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Five years they’d been together but they’d slowly, but surely, drifted apart.
The door on the other side leading into the theatre swung open. ‘Dr Storm?’ A pretty Asian woman looked at him, her dark hair poking out from under a theatre cap. He nodded.
She stuck out her hand. ‘Good, I’m Dr Lydia King. Abby sent me along to assist you.’ He gave her a little nod in recognition as he shook her hand and she backed out the door again. ‘I’ll just check on the patient and see you in there.’
A wave of anticipation swept over Luke as he pushed open the doors and entered the cardiac cath lab, quickly followed by a wave of nausea, most likely because he hadn’t had a chance to eat yet today. He glanced about him quickly, taking in the layout and equipment available. One of the NPs appeared at his side. ‘We’re all set up for you.’ She pointed in the direction of the sinks. ‘You can scrub up over there and I’ll gown you up. Would you like to come over and speak to Dr Blair first?’
Luke gave her a quick smile. ‘Of course I would.’ It only took three strides to cross over to where Dr Blair was lying on the table, monitors attached, pale and sweaty. ‘How’s Jennifer?’ he gasped.
Luke gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. ‘She’s just being examined now by one of the obstetricians but she’s doing fine. Let’s worry about you first.’
He watched the rapid, shallow breaths. ‘Let me explain the procedure to you.’
Dr Blair waved his hand in the air. ‘Son, don’t teach an old dog new tricks, just stick the thing in and get this blockage cleared. I feel as if a train is sitting on my chest,’ he wheezed.
Luke nodded. ‘Give me a few minutes while I scrub up and I’ll talk to you while we’re doing the procedure.’ He cast his eyes over one of the nearby monitors. ‘Can Dr Blair have some oxygen, please?’
The NP nodded before pulling a mask over Dr Blair’s head. She followed Luke over to the sink and waited while he scrubbed up. The door open and he turned as Abby came in.
‘Hi, Luke. You don’t mind a spectator, do you? I don’t get the chance to come in here much.’
Luke shook his head and shot her a gleaming smile from beneath his blue theatre hat. ‘Of course I don’t, Abby, you’re welcome in my cath lab any time.’
The words sent a shiver running down Abby’s spine and she felt a little warmth in her cheeks as she looked anxiously around the room. Had anyone else noticed? No, everyone else was going about their daily business. No one had noticed a thing. Maybe it was all in her mind?
And then he began. And it was like watching a master at work.
‘Are we ready to start?’ Luke asked Lydia and she gave him a quick nod as she finished administering the sedative.
‘Okay, Dr Blair, I’m just going to insert a little local anaesthetic down here.’ Abby watched as Luke swabbed the groin area surrounded by surgical drapes then numbed the area with local anaesthetic. He waited a few moments before lifting a scalpel and making a small nick into the skin, then expertly inserted the sheath into the artery.
With slow and deliberate actions he watched the X-ray monitor carefully as he slowly guided the catheter into place until it reached the site of the blockage. Over the course of the next 30 minutes he inserted the contrast material and established the full extent of the blockage.
‘Okay, Dr Blair, there is quite a significant blockage in your artery so I’m going to insert a stent to ensure we keep your artery open.’ He turned his head and exchanged a few words with Lydia, who gave him a nod in approval.
‘I’m going to use one of the newer drug-eluting stents. Have you heard of them?’
Dr Blair gave a little shake of his head from the theatre table.
‘This type of stent is coated with a medication that is slowly released to help keep the blood vessel from re-narrowing. They’ve just recently been approved for clinical use in the coronary arteries and I’ve had some really favourable results when I’ve used them.’
‘Whatever you think, Doc.’ Dr Blair waved his hand in nonchalance from the effect of the sedatives.
Luke gave a little smile and continued. Abby watched from the sidelines. He was an entirely different character in here. In his familiar medical setting Luke was the calmest man in the room. The consummate professional, who was relaxed and happy in his field of expertise. She almost laughed. She’d forgotten just how good he was. But take him out of his expert field …
A smile danced across her lips as she remembered the look on his face when he’d entered her emergency room—with his furrowed brow and anxiety levels reaching skyward. Not to mention when he’d first set eyes on Dr Fairgreaves in his fishing gear. She’d thought at that point he was going to blow a gasket at the thought of some country bumpkin delivering the President’s baby. But in here he was cool, calm and collected. None of the previous worries or anxieties showed. She watched as he spoke quietly to his surrounding staff, expertly guiding the stent into place, before removing the guide wire and catheter and applying firm pressure on the site.
He stood there for ten minutes, continuing to reinforce to Dr Blair what he’d done and giving instructions on follow-up care to the staff. ‘Can we keep him flat initially, please, and monitor the catheter site for bleeding and swelling? You can give me a call if there are any problems.’ He looked over his shoulder. ‘Abby, do you have an emergency page you can give me in the meantime?’
Abby lifted her hand to show the pager she was already holding in her hand. ‘Your wish is my command.’ She laughed. ‘Just as well I switched my telepathic powers on this morning.’ She turned to the other staff. ‘You’ll be able to page Dr Storm on 556. If you forget, I’ve given his details to the switchboard operator.’ She turned back to Luke, just as his stomach let out a loud rumble. ‘Come on, I’ll wait with you while you change. I think it’s about time we had a coffee.’
Music to his ears. This was the weirdest day in history. Luke smiled as he held open the door for her. Thank the Lord for mixed changing rooms. Abby walked in front of him and his eyes fixated on her butt. She was wearing the same thin green scrubs he was, but on her they seemed so much more alluring. He squinted, trying to see through them. Where was her VPL? There was none. What did that mean? He felt a rush of blood. Thank the Lord that no one else was in here. ‘Do you do killer-strength coffee here?’
She raised her eyebrow. ‘In this backwater town? Do you still take four shots in one cup?’
The door banged shut behind them and he caught her by the waist and spun her around. ‘What do you think?’
Through the thin scrubs that she was wearing he could feel the warmth of her skin. Her head was just below his chin and there was that strawberry lip gloss again. Invading his senses and making every hair on his body stand on end. He gave out a lit
tle involuntary groan as she stepped closer, pressing her body against his. To hell with decorum. There had been too many distractions today already.
‘I think my telepathic powers are still working,’ she whispered, fixing him with her deep brown eyes. ‘And you’re not thinking about coffee any more.’
‘Five years is a long time, Abby,’ he growled.
‘Five years is a very long time, Luke.’
It was all the indication he needed. His hands crept around the edges of her waist, pulling her even closer, pressing her firm breasts against his muscled chest. Her head was tilted upwards towards his. Her eyes already half-shut, lips slightly parted in readiness for his kiss.
Using all the restraint he could muster, he bent his head and kissed her lightly, slowly, his teeth brushing her bottom lip. Her hands slid up around his neck, pulling him even closer. This was heaven. Heaven that he hadn’t known in five years.
The kiss grew deeper, more passionate, bringing with it the most natural, primal response. This would be the time in the movie that the romantic music started playing and they both fell to the floor in the bedroom of the beach house, with the patio doors wide open to the beach, a tropical sunset and waves lapping up towards them. But it wasn’t.
Right now all he wanted to do was have her. Right here. Right now. On the changing-room floor. Up against the wall. He didn’t care.
He slid his hand inside her scrub trousers. Bare skin. He almost groaned out loud. Then his fingers caught it, the edge of her thong. Abby in a thong. Now, there was a sight he hadn’t seen in years. His fingers flicked a little lower and she let out a gasp.
It stopped him in his tracks. Luke stepped back reluctantly, releasing her from his grasp, knowing that at any moment anyone could walk through either of the changing-room doors.
‘Abby …’
‘Don’t. Don’t say anything, Luke.’ Her breathing was hard and ragged. She adjusted her scrub top, which had ridden up past her waist, pulling it down sharply to reveal her erect nipples, clearly visible through the thin fabric.
