Table for Two-epub (13 page)

Mr. Elliot?

“Ah,” James said, “that explains why it’s talking back at me.” Now he just sounded surprised.

“Why don’t you give it to me, and I’ll see who’s there,” the female voice said.

“Give what to you?”

“The phone.”

“I have a phone?”

“Yes, Mr. Elliot. It’s in your hand.”

“A phone,” James said. “Fancy that.”

Seriously?

“Hello?” The voice that had echoed through the line now spoke directly in her ear.

“Hello?” Liv responded instantly.

“Ah. There is someone there. I wasn’t sure.”

She’d thought James was talking to himself? “I’m here. Uh, who is this?”

“Sister Harris. I’m a nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital.”

Liv’s heart skipped a beat. “James is in hospital?”

“He is.”

“Oh, God!” Her legs gave way, and she slid to the floor

“I’m sorry for interrupting your conversation, but the patient wasn’t making much sense.”

“None at all,” Liv agreed, shocked all the way down to her toes. “What happened? Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine. We’ve given him something for the pain, which might explain his disjointed conversation.”

Stoned on painkillers? Yep, that would explain it. It didn’t explain anything else though. “W-what happened?” she asked again.

“I’m afraid I can’t give you details without his consent.”

“Whose consent?” James asked in the background.

“Yours.”

“Consent for what?”

“To give details of your injury to the person on the phone.”

“There’s someone on the phone?”

“Tell him you’re talking to Olivia,” she said to the nurse. “Please, ask him if you can tell me what happened.” She might go crazy if she didn’t find out.

“Olivia’s on the phone, Mr. Elliot.”

“Liv?” Did James sigh as he said her name? “Gorgeous, sexy Liv. Man, I am so in love with that woman.”

Her jaw dropped. She hadn’t heard him correctly, had she? Maybe he was too stoned to know what he was saying. Her heart pounded and her hands shook, though to be fair, that could have been in reaction either to his proclamation or to the idea of him being in St Vincent’s.

“May I tell her why you’re in hospital, Mr. Elliot?”

“I’m in hospital?”

Shocked though Liv was, she found herself smiling at his confused ramblings.

“You are. Can I tell your friend why?”

“My friend?”

“Olivia.”

“You can tell Liv anything.”

Thank God!

“Tell her she’s hot. And has great tits. Oh, and tell her there are orange men with tiny, spotted…crocodiles crawling up the wall.”

Sister Harris told her none of that. “Mr. Elliot broke his leg in a rugby match.”

“Not crocs,” James proclaimed. “Wombats. Spotted ones.”

“His leg?” Liv asked.

“Yes. He shattered his tibia and fibula. A bad break. We’ve put a cast on and treated him with morphine for the pain.” 

“S-so, it’s not life threatening?”

“Not at all. It’s a bad break though, and will need surgery.”

Thank God!

Poor Jimmy.

“I think there are hippos there too,” James said in the background. “Striped ones.”

“Can he have visitors?” she asked the nurse.

“Yes. He’s in a ward by himself in the private hospital, so you can come anytime.”

Liv scrambled to her feet and grabbed her bag and keys. By the time the nurse had given her the necessary details, like floor and ward number, Liv was already halfway out the door, dragging a bewildered Ava along with her.

They called Greg on the way. As a radiologist—who coincidentally worked at a practice at St Vincent’s—he’d be able to tell them exactly how serious the break was. It had to be really bad if James needed surgery and morphine.

“Greg’s there. He was working today,” Ava told her when she hung up. “You realize you’re going way over the speed limit?”

Liv forced herself to ease her foot off the accelerator, reassured to hear that Greg was at the hospital. Hopefully he was with James already. “I’m anxious to get there. Make sure he’s okay.”

“I can see that. He’ll be fine, Liv. He broke his leg, that’s all.”

She nodded. Logically, Liv knew that was all, but it didn’t stop her heart from pounding or the worry from creeping into her head. She kept her eyes on the road but felt Ava’s gaze on her face nevertheless.

“You ever going to tell me what’s going on with you and Jimmy?”

Olivia’s lips twitched with the need to assure Ava nothing was going on. But lying to her flatmate would be pointless. Ava had been there almost every time Olivia either made her way to, or returned from, James’s flat.

Up until now she’d done nothing more than give Liv amused looks or raised eyebrows, but apparently the reprieve was over.

“Are you also going to dodge the question?” Ava asked.

“Also?”

“James very neatly sidestepped the issue when I asked him about it. Looks like you’re planning on doing the same.”

“You asked James about…us?”

“Yep.”

Her heart sped up. “What did he say?”

“About as much as you’ve said. Which is nothing. Now, answer me.”

Liv sighed. “Honestly? I have no idea what’s going on between us.”

“So there is something going on?”

If by
something
Ava referred to Liv’s desperate need to touch James as often as humanly possible and her unquenchable thirst for his body and his lovemaking, then yes, something was going on. “I guess.”

“You’re sleeping with him.” It wasn’t a question.

More like fucking his brains out. “I am.”

Ava’s excited shriek echoed through the car. “That is so awesome. You and Jimmy are perfect for each other. I said so all along.”

“What? Wait. No, you didn’t!”

“Yeah, I did.” Ava nodded vigorously. “I’ve been saying it since uni.”

“Not to me, you haven’t.”

“Duh. Of course not to you. Or Jimmy. Sheesh, I’m not stupid. You’d have lectured me so loud and so long, my ears would still be ringing today. But I’ve been telling all the others. You and James were made for each other. You always have been. We all think so.”

Liv shook her head, stunned to discover her friends had even thought it—never mind discussed it.

“Think about it,” Ava said. “You’re both focused, determined and goal oriented, but while you’re serious about everything you set your mind to, Jimmy’s laid back and relaxed. He’s the Yin to your Yang. The left to your right. You’re two sides of the same coin, Liv. We’ve all been waiting years for the penny to drop and for the two of you to realize it.”

“That’s crazy talk.” Liv wasn’t even sure how she felt about James now—after they’d been fucking like bunnies for the last two weeks. How could their friends have foreseen them getting together years ago?

She’d been taking their relationship day by day, reading nothing more into it than her obsessive need to touch him. Okay, yes, she’d enjoyed every minute spent with him over the last few weeks, and she loved their nightly phone calls. But made for each other? That was something she’d never considered.

It wasn’t something she was ready to consider now, either. Her life was in shambles, her career in ruin. Until she’d sorted it all out, she simply didn’t have the time or energy to expend on a full-time relationship.

“Not crazy at all. In fact, Greg and I have a little bet going. He put money on Jimmy making the first move, but I said for sure it’d be you.”

Liv was so busy gaping at Ava she almost went through a red traffic light. She slammed on the brakes just in time. “You bet on me and James?”

“Don’t panic. It was a safe bet. Either way, you and Jimmy were always going to win. Now what I need to know is, who was right? Me or Greg?”

“Oh, my God, Ava. James is in hospital, and you’re asking who made the first move?”

“He’s in hospital for a broken leg. He’ll be fine. But I won’t. Not until you tell me. I need answers.”

Liv shook her head in amazement. “No, you don’t.”

“Of course I do. I need all the details. Like what’s Jimmy like in bed? A stud? Is he good? Does he have talented fingers? And mouth?”

Fantastic. Yes. Better than good, and his fingers and mouth are…magical.
“I’m not telling you any of that.”

“C’mon, Liv. Don’t leave me in the dark. Straight or curved?” A key question for Ava, who believed unequivocally that a curved penis delivered far more pleasure than a straight one.

Straight—and solid proof that Ava’s theory was wrong, but Liv wasn’t about to tell her as much.

“What about size? Is he big…everywhere?” Another of Ava’s theories. Size mattered.

Liv disagreed. Size wasn’t as important as technique, but James lacked in neither area. Which might explain why he was, hands down, the most satisfying lover she’d ever been with.

“You’re smiling,” Ava told her. “Grinning stupidly. Based on that, I’m going to assume our friend isn’t just big, he’s huge.”

Liv shrugged but didn’t try to hide the smile.

“You’re not going to answer me, are you?”

“Nope, sorry.”

“Not any of my questions?”

“Not one.”

“Wow. I’m not sure what to say.”

“That makes for a pleasant change,” Liv teased her.

“You always tell me about your men.”

“James isn’t mine.”

“You’re in love with him.”

What the…?

Liv tried to respond but couldn’t. Words refused to form. That was the second time in less than an hour the word had come up.

“Don’t even attempt to deny it. You’re completely gone over him.”

Liv shook her head, though in disbelief or in denial she wasn’t sure. Was she in love? Did James really love her?

“Know how I know?”

“No.” But curiosity had her wondering.

“Couple of clues. First off, whenever you come back from spending time with Jimmy, your skin is glowing. You look, well, radiant.”

“It’s a post-coital glow,” Liv contradicted her. “That doesn’t mean I’m in love with him.”

Ava snorted. “Post-coital. Sheesh, Liv. How old are you? Seventy-five?”

“You’re missing the point. That post-sex glow doesn’t count as love. Clue number two?” she prompted.

“Clue number two is your complete and utter refusal to share the deets with me. When last did you hold out about a guy you’d slept with? Seriously, you’ve given me the lowdown on every man who’s ever graced your bed—except Jimmy. What does that tell you?”

“That James is your friend as well as mine, and sharing details like that isn’t fair to him.”

“Oh, please. I already know most of the details. Jared told me ages ago James was hung. It’s not really a secret.” Jared, Greg’s twin brother. He and Ava had been joined at the hip for years. Tight as two friends could be until he’d moved to Los Angeles four months before Ava’s wedding.

“Well then, ask Jared if James is straight or curved. I’m sure he’ll be able to tell you.”

Ava waved away her suggestion. “Then there’s the third and most telling clue. Your general disposition this week. You haven’t stopped smiling.”

“I always smile.”

“Sweetie, you’ve been so stressed the last month or so, you’ve hardly spoken, never mind smiled. Jimmy’s the only one who’s been able to make you happy in ages.”

Ava was right. Liv had found herself smiling a lot lately—thanks to James. Still, guilt nipped at her. For the longest time she’d been a misery, and her flatmate had been forced to grin and bear her behavior—without understanding it. “I’m sorry, Av. It’s been a shitty few weeks.” Although last week had been a lot better.

Having wrapped up all of her loose ends at work and spoken personally to every one of her clients, Liv had stopped going into the office. Marion had filed for bankruptcy, and the company was now under assessment by a trustee. Over and above that, Liv had consulted with Spence and her lawyer, and they’d encouraged her to tell the trustee all about Marion’s misappropriation of funds. The telling had been hard, but Liv felt better for it. Yeah, Marion had been her friend and mentor, but she’d also destroyed Liv’s life. The trustee needed to know everything.

Taking action and being away from the toxic environment her work had become had done wonders for Liv’s mood. As had James.

Realizing Ava deserved to know what was going on, she gave her a brief summary of Marion’s actions and the demise of Beautiful Homes, Liv’s career and her financial security.

Ava was shocked and expressed as much, offering to help Liv out however she could. While Liv appreciated her friend’s empathy and generosity, she was relieved when they arrived at the hospital and the conversation was cut short. She didn’t want to talk about herself when James lay immobile and doped up somewhere upstairs.

Greg met them at the entrance to the ward. He took one look at Liv’s face and rushed to reassure her. “Jimmy’ll be fine. It’s a serious break, and he’ll have to have surgery, but he’ll be okay.”

Liv’s heart hammered a little less at the news. If he said James would be fine, Liv believed him. “Did you x-ray him?”

“I read the plates. Diagnosed the fractures.”

“Fractures, as in plural?” Ava asked.

“There are two bones in the shin. Both of them were broken, in multiple places. Liv, don’t look so horrified. It’s a common injury. We see tib-fib fractures often.”

“Can we see him?”

Greg nodded. “Go on in.”

Liv’s feet turned to lead, but nerves attacked from nowhere, and she was suddenly reluctant to enter his room.

“He’s sleeping,” Greg told her. “Probably won’t even know you’re here. And if he does wake up, chances are he won’t remember seeing you when the drugs wear off. That’s a good thing,” he added. “It means he won’t remember much of the pain either.”

Liv took a deep breath and walked into the room.

James lay on the bed, dressed in a hospital gown, fast asleep. A sheet covered one leg and his lower body. The other leg was held immobile by a white plaster cast that stretched from his toes to his upper thigh. “It’s to hold his leg immobile until they operate,” Greg explained. “Movement of any sort will hurt.”

James’s face was pale and his hair mussed.

The sight of him made Liv’s breath catch. Emotion clawed at her throat and huddled there in a big lump. He was so still. So very, very still. All the vibrancy that made him the man she knew and adored was absent.