‘Why not? She must be an amazing woman.’
‘I guess. I mean, don’t get me wrong—she’s famous for a reason and she’s a brilliant businesswoman. We’re just complete opposites in nearly every way.’
‘Most siblings are. I mean, my girls all have different personalities and fight constantly—still,’ she added dryly. ‘But I know they’d be there in a heartbeat for each other if they were ever needed.’
‘You’ve brought them up right, then.’
Jenny shrugged. ‘I’m probably just lucky I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with them when they were little, before I started nursing.’
‘You love what you do,’ he said and it was more a statement than a question.
‘I do.’
‘Did you always want to be a nurse?’
‘No. Not at all, actually. I kind of fell into my profession. But now I can’t imagine ever doing anything else.’ The fact he wanted to talk about her job filled her with an unexpected warmth. So far she hadn’t met any men, including her ex-husband, who’d shown the slightest bit of interest.
‘You’re good at what you do. I saw how you were with Dylan—working under stress. You were calm and able to keep everyone else around you focused on the job. That’s leadership. You’re a natural.’
His words surprised her. She’d never thought of herself as a leader—sure, at work, she was often the one who took the lead in situations but that was because she was usually the only one there and because she had to think outside the box to get things done thanks to the limited staffing and facilities.However, she wasn’t sure she could think of a single situation before nursing where she’d been a natural leader. ‘I’ve been lucky that I’ve had some great training along the way and the job tends to throw situations at you unexpectedly, so you have to sink or swim. I do a remote clinic once a month and I soon found out that thinking on your feet was just something you have to do when there’s people looking to you for help.’
‘Sounds a bit daunting.’
‘It was at first,’ she agreed, ‘but at the end of the day, it’s the best feeling to help people and they really appreciate it, you know? I’ve got colleagues who work in the busy inner-city EDs, dealing with some of the worst of humanity, and I feel sorry for them. They go home at the end of a shift deflated and burned out,’ she said, looking at him earnestly. ‘I keep telling them, come out here or do a stint somewhere remote—find your worth again. But it’s so hard to get doctors and nurses out to places like this and further. Even coastal rural towns struggle to get any medical staff—and they have the beach,’ she said incredulously. ‘No one wants to leave the cities.’
‘I certainly see the potential,’ he said, before tugging her close. ‘And not just for the location.’
It was almost embarrassing how easy it was for him to reduce her to putty in his hands. Not that she was complaining. However, she did decide to see if her natural leadership transferred to out-of-hours things. She pulled away, tugging him towards the bed.
Maybe she did have hidden talents after all, she thought as his low groan of appreciation told her he was happy for her to lead the way.
‘Not that I’m complaining about the fact you seem to be making it a habit of creeping into my bedroom after hours, or anything,’ Nick said, running his palm up her arm as they lay in bed a couple of weeks later, ‘but aren’t you getting tired of all the late nights and early starts?’
‘You don’t finish work until late,’ she said, and Nick felt a stab of male pride at the fact her voice sounded so lazily satisfied.
‘Yeah, I know, but I could come to your place after work so you didn’t have to wait up and drive over.’
‘That won’t work,’ she murmured sleepily.
‘Why?’
‘Because of the kids,’ she said, sounding a little more awake now.
‘They’re all adults, Jen. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have an issue with their mother having her boyfriend sleep over.’
‘They mightn’t, but I do.’
‘Really?’
He lifted his hand as she turned over to look up at him. ‘This is still all too new,’ she said, holding his eyes steadily. ‘I’m not ready to make it … official yet.’
‘But your kids know we’ve been seeing each other?’ he asked slowly.
When she didn’t answer immediately, he felt his frown deepen.
‘Not since the first date, I haven’t mentioned it, no.’
‘Why not?’
