LITMIR.BIZ

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froze. Surely not … It couldn’t be … could it? The softly accented voice came from behind her. It sounded horribly familiar, and she turned around in shock, only to have her worst fears confirmed.

      Her breath caught in her chest. José Benitez was framed in the doorway, looking impressively tall and strong, clad in dark trousers and a crisp shirt with sleeves folded back to the elbows to reveal well-muscled, tanned forearms.

      ‘Dr Benitez …’ Her heart sank. How could this be happening? Why did he have to turn up here, of all places? In fact, what was he doing here?

      He inclined his head briefly in acknowledgement. His eyes were dark and impenetrable. ‘Dr Heywood— Amanda told me I would find you here.’ His gaze moved over her, taking in her glossy chestnut hair, pinned back with filigree clips, before flicking down over her slender figure. ‘How’s our patient doing?’

      Our patient. She scrambled her thoughts together. That sounded as though he belonged here. ‘He’s a bit better, I think.’ She hoped the little boy was going to be all right, but she was still worried about the possibility of complications and the matter of whether the fruit would live up to its name of the death apple. She’d never heard of it and she’d no idea of the devastation it could cause. ‘His pain level’s gone right down and he seems to be comfortable for the moment.’

      ‘I’m glad.’ He picked up the boy’s chart and scanned it for a few seconds before hooking it over the bed rail once more. ‘It looks as though we’ve caught this in time,’ he murmured. He spoke to the boy’s mother for a few minutes, reassuring her about her son’s condition, and then said softly, ‘Perhaps you’ll excuse us, Mrs Dacosta. I must speak to Dr Heywood for a while, but I promise you the nurse will be back with you shortly.’

      Jessie’s heart made a heavy, staccato beat as she stood up to leave the room with him. Her throat closed in a spasm of disbelief. She’d had no idea he was a medical doctor—all this time she’d understood him to be a marine biologist, concerned only with the conservation of the coral reefs in the area. How wrong that assumption had turned out to be.

      He led the way to his office, which turned out to be a large, comfortably furnished room with a wide window that overlooked a pleasant landscaped area. Outside, palm trees stood out amongst giant ferns and flowering shrubs planted around a cobbled courtyard.

      ‘Please, sit down,’ he said, waving her over to an upholstered chair by the pale beech wood desk. ‘May I get you a coffee?’ It was merely a polite, formal offer, a way of observing the conventions of civility, but he was already standing by the sleek-looking machine, adding fresh grounds to the filter.

      She managed to find her voice. ‘Thank you,’ she accepted, pulling in a quick breath and adding, ‘I had no idea you worked here.’

      ‘No,’ he agreed. ‘I gathered that. Actually, I’m in charge of the accident and emergency unit.’

      She sucked in a breath. So he was her boss? Things were getting worse by the minute. ‘You had the advantage over me,’ she said, unable to stop a tinge of indignation from creeping into her voice. ‘You must have known last night that I would be coming to work here today.’

      ‘I guessed as much.’ His eyes darkened. ‘It was the one thing that reassured me we would be seeing one another again before too long. I didn’t want to lose you so soon after meeting you.’ He switched on the coffee machine. ‘We needed a doctor to cover for our absent colleague, so I knew you must be her replacement. She’s gone over to the mainland on extended leave due to unexpected family circumstances.’

      ‘Yet you didn’t think to mention this to me last night?’

      He turned towards her and raised a dark brow. ‘Perhaps I might have, but regrettably your brother came along and I think you’ll agree things seemed to go downhill fairly soon after that.’

      ‘Yes, unfortunately, they did.’ She sent him a troubled glance. Was it really too late to sort this out? Perhaps she ought to try to put things right between them, not only for Ben’s sake but because now it looked as though she would have to find some way to work with this man.

      She said cautiously, ‘I’ve had some time to think about my reaction last night and … perhaps I was a bit too hasty. Maybe I should have tried to see things from your point of view a little more. After all, it must have come as a huge shock to you to arrive home and find that strangers had invaded your house. You had every right to be angry, I do appreciate that, and I understand how you must have felt … but it really wasn’t Ben’s fault. You have to understand—I love my brother and I know him through and through. I know he can be a bit wild at times and he has his faults, but he told me he hadn’t organised the party and I believe him.’

      He made a faint smile. ‘He’s lucky to have a sister who is so ready to defend him. I hope he appreciates you.’ He pressed a switch and steaming hot coffee spilled into porcelain mugs. ‘Do you take your coffee white or black?’ he asked.

      ‘White, please.’

      He used the steam wand to froth milk in a jug, topped up the coffees and then handed her a cup. ‘Help yourself to sugar.’

      ‘Thanks.’ He’d listened to what she’d said, but he wasn’t giving anything away. He probably still thought her brother was in the wrong.

      She spooned golden sugar crystals into the coffee and then sipped the hot brew carefully, unable to look him in the eye just then. She needed to gather her thoughts.

      He was being polite to her, but that didn’t mean he was prepared to forgive her for walking out on him last night. For all she knew, she could be out of a job by the end of the day. She wasn’t used to being wrong-footed, but where this man was concerned it was beginning to look as though it might be something of a natural hazard.

      Annoyed with herself for being so reticent, she put down her mug and sent him a wary glance. ‘Am I going to lose this job because of what happened yesterday? I’d like to know where I stand.’

      He studied her over the rim of his cup. ‘Maybe we should start again and try to forget what went on between your brother and me. After all, as I said to you before, my quarrel is with him, not with you.’

      She acknowledged his concession with a slight nod. It was way more than she might have expected and she was thankful for the reprieve, but inside she was still smarting over the unfairness of the situation.

      ‘I was hoping you might have had second thoughts about keeping him on.’

      ‘Not so far.’ His tone was abrupt, his jaw clenching. ‘Shall we agree to put that subject aside for now?’

      She nodded reluctantly. What choice did she have? He was unrelenting in his attitude, and that was upsetting because she’d hoped to break through his tough exterior and appeal to his sensitivities. Perhaps he didn’t have any where Ben was concerned.

      At the same time, this job was important to her. It wasn’t full-time but, even so, her salary had to pay for the rent of the apartment she was sharing with Ben—a place he’d had to find quickly after he’d been turned out of their father’s house, and for the time being it would have to cover his expenses, too, until he managed to find some other work. ‘I suppose we’d better,’ she murmured.

      ‘Good.’ He frowned. ‘What exactly were you expecting to get from working here?’ he asked. ‘Yesterday you mentioned you wanted to gain experience before you decide on a specialty—I can see that—but what else? Why here? Were you just hoping to spend some time with your brother and your father?’

      He was quizzing her as though this was an interview, but she didn’t see any point in being less than truthful. ‘I was, of course … it means a lot to me to be close to them … but I also wanted to learn something about tropical medicine.’

      ‘Yet you’re planning to go back to the UK at some point, I expect?’ He looked at her guardedly, as though her answer was important to him. This was only a three-month contract, but perhaps there was a chance

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