LITMIR.BIZ

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wine birthmark almost covering one side of his face. His parents, cold and emotionally detached, had decreed it was simply ‘character building’, but when he’d been fourteen his uncle had stepped in.

      ‘I’ve arranged the best plastic surgeon I can afford,’ he’d told his father. ‘The kid’s getting that off his face whether you like it or not.’

      His uncle was a bachelor, taciturn, unsentimental, refusing thanks. He and the plastic surgeon he’d found had changed Luke’s life and had set him on the path he was on now.

      His uncle’s farm had been lifesaving as well. It still was. Even though his uncle was as emotionally distant as the rest of his family, his farm had been a retreat from the world.

      He hadn’t been to the farm for two weeks now and he was missing it. Maybe he could take off for a few days. Leave his apartment to Lily. Whoever Lily was.

      Not a junkie. An unanswered question.

      Don’t get close.

      ‘So tell me about your lady of the night.’ Finn’s voice from the doorway to his office made him start. Dammit, he should be used to it. He wasn’t. ‘My what?’

      ‘Your one-night stand. Or your one-morning stand. You planning to make it two mornings?’

      ‘Leave it,’ he growled. He thought of Lily as he’d left her, huddled in his bed, so sick she could hardly acknowledge he was leaving. He’d stayed with her for an hour and made sure the retching had stopped. He’d left her with fluids, and he knew all she needed was sleep, but still he’d hated leaving her.

      And somehow … for some reason he hated this hospital thinking she was … his one-night stand.

      Sydney Harbour Hospital. It should read Sydney Scandal Central, he thought. Any hint of gossip was through the place in minutes. A team of skilled medics working long hours under intense pressure, in teams where they were thrown together in emotionally charged scenarios over and over, made for a hotbed of scandal. Up until now he hadn’t added to it.

      It drove him crazy, though, the fact that he was being watched all the time. ‘When’s our aloof Dr Williams going to crack and prove he’s human?’

      He was aware he was a target; he was aware there were bets—first woman to break his icy barricade. Even a couple of the gay guys had tried.

      The gossips would be relentless now, he thought. A one-night stand … They wouldn’t stop.

      And Lily? She’d signed up for four weeks’ work and she was labelled from this moment forth.

      She was in his bed. They’d find that out in about two seconds flat. Other medics lived in his apartment block, Kirribilli Views. Hell, his cleaning lady was due in there this afternoon. By the time she’d finished dusting, the news would be all over Sydney.

      ‘She’s not a one-night stand,’ he found himself saying, before he even knew he intended saying it. ‘I already told Dr Lockheart that. I’ve known Lily for years.’

      ‘Years?’ Finn raised his brows in disbelief. Finn Kennedy made stronger doctors than Luke nervous, Luke thought. The man just had to raise one of those supercilious eyebrows and minions were supposed to quake.

      But Luke was still thinking of Lily retching. This was no time for quaking. Or for disbelief.

      ‘Why do you think she’s here?’ he demanded. ‘We wanted to see if we could make a go of it.’

      ‘You were checking her records.’

      ‘I was making sure they’d got her address right. We used a boarding-house address as cover, intending to keep our relationship private a bit longer.’

      ‘By snogging on the on-call couch?’

      ‘Yeah, that wasn’t exactly wise,’ he admitted. ‘She was waiting for me after finishing work. I found her and …’ He closed his eyes. ‘The kid had just died. Sure, what happened was inappropriate, but Lily’s a big-hearted woman. She held me first, asked questions later.’

      ‘You’re in a relationship. What the—?’

      ‘This hospital thinks it knows everything about me,’ Luke said wearily. ‘It doesn’t.’

      The door to his office was open. Their voices were carrying, which was just what Luke intended.

      Everyone knew what had happened in the on-call room. They were labelling Lily because of it, but if they thought Lily and Luke were in an established relationship she’d be treated with respect. He’d already hinted at it to Evie. Why not take it further?

      Maybe this was the least he could do. Where women were concerned he always did the least he could do, he thought grimly, but this time …

      ‘You bring your woman to work here without telling us about the relationship?’ For some reason Finn’s disbelief was giving way to anger.

      ‘What of it?’ It was Evie, just passing. Like half the hospital. How many medics used this corridor, and how carrying was Finn’s voice?

      Answer—very carrying.

      ‘It’s deception,’ Finn growled.

      ‘What, not telling us who he’s sleeping with?’ Evie demanded. ‘What gives us the right to know?’

      ‘We’re a team.’

      ‘If we are you have an odd way of treating team members,’ Evie snapped. ‘Leave Luke alone. It’s his business.’

      ‘If he wants to bring his—’

      ‘Luke’s your friend,’ Evie said, closing the door. ‘You want to make this worse?’

      ‘I have a patient being sedated,’ Luke said warily. Sparks flew whenever these two got close and he didn’t want to be in the middle. He needed to leave. Now.

      ‘I’m so pleased,’ Evie was saying warmly, and she hugged him. ‘She’s a very competent nurse. I agree you should have told us, but …’ she cast a disparaging glance at Finn ‘… I can see why you wouldn’t. She looked bad though when she left this morning. Is she okay?’

      ‘She has gastro,’ Luke said. ‘Remind me to speak to Admin. She’ll have got it here; she’ll get paid for time off or I’ll take it further.’

      ‘She needs time off?’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘Where is she now?’ Finn growled, and Luke fixed his friend with a challenging stare.

      ‘At home,’ he said. ‘In my bed.’

      ‘How wonderful,’ Evie said happily. ‘Lily and Luke … Ooh, I love it.’ She cast a cheeky look at Finn. ‘Maybe it’s time you tried a solid relationship, Mr Kennedy.’

      ‘In your dreams,’ Finn snapped.

      ‘Aren’t you having one?’ Luke asked.

      ‘He’s been seen with Mariette from Accounts,’ Evie said, disparagingly. ‘Not exactly a long-term proposition, that one.’

      ‘Will you butt out?’ Finn was almost explosive.

      ‘Like you butted out of Luke’s love life?’ Evie retorted. ‘Certainly, Mr Kennedy. Can I walk you to Theatre, Dr Williams?’

      ‘Yes,’ Luke said with relief.

      ‘And tell me about Lily on the way. Leave nothing out. First sight, first touch, first kiss. The whole romantic fantasy.’

      Fantasy, Luke thought. She had it right there.

      Lily woke as someone was vacuuming right through the door.

      There were sunbeams on her counterpane. Her counterpane?

      She was lying in the middle of a king-sized bed, on down-filled pillows, ensconced in crisp, white sheets and fleecy

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