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‘Yes. I’ll put her on,’ the nurse said. While Jennifer waited, she looked over at Jasper who had his hands laced behind his head and his eyes closed. He was stretched out across the chair, his long legs crossed at the ankles, but the way he was lounging made the top of his scrub shirt rise up and his scrub trousers dip down. Her eyes were automatically drawn to the firm muscles of his lower abdomen and she realised that although she liked his firm arms and broad shoulders, the rest of him seemed to be just as fine. Nice. Very nice.
Jennifer turned her head, averting her eyes as she spoke to the registrar on the phone, but Jasper couldn’t believe she’d just given him a thorough once-over. It had been brief yet breathtaking; careful yet caressing, sweet yet sensual. She may have given him a quick appraisal earlier, when they’d been teasing Sara, but this had been real. Desire had flared in her eyes and it was obvious that she liked what she saw. As far as he was concerned, it had been a long time since any woman, sneaking a glance at him, had made him feel as though he were a teenager again, but that was how he felt.
He watched Jennifer as she quickly reached for a piece of paper and pen and scribbled some notes down. Even in baggy theatre scrubs, she looked good. Her hair was still pulled back into that bun, the style she’d worn day in, day out, and while it might be practical, especially when they were in Theatre, he was becoming more than curious to find out what she looked like with those dark locks of hers flowing free and lovely.
When she hung up, he sat up straighter in his chair. ‘What’s the verdict?’
‘Theatre One. Patient requiring open reduction and internal fixation of three fractured limbs.’
‘Really?’ he groaned, his body heavy with fatigue.
‘I’ll take it.’
‘No, it’s all right. I can do it.’
‘Seriously, Jasper, it’s fine.’
‘It’s all right,’ he repeated, meeting her gaze. ‘Can’t have the new boss thinking I’m a wimp.’
Jennifer smiled. ‘Hardly.’ She held out a fist towards him. ‘I’ll play you for it.’
‘Pardon?’
‘Rock, paper, scissors?’
He blinked, doing a double-take. Was she serious? First he discovered she liked rock ’n’ roll when she operated and now she was making a decision about who was going to do an operation by using the rock, paper, scissors method. She was…enigmatic.
‘Is there anything else urgent that needs doing?’
‘Just triage cases.’
He thought for a moment then nodded. ‘The registrars can handle those.’ He stood and held his hand out palm up. ‘Paper. Paper wraps rock.’
‘Hey, we hadn’t started,’ she complained, but stopped short as Jasper actually wrapped his hand around her fist. The touch was enough to ignite the flame that had been on a slow burn for the past two weeks.
Jasper looked into her eyes, not removing his hand. ‘Why don’t we both do it? We’ll get through it faster.’
‘Uh…actually…’ Jennifer sucked in a breath. His hand was warm and comfortable and she liked it far too much. She swallowed and cleared her throat. ‘Why don’t you head home? I can deal with it. Shouldn’t be too much longer and, well, you know, I have my music to keep me company. Go home and get some sleep. The girls will no doubt wake up bright and early tomorrow.’
‘It’s fine,’ he said, leaning in a little. It was as though he could see her reaction to his nearness and he wanted to prolong it. ‘The girls are asleep and I’m more than used to being woken up bright and early after only a few hours’ sleep.’
His eyes were becoming intense now and Jennifer knew she wasn’t strong enough to handle it. It was as though this thing between them was slowly increasing in intensity. Something that was more than either being colleagues or friends. She wasn’t sure what it was and she didn’t know if she wanted to find out.
Edging back, she removed her hand from his touch and took a few steps away, needing distance. Her mind searched for something to say but for a few seconds it appeared to be blank. Thankfully, she recalled what he’d just said and almost pounced on it.
‘Come to think of it, where are your girls? I mean, you’re here at work. Do they have a day-care lady or a friend who looks after them at night?’
‘They’re with my parents.’
‘Oh, of course. I forgot your parents usually look after them. Sara did mention that. So, do your parents live close?’
Jasper thought of them living on the first floor of his house. ‘Uh…you could say that.’
