emma Stanley’s MRI scans two weeks ago but there had been considerable change in her condition since then. The young siXteen-year-old track and field star had a tumour on her lumbar spine, which thankfully was benign, but that didn’t mean she was out of the woods by any means. The tumour was pressing against the cauda equina, causing numbness in her buttocks and weakness in her legs.Surgery was the only option but there were huge risks involved, especially as imaging had shown the tumour was extensive and its removal had the potential to cause damage to multiple nerve roots. She had fallen several times over the last few days and her parents had panicked and contacted him directly rather than wait until Monday to see him in his public clinic, as he had advised them to do.Ben sat Emma and her parents down in his office. Taking his own chair, he began to run through the risks. ‘I know we’ve talked through all this before but as Emma’s symptoms have worsened it won’t hur
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BELINDA BRONSON was coming out of the gym on Friday evening as Georgie was going in. ‘Just the person I wanted to see,’ she said, pulling Georgie to one side away from the cluster of members near the front door.‘I was going to say the very same thing to you,’ Georgie said with a little frown. ‘I got into heaps of trouble over talking to you about the Tanders’ accident.’Belinda’s expression turned cynical. ‘That kind of figures,’ she said. ‘I spoke to a mate of mine in Traffic—he must have pressed a few too many sensitive buttons. He told me Mr Tander is a legal eagle. Lawyers always think they’re above suspicion and that the legal system they represent and defend so volubly in court doesn’t apply to them outside it.’‘Yeah, well, he’s not just any old legal eagle,’ Georgie said. ‘He’s a high court judge. If he’s serious about going ahead with this, my career is over.’Belinda tapped her top lip for a moment. ‘You know, it might be worth having a deeper look into this,’ she said.
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GEORGIE was totally exhausted by the time her list with Richard DeBurgh ended and she still had three more hours of on call before she could finally relax. Richard had been encouraging towards her but he was nothing like Ben in Theatre. Richard had a tendency to snap at the nursing staff if instruments weren’t handed to him quickly enough, and when a patient with a meningioma had a major venous bleed from the sagittal sinus he swore as his tension level rose, which made everyone feel on edge. At one point he bellowed at Georgie for bumping the microscope while he was suturing the sagittal sinus bleed, and although he had moved it himself, she knew there was no point in trying to defend herself.Linda Reynolds, the scrub nurse Georgie had met in Ben’s theatre on her first day, caught up with her in the female change rooms once the list was over.‘See what I mean about there being a waiting list to work on Ben’s lists?’ she said as she stripped off her theatre scrubs. ‘Richard is fine
