Sydney Harbour Hospital: Lexi's Secret (7 page)

Sam wondered what Lexi’s fiancé would say if he found out about the tense little scene in his office the other day. Perhaps Lexi was feeling a little frisky with her man away for weeks, if not months, on end. She wasn’t the celibate type. She was far too sensual for that. Sam had all the blisteringly hot memories of her to vouch for that.

Finn sauntered over with a glass of single malt whisky in his hand. ‘So you finally managed to extricate yourself from the mother ship?’ he drawled.

‘Yes,’ Sam said. ‘It’s been one of those days. Why is the last patient of the day always the hardest?’

‘It’s always like that,’ Evie said, deliberately turning her body away from Finn as if his presence annoyed her.

Finn’s lip curled at the all too obvious snub. ‘So how is Princess Evie this evening?’ he asked.

Evie gave him an arctic glance over her shoulder. ‘There’s a new barmaid on tonight, Finn,’ she said. ‘You might want to see if she’s free later on.’

‘Maybe I’ll do that,’ Finn said with a smirk.

The air was crackling with waves of antagonism. It was pretty clear Finn and Evie had something brewing between them but Sam wasn’t sure exactly what it was. He had noticed Finn’s hand trembling slightly as he brought his drink up to his mouth. He didn’t want to think about what had caused that slight tremble. Was that what that arm rub had been about the other day? he wondered. Was that why Evie was so prickly and guarded around him? Did she suspect something but wasn’t game enough to put her name and reputation on the line in outing Finn? It was a tough gig reporting a senior colleague and most junior doctors would think twice about doing it.

Being new at SHH would make it equally difficult for Sam. He hadn’t been around long enough to be certain but even so, calling out a colleague for suspected alcohol abuse would be nothing short of career suicide. He would only do it if he had enough evidence to prove it was actually the case. There could be any number of contributing factors: extreme tiredness, for instance. He had experienced it himself after long operations and too many nights on call. His whole body had started to quake and tremble with exhaustion. Those symptoms
could so easily be misconstrued, and if he was wrong it would have devastating consequences professionally.

Finn Kennedy looked like the overworked type. His piercing blue eyes were bloodshot, but the damson-coloured shadows beneath them could just as easily suggest a man who was not getting enough sleep rather than a man who was consuming too much of the demon drink. But, then, who could really know for sure?

‘You haven’t got a drink,’ Finn said. ‘What would you like?’

‘It’s OK,’ Sam said. ‘I’ll make my way over now and grab something soft.’ He smiled to encompass them both. ‘Nice to chat to you.’

Sam was soon handed a drink by one of the registrars and drawn into their circle. He did his best to answer some of the questions fired at him but the whole time he felt strangely disconnected. It was as if his body was standing there talking to the small group surrounding him but his mind was elsewhere. Lexi was just a few feet away. There was a faint trace of her perfume in the air and every now and again he could feel her gaze on him.

‘What about harvesting organs?’ one of the junior interns asked. ‘Do you have to travel to different hospitals to do that?’

‘Sometimes, but not to harvest the actual organs I will end up using,’ Sam said bringing his attention back to the group in front of him. ‘As you know, it’s impossible to transfer someone on a ventilator. It’s easier for us to go to them once the family has come to the decision of turning off life support. We notify the recipient once the match has been made and then swing into
action. There’s a lot of co-ordination and co-operation between campuses.’

After a while the conversation drifted into other areas so Sam moved away from the bar to circulate some more. He had only taken a couple of strides when a cluster of people separated and he came face to face with Lexi.

There was an awkward silence.

‘Thanks for the shirt,’ Sam said gruffly. ‘But you shouldn’t have bothered.’

‘I underestimated the efficacy of my laundering abilities,’ she said. ‘No matter what I did, the coffee wouldn’t come out.’

‘You should’ve just sent it back to me,’ he said. ‘You didn’t need to buy such an expensive replacement.’

‘It wasn’t expensive. I got it in a half-price sale.’

Another tense little silence passed.

‘You know, if you don’t want to donate a cruise on your yacht, you don’t have to,’ Lexi said with a frosty look. ‘I have plenty of other people more than happy to donate items much better than yours.’

Sam felt his back come up. ‘I didn’t say I didn’t want to donate it.’

She rolled her eyes in disdain. ‘You weren’t exactly super-enthusiastic about it.’

Sam frowned at her. ‘What did you want me to do? Cartwheels of excitement down the corridor?’

‘I didn’t even know you had a yacht.’

He threw her a cutting glance. ‘Pardon me for the oversight,’ he said. ‘Would you like a list of the things I currently own?’

She glowered at him. ‘I’ll need to inspect it at some point,’ she said. ‘I can’t allow it to be used if it’s not suitable. I have to consider the public liability issue.’

‘Fine,’ Sam said. ‘Inspect it. I’m sure you’ll find it comes up to your impeccable standards.’

‘How many people can you fit on board?’ she asked.

‘I could push it to ten but eight’s probably the max for comfort.’

‘And what sort of lunch do you plan on offering?’ she asked, looking at him in that haughty manner of hers that seemed to suggest she thought he would think a sausage wrapped in a slice of bread and a can of beer would do the job.

Sam stared at her plump, shiny mouth. He couldn’t seem to drag his gaze away. She was wearing lip gloss again. He wondered if it was the same one she used to wear. ‘Strawberries …’

A tiny frown appeared between her ocean-blue eyes. ‘Just … strawberries?’ she asked.

Sam had to give himself another quick mental slap. ‘Champagne and caviar,’ he said. ‘You know the sort of deal. Good food, fine wines, gourmet food.’

‘I’ll look into it and get back to you,’ she said. ‘What’s your boat called?’

‘Whispering Waves,’
he said. ‘It was already named when I bought it.’

‘So it’s big enough to sleep on?’ she asked.

‘It sleeps six,’ he said, suddenly imagining her in the double bed beside him, rocking along with the waves. His body stirred as the blood began to thunder through his veins.

He had to stop this—right now.

‘I didn’t know you were into sailing,’ Lexi said. ‘You never mentioned it when we … you know …’

‘I’d never even been on a yacht before I went to the States,’ Sam said. ‘I got invited to crew for a friend over there. We did some races now and again. I really
enjoyed being out on the water so I decided to buy my own vessel. I had it shipped over before I came back.’

‘Do you intend to race over here?’ she asked.

‘I’m not really into the competitive side of things,’ he said. ‘I just enjoy the freedom of sailing. I like being out on the water. It’s a very different environment from a busy hospital.’

Lexi readjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder, her gaze drifting away from his. She was aware that people would wonder what they were talking about for so long. ‘I’d better let you get back to socialising.’

‘You can probably tell I hate these sorts of gatherings,’ Sam said. ‘I’m not one for inane chitchat.’

‘You just have to get people to talk about themselves,’ Lexi said. ‘Everybody will say what a great conversationalist you are, but really they’re the ones doing all the talking. Believe me, it never fails to impress.’

He tilted his mouth in a mocking smile. ‘Does that come from Lexi Lockheart’s
A Socialite’s Guide to Charming a Crowd
?’

Lexi gave him another wintry look. ‘It comes from years of experience talking to people with over-inflated egos,’ she said, shifting slightly to one side so one of the residents could make their way past juggling glasses of beer.

‘What’s going on between your sister and Finn Kennedy?’ Sam asked, before she could step any further away.

Lexi looked at him in surprise. ‘What? You’ve heard something too?’

‘Not as such,’ he said. ‘But you’ve only got to look at them together to see something’s going on. They’re like two snarling dogs circling each other.’

‘So you think that’s attraction?’

‘I didn’t say that,’ he said.

‘But you think it’s a sign.’

‘They either hate each other’s guts or they can’t wait to fall into bed with each other,’ he said.

‘So that’s your expert opinion?’ Lexi asked with a cynical look.

He took another sip of his drink before he answered. ‘You know what they say about hate and love and the two-sided-coin thing.’

‘I think he’s totally wrong for her,’ she said, frowning.

‘Why’s that?’

‘He’s emotionally locked down,’ she said emphatically. ‘He can’t give her what she wants.’

‘And you know exactly what she wants, do you?’

Lexi pushed her lips forward as she glanced at her oldest sister. Evie was glaring at Finn, her mouth tight, her eyes flashing as he leaned indolently against the bar with a mocking smile on his handsome face. Lexi frowned as she turned back to Sam. ‘I think she wants what every woman wants,’ she said. ‘She wants a man who loves her for who she is, someone who will protect her and support her but not crush her.’

His brows moved closer together over his eyes. ‘You think Finn would crush her?’

‘He’s got a strong personality,’ she said.

‘But so does Evie.’

‘You sound as if you know her personally.’

‘I don’t,’ he said. ‘I’ve only exchanged a few words with her, but I’ve heard she’s one of the best A and E doctors this hospital has ever seen. I’ve heard she’s ambitious but compassionate. Not unlike Finn.’

‘So you think they’d be a perfect match for each other?’ Lexi asked with an incredulous look.

He gave a noncommittal shrug. ‘I think they should be left to sort out their differences without the scrutiny or judgement of others,’ he said.

‘That won’t be easy in a place like SHH,’ Lexi said, chewing at her lip as she thought of what people would make of her and Sam talking at length. If it hadn’t been for his wretched shirt and his wretched yacht, she wouldn’t have had to speak to him at all.

‘Yes, like most hospitals, it’s a bit of a hotbed of gossip,’ he said. ‘I’m surprised people can find the time to work at their jobs when they’re so busy spreading rumours.’

‘I didn’t realise people would talk so much. I didn’t realise anyone would even remember that we …’ She grimaced. ‘I hope it’s not too embarrassing for you.’

‘It will blow over,’ Sam said. ‘But to tell you the truth, I’m not sure we could’ve been any more discreet back then. We kept pretty much to ourselves. I don’t think we left my flat for the first ten days. Perhaps if we hadn’t ventured out for that take-away meal at the end of our second week, our affair might have gone unnoticed.’

Lexi wondered if he had ever thought about that full-on time over the last five years, the burning-hot lust that had burned like a wildfire between them. The days and nights of passion that had only been interrupted by the necessities of existence—water, sustenance and the minimum of sleep. They had been in such perfect tune with each other physically. It hadn’t seemed to matter that they hadn’t really known each other. Their bodies had done the talking for them. Each kiss and caress, each stroke of his tongue and each stabbing thrust of his body had revealed to her the truly passionate man Sam was underneath that cool, clinical facade he presented
to the world. There was a streak of wildness in him that she suspected few people ever glimpsed. She wondered with a pang of jealousy if he had been like that with anyone else.

She looked into the contents of her glass again as the silence stretched and stretched. ‘I shouldn’t have lied to you about my age.’

‘I shouldn’t have believed you,’ he said. ‘You were too young for me, not just in years but in experience.’

Lexi brought her eyes back to his in surprise. ‘So you knew all along?’ she asked.

He frowned at her look. ‘Knew what?’

She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, her gaze slipping away from his. ‘Never mind,’ she said, wondering if it was her imagination or was every eye in the room on them right at that point? She glanced nervously over her shoulder but everyone was chatting amongst themselves, apart from her sister Evie who was giving her the eye: the older, wiser, big sister look that said,
Be careful
.

Sam glanced at her empty glass. ‘What are you drinking?’

‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘I can buy my own drinks.’

‘I’m sure you can, but I’m going to get myself a mineral water so in order to be polite I thought I’d ask if you would like a fresh drink.’

She let out a little breath. ‘I’m drinking lemon, lime and bitters.’

He hiked up one brow. ‘Nothing stronger?’

‘I like to keep my head together at things like this,’ she said. ‘No one likes to see a drunken woman making a fool of herself, be she young or old.’

Sam had heard on the hospital grapevine about Lexi’s mother’s issue with alcohol. It seemed the burden of taking
care of the chronically ill Bella for all those years had led Miranda Lockheart straight to the drinks cabinet. Gin had been her choice of anaesthesia. Sam had met many parents who had done exactly the same thing. He didn’t judge them for it. He felt sorry for them. Sorry that there weren’t enough supportive people in their life at that point of crisis to help them through without the crutch of other substances.

He brought their drinks back and handed Lexi hers. ‘Your sister hinted at the reaction your father had to our affair,’ he said. ‘She said he almost disowned you. And that it was a very bad time for you. Is that true?’

Lexi looked at her drink rather than meet his penetrating gaze. ‘I’d rather not talk about it.’

‘Your father was furious with me,’ Sam said after a moment of silence. ‘He threatened to derail my career. I knew he had the power and the contacts to do it. It wouldn’t have been the first time a trainee has been bumped off the training scheme. I decided to transfer my studies. The way I saw it, it was a case of leave or fail. I figured it was the only way to keep myself on track for qualifying. But I didn’t realise he had directed his anger at you too. That hardly seems fair when I had already taken responsibility for everything that had happened.’