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‘The film star.’
Joel grinned and took a slug of his drink. ‘Thanks. Not sure about the film-star bit, though.’
They all tucked into their soup and immediately the talk turned to practice business.
‘Lucy said that the new fridge has arrived,’ Michael told them as he reached for a bread roll, ‘so our little problem with vaccines should now be solved.’
‘That’s good.’ Richard glanced across the table to Joel and waved his spoon at him. ‘Your first job is to get our immunisation rate up. It’s giving me headaches at the moment.’
Joel frowned. ‘Are we going to miss our targets?’
‘I don’t give a damn about the targets,’ his father replied. ‘I just don’t want to see another measles epidemic. You lot are too young to remember just what a serious illness it can be.’
Nick suppressed a yawn. ‘It would help if the newspapers would stop printing scare stories.’
Joel looked at them expectantly. ‘Any ideas? What have you done so far?’
His father gave a philosophical shrug. ‘It’s all down to education, of course. But how we get that message out—well, I leave that to you to come up with some suggestions. Lucy’s a bright girl—you can see what ideas she has on the subject.’
Michael leaned back in his chair, his eyes alight with humour. ‘Maybe he could auction himself. If people complete the full immunisation schedule they’re entered into a prize draw for a date with Joel.’
Nick choked on his drink. ‘I thought we were planning to increase uptake?’
Tina laughed. ‘I think it’s a great idea. They’d flock!’
‘I was hoping for something a little more conservative,’ Richard said mildly, observing his sons with amusement. ‘Joel, this is your baby. You and Lucy need to put your heads together.’
Put their heads together?
Now, that was an idea worth pursuing.
Joel’s mind ran riot and he had a disturbingly clear vision of sliding his hands into her gorgeous dark hair and lowering his mouth to hers…
He blanked his expression.
Or at least he thought he had.
‘Joel!’ His mother’s voice was unusually sharp. ‘I need help with the second course, please.’
Oops.
Obviously his face hadn’t been as inscrutable as he’d thought.
Knowing exactly why she wanted him in the kitchen, Joel gave a good-natured grin and followed his mother out of the conservatory.
‘You want help with the gravy?’ He folded his arms across his broad chest and leaned against the kitchen door, watching while his mother bent down and carefully lifted the meat out of the oven.
‘You know why I want you here, Joel.’ His mother straightened up, her face flushed. ‘And it has nothing to do with the gravy. I’ve known you for thirty-three years and I can read your mind.’
Joel grinned. ‘I sincerely hope not.’
His thoughts about Lucy were definitely something he wasn’t prepar
ed to share with his mother.
‘Joel.’ She put the meat on the kitchen table and looked him straight in the eye. ‘I know she’s pretty, but I want you to stay away from Lucy.’
‘You and the rest of the world, it would seem.’ Joel hooked his fingers into the pockets of his trousers and looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Everyone seems to be falling over themselves to keep me away from Lucy. Am I such an evil character all of a sudden?’
