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Georgie nibbled at her bottom lip in agitation. ‘I wish I’d never mentioned it now,’ she said. ‘It’s probably just one of those out-of-the-blue accidents that no one has any control over.’
‘Doesn’t hurt to check these things out,’ Belinda reassured her. ‘Have you met the husband?’
‘Not officially but I’ve seen him by his wife’s bed in ICU when I’ve been passing through,’ Georgie answered. ‘My boss told me he’s a very devoted husband and very upset about his wife’s serious condition.’
Belinda gave another cynical twist to her mouth. ‘It might be an idea to look at his wife’s life insurance policy. It’s amazing how devoted husbands can be when several thousand dollars are going to fall into their laps on the death of their partners.’
‘You’re not going to do that, are you?’ Georgie asked with a worried look.
‘I’ll be very discreet,’ Belinda said. ‘What’s the wife’s condition? Is she likely to recover fully?’
‘Her head injury was pretty severe,’ Georgie said. ‘It’s likely if she does wake up from the coma she’s in, there will be some sort of permanent brain damage.’
Belinda grimaced. ‘Sad all round, isn’t it? I had a mate in Special Operations who fell from a building on a stake-out. He’s not the same person—he doesn’t even know who his wife and kids are now. He sits in a wheelchair in a care facility, staring into space.’ She blew out a world-weary sigh and added, ‘It totally sucks, what life dishes up sometimes.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Georgie said with another little frown. ‘Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing the right thing, pursuing a career in neurosurgery. There aren’t always happy endings. Maybe I should have been a dermatologist after all.’
‘And stare at ghastly pimples and weeping eczema all day? No way,’ Belinda said with a grin. ‘Get on with you, Georgie. Neurosurgery is in your blood. You’ll be fine once you get over this rough patch. Don’t worry about Mr Tander’s threats. We’ll sort it out our end and see if we come up with anything. But my bet is he’s just upset about his role in injuring his wife and is looking for a scapegoat. I’ve seen it so many times. He probably blames himself for not checking his wife was wearing her seat belt. The guilt he would be feeling would be overwhelming. He’ll let it go as soon as he comes to terms with how things are.’
‘I hope you’re right,’ Georgie said. ‘I would hate anything else to go wrong in my life. I’m starting to think someone’s put a curse on me or something.’
‘You don’t believe in curses, do you?’
‘No, of course not, but ever since I started at Sydney Met my life has spun out of control.’
Belinda winked at her as she hitched her gym bag back on her shoulder. ‘That wouldn’t have anything to do with that seriously gorgeous boss of yours, would it?’
Georgie tried to roll her eyes but she could see Belinda wasn’t buying it. ‘He’s gorgeous but still getting over a bad break-up,’ she said. ‘The very last thing I need is another man in my life who isn’t over his last love. I hate playing second fiddle. It’s so ego-crushing to realise you’re not the one he really wants.’
‘Has he made a move on you?’
Georgie could feel her colour rising. ‘Sort of …’
Belinda’s brows lifted expressively. ‘Gosh, he’s quick off the mark, isn’t he? You’ve only been working there—what is it?—five days?’
‘Don’t remind me,’ Georgie groaned. ‘I have the rest of the year to get through and I’m in over my head as it is.’
Belinda gave her a probing look. ‘You mean you’re a little bit attracted to him?’
‘I’m a big bit attracted to him,’ Georgie confessed. ‘He’s the sort of guy who says “Love you” to his mum, and he adores his kid sister and he wants nothing more than to settle down and have a brood of kids. How rare is that these days?’
‘Uh-oh,’ Belinda said, her expression turning serious. ‘He sounds like the dream guy. If I were you I’d be going for it, boss or no boss.’
Georgie whooshed out a sigh. ‘I’m going to do an hour on the cross-trainer to stop myself from thinking about him.’
‘I hate to remind you, honey, but there’s a twenty-minute time limit on the cross-trainers at this time of the evening,’ Belinda said.
‘Then I’ll have to jump machines until he’s exercised out of my brain,’ Georgie said.
‘Don’t you mean exorcised?’ Belinda asked with a twinkling smile.
Georgie rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t you start,’ she said, and, pushing open the door, headed into the change rooms.
‘Can you see her yet?’ Hannah asked Ben as she peered up and down Market Street. ‘What does she look like?’
Ben scanned the bustling January sales crowd for a sun-kissed brown head but so far he couldn’t see any sign of her. ‘She’s about this tall,’ he said, holding his hand against his pectoral muscles, ‘and she’s got blonde highlights in her brown hair. I’m not sure but I think they’re natural.’
Hannah looked up at him impishly. ‘And what colour eyes does she have?’
