in her chest. Had this been a crazy idea? Well, it was too late now.
Angling herself through the door, she moved across to his desk. ‘I pushed the boat out and got us an energy hit from the canteen.’ She passed the disposable cup across to him. ‘Hot chocolate for you, coffee for me.’
He eyed her a bit warily, seeming surprised and even a bit taken aback, and Toni wondered how long it had been since anyone had done a simple act of kindness for him. ‘Thanks. How did you know I needed this?’
‘Put it down to my powers of observation.’ Toni slid into the same chair she’d occupied that morning. Cradling her coffee between her hands, she asked, ‘What’s happening with Carol McKay?’
Rafe tilted his cup and took a mouthful of his hot chocolate. Seeming to enjoy it, he took another. ‘I had a video hook-up with her cardiologist. He’s of the opinion if there’s no further deterioration in her condition, she can be safely managed here.’
‘That should be less stressful for her anyway,’ Toni replied. ‘She can keep up with things at her business. Carol has quite a large customer base, most of whom have become her friends. They’ll be concerned for her welfare.’
‘Her son’s with her now in ICU. I imagine he’ll help her work out some kind of plan for the future.’
‘I expect so. She won’t want to lose trade if it’s at all possible.’
‘That’s not likely, is it?’
‘Probably not.’ Toni sipped her coffee. ‘It’s the only decent dress shop in town so where else are the ladies going to go?’
‘I have no idea, Antonia.’ A tiny flicker of amusement appeared behind Rafe’s eyes. ‘Online perhaps?’
‘Don’t think so,’ Toni drawled, a hint of laughter edging her voice. ‘Online shopping hasn’t hit Forrestdale to any great degree. As for the girls, they’re more inclined to want to touch before they buy, rather than just visualise it on a screen.’
‘Interesting.’ He gave a guarded kind of smile that rapidly spun out to lighten his whole face. He had no idea what they were talking about but Toni smiled right back and their smiles dallied for a moment, then caught and held. And suddenly his office was full of something neither of them understood.
Toni drew back in her chair. Her body felt tingly with electricity. Odd. And Rafe’s laughing eyes were warming her from head to toe. Oh, boy, oh, boy … This could get complicated. And she needed that like a tax bill.
In a split second Rafe decided he didn’t need whatever it was that was happening here. Were they flirting? Hell, this was a minefield. Silence permeated the atmosphere and in order to break it he swivelled his chair slightly so that he was looking through the window at the patchwork of distant gum trees, blue summer sky and high cloud. He took a deep breath to steady himself and then glanced pointedly at his watch. ‘You’d better take off, hadn’t you—if you’re going out tonight?’
Toni looked startled. Was he dismissing her? It sure seemed like it. She swallowed the last mouthful of her coffee and rose to her feet. ‘Why don’t you take an early mark as well?’ she said lightly. ‘You look bushed.’
‘Do I?’ he replied blandly.
‘Yes.’ She’d already noticed the charcoal shadows beneath his eyes and the way he’d rolled back his shoulders out on the ward as if trying to stave off a bone-crunching weariness. ‘Go home, Rafe.’
‘Hey!’ Rafe planted his feet and uncurled to his full height ‘Who’s the boss here?’
‘You, Dr Riccardi,’ Toni returned sweetly. ‘But surely you know how to delegate? There’s a competent late shift already on duty and I’m sure they’ll call you in if anything unmanageable occurs.’
Rafe stifled a hoot of raw laughter. The only thing unmanageable was Antonia Morell. But she was right. He was whacked. ‘OK, you win.’ He gave in, dragging his hands through his hair and locking them at the back of his neck.
‘I’ll take off.’
‘Have a good night, then. Although …’ Toni paused with her hand on the doorknob and shot him one of her smiles ‘… if you feel like it later, you could pop over to the dance and draw one of the raffle prizes for us.’
Rafe let out a breath of pure relief as he watched her neat little backside disappear out the door. But she’d left in her wake a whole chain of emotions that gnawed at his insides. He’d wanted this post in Forrestdale to be as straightforward as possible. No bumps in the road. No emotional involvement to leave behind. And now all that seemed turned on its head.
But only if he let it …
He whipped his medical case out of its locker. He needed to breathe in some fresh air, even swim fifty laps of the pool if that’s what it took to get his head on straight again.
Had she really done that in there? A long breath jagged its way from Toni’s lungs. Surely she hadn’t batted her eyelashes at him, had she? But she’d certainly been flirty. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed? But of course he had—he’d done it right back at her. Were they game-playing? Toni shook her head. She didn’t do games. Ever. Then what on earth had got into her just now?
She fled to the staffroom. Hauling her bag out of the locker, she headed for the car park. Good grief! Why was she letting herself get tied in knots like this? And over a man again. A man who was here today and gone tomorrow—well, in three months’ time. And she’d been down that road. Heck, she’d scrubbed the kitchen floor with one of his T-shirts!
As she slowed to accommodate the after-school traffic flow, Toni released a long calming breath. She needed something physical to unleash the frustration that was robbing her of plain common sense. She felt like thrashing someone at tennis but her club didn’t meet until Thursday evening. Well, she’d just have to run. Run and run. And hope by the end of it she’d be restored to her usual level-headed thinking.
CHAPTER THREE
TONI pushed herself, running lap after lap around the track adjacent to the park. Then, deciding she’d had enough, she leaned forward, hands on the fence railings, warming down. She jogged home leisurely, deciding she’d left herself just enough time to get ready for the Valentine party.
Showered, she blotted her hair dry and then stepped into her favourite silk underwear. She’d bought new clothes on her recent trip to Sydney. Now she just had to decide what to wear. And these days she pleased herself.
After flicking through her choices, she decided to dress simply in a sleeveless silk dress with a crossover bodice. In a dusky blush pink, it had a short draped skirt that fell just above her knees. She puffed perfume into the air and walked through it, then reached for the dress and slid it over her head.
Her make-up was minimal as usual—a touch of tinted moisturiser on her cheeks, a flick of muted shadow on her lids and lipstick in a soft coral. She slipped her feet into high-heeled sandals, pushed a broad silver bangle on her arm and stood back to get the overall picture in the mirror. The dress was gorgeous, the faint shimmer in the material pearling the fairness of her skin and highlighting her hair.
She’d do.
Toni drove across to the club. She intended to have only one glass of wine to celebrate and then she’d stay with mineral water. Besides, the evening was too warm to drink alcohol. But that wouldn’t stop most of the guests, she thought realistically.
She managed to park near the entrance of the club, which would be good for her early exit, she thought, sliding out of her car and activating the locking device on her keypad.
‘Toni!’ Hearing her name, Toni spun round to see Liz and Matt getting out of a taxi. She fluttered a wave and waited for them to catch up. ‘You look terrific, Lizzie,’ she said with a smile. Liz was wearing a bold red gown that floated to her ankles.
‘Thanks,