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But none of them had ever had such an impact on such a short acquaintance. Not even Paul. And they’d bored her so quickly too. They had been boys compared to Callum Craig. She doubted he had a boring bone in his body. In short, Callum Craig unsettled her. And that was to be avoided at all costs. She was moving on with her life—she didn’t need to complicate it by reaching for another attainable man.
A fleeting moonlight kiss at midnight from a stranger was one thing. She could hug it close, daydream about it and bring it out at night to relive over and over in her sleep. But when that man was a colleague? She had learnt the hard way not to mix work with her private life. What had happened in London had burnt her so badly she was sworn off men for life.
Particularly men with little boys.
Callum entered the ward on Thursday afternoon to attend his ward round. He spotted Hailey just as she was disappearing into the panroom. Again.
She was avoiding him.
OK, he got it. Her signals were coming across loud and clear. Back off. Not interested. Don’t even think about it.
She obviously regretted their midnight madness.
He wished the same could be said for him. It was, after all, the most sensible course of action. The very last thing he needed now was to develop a thing for a woman who wanted nothing to do with him.
His six years alone—coping with his wife’s death and a six-month-old baby and then struggling to raise Tom and get him through his illness, scared to death most of the time—seemed suddenly magnified. Maybe that was what happened? Maybe Hailey’s kiss had made him realise what a solitary life he led. Why else would his body be reacting so strongly to a woman who was so patently not interested?
Because he didn’t have the time or the wherewithal for any kind of a relationship. He’d spent the last six years protecting Tom, shielding him from the things life had thrown at him—the loss of his mother and a truly vile illness. He’d dropped the ball with Annie, he wouldn’t do the same with Tom.
But he didn’t have time for this hide-and-seek routine either. They were both adults and this state of affairs couldn’t continue. She couldn’t keep avoiding him for ever. They had to work together. They were two mature adults. Surely they could act that way?
He glanced at his watch. Five minutes before Yvonne was expecting him for rounds. He took a moment to collect his thoughts and pushed open the panroom door.
‘Afternoon, Hailey.’
Hailey started. She had her back to the door, checking the expiry dates on the various test sticks that were kept in the wall cupboard above the sink. Over the last few days she’d done a pretty decent inventory of the room’s contents. She turned around slowly, her heart rate tripping from a surge of adrenaline.
He looked divine. His stethoscope was slung casually around his neck and his shirt fitted his broad-shouldered frame to perfection. His tie today sported leaping leprechauns and his smile exuded charisma. She felt his pull despite the good three metres between them. ‘I think you took a wrong turn. Yvonne’s office is two doors down.’
Callum’s smile widened. ‘Nope. This is the right door. I was after you.’
Her heart slammed in her chest. ‘Me?’ she practically squeaked.
‘You’ve been kind of hard to pin down these last few days.’
‘Ah, yes…’ she said nervously. She dragged in a ragged breath, feeling like all the oxygen was being sucked out of the room. ‘A nurse’s work is never done,’ she said lamely, shaking the bottle of urine sticks, which she hadn’t realised she was holding, in his general direction.
‘Are you in Yvonne’s bad books? Have you been banished to the panroom for the term of your natural life?’
‘Er…no,’ she said, her dazzled brain cells trying to keep track of the conversation.
‘Ah. So you’re just avoiding me?’
Bingo! Hailey stared at him for a moment before turning back to the cupboard, horrified at the rise of heat in her cheeks. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ Her hand shook as she replaced the container.
Callum watched her as her fingers ran over the contents of the cupboard. ‘Hailey.’ Her fingers stilled but she didn’t answer him. ‘Hailey,’ he said again, moving closer.
Hailey turned around reluctantly and then immediately wished she hadn’t. He loomed in front of her and she was reminded of the ball all over again as she looked all the way up into his face. His very sexy face. If she’d thought his pull had been strong from across the room, it was nothing compared to his power close up.
‘God, you’re tiny,’ Callum said, distracted by their height disparity. Maybe it had been the moonlight but he didn’t remember her being so far down.
