‘I need to assess him first. I need to see whether there is anything I can do before I agree to take him on.’
‘Of course,’ Mila said as she stood. ‘A consultation is all I’m asking for at this stage. Shall we go and meet the ambulance?’
Abi and Mila left Damien’s office together, leaving him behind. That was a good thing. She needed to focus, to concentrate on this new case and if Damien had chosen to come with them she knew he would only distract her. But she would swear she could feel his dark-eyed gaze following her out of the room, although she knew she was being completely fanciful. Why would he follow her movements when he could watch Mila instead? Mila was far more glamorous.
‘Thank you for agreeing to see Dylan,’ Mila said as they stepped into the main corridor and headed for the ambulance bay. ‘My clinic is important to me. I want to be able to provide medical care for people who can’t afford it but it’s an expensive exercise and there will always be some things we just can’t do, but with Freya’s help and with the support of The Hills we will be able to achieve more.’
Mila might come from a wealthier background than her but Abi sensed that despite that difference they had one thing in common—wanting the best for their patients. It was a common thread among those in the medical profession—patients came first—and Abi had seen it already at The Hills.
As they headed for the ambulance bay Abi could see James Rothsberg—head of The Hills and also Freya’s brother and Abi’s new boss—walking towards them. Abi felt Mila tense at her side as he approached them and Mila’s pace slowed, not enough to stop her movement altogether but Abi got the sense that if the corridor hadn’t been long and straight but had presented Mila with an alternate route to take, she would have taken it. She got the feeling that Mila was looking for an escape.
Abi saw James’s eyes widen in surprise as they approached him and he stopped short a few steps before he reached them.
‘Mila! What are you doing here?’ He looked uncomfortable and appeared to be unsure how to greet her. He didn’t seem to notice Abi at all. He certainly didn’t acknowledge her, having eyes for Mila only.
‘I needed to discuss a patient,’ she said, as Abi tried to blend into the background. ‘I have another patient that I’m hoping can use your services.’
‘Already?’
Abi could hear the note of surprise in James’s voice, or was it cynicism?
Mila obviously heard it too as her reply was frosty. ‘I wasn’t aware there was a time limit. Freya assured me you were okay with the collaboration.’
‘Of course.’
He didn’t sound okay. Abi could sense the tension between them. It was almost palpable and Abi could visualise the sparks snapping backwards and forwards between them. She wondered if she should give them some privacy but she was expecting the ambulance to arrive at any moment with Dylan, and she wanted Mila with her when they greeted their young patient.
In her peripheral vision she saw an ambulance pulling to a stop. James saw it too.
‘Well, I guess I’ll leave you to it,’ he said as he stepped away. ‘It was good to see you,’ he added, but Abi wasn’t at all sure that he meant it.
Mila also seemed a bit unsettled and looked a little lost when James walked away. She was no longer quite so unflustered and serene. Abi wondered what the story was—she was positive there was one.
Mila was still watching as James walked away. The rear doors of the ambulance were being opened and Abi started to move towards the exit. Her movement drew Mila’s attention back to the matter at hand and Abi forgot all about Damien and the Bright Hope Clinic and the tension between Mila and James as she focused on her young patient.
* * *
‘How did Dylan’s skin grafts go?’ Damien asked as he stuck his head into Abi’s office.
Abi had performed the surgery the previous day but this was the first chance Damien had had to follow up the case with her. She swivelled her chair around to face him and stretched her legs out. She was wearing one of The Hills’ white coats over a cream silky blouse and a black skirt that finished just above her knees. Her legs were amazing and Damien had to remind himself to keep his eyes fixed on her face and not to ogle her slim calves.
‘The procedure went well. Now it’s just a matter of waiting to see if the grafts take and keeping my fingers crossed that Dylan doesn’t get an infection.’
She looked pleased with herself and so she should. Mila had observed the surgery and Damien had heard from her how impressed she had been with Abi’s ability. It seemed as though Freya’s decision to offer Abi a position at The Hills had been a good one. She was a competent surgeon, more than competent, and he was enjoying the development of their professional relationship, but he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t noticed her other attributes. She was beautiful in a fragile, delicate way but he sensed an underlying strength and he was keen to find out more about her, which brought him to the other reason for his visit.
Freya’s party was only a day away but, according to Freya, Abi was making excuses to avoid attending Saturday night’s function. Damien hadn’t been particularly keen on attending either but when Freya had made it clear that she expected all senior staff to make an appearance at the publicity event he’d decided that one way to make the evening more appealing would be to have Abi there too.
He knew he should attend, it could be good for business, but since he and Brooke had split he’d avoided as many of these social gatherings as he could. He’d had enough of dressing up and parading around and chatting to people who didn’t really interest him. He much preferred to spend his weekend nights lying on the couch, watching a movie and sharing a bowl of popcorn with Summer.
But that revelation had given him a brief glimpse into the future and he hadn’t liked what he’d seen. He was in danger of becoming a sad, lonely old man. While, if anyone asked, he would tell them he wasn’t interested in dating he didn’t really want to end up old and alone. Summer wouldn’t be with him for ever and he knew he should make more of an effort but there wasn’t normally much incentive to do so. Women were trouble. Until now.
Until Abi had come into his world he would have been quite happy to remain a hermit but now the thought of being able to escort her to the function appealed to him and therefore so did the function. Now he had some incentive.
‘Dylan’s case was an interesting one for you?’ he asked, posing the question while he tried to think of a way to segue into his proposition.
She nodded and her unusual amber eyes glowed.
‘Do you feel like celebrating a successful first week on the job?’ he asked.
‘I won’t know how successful I’ve been until Dylan’s bandages come off next week.’
‘Freya has organised this cocktail party for tomorrow night. It’s part promotion, part celebration and we are all expected to attend, but I’d rather poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick. She tells me you feel much the same.’
Abi nodded. ‘Having to mingle with a room full of strangers is my idea of purgatory,’ she said.
‘In that case, I have a suggestion.’ He took a deep breath as an unfamiliar burst of nerves made his heart jump in his chest. ‘Seeing as this party is supposed to be spotlighting the joint venture between The Hills and the Bright Hope Clinic and you’ve just had your very first joint-venture patient, I think that if I have to go, you should come with me.’ He shouldn’t be doing this but he was. He wanted to find out what made her tick. She was intriguing, a mixture of strength and