‘No problem.’
Beth grimaced as she levered herself up off the chair. She was eight months pregnant and Daniel guessed that she was finding it difficult to get around. He remembered how tired Camille had been when she had been expecting Nathan and she had stopped work well before this stage. However, as a soon-to-be single mother, Beth didn’t have the luxury of leaving work early. She had opted instead to continue working and take the bulk of her maternity leave after her baby was born. Nevertheless, Daniel made a note to ask Marie, their head receptionist, to redirect as many of Beth’s patients as possible to him. He didn’t want Beth pushing herself too hard during her final week, neither did he want Eleanor being placed under too much pressure. It would be better if he took up the slack for now.
Once again Daniel found himself worrying how his new employee would fare. Oh, there was no doubt about her ability—her CV was proof of that. However, would she be able to deal with whatever had led her to leave her previous post? he found himself wondering as he made his way to Reception. Although he knew nothing about Eleanor on a personal level, instinct told him she had suffered some kind of major blow and recently too. Had she been let down in love, perhaps? Treated badly by some man?
Daniel was surprised by how angry the idea made him feel. Bearing in mind that he had met her only the once, and that it hadn’t been the most auspicious of meetings either, it shouldn’t have had this effect on him. Nonetheless, the thought of some guy hurting her made him feel extremely angry and it was completely out of character for him to react that way. His expression must have been unusually grim as he stopped at the reception desk because Marie looked at him in surprise.
‘What’s wrong?’ she demanded. In her forties, with two grown-up sons, Marie had worked at The Larches ever since Daniel had taken over the practice and didn’t believe in standing on ceremony. ‘Has something upset you? Because I have to say that you could turn the milk sour with a face like that!’
‘Sorry.’ Daniel dredged up a smile. Admitting that he was upset at the thought of their new locum being unlucky in love would have caused no end of questions, most of which he couldn’t have answered even if he’d wanted to. He swiftly changed the subject because he really and truly didn’t want to start searching for explanations at that moment. ‘I know it’s short notice, but can you redirect as many of Beth’s patients as possible to me? I don’t want her tiring herself out by doing too much in her last week.’
‘Of course. But what about the new doctor? What’s her name again? I wrote it down somewhere...’
‘Eleanor Munroe,’ Daniel said promptly, and felt a little thrill course through him as her name rippled off his tongue. He glanced at the clock above the desk, needing a moment to collect himself. The last thing he wanted was Marie suspecting how he felt. ‘She should be here any minute...’
‘Good morning.’
Daniel swung round when he recognised Eleanor’s voice. In a fast sweep his eyes ran over her from the severely styled hair to the sensible shoes on her narrow feet and he felt his nerves start to tingle. What was it about this woman that affected him so much? he wondered dizzily. As an eligible widower, he’d had his share of women pursuing him over the past four years. However, he had never taken them up on their invitations to lunch and dinner, or whatever else had been on offer. The fact was that he hadn’t been interested in them.
Not once had he felt that spark, that flicker of desire ignite inside him, yet as he looked at Eleanor, he felt it now. And in a big way too. Why it was happening was a mystery but he couldn’t lie to himself, couldn’t pretend that he didn’t feel it. He was attracted to her and it couldn’t have come at a worst time either. If she had been let down, as he suspected, the last thing she needed was to embark on another relationship, especially with him. He didn’t have time for a relationship. He needed to focus on Nathan: his son’s future had to take priority over everything else.
Daniel took a deep breath, clamping down on the surge of disappointment that rose inside him. There was no question about what he was going to do. He was going to ignore all these crazy feelings and be there for Nathan.
* * *
Ellie could feel her tension mounting as Daniel continued to stare at her without uttering a word. Was he having second thoughts? she wondered anxiously. Regretting whatever impulse had led him to offer her this job?
She bit her lip, unsure what she was going to do if that proved to be the case. She had given up the lease on the flat in Kent, sold all her furniture, and got rid of everything that reminded her of Michael. One of the main attractions about this job was the fact that it came with accommodation. There was a furnished flat above the surgery, which had seemed like a godsend. However, if she lost the job then it was going to be extremely difficult to start all over again. She had been living off her savings for the past months but they certainly wouldn’t stretch to cover the costs of renting a flat and furnishing it. The prospect of not only having to find herself another job but somewhere to live as well was daunting to say the least.
Ellie breathed in deeply when she felt her eyes prickle with tears. Since her interview, she had found herself breaking down all too often. It was as though Daniel’s kindness that day had opened the floodgates and all the hurt she had held at bay kept flooding out. However, there was no way that she intended to break down again in front of him. He might think she was playing the sympathy card and that was the last thing she wanted.
‘Hi, Eleanor. Nice to meet you. I’m Marie, the head receptionist and general factotum around here.’ The middle-aged woman behind the desk leant over and offered Ellie her hand.
‘Good to meet you too,’ Ellie replied automatically, shaking hands. She glanced at Daniel, wishing he would say something. If he was having second thoughts, it would be better if he said so rather than standing there, looking at her...
‘Sorry.’ Daniel suddenly roused himself. He smiled apologetically as he offered her his hand. ‘I was wool-gathering. Welcome to The Larches, Eleanor. It’s good to have you on board.’
Ellie felt relief wash over her as she reached for his hand. She had completely misread the situation, it appeared. Daniel wasn’t thinking of rescinding his offer after all. His hand closed around hers and a frisson ran through her when she felt the strength of his fingers envelop hers. For some reason she couldn’t explain, it felt right to have him hold her hand, right and wonderfully reassuring. Even though she knew nothing about him, she felt safe with him. Safe and cherished.
‘It’s good to be here,’ she murmured, quickly withdrawing her hand. She dredged up a smile, needing to rid her head of such nonsense. Daniel Saunders was her employer, no more and no less than that. He wasn’t going to have any impact on her life outside work.
‘So where would you like to start? I imagine you’d like to see the flat first.’ Daniel’s voice held no trace of anything yet Ellie felt herself flush when he addressed her. It was so unlike her to react that way that she found herself stammering.
‘I...ahem... Whatever suits you best, Dr Saunders.’
‘It’s Daniel,’ he reminded her, his blue eyes holding hers fast for a moment before he turned away. ‘Maybe we can leave the flat till later then. I’ve had a word with Beth and she’s going to show you the ropes so you can get an idea of how we do things around here.’
‘I’m sure that won’t be necessary,’ Ellie said swiftly, wanting to put an end to the pleasantries. The sooner she got down to work, the more comfortable she would feel. It was the newness of it all that was unsettling her, of course, not Daniel per se. It was a relief to have found an explanation and she hurried on. ‘I’ve been a GP for some time now and I’m completely up to speed when it comes to all the paperwork and everything else that comes with the job.’
‘I’m sure you are. However, every practice has its own way of doing things and The Larches is no different, so I’d appreciate it if you would indulge me on this point.’ He smiled