‘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?’
CHAPTER TWO
‘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.