‘Theatre,’ I blurted. ‘Taking a message to theatre.’
He looked me up and down. ‘You’re not in uniform.’
‘No,’ I said. ‘Neither are you.’
He wasn’t wearing his porter’s coat and he didn’t have his trolley or a wheelchair or a patient.
Jackson straightened up to his full height and with a slight desperation I found myself trying to work out if I could duck past him and carry on down the corridor. But he was quite a large man, and I didn’t want to squeeze alongside him. There was a brief pause and then slowly, he stepped aside.
‘Have a good shift,’ he said. ‘Don’t work too hard.’
I hurried past him then stopped as he added: ‘You must be exhausted. All these extra hours you’re putting in.’
What did he mean by that? Extra hours? Did he know I’d been at the hospital all afternoon?
I didn’t want to ask so instead I just walked away, feeling his eyes on me the whole time.
Chapter 29
Stephanie
Present day
‘Oh my days,’ Micah said, helping himself to a bowl of my Coco Pops. ‘You asked him on a date.’
‘Not a date as such, I just asked him to meet me.’
‘For a date?’
‘Do your parents not feed you?’ I said, snatching the cereal box away from him before he finished the whole thing.
‘Not enough.’ He grinned at me then started shovelling Coco Pops into his mouth. ‘So what did he say?’
‘Who?’
‘Finn. What did he say when you asked him on a date?’
‘I didn’t ask him.’
Micah looked at me over the top of his spoon, milk dripping on to the floor.
‘None of this is making sense.’
‘Please wipe that up,’ I said. ‘It makes sense to me and that’s what’s important because I’m the one going.’
‘On the date.’
I laughed despite myself. ‘Yes, on the date. Now can you please leave me alone and let me get ready?’
Micah put his empty bowl into the sink. ‘What are you going to wear?’
‘Are you seriously asking me that?’
He fixed me with a steely glare. ‘Do you want my help or not?’
‘Not, actually.’
‘Fine. Wear that blue sparkly thing.’
