The Fling That Changed Everything. Alison Roberts

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      ‘Hey...I love my job, too.’ Lia was beaming at Sam. ‘Maybe I could come and inspire the girls?’

      Jack was grinning again. ‘You up for anything, too, huh?’

      The flirting was unmistakeable. The flick of the long braid Lia now had her hair confined to was also an obvious message. And she could deal with more than the weather.

      ‘Anything professional.’ Her tone was a warning. Romance had been the last thing on her mind when she’d decided to take this job. It was the last thing on her mind any time these days, thanks to the time and emotional energy her family required. And even if she had been interested in meeting someone, it wouldn’t be Jack. She’d met his type too many times before. Dated them. Been dumped and hurt when they moved on—as they always did if it looked like the girl was getting serious.

      Had she been too abrupt? Lia softened her tone. ‘I’m up for the new experience and if I like it I’ll come back next time. Sounds like the guy I’m replacing got a nasty leg fracture and won’t be back for a while.’

      ‘I told him paragliding was a dodgy hobby.’ Jack reached out as if he was going to offer to carry Lia’s pack but then changed his mind and adjusted his sunglasses instead.

      Sam hid a smile. So Lia could look after herself.

      ‘Not that he wasn’t good at it.’ Jack seemed to be scanning the clouds now. ‘Just got unlucky, I guess.’

      ‘Lucky for me...’ Lia hoisted her backpack as if it weighed nothing. ‘Especially the timing. Who knew they paid so much more for coming here in the cyclone season?’

      Sam’s inner smile vanished without a trace. The disconcerted look on Lia’s face made him realise that something of what he was feeling must be showing but he didn’t care. He had better reason than most not to care about someone to whom money was all-important, hadn’t he? He turned away.

      ‘Let’s go,’ he told Matt. ‘I’ll show you your accommodation and then give you a tour of the hospital.’

      * * *

      What had just happened there?

      Lia had her backpack settled onto her shoulders and she was ready to go. Didn’t she have accommodation to see? Wouldn’t a tour of at least the emergency department of the hospital be appropriate for someone who could be delivering seriously unwell people to a place that might be short on staff experienced in dealing with resuscitation?

      Maybe it had something to do with that very unsubtle attempt at flirting that had come from Jack. Of course she’d knocked him back. She was about to spend two weeks working with the man and the only relationship she wanted was a professional one, hopefully based on mutual respect and trust.

      And what about that reaction to Matt being the nurse?

      Lia’s high spirits dimmed a little. Was it expected to be part of the deal? Did FIFOs get paid so well because it was assumed they would provide a bonus service to men working in isolated places?

      They probably did when they were working with Sam Taylor—if he was single, that was, which seemed unlikely. How many men who were that good-looking were still unattached in their midthirties, as he looked to be?

      Mind you, there was something unusual about him. Something that didn’t quite fit the picture she might have expected. Something that made him look almost as if he was here by mistake.

      Not like Jack, who had the rugged good looks of a pirate and a cheekiness that suggested he liked to live on the edge, which made wanting to live in an isolated place like this quite plausible. But Sam? He looked like he was playing a role—that was it. With his sun-streaked, floppy dark blond hair and blue-grey eyes, he could easily be a film star cast as a doctor in a tropical paradise.

      Intriguing.

      She wasn’t interested in meeting someone, she reminded herself.

      But if she was, there would have been no contest between Sam and Jack, so it was probably just as well Sam hadn’t shown even a glimmer of interest in her. Quite the opposite, in fact, judging by the way he’d turned his back and walked away.

      ‘Looks like we’ve been abandoned.’ Jack shrugged. ‘Want to have a look at the helicopter before I give you the grand tour of everything else?’

      ‘Sure.’ Lia turned her head, her smile polite. ‘It’s a BK117, isn’t it? Fully specced?’

      ‘We’ve got everything your paramedic heart could desire. Even a portable ventilator and ultrasound.’

      ‘Awesome. The only other thing I need is a pilot with exceptional skill.’

      ‘At your service.’ Jack tugged at his fringe. ‘I might push the boundaries but I’m not about to risk killing myself or any of my crew.’ He returned her smile. ‘And, judging from your CV they sent through, you’re going to be one of the best I’ve worked with. And...um...sorry about, you know... I’m not usually a jerk. This job is my life. Maybe I got a bit overexcited about meeting someone who has the same passion.’

      He wouldn’t be trying it on again, either. This time her smile was genuine. ‘We’re going to get along just fine, Jack.’ She couldn’t help turning her head to where a golf cart was sending up a cloud of dust as it carried Sam and Matt away from the airstrip. The question of how well she might be going to get on with the medical staff here was an entirely different matter.

      ‘Are we...um...going to have a look around the hospital some time, too?’

      ‘It’s our base.’ Jack nodded. ‘We hang out in the staffroom on our downtime so that we’re within coo-ee of the radio. You’ll probably get roped in to help with some of the medical stuff, I expect. We always seem to be a bit short-staffed.’

      So she’d be seeing Sam again. Probably quite a lot of him.

      Not that it should matter. If anything, it should be something that could be seen as a potential conflict, given the odd vibe he’d put out.

      So why were her spirits lifting again?

      Because she couldn’t resist a challenge? It was intriguing, that was all. She wouldn’t mind finding out how he’d ended up here and why he’d stayed.

      And she’d definitely like to rub his nose in that attitude to how capable a female paramedic could be.

      Yep. That would be a bonus.

      And Lia was very good at rising to any challenge to prove herself.

      She followed Jack towards the helicopter, which was well anchored to cope with the rising wind gusts. Not that they were likely to be flying anytime soon in these conditions, but the sooner the better, as far as she was concerned.

      She could feel her fingers curling into fists.

      Bring it on...

       CHAPTER TWO

      ‘WHAT’S WITH THE white coat, Sam?’

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