Then he’d wandered back to the NICU, in the hope of seeing her again, to get another look, to try and figure out exactly what it was about her that appeared to be intriguing him so much. When she hadn’t been there, he’d politely asked one of the staff where she might be and had been told to check Maternity.
It was odd for his thoughts to be occupied in such a fashion, to be more than professionally curious about a colleague and now, as he stood opposite her, Sheena lying on the bed between them, Janessa Austen’s rich brown eyes filled with determination, Miles finally realised the answer.
It was because she wasn’t afraid to stand up for what she believed in.
It was clear that she believed in her staff, in her unit and in her bond with Sheena. She was a woman of substance and the more he spoke to her, the closer he was to figuring her out. Once he figured her out, he would be able to put her right out of his mind. He liked puzzles and the challenges they presented. That was no doubt the only reason
why
she’d even caught his attention in the first place. He was sure of it.
Miles slowly looked away from Janessa, his thoughts returning to the present. He smiled at Sheena, pleased she was still calm and controlled even though Janessa had become a little riled. ‘Of course. You will stay at Adelaide Mercy. Dr Austen will be by your side, caring for your children every step of the way. Whatever you say goes, Sheena. You’re the mother. You call the shots.’
‘Good. Don’t you forget it.’ Sheena looked closely at Miles for a moment then grinned widely. ‘You always were such a tease, Miles Trevellion. Always stirring. I see you haven’t changed.’
‘Why change perfection?’ he asked, and gave a little bow. Janessa watched him and frowned again, confusion replacing her earlier annoyance.
‘Stirring?’ Janessa let go of Sheena’s hand and placed both her hands on her hips. ‘Do you mean that you were simply saying those things in order to get a rise out of me, Dr Trevellion?’
‘You’re in trouble now,’ Sheena remarked to Miles in a sing-song voice.
‘Not a rise, Dr Austen.’
‘Then a test of some sort?’
‘If you like.’
‘You don’t think that’s a little juvenile? To test your new colleagues? Colleagues who, I might add, are all highly trained professionals?’
‘Colleagues who have shown me that they’re not afraid to stand up for what they believe in,’ he countered. ‘Colleagues who I now know are doing this job for more than the money they earn. There are two types of medical professionals in the world—those who do it for money and those who are called to serve their patients. I’ve worked with both over the years and in throwing a few bones at you, I’ve been able to see
how
you bite,
when
you bite and
why
you bite.’
‘I hope you’re not implying that Janessa is a dog in this scenario, Miles,’ Sheena interjected laughingly. ‘If so, don’t go hiding behind me.’
Janessa couldn’t believe what she was hearing, what her new and esteemed colleague was saying. He’d been testing her? Trying to rile her to see what sort of doctor she was? Anger, frustration and disbelief warred within her but there was also a part, deep down inside, that understood what he’d done.
He was a man who travelled the world, offering and applying his assistance to highly specialised cases, such as conjoined twins. He was a fount of knowledge and expertise, but as his placements would no doubt be of three to six months’ duration it would mean he’d have to develop a foolproof way of sounding out his colleagues in order to know what type of personalities he was dealing with sooner rather than later.
She took another calming breath, crossing her arms over her chest, and met his look. ‘Have you collated enough data on me, Dr Trevellion, or can I expect another round of your potshots?’ Although her words were calm, her tone was cool.
The answer she received from him was a bright smile and where the last one had been aimed at Sheena, this one was definitely aimed directly at her … and she felt its full effect. Her mouth went dry, her heart rate instantly increased and she found her knees beginning to buckle. Without breaking eye contact, she gracefully sat back down in the chair she’d occupied earlier.
The man had straight, white teeth, a slightly crooked nose, a cleft in his perfectly square jaw, which was covered in a five o’clock shadow that only added to his air of powerful masculinity. All of that combined with his intense blue eyes, which now appeared to be filled with warmth and deep satisfaction, made a lethal combination.
‘I’m very pleased to say that you’ve passed with flying colours, Dr Austen. Not only have you proved that you’re willing to stand up for your staff and your unit, you’ve proved to be the perfect person to assist me in the care of Sheena’s twin girls.’
‘How magnanimous of you, Dr Trevellion.’ She worked hard to keep her tone droll, as though she didn’t care one iota about his opinion when in reality she did. Here was a man she’d looked up to in a professional capacity, reading his articles, interested in his research, delighted by his turn of phrase, and when she’d met him, she’d been disappointed to find him like so many other surgeons—overbearing and dictatorial. And then he’d walked into Sheena’s room, smiling brightly, his eyes twinkling, his clothes fitting him to perfection.
Physically, he was gorgeous—and he no doubt knew it—but he was also showing her that he wasn’t as unreasonable as she’d first concluded. Perhaps there
was
more depth, more substance to Miles Trevellion. Perhaps the man who had written those powerful articles, not only detailing the intricacies of neonate surgery but also somehow allowing his compassion for his little patients to bleed into the structure of his clinical articles, was making an appearance.
Sheena laughed at them both, her head turning from one to the other as though she were at a tennis match. ‘Are you both seriously going to call each other Dr Austen and Dr Trevellion for the next six months? Seems a little old-fashioned and ludicrous to me,’ she finished.
‘Sheena’s right.’ Miles came around the bed and held out his hand to Janessa. ‘I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Miles.’
She stood, relieved when her legs appeared able to support her once more. Polite and professional. That was all she had to be towards him—polite and professional. ‘Janessa,’ she replied, and yet the instant his warm hand enveloped hers, she felt her logical thought processes fly out the window, and at the same time her knees started to buckle once more.
She stumbled a little and Miles instantly moved closer, placing his other hand at her waist to steady her. His nearness only seemed to make things worse, as she breathed in his subtle spicy scent and became all too aware of just how close they were.
Gasping, she looked up into his eyes and was surprised to find him staring back at her, his blue eyes wide and slightly shocked. His eyes were perfect, so blue and so … perfect. Just like a sky on a cloudless day where she could take to the air and escape her life for a brief spell.
Her heart started to beat a little faster in her chest and her tongue came out to wet her lips. His gaze dipped for a second to witness the action, his Adam’s apple sliding up and down his perfect throat. The world around them seemed to pause, just long enough that they could take a quick breath, drawing each other in before slowly exhaling.
‘Janessa.’ Her name sounded incredible spoken in his rich, deep tones and a wave of tingles spread throughout her body. This was wrong. It was ridiculous that she should feel an instant attraction towards this man when she wasn’t even sure she liked him.
Naturally, she appreciated him as a colleague, easily accepting his genius in their chosen speciality and, of course, she’d fallen victim to a bit of hero-worship of such intelligence, devouring the articles he’d written the instant her editions of the
Journal of Neonatology
had arrived. That, however, didn’t mean she needed to act like a silly schoolgirl simply because he was touching her.
Becoming cross with herself, she quickly disengaged any contact and spun away from him, taking two wobbly steps towards the door, her increased heart rate causing her breathing to remain uneven. ‘Uh … anyway. I’d best go and … uh … check on a few of the babies before calling it a night.’ She spoke quickly … too quickly.
‘Are you all right?’ Sheena asked. ‘You’re all flushed.’
‘Am I?’ Janessa raised a hand to her cheek and tried her best not to look at Miles but when she did, she saw him standing at the foot of the bed, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He was looking at her as though something strange had just happened but he wasn’t exactly sure what. Had he felt it too? If so, what did that mean? Or perhaps this was another one of his tests. She quickly returned her attention to Sheena.
‘Oh, that’s probably because I’ve been up since four this morning. That’s when our first new baby for the day decided to arrive and as I live the closest … well, I don’t mind being called in.’
‘Where do you live?’ Miles asked, walking back to the other side of Sheena’s bed, putting more distance between himself and his new colleague who, when he’d been close to her, had sent shock waves throughout his entire being such as he hadn’t felt in an exceedingly long time.
He had no idea how or why this had happened, which was unusual for him. He was the man in charge, the one they all came to when they needed answers, and he liked it. The spark of awareness he’d just experienced when he’d been close to Janessa Austen meant absolutely nothing. He was a professional … and he was jet-lagged. Yes, that was most likely why this awareness of her had flared up. He was jet-lagged.
‘Janessa’s been living in the residential wing of the hospital for the past six months,’ Sheena provided. ‘She says it’s the easiest way to keep an eye on me and the girls.’
He was surprised at this news. ‘Really? Why not find an apartment close by?’ Miles wanted to know, looking at Janessa who was almost ready to sprint out the door.
‘Her house burned down and it’s being rebuilt,’ Sheena offered, answering for her once more. Janessa was glad of that as she was still struggling to get herself under control and to
not
look at Miles. ‘We were supposed to go apartment-hunting but that’s when I found out the twins were conjoined. I crumbled into a blathering mess and Janessa picked me up.’ Sheena smiled lovingly at her friend.
‘You’d have done the same for me,’ Janessa replied, then opened the door, this time keeping her gaze trained on Sheena. ‘Riley will be around soon to do his evening checks on you, but call me if you need anything, all right?’
‘Yes, I’m fine. I have too many people fussing over me, especially Riley. What a fusspot of an obstetrician he is. Go. Sleep. See you in the morning.’ Sheena waved to her friend.
Janessa nodded and with a polite smile aimed at Miles she all but ran from her friend’s room.
The instant she was gone, Sheena turned to look at Miles, watching him closely. ‘I don’t believe it,’ she said softly.
‘Believe what?’ he asked. ‘You.
Janessa.’
‘What?’ Miles was a little taken aback. ‘Oh, don’t play stupid with me. I’ve seen that look in your eyes before.’
‘What look?’ Miles settled down into the chair beside her bed and took her wrist in his fingers in order to check her pulse, hoping to distract her from whatever it was she was about to say. Fifteen seconds later, he released her. ‘Good. How’s your blood pressure?’
‘Wendy.’
‘Pardon?’ Miles looked at Sheena. ‘When we worked together ten years ago, we also worked with a doctor whose name was Wendy. Do you remember Wendy?’
‘Of course I remember Wendy,’ he replied a little briskly, and stood to walk to the end of her bed, unable to stay calm and seated if Sheena was determined to take him on a trip down memory lane. Wendy. How could he ever forget Wendy? He couldn’t.
‘You were very interested in Wendy when we met ten years ago.’
‘What? How do you know?’
‘You had this twinkle in your eyes. Every time she would come into the room, you would let your gaze rest on her a little longer than usual.’
‘Are you sure you weren’t projecting the way you used to stare at Will? Honestly, the two of you were madly in love. I still don’t know why it didn’t work out. He would never tell me.’
Sheena shook her head. ‘We’re not talking about me and Will, we’re talking about you and Janessa.’ ‘Janessa?’
‘Yes. You have the same twinkle in your eyes now as you did back then. You’re interested in Janessa,’ Sheena pointed out, then paused and tilted her head to the side, her tone a little softer. ‘Whatever happened to Wendy? The two of you were such good friends back then but once my year was up I returned to Australia and sort of lost track of everyone.’
Miles looked down at his shoes for a second and then met Sheena’s gaze. ‘You were right in guessing I was interested in Wendy. I was, so much so that I married her.’
‘What? You’re married?’
‘Widowed.’ The word was spoken softly.
‘Oh, Miles. Oh, I’m so sorry. I … I had no idea.’
He shook his head and touched her hand. ‘It’s fine. She died seven years ago in a train crash.’ It was the night where his life had gone from wonderfully full to horrifically empty. ‘I’ve had a lot of years to work through the different stages of grief.’
‘That may be, but you’re still alone, right?’
Miles nodded. ‘It’s not so bad. I have my work. I have strong bonds with colleagues.’ He thought of his good friend Will Beckman and although he still wondered what had happened between Sheena and Will all those years ago, now was not the time to discuss it. There was no way he could risk a rise in Sheena’s blood pressure simply to satisfy his curiosity. ‘And now I get to hang out with you again so that’s a bonus.’ He smiled and watched as Sheena relaxed back against the pillows.
‘And you get to work with Janessa, too. She’s really quite amazing—don’t let her youthful looks fool you.’
‘Oh, I’ve already learned that lesson.’ He shifted a little farther away from the bed and turned his attention to a large bunch of flowers on the shelf, pretending to be interested, hoping his words came out with the right amount of nonchalance. ‘Janessa, while looking as though she’s barely old enough to drive, has proved she’s more than capable not only of running a hectic NICU but also of putting visiting consultants firmly in their place.’