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‘Like most doctors, he’s finding it hard to fill in all the spare time he now has,’ Georgie said.
‘He could always do a locum in the country or overseas,’ Madeleine said. ‘It seems a shame to deprive the community of all that talent when he’s still perfectly capable of working, even if for fewer hours.’
Georgie decided to see if what Ben had said about her father the night before had any substance to it. ‘Did you enjoy working with my father?’ she asked.
‘Yes, I did,’ Madeleine answered without hesitation. ‘He was a hard taskmaster certainly, and he didn’t suffer fools gladly. But he was a damned good neurosurgeon. I learned a lot from him. I’ll always be immensely grateful. He was the one who encouraged me to pursue an academic career. I would never have published as many research papers as I have without his support and direction.’
‘I’ve heard it said he was difficult to work with.’
‘Who isn’t on a bad day?’ Madeleine said. ‘Even the notoriously easygoing Ben Blackwood can be like a bear with a sore head if someone rubs him up the wrong way.’
Georgie’s mouth formed a little moue. ‘Yes, I have sort of noticed that.’
Madeleine moved closer, her voice lowering slightly. ‘Look, Georgiana, I know you’ll probably think I’m speaking out of turn but I wouldn’t want to see you jeopardise your first neurosurgical term here by having an improper relationship with a senior colleague.’
Georgie looked at the older woman in surprise. ‘Surely a relationship between two unattached adults is not considered improper?’
‘No, you’re right. Perhaps I could have rephrased that a little better. But I think I should warn you Ben is still getting over a rather nasty break-up,’ Madeleine said. Stretching her lips into another tight little smile, she added, ‘I wouldn’t like to see the daughter of a man I admire very much get hurt.’
Georgie wondered if Madeleine Brothers’s concern had an entirely different motive. She was after all only five or six years older than Ben and as far as she’d heard not married. ‘Thank you for your warning me,’ she said. ‘But I can assure you I have no intention of getting involved with Mr Blackwood.’
‘Good,’ Madeleine said, as she moved past her to push open the door. ‘That would indeed be very wise. He’s a bit of a heartbreaker is our Ben. Enjoy your stay with us, Georgiana. No doubt I’ll see you in my theatre soon.’
Georgie didn’t get the chance to answer as the door swung shut in her face. She turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. ‘Heartbreaker, is he?’ she said out loud. ‘Well, not with me, Mr Break-your-heart Blackwood.’
CHAPTER NINE
BEN was on the phone when Georgie knocked on his office door and he called out for her to come in before continuing his conversation with the person on the line. ‘I told you it’s fine, Mum,’ he said. ‘I haven’t got any commitments this weekend. I’m not on call and the weather’s going to be good so just relax and enjoy yourselves.’
Georgie felt a little uncomfortable listening in on what was clearly a private family conversation. She stood shifting from one foot to the other, pretending an interest in the books on the shelves running alongside his desk.
‘If it will make you feel a little better, I’ll rustle up some female company for Hannah in case she gets sick of her boring older brother,’ he said. ‘Shopping is not exactly my strong point but I’m sure I can find someone who will show her where all the best shops are.’
Georgi
e felt the point between her shoulder blades begin to prickle as if his dark blue gaze had centred there. She reached for a heavy textbook on emergency neurosurgery and flicked through the step-by-step diagrams.
‘Right, then,’ he said. ‘That’s settled. I’ll be at the station to meet her at seven on Friday evening. And for pity’s sake stop worrying. It’s about time you and Jack got some time to yourselves.’ There was a little pause and he added affectionately, ‘Love you, too.’
‘Sorry about that,’ he said to Georgie as he flipped his mobile shut. ‘My mother is having cold feet about leaving me in charge of my little sister in the big bad city of Sydney.’
‘I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job of chaperoning her,’ Georgie offered. ‘Is she … er, a bit of a rebel or something?’
‘No, she’s not a rebel. She’s more of an extrovert. All mouth, if you know what I mean.’
‘If you want some help over the weekend I’d be happy to help,’ she said on an impulse she could neither explain nor retract in time. ‘I mean … with shopping and stuff … that’s if you haven’t got anyone else to call on …’
He sat back in his chair, his expression thoughtful as his eyes caught and held hers. ‘That’s rather generous of you, considering how we spoke to each other last night,’ he commented wryly.
Georgie gave him a shamefaced look. ‘I’m really sorry about the coffee incident,’ she said. ‘I could have scalded your … er … you.’ She moistened her dry lips and added tentatively, ‘Are you … urn … all right?’
His eyes began to twinkle. ‘My abdomen was pretty red last night, not blistered, though, probably just first degree. Why don’t you give me the once-over and see for yourself?’
Her face erupted with heat and so too did her lower body at the thought of examining him intimately. She had seen plenty of male bodies in the nine years of her training but somehow she suspected his would be something else entirely. She wouldn’t have a hope of maintaining clinical distance—she was having a hard enough time reminding herself he was her superior.
‘I thought women of your generation didn’t know how to blush,’ he said, smiling at her. ‘You have examined men’s groins before, I take it?’
Georgie felt her colour go to an all-time high. ‘I thought I was here for a cup of coffee, not a discussion about my history of men’s nether regions,’ she said in a clipped tone.
