A Life-Saving Reunion. Alison Roberts

would,’ she heard herself saying. ‘But we all make mistakes, don’t we?’

      She hadn’t looked away fast enough to miss the way that glint in his eyes got extinguished and her words hung in the air as they walked on, taking on a whole new meaning. That the mistake that had been made encompassed their whole relationship?

      The soft evening air began to feel increasingly thick with the growing tension. This was her fault, Rebecca realised. She’d had the opportunity to break the ice and make things far more comfortable between them and she’d ruined it because she’d backed off so decisively. Maybe it was up to her to find another way to defuse the tension. At least she was no stranger to tackling difficult subjects with her patients and their families.

      She had learned it was best to start in a safe place and not to jump in the deep end as Thomas had—perhaps—inadvertently done.

      ‘I did that consult you requested on your new patient this afternoon. Tegan Mitchell? The thirteen-year-old with aortic stenosis?’

      ‘Ah...good.’ There was a note of relief in his voice as he responded to stepping onto safe, professional ground. ‘What did you think?’

      ‘Classic presentation. Even my junior house surgeon could hear the ejection click after the first heart sound and the ejection murmur. It was the first time she’d come across an example of how the murmur increases with squatting and decreases with standing. She’s got some impressive oedema in her legs and feet, too.’ Rebecca’s lips curled into a small smile as she glanced up at Thomas. ‘Tegan, that is, not my house surgeon—her legs are fine.’

      Thomas didn’t smile at her tongue-in-cheek clarification. ‘I’ve got Tegan booked for an echo tomorrow morning. We’ve started medication to get her heart failure under control but I think she’s a good candidate for valve replacement surgery, yes?’

      That tension hadn’t been defused enough to allow for a joke, obviously. Rebecca nodded. ‘Absolutely.’

      He didn’t see her nod because he had turned his head as the path forked.

      ‘Do you want to go through Queen Mary’s Garden?’

      ‘Why not? It’ll be gorgeous with the roses in full bloom.’

      Thomas took the lead through the ornate gates and chose a path between gardens with immaculately trimmed hedges surrounding waves of colour. Rebecca inhaled the heady scent of old-fashioned roses but Thomas didn’t seem at all distracted by the beauty around them.

      ‘How’s your theatre list looking for later this week?’