four o’clock timeslot. She doubted she was the only one who was thinking ahead to the end of the day.
Luci heard the sound of the door click open and swing shut. It was followed by a murmur from the back of the room that intensified in volume as it swept down the stairs. The room had half a dozen rows of tiered seating and she was sitting near the front. The room was buzzing and Luci turned her head to see what had got everyone so excited.
Seb was at the end of her row, about to step down to the front of the room. What on earth was he doing here?
He shrugged out of his leather jacket and dropped his motorbike helmet on a chair. He was dressed casually in sand-coloured cotton trousers and a chambray blue shirt that brought out the colour of his eyes.
He looked seriously hot.
He pulled a USB stick from his shirt pocket and plugged it into the computer. He was the lecturer?
He looked up, ready to address the room, and his eyes scanned the group, running over the twenty or so attendees. Luci’s stomach was churning with nerves and her palms were sweaty as she waited for him to pick her out in the room. It didn’t take long.
He spotted her in the front row and smiled. His blue eyes were intensely bright in his ridiculously handsome face and Luci swore the entire room, including the two male nurses, caught their collective breath. Her knees wobbled and she was glad she was already sitting down.
‘Hello.’ He was looking straight at her and everything around her dissolved in a haze as she melted into his gaze. ‘I am Dr Seb Hollingsworth.’
Dr! Did he just say Dr? The motorbike-riding, leather-jacketed, living, breathing marble statue was a doctor? Somehow he’d let that little piece of information slide.
Luci missed the rest of his introduction as she tried to remember if she’d told him what she did. She’d talked about the house swap but perhaps she hadn’t told him she was a nurse, which might explain why he hadn’t mentioned he was a doctor. It was hard to remember anything when he was standing right in front of her, looking at her a bit too often with his bright blue eyes.
His voice was strong and deep and confident and Luci could feel it roll through her like waves rolling onto the shore. His voice caressed her and she was tempted to close her eyes as she listened. Maybe then she would be able to concentrate.
He was talking confidently about the cultural differences between the indigenous communities and those families with European backgrounds and the impact that had on the health of the children.
‘Indigenous families are often reluctant to bring their children to the health clinics because of the lessons history has taught them. Many are fearful but we know that early intervention and health checks save lives. Education is the key, not only by the health professionals but also by the schools. We know that educated people have a better standard of living and better health. We have been running playgroups and early learning sessions to encourage the families to come to the clinics and the hope is that the parents will then feel comfortable enough to enrol their kids in school. Our current focus from a health perspective is on nutrition and family support so for any of you who will spend time working with these communities during your placements you’ll need to be aware of the cultural sensitivities.’
Luci knew she should be taking notes but she was too busy watching and listening. She hadn’t been able to keep her eyes closed. It was too tempting to watch him. And she knew where to find him if she had any questions.
‘Funding is an issue—nothing new there,’ he was saying, ‘but the health department will continue to lobby for that. Our stats show there are benefits with these early intervention health programmes.’
There were lots of questions as Seb tried to wrap up his session. Luci guessed they all wanted to prolong the time that he spent in the room and even when he dismissed the class several of them crowded around him like kids around the ice-cream truck.
Luci gathered her notebook and laptop and shoved them into her bag. She wasn’t going to hang around. If he was finished by the time she was packed up she’d stop and talk to him, otherwise she’d leave. She picked up her bag and started up the steps.
‘Luci! Can you wait a moment?’ Seb’s voice stopped her in her tracks.
She hesitated. She had nowhere she had to rush off to. She had no reason not to wait. She dumped her bag on a chair and sat down, aware that some of the other girls were looking at her curiously. That was okay. She was used to being stared at and talked about.
Seb finished his discussions with the other students and came over to her.
‘Dr Hollingsworth?’ Luci was determined to get the first words in but that didn’t seem to faze Seb.
‘Nurse Luci.’ He was smiling at her, making her insides turn somersaults. Again. ‘Have you got time for a drink?’
‘Why?’
‘It seems we have some things to discuss, I thought it might be nice to share our secrets over a drink.’
‘I don’t have any secrets,’ she fibbed.
His grin widened. ‘Everyone has secrets,’ he said. He had his jacket and helmet tucked under one arm and he picked up Luci’s bag with his other hand. ‘Come on, I’ll give you a lift.’
‘Where are we going?’
Seb smirked, obviously sensing victory, and replied, ‘The Sandman, it’s about halfway down the beach.’
The bar was on North Steyne Street, a little over a kilometre away. Luci had walked past it before. ‘I’ll meet you there,’ she said. The walk would give her a chance to clear her head and hopefully time to get over her jitters. She wasn’t sure if this was a good idea but she couldn’t think of an excuse on the spot. She couldn’t think of anything much when Seb looked at her and smiled.
Luci took her bag from Seb and slung it over her shoulder. When she reached the beach she rolled up the legs of her khaki pants and slid her canvas sneakers off her feet and walked along the sand. The late-afternoon sun bounced off the waves, turning the water silver. Kids with surfboards ran in and out of the ocean, their shouts drowning out the screeching of the seagulls. The beach was busy. She didn’t know a soul but she was fine with that. Back home she couldn’t walk down the street without bumping into half a dozen people she knew and it was a pleasant change to have anonymity, especially after the past six months. It wasn’t always so great having everyone know your business.
She stepped off the beach opposite the bar. She walked on the grass to brush the sand from her feet then slipped her shoes back on. Seb had beaten her there and he lifted a hand in greeting as she crossed the street. As if she wouldn’t have noticed him—the bar was busy but he was easily the most noticeable person there.
Somehow, despite the crowd, he’d managed to grab a table with a view of the beach. He stood up as she approached and offered her a stool, his motorbike helmet on a third stool, like a chaperone.
‘What can I get you to drink?’
‘What are you going to have?’
‘A beer.’
‘That sounds great, thank you.’
Sturdy Norfolk pines lined the foreshore, guarding the beach, and Luci watched the ocean through the frame of the trees. She took her phone out of her bag as Seb went to the bar and snapped a photo of the view. She sent it to Flick captioned, After-work drinks, could get used to this! But she resisted saying anything about the company she was keeping. There was no way to describe how he made her feel. Nervous, excited, expectant. She was silly to feel those things, she knew nothing about him, and she knew she couldn’t share her thoughts, Flick would think she’d gone crazy.
She slipped her phone into her bag as Seb came back to the table.
He handed her a glass. ‘So, you’re a nurse?’
‘And you’re a doctor.’
‘I