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‘She asked me to thank you for everything you did yesterday. Charlie might well have bled to death if it hadn’t been for your decisive action.’
Marie’s heart was beating even faster than it had been. Rolling a pencil round and round in her fingers took the edge off the tension a little. ‘It’s...you know...’
He grinned. ‘Yes, I know. All in a day’s work.’
So far there was nothing. Not even any of the in-jokes that they cracked all the time. Marie could do this. She just wished that there was one hint from Alex that he hadn’t already left last night behind. That he didn’t regret it.
‘I’ve sent Zack out to get an MP3 player and a decent pair of headphones. Charlie’s phone got smashed in the accident and the hospital radio doesn’t play his kind of thing.’
Marie frowned. ‘What is his kind of thing?’
‘I’m not completely sure. Zack’s going to help me with that; we’ll download some music for him after work. You want to join us?’
Something sparked in his eyes. Maybe it was just the mention of music, and the prospect of exploring a few new artists. But even if it was just that, the thought of spending a few hours with two of her favourite people was incredibly tempting.
‘I can’t—sorry. I’d like to, but I promised I’d call round and see Mum after work. She wants a chat.’
A crease formed on Alex’s brow. ‘Okay.’
It wasn’t okay with Marie. She wished now that she’d asked her mother whether it really needed to be tonight, instead of just automatically acquiescing. But that was what she’d always done before.
‘We’ll miss you.’
What would have happened if he’d said that before? All the times when their friends at medical school had gone to play softball in the park, or gone to the pub to talk out a long day’s work.
Marie dismissed the idea. She’d always tried not to think about the things she was missing out on, and concentrate on the things she needed to do instead.
Suddenly he got to his feet, leaning across the desk towards her. Meeting Alex’s gaze was hard, because his grey eyes held all of the promise of last night. It wasn’t over between them.
‘Could I persuade you to come back to mine after you’ve seen your mother?’
The pencil snapped suddenly in her fingers. Marie jumped, dropping it onto the desk, and saw the edge of Alex’s mouth curve.
‘Yes. That was what I had in mind, too.’
‘You want to snap pencils with me?’
‘All night.’
‘I might be late... I won’t get away from Mum’s before about nine.’
‘I’ll wait. I have a spare door key downstairs; you can let yourself in. And take one of the clinic cars—you’ll get back to me sooner...’
‘It’s an emergency?’
‘Yes.’
He brushed a kiss on her lips and her whole body went into overdrive. Definitely an emergency...
* * *
It was ten o’clock before Alex heard the key turning in the door of his flat. He’d decided to go to bed and allow himself to doze a little before Marie arrived. She’d know where he was.
She did. He heard her footsteps in the hallway and the light outside being flipped off. The warm glow of the lamp in the corner of the bedroom threw shadows across the floor.
Alex watched as she took her clothes off. No words. She knew he couldn’t take his eyes off her, and it seemed that her movements were slower and more deliberate than usual. She took the time to hang her dress carefully across the back of the easy chair that stood next to the lamp, and he devoured the shadows that played across her body.
When she was naked, she walked over to the bed. She hesitated, as if she’d forgotten something, and then ran her fingers across one breast and down towards her stomach. The sudden urgent wish to take her now crashed over him, but he resisted it. Waiting would make the having so much better.
