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      CHAPTER ONE

      AFTER today, it would only get easier.

      Reminding herself for the umpteenth time, Rachael painted on a smile and took a deep breath before entering the office.

      ‘Don’t tell me you’re the R. Holroyd rostered on for this afternoon?’ The beaming face of Helen Wells was as familiar as it was welcome.

      ‘The very same.’ Rachael cleared her throat as she dropped her bag to the floor and rummaged on the desk for a handover sheet. ‘Didn’t Admin tell you I was starting back this afternoon?’

      ‘When did Admin ever tell us anything? It just never clicked, what with the name change and everything. Had they said an R. Carlton was coming back we’d have splashed out on a cheesecake!’ Jumping down off her desk, Helen crossed the room and embraced Rachael in a huge bear hug. ‘It’s so good to see you, Rachael.’

      ‘It’s good to see you, too,’ Rachael answered truthfully. Helen Wells wasn’t only an efficient charge nurse who ran the ward like clockwork, she was a kind woman who looked after her staff and was also a close friend.

      Or would have been a close friend if only Rachael had let her.

      ‘Are you on a late shift?’

      Helen nodded. ‘I’m doing a double shift, so I’ve been here all morning as well. We’re as short staffed as ever, so it’s great to see you. But not just for that,’ she added quickly. ‘We’ve all missed you. How are you doing?’

      Rachael glanced around the office, smiling at the unsure faces that greeted her. A couple of her colleagues smiled back briefly before pretending to examine their notes, others just downright stared. ‘Fine,’ she replied in a voice that was just a touch too loud and a touch too bright. ‘Although I might revise my opinion once I’ve heard the night shift’s handover. It looks as busy as ever out there.’

      ‘It certainly is, and if Hugh here would stop tapping away on the computer and let me at the desk, we might be able to get started with handover.’

      It was the first time Rachael had even noticed the doctor sitting at the desk, but she had been too busy concentrating on getting this first awkward greeting out of the way. Still, as he stood up, Rachael soon realised he wasn’t the type of man that would usually go unnoticed, unless you lived in Sweden, of course. There, no doubt, six-foot-five blonds with green eyes and clear complexions were falling from the rafters, or yodelling their way down the mountains in droves, or whatever it was gorgeous Swedes did, but here in an inner-city Melbourne hospital they cut quite a dash.

      Not, of course, that Rachael was remotely interested, it was a mere statement of fact.

      Nothing else.

      ‘Are you ladies waiting for me? I didn’t realise.’

      ‘No doubt you’re only too used to keeping the ladies waiting,’ Helen said in a teasing voice.

      ‘I happen to treat the ladies very well,’ he said with a slow smile in a deep, rich voice with not a trace of a Swedish accent, which discounted that theory. ‘At least, I’ve never had any complaints.’

      ‘Well, you wouldn’t, would you?’ Helen said matter-of-factly. ‘One flash of that smile and you’d be forgiven anything. Hugh Connell here is our consultant plastic surgeon and resident heartthrob.’

      Definitely nothing else, Rachael decided as she blushed slightly under his scrutiny. The tiny mole on her cheek took on gigantic proportions in her mind, and she automatically assumed that this dashing plastic surgeon was measuring her up for a new nose as he offered his hand.

      ‘And this is Rachael Holroyd, formerly Carlton, one of our nursing sisters. Rachael’s back with us after a year away.’

      ‘Pleased to meet you,’ Rachael smiled accepting his hand.

      ‘Newly married?’ His eyes were smiling, his question utterly merited, given the snippet of information Helen had so readily parted with, but the gentle pre-handover murmur that had filled the office stilled, the silence broken only by a couple of nervous coughs as Rachael stood there, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

      ‘Newly divorced, actually.’ In an attempt to sound casual her voice came out too loud, too joky, and as she took her hand away she noticed a flicker of embarrassment flash over Hugh’s face as Rachael’s own colour deepened. ‘And loving every minute,’ she added, but her attempt to inject some humour into the embarrassing exchange only served to increase the awkwardness.

      It was Hugh that gave a slightly embarrassed cough this time. ‘Glad to hear it,’ he said, flashing a quick on-off smile which went nowhere near his eyes. With a brief nod he picked up his stethoscope and pager as Rachael sat down, her cheeks burning, trying and failing to focus on the handover sheet in front of her, aware she had made a total fool of herself.

      Again.

      It was an all too common occurrence these days, almost as if she didn’t know how to react to people any more. Even the most basic of polite exchanges seemed to end in awkward blushes and not for the first time Rachael questioned the wisdom