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Jasper smiled and turned her round to face him, looking deeply into her eyes. ‘I don’t care what anyone else thinks, Jen. What’s going on between us is our business and no one else’s. And if anyone gives you trouble, let me know and I’ll sort it out.’
‘You mean, we’ll sort it out. I don’t scare that easily but I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt.’
Jasper brushed a kiss across her lips. ‘You are not the ice queen everyone thinks you are.’
‘Found the heart beneath the ice, eh?’ She laced her hands behind his head, urging him closer.
‘Absolutely.’
Thankfully, no one on the staff mentioned anything and as the day went on Jennifer began to relax a little more. She was fine when she was at home in her comfort zone or at Jasper’s house. She could really let go and relax. Both Lola and Lilly were adorable and she loved spending time with them—even when Jasper was at work. On Friday, the day before Megan’s wedding, Iris had been running late from an appointment with Megan and had called Jennifer to ask if she could collect the girls from day care.
‘Traffic is ridiculous,’ Iris said into the echoing speakerphone in her car. ‘Ian’s still finishing a round of golf, Jasper’s working—as you know—and I didn’t want to bother Sara.’
‘It’s fine, Iris. The day-care centre is just down the road and the girls can come back here to my place until Jasper finishes work—which is only two more hours.’
‘Oh, thank you, dear. You’re a lifesaver.’
‘How’s Megan holding up?’
‘Megan’s Megan. I don’t know what we did to raise such a stubborn and independent woman, but that’s what she is. Oh, and can you let Jasper know you’ve got the girls?’
‘Sure. I’ll call him now.’
‘Thanks again. I’ll see you later tonight.’
Jennifer rang off then dialled Jasper’s cellphone. It was switched off. She closed her eyes and mentally recalled his timetable. Friday afternoon—he was in Theatre. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes again and dialled the hospital switch board, asking to be put through to Theatres. Hopefully, he’d be between cases or could at least let the scout nurse hold the phone for him while she spoke to him.
She was put through to Theatres, then through to the theatre Jasper was operating in.
‘Hi. It’s Dr Thorngate. Is, er…Jasper available?’ Jennifer closed her eyes, hating it that she’d fumbled.
‘He can’t come to the phone right now, Dr Thorngate. Can I take a message?’
It was as she’d thought. There was nothing else she could do but leave a message, despite how uncomfortable it made her feel. What she could do was deliver the information in a matter-of-fact way and, hopefully, as the message was relayed to him with the entire theatre staff listening on, they wouldn’t read anything…untoward into it.
Jennifer cleared her throat. ‘Yes, you can, thank you. Please let Dr Edwards know that his daughters will be at my place when he’s finished work.’ Jennifer bit her lip as she waited for the acknowledgement.
‘Uh…oh. OK, then. I’ll pass that message on. Thank you, Dr Thorngate.’
Jennifer returned the phone to its cradle and took a deep breath. Now it would be out. People at the hospital would now know she actually did possess a heart and it hadn’t taken a supernova to thaw it—only Jasper.
She’d been gossiped about a lot in the past and had painstakingly taken steps to distance herself from recreational friendships with colleagues. She lived for her work and everyone knew that…but now they would know differently.
‘Get a grip,’ she said out loud, shaking her head as she pulled herself together. So they were going to be talking about her and Jasper. So what? She could deal with it because he was worth it. He’d brought so much colour into her life—as had the twins—and for the first time in years Jennifer was beginning to feel as though her heart was indeed thawing.
Collecting her keys, she drove the short distance to the day-care centre and received a warm welcome from the staff.
‘Iris called through to let us know you’d be picking up the girls,’ the director of the centre said after Jennifer had shown some identification. ‘We’ll put you on the official paperwork as a registered carer in case you need to collect them at another time.’
Jennifer’s eyes widened at this news. She would now be a registered carer? Was that what she wanted? She and Jasper were dating. That was all. Wasn’t it? She didn’t have much time to ponder the matter as one of the girls spotted her and came running over. It was Lola and she almost knocked Jennifer to the ground as she wrapped herself around her legs.
