Her Lieutenant Protector. Lara Lacombe

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СКАЧАТЬ in her attraction for Everest? This was the first time since her rape she had been drawn to a man. Why shouldn’t she explore these feelings more and find out where they led? The timing really couldn’t be better—with Avery and Olivia on board, she’d have her friends close if she needed them. But she didn’t think Everest would give her a reason to cry on their shoulders. From everything she’d seen, Everest was a calm and patient man. He didn’t seem like the type to try to pressure her into moving too fast or doing anything that made her feel uncomfortable.

      And if the worst should happen? If she put herself out there and Everest rejected her? They would simply part ways once the cruise was over. Even if they were assigned to the same ship in the future, it would be easy to limit their interactions to professional concerns.

      Everest glanced over, apparently feeling the weight of her gaze on him. Mallory met his eyes and held them, then smiled. Her flirting skills had atrophied from years of disuse, but Everest’s answering smile told her that her message had been received.

      She turned back to her friends in time to see Avery and Olivia exchange a knowing glance. “She doesn’t look so confused anymore,” Avery said, amusement lacing her words.

      “No,” Olivia agreed, smiling as she took a sip of her mimosa. “I’d say she’s made up her mind.”

      * * *

      Mallory was paged just as she popped the last bite of pancakes into her mouth. She glanced at the number, not surprised to see it was the clinic calling. But rather than the emergency number the nurse had used yesterday to notify her of the situation with Jeff and his friend, this time it was the routine code that flashed on the screen.

      “Time for me to go,” she said, taking one final swig of juice. She dabbed at her mouth with the napkin and shot her friends an apologetic smile. “Sorry to run like this. Again.”

      “Don’t worry about it,” Avery said. “We all know what it’s like to be on call.”

      Olivia and Grant nodded, and Logan shot her a sympathetic smile. “Hopefully we can meet up with you again soon.”

      “I hope so,” she said. She placed her napkin on her plate and stood.

      Everest’s chair scraped back a second after her own. “I’ll walk you back,” he said easily. He nodded at her friends. “It was nice to meet you all. Thank you for letting me join you.”

      “Our pleasure,” Olivia said.

      “Come back anytime,” Grant added.

      Mallory smiled, happy to see her friends had enjoyed Everest’s company. She knew it had been a risk inviting him to breakfast, but fortunately, the meal hadn’t been awkward at all.

      With a final wave at the table, she and Everest set off. He fell into step beside her, as if they had been walking together like this for ages.

      “Thanks for the escort,” she said. It was nice to have his company, if only for a few minutes.

      “My pleasure,” he said. “You know, we didn’t really get a chance to talk at breakfast. At the risk of making a pest out of myself, would you like to meet for lunch?”

      “That would be nice,” Mallory said. “Provided I don’t have any patients at the time.”

      “I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” Everest said. “Hopefully the rest of your cases will be easy compared to last night.”

      “No kidding,” she replied. They arrived at the clinic and stepped inside. The curtains were drawn around three of the gurneys, giving a modicum of privacy to their occupants.

      A nurse approached, holding several charts. She nodded at Everest, then looked at Mallory. “Dr. Watkins, we have three cases of acute GI upset.”

      Mallory’s stomach sank at the news. Everest took a step back. “Sounds like you have your hands full here,” he said. “I’ll get out of your way.”

      “Thanks,” Mallory said. “I’ll page you later.”

      He nodded and turned to leave, and Mallory returned her focus to the nurse. “What are their symptoms?”

      The nurse rattled off the usual symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness, and Mallory nodded grimly. “Any fever?” she asked. The nurse shook her head, confirming her suspicions.

      Mallory sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Sounds like norovirus,” she said, naming a common scourge of cruise ships. The highly contagious virus could sweep through the passengers in a matter of days. It didn’t discriminate between staff and vacationers, so if it got out of hand it could affect the crew’s ability to safely operate the ship. She’d heard of ships that had been forced to cut voyages short because of the overwhelming number of patients on board, and the possibility of the Abigail Adams being affected to such an extent was one of the things that kept her up late at night.

      She performed a quick exam of the patients, to confirm for herself what the nurse had told her. All three passengers reported identical symptoms, which wasn’t surprising since they shared a cabin. There wasn’t anything she could give them to treat the virus, but she prescribed some medication that would make them feel better while the sickness ran its course.

      “And don’t forget the sunscreen,” she said, gesturing to one woman’s sunburned neck.

      “I know,” she replied. “The thing is, I haven’t been in the sun that much. I’ve mostly stayed inside, shopping and watching the shows.”

      Mallory nodded. “I understand. But it doesn’t take long to get burned, especially if you’re not used to being outside.”

      She drew the curtain around the woman’s bed and stepped into her small office, where she reached for the phone. She dialed the bridge and asked to speak to the captain. It took only a second for him to come on the line.

      “What can I do for you, Dr. Watkins?”

      “I’ve got three patients in the clinic presenting with signs of norovirus.”

      The man swore softly, recognizing the seriousness of her words. “Do you need me to start decontamination procedures?”

      “I think that’s best,” she said. “If we move fast enough, we might be able to get on top of this before it becomes a shipwide outbreak.”

      “Roger that,” the captain said. “I’ll alert the crew and get the ball rolling.”

      “Thank you, sir.”

      “Keep me posted,” he said. “Let’s hope you don’t see any more cases.”

      Mallory hung up and reached for her cell phone. She hesitated only a moment before texting Avery and Olivia.

      Possible noro on board. Be careful.

      Technically, she shouldn’t talk about her concerns with any of the passengers. But Avery and Olivia were both doctors, and she knew they wouldn’t panic unnecessarily. She just wanted her friends to stay healthy so they could enjoy their vacation—she knew they didn’t get much time off, and she would feel terrible if they spent the cruise sick in their cabins.

      Oh СКАЧАТЬ