‘I saw the picture of you two on the Royal Mile.’ Ah, the shot taken outside the Witchery, where my lips were pressed to Archie’s cheek.
Eagle eyes volley between us, seeking answers to a question she didn’t have to ask.
‘Don’t be so ridiculous,’ Ryan calls from across the room. ‘Archie’s a professional. Leave them alone, Sasha. Stop your meddling. You know the first rule of security is never get involved with the ward. Isn’t that right, Arch?’
‘Absolutely.’
Thank you, Ryan.
Not.
Whatever distance has been between Archie and me this week, it’s just doubled.
24
ARCHIE
‘I’ve been asked to speak at the hospital’s annual summer fundraiser at the Usher Hall next week,’ Victoria announces as we walk through the hospital corridors to her final shift on A&E. This place has become so familiar over the past few months, the smell of disinfectant and doom barely registers in my nostrils.
My arm brushes hers, sending shocks jolting through me. Even though Ryan and Sasha’s visit last week resurrected a lot of internal conflict, I can’t fight the feelings I have for my ward.
‘Probably not a good idea, given the police are no further forwards with catching the prowler. He could be out there still, waiting for an opportunity.’
‘To do what? Sniff my underwear in public?’ She rolls her eyes, extracting a hairband from her scrub pocket and tying those loose, bouncing curls into a secure knot on top of her head.
I arch my eyebrows. ‘The only reason I agreed not to tell Ryan and Sasha is because you agreed to keep a low profile and do as I recommend. Is your FOMO getting to you?’
‘No! Don’t be daft. It’s a work function to raise badly needed funds for the hospital. There’s no way I can turn it down. And I don’t want to. The hospital has given me so much over the last six years, I want to give something back before I go.’
I sidestep a couple of nurses speed walking past. ‘Can’t you buy a few raffle tickets instead?’
‘Come on, Archie. You know how important this is to me. The dean himself called me personally. I’m not going to turn it down. It’ll be full of doctors and surgeons. I’m pretty sure there’ll be no creepers there.’ She pauses, one hand hovering on the door to A&E.
Using my shoulder, I open the door for her and motion her to go ahead. ‘They’re the worst creeps from what I’ve seen.’
‘Huh. Thank you very much. I thought you liked my fetishes.’
‘Present company excluded, of course.’ I shoot her a wink. ‘Look, say a few words if you must, but I’ll need to be on that stage with you.’ The closer we get to the ward, the louder the noise buzzes around us.
‘Is that really necessary?’ Slim, neatly trimmed fingernails roam over her NHS ID badge pinned to the front of her scrub top.
‘Are you embarrassed to be seen with me in front of your doctor friends?’ It’s meant to be a joke, but somehow it comes out sounding serious. That deep-rooted sense of inadequacy rears its ugly head.
Her head whips up, pupils narrowing in on me. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous, Archie. You know me better than that.’
She’s right. I do.
She’s nothing like the rest of these toffs. She’s educatedandkind. She’d never dream of looking down her nose at anyone. I won’t miss them when we go back to Ireland. ‘Sorry.’
We haven’t been intimate in a few days and it’s affecting me. Something I’ll rectify tonight.
‘Look, I have to attend the fundraiser, anyway. Does it really make much difference if I’m in the crowd or on the stage?’
She has a point, I suppose.
‘Email me the details and I’ll scope out the venue.’ If it’s mostly hospital staff and their families and friends, it probably isn’t much more risky than her coming here most days, anyway.
‘Doctor Sexton,’ Doctor Dickson barks from a nearby cubicle. ‘Your shift started five minutes ago.’
