Resisting the New Doc In Town Read online

  ‘True, but at least Richard’s only here for four weeks. Then he moves on to the next port of call for his travelling fellowship.’ Mackenzie closed the set of case notes and checked her watch, the wedding ring on her left hand gleaming brightly. Married only three months, Bergan had never seen her friend this happy. ‘And speaking of moving on, I’m due to start my orthopaedic clinic in exactly three minutes so I’d best get my butt upstairs.’

  ‘Especially before your husband starts calling you to find out where you are,’ Bergan added, a small smile on her lips.

  Mackenzie shrugged one shoulder, her own smile incredibly bright and happy. ‘It’s not so bad being married to the boss.’ She winked at Bergan and turned to walk out the nurses’ station when a loud commotion came from the front doors leading into the A and E department. Together, Bergan and Mackenzie stared as a tall man came bursting through the doors, trying to shove his arms into a white coat, holding the tube of his stethoscope in his mouth as he narrowly avoided a barouche coming the opposite way.

  ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, finally shoving his arm into the right sleeve and shrugging the coat onto his broad shoulders. Next, he looped the stethoscope around his shoulders, fixed his shirt collar and straightened his striped tie. He paused for a split second, taking in his surroundings, before heading with purposeful strides towards the nurses’ station.

  It wasn’t until he was three steps away from where Bergan stood that he saw her. He stopped stock still and openly gaped, his eyebrows raised in astonishment. ‘It’s you!’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ she retorted, glaring at him with impatience. ‘Of course it’s me, Dr Allington.’

  He blinked one long blink, then stared at her in disbelief. ‘You know who I am?’

  Bergan shot Mackenzie a look as if to say, ‘can you believe this guy?’ Mackenzie instantly smiled before holding out her hand.

  ‘Hi. I’m Mackenzie. I live in number two.’ She briefly shook hands with him before jerking her thumb over her shoulder. ‘Bergan’s in number four and while I’d love to hang around and chat, I’m late for clinic. Look forward to catching up with you later, Richard.’ And with that, Mackenzie headed off towards the orthopaedic department, leaving Bergan and Richard just standing there, staring at each other.

  ‘What did she mean?’ Completely puzzled, Richard eventually found his voice, desperately trying to clear his still jet-lagged mind in order to try and make some sense of what was happening. ‘You live in number four?’

  Bergan rolled her eyes and clenched her jaw, not wanting to have this discussion in the middle of the nurses’ station where she knew several of the staff were sneaking interested glances their way. She couldn’t blame them. Richard Allington had arrived at Sunshine General Hospital’s A and E department with a crash, boom, bang. Add to that the fact that he was extremely good looking with his tall, dark and handsome stature and eyes of the bluest blue, and she could well imagine why the female staff were willing to stand around ogling their new colleague instead of tending to their duties.

  She also had no idea why she’d mentally catalogued his features. Usually, she thought of her colleagues in terms of their abilities rather than their looks, but as she continued to stare at Richard for another moment, recalling the photographs she’d seen of him hanging on the walls at his parents’ place, she realised those pictures hadn’t done justice to those incredible eyes of his. Was he wearing contacts? Was that why they were so perfectly blue?

  She gave her head a little shake, desperate to clear it of such thoughts. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d stood and stared at a man like this, feeling a flurry of excitement churning in her belly. He was a colleague, for heaven’s sake! How could she be so unprofessional? Forcing herself to look away, she cleared her throat and made sure her tone was crisp and impersonal. ‘Dr Allington. If you’d be so kind as to step into my office, we’ll tidy up the remaining paperwork so you can legally start your first shift.’

  The words had been polite enough, but they’d been said through gritted teeth and as Bergan stalked out of the nurses’ station, an intrigued Richard followed closely behind. How was it possible that the one woman he’d noticed at the Moon Lantern festival, that one woman out of hundreds of thousands of people, was now leading him down a small corridor in the A and E department towards her office?

  He’d even dreamed of her last night, dreamed he was back at the festival and that after she’d finished talking to her teenage charge, she’d lifted her gaze to meet his once more and had smiled sweetly at him. He’d returned her smile and, after a long moment, she’d quickly excused herself from the throng of teenagers and made her way over to where he was standing, looking as though she had every intention of striking up a conversation.

  ‘You handled that very well,’ he’d complimented her. ‘Very diplomatic.’

  ‘Thanks. Listen, I have a…thing to do,’ she’d said, jerking a perfectly manicured thumb over her shoulder towards the group of teens waiting to take part in the festival. ‘But afterwards how about we meet up right back here and, well…?’ She’d shrugged a perfectly elegant shoulder and then smiled a perfectly suggestive smile at him. ‘Have a cup of coffee or something?’

  Richard shook his head, bringing his thoughts back to the present. The dream had been nothing more than a dream. This was reality, and Bergan had stopped in front of an office door. The problem was that he’d been so caught up in his reverie that he’d almost collided with her. He stopped short and quickly took a step back, just as she glanced at him over her shoulder and gave him a perfectly annoyed look. Shaking her head, she used the pass card hanging around her neck on a hospital lanyard to unlock the door, then headed inside the brightly lit office.

  As Richard entered the room, he read the name plate: ‘Bergan Moncrief. Director’.

  ‘Bergan Moncrief?’ He spoke out loud. ‘That’s your name?’

  She walked behind her desk and waved a hand towards the door. ‘That’s what it says. Why? Who did you think I was?’ She waited for him to speak, but when he didn’t say anything immediately, she spread her hands wide. ‘Didn’t it state my name on your paperwork? I’m not really sure how your travelling fellowship works, but I would have thought you at least have a contact person at each different hospital. Right?’

  ‘Bergan Moncrief.’ He stated her name again, the penny finally starting to drop. He had heard that name before and it had been his mother who had mentioned it. Bergan Moncrief. Yes. He remembered now. ‘You live next door to my paren—’ He stopped and nodded as realisation dawned. ‘So that’s what Mackenzie meant. She’s at number two, you’re at number four and my parents live at number three.’

  It was Bergan’s turn to show her puzzlement. ‘I thought your mother told you.’

  ‘Told me what?’

  ‘That you’d be working with me here at the hospital.’ She spread her hands wide, her smile polite, official. ‘She certainly mentioned it to me, on more than one occasion, and asked me to make you feel welcome. So…I guess…welcome.’

  ‘I do remember her saying something about knowing some of the people I’d be working with, but she told me that before my fellowship started, which was almost a year ago.’ Richard came farther into the room and dropped comfortably into the chair opposite her desk, glad to finally be on the same page as the beautiful Bergan. ‘I’m still rather jet-lagged. Even after all the travelling I’ve done, and even though I try to sleep on the planes and keep myself hydrated and all the other things you’re supposed to do to combat jet lag, they haven’t worked.’

  He watched as Bergan slowly lowered herself into her chair, back still straight, mind on alert, as though she didn’t trust him one little bit. And why should she? They knew next to nothing about each other, and yet Richard couldn’t help but feel that the brief glance they’d shared at the festival had penetrated them both deeper than they’d like to admit.

  ‘I hope that’s not going to interfere with your work today.�
�� Her words were brisk. ‘You’ve already turned up late.’

  ‘I’d like to apologise for that. For some reason, my alarm didn’t go off or else I slept right through it.’ He scratched his head, as though completely baffled by the situation. There was a small, lopsided smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and as he held her gaze, she once more found herself staring into his gorgeous eyes. He was cute. That wasn’t up for debate, but her reaction to him was, and once more she had to force herself to look away.

  ‘Hmm.’ Bergan continued to frown as she shuffled some papers around on her desk until she found the manila folder she was looking for. She sounded completely uninterested in what he was saying. Richard wasn’t sure whether to be happy she wasn’t going to belabour the point or sad because she’d dismissed his explanation so easily. He didn’t know why he wanted more of her attention. For some reason, this woman intrigued him and right now he wanted to see the same smile on her lips as she’d had last night at the lantern festival.

  ‘Not only did I sleep through my alarm,’ he continued, while she prepared the papers in front of her, ‘but I was plagued last night with some very noisy neighbours, chatting not too far from my open bedroom window at some ridiculous hour.’ There was a teasing note in his tone, but instead of getting her to smile, he watched as she glared at him, bristling with annoyance.

  ‘It wasn’t that late. And as I saw you at the festival, you can’t possibly have been in bed all that long by the time we arrived home. And, yes, we probably shouldn’t have chatted so loudly, but Ruthie was excited as she’s never been to a Moon Lantern festival before and—’

  ‘Whoa. Whoa.’ He held up his hands in a defensive manner, chuckling lightly. ‘I was only teasing.’

  Bergan closed her open mouth and frowned, desperate to ignore the glorious sound of his deep laughter, which had momentarily filled her office. The only way she knew how to deal with this situation was to be blunt with him. Perhaps, once he knew where she stood, they could begin their professional relationship and put an end to his silly teasing.

  ‘Then don’t. I think I should let you know right from the start that I don’t particularly like mixing business with pleasure. In other words, I don’t like the people I work with on a daily basis knowing too much about my private life. I am the director of a very busy department and as such demand a certain level of respect from my colleagues and staff. The fact that you are my neighbour means I’ll be asking you to respect those boundaries. If we happen to see each other around the cul-de-sac, that’s one thing, but I will not have you chatting or gossiping about my private life with anyone here at the hospital. Is that clear?’

  ‘Crystal.’ He nodded then paused, a thoughtful look on his face, but when he spoke, that same teasing note was still evident in his tone. ‘What about Mackenzie? She’s your neighbour and now she’s my neighbour, so am I allowed to discuss cul-de-sac goings-on with her within hospital grounds?’

  Bergan sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. ‘Does your mother know how annoying you can be? Because she never said anything about it to me.’

  Where she’d intended her words to be a bit of chastisement, to help bring him back into line, she was surprised when Richard stared at her for a split second before throwing his head back and laughing. The warm, rich sound washed over her like a comforting memory and Bergan was slightly confused to how she could be both annoyed and attracted to him at the same time.

  There was no denying he was a good-looking man. The phrase tall, dark and handsome fit Richard Allington to perfection, but she’d never been the type of person to judge someone simply on looks. His relaxed, teasing demeanour, on the other hand, was certainly reason enough for her to remember to keep a professional distance from him at all times.

  ‘I’m fairly sure Mum knows. So do my sisters. That’s what big brothers do, they annoy their sisters.’

  Forcing herself to look away from his dazzling blue eyes, especially as they were twinkling with mirth, Bergan decided it was better not to give him any more reasons to tease her and pushed the manila folder towards him, along with a pen.

  ‘Well, as I am not your sister, would you kindly refrain and concentrate on your job? Now, if you would read these documents and sign them, I can issue you with your pass card. Then you’ll need to head down to Personnel to have your photograph taken for your identification badge. Once that’s done, report back to me and we’ll sign the last lot of papers. Then you’ll be all cleared to work at Sunshine General for the next four weeks of your travelling fellowship.’

  ‘You say those words with such disdain.’ Richard leaned forward in his chair, that infuriating smile still in place. ‘You don’t want me here, do you?’ he asked.

  ‘What I want, Dr Allington—’

  ‘Richard, please,’ he interrupted. ‘After all, we are neighbours.’

  Bergan gritted her teeth. Had he heard nothing of what she’d said? Was he intent on thwarting her by not adhering to her wishes to keep her professional and private lives separate?

  ‘As I was saying, Richard,’ she replied pointedly, ‘what I want is to keep my department functioning as smoothly and as efficiently as it always has. Whether you’re going to be a help or a hindrance is yet to be seen, and with the way you all but burst through the front doors this morning, and have hardly been serious since your arrival, I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter.’

  Richard chuckled at her words as he took the folder and started scanning the pages. ‘Fair point. Looks as though I’ll have my work cut out for me in changing your mind.’

  She hoped he wouldn’t, but instead of prolonging the conversation, Bergan nodded towards the documents he was holding, clearly wanting to be done with this interview. When the phone on her desk shrilled to life, she picked it up instantly. ‘Dr Moncrief.’ She listened for a moment before saying, ‘I’ll be right there,’ and returning the receiver to its cradle.

  ‘Problem?’ Richard asked as he finished signing the documents, watching as Bergan rose from her chair with poise and grace. She flicked the long auburn braid from her shoulder and lifted her chin just a touch. The action caused something to tighten deep within his gut and Richard couldn’t help but accept the fact that he was indeed attracted to this woman who appeared to want as little to do with him as possible.

  ‘Multiple MVA.’

  ‘Ambulance ETA?’

  ‘Five minutes.’

  ‘Right.’ He quickly rose to his feet, his entire demeanour changing so quickly that Bergan was momentarily stunned. ‘Let’s go, then.’ Within two of his long strides he was at her door and holding it open for her to precede him.

  ‘But the paperwork—’ She came round her desk. She’d hoped to send him off to Personnel while she went to deal with the emergency, but with the way he’d changed from being all teasing and jovial to the stern medical professional now standing by her open door, she wasn’t sure how to react.

  ‘The important forms have all been signed, so the hospital’s public liability and my personal insurance are all in order.’ He followed her out of her office and checked the door was locked behind them, before heading down the corridor. ‘How would you like to handle this? You take trauma room one and I’ll take trauma room two, or would you prefer to assess my capabilities and confirm I really do have the extensive qualifications listed on my curriculum vitae?’

  As they re-entered the bustling accident and emergency department, they found a hive of activity. Nurses, registrars and interns were all ensuring stock and treatment rooms were ready and waiting for when the first lot of patients started arriving.

  ‘Bergan?’

  She glanced up at Richard, who was clearly waiting for her response. She had read his CV and his qualifications were indeed extensive, more so than her own. Initially she had planned to monitor him, to reassure herself of his abilities, but now, with no other qualified A and E consultants presently on the floor, it would be beneficial to have him running one trauma room whi
le she ran the other. Trust. That’s what it came down to and Bergan was not the type of woman to trust easily. Not at all.

  ‘I’m happy either way,’ he said, prompting her a little. ‘It’s your call.’

  The sound of ambulance sirens was drawing nearer, almost at the hospital gates, and some of the staff were heading out to meet the ambulances. She glanced around at the registrars on duty, the experienced nurses, and knew that a wise director would use the resources presently available to her.

  Swallowing, she returned her gaze to meet Richard’s and nodded. ‘As you said, I’ll take trauma room one, you take trauma room two.’

  ‘Thanks for the trust.’ He nodded, a small, knowing smile touching his lips as though he’d enjoyed watching her thought processes at work. ‘See you on the other side.’ And with that he spun on his heel and headed off in the direction of trauma room two, but not before turning to look at her over his shoulder and giving her a cheeky wink.

  It was the wink that did it. Bergan had been fine until then, holding herself under control in the presence of the man who not only riled her but also had the ability to set her entire body tingling with one of his infuriating smiles and warm laughter. The cheeky wink was worse, as she felt her knees weaken, her mouth go dry and her head spin. Why would such a handsome, intelligent man choose her to flirt with? And at such a moment as this! She reached out a hand towards the wall in an effort to steady herself, hating the feeling of being so unbalanced.

  When she’d seen him at the Moon Lantern festival, she’d instantly recognised him from the family photographs his mother, Helen, had on display around on the walls of her home. Bergan had been surprised, first, at just how tall he was in the flesh and, second, that from one brief, momentary glance she’d been hit with the same sensations she was experiencing now.

  Never before had a man been able to make her almost swoon with just a look, or a smile, or a wink. No one…except, it appeared, Richard Allington. And the most annoying thing was that he’d done it twice.