His Hired Girlfriend (3 page)

“
You look busy,” Peter
says.

“
I am,” Mary replies. “Every patient in ED seems to have
pneumonia. Then there are those with colds and flu. Can’t they just
go to their GP?” She turns to Jayden, who has suddenly gone very
quiet and has a trancelike look on his face. “Are you
okay?”

“
Huh? Oh, I’m fine.” Jay
sounds much like a deflated balloon.

“
Hey, we should go out Saturday night,” Mary suggests,
eyeing Jayden. “Dinner, a movie, a quiet drink, and
then—”

Jay raises his eyebrows.
Peter clears his throat and nods. “How about inviting the others
along too? It’ll be fun.”

Mary frowns at Peter. He
simply shrugs his shoulders and tries on an expression of
innocence—which fails.

* * *

Two

Though her eyes are on
her book, Alexandra Stewart, known simply as Alex to close friends
and relatives, knows
Mr.
Hot-Choc
is still watching
her. Perhaps he wants to sit next to Mary St. Clair, which wouldn’t
surprise her at all. Her ex-classmate from high school is popular
with everyone. Her catwalk figure, dark brown curls, and bright
blue eyes steal the tongues right out of the mouths of the boys.
You could say she’s perfect, almost. If only she didn’t act like
such a bitch, thinking everyone is beneath her and that no one else
is as deserving of her perfect life.

Alex could never behave like Mary.
She would rather hide in a closet or do dishes than
flirt with a guy. In her world, she isn’t pretty enough to have the
confidence that seems to exude from Mary.

And now Mary looks to be hitting on
Mr. Hot-Choc
. Again, Alex isn’t surprised. The man is a hunk, tall and
trim, blond hair, and blue-eyed. She’s sure she has never seen him
around Dunedin. He walks around the long table with that
loose-limbed grace usually only seen in big cats. A true-bred alpha
male, he has that powerful aura about him that fairly
screams:
Don’t challenge me,
or I’ll eat you for breakfast.

Why does he watch her with such intensity? Who is he? Why
is he with Peter and Mary? Are they friends?

And why name him Mr. Hot-Choc?
Because he’s damn hot, and at the moment, she’s
craving a cup of hot chocolate. Only she can’t afford one. Her
budget is tight. Every cent goes to support the family.

She nibbles her lower lip and tries to concentrate on her
novel. Hercules Poirot uncovers the murderer, the motive is laid
bare, and all from brilliant deduction of seemingly insignificant
facts. She couldn’t figure out how, and now her mind, without
warning, flips to her dad, Jacob Stewart.

How long
can he wait
for a heart to be available?

His condition is getting worse. He needs a new heart and
fast, as Peter, the cardiologist and long-time family friend, told
her. Finding a donor, however, is difficult. There’s the option of
going to a private hospital.
There is no way they can afford that. There are the costs
of flights to Auckland, the accommodations, the surgery, and of
course the heart itself. But they are desperate, and her mother,
Mali Stewart, has been willing to apply for a personal bank loan
just so Dad could get his surgery done more quickly.

Unfortunately, Alex found out half an hour ago
the bank rejected the application.
The risk of nonpayment set against her modest income as a lab
scientist and the mortgage on the family home is too much. On top
of that, she has her student loan and family living costs. Then
there’s Timothy and Emma, her younger siblings. Tim is just about
to finish high school, and a university education is on the
horizon. Emma still has a couple of years to go.

Alex
grinds her
teeth. It’s one thing after another. The company Dad worked for
closed the Dunedin factory and moved it overseas, chasing cheap
labor in their quest of the almighty dollar. Jacob’s services were
no longer required. What a bitter day that was! Dad went into
overdrive trying to find another job. The stress led to his sudden
massive heart failure six months ago, and it was a miracle he
survived.

Alex hoped he had taken
out health insurance, but as the ambulance sped him to the
hospital, a frantic search of his papers revealed nothing. Too late
now, she thinks, but her mind isn’t in the mood for staying on one
subject today. She remembers the text message she received from
Peter. She takes out her cell phone and reads the message
again.

Happy Bday, Alex. Bck frm
Qtwn. Catch up? Coffee?

I hve a frnd u shuld meet.
He can hlp u & yr dad. C ya soon :P

A grin creeps across her face. Peter always remembers her
birthday, and his gifts are usually thoughtful. But lately he has
been trying to find her a guy, which is annoying. It started
innocently enough with some simple suggestions. That was until last
year, when he arranged a blind date for her. The guy, Andrew
something-or-other, seemed pleasant
enough to begin with, although the evening was awkward. Then, as
the hour grew late, he made a quite inappropriate move on her, and
she slapped his face and left. When she told Peter about the
incident, he ended his own short friendship with the man. Peter
meant well, but she doesn’t have the time for a
boyfriend.

The light trill
of a
woman’s laughter draws her attention. Mary is giggling away loudly
and enthusiastically, leaning closer to
Mr. Hot-Choc
.
Alex can’t help but admire the way he’s handling the situation.
Mary is an outrageous flirt, confident that the men around her will
be enchanted, but he seems unaffected. In fact, it looks as if he’s
playing the game and playing it well, in full control of the
situation.

Suddenly, he catches Alex looking at him. She glances away,
her heart pounding and her cheeks hot and flushed with guilt. She
pretends to be interested in her phone, but she feels his amusement
from across the room. The urge to be somewhere else, anywhere else,
is strong but not as strong as her curiosity about this
extraordinarily handsome man. Then a thought strikes her, and she
starts texting.

Hey, Pe
te, sorry
didn’t join u cos u wth frnds.

Coffee sunds good. Sunday?
2:30? SAN Cafe?

A push of a button and the message is on its way. She looks
up and sees Peter checking his cell phone. He turns around to face
her with a big grin, waves, and nods.
Mr. Hot-Choc
watches her with interest, the gentlest of smiles playing
with his lips. She’s about to smile back when she notices Mary’s
hateful glare. The message is clear—
Piss off! He’s mine!
Alex blushes and dives for cover into the musings of the
great Monsieur Poirot.

Ten minutes later, she glances up. Peter,
Mr. Hot-Choc
, and Mary are heading toward the exit. Well, she
should get going too. Back to work for her. She tidies up, wraps
the satchel over her shoulder, and picks up her half empty cup of
cold tea.

She’s deep in thought, and her eyes see only the threadbare
carpet as she heads toward the conveyer. She slams into a body.
She’s aware of cold tea seeping quickly through her jersey and
chilling her skin. She feels strong hands holding her as she
totters. She looks up straight into a guy’s clear blue eyes as he
pulls her upright, almost in an embrace. Warmth and strength seem
to flow from him in an intoxicating mixture.

“
Are you all right?” The tone of his voice is low, deep, and
rich like the calm of a great sea gently tasting the pebbles on the
shore.

She takes a deep breath
and is overcome with the scent of fresh spices floating on a spring
breeze. Snapping back to reality, she stares in disbelief at the
cold tea that has somehow transferred itself from her old jersey
onto his expensive-looking jacket.

“
Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to,” she says, her
hands dabbing at his jacket. “I’m sorry.” She glances up at
him.

It’s him! It’s Mr.
Hot-Choc!

She spirals away into the fathomless depths of his cobalt
blue eyes. The color reminds her of those lovely summer days years
ago at the farm where she used to work as a fruit picker. The sky
was huge, and the air hummed with the busy sounds of insects.
Suddenly, she
can smell the
sweetness of ripe strawberries. She remembers the feel of the long,
soft grasses and the cool sprinkling of water against her
skin.

The intensity of his gaze
disturbs her from her reverie, and she blushes as she lowers her
head and says, “I’m sorry. It was my fault. Let me get something to
clean it off.” She picks up the empty cup from the floor and puts
it on the food conveyer belt. Then she grabs a handful of napkins
from a nearby table and starts to pat his jacket dry.

“
That’s okay
.” He
takes hold of her hands again, softly but with insistence. The
contact makes her nerves jump, and excitement courses through her
body. It’s a touch filled with intimacy and promise.

“
It’ll wash out.” He notices her discomfort and lets go of
her hands.

“
I’m truly sorry,” she says, realizing he has an
accent—
an American
one
. “I’m not usually
this
clumsy.” She glances up and sees him raise an eyebrow.
“There. It’s kind of dry now.”

“
Don’t worry about
it.”

There it is again, that voice! A delicious shiver tickles
its way along her spine. She clears her throat. “Sorry,” she says,
walking over to the bin and tossing the wet napkins in. “You have a
good day.” She waves as she turns to the corridor.

He catches her before she
has walked more than three steps. “Hey, you work here?”

She nods. “Yeah, are you
lost? Or has Peter deserted you? He sometimes does
that.”

“
No, he didn’t.
I—um—what’s your name? Are you a friend of Peter?”

“
Yeah, he’s a friend,” she replies and then hesitates for a
moment. “It’s Alexandra, by the way. Look, I have to go back to
work. To get out, just go this way and turn right and then down the
stairs to the main reception.”

Jay nods.

“
Sorry again about the tea. As I said, I’m not usually this
clumsy. Bye now,” she says, and then she’s gone.

Jayden’s grin stays with
him all the way to the bottom of the stairs.

Her eyes are such a deep brown, like the color of melted
chocolate. And she seems sweet and delicious too! Something about
those eyes drew him in and left him slightly breathless.

Peter is waiting for him
by the reception desk.

“
What took you so
long?”

“
I couldn’t find the
bathroom after all,” Jay replies.

As they walk through the door of the hospital, Jay
thinks,
So she’s not usually
that clumsy, is she?

* * *

Alex gasps, her eyes squinting in
the sudden darkness. Damn! She’d have to get the torch and replace
that light bulb again.

She shakes her hands out of the soapy water, wipes them dry
with a clean towel, and heads around the
benchtop. As she gropes her way into the living area,
she hears a giggle, which sounds much like Emma. There, floating in
the darkness, is a chocolate cake, candlelight flickering across
its surface. Her dad is holding it, and her mom, with her arm in
his. Her best friend, Ruby Williams-Chan, comes into view, removing
any doubt over whose idea this is. Nikita Buchannan and Isabella
Robertson are there, too. Everyone is wearing big, sloppy birthday
smiles.

“
Oh, my God!” Alex murmurs.

Emma giggles again, as though she can’t contain herself,
and rushes to stand next to her. The strains of
Happy Birthday
sung in the traditional arrangement of out-of-tune voices,
fills the room. A sudden eruption of light reveals Timothy with his
hand on the switch. Alex blinks away the afterimage.

Alex laughs. She hadn’t
expected this, not after a busy day at work. Usually Saturday is
rather quiet, but not this one. It has been hectic, and she’s dead
tired. She hadn’t expected anything more than a family dinner and
then a good night's sleep. This is such a surprise.

She blinks back tears as
she tightens her arms around her mom.

“
Happy birthday,
sweetheart,” Mali says, squeezing her hard. “Now make a
wish.”

Alex looks at the people surrounding her. Emma urges her to
blow the candles out so she can have some cake.

“
You guys didn’t have to
do this,” emerges from her suddenly tight throat.

“
Don’t be silly. It’s your birthday. We have to do this,”
Ruby says, her braced teeth flashing with candle
highlights.

“
Please, just blow the candles out. We want cake,” Emma
says.

“
Make a wish, sweetheart,”
Jacob says.

Alex looks at her dad, and her eyes flood with tears. She
only has one wish.