A Mother for His Twins (2 page)

‘Something like that.’

‘Dr Edwards. If you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t you simply take on the position of head of unit yourself? Surely it wasn’t because of the amount of paperwork because, from what I’ve seen during the past half an hour, you’re a man who knows what he’s doing, knows how to run a department and is obviously very comfortable working here. I guess I’m at a loss as to why they didn’t simply promote you rather than sourcing from outside the hospital.’

‘Worried you think you’re stepping on my toes?’ His good humour was back and she wondered whether she’d imagined that little frown that had previously pierced his brow.

‘A little bit. I don’t like stepping on other people’s toes.’

‘Don’t be concerned on my account.’ Eddie put his big manly hand onto his chest. ‘I promise you, I didn’t want the job so you don’t have to be worried about other staff members thinking you’ve come along and stepped on my toes—er…so to speak.’ There was that smile again, the one that brightened his eyes and made Jennifer feel all funny inside. She blinked
once, clearing her mind and doing her best to ignore the sensation.

‘That’s a relief.’

‘Because of what happened at your last hospital?’

‘What?’

‘In Victoria, right? You were at the Royal Melbourne, correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘You were brought in as deputy head, promoted above someone who had worked in the hospital for years, who’d acted in that position and who’d lost out to you.’

Jennifer was taken aback at that. ‘How on earth do you know about that?’

‘Ah.’ He touched the side of his nose. ‘I have my sources.’

‘Really?’ Jennifer leaned back in her chair and couldn’t help but cross her arms over her chest in self-defence. ‘What else did your sources tell you?’

Eddie’s lips twitched for a moment and he met her gaze. ‘That you were the ice princess. That you were crisp and cool to everyone you met whether they were your superior or not. That you have an exceedingly high opinion of yourself and that you’ll stop at next to nothing to ensure all jobs and staff perform at nothing short of an exceptional level.’

‘Hmm. Not very flattering.’ Her interpersonal skills were something she’d also promised herself to work on and she’d thought, given that she’d met two whole people in the department and not had one row, that she was doing quite well.

‘No. Not at all.’

‘Then why are you smiling at me? Aren’t you concerned that I’ll become crisp with you?’

Eddie laughed, the sound rich and warm. It was definitely guaranteed to melt any ice she may have been surrounding herself with. ‘Not at all. In fact…’ he leaned a little closer on
the desk, his eyes intent with good humour ‘I’m willing to bet you were only that cold because the rest of the staff gave you a hard time. A protective reaction, if you will. Sort of like the echidna. It only puts its prickles up when it’s being attacked. We all have defence mechanisms.’

Jennifer liked his answer and nodded but wished he’d move back. The after shave he wore was rather alluring. ‘We do.’

He stayed where he was for another split second, their eyes meeting. ‘My sister’s a little like that. I guess that’s why I can recognise the trait in others.’

‘S-sister?’ She wished he’d move, give her some space, and as if he could read her mind, he did just that, leaning back before standing.

‘She’s a general surgeon.’

The intercom on Jennifer’s desk buzzed and Martha announced that both of them were expected on the ward immediately. The interruption was enough to make Jennifer look away.

‘Anyway, given that I was armed with this prior information of you,’ Jasper continued, straightening his tie, ‘I hoped that if I greeted you with a warm and endearing attitude, you wouldn’t feel the need to be all ice and bristle.’

Jennifer stood and headed over to the coat rack by the door to get the new white coat which hung there for her. Eddie beat her to it and held it open for her. ‘Thank you,’ she said as she slipped her arms in, breathing in his warm, spicy scent again. Nice.
Very
nice. She stood there for a moment and so did he. She could feel the warmth of his body very close to hers and her heart rate started to increase. Who was this man? He smelt good, had a nice smile and firm arms…arms that would protect. To top it all off, he was charming and appeared to be quite honest and not afraid to speak his mind. She respected that.

She turned her head to look up at him and was surprised
to find him simply watching her, his grey eyes intent. Swallowing, she found she couldn’t move, mesmerised by the atmosphere that surrounded them. She was positive he could hear her heart pounding against her ribs, its rhythm increasing at the look in his eyes, but within the next second he’d shifted away, reaching for his own white coat which had hung next to hers on the rack. He turned his back as he slipped it on and Jennifer smoothed the collar of her own coat as she looked at the floor and tried desperately to forget whatever it was that had just passed between them.

‘Ward round,’ he said.

‘Ward round.’ She nodded and walked towards the door. Again his long strides had him there before her. ‘Oh, I don’t have my new ID badge yet. Is that going to matter?’

He angled his head. ‘I think everyone’s going to know who you are.’ He took his own ID badge out of his coat pocket and clipped it on. It had his picture on it, his name and title. ‘Everyone should have theirs on so you’ll be able to learn their names, ranks and serial numbers.’ He chuckled at his own joke but Jennifer hadn’t really heard what he’d said as her eyes were intent on his own badge.

‘Jasper? Your name is Jasper?’

‘Yes. Jasper Edwards.’

‘Jasper Edwards?’ She said the name slowly and then closed her eyes and shook her head. ‘
You’re
Jasper Edwards?’

‘Is something wrong?’

‘You don’t by any chance have a couple of gorgeous four-year-old daughters with lovely blonde ringlets and blue eyes called Lilly and Lola, do you?’

Jasper’s puzzled expression slid from his face to be replaced by one of total incredulity, his eyes wide with disbelief, yet he kept his voice controlled and calm. ‘How on earth do you know that?’

‘I
KNEW
it.’ Jennifer shook her head and walked past him, not even bothering to look at Martha as she strode down the corridor.

‘Knew what?’ Jasper was beside her in an instant, those long strides of his eating up the distance with ease. ‘How do you know all these things?’

‘I knew she couldn’t resist meddling in my life but this…this is pure cunning.’ Jennifer was muttering, talking more to herself than to Jasper, but he was listening quite intently as he kept pace with her.

‘Who? Who are you talking about? How do you know about my girls?’

Jennifer stopped walking and turned to face him. ‘Sara.’ Her tone was cross and after shaking her head she continued on her way.

‘Sara? Matt’s wife?’

‘Yes, Matt’s wife. How many Saras do you know?’

‘A few. That’s not the point. Obviously you know Sara.’

‘Yes, and obviously we spoke on the phone last week.’

‘What?’ Jasper couldn’t believe how bewildering this woman was. She was smart, gorgeous and his new boss. To top it all off, she knew about his daughters. It wasn’t that
people around the hospital didn’t know he had children, they did, but Jasper had worked hard to keep his private life as far away from the hospital world as possible.

When he’d started dating again two years ago, he’d made a pact with himself to protect the girls as much as possible. He’d started out by not wanting to date anyone who worked at the hospital but as he spent the majority of his time there—and the rest at home with the twins—he realised it was virtually impossible to meet anyone who wasn’t associated in some way with the medical profession. To ensure the girls were protected, he’d compartmentalised his life and things had been going swimmingly…until now. If Jennifer knew Sara then his two worlds had just collided with a very loud bang and he wasn’t quite sure what to do next.

‘What do you mean we spoke on the phone? When?’

‘The other day when you called Sara’s house. The line was bad. Remember?’

‘That was you?’ His eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘Why did you say you were Sara?’

‘I didn’t. I told you it wasn’t Sara but you couldn’t hear me.’

He nodded. ‘The line was bad.’

They weren’t far from the ward now and Jennifer was having difficulties slotting Jasper ‘call me Eddie’ Edwards into a nice, neat compartment. He didn’t fit under the ‘work colleague’ banner, neither did he fit under the ‘friend’ banner, and in the past those were the only two banners she’d had. Knowing he was a friend of Sara’s automatically connected her professional and private lives together and she didn’t like that at all. She needed to get this sorted out and
now
.

She came to a halt and grabbed Jasper’s arm, pulling him into a small nook near a drinking fountain.

‘Look. I don’t like it when my personal and private lives mix.’

‘Neither do I.’

‘Good. Then Sara can just forget her wild ideas and we can simply work together as colleagues and nothing more. Agreed?’

Jasper frowned. ‘What wild ideas? What on earth are you talking about?’

‘Sara!’

‘I’ve gathered that much. I’ve also realised you’re the friend who’s been staying with Sara for this past week.’

‘Yes.’ It was her turn to frown.

‘The girls came home on Thursday, after spending the day with Sara, talking about Sara’s friend, Jen. I’m guessing you’re Jen.’

‘You really are very smart, Dr Edwards. Good to know you can connect the dots so easily.’ Her tone was laced with light sarcasm.

‘Hey. Why are you cross with me? It’s just a coincidence, that’s all.’

‘Yes, but one I could have at least prepared myself for.’

‘You’re talking in riddles again.’

‘Sara’s been trying to get me to date again.’

Jasper’s eyebrows hit his hairline at her words. ‘Sara wants to set us up!’

‘Now you’re getting the picture.’ Jennifer looked down at her clenched hands for a moment, then lifted her head, raising her chin with a hint of defiance. Jasper found he liked the action but pushed that thought aside for now. ‘We were talking about you the other day. After you’d called.’

‘You were?’ Should he be worried? Jennifer had already mentioned that Sara was trying to set them up. Had Sara been touting his good points? He waited.

‘I was trying to figure out the loose family connection.’ She waved her words away and shook her head as though a little
embarrassed by her confession. ‘Anyway, I asked her where you worked and she quickly changed the subject. You see, she knew I was coming to work here—in this department. She knew you worked here so why do you think that a woman as bright and intelligent as Sara wouldn’t tell us about each other?’

‘I don’t know. It slipped her mind?’

‘Do you really believe that? If you do, you don’t know Sara all that well.’

‘Wait a minute. Why does she want you to start dating again?’

Jennifer visibly bristled and squared her shoulders. ‘That is none of your business, Dr Edwards.’

‘I think it is, especially if I’ve been chosen as the guy to get you off the blocks.’ His good humour was beginning to reassert itself. A flush came to her cheeks at his words and he realised it caused her eyes to sparkle like the deep blue of the ocean. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight bun and for a startling moment he wondered what she’d look like with it flowing loose and free around her shoulders.

‘Dr Edwards, all you need to know is that I don’t date my staff, even if I
was
ready to “get off the blocks”, as you so eloquently put it. End of discussion.’ With that, she turned and walked into the ward, her back firm as she put all thoughts of her new, sexy colleague out of her mind.

It was easier said than done and she was very aware of him as she undertook her first ward round. It was the one time she should be exhibiting total professionalism. She was the new boss. This was what she’d been waiting for for so long and now that it was here all she seemed conscious of was where Jasper Edwards was standing. Her body seemed to have tuned itself to him and even when he was out of sight, his fresh scent worked its way into her synapses and continued to tease her to distraction.

Twice she had an intern waiting patiently for her to answer a question. The whole entourage, which was made up of medical students, interns, registrars and her fellow consultants—including Jasper—watched her intently, waiting for her words of wisdom. The problem was she had no idea what the initial questions had been, all due to her awareness of ‘Eddie’.

Jennifer was cross with herself for not maintaining total control. She’d had to freeze out the world before and she could do it again, especially if it meant she avoided making a fool of herself in front of her staff. Sara may have thought Jasper Edwards up to the job of melting her hardened heart but Jennifer knew better. She’d been called the ice queen at her old hospital and she wasn’t at all perturbed about continuing that name here—especially if it meant colleagues like Jasper Edwards kept their distance.

After they’d completed the ward round, Jennifer was about to head back to her office to take another look at her schedule for the day when the clinical nurse consultant called her over.

‘There’s a call for you, Dr Thorngate.’

‘Thank you.’ Jennifer took the receiver to discover it was Martha.

‘Your morning heads of unit meeting has been cancelled. Professors Dorian and Fitzgibbon have flu and won’t be in.’

‘It seems to be chasing me,’ she murmured absent-mindedly.

‘Pardon?’ Martha asked.

‘It was going around in Melbourne and I managed to avoid it. It doesn’t matter. Does this mean I head to clinic?’

‘Yes. Eddie will show you around if you’re not sure where to go.’

‘Thank you.’ There was no point in telling her new secretary that she wasn’t about to rely on ‘Eddie’ for anything. If she got lost, she’d ask someone else for directions. After all,
she was a woman and if there was one thing women knew how to do, it was to ask for directions.

‘I’ve rebooked you in to have your hospital identification photograph taken at one o’clock, which should give you enough time to finish in clinic,’ Martha continued. Jennifer listened to her secretary, pleased Martha was not only highly trained but communicative as well. It was sort of strange having a secretary all to herself, where as deputy head of unit at her last hospital she’d had to share secretarial support with three other consultants.

When she’d finished on the phone, Jennifer closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep, calming breath. Her eyes snapped open when that now familiar spicy scent wound itself about her senses once more.

Without turning around, she said, ‘Is there something I can help you with, Dr Edwards?’

‘How did you know I was here?’ he asked softly.

‘I’m good like that.’ She turned slightly to see him lounging in a chair, his hands fiddling with a pen he’d just picked up off the desk. He was handsome. She’d give him that. Those eyes of his, which were now watching her intently, were the most amazing colour and Jennifer had the feeling she could lose herself in them quite easily…But she was stronger than that. She could quite easily resist. Straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin with a hint of defiance, she waited for him to continue.

‘Better than you were during ward round, I hope,’ he stated with a quirk of an eyebrow.

His words put her on the defensive and she crossed her arms, her tone crisp and concise. ‘Meaning?’

He put the pen down and lifted his hands, palms out towards her. ‘Nothing. Just teasing.’

Jennifer looked down her nose at him, needing to put him
in his place because then she’d hopefully be able to gain better control over her own wayward emotions. ‘Well, I’d kindly ask you to keep comments such as those to yourself in future.’

‘Ah, and there she is. The ice queen who terrified medical students, interns and registrars at her previous hospital. When I met you this morning, I thought Ted McGinchley had been wrong, you were so sweet and charming. Although I guess if people are rubbing you up the wrong way you’re bound to hit defensive mode sooner rather than later.’

‘Let me guess, you enjoy rubbing people up the wrong way. Sparking a reaction and having a good chuckle about it later?’

‘I don’t chuckle about it. Sometimes, though, ruffling a few feathers makes life a little more exciting, don’t you think?’ His look was direct, his gaze unwavering, and Jennifer found herself unable to move for a moment. Her mind also seemed to have been wiped blank yet again and she had no idea what they’d just been talking about. She needed to regain control again, and fast.

‘Well, if you don’t want anything, I’ll head up to clinic.’ She turned and walked toward the ward doors, thanking the CNC on her way out. She knew Jasper was beside her, those long legs of his covering the distance without a problem.

‘I thought you had a meeting.’

‘It’s been cancelled.’

‘Right.’ They fell into an uncomfortable silence as they walked along the corridor towards clinic. Jasper wasn’t quite sure why he’d been teasing Jennifer. He guessed it wasn’t good to antagonise the woman who could give the green light to certain projects he was contemplating. As a trained orthopaedic consultant, Jasper was one of two surgeons employed full time by the hospital. Jennifer was the other. Usually con
sultants spent a certain number of hours at the hospital and the rest in their private practices, but as Jasper’s main interest was in trauma medicine, working in the hospital full time gave him the opportunity to continue being an orthopaedic trauma specialist. Jennifer, however, was now in control of the department’s budget so he’d do well to remember that.

He knew on a psychological level he should try to distance himself from her. He’d heard from his colleague in Melbourne that Jennifer Thorngate didn’t care about anything except her work. It was no wonder he’d been expecting the dragon lady, and he was still trying to get over his initial surprise at the way she’d smiled and laughed with him earlier that morning. He’d been even more surprised to discover he’d
liked
the way she looked, the way her eyes sparkled with mirth and the way he appeared instantly drawn to her.

He’d been further intrigued to learn not only about the connection with Sara but that Sara was trying to get Jennifer to date again. Again? What had happened in Jennifer’s past to make that a necessity? Had she lost someone close to her? Was that why she lived only for the job and nothing else? He, of all people, knew what it was like to feel the agony of losing a loved one and relying on work to get you through, but he also knew it was important to get back into life or you could end up losing
yourself
. If he hadn’t had the twins, he wasn’t sure he would have survived Elisha’s death, but he’d had to go on living, raising his beautiful girls, and he was glad he had. Sure, it wasn’t easy but life was about the journey, not rushing to the end.

However much he was intrigued by the new head of unit, he’d do well to keep the relationship strictly professional. She’d met his daughters. There was nothing he could do about that. He might even see her from time to time at the many barbecues and big family gatherings Sara loved to organize, and
he could deal with that, too. But that would be the extent of their personal contact and if she was going to freeze him out, well, he just might let her.

They entered the clinic without another word spoken between them, as though they’d both been making firm resolutions and were now intent on keeping them. Jasper politely introduced her to the outpatient clerical staff as well as the nursing staff and then picked up a file and called his first patient through.

Clinic was as busy as she’d expected and she was glad she’d been able to help rather than being stuck in a meeting. The only glimpse she had of Jasper was when he was escorting a patient into his consulting room while she’d been escorting one out.

‘Professional,’ she whispered to herself as she went to have her identification photograph taken. She could handle anything so long as she maintained her professional persona.