Top-Notch Men!. Anne Fraser

you tonight, then,’ he said, pocketing the note.

      ‘Yes … Thanks for the coffee.’

      ‘You’re welcome.’

      She felt the pull of his gaze for several long seconds before she dragged hers away to walk through the door and down the corridor on legs that still felt as if someone had taken out the bones, just leaving the marrow …

      Allegra checked on Tommy Lowe before she left for the evening. The neurosurgeons were planning insertion of intracranial pressure monitors on both him and his mother that night in the ICTU theatre. Susie, the ICU nurse looking after Tommy, reported all his obs stable, and the same for Kate, who she was also temporarily attending whilst Chloe, Kate’s nurse, was out at tea.

      ‘Poor little chap,’ Susie said. ‘How could a mother do that to an innocent child?’

      Allegra wrote up the notes and handed the nurse the chart. ‘It seems unbelievable, doesn’t it? Mind you, it’s still speculation so far, so better not to spread rumours we might regret later.’

      ‘I hate the thought of even going near her,’ Susie confessed. ‘I can’t wait for Chloe to come back from her break.’

      ‘We’ve got to treat Mrs Lowe like any other patient in ICTU, Susie—we’re health professionals, not judges,’ Allegra reminded her sternly.

      ‘I know, but what the poor father is being put through … he’s a complete wreck,’ Susie said. ‘And you could hardly blame him for being so angry.’

      ‘Has he been back in?’

      ‘Yes, just a few minutes ago. He didn’t stay long. I had to get him a glass of water and a couple of paracetamol almost as soon as he laid eyes on Tommy. I don’t think he can handle the sight of his little boy so badly injured. He probably blames himself for not seeing it coming.’

      ‘Yes, I guess you’re right,’ Allegra agreed with a heavy sigh. ‘Suicide always creates such a lot of guilt. You always wonder if you could have done something to prevent it.’

      Susie gave her a thoughtful look. ‘That sounds to me like the voice of experience. Someone close to you?’

      Allegra was privately impressed by the nurse’s percipience but didn’t know her well enough to share what had happened to her friend Julie during their first year at medical school. She’d only shared it with Louise because Louise’s brother had made a suicide attempt a couple of years previously after a relationship break-up. He had recovered, however, and was now in a happy relationship and had dealt with the issues that had led to his attempt on his life.

      Allegra’s experience with her friend had been a harrowing time and she still had nightmares about it. She still tortured herself over all the signs she’d missed, all the opportunities she could have taken to prevent a tragedy that she knew would haunt her for the rest of her life.

      ‘No …’ she answered, straightening the bed clothes over the child. ‘But you sort of get to know this stuff from working in a place like this.’

      ‘Yeah, tell me about it,’ Susie said. ‘You see it all and then have to go home and sleep.’

      ‘Sleep …’ Allegra forced a wry smile to her lips. ‘Now, there’s something that’d be incredibly tempting.’

      ‘Not as tempting as coffee with the new boss,’ Susie said with a little twinkle.

      Allegra frowned. ‘Don’t you nurses have anything better to do than gossip all the time? It was just coffee, all right? It doesn’t mean a thing.’

      ‘What about Patrick Naylor?’

      ‘What about him?’ she snapped back irritably.

      ‘He’s not going to be too happy about you fraternising with the director when he had first call.’

      ‘For pity’s sake, how often do I have to tell everyone that I am not involved with Patrick Naylor?’

      ‘I guess the only way to do that is by making it obvious you’re dating someone else,’ Susie suggested.

      ‘Yeah—well, maybe I will do just that,’ Allegra said, and giving the nurse one last little hardened glare turned on her heel and left.

      CHAPTER SIX

      JOEL adjusted his tie for the third time and rocked back on his heels as he waited for Allegra to answer her apartment intercom. It had been so long since he’d been on a proper date he’d almost forgotten how to go about it. Not that this was a proper date. Not really. It was dinner with a colleague.

      A get-to-know-you-better dinner.

      Nothing else.

      ‘Hello?’

      ‘Hi, Allegra, it’s me, Joel. Shall I wait for you down here?’

      ‘No, come on up. I’m not quite ready,’ she said a little breathlessly.

      He made his way to the fifth floor via the lift but before he could raise his hand to knock on her door she opened it and ushered him in.

      ‘Sorry,’ she said, stooping to pick an earring off the floor and inserting it in her ear lobe. ‘I got held up in traffic. I won’t be a minute. Have a seat. Would you like a drink or something?’

      ‘No, I’m fine.’

      She gave him a nervous little smile and disappeared into a room that he assumed was her bedroom. He heard a couple of stiff curses as she dropped something and he smiled to himself. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who was a little out of practice when it came to dating.

      She came out a short time later dressed in a simple black dress with heels that, in spite of their lethal-looking height, still only brought her up to his shoulder. She was wearing subtle make-up, the smoky eye-shadow highlighting her green eyes and sooty dark lashes. Her lips were lightly coated with a pink-tinged gloss and her shoulder-length light brown hair was loose about her shoulders, falling in soft waves that made his fingers itch to reach out and see if it was really as silky as it looked. He had to stuff his hands in his trouser pockets to stop himself from giving in to the temptation.

      ‘I’m sorry to keep you waiting,’ she said as she reached for her evening bag on the sofa, sending a soft waft of her light perfume his way. ‘I’m not usually so disorganised.’

      ‘It’s been a hectic day,’ he said. ‘I had to rush at the last minute as well.’

      Allegra followed him out to his car. ‘Do you live close to the hospital?’ she asked, once they were on their way.

      ‘I’m just renting a place in South Yarra at the moment,’ he answered. ‘I’m still trying to work out what sort of place I want to buy.’

      ‘You mean an apartment or a house?’

      ‘Yes. Both have their advantages but with the hours I work it doesn’t make sense to rush in and buy a house with a big garden when I haven’t even got the time to sit in it, much less maintain it.’

      ‘That’s what gardeners are for,’ she said. ‘I’m even thinking about getting some help in to water my pot plants. I just don’t seem to have the time.’

      He glanced across at her and smiled. ‘You could always get plastic ones.’

      ‘Now, that would really send my mother into a tailspin,’ she answered with a dancing gleam in her eyes. ‘Fake plants are not good for positive energy flow.’

      He turned back to the traffic, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. ‘You know something? I’m beginning to suspect you’re not quite as alternative as you make out, Allegra Tallis.’

      ‘And you’re not quite the overbearing ogre you want everyone to think you are, are you, Joel Addison?’

      His warm brown eyes held hers for a moment before shifting away