Daring To Date Dr Celebrity

Annie was heading home, exiting through the main lobby, when the front page of the local paper caught her eye. Caspar was smiling up at her from the centre of the page, looking just as handsome in black and white as he did in the flesh. Curiosity got the better of her and she stopped and picked up the paper, noticing that it was a couple of days old already.

She flicked it open and as she unfolded it Caspar’s photographed companion came into view. A tall, attractive blonde woman, Annie recognised her as the host of a popular light entertainment show. Her curiosity piqued further, she began to read the article. Naturally it started by espousing Caspar’s talents as the local boy who was returning to his home town as a celebrity doctor and went on to talk about the success of the television series. Annie opened the paper, turning to page four to continue reading, interested to see what the journalist had to say about the woman on Caspar’s arm.

‘Anything interesting in there?’

Annie jumped as Caspar’s warm-treacle tones broke her concentration, interrupting her before she got to the gossip. She looked up, taking in his narrow hips, grey suit and broad shoulders almost as a reflex before her eyes came to rest on his face. One corner of his mouth lifted in the beginning of a smile and she could see the humour in his eyes as he waited for her to deny that she’d been reading about him. But there was no use pretending she hadn’t been hunting for information.

‘You interrupted me before I got to the good bit,’ she replied.

The smile that had been threatening to begin now broke across his face as he laughed. ‘If there’s anything you need to know, why don’t you ask me? I’ll trade you a question for a question.’

She tried to ignore the way his smile made his eyes sparkle, triggering the tremble in her stomach. ‘Mount Gambier is a long way from the bright lights of Melbourne. How did the network convince you to come here?’ she asked.

Annie herself had moved to Mount Gambier happily, hoping the regional location and the job opportunity would give her a chance to rebuild her life, but in her mind the country town seemed a strange choice not only for the television series but also for Caspar St Claire. Regardless of the fact he’d been raised here, she knew he hadn’t lived in the Mount for a long time and she wondered what had made him agree to return. With his confident manner and his high profile he seemed far more suited to a big city hospital and to the perks his celebrity status would bring him in a city like Melbourne.

‘I wanted to come.’

‘Why?’ she asked.

‘That’s two questions,’ he said, as he shook his head at her. ‘I believe it’s my turn now. What are you doing after work?’

His question surprised her. She opened her mouth to say ‘Nothing’ but quickly realised that, depending on his motives, she might be opening herself up for an unwanted invitation. She closed her mouth, biting back her reply as she tried to think of a different answer.

‘Going to the gym,’ she told him. That was sort of true. It was what she should be doing, although it wasn’t what she felt like and she knew she’d probably skip it altogether, but he didn’t need to know that. Just like he didn’t need to know her stomach was fluttering with nerves. She told herself it was because she found his presence irritating but she knew she was also bothered because she found him attractive and there was no way she wanted him to know that either.

She wished she could ignore his good looks but she suspected she was going to find that difficult. She’d just have to ignore him instead, she thought as she made a show of checking her watch.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then,’ he replied, leaving her wondering why he’d asked in the first place, but his answer served to remind her that it was going to be impossible to ignore him completely. Whether she liked it or not, they would be working together.

Annie hung back as Caspar headed for the exit. She stuck with her pretence of being busy as she didn’t want to walk out with him. From the hospital foyer she watched as he climbed into his car. He drove a silver Audi TT, which was definitely a car for a big-city doctor, and she wondered how much the television network was paying him, before reminding herself that he, and therefore his circumstances, was none of her business.

Annie briefly considered skipping her after-work gym class but she knew Tori would expect a decent reason before she’d allow her to opt out. They’d made a commitment to exercise together, hoping that would make them take it more seriously, and ‘Can’t be bothered’ wasn’t going to get her off the hook. She changed into her gym gear at the hospital so she could avoid going home first. She knew that if she went home the temptation to pour a glass of wine and sit on the couch and think about how her day had gone pear-shaped would be too much. In retrospect she decided that going to the gym might help keep her mind off her day.

‘So, did you decide to sign the network’s consent form?’ Tori asked when they met before their gym class.

‘Not yet. Have you?’

Tori nodded. ‘I’m really excited about the project. Not to mention working with Caspar. Phil is a terrific paediatrician but he’s old enough to be my father. I think we’ve got a pretty good deal having Caspar take over while Phil is on leave. I can’t think of many better ways to spend my theatre time than watching Caspar St Claire.’

Tori had a point but Annie didn’t agree wholeheartedly. ‘I would have preferred him to be here minus the cameras, though,’ she replied. She had been on television before and both occasions had been unpleasant, to say the least. Traumatic would be a better way to describe it. She didn’t relish the idea of being exposed to the cameras.

And she knew that was how she was feeling—exposed and vulnerable. Annie had found Tori’s support and friendship invaluable since she’d moved to the Mount but Tori still only knew half the story as far as Annie’s history went. She thought about telling Tori the whole truth but now wasn’t the time or the place.

‘Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way,’ Tori said. ‘The cameras are part of the package. Look at it this way—you want your contract renewed, don’t you? I think taking part in this series would be a very good way of getting support for an extension of your contract.’

The instructor called them all to order and the class began putting an end to their conversation. Annie wasn’t fit enough to talk and exercise at the same time but she was co-ordinated enough to be able to exercise and think about Tori’s comment.

Her contract with the hospital was for twelve months. She needed it to be extended. She needed the job and needed the money. As much as she hated the idea of being on television, she knew Tori was right. She didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t afford to be choosy or create waves. She would have to sign the agreement and she would have to work with Caspar St Claire.

Avoiding Caspar for one afternoon had been a good start but she couldn’t avoid him for ever and, in case she’d forgotten the fact, she had an early reminder when she arrived at the hospital the following morning. Parked almost outside the front doors was a large van emblazoned with the television network logo.

Filming was due to start today and it appeared they were ready and raring to go. Just thinking about it made her insides tremble. She actually felt nauseous at the thought of the camera crew dogging her steps.

Annie sighed as she made her way into the hospital and upstairs to the maternity ward. She had little doubt her path would cross with Caspar’s at some point today.

She still hadn’t signed the agreement, but she planned to do it later that day. She was hoping to delay it just a little longer to buy herself one more day, one more day when she would be safe from observation.

She kept her head down as she hurried past the nursery, too afraid to look through the large glass door in case she saw him—she was keen to avoid an inevitable meeting for as long as possible. She stopped briefly at the nurses’ station to check for any updates before rushing to begin her rounds, rushing to hide behind the sanctuary of ward room curtains and doors.

Once she was among her patients she slowed her pace, ambling through her rounds. She wasn’t consulting until the afternoon so she took her time, hoping that Caspar would be long gone from the floor before she emerged again. When she eventually finished she returned to the nurses’ station to sign case notes but she made sure she kept her back to the wall, not wanting to give Caspar another opportunity to sneak up on her and overhear any conversations. She had no idea where he was but she wasn’t taking any chances.

However, within a few minutes she realised he must be on the floor. Nurses started appearing from all corners of the wing, from patients’ bedsides, the tearoom and even the pan room, as if there had been a silent announcement about events unfolding. And the only thing Annie could think of that would have the nurses all heading into the corridors would be if word had got around that Caspar St Claire was coming their way.

She glanced up from the notes and wasn’t surprised to see him walking towards the desk with nurses trailing in his wake, almost falling over themselves as they rushed to offer their help. One of the nurses, whose name Annie thought was Tiffany, almost knocked down another in her desperate hurry to get to Caspar first.

The scene was rather amusing and Annie found she was smiling to herself and feeling positive for the first time since Caspar had arrived at Blue Lake Hospital. But that didn’t mean she wanted to deal with him this morning. She thought about pretending she hadn’t seen him and making her escape, running away and hiding again. But it was too late. He was heading her way. And smiling. At her.

Did he think her smile was for him? She supposed he would. He had no reason to think she was smiling to herself about the unfolding tableau.

She had to admit he had a really lovely smile. A crease appeared on either side of his mouth, running down to his jaw. They framed his lips and accentuated his square jaw, and the brooding expression in his eyes was replaced with laughter. It was all too easy to keep smiling back at him in return but she needed to remember that she wasn’t one of the young, impressionable nurses and she had to remember that he wasn’t Dr Tall, Dark and Handsome to her. He was Dr Disturbing-her-peaceful-life.

Annie wiped the smile from her face as he drew nearer but she hadn’t completely forgotten Tori’s warning to play nicely.

‘Good morning,’ she greeted him. ‘Are you finding your way around all right?’

‘Yes. Everyone’s being very helpful,’ he replied, but he looked at her for a moment longer than he needed to and Annie could almost hear the unspoken words. Except for you.

Well, that was too bad for him. She imagined he was used to getting his own way but that didn’t mean he deserved to. And if Tiffany and the other nurses on this ward were the yardsticks then she didn’t doubt the females on staff were being extremely helpful.

‘Where is the crew?’ she asked, choosing to ignore his unspoken implication.

‘They’re busy doing their own checks. They need to do some run-throughs before we start—lighting, sound, that sort of thing.’

She’d expected to see him with an entourage. ‘How many of them are there?’

‘Only a few,’ he answered. ‘Liam, the cameraman, Keegan for sound and lighting, and you met Gail, the producer.’

‘No make-up?’

‘No make-up.’

That would explain why he looked so good in the flesh. Dr Tall, Dark and Handsome wasn’t made up for the cameras. The thought didn’t make her feel any better. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about men who were so good looking.

She’d thought his nose was slightly too long but standing directly in front of him now even that looked perfect and she knew she’d just been searching for flaws. It was hard to fault him physically.

‘Apparently our production budget is very modest, which is why the network can afford to be generous towards the hospital. We don’t have a lot of expenses.’

‘What about your fee? They must pay you?’ She remembered his sleek silver sports car and the words were out of her mouth before she realised how rude she sounded. ‘Sorry, ignore that, it’s none of my business.’ She was desperate to change the subject and she looked around quickly, searching for another topic of conversation.