A Family Of Their Own

Leanne put that unsettling thought to the back of her mind as she crossed the busy concourse. It was a little before eight and the morning rush-hour was under way. She could see the neon sign for HealthFirst glowing above the heads of the commuters. The clinic was on the mezzanine level so she ran up the stairs then paused before opening the door.

She had dressed with extra care that morning, wanting to make a good impression. Although she had been told that a uniform would be provided, it had seemed important that she looked neat and tidy and the black trouser suit and crisp white shirt had seemed the perfect choice.

She was quite tall, a little over five feet nine, with a trim but curvaceous figure, and tailored clothes suited her best. Low-heeled black pumps added a little more to her height and matched the workmanlike leather bag swinging from her shoulder.

She had pinned her collar-length, dark red hair into a French pleat and been sparing with her make-up, relying on a touch of foundation to conceal the sprinkling of freckles that covered her small, straight nose and just a lick of black mascara to emphasise her slate-grey eyes.

Lipstick was something she’d never worn since Michael had told her that it made her mouth look far too big, but just for a moment she found herself wishing that she had worn some that day. It would have helped to bolster her courage if she had been wearing full war-paint, as her mother had always called it.

Thinking about the woman who had brought her up still caused her a lot of pain so she quickly pushed open the door and went inside. There was an attractive blonde woman behind the desk and she looked up with a polite smile.

‘Good morning. How may I help you?’

‘I’m Leanne Russell, the new practice nurse. I was told to report to Dr Slater,’ she explained.

‘Oh, hi, there! It’s good to meet you, Leanne.’ The woman smiled more warmly at her this time. ‘I’m Melanie Pickering, another of the nurses here, although my contract runs out in…oh, seventy-one hours and six minutes precisely.’

Leanne laughed. ‘Not that you’re counting off the minutes, of course. Is it really that bad, working here?’

‘No way! It’s been great and I’ve really enjoyed it, but it’s time to move on.’

Melanie grinned as she got up from behind the desk. ‘I’m off to the Philippines next week and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve got itchy feet, I’m afraid, so I never stay too long in any one place. Mind you, most of the people who work here are exactly the same. Nick was only saying yesterday that it’s like the United Nations in here.’

‘Nick?’ Leanne prompted, following Melanie down a wide corridor.

The clinic was very modern from what she could see, with lots of chrome and glass and discreetly positioned lighting. They passed an elegantly furnished waiting area and she smiled at a man who was sitting on one of the comfortable chairs, drinking a cup of coffee.

She knew from the literature that had been sent to her that patients attending the clinic paid to see a doctor or a nurse according to a set scale of charges. HealthFirst offered a walk-in service so that people didn’t need to make an appointment before they arrived.

‘Nick Slater. He’s in charge for the next four months while the clinic’s director is taking an extended holiday.’

‘Another short-term contract,’ Leanne observed. They had reached the end of the corridor and Melanie paused outside a door that was standing slightly ajar.

‘Most people who work here are employed on a short-term basis. It’s one of the main attractions of the job. As for Nick, well, his feet are even itchier than mine! If you’ve got a couple of hours to spare, ask him to list all the countries he’s visited—’ She broke off and grimaced when the phone in Reception rang. ‘Starting early today from the sound of it. I’ll have to leave you and Nick to introduce yourselves. Don’t bother knocking. Just go straight in. He’s on his own.’

‘Thanks,’ Leanne murmured as Melanie hurried away. She squared her shoulders then went to open the door when all of a sudden she heard voices coming from inside the room. She paused, realising that Melanie must have been mistaken about Nick Slater being on his own. She would hate to barge in if he had a patient with him…

‘Leanne Russell. Aged twenty-four, from Sydney, Australia. Glowing references—highly professional, committed to her work, a credit to her profession, etcetera, etcetera. It all sounds rather too good to be true.’

‘Then it probably is.’

Nick Slater tipped back his big leather armchair and placed his booted feet on the edge of the desk. His hazel-green eyes were wry as he looked at the other man. ‘If something sounds too good to be true then it usually is in my experience.’

Dennis McNally laughed. ‘You’re such a cynic, Nick. She could be the real thing, a genuine, bona fide angel.’

‘I’ll believe that when I see her wings.’ Nick chuckled when Dennis groaned. ‘Sorry! Bad joke. Anyway, what else do we know about Miss Russell?’

Dennis frowned as he skimmed through the application form. ‘Not a lot. She comes from Sydney, as I said, and trained at the Royal Free. She had just been appointed junior sister on the tropical diseases ward—’ He broke off when Nick sighed. ‘What?’

‘Think about it. If you’d just been given a promotion, would you up and leave?’ Nick shrugged as he tilted further back in his chair. ‘Sounds to me as though Miss Russell might have had another reason for leaving sunny Sydney rather than a simple desire to spend the winter sightseeing in London. Could it have been man trouble, by any chance? That’s just what we need. Someone who’s going to spend all her time nursing a broken heart instead of the patients.’

‘Come on, Nick,’ Dennis protested. ‘You don’t have any idea why she decided to leave Aus. She might have had a sudden urge to see a bit more of the world. In which case she’ll fit in perfectly around here.’

‘She might,’ Nick replied, not attempting to hide his scepticism. They were under a lot of pressure at HealthFirst and the last thing they needed was a member of the team who didn’t pull her weight.

‘Well, there’s an easy way to test out your theory,’ Dennis said cheerfully. ‘If Leanne Russell is indeed suffering from a broken heart then she won’t be interested in going out on a date, will she? Ask her out and see what kind of a reaction you get.’

‘Thanks but, no, thanks.’ Nick smiled thinly. ‘I’m not in the market for a relationship, especially not with someone who might be on the rebound. The last thing I need is some clinging woman cluttering up my life.’

‘Scared she’ll turn you down?’ Dennis taunted. ‘What a blow to the old ego that would be. The great Nick Slater actually getting turned down for a date. That would be a first!’

‘There’s a first time for everything,’ he replied, refusing to rise to the bait, although Dennis’s comments had touched a nerve. Was he earning himself a reputation as being a bit of a Lothario, perhaps?

He hoped not. Just because he was careful about avoiding commitment, it didn’t mean that he played fast and loose. He was always completely open about his intentions whenever he invited a woman out, made sure that she understood there wasn’t any future for the relationship. He had made the decision to remain single after his brother Matt had died, and there was no way that he would risk hurting anyone’s feelings by not making his position clear. He had thought that he’d been handling things extremely well, but maybe he had given his colleagues a completely different impression.

He was still pondering on it when he realised that Dennis was speaking. He frowned. ‘What did you say?’

‘I said I’ll bet you a tenner that you can’t get Leanne Russell to go out with you,’ Dennis repeated obligingly. He grinned when Nick shook his head. ‘What are you afraid of? Scared the old Slater charm might not work this time?’

‘Of course not,’ Nick began, intending to tell Dennis that he had no intention of accepting such a ridiculous challenge—only he never got the chance to finish what he was saying. He felt a frisson run through him when a cool female voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.

‘I’d save your money if I were you, Dr Slater.’

Nick looked towards the door and it felt as though he had been punched hard in the solar plexus when he got his first glimpse of the woman who was standing there. In a fascinated sweep his eyes drank in every detail from the glorious, wet-fox red of her hair to the black leather pumps on her narrow feet.

His mind seemed to be awash with impressions all of a sudden, like how smooth her tanned skin looked, how soft her grey eyes seemed to be, how slender her body was under the tailored black suit so that it was a second or two before he realised that she was waiting for him to answer.

It took every scrap of self-possession he could summon to swing his feet from the desk, walk to the door and offer her his hand when he was acutely aware of the predicament he was in. Frankly, it was unforgivable to have been caught discussing her like that.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Russell,’ he said as evenly as he could in the circumstances. ‘Welcome to HealthFirst.’

‘Thank you.’ She placed her hand in his and he barely managed to suppress a shiver when she treated him to a chilly smile.

‘However, I think it might be best if I clarify the situation before we go any further. I am neither suffering from a broken heart nor am I looking for a relationship. So if you were thinking of accepting that bet, Dr Slater, I would advise you to change your mind. I would hate you to lose any of your hard-earned cash on my acount.’

Nick knew there must be something he could say to defuse the situation. Usually he was adept at finding the perfect phrase to smooth over the most difficult moment, but the ability seemed to have deserted him all of a sudden.

He took a deep breath as Leanne Russell removed her hand from his because it had just occurred to him why he was having such problems that day. He was disappointed because she had stated that she wasn’t interested in having a relationship with anyone.

For a man who had spent his whole adult life avoiding any risk of commitment it came as a shock to have to admit it. At that moment he wished that he were anywhere in the world rather than right there in London, facing the biggest test he had ever had to face. Leanne Russell had the power to turn his life upside down if he let her. It was the fact that he couldn’t be sure of stopping her that really scared him.

Leanne took a deep breath as she walked into the room, but her heart was hammering. Maybe she could have attributed it to anger because she had been furious when she’d overheard the conversation, but it would be wrong to lie to herself.

The reason her heart was hammering was because she had been holding Nick Slater’s hand. Even now she could feel the imprint of his fingers on her skin and had to make a conscious effort not to check her hand for any visible sign. What on earth was the matter with her? Why should she feel like this after what she had overheard him saying?

‘It’s nice to meet you, Leanne. I’m Dennis McNally, head of the admin staff here at the clinic.’

She jumped when the fair-haired man standing by the desk spoke to her. It was an effort to respond when her mind was whirling, but not for the life of her would she let Nick Slater guess how unsettled she felt.