One Night, Twin Consequences. Annie O'Neil
was back in action!
Harriet chanced a glance up at Dr. Bailey. Yes. He was still patiently waiting for her to answer.
“You know public speaking isn’t really my forte.” And that was putting it mildly.
“Since when have you backed away from a challenge?” her boss riposted.
“Since always if it involves public speaking!”
“Most people would kill to be the opening act for Dr. Torres.”
Harriet kept her lips tightly clenched to hold in a spontaneous sigh. Swoon! Dr. Matteo Torres—the unwitting man of her dreams.
“Harriet...” Dr. Bailey narrowed his eyes. “Has Dr. Torres done something to offend you during his stay here?”
“Uh...no?” Apart from being drop-dead gorgeous, intelligent, a leader in his field and so far out of her league she couldn’t see straight. Not that she’d talked to him or anything. Tactical avoidance had been her approach and it had worked just fine during his fortnight of “observation” at St. Nick’s. His presence hadn’t just made her feel jittery. It made her... Oh, blimey...it made her lusty.
Along with ever other red-blooded female in a mile or so’s range of the man.
Smokin’ hot. Burn the tips of your fingers hot with extra hotness.
And she never said that about anyone. She wasn’t trendy enough. By a long shot.
Just catching a glimpse of the man made her feel giddy!
No!
Distracting. Off-putting. Non-essential. Which was why she’d been playing her very own, proactive game of hide-and-don’t-seek whenever he was within a ward’s reach. If she didn’t see or speak to Dr. Torres, she wouldn’t go all rubber-kneed and act like an idiot. That was her plan anyway and she was sticking with it.
“Matteo is particularly interested in hearing your talk.”
“You mean your talk.” She grabbed hold of the counter edge and feigned a little finger drumming along the worn Formica. Nope! No rubber knees here!
“Harriet...there’s no need to be modest. It’s a chance to shine for our guest!”
“If he’s into muttering and stuttering, sure. No problem,” she grumbled. Fat chance she’d be able to form a sentence, let alone an entire speech in front of the Latin Lothario, as he was now referenced in the tearoom. Not terribly original, but everyone knew who they were talking about. It wasn’t like the corridors of St. Nick’s were overridden with gorgeous, swarthy obstetricians.
“Harriet.” Dr. Bailey put on his stentorian tone. The “dad voice” as she liked to think of it. “This is a chance for you to present your work to the world’s largest collection of pediatric elite. People who work with orphaned children all the time. What you’ve proved here at St. Nick’s, and elsewhere, is groundbreaking and could change how wards of the state are treated around the world. Don’t you want that for yourself?”
“No!”
Dr. Bailey’s expression crumpled to one of pure dismay.
Oops. Wrong answer.
“But I do want it for St. Nick’s.” A smile lit up her face when an idea hit her. “Hey! What if we have my sister do it by remote video link? She’s a gifted speaker and no one would know the difference!”
“Harriet Monticello.” Dr. Bailey lost his battle with hiding his exasperation. “You’re not an identical twin. What I recall from her odd visit here is that the only thing you two have in common is a surname.”
Just because she was a homebody and her sister was exotically thrilling didn’t make them all that different!
“Love, you’ve got this.” He gave her arm a reassuring pat. “There is nothing to be intimidated by. I know you prefer being ‘the girl behind the screen’ but it’s time to get you out there. Put yourself in the limelight.”
“Dr. Bailey, you’re really the public speaker for the department. I’m not sure the Child Care Symposium is really the place—”
“Tush and nonsense!” Her boss cut in. “You’re more than capable of delivering the lecture. Apart from which, my wife won’t hear of my doing it as it’s our anniversary tonight and...I may have accidentally forgotten last year’s so you’d be doing me quite a favor. I’m officially in the doghouse until she has a glass of champagne in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other.” His voice shifted back to the confident tone that had won him the trust of countless colleagues and patients. “You’re every bit as qualified as I am to give the lecture, Harriet. It was your research that got us the invitation to speak for the CCS in the first place. You should take the credit...” He leaned in for added emphasis. “For once.”
Harriet waved away his kind words. “You’re the one who gave me the time to do the research.”
“And you’re the one who connected the dots about the impact of staffing rotas on the children. Take some credit where credit is due! Don’t you think it’s time to stop hiding behind your sister’s shadow?”
“My sister has a very nice shadow, thank you very much,” Harriet replied primly, slightly abashed he’d seen through her. Again.
“It’s a fascinating topic and many orphanages could benefit. One I know a lot of health professionals will be keen to hear. Including...” Harriet watched the older doctor’s eyes scan the ward as if he’d misplaced something. Or, rather, someone.
Their eyes simultaneously lit on the man who’d just set the swinging double doors at the end of the ward in motion as if cued to make a dramatic entrance.
He was tall, ebony-haired and had an easygoing grace about him. Not movie-star-ish. More...cowboy...or fighter pilot. Not a drop of vanity about him. But, sweet cherry pies, did that man ever exude confidence. Hair long enough to see it had a sexy wavy thing going on. Was that a bit of a five o’clock shadow? And...mmm...he didn’t just wear clothes, he showed them off. Or did they show him off? Either way, the effect...oh, the effect! Trousers just skimming along his trim hipline. Long legs you could take a zip line ride on if you were into that sort of thing. Shoulders filling out his open-at-the-neck shirt. Not too much. But enough to know that if he lifted a child in his arms there would be some biceps action. Not that she’d imagined him doing that or anything.
Maybe once or twice?
The first time she had seen him—ensuring, of course, she’d been safely tucked behind the curtained confines of a patient’s cubicle—her eyes had nearly popped out of her head. Pretty much each time she’d seen him after that? No change.
Raw, unadulterated lust.
There was no other description for it. She had the hots for this man and hiding each time she saw him coming had been her only salvation. Not that she was five or anything. She was just acutely tuned into the child within. It helped with her work. Besides, behaving like a grown-up was highly overrated. Particularly if survival was a factor.
For her entire life, Harriet had been “the sensible twin”, the “shy twin”, the “wallflower twin” and for about as long as she could remember she’d always happily agreed. Her twin sister, Claudia—pronounced like a beautiful, fluffy cloud versus a gray, dull clod—was about as vivacious, gorgeous, gutsy and go-get-’em as a girl could get... And Harriet? Polar opposites was a pretty good starting place.
As the doors phwapped shut, a surge of energy shot through her so powerfully there was no doubt she would always remember this instant in time. Another daydream to tuck away for the years ahead when Dr. Torres was safely back in his homeland.
The dozen or so patients between them faded into soft focus, their chatter and laughter muted by the thump of her heartbeat ascending to her ears. Everything slowed down, sensations quadrupled and her very breath caught in her throat then released in a sigh as her gaze linked with