Breaking Her No-Dates Rule. Emily Forbes
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Название: Breaking Her No-Dates Rule
Автор: Emily Forbes
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
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‘Well? What do you think?’ Jess was still waiting for Ellie to answer her questions.
Without a trace of a doubt Ellie knew what she wanted. He was right there, in front of her.
As vaguely as she could, she answered Jess’s last question. She tried not to watch James as she spoke but it was hard to keep her attention focussed elsewhere. ‘He has a smile that could brighten any day. He should have a job he enjoys but he doesn’t necessarily have to wear a suit and a tie to work. He needs to like being active, a physical kind of guy, but he’d have to smell nice. He needs a sense of humour and he needs to love his family. He doesn’t need to have his life all mapped out but he would need to know how to treat a woman and he must be prepared to only date one woman at a time.’
Ellie wasn’t sure if James qualified for any of those things, for all she knew he was already married with half a dozen children, but surely with that smouldering, Latin thing he had going on, not to mention the look he had in his eye, she was willing to bet he’d taken his fair share of women to bed, and she was willing, if he was available, to put her hand up to join that list. He could be her experiment, she decided. She could try choosing a man first and looking for a father for her future children second. She could live in the moment for a change. She didn’t have to fall in love with him.
She managed to position herself between Jess and the beach so she was able to keep one eye on the volleyball, and on James, as they walked past. With her hair tied back and hidden underneath a cap she didn’t think he’d recognise her so she thought she could check him out from behind her dark glasses. As they drew level he bent down to pick up the ball and Ellie felt safe enough to let her eyes run over him. His shorts pulled taut over his legs and butt as he squatted down to the sand and his biceps flexed as he retrieved the ball. As he straightened up he looked directly at her. Ellie had thought he wouldn’t recognise her but he paused in mid-action and stood still, only for a second or two but Ellie knew that in that space of time he’d known it was her. She quickly averted her gaze and hurried past. She felt as though he could read her mind and she definitely did not want him to know what she was thinking.
She kept walking, resisting the urge to turn around as she and Jess continued on to the kiosk by the beach stairs where they stopped for coffee. While they waited for their orders to be filled she wondered whether she’d lost her mind. She was supposed to be getting her life into order and taking stock of her goals, not thinking about ripping the clothes of a virtual stranger.
She must be mad to think about James Leonardi at all. Dating was supposed to be off her list and dating another doctor from the same department would definitely be asking for trouble. But there was something irresistible about him. Not just his looks or the powerful, passionate vibe he exuded; it had something to do with that strange humming sensation, that magnetic pull that seemed to draw her to him. Even now, she knew she could turn around and instantly find him in a crowd. Somehow they were connected.
But she had to ignore these feelings. She kept her back turned to the beach as she waited for her coffee, resisting the urge to take just one more look. It didn’t matter how much she fancied him, James Leonardi was not for her.
CHAPTER THREE
WHEN Ellie returned to work on Tuesday it was to one of the worst shifts she’d had in a long time and it was all thanks to Rob. Mostly they’d managed to work amicably together since the demise of their affair but occasionally she seemed to be in his firing line and today was an especially bad day. She was being blamed for every little thing that went wrong—a dressing that hadn’t been changed, X-rays that had been misplaced and a blood test that had been ordered but hadn’t been done fast enough to please Rob. None of these things were actually Ellie’s tasks, she was up to her neck in admissions and discharge summaries, but Rob had decided to haul her over hot coals for the failings of the entire ward. And he wasn’t finished yet. Ellie was completing paperwork at the nurses’ station when she saw him marching towards her with a severe expression on his face. She froze, wondering what she was going to be blamed for now.
He stopped a few paces from her and snapped. ‘I just saw George Poni and his wife getting into the lift. He tells me he’s going home.’
‘Yes, I’m filing his paperwork now,’ she said, waving a hand towards the stack of papers on the desk.
‘Who said he was ready for discharge? Mr Poni is my patient.’
‘Yes, but you handed his care over to Dr. Leonardi.’ Ellie tried to keep a neutral tone.
‘I still expect the courtesy of being informed if my patients are leaving.’
First I’ve heard of it, Ellie thought, but she bit her tongue. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you wanted everything discussed with you. The physio said he was ready to leave, his mobility aids and equipment for home have been organised, I’ve made an outpatient appointment for George to see you in a fortnight and his discharge was discussed with Dr Leonardi,’ she explained. She was tired of being made a scapegoat for Rob’s bad mood today.
‘Next time I would like to be kept in the loop,’ Rob barked at her. ‘I expect to have my orders followed. Is that understood?’
I was following orders, Ellie felt like saying. You hadn’t indicated that James wasn’t to discharge your patients. She knew the appropriate discharge procedures had been followed. ‘Yes, Dr Coleman,’ she replied, hoping he’d go away and leave her alone if she didn’t argue. She couldn’t believe he was treating her this way but she was powerless to prevent his verbal lashing and he knew it. Her meek and mild attitude had the desired effect. With one final glare in her direction Rob stormed from the ward.
‘Boy, you’re in his bad books today. I’ve never seen him that irritated.’ Sarah, a first-year nursing graduate, who had been keeping her head down throughout Rob’s tirade, spoke up the moment he left. ‘What have you done to upset him?’
Ellie blinked back tears. She wasn’t going to let him get to her. She knew exactly what she’d done to annoy him. She’d gone against his wishes and she knew Rob was annoyed over her refusal to continue their relationship but she couldn’t believe he was choosing to take it out on her in this fashion. He had no cause to query her work performance; she was good at her job and she took pride in that. She knew what the problem was but there was nothing she could say, or do, that wouldn’t put her in the spotlight. She couldn’t tell anyone else why he was treating her this way. So she shrugged.
‘Maybe he just got out of the wrong side of the bed,’ she proposed.
‘I see his mood hasn’t improved at all.’
Ellie looked up from her paperwork at the sound of James’s voice. How long had he been standing there, she wondered and what had he heard? She was only just feeling brave enough to face him after seeing him at the beach on the weekend and now he’d witnessed her latest embarrassing moment. She was ready to crawl under the desk at the thought that he’d heard that exchange with Rob.
‘Any idea what that was all about?’ he asked.
He was watching her with his chocolate gaze, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort.
‘He was annoyed because George Poni has been discharged without his say-so,’ Ellie told him.
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