shifted in her chair. She needed to change position. She needed something else to look at. She was going to be working with the man so she needed to picture him in a white coat, in a sterile environment. In theatre scrubs. No. That wasn’t helping. He looked just as good in her imagination.
Maybe she should go home. Maybe it was a case of out of sight, out of mind.
CHAPTER TWO
ELLIE stepped into the shower and tried to let the water wash away thoughts of Dr James Leonardi. Out of sight, out of mind hadn’t worked terribly well. He’d been in her dreams all night. Her subconscious had been infiltrated by a stranger.
But he didn’t feel like a stranger.
She closed her eyes and his image burst into her head. She could instantly recall the line of his shoulder under his T-shirt, the slight curl in his black hair and the heat in his expression when he’d looked at her with his dark eyes. She let her memory linger on the curve of his butt and the long sinewy length of his back as she rinsed her hair before she opened her eyes, turned off the shower and attempted to banish all further thoughts of him from her mind. She needed to focus. She had to work with him. She couldn’t let her fantasies rule her thoughts.
And a fantasy was all he could be. She wasn’t going to date another doctor. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again. It was too awkward when things went badly. She’d learnt that much from her experience with Rob. The orthopaedic ward was definitely off limits and, therefore, so was James Leonardi.
But putting him out of her mind was easier said than done. Especially as he was all anyone wanted to talk about at handover that morning.
‘Have you seen the new doctor?’
‘Yep.’
‘Isn’t he superb?’
‘Is he Italian? He looks Italian.’
‘I was on yesterday when he started and he’s as Australian as you and me.’
‘Oh, you lucky thing. Is he as gorgeous as he looks?’
Listening to the nurses’ gossip, it was as though the outside world had ceased to exist. This new world appeared to revolve entirely around Dr James Leonardi. Ellie kept quiet. She had nothing to contribute, she hadn’t actually met or spoken to him, and her thoughts were not for sharing.
The CNC handed Ellie a stack of files. ‘You can accompany Dr. Leonardi on his rounds this morning—you know the patients better than anyone. I’ve given you George, Mavis, Dylan and Jenny.’
Ellie wondered if she’d been given this job because of her silence rather than her nursing skills. Not that it mattered. She took the files and went to wait for the rest of the group.
Ward rounds in a teaching hospital tended to be rather large affairs. They would be accompanied by the ward physio, Charlotte, and however many physio students she’d have with her today. There were nursing students on the ward too and there would possibly be a medical student or two and an intern. It was rather daunting for the patients until they got used to it and daunting for the students also.
All the chatter from the other nurses still hadn’t prepared Ellie for the jolt she got when she saw Dr Leonardi again. Her first official encounter with him was hardly going to be an intimate affair but that didn’t stop her heart from racing with expectation. He watched her intently as she introduced herself.
‘Dr. Leonardi, I’m Ellie Nicholson, I’ll be doing your rounds with you this morning.’ As she spoke she was aware of that strange connection again, that silent hum, that unexplained feeling that he knew more about her than he should, and she could see in his eyes that he remembered her.
‘Hello again,’ he said, and although his gaze didn’t move from her face Ellie felt as though he was running his eyes over the length of her just as he’d done yesterday in the Stat Bar. His eyes were dark, dark brown and by the look in them she knew he was recalling yesterday too. She felt another blush creep up her neck as the corners of his eyes creased as he smiled and his eyes darkened further, reminding her of molten chocolate.
He extended his hand. It was warm, just as she’d expected, and now she could feel that silent hum pulsing up her arm. It was no longer just moving through the air, it was moving through her and it was definitely coming from him. She could feel herself wanting to close her eyes, wanting to lose herself in the force field that surrounded them. That was the only way to describe the sensation. She fought to keep her eyes open, fought not to succumb to his intensity.
She felt Charlotte watching her and knew she was wondering about Dr Leonardi’s choice of words. Hello again.
She avoided the physio’s gaze as she fought to keep a level head. She let go of Dr Leonardi’s hand as she checked to see if the right people had assembled.
‘Shall we get started?’ she said, turning away from James Leonardi and forcing herself to concentrate as she led the group to the first patient on her list. Her job would be to make sure that all the medical staff was up to speed on the patient’s condition and treatment regime. Charlotte would be responsible for ensuring that the physio angle was covered and together they would work out what else needed to be done or discuss discharge possibilities.
‘Morning, George,’ Ellie greeted their first patient, before introducing him to the group and handing his case notes to James. She took a step closer to the bed, putting some distance between her and James. She had to move away, it was impossible to stay focussed on her work when he stood so near. He smelt like limes, like a cool drink on a hot day, and she was finding him hugely distracting.
‘This is George Poni,’ she said, forcing herself to concentrate on the patient. ‘He’s a fifty-year-old who came off second best when his motorbike hit a guard rail six days ago. He sustained a fractured left ankle, left head of radius, clavicle and wrist. He underwent open reduction, internal fixation of his ankle and wrist and conservative, non-surgical treatment of his clavicle and elbow. He’s had no complications and we’re starting to consider discharge.’
‘I can’t go home,’ George interrupted. ‘My wife is going to kill me. Tell them, Ellie.’
‘You’ll be fine, George,’ Ellie said in an attempt to placate him. ‘I’ve spoken to Lilly and she’s quite calm about the whole thing now as long as you promise to give up the motorbike and find some other safer hobby to pursue through your mid-life crisis. Her words, not mine!’ she added at the end of her spiel. Out of the corner of her eye she could see James smiling. His smile was wide and it brought creases to the corners of his eyes. He had the smile of someone who smiled often and who was used to people smiling with him.
‘Other than putting his life in danger, is there any other reason not to discharge George?’ James asked. ‘How mobile is he, Charlotte?’
‘He’s partial weight-bearing on his left leg and can manage short distances with one crutch, but we’re planning on sending him home with a wheelchair as he can’t use two crutches because of his upper-limb injuries. There’s still a lot of swelling but nothing more than expected. Despite George’s protestations, his wife is capable and willing to give support.’
James was checking the medication chart at the end of George’s bed. ‘He’s still having four-hourly Panadeine Forte?’ He directed his question at Ellie.
‘For his elbow and ankle.’ Ellie clarified George’s pain relief requirements.
‘Do we need this bed?’
‘No.’ Ellie shook her head. ‘We’re okay at the moment.’
‘Okay, George. I’ll do you a deal. Let’s see how you go with painkillers every six hours but we’ll start making arrangements for discharge and review your situation tomorrow.’
‘Thanks, Doc.’
‘Next?’ James said. Ellie indicated the bed diagonally opposite George’s, where a very thin, pale young