‘...is used with the supra-aortic vessels implanted as....’
‘Talia,’ he repeated, ‘what’s going on?’
‘I...’ heat suffused her cheeks.
‘Is this going to be a problem for you? Working with me on this case?’
Panic shot through her. His expression was closed, giving nothing away as usual, yet there was an edge in his tone that she didn’t recognise. If she had to guess, she might have thought it was disapproval.
‘I’m sorry,’ she blurted out hastily. ‘I’m just...aware that people are watching us.’
‘I’m the stand-in surgeon for the great Isak Nilsson.’ Liam shrugged. ‘People are going to be interested.’
‘Do you think they know?’ she muttered into the coffee cup. ‘Do you think they can tell?’
Whatever she’d been expecting, it hadn’t been Liam’s forthright reply.
‘That we were intimate yesterday? I don’t think they can tell that, no. Though they might guess if you look any more furtive.’
She couldn’t answer, though she could feel the heat racing over her skin.
‘Talia, we’re here legitimately discussing a mutual patient. If you don’t want people to gossip then stop looking edgy and don’t give them a reason to.’
All at once, her sense of discomfort and guilt morphed into old feelings of frustration and hurt and she swallowed down the urge to scream. The simple truth was that she didn’t want to be here with Liam in the clinic cafeteria, discussing a patient.
She would far, far rather have been back in the privacy of his office or, better still, in the suite he’d been allocated in the clinic’s luxury hotel, which was well equipped to deal with entire Hollywood entourages, let alone a single surgeon.
And she would far rather have been engaged in more diverting activities than discussing a patient—as much as she wanted the best for Lucy Wells.
But such a fantasy was pointless. Liam had already been more than explicit that yesterday’s intimacy had been a mistake not to be repeated. He didn’t want her.
But she, to her shame, still wanted him.
‘Did you know Nate has provided me with a chauffeur-driven car to give me a tour around the island?’ Liam asked her, without warning. ‘Apparently, your chief thinks it’s important for me to get to know more about the island.’
And, in spite of everything, Talia laughed. The idea of Liam exploring an island when he could be working on a new, challenging operation was almost laughable. But how typical of Nate to encourage it, all the same.
‘He’s proud of the island.’ She grinned suddenly. ‘We all are. And you have a reputation for burying yourself in your work, so I imagine he’s trying to ensure you take some time out, too. Then again, he could be hoping you might take a swing by St Vic’s Hospital. They’re always in need of medical staff to offer their time for free.’
‘And do you?’ asked Nate. ‘Offer your time free.’
‘Whenever I can,’ she confirmed with another grin.
She liked it that it seemed to catch him off guard for a moment. But she wasn’t ready when he turned around and did the same.
‘Fancy showing me around?’ he asked abruptly.
Her entire body felt as though she’d slammed into a wall. She didn’t want to consider why that might be.
‘Me?’ she asked tentatively. ‘Why?’
‘Maybe we can find some common ground, make it easier to work together.’
He even offered her a bright, airy smile, his voice even and unaffected, but she hadn’t missed that pause for a fraction of a second first.
‘You always promised me a guided tour,’ he pushed when she didn’t answer. Though she wanted to. So very badly.
‘Over three years ago,’ she managed instead.