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‘It’s OK, George. I understood what you meant. It’s not the work, it’s the day-to-day grind, especially when the end is so close.’
‘Thank you.’ He shook his head. ‘You get it. Carmel’s fretting because she doesn’t want it to end.’
‘Perhaps she doesn’t know what she’s going to be doing when this is over.’
‘That would bring uncertainty,’ he mused, as though he hadn’t considered it.
‘What about you? What happens after you’ve written up all your reports and caught up with your friends?’
George sighed. ‘I’ll go back to my job at Melbourne General, I guess.’
‘You guess?’
He chuckled. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to feel like doing. It’s as though my life’s in limbo but it’s where I need to start in order to figure out what to do next.’ George slowly shook his head, then changed the subject, turning the spotlight on her. ‘And what about you? Are you going to apply for the job you’re doing now?’
Melody tried to focus her thoughts. ‘Probably not.’
‘You really don’t like the administration?’
‘Not particularly. How about you?’
‘It doesn’t bother me. Especially after this year.’
‘I guess you don’t get much time to relax.’
‘Not really. Depending on where we are or what we’re doing, I sometimes get a bit of free time.’ George shrugged, as though he didn’t really care one way or the other.
Melody didn’t envy him at all. For a moment she wasn’t sure what to say and the silence began to stretch. Say something, she told herself. Anything to break the awkwardness that was enveloping both of them. ‘So I guess the VOS definitely cuts into your family time.’
He glanced at her and frowned. Oops. Had she overstepped the mark?
She was just about to apologise for her statement when he said, ‘It’s not too bad. I managed to see one of my sisters when I was in New Zealand so that was a bonus.’
It was Melody’s turn to frown as she pulled into the entrance of the hotel. The fact that he hadn’t mentioned his wife made her wonder if Evelyn’s assumption was correct. George glanced her way and saw the frown.
‘Something wrong?’ he asked.
Melody instantly smiled. ‘Everything’s fine.’ She wanted to blurt out her question, to ask him about his wife, to know one way or the other whether the feelings she was having for him should be quashed or—or what? Was she planning on throwing herself at the handsome surgeon if he turned out to be single? Or was she going to be professional and remain detached? Still, the question seemed to be going round and round in her head like a broken record. Did George have a wife waiting for him in Melbourne or was she—? Melody shook her head and sighed. ‘I guess I’ll see you a bit later at the dinner.’
‘As the dinner is in my honour, you can count on it.’ He gave a playful wink as he climbed from the car and shut the door.
Melody drove to her apartment, even more confused than before. Why had he winked? That wink had caused a new wave of tingles to flood her body, had made her heart beat faster and encouraged her to hope that he was, indeed, not married. She wasn’t the type of girl to go after a married man, not after Ian. She wasn’t the type of girl to suffer from instant infatuation, or at least that’s what she’d believed this morning.
Now, after meeting George Wilmont and spending so much time with him today, she knew that if the right man came along, she was definitely prone to instant attraction because that’s exactly what she felt for George!
CHAPTER FOUR
GEORGE SCANNED THE crowded outer room that was starting to fill up. When he’d first started on the VOS tour, he’d been astounded at the number of dinners he needed to attend. Now, though, he was an expert at them. At least in his medical lecturing he’d been able to write new lectures, sharing information he’d garnered throughout the tour.
His gaze scanned the room as people started making their way through to the ballroom. He checked his watch. Five minutes over time already. Carmel would become agitated soon. Where was Melody? They couldn’t start without her. She was the MC.
He looked around again and realised he’d been unconsciously searching for her the entire time. Someone came up, introduced themselves and shook hands with him. George listened to the questions being asked of him and gave the usual replies, all the while allowing his gaze to flick to the door every few seconds.
‘Excuse me.’ Carmel politely interrupted his conversation, drawing him to one side. ‘It’s time to begin.’
