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His gaze met hers and held for a split second. He saw a flash of longing enter her green depths and felt a stirring deep within. Conscious of the people around them, he reluctantly let go of her hand. ‘I hope you won’t be held up too long at the hospital.’
‘You and me both,’ she replied, and he was delighted that her tone was a little unsteady, indicating she was as affected by him as he was by her.
‘Ready, Melody?’ Andy asked, eager to leave.
Melody turned from George, cleared her throat and nodded at her registrar. As they walked out, Andy mumbled, ‘I still can’t believe you didn’t call me to assist you. Rudy Carlew!’
‘George was there.’
‘George assisted you?’
‘Yes. Problem?’
‘No.’ Andy frowned as they waited for the lift. ‘It’s just that he’s so…qualified, and a lower-limb specialist and yet there he was, assisting you.’
‘Oh, so I’m not qualified?’
‘Come on, Melody. You know what I mean.’
‘I do, Andy. George wanted to assist. Think about it. The last time he would have helped out in an emergency situation would have been before he’d started the VOS.’
‘I guess a change is as good as a holiday.’
Melody chuckled. ‘Something like that.’ As they rode the lift down to the ground floor and waited for the valet to retrieve her car, Melody wondered whether her own feelings towards George were because having him around this week was like she was on holiday from her usual schedule. Ordinarily, she’d have clinics, elective surgery, lectures, meetings and the on-call roster to deal with, but this week a lot of things had been postponed to accommodate the VOS schedule. Was that why she was experiencing these emotions towards George? Because it was similar to the sensations of a holiday romance?
Usually, when two people were attracted to each other they would spend an hour here or an hour there, slowly getting to know each other. With George and herself, they’d spent so much time together during the past two days that if she was to proportion out the actual hours, it was as though they’d known each other for at least a month and a half.
The problem was, while she was enjoying the attention, while she was delighted with the way George could make her feel, she knew it couldn’t last—but the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted it to. Surely it was good that she was moving forward when it came to her romantic life? That she was willing to accept the attentions of a man and to know that he wasn’t out to use or debase her? It was scary, it was mind-blowing and it was…exhilarating.
Once again, Melody had to force thoughts of George from her mind when they arrived at the hospital, especially as it was to find Rudy’s manager, Astrid, in a complete tizz. ‘Finally! You’re here. We need to move him now,’ she stormed. ‘The fans have all gone home and if we don’t do it soon, they’ll be back and annoying him again.’
‘Isn’t that the price of fame?’ Melody commented as she started her examination. Andy, who she’d thought might turn into a groupie fan, was the consummate professional.
‘You’re showing no signs of any complications,’ she told Rudy, ‘but it’s still too early to tell. Where did you say you’d be going?’
‘To a hotel,’ Astrid answered for him. ‘He’ll have a private doctor and private nurses to take care of him. So, please, save us all some time and sign him over or he’ll just discharge himself.’
Melody clenched her teeth but forced a smile. ‘I’ll need to talk to the doctor who’ll be taking over his treatment,’ she said. ‘And the nursing staff.’
‘Well…we haven’t actually employed anyone yet. We just need to get him moved!’ Astrid huffed before flipping open her bag and taking out a cigarette. Melody watched her in disbelief.
‘Astrid,’ Rudy said tiredly, ‘put that away. This is a hospital.’
‘What? Oh.’ Astrid looked at the cigarette in her hand as though she had no idea where it had come from. ‘Sorry,’ she replied softly, and it was then Melody realised the other woman simply ran on nerves.
‘Listen, why don’t we sit down and discuss the best course of action for Rudy? He needs to be monitored for the next twenty-four hours at least. I think I might be able to help out in recommending a nurse. As far as a doctor goes, how about Andy…’ she gestured to her registrar ‘…does a house call twice a day? It would only be for the next few days and after that you’ll be fine with weekly or fortnightly check-ups.’
