‘No.’ Her friend sighed resignedly. ‘I don’t. But I have a feeling you’re about to tell me.’
‘Yep.’ Em was on her bandwagon now, and there was no stopping her. ‘It’s one of two things. First, I could fall completely irrevocably in love, my passion would be returned in full by the wonderful Jonas, and I’d drop everything and follow the man of my dreams wherever he went.’
‘Not necessarily. He could stay here.’
‘Oh, come on, Lori. Do you seriously think a man like Jonas could ever be happy practising medicine in Bay Beach?’
‘Maybe not, but-’
‘Or, two,’ Em continued ruthlessly, ‘we could have a mad, passionate affair, then he leaves, I break my heart, and I sit around for the rest of my life like Miss Haversham in that Charles Dickens novel.’
‘What, surrounded by rats and wedding cake?’ Her friend eyed her dubiously. ‘Unlikely! Bernard would stir himself to eat the cake, and your patients would queue even if you were wearing your fifty-year-old wedding dress. Em, you don’t think you could be going overboard here?’
‘No.’ Em hardened her heart.
‘There is a third option,’ Lori suggested.
‘Which is?’
Robby had fallen asleep in Em’s arms. Lori lifted him out, tucked him into his cot and kissed him goodnight. Then she stood back and eyed her friend in concern.
‘You could just have fun,’ she told her. ‘You could just lighten up, have a fling and enjoy yourself. Heaven knows, you deserve it.’
‘I-’
‘The world won’t end if you have an affair,’ Lori said sternly. ‘And you might just have a very good time. Think about it. Now, go home. I’m sorry, love, but my Raymond’s coming to dinner and I need to cook. My time without too many kids in this house is precious, because I intend to have a love life, even if you don’t. Love lives are fun. Think about it.’
And with that she kissed her friend on the cheek and propelled her out the door.
Leaving Em thinking about it.
When she walked into the apartment, Jonas was there and, just like Lori, he was cooking dinner.
The sensation was so unexpected that it brought her up short. She stood in the doorway while the smell of steak filled her nostrils and the aura of his presence filled her senses.
‘Um…why are you here?’ she managed at last, and he threw her a grin over his shoulder.
‘I live here. It’s the doctors’ quarters,’ he told her, quite kindly. ‘The nurses showed me through. I’ve unpacked into one of the spare bedrooms, I’ve introduced myself to your doormat that calls itself a dog and I’m now thoroughly at home. And I’m cooking us both dinner.’ Then, at her look of bewilderment, his grin widened. ‘I had Lori ring me when you left the home so I knew when to put the steak on. I was starving!’
‘So Lori knew?’
‘Of course Lori knew,’ he told her. ‘Otherwise how could I have timed the steak?’
That much was unanswerable. Em thought a few unutterable thoughts about deceiving friends and fought to keep her composure. ‘You could have eaten without me.’
‘Why? You’re not vegetarian, are you?’ he asked, his face falling. And then the smile returned. ‘But, hey, Lori would have told me, and even if you are it’s no matter. I’m starving enough to eat two steaks by myself, and I have a heap of crispy herbed potatoes in the oven.’
‘Crispy potatoes…’ The aroma throughout the kitchen was wonderful. Almost unbelievable. She stalked suspiciously across the room to the oven and pulled the door wide, but it was just as Jonas had said. There they lay, masses of tiny potatoes, baked golden and mouth-watering, and smelling of rosemary and sage and something she couldn’t identify.
‘Didn’t you believe me?’ he asked, wounded, and she struggled to know how to answer him.
‘You can cook,’ she managed finally, and he lifted his brows in mock indignation.
‘Lady, I’m a surgeon. If I can repair a heart valve, I can follow a recipe.’
‘It doesn’t always follow,’ she muttered, thinking of men she’d known in the past.
‘Then welcome to the new order.’ He motioned to the table. There was a salad, already prepared, and a bottle of wine. ‘Sit.’
‘I don’t drink.’
‘Because you’re always on call?’ He’d guessed it. ‘But I’m on call tonight. So sit! And enjoy the novelty.’
So she sat while Jonas piled her plate high with steak and potatoes, and poured her a glass of wine and himself a soda water.
‘See?’ he said virtuously, sitting down himself. ‘I’m in an alcohol-free zone for the night, so you can drink all you want.’
‘I’d better not.’ No way. Two glasses of wine with this man before her-and his smile-and she’d not be responsible for her actions, she thought dazedly. All this and the man could cook?
But he was looking toward her dog, who hadn’t moved since she’d arrived. Well, why would he? He’d been fed today and there was an hour or so before he had to shift to her bedroom.
‘Does Bernard ever move?’ he asked, motioning over to where her big red dog lay sprawled under the kitchen sink. Waiting for something to drop. Only if it didn’t drop right on his lolling tongue, it’d be wasted. Some things weren’t worth burning calories for.
Em shook her head, smiling. ‘Does Bernard move? That’s like asking if a doormat moves.’
‘Oh, I see. You chose him for his scintillating conversation, then.’ Jonas grinned, his wide, lazy smile reaching up and lighting his eyes. ‘Great. I can see I’ll fit right in. A woman who demands a lot from her men…’
She blushed bright pink at that. Good grief! Get the conversation back to medicine, she told herself. That way was safest.
‘I…I thought you’d be spending the night with Anna.’
That put a damper on the conversation. Jonas’s face looked shuttered. ‘Maybe I should be,’ he told her. ‘But I’m not wanted.’
‘Is she OK?’
‘Yes.’ He bit into his steak and concentrated on his food, but Em knew it was just a ruse to get his thoughts into order. ‘She is,’ he said finally. ‘She’s under control. She’s home with her kids, packing and being as normal as possible, while she waits to go into hospital tomorrow.’
‘Are you happy to use Patrick?’ Em asked.
‘He’s an excellent surgeon,’ Jonas told her, still absently concentrating on his steak. ‘When I met him I realised I know him a bit. He’s older than me, but we trained in the same hospital. Yeah, I’m happy for Patrick to operate and, what’s more important, so is Anna.’
‘And he was reassuring?’
‘The margins all look clear. The lump itself is less than a centimetre across. He wants to do a lumpectomy and node clearance, but he’s pretty confident that nothing’s spread.’
‘And how does that make you feel?’ Em asked.
‘Better.’ He lifted a potato, examined it-then laid it down on his plate again. ‘No,’ he told her honestly. ‘It doesn’t. It makes me feel lousy-I feel so damned out of control.’
There was a long silence, broken only by Bernard’s inevitable snoring. They finished eating before either spoke again. Em knew that Jonas needed time to come to terms with today’s events. The last thing he needed was idle chatter.
So she finished eating, then cleared and stacked the dishwasher while he sat and stared at the table. And stared some more. But she found she didn’t mind the silence. She and Grandpa had never needed to make small talk, and somehow, with Jonas, it felt the same.
Like all the little stuff had already been said…
‘Thank you for making dinner,’ she said at last, the kitchen cleared and the evening closing in on them. She was bone weary, and he still needed space. She touched his shoulder lightly as she passed. ‘Bernard and I are going to bed. Is there anything else you need?’
He looked blindly up at her. ‘No.’
‘It’ll be fine,’ she told him. And then she looked across at the phone. ‘Ring Anna.’