Dear Reader

There’s something really special about college days, with young people so full of energy and sparkle living life to the full. Everything takes on the brightest colours. Their lives are filled with music, deep, lasting friendships and the sheer joy of being alive and trying new things.

So when the four young people in my book get together to share a house things are bound to fizz. It isn’t long before Ben and Jade find themselves drawn to one another—things are definitely beginning to warm up—but, as always, there are pitfalls along the way.

Jade is getting over a broken relationship, and the last thing she needs is to find herself falling for Ben. It’s just not going to happen—is it?

With love

Joanna

About the Author

When JOANNA NEIL discovered Mills & Boon®, her lifelong addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Medical™ Romance. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre, to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions.

Recent titles by Joanna Neil:

A COTSWOLD CHRISTMAS BRIDE

THE TAMING OF DR ALEX DRAYCOTT

BECOMING DR BELLINI’S BRIDE

PLAYBOY UNDER THE MISTLETOE

Recent titles by Leah Martyn:

WEDDING IN DARLING DOWNS

OUTBACK DOCTOR, ENGLISH BRIDE

These books are also available in ebook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dr Langley: Protector or Playboy?

Joanna Neil

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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CHAPTER ONE

‘I DON’T know how you can face coming here straight after putting in a full day’s work at the hospital.’ Matt Berenger glanced briefly at Jade before removing the filter from his coffee cup and putting it to one side. He began to spoon sugar into the hot liquid. ‘I need a break before I can even think about starting on anything else.’

‘Put it down to sheer necessity,’ Jade answered with a rueful smile. ‘I need to keep my student loan down to the minimum.’ She sent a fleeting glance around the room. All the customers appeared to be content for the moment and it seemed no one needed her attention, so there was probably no harm in spending a moment or two swapping news with Matt.

She rested her empty tray on her hip, and briefly tugged at the skirt of her waitress uniform with her free hand. ‘This outfit drives me mad,’ she muttered through her teeth. ‘It’s totally the wrong size for me and it’s forever riding up.’

Matt studied her, his dark head tilted to one side. ‘Looks okay to me.’

Jade made a wry face. Did he know anything at all about the way women’s clothes should fit?

He tested the coffee for heat and then took a sip. ‘So how was your first day in Paediatrics?’

‘It was okay, I suppose.’ She frowned. ‘There’s so much to remember, where everything’s kept, for a start—lab forms, equipment, linen—and then there are all the new people you meet. The consultant, the registrar, the rest of the team, and nurses,—and that’s without even mentioning the patients …’ Her green eyes closed briefly. ‘To see those young children looking so poorly just breaks my heart.’

She pulled in a quick breath. ‘But at least there was someone there who was nearer to my level—he’s a year ahead of me, though, like you—he’s a pre-registration doctor, doing his year-one foundation course. I think perhaps he’s a few years older than me, so maybe he was involved in something else before he set out to study medicine.’ She frowned. ‘In fact, you probably know him, if he’s in the same year group as you. Ben Langley? Does that ring a bell?’

‘Ben.’ Matt nodded, his mouth curving. ‘Oh yes. We’ve been together on quite a few placements, and in lectures, of course. He’s okay—I like him. And I think you’ll find he’s extremely popular with all the females for miles around.’ He swallowed more coffee. ‘He seems to know his way around the hospital system, and he’s very amenable. I’m sure if you ask him, he’ll help you out with anything you need to know.’

‘Yes, I guess so. I did turn to him a couple of times, since he looked as though he had the situation in hand, but I didn’t want to do it too often for fear of looking as though I was completely hopeless.’ She gave a small sigh. ‘It’s just that everyone seems to know so much more than me. They’re all so confident, so capable, whereas I was wandering around feeling lost most of the time. Did you feel that way when you were in your fifth year? I’d expected to find things a bit easier by now.’

‘We all go through it.’ Matt smiled. ‘Anyway, as far as I can see, you’ve been doing really well. Just think, this time next year you’ll be in the same position as me, a foundation-year doctor.’

She gave a soft sigh, trying to imagine it. ‘I can’t wait.’

‘Oh, so you can’t wait, eh?’ a sharp voice snarled in her ear, making her jump. ‘But you think the customers can? Alors! You should be waiting tables, n’est ce pas? Let us have no more of this chit-chat. Allez!’

‘Uh … Oh—I’m sorry.’ Jade straightened up and shot a look at her boss, Jacques. He was an excitable man in his middle years, slightly overweight, with brown hair that was all over the place from his habit of running a hand through it. He was given to short bursts of irritability, and she guessed that came from the responsibility that went along with running a café bar in the middle of London. Today was a bad day, because the air-conditioning had broken down and the temperature in the kitchen was almost too much to bear.

She gave Matt an apologetic smile. ‘I should get on,’ she murmured. ‘I’ll see you later, back at the house, and perhaps you can tell me all about how you got on in A and E.’

‘Will do.’ Matt drank his coffee, tilting back his head and draining every last drop. ‘I’d better head off, anyway. I don’t suppose Lucy will have given a thought to getting anything in for supper. Her head’s in the clouds these days.’

Jade leapt to her friend’s defence. ‘It’s not her fault, you know. She has a lot on her mind.’ ‘Don’t we all?’

Matt left the café and Jade concentrated on clearing tables. Her boss obviously didn’t like to see her standing around talking to the customers but, as far as she could see, no new people had come in off the street.

No sooner had that thought crossed her mind than the main door swung open and a group of men entered. There were four of them, all smartly dressed in suits, shirts and ties, and one of them was the very man she’d just been talking about, Ben Langley.

He walked towards an empty table and sat down. On the wards, he gave the impression he was someone you could rely on. And here he was no different. He had that look of a man who was totally at ease with himself and everything around him … calm, yet purposeful.

She studied him surreptitiously as she waited for the group to settle down. A head taller than she was, he had dark hair and features that somehow compelled you to look, and look again. His eyes, she recalled, were a pleasing mix of grey and blue, and he had a way of looking at you that made it seem that you had his full attention.

And he was looking at her right now. She gave a faint start, her cheeks flushing with heat because he had caught her out, watching him.

His gaze was fixed on her, and she gave herself a mental shake. Get a grip, she chided herself inwardly. He was just looking at her because he wanted to order some food, and she was the waitress, for heaven’s sake.

He smiled as she walked over to the table. He had a naturally warm and friendly manner that automatically drew everyone in. She’d been aware of it from the start, and it had been fairly obvious that all the nurses had fallen for him straight away. Then again, the number-one rule for junior doctors was for them to make friends with the nursing staff if they were to make any headway in the job, and he had managed that for sure.

She drew in a deep breath. It was highly embarrassing that he and his friends should find her working here, of all places—in an instant her street cred had gone right through the floor.

‘Hello. What can I get for you?’ she asked. She gave them all a welcoming smile and let her glance roam fleetingly over his friends.

‘Steak burger and fries for me,’ the fair-haired one said. ‘I’m starving.’ He checked out her long, chestnut-coloured hair and gave her an appreciative smile.

‘I’ll have the toasted cheese sandwich,’ the young man sitting next to him said. ‘No expense spared, you see,’ he added in mock humour. ‘We’re celebrating our first day in new placements—at the hospital across the way,’ he added by way of explanation.

She nodded, but Ben said softly, ‘She knows all about placements, Jack. She’s one of us.’

Jack’s eyes widened. ‘Really? How come I’ve not seen you around?’

‘We’re in different year groups, perhaps?’ She gave a light shrug and concentrated on writing down the orders.

‘Maybe you can tell us what you’ve been up to so far this year,’ Jack said in a musing tone. ‘We could swap notes. It’s always good to have some insight into other specialties. I started on the renal unit today.’

‘Jade’s a fifth-year student,’ Ben explained, and she glanced at him. He remembered her name? It didn’t mean anything, of course. Perhaps he was good at that sort of thing. She’d remembered his name because he was the kind of man you didn’t forget.

‘That’s right,’ she murmured, adding for the benefit of the rest of the group, ‘I started in Paediatrics today, alongside Ben. I’d really like to stay and swap notes, but unfortunately I’m already in trouble with my boss for standing around talking.’ She pulled a face. ‘I can feel him glaring at me from the kitchen.’

‘Oh, dear.’ Ben acknowledged that with a sympathetic smile. ‘Then we’d better hurry up and decide what we want to eat.’ He studied the menu along with his other friend and gave her their order a moment or two later.

Jade tucked her notepad into her pocket and walked over to the kitchen. She hoped Ben wasn’t following her progress. The wretched uniform was sliding up over her hips again and it took all her willpower to resist the urge to tug it back down.

‘Here we are,’ she said a short time later, setting down the plates of food. ‘Burger and fries, toasted cheese sandwich, baguette and crepes. I’ll bring your drinks along in a minute or two.’

‘Thanks.’ Ben accepted the plate of savoury crepes she put before him. His friends began to tuck in, chatting to one another, while Ben put his food to one side for the moment and looked at her. ‘It’s good to see you again,’ he murmured, letting his gaze drift over her and making her suddenly conscious of the way her skirt clung to her and of the hint of cleavage displayed by the cotton top of the uniform. ‘I expect we’ll soon get used to working alongside one another. The first day in a placement is always a bit unnerving, isn’t it? But you seemed to be coping well enough.’

‘Did I?’ She gave a soft laugh. ‘I suppose it was okay once I managed to spend time with the patients. Everything else seemed to fade into the background then. Apart from when the consultant came to do his rounds. That was a bit scary.’ She looked at him, a small frown in her green eyes. She doubted he had any such problems.

At the end of his working day he seemed perfectly relaxed. He had removed his jacket, and where he had rolled back his shirtsleeves she saw that his strong forearms were lightly bronzed, covered with a smattering of dark hair.

‘He put you on the spot a bit, didn’t he, asking about the baby’s stridor?’ His voice was deep and low, smoothing over her like comforting hot chocolate. ‘I thought it was a bit unfair of him, really, to do that to you on your first day.’

She nodded. ‘You’re right. His questions left me flummoxed for a while, I must say. To begin with, I wondered if the strange noises the baby was making when he breathed in were to do with a respiratory problem, but at least I did get it together enough to suggest that we should check out his throat as well as his chest.’

‘And that was the right thing to say, as things turned out.’ He smiled, a full-on smile that curved his well-shaped mouth and glimmered in the depths of those smoky, grey-blue eyes. Caught unawares, Jade’s heart did a funny little flip-over in the middle of her chest.

‘Yes.’ Her voice was husky. What on earth was the matter with her? She hadn’t reacted this way to any man since she’d met Ewan. And her experience with him had surely been enough to warn her to keep her emotions under control.

She brought her mind back to the baby at the hospital. She’d learned that the infant was struggling with a ‘soft’ larynx, a condition where the immature cartilage folded inwards on inhalation, causing an airway obstruction.

‘I guess so,’ she said. ‘It’s a shame the baby’s ill enough to need surgery, though. He’s only six months old—I’d hate it if a child of mine needed an operation at such a young age.’

‘Me, too.’

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her boss beginning to glower at her from the kitchen once more, and she quietly excused herself. More customers were coming in, and she and the rest of the staff were kept busy for the next half-hour, seeing to their needs.

There was no time for a breather. As customers ate up and left the café, Jade cleared away the dishes and wiped the tables clean. Now her tray was filled with pudding bowls, cups and saucers, and as she headed back towards the kitchen with them, she saw that Ben and his friends were preparing to leave. They nodded towards her and she returned the gesture.

She wasn’t quite sure what happened next. One moment she was treading carefully between the tables, glancing at the customers to see who might shortly need attention, and the next her foot had shot out from under her and she began to tumble backwards. The tray wobbled precariously and she desperately tried to keep it aloft while fighting to keep her balance, but all the time she knew it was going to be a losing battle. Her heart sank as crockery began to slide off the tray, heading for the floor. It would only be a matter of seconds before she would follow.

Then, as she resigned herself to her fate, she discovered that strong arms were holding her, effortlessly taking her weight and steadying her.

‘You’re okay, I have you,’ Ben said. His tone was reassuring, supportive, washing over her like a soothing balm. He helped her to regain her balance, and even as she tried to thank him, she was unhappily aware of the tableware hitting the floor tiles with a resounding crash. A small cheer went up from the diners close by. ‘Que se passe-t-il? Qu’avez vous fait?’

Jade groaned as her boss hurried towards her. His dark brows pulled together, meeting in a scowl.

‘I … It was an accident,’ she told him in dismay. ‘I don’t know how it happened.’ All the time she was aware of Ben’s nearness, of his hand on her elbow and the warmth of his touch coursing through her body and setting her nerves alight. For the second time that evening, her cheeks were flushed with heat. Was she bound to constantly make a fool of herself around him?

‘Zut!’ Jacques was not pleased. ‘It is a mess.’

‘Yes. Yes, it is. I’ll clean it up,’ Jade promised. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘I am sorry, too. C’est vrai.’ He glowered at her.

Her ankle was stinging, and she looked down to see that a jagged piece of broken plate had cut 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 splendid ambition.’ He gave her an approving look. ‘Have you decided on a specialty yet? You seemed to be very much taken with the baby on the ward today.’

‘Not yet, though I think I’m going to like working with children, even though it can be upsetting seeing them when they’re ill. I was quite worried about baby George. I looked up his type of illness on the computer after ward rounds, and apparently most children with his problem grow out of it by the time they’re two years old. It’s so unfortunate that he has to be booked in for surgery.’

‘Maybe. But he’s been suffering from episodes of sleep apnoea, where he’s been blue in the face through lack of oxygen, and that’s far too dangerous to be ignored.’

‘I know. The consultant explained, but it must still be hard for the parents to come to terms with it.’ They were getting closer to where she lived now, and she waved a hand towards a patch of green in the landscape, a small park bordered by black wrought-iron gates and fencing, an oasis in the midst of a built-up area. There were trees and shrubs in abundance, and through the railings she caught a glimpse of yellow daffodils swaying gently in the breeze, along with outcrops of tulips in all hues of scarlet through to the palest pink. The azaleas were in flower, too, glorious, exuberant blooms of deep crimson.

‘I go there whenever I get the chance,’ she said softly. ‘I love the peace and quiet, and the colour all around me.’

He nodded. ‘I like to go and stand by the Thames when I want to find peace. It’s very calming to look out over the water, I find.’ He looked around. ‘Do you live close to here?’

‘Yes. We’re about half a mile from the Thames, I think. We’re very lucky. The house is in a lovely, leafy terrace. It’s very quiet, and I’m really happy to be living there.’

‘We?’ He raised a dark brow.

‘My friends and I. We share. There’s Matt and Lucy. Matt Berenger—I believe you know him.’ He nodded acknowledgement, and Jade went on, ‘Lucy’s father actually owns the house, and he turned it over to students for these last few years. Matt’s father’s a business partner of Mr Clements, Lucy’s father, and he arranged for him to have a place with us. As for me, Lucy and I have been friends for ever.’

‘It sounds like a good arrangement.’

‘It is.’

They turned into a tree-lined crescent, where a Georgian terrace of houses stood resplendent, touched by the dying rays of the sun. The buildings were three storeys high, white fronted, with wrought-iron railings at the windows and again at ground level. There was a small patch of lawn between the street railings and the houses were hung with baskets filled with spring flowers and trailing ivy.

‘This is ours,’ she said, stopping outside a house halfway along the terrace. ‘We actually have a small garden out back. Talk about landing on my feet! I’m just so pleased to be living here.’

‘I’m impressed,’ Ben said, studying the building. ‘If the inside’s anything like the outside, you’ve every reason to be happy.’

She nodded. ‘Come in with me, and I’ll make you a coffee. It’s the least I can do after the way you looked after me.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course.’ She could hardly let him go on his way after he’d taken the trouble to walk her home.

‘Then I will, thanks.’ His mouth curved, and she tried to ignore the warm glow that started up inside her. She didn’t want to be enticed by his gentle manner and easygoing ways. She’d been there before with Ewan and the result hadn’t been pleasant.

They walked up the few steps to the front door, and she showed him into the entrance hall. ‘The lounge is through here,’ she said, pushing open a door and leading the way into a large, high-ceilinged room with a polished wooden floor and deep sash windows. ‘The furniture’s a bit sparse, but at least it’s comfortable. We do argue a bit over who gets to sit where, because even though there are two sofas, Matt and I both like to stretch out our legs when we get the chance. It does tend to make Lucy a bit annoyed at times.’

He chuckled. ‘There are bound to be a few disagreements when several students live under one roof. Though three’s probably a nice, manageable number.’

‘True. But actually there used to be four of us until recently. Caroline left to take an elective course of study in Africa.’ She sent him a quick glance. ‘Which reminds me—I meant to ask if you did something else before taking up medicine. I have the feeling you might be two or three years older than Matt, who’s in the same year as you—or perhaps I’m mistaken?’

He shook his head. ‘You have it right. I took some time out to travel and see the world before I decided what I wanted to do. My parents were happy enough for me to do that, and I found temporary work wherever I could to support myself through it. Then, when I came back to the UK, I worked for a while in a hospital, on the administrative side. I just wanted to get a feel for things, to see if I’d be suited to the life.’

‘And you obviously decided to go with it in the end. So medicine wins!’ She grinned at him, and they did a high-five, their hands meeting in a spontaneous action that came out of nowhere. Ben was still smiling, gazing around, when Lucy entered the room a second or two later, looking a bit frazzled.

Even frazzled, Lucy was stunning to look at, there was no doubt about it. With flowing golden hair and intensely blue eyes, she was a picture to behold. Her bone structure was perfect, her lips full and red, and her figure was absolutely perfect.

Jade glanced at Ben, curious to see what his reaction would be to her best friend. Most men did a double take and almost fell over themselves trying to get to know her.

Ben simply waited patiently to be introduced.

‘Hello,’ Lucy said, suddenly cottoning on to the fact that Jade wasn’t alone. ‘I don’t think we’ve met, have we?’

‘This is Ben,’ Jade said. ‘He’s a friend of Matt’s, a foundation-year doctor on placement with me. We met up today, and I was just going to offer him coffee.’

‘Good idea.’ Lucy held out her hand to him. ‘It’s great to meet you, Ben. I’m afraid Matt isn’t here right now. He’s gone to the all-night store to see if he can grab some pasties for supper.’ She winced, and even that didn’t mar her beauty. ‘I forgot to get any food in, but …’ she turned to look at Jade ‘… I’ll do a full shop tomorrow, I promise.’

‘That’s okay. I managed to get something to eat at the café.’ Jade frowned. ‘I suppose you’re still struggling with the cardiology project your consultant gave you?’

‘Oh, that wretched thing! Tell me about it! I could almost wish Mr Sheldon hadn’t decided I was to be his protégée. It’s almost more work than I can handle. Along with the fact that I’m still trying to find someone to fill Caroline’s boots.’

‘The girl who left?’ From his expression, it was clear Ben’s interest had been tweaked. ‘Are you looking for someone else to move in here?’

Lucy nodded. ‘That’s right. I have to try and keep the rooms fully occupied. It’s my father’s house and he likes to keep things on a business footing.’

Ben smiled. ‘Would I do as a tenant? It just so happens that I’m looking to move. I’ve been renting a place across the river for the last six months, but the lease is up, and now that I’m based at the hospital over here, I’d rather be close by.’

‘Oh … really? Well, I’m certainly looking for someone, and you are a friend of Matt’s after all …’ Lucy was thinking, talking to herself, but Jade could see that she was taken with the idea. ‘You’d need to supply references.’

‘That’s not a problem.’

Lucy brightened, and it was as if the sun had come out. ‘Perhaps I should show you around?’ she suggested, heading towards the door. ‘Each room’s pretty much self-contained, with a toilet and wash-basin, and there are a couple of bathrooms, which we have to share. You’ll also find that there’s a table and chair in your room so that you’ll be able to study in peace whenever you like.’

‘That sounds like just what I’m looking for.’ Ben half turned and glanced at Jade, and she guessed he was uncomfortable at following Lucy out of the room and leaving her alone.

‘It’s okay, you go ahead,’ Jade murmured. ‘I’ll make the coffee.’

‘If you’re sure?’

‘I am.’

She gazed at the door for a while after they had gone. She frowned. It was disturbing to think that he might very soon be coming here to live with them. It wasn’t at all what she had expected, and somehow it troubled her. It was one thing to be working alongside him, but having him stay here in such close proximity was quite another. The very idea had knocked her off balance, and now all of her defences were suddenly on standby.

CHAPTER TWO

‘HE’S not bad at all, is he?’ Lucy dropped hot crumpets onto a plate and began to toast another batch.

‘Um—who’s this we’re talking about?’ Jade dragged her attention away from the magazine she was reading, and was rewarded with a sharp hiss of breath and a shake of the head.

‘Ben, of course. Our soon-to-be housemate.’ Lucy frowned at her. ‘You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, have you?’

‘I have …’ Jade pulled herself up with a guilty start. ‘You were talking about him moving in here.’ She tried to recall what Lucy had said. ‘He won’t be making the move straight away because he has a few loose ends to tie up … and he needs a day or two to pack up his bits and pieces, especially his new leather reclining chair that he absolutely won’t do without and a desk with drawers that are crammed full of his paperwork.’ Her brows knitted together. Obviously, he wasn’t a great believer in saving the trees.

‘That was ten minutes ago,’ Lucy said crossly. ‘I’ve moved on since then.’ She jabbed a finger at the plate. ‘And these crumpets are meant to be eaten while they’re hot.’ She looked over Jade’s shoulder at the magazine. ‘What’s that you’re reading, anyway? It seems to be keeping you pretty well absorbed.’

‘It’s the student paper.’ Jade put the magazine to one side and started to butter crumpets. She passed a couple of them to Matt, who was sitting across the other side of the table, checking web pages.

‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know the new edition had come out yet.’

She smiled. ‘I got it hot off the press from a friend who works in the print room. Guess who’s editing the mag now that the union rep has stepped down?’

‘Who?’

‘Your friend, Ben.’

She passed the magazine to him. ‘He’s introduced a new cartoon feature in there—it has his signature on it, so I guess he designed it himself. He’s called the series Med-life Crises—I’m sure it’s based on the goings on of some of the fifth-year medical students. This month’s storyline is very like something that happened in lectures a few weeks ago … only he’s made it seem much funnier somehow.’

Matt turned the page, and Lucy abandoned the crumpets to lean over and read the cartoon with him. She began to laugh. ‘Oh, that’s clever. I like that!’ She shot a glance at Jade. ‘He has a wicked sense of humour. I remember those lectures.’

‘The tutors roped in volunteers from around the medical school,’ Jade explained to Matt, ‘and were trying to teach us about patient-doctor communication skills through role playing. One of the students told her patient he needed to go on a fitness regime and lose some weight. He wasn’t too pleased, and she found out later that he’s her new consultant.’ She was still chuckling. ‘I wouldn’t have dared print that, just in case either of them saw it and took offence.’

‘It doesn’t seem as if Ben has any qualms about that.’ Matt bit into a crumpet, licking the melted butter off his lips.

‘No. As I was saying …’ Lucy looked pointedly at Jade ‘… I think he’ll fit in here really well. He seems to be quite easygoing and keen to get on with his studies. None of this clattering about of an evening with guitars and fiddling about with amplifiers.’ She sent Matt an accusing stare.

He lifted his shoulders and raised his flattened palms in a dismissive gesture. ‘So I practise my music occasionally—it’s not as though I’m working on it till all hours, every day of the week.’

‘Just as well, or one of these days you might get ready to rock and find your amplifier has been disconnected.’

They scowled at one another, and Jade sighed. She bit into a crumpet. It was hard to imagine Ben sitting with them at the breakfast table. Truth to tell, she was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that he was actually going to be living there. It didn’t sit right with her somehow, and she couldn’t quite work out what was wrong.

Maybe it was a vague feeling that he was out of her league. He and his friends all seemed so much more confident than she was, and perhaps that was because their backgrounds were very different from hers in the main. Her family had always worked and struggled to get by, whereas Ben’s parents were in business and were comparatively rich, by all accounts. From what Matt had told her, the business was doing extremely well, with offshoots in Europe and Scandinavia.

There was no point dwelling on any of it, though. It was going to happen whether she wanted it or not.

She wiped her fingers on a paper towel and looked at Matt. ‘Are you back in A and E this morning?’

He nodded. ‘In the trauma unit to begin with, and then I’ll be working in the fracture clinic this afternoon.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘In fact, I’d better head off now. I’m due at a meeting to go over the details of yesterday’s cases.’

‘Me, too. I’m supposed to be at the hospital for eight o’clock.’

Matt left the house, and Jade set about clearing the table, carefully stacking the dishes in the sink and filling the washing-up bowl with hot, soapy water. She glanced at Lucy. ‘I get the feeling you’re looking forward to having Ben here with us. He must have made quite an impression on you.’ Lucy didn’t normally react with any great enthusiasm to newcomers—at least, not the male variety. She was too used to fending them off, though perhaps she’d made an exception in Ben’s case.

‘Yeah, he’s all right.’ Lucy grinned. ‘It turned out to be a lucky move all round, you bringing him home with you the other day.’

‘Hmm. Maybe.’

Perhaps there was something in the way she said it that caught Lucy’s attention, because her expression sobered. ‘Do you have some misgivings?’ She threw Jade a cautious glance. ‘It’s just that it seemed like a heaven-sent opportunity after Caroline’s room was left empty.’

Jade smiled. ‘I’m sure things will work out just fine. It all happened so quickly. I only asked him in because he’d helped me and he was thoughtful enough to walk me home afterwards, and the next thing he’s going to be living with us. It takes a bit of getting used to.’

They finished tidying the kitchen and set off to walk to the hospital. The sky was a cloudless blue, and the City looked fresh and sparkling in the morning sunshine. Jade made up her mind to put all her doubts behind her and instead give her concentration to the work ahead. In the weeks coming up to her final exams, things were going to be pretty hectic and she needed to be on the ball the whole time.

‘Good luck in Cardiology,’ she told Lucy as they parted company. Lucy was having a difficult time in her placement, and if yesterday was anything to go by Jade couldn’t expect to fare much better. It looked as though her consultant was given to asking searching questions whenever they met up for patient reviews or ward rounds, and it seemed she would have to get used to thinking on her feet.

The first hour or so of the morning was spent in going over the case notes of patients who had been admitted to the paediatric ward the previous day, followed by a visit to the neonatal unit.

‘How are we going to assess this child?’ Professor Farnham wanted to know as they stopped by a cot. He was in his fifties, tall and dark haired, slimly built, a man whose whole body and manner hinted at ceaseless energy and a thirst for knowledge. ‘What are we looking for?’

Jade drew in a deep breath and checked the baby’s file. The baby was only three days old, a tiny, preterm infant who whimpered softly in his crib. His arms flailed weakly and his mouth quivered as he gave a helpless cry. More than anything, she wanted to pick him up and hold him to her, to feel his warm, soft body in her arms.

Instead, she tried to dredge up all she had learned about neonatal problems. ‘The history shows that he has had several seizures,’ she said. ‘He’s been vomiting and he isn’t feeding well, according to his mother.’ The mother wasn’t around to hear their discussion, thankfully. The nurse had taken her into the office so that she could talk to her about any worries that might be weighing her down.

‘The first course of action would be to take blood tests and check serum chemistries. I’m thinking there might be a problem with the levels of calcium or magnesium in the blood. Then I would do urine tests in case of any renal problems. We should get an ECG as well, to check for any cardiac rhythm abnormalities.’ She hesitated momentarily. ‘The mother has a history of diabetes, so it’s possible there might be some connection between that and the baby’s problems.’

‘Good thinking.’ The professor beamed. ‘I’ll leave you in charge of all that. Depending on the results of the tests, we might need to do some X-rays later. Let me know when the reports come back from the lab.’

‘I will.’

He swept out of the room a minute or so later, and Jade let out a long, slow breath. Was this just a foretaste of her upcoming clinical examination finals? She was going to be a junior doctor soon, so she needed to have these skills at her fingertips.

At least Ben hadn’t been around to witness her being put on the spot once again. Paediatrics was a new specialty for her, and she’d had to do a lot of research over the last few weeks to give her an idea of the kind of things she might be dealing with. Even so, she was a bit worried about putting on a good show.

She gently stroked the baby’s silky hair, and then lightly traced a line over the velvet-soft skin of his tiny hand. He gripped her finger, clinging on to her, his eyes widening and his mouth puckering in eager anticipation. She chuckled, enjoying the moment.

‘You’re a little sweetheart, aren’t you?’ she murmured. ‘I wish I didn’t have to put you through all these tests, but I have to find out what’s wrong with you so that we can put it right. I’ll be really gentle, I promise.’ She gazed at him for a moment or two longer and then carefully withdrew her finger from his grasp. ‘I have to go and find a syringe, and some vials, and some forms for the lab. I’ll be back in a minute.’

When she returned a short while later, she was startled to find Ben standing by the cot. He looked good. He was smartly dressed in dark trousers and a crisp linen shirt with the cuffs rolled back, showing forearms made golden by the sun. His tie was a silk blend, in a subtle blue-grey design that complemented the pale blue of his shirt. He looked every bit the doctor who was in full control of everything around him.

He had set up a monitor to record the baby’s heart rate—it was slow, she noticed. He was checking the baby’s case file, and every now and again he glanced at the infant and his eyes crinkled in a faint smile. He looked up as Jade approached.

‘Hello, there,’ he said, his gaze moving over her appreciatively. ‘I was hoping we would meet up again fairly soon. I know it’s likely to be a bit hit and miss, because you have lectures and study periods every so often.’

‘That’s right,’ she acknowledged, ‘but not today. Professor Farnham has asked me to do a work-up on young Sammy.’

He nodded. ‘Yes, the professor told me.’ He looked at the baby and frowned. ‘According to the records, Sammy’s having fairly frequent seizures, some heart rhythm abnormalities, and his blood pressure is low. Not a good start in life, is it?’

She shook her head. ‘I must confess I’m a bit overawed working with newborns. Perhaps you’ve put your finger on the problem. It’s the emotional factor—it seems so unfair that they’re burdened with illness from the moment they arrive in the world.’

He laid a hand on her shoulder in a gesture of support. ‘I’m sure you’ll get used to it, given time. You’re here to help them through it … try looking at it that way.’

‘I will.’

He glanced at the trolley she had prepared. ‘I see you’re set up to take blood samples. Are you okay with that?’

She pulled a face. ‘I don’t usually have a problem taking blood from adults, or even from older children, like teenagers, but babies are different, aren’t they? They look so fragile, and they don’t know what’s happening to them, and I suppose it’s a bit daunting.’

‘Would you like me to hold him and distract him while you do the business?’

A feeling of relief ran through her. ‘Would you mind? That would be really good.’

‘Not at all.’ He lifted the baby from the cot and held him carefully in the crook of his arm. He seemed perfectly at ease with his precious bundle, and Jade watched him, unexpectedly sidetracked for a while by the tenderness of the moment.

‘Now, then, young Sammy,’ Ben murmured, ‘what can we do to keep your mind off things?’ He was thoughtful for a second or two, and then he reached into his trousers pocket and drew out his keys. ‘Here we are. Just the thing.’

He looked at Jade, and said quietly, ‘All set?’

She nodded, and Ben jangled his keys to distract the baby while she took the blood sample. It was all over in a matter of seconds.

Relieved, she labelled the vials and smiled at Ben. ‘Well, I have to say it would be great to have you around every time I have to do that.’

‘I’ll see what I can do about it,’ he said, laughing. He placed the baby back in the cot and took a moment to settle him, before turning to watch as she began to write out the lab forms. Her ponytail fell softly against her cheek, and she brushed it back out of the way.

‘I like your hair,’ he observed softly. ‘It’s beautiful, like silk.’

She gave him a startled look, pausing as she sealed the vial in its plastic pocket. ‘Thank you. The truth is, I like my sleep too much and so I didn’t have time to do more than just tie it back this morning.’ She dropped the needle into the sharps bin and began to tidy up the equipment she had used.

‘At the café bar you had it pinned up, I recall.’ His smoky, grey-blue eyes glimmered as his glance moved over her. ‘Either way, you’re a knockout. I somehow get the feeling you’re not going to be too good for my blood pressure whenever we’re around one another.’

She had a vague suspicion that could work both ways. ‘Well, I’m sorry about that,’ she murmured, ‘but I’m sure you’ll manage somehow.’ She liked him, but she wasn’t going to respond to his flirting. She couldn’t. Her time with Ewan had taught her that flirtation could get out of hand, and lead to some heavy involvement, and before you knew it you were embroiled in a situation that was bounding out of control. She couldn’t go through that again. It had been over months ago but she was still raw and hurting.

She gave him a sympathetic glance. ‘Some people say a cold shower does the trick.’

He gave a rueful laugh. ‘You’re not going to take pity on me, are you? I had in mind a much more romantic prescription.’

She smiled. ‘Yes, I’m sure you did, but I think I prefer to keep my mind on the job.’

He looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Whoever he was, this man who upset you and caused you to put up your defences has a lot to answer for. I think you should know that we’re not all the same.’

‘Maybe.’ She straightened up, getting ready to push the trolley back into the office. ‘But I’d just as soon not put it to the test.’ She frowned. ‘So I’m going to take these samples along to the lab. Are you going to be in the neonatal unit for a while?’ With any luck, he’d say no, and she would be able to get on with her work without feeling hot and bothered because he was close by.

He followed her to the door. ‘Yes, I have to keep an eye on young Sammy. Professor Farnham suggested that I leave you to do the procedures and think through the results, but I have to take day-to-day responsibility for him and report back to the professor.’

‘Oh, I see.’ So much for her hopes. ‘Well, I suppose I’m glad I’m not being thrown in at the deep end. I know I’ll have to do this kind of thing on my own all the while when I’m a foundation-year doctor, but just at the moment I’m sort of feeling my way.’

‘It’ll get easier. The first few months as a junior doctor can be hard on the nerves, but after that you kind of get the hang of things.’ He opened the door for her.

‘How about you and I meet up and have lunch down by the river later on? You can fill me in on the set up back at the house—who does what, whether there are any rotas for getting in the groceries and cleaning, and so on.’

She frowned. ‘Won’t you be on call? I mean, what if you’re paged?’

‘That’s okay. The registrar will be on duty to provide cover and, anyway, it won’t take long to get back here if need be. That’s the beauty of working in this place, we’re very close to the Thames.’

‘I suppose so.’ She frowned. ‘As to lunch, I’m not sure. I was planning on going to the library to study. Perhaps some other time.’ She would be seeing a lot of him over the next few months, she knew she had to get used to that idea, but even so, her instincts were warning her that if it was at all possible, she ought to keep some distance between them.

He forestalled her when she would have left the room, placing a hand on her arm. ‘You need to take a break—a proper break. It’s good to relax—it helps to clear your mind and revitalise you. That way you’ll be able to do your job so much better.’

She chuckled, admiring his persistence. ‘Really? Is that what you do? Now I see why you’re so fond of your reclining chair. Lucy said you couldn’t do without it.’

‘It’s true.’ He feigned a serious expression. ‘I do some of my best thinking in that chair.’

She shook her head. ‘Maybe you can get by on a quick read through of information, but I’m afraid I can’t. Unfortunately, I have to knuckle down and study hard.’

‘All the more reason to take a proper lunch hour. I’ll come and find you around one o’clock.’ He waved a hand and disappeared back inside the unit.

Her mouth dropped open a fraction as she watched him go. He didn’t mean to give up, did he?

She took the blood samples and forms over to the lab, and spent a few minutes chatting to the pathologist. She got on well with him, and knew that he would get back to her with his report as soon as he was able.

When she walked back into the neonatal unit a little later, she was relieved to find that the coast was clear. Ben was nowhere to be seen.

‘He was called to Paediatrics,’ Alice, the nurse on duty, told her. She pulled a mournful face. ‘Such a shame. I could so get used to working with him.’

Jade smiled, and Alice chuckled, her silky black hair shifting and settling as she moved her head. ‘He’s good-natured, too,’ she said. ‘I can see he’ll be great on the children’s ward.’

‘He is,’ Jade agreed. ‘I was with him in Paediatrics a few days back, and the youngsters loved him. I wonder if he’s found his vocation?’

‘Oh, surely not? That has to be here, with me, I’m certain of it.’ Alice grinned and pulled a trolley from a side room. ‘For the urine testing,’ she explained, indicating the equipment that was set out on sterile cloths. ‘You said that was your next job.’

‘So I did. Thanks, Alice. I’ll get to it.’

Jade was busy for the next hour or so, checking up on Sammy and the other babies in the unit. She even managed to sit with one three-week-old infant, nestling her in her arms while the baby sucked at a bottle of milk formula, making small gasping and gurgling noises. Her delicate complexion was peaches and cream, with a smattering of milk-rash spots across her nose and cheeks.

‘You’re beautiful,’ Jade murmured, watching as the baby sucked hungrily. ‘I think I want one just like you.’ Her expression was wistful.

The time flew by, and she was deeply immersed in her work when Ben came back into the unit. ‘Are you ready to go?’ he queried. ‘Can I help you finish what you’re doing?’

‘Is it that time already?’ she murmured, glancing up at him. She finished examining the infant she was with, and folded her stethoscope into her pocket. Maybe her library study could wait. It would be good to get out in the fresh air. ‘I just have to make a note of the prescription medicines, and I’ll be with you.’

Ben checked the oxygen flow being delivered to the baby in the specialised cot, and then he bent over and lightly stroked the infant’s leg. ‘She still has her legs curled as though she’s in the womb,’ he said softly. ‘They’re so tiny, these premature babies, aren’t they? They’re barely much bigger than my hand.’

She nodded. It brought a lump to her throat to see such a strong man being so gentle with a helpless infant. ‘There,’ she said after a while, ‘I’m all finished. I’m ready to leave now.’

‘Good. We’ll stop to pick up some lunch to go from the cafeteria, on the way.’

‘All right.’

The air was fresh and sweet as they left the hospital and walked along the streets towards the river. They found a bench seat along the walkway where they could sit and eat, and spend time looking out over the glittering water. Jade watched the leisure boats drifting by, and listened to the birds calling overhead.

‘I hope they’re not after our lunch,’ she said, her mouth making a wry curve. ‘I’ve heard that gulls have been known to swoop down and take the food from people’s hands.’

‘Nah. They’re a better class of bird around here.’ He looked in the paper bag he was holding. ‘I’m sure they’re not partial to sausage rolls and Chelsea buns … a brown trout instead, maybe, or a tasty chub.’

‘That’s just as well, because I am. There’s something about sausage pasties that really gets my taste buds flowing.’ She flipped the lid on her coffee carton. ‘Mmm … this is good,’ she said, swallowing the hot liquid. ‘Just what I needed.’

He handed her a sausage roll wrapped in a serviette and she bit into it hungrily. ‘This is great,’ she said, savouring the taste. ‘It’s still warm from the oven, the way I like it.’ She laughed. ‘At least I get to eat it all to myself. If my brother’s around, and there are sausage rolls or pasties anywhere in the house, no one gets a look in.’

He smiled at her enjoyment of the food. ‘Do you have just the one brother?’

‘Actually, I have three altogether, and Ross, the one who likes pasties, is the youngest. The others are older than me.’

‘That sounds like quite a houseful.’

She nodded. ‘What about you? Do you have any brothers?’

‘A sister. She’s younger than me and works with my father in the business—it’s a packaging company. Sarah runs the office down in Hampshire.’

‘Is that where your family live—in Hampshire?’

‘That’s right. We have a rambling old house in a beautiful village down there. We’re close to the forest, and not too far from the sea.’

His expression was remote for a second or two, and she said quietly, ‘It sounds as though you wish you were back there.’

His mouth curved. ‘Yes, I think I do. It’s where I was born and brought up.’

‘Didn’t you think of doing your training back there?’

‘I did, but the programme that was offered here in London tempted me more. I suppose my parents instilled in me the need to be focussed, to achieve my full potential, and that’s what I’m trying to do.’

He was thoughtful for a while. ‘I have my sights set on specialising in paediatrics, possibly in paediatric A and E. It’s important to me that I get the very best experiences possible, so for the next year or so I’ll be working really hard at all my assessments. I want my e-portfolio to be filled with top-grade achievements. I don’t want to simply get by in medicine. I want to be at the top of my field.’

‘That’s a huge challenge.’

‘Yes, it is. And in the end, when the time’s right, I can always go back home to Hampshire.’

‘There is that.’ He was ambitious, that was for sure.

She studied him from under her lashes, amusement in her green eyes as a thought occurred to her. ‘So, with all that work, I imagine there’ll be no time for any serious romantic entanglements where you’re concerned, will there? All these nurses that are pining for you back at the hospital are going to be seriously disappointed, aren’t they?’

‘Are they really pining for me?’ He looked surprised, then shook his head. ‘Oh, I don’t know about that.’ He dipped into the paper bag and brought out a fruit bun. His expression was mischievous. ‘Still, a little bit of flirting here and there never hurt anyone, did it … especially with the right person. After all, life’s for living, don’t you think?’ He dangled the bun in front of her, tantalising her with the sweet, fruity aroma. ‘Can I tempt you?’

Her green eyes sparked with amusement. ‘If it’s buns we’re talking, oh, yes, please, definitely.’ She breathed in the scent of cinnamon spice, and her mouth began to water in anticipation. But then she realised she might be treading on dangerous ground, and she said softly, ‘Anything else, though, and you can forget it, I’m afraid. I’m not in the market.’

No way. Not even a tiny bit would she give in to any silly ideas that her wildly overactive hormones might be suggesting. A little flirting here and there? Not on your life. Not with him, at any rate … the stakes were far too high.

He passed the bun to her and gave a wry smile. ‘That’s a very definitive statement,’ he said slowly. ‘I’ll have to see if I can change your mind on that one.’

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