The Accidental Romeo

Cate was still smiling. Perhaps, as most would be, she was waiting for congratulations—she just didn’t know Marnie, whose only interest at work was work. ‘Are you saying that Juan’s got three weeks off!’ Marnie exclaimed. ‘But he’s only just started.’

By nine a.m. both Lillian and Cate had glimpsed what was to come.

By midday the rest of the staff were starting to.

‘Are there four of her?’ Kelly, one of the nurses, grumbled as she sat on a stool beside Harry.

‘Sorry?’ Harry looked up from the notes he was writing. ‘Four of who?’

‘Marnie.’ Kelly sighed. ‘It seems that everywhere I go, there she is.’

Harry grinned. Marnie certainly wasn’t hiding in the office, as Christine had—she darted in and out and wherever you looked it seemed that she was there.

Harry had noticed and, as if to prove Kelly’s point, Marnie soon appeared.

‘Where are the nursing roster request forms kept?’ Marnie asked Kelly.

‘In here.’ Kelly opened a drawer and pulled out a large diary, which Marnie took.

Then Marnie sat on a stool at a computer, quietly working her way through the rosters before disappearing.

‘See!’ Kelly said. ‘She’s everywhere…’ She launched into another moan but her voice trailed off as Marnie returned with not just a new diary but instructions.

‘From now on, all of the off-duty requests are to be written in the new diary, along with a reason for requesting that date,’ Marnie said, as she pinned up a laminated note stating the same. ‘If you would prefer to speak to me personally, rather than write your reasons down, that’s fine.’

Satisfied the note was up straight, she turned and Harry realised that, though the nursing rosters had nothing at all to do with him, he was watching her. He quickly looked away, telling himself he hadn’t just been admiring the rear view of the new nurse manager and the way her dress had lifted just a fraction as she’d pinned up the note.

Surely he’d remember if anything had ever happened between them?

Surely?

‘Do you have a moment?’ Marnie asked.

‘Sure.’

‘Not here.’

Harry had guessed this would be coming—Cate had warned him that Marnie had been less than impressed about Juan taking time off. With a slight roll of his eyes he headed to her office and took a seat, leaning back in the chair and stretching out his legs, absolutely refusing to jump through hoops for Marnie, as everyone else seemed to be.

‘I was just looking through the doctors’ roster and it would seem that we are very short of senior medical staff.’

‘We have been,’ Harry said. ‘But things are steadily improving. We’ve got Juan now and there’s another new consultant—Dr Cooper—starting soon.’

‘Which would be great but I’ve just found out that Juan has been given three weeks’ annual leave, starting well before Dr Cooper commences.’

‘He’s going home to Argentina—you can hardly go there for a long weekend.’

‘But that will leave us with just you and Dr Vermont to cover the department.’

‘I’m aware of that.’ Harry was more than aware— things had only just started improving and now the nightmare was going to begin all over again, not that he was going to reveal the logistical nightmare to Marnie. ‘Juan’s getting married,’ Harry pointed out, assuming that there the discussion would end.

He just didn’t know Marnie.

‘Could he not have delayed his wedding till Dr Cooper had started?’

‘It was a whirlwind romance,’ Harry answered with a wry smile.

‘Please!’ She rolled her eyes. ‘There’s no such thing and, even if there was, surely true love could at least wait a month.’

‘Apparently not!’ Harry said. ‘Look, Juan is an amazing doctor and believe me when I say such a highly skilled doctor is usually pretty hard to entice to come and work at Bayside Hospital. Once immigration and everything is sorted, Juan’s going to be a huge asset to the place but he only agreed to take the role if I accommodated his annual leave request.’

‘You acquire annual leave,’ Marnie said. ‘Juan hasn’t acquired any, from what I can see.’

Harry tried a different tack. ‘The guy broke his neck a while back, he was barely able to walk when he got to Australia. As well as getting married, he really wants to return home and let his family see how well he’s doing.’

Oh, but Marnie was having none of it. ‘So Juan breaking his neck means you have to bend over backwards and break yours to accommodate his love life?’

Harry was sure then that he hadn’t slept with her!

He’d certainly remember—Harry had never met anyone like her in his life! ‘You’re not a romantic, I take it?’ Harry’s voice was dry.

‘There’s not a single romantic bone in my body,’ Marnie said. ‘But so long as you can assure me that the department will be adequately covered with senior medical staff then it’s not my issue.’

‘It will be covered.’

‘Good.’

Harry stood up and turned to go, but how well they might have known each other was driving him crazy, so he decided to simply bite the bullet and ask, ‘What year were you at Melbourne Central?’

‘You really don’t remember?’ Marnie said. ‘I was blonde then, if that helps.’

‘Blonde?’ Harry looked at her very thick black hair. ‘That would have taken some peroxide.’

‘It did,’ Marnie said. ‘You still don’t remember me, do you?’

She loved his discomfort—loved the small swallow in his neck—and she watched as he drew in a breath while attempting to come up with a suitable answer. Then those green eyes met hers and a smile spread on Harry’s lips, lips that had been just a little insolent and teasing in their day, Marnie recalled, and they were becoming that now.

‘How could I ever forget you, Marnie?’

The little game Marnie had been playing had suddenly gone too far because it was Marnie, most unusually, who struggled to calm a blush, and she rapidly decided to put an end to it, while still keeping the upper hand. ‘It’s okay, Harry, I’ve been teasing you. You don’t have to worry—I’m very possibly the only student nurse at Melbourne Central that you didn’t sleep with.’

‘Glad to hear it,’ Harry said, still smiling back at her, except the smile sort of wavered, because maybe that wasn’t the right answer to give.

What was the right answer to a statement like that? Harry wondered as he walked off.

He couldn’t make Marnie out. She was a strange mix. Forthright yet distant, funny yet stern but, even if he was smiling at the little game she’d played on him, Harry knew as he headed back to the patients that the holiday was over. Not that you could ever call this place a holiday, but there would be no asking Marnie if she could keep an eye out for the twins in the staffroom, even if it was right near her office. There would be no appealing to her feminine side and asking her to grab them from day care, or would she mind if one of the nurses in the obs ward kept an eye on them for an hour.

Harry just knew it.