Breaking Her No-Dates Rule. Emily Forbes

removed a few long blonde hairs from her black dress, checking to see that she’d gotten rid of all the stray strands.

      As she walked past the bar to return to her friends she saw Rob, her lying, adulterous ex, paying for his drinks. His distinctive appearance made him easy to pick out in a crowd. He was out of his theatre clothes and was wearing an immaculately pressed suit, a sharp contrast to the more casual clothes and various hospital uniforms that surrounded him. He had his back to the ocean and to the rest of the room and she could pass behind him unseen. She hurried past as Rob picked up his drink and turned from the bar.

      ‘Rob’s here,’ Ruby pointed out when Ellie returned to their table.

      ‘I saw him.’

      ‘Are you happy to stay?’

      Ellie nodded, ‘Yes, I’m fine. Completely recovered.’

      She’d had to recover quickly. She and Rob worked together on the orthopaedic ward so she saw him on an almost daily basis and she hadn’t had the luxury of time to retreat to lick her wounds in privacy. She’d had to maintain a civil working relationship. Rob’s personality was aloof and cool at the best of times, something Tilly had always delighted in reminding Ellie of, and since the breakdown of their relationship he certainly hadn’t become any more amenable, but mostly they managed to work together harmoniously. Although she didn’t want to socialise with him, she had no problem being in the same bar as him.

      ‘I’m still embarrassed,’ she admitted, ‘but pleased the whole thing was such a secret that I don’t have to live out my embarrassment in front of the entire hospital. I know I got caught up in all the possibilities of the relationship but I think I might have learnt my lesson, for a while at least. I’m going to take my time from now on, not dive in head first.’

      Ellie’s remark made Ruby grin and Tilly laughed.

      ‘What’s so funny?’ Ellie demanded.

      ‘Famous last words,’ Tilly replied. ‘I’ve never known anyone who falls in love as quickly as you.’

      ‘I admit I’m a hopeless romantic,’ Ellie replied to Tilly, ‘and when you fell in love with Marcus, and Ruby and Cort sorted out their lives, I got a bit carried away, thinking I could be next, but I’m going to be patient.’ She reminded herself that she was going to be strong. Positive. Her perfect partner was out there, she just had to bide her time. She would find someone. ‘There’s someone out there for me and when the time is right he’ll appear.’

      ‘How about right now?’ Jess interrupted. ‘There’s a hot guy at the bar.’

      ‘I didn’t mean today.’ Ellie laughed.

      ‘Check him out before you cross him off your list,’ Jess advised. ‘He looks okay to me.’

      Ellie turned her head. It wasn’t hard to see who Jess was talking about. Leaning on the bar, wearing faded jeans and a snug black T-shirt that hugged his sculpted arms and chest, was one definitely hot guy. He had one foot on the railing that ran around the base of the bar and his jeans were moulded to his very shapely backside. He was thin, not scrawny, but his waist was narrow. There was no sign of any spread around his middle and Ellie could see a slight ripple of abdominal muscles along his side. He looked naturally slim, not like he spent hours in the gym.

      His face was in profile as he waited for his order. He had a square jaw darkened by a hint of stubble, full lips, one dark eyebrow that she could see and dark lashes. He got his order and turned away from them, unaware of their scrutiny as he moved through the crowd. Ellie straightened in her seat and followed his progress across the room. His walk was quite graceful, his long lean lines leant fluidity to his movement, and his steps were confident. He stopped to join the group of surgeons standing with Rob and Ellie watched, intrigued, as Rob introduced him to the others. How did Rob know him?

      ‘Do you know who he is?’ Jess asked. She’d shifted in her chair to get a better look.

      ‘No idea,’ Ellie replied.

      She had a good view of him now. Standing beside Rob, she could see he was a few inches shorter, around six feet tall. Rob was getting thicker around his middle and the contrast between Hot Guy and Rob made Rob look older than his thirty-three years. Rob’s hair was more grey than brown, although it was still thick. Hot Guy had thick, almost black hair, with a definite curl.

      ‘If Ellie isn’t interested, you should go and introduce yourself, Jess,’ Ruby suggested.

      Ellie couldn’t remember saying she wasn’t interested in the hot guy specifically but she bit her tongue because she had just said she was going to bide her time.

      ‘No way. I’m not going to interrupt that group,’ Jess said.

      Ellie understood her sentiments. As very recent nursing graduates they still felt there was a pecking order among the medical staff and their social standing in the hospital certainly didn’t allow them to fraternise with the surgeons uninvited out of hours. And if the group of surgeons included Rob, they’d definitely keep their distance.

      But Ellie knew there was another reason why Jess wouldn’t approach the hot guy. Jess had been quite genuine in pointing him out to Ellie and even if he hadn’t been talking to Rob she wouldn’t have gone over, because Jess was completely besotted with Adam.

      Adam Carmichael; the token male in their house, their mostly absent landlord, Ruby’s brother and their resident Casanova rolled into one. There was never a shortage of women traipsing through his door when he was in Sydney and the girls often joked that he should put a revolving door on his bedroom so he could move his conquests in and out more efficiently. And, even though he was completely wrong for her, Jess had a thing for Adam.

      Ellie wished Jess would meet somebody who would take her mind off him, someone who was ready for a real relationship, someone who wouldn’t break her heart. But despite Ellie’s pleas Jess seemed quite determined to ignore any other possibilities, including the hot guy. And in that case, Ellie decided, she might as well enjoy the view.

      She looked back into the bar. Hot Guy was still talking to Rob but he was looking at her. Their gazes locked and something flashed through her. A jolt, a strike, a shock to the heart, and the rest of the room receded as the spark of connection flared. She sat still, riveted to the spot as he looked her up and down without a hint of embarrassment. She should have been horrified but all she could do was wait for him to finish. Wait for his eyes to meet hers again. Without consciously acknowledging her actions, she was waiting to see if she could work out what had happened with that first glance. What was it?

      His gaze returned to her face and there it was again. A flash of what? Recognition? Ellie wondered if he knew who she was. She mentally shook her head. No. Rob would never have talked about her.

      She didn’t move, she couldn’t move. She knew she was staring but she couldn’t stop. She felt a blush spread up her neck and into her cheeks but still she couldn’t look away.

      His smouldering good looks had a slight wildness about them, an edginess, which drew her to him. She imagined she could feel the heat radiating from him. Her fingers itched to touch him and if he’d been standing beside her she knew she would have reached out to feel him. She could imagine the heat of his hands burning her skin and that made her blush even more.

      He held her gaze, a hint of mischief in his eyes, almost as though he could read her thoughts, and then he grinned at her. Ellie smiled back. She didn’t mean to and she was surprised to find her face was capable of expression but her smile was an automatic response to the power of his.

      She tore her eyes away from his, forcing herself to break the connection. She tried to focus on the conversation going on around her, tried to behave normally, tried to pretend she hadn’t just shared a moment with a hot stranger.

      She had no idea how successful she was being but thankfully the arrival of Ruby’s fiancé, Cort, provided a welcome distraction.

      Cort was a senior emergency registrar and Ellie wondered if he knew who the hot guy was. She didn’t have