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“Don’t do it too well and replace me,” she jokes.
“Never going to happen.”
I ask about the baby.
“He’s a blessing but he’s hard work for such a small human being,” Sarah says. “A part of me misses work and then I immediately feel guilty.”
“I would miss work too,” I tell her.
“Thanks for saying that,” she says and after a bit more conversation, we say goodbye.
At lunch time, Jace is not back from his meeting yet and I go for lunch at the cafeteria. I walk in and a woman waves at me from a table of three at the center of the room. I wave back and recognize her as Liz, the nurse from the fertility wing. After I get my food from the counter, she waves at me again and I join them.
The other women make space for me at the table and I set my tray down.
“This is Tracy, she’s a nurse,” Liz says, pointing at the red head and then turning to the other woman who is dark-haired and has a really nice smile. “And this is Addison, a midwife.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet both of you,” I say and they echo back the words.
The chicken salad is crispy and fresh. “Rosie is a good cook.”
“That, she is,” Liz says. “So how is it working with the mysterious Jace Anderson?”
I laugh. “It’s actually quite fun. He’s not as solemn as he seems.”
“I know,” Liz says.
I ask them questions about the fertility wing but I’m careful about the questions. I don’t want to raise any suspicions. They invite me to go and have coffee with them when I’m free. I definitely will. If there are people who know the secrets of the clinic, it’s these women. They’ve all worked there for at least five years.
One thing I’ve noticed about the clinic is that its staff are very loyal. I hope that won’t make them tightlipped. We finish lunch, hang around for a few more minutes chatting and then I take my leave.
Back upstairs I see that Jace’s door is slightly open and I peer in. We exchange smiles.
“Do you need anything?” I ask him.
“Nothing at all. My place tonight?” he says. “I’m a good cook.”
Pleasure swamps me. “I’d like that.”
I keep checking the time for the rest of the afternoon. I’m terrified and excited at the same time. This time tomorrow, the lust I feel for Jace Anderson will be extinguished. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I like being in this all-consuming bubble of lust. It keeps reality at bay.
***
“Charlotte told me that you’re not coming for dinner?” my brother Marcus asks as I’m getting ready to go to Jace’s house.
I balance my phone against my ear and shoulder as I slip on my heels. I always have dinner with Marcus and my sister-in-law, Charlotte, at least once a week. “I’m going for dinner with my new boss.”
“Is that a good idea, sis?” Marcus asks. “You’re working undercover in his clinic. Should you be getting that close to him? It’ll make you feel like an asshole when you have to do what you have to do.”
I swallow hard knowing that everything that Marcus is saying is the truth. I just don’t want to hear it tonight. Or even think about it. Tonight will be about getting Jace out of my system but I can’t tell my brother that.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me,” I say.
“I have to worry about you,” Marcus says, his voice suddenly gruff. “You’re my little sis. It’s my job to watch out for you.”
My heart swells with emotion. It was just the two of us for the longest time and even though Marcus feels responsible for me, he’s only a year and a half older. “Thanks, bro. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
We say goodbye and I check my reflection one last time then I’m out of the door. Jace had offered to pick me up but I wanted to have my own car. I always feel safer when I know that I can leave whenever I want, not that I’m worried about Jace. He’s a gentleman through and through.
