She ought to be resolved to it. But she’d woken up this morning wondering if maybe they could salvage something out of this mess, if she could set aside her wounded pride. The beginnings of a tentative friendship, perhaps?
Instead she’d made another spectacle of herself.
Even now her cheeks burned when she thought of what she’d been wearing when he’d walked in. She’d thought he would sleep longer. Through the wall she’d heard his bad night, so she hadn’t expected him to come down to the kitchen until she’d left, but he hadn’t known that.
She could recall the look of pure disgust on his face with humiliating clarity. He was going to think she was throwing herself at him all over again—especially after wearing her heart on her sleeve yesterday. And then, as if hell-bent on making matters worse, she’d hung on to him like a limpet when he’d been politely trying to lift her hands from his chest, unable to shake off the deep, longing desire which had flooded her body as soon as the two of them had come into contact.
‘Thea? Did you hear what I said?’
‘Hmm? Oh, sorry...’ She cast Jack an apologetic look.
‘I thought not.’ He sighed, then warned her, ‘I was telling you to watch out—Sir James has been after you.’
‘Sir James? What does he want?’ She could do without any added stress today. The man never called in without a reason, and it wasn’t usually good.
‘Not here—on the phone,’ Jack reassured her. ‘You probably need to call him sooner rather than later. The office should be free.’
‘You’re probably right.’ Thea pulled a face as she trudged to the door. ‘The last thing anyone wants is to be caught in Sir James’s sights if he comes down here to reprimand me in person.’
* * *
‘Thea?’ Are you okay? You look white as a sheet.’
Thea was startled when Nic walked into the office. How long had she sat staring at the phone after her call to Sir James had ended? She stared bleakly up into Nic’s concerned face.
‘What’s wrong, Thea?’
‘That was Sir James.’ Her voice sounded hollow. ‘About Ben.’ She stopped, shooting Nic an apologetic look. ‘I’m sorry. You’re probably the last person who wants to hear about Ben.’
‘You mean the husband I never knew you had?’ Nic answered wryly. ‘And the fact that I dated his wife—presumably you were married when we dated?’
‘God, I’m so sorry. I should have told you. I just never... I shouldn’t have...’
‘Thea.’ Nic pulled her hands gently away from her face. ‘It’s okay.’
‘Is it? How can you be fine about it?’ Thea asked incredulously. ‘I mean, I’m grateful that you are, but I feel like I lied to you.’
‘No, you didn’t.’ Nic pulled a wry face. ‘Don’t you remember turning me down twice before finally giving in to my charms? And even then you warned me that it was just a taster date between friends.’
‘I remember.’ Thea blinked. How had she forgotten that before?
‘I always suspected that there was someone else—or at least that there had been someone.’
Thea was silent. She couldn’t tell Nic that it hadn’t been because she’d still been in love with Ben, more that the wounds had still been too close to the surface. Especially the miscarriage.
‘So...’ Nic gently broke into her thoughts. ‘What did Sir James say to upset you?’
‘They want Ben to work here.’
‘Ah.’
‘You don’t sound surprised.’
‘Honestly? I’m not. You know how tight-knit our medical community is. I’d heard about Major Ben Abrams even before you rolled up here and shocked us all with the revelation that he’s your husband. He’s one of the most pioneering trauma surgeons in today’s war zones. Some of his techniques have already filtered down to the likes of you and I. Plus...’ Nic grinned again. ‘He’s the hero who miraculously survived two IEDs and is back up and walking in almost half the time of any most other patients.’
‘Jogging, actually.’ Thea arched her eyebrows at him, still trying to calm her racing thoughts.
‘You’re kidding?’ He stared at her, as if waiting for the punchline. ‘You’re not kidding. The man must be a machine.’