into her, slashing the flesh. Blood seeped from the gash.
‘You’re hurt,’ Ben said, pulling in a sharp breath. ‘That wound needs dressing.’ He frowned. ‘Perhaps you should be taking the management to task, instead of the other way round. After all, it wasn’t your fault that someone spilled ice cream on the floor—in fact, in the circumstances you might have been badly hurt.’
‘Is that what it was? No … I’m…. It …’ She broke off as Ben’s fingers gave a warning squeeze on her arm.
Her boss flinched. ‘That’s it, of course.’ He hit his palm against his forehead and looked around. ‘I see now what’s to be done. You should go home,’ he said, coming to a sudden decision. ‘Take the rest of the night off.’
‘But I … I’m sure I’ll be fine … And anyway I can’t go home … I have to work. I need to work.’
His expression was pained. ‘Uh … with pay, naturellement,’ he muttered under his breath, as though the words had to be torn out of him. ‘Anyway, you’re not far off the end of your shift. Just go, and we will forget all this. Now. Allez!”
‘But I …’ Her protests were cut off as Ben firmly turned her away and urged her towards a door marked
‘Staff Only’.
‘You should go and get changed. But before you do that, find a first-aid box and cover that wound—unless it’s going to be awkward for you. Would you like me to help you with it?’
She shook her head. ‘No, that’s okay … I can manage, thanks.’
‘All right, then go and get your bag, or whatever.’ He gave her a light push from behind.
‘I will.’ She was aware of the other men waiting by the main door, and her chagrin was complete now that all of his friends had witnessed her stumble. Not only was she a waitress, she was a clumsy one into the bargain.
She gazed at him full on. ‘Thanks again for your help.’ She risked one last quick glance back to where she had slipped, and saw that Jacques had grabbed a brush and dustpan and was clearing up the broken crockery. Ever the showman, he gazed at the people who were looking on. ‘I am good to my staff, see? That one—she is a medical student.’ He inclined his head in Jade’s direction. ‘Who knows—I may find that I need her help one day.’ He grinned.
Jade came out of the rest room a few minutes later.
She had changed into jeans and T-shirt, and put on a light jacket in case the spring evening had turned chilly. Looking around, she was startled to find Ben waiting for her in the lounge area.
‘I didn’t really expect you to hang around,’ she said, her green eyes thoughtful. ‘What about your friends? Shouldn’t you be with them?’
He shook his head. ‘I sent them on ahead, but I dare say I’ll meet up with them later. For now, I’d much rather be with you—I wanted to make sure that you weren’t too shaken up. That was a nasty cut.’
‘I’m all right, thanks to you.’ She smiled. ‘You did a great job of catching me.’ She glanced up at him as they went out of the main door and on to the street. ‘You really don’t need to stay with me, you know. I’ll be fine.’
‘I do know, but I will, all the same.’ He looked around. ‘How do you get to and from the hospital? Do you go by bus, or do you use the tube?’
‘The bus, usually, or if it’s a pleasant day and I have plenty of time, I walk. I enjoy the fresh air and the exercise. I live just a mile or so from here.’
He nodded. ‘Which would you prefer to do now—walk, or take the bus?’
‘I think I’d rather walk, as it’s a pleasant evening.’
‘Are you sure? Isn’t your ankle going to give you problems if you do that?’
‘No, it’s fine, thanks.’ She’d washed it and covered the area with a dressing, and though it was still sore, it would be okay.
‘Good. I’ll walk you home.’
She was quiet for a moment or two, but then she said, ‘Okay. Thanks.’ There didn’t seem much point in protesting any more. He’d made up his mind, and maybe, for whatever reason, he felt that she needed to be watched over.
The sun was setting as they walked along the street that was made up of bars and coffee shops. At this time of the evening it was fairly noisy, with music filtering through open doors and windows, and with boisterous young people intent on having a good time.
‘How often do you have to work at the café?’ Ben asked. He was frowning. ‘Do you have to put in a lot of hours?’
‘It’s a fairly flexible arrangement,’ she told him. ‘Jacques appears to be a bit uptight, but he’s not a bad employer, really. He’s just having a bad day. He knows how I’m fixed, and he’s fairly accommodating. I generally help out on evenings when they’re particularly busy, and I do half a dozen or so hours at the weekends when I can pull them in.’
He shook his head. ‘It can’t be easy. It’s a shame you have to take a part time job while you’re at medical school. Training to be a doctor is not exactly an easy option, and there’s a tremendous amount of studying to be fitted in. It can’t be good for you, burning the candle at both ends. It must be a worry, making sure that you stay on top form.’
His comments stirred her own fears and she turned to him with a concerned expression. ‘Do you think I’m not up to it? Does it look that way? I’ve always done my best, and I’d hoped I managed fairly well at the hospital today. Of course, the consultant’s opinion is another matter. But, then, he was out to make a point, to put me on the spot and let me know that I have to be on my toes and bone up on the kinds of situations that will come my way.’
He looked into her eyes, recognising her insecurity, and his glance warmed her. ‘I thought you did remarkably well. But you’re not stressed out with exams right now. How will you cope when the pressure’s on towards the end of next month?’
She gave a light shrug. ‘I’ll cope the same way I always do, I hope, by making the best use of my time and generally attempting to fit a quart into a pint pot.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘Anyway, I don’t have the luxury of living on independent means.’ Her glance flicked over him. His suit was perfectly cut, beautifully tailored, and she doubted he had to worry too much about finances.
‘True.’ He sent her a sideways, curious look. ‘But going on that way is bound to put a damper on your private life.’
She laughed. ‘Well, there is that … but I don’t actually have much of a private life right now.’
He frowned. ‘Are you saying there’s no boyfriend?’
‘That’s right.’
He let out a slow breath. ‘I can’t imagine what’s wrong with the males around here,’ he said, shaking his head.
‘Nothing at all, I should think.’ She sobered. ‘I’m not overly concerned with getting involved right now. I had a bad experience with someone I thought I cared for, and who said he cared for me … it all went wrong, and I’m not keen to go there again any time soon. Anyway, there’s too much going on for me now, with my studies and work, and so on.’
The break-up with Ewan had left scars, not ones that could be seen but her faith in human nature had been severely challenged. Perhaps she should have been forewarned by her parents’ example—they’d shown her that relationships could go badly wrong.
‘I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?’
‘No, not really.’ She shrugged off all those troubling thoughts. ‘The only thing that really matters is that I want to be a doctor, and if it means working hard to achieve that, that’s what I’ll do.’
‘That’s a