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‘I wanted to wait for you.’ His tone was thick with desire. ‘I’m glad I did. You look…breath-taking.’
His words were sincere and the way he was looking at her made her feel light-headed. George really thought she was breath-taking? She took a small step closer, her gaze never leaving his. ‘Thank you, George. That’s a lovely thing to say.’
‘And I mean it.’
She smiled brightly, still trying to come to terms with how incredible he looked in his black tuxedo, white shirt and bow-tie. When she’d walked in and seen him, her knees had almost given way and as she was wearing three-inch heels, the result would have been disastrous. Thankfully, she’d been able to hold onto a vestige of control.
George cleared his throat and pasted on a polite smile, crooking his elbow towards her. ‘Shall we?’
They headed towards the ballroom and as they headed towards the top table, several people stopped George to ask questions or shake his hand. Melody walked ahead of him and George realised her dress had a split at the back, revealing a generous amount of her legs. Her shapely calves, the indentations of the backs of her knees and a brief glimpse of her thighs.
He swallowed and forced himself to look away, concentrating on the carpet, but once he reached the table, he couldn’t help but sneak one last glance at her sexy legs. A few minutes later Melody was at the podium, apologising for the delay as she’d been called to the ward. She spoke so naturally, so confidently and looked so exquisite that afterwards he couldn’t remember a word she’d actually said.
Once she’d finished her introduction, George stood and thanked her, pulling his professionalism from thin air so he could concentrate on what he needed to say, rather than on the woman whose floral scent was winding its way around him, creating havoc with his senses.
As he spoke, commanding the attention of the two hundred or so people gathered tonight, Melody began to relax, enjoying listening to his deep, melodious voice. She admired the way he threw in little anecdotes, working his way through his speech without the prompting of notes.
‘You didn’t do too badly,’ Rick later commented, as he crouched by her chair.
‘I could say the same thing for your bow-tie. How long did it take you to do that?’
‘Ages. I only arrived a few minutes before you and I didn’t even have the excuse of having stopping by the hospital.’
Melody raised her eyebrows. ‘Checking up on me?’ She took a sip from her water glass.
‘George was concerned,’ Rick told her with a shrug, and pointed to her glass. ‘Not drinking tonight?’
She shook her head. ‘The patient I saw in the ward may need surgery later.’
‘Oh, yeah, you doctors have all the fun.’ He glanced over to where one particular nurse had caught his attention. ‘Er—I’ll catch up with you later.’ He straightened his bow-tie. ‘There are a few nurses I want to impress while I’m dressed like this.’
Melody chuckled as he headed off but his words stayed with her. George had been concerned about her? She sneaked a glance at him as he spoke to someone. Had he really been worried about her, or the dinner starting on time?
Melody’s head was starting to spin. She needed some space. She picked up her clutch purse and stood.
* * *
George watched Melody walk away from the table, his gaze drawn to the sway of her hips and her gorgeous legs. Why was she so captivating? He forced himself to look away, returning his attention to Carmel, only to realise his aide was watching Melody as well.
In fact, all the men at the table were watching her. ‘Wow!’ one of them remarked. ‘Melody looks—’
‘Like a woman,’ one of the other men finished, and they all laughed.
George felt his hackles begin to rise. ‘Problem?’
‘This is the first time Melody’s worn a dress to an official departmental function,’ someone told him. ‘So it’s the first opportunity we’ve had to see her in anything other than business clothes.’
‘She sure looks different. If being head of department means Melody dresses like that, she has my support for the job.’
‘She’s also a colleague of yours.’ George’s tone was clipped, disgusted by their chauvinism. ‘An intellectual woman who is a brilliant surgeon. Please provide her with the respect she deserves.’ He knew his tone sounded pompous and arrogant but he didn’t care. Women had to work twice as hard as men in this world and Melody had done just that. What she needed was to be respected for that, not for what she chose to wear. ‘You were saying, Carmel?’ George turned his attention to his aide.
