Evie's Bombshell - By Amy Andrews Page 0,23

hands and started walking again towards the lifts.

‘You don’t have to work here,’ she called after his back. What was the point if he just came to resent her more? ‘You could do this anywhere. You could walk into any hospital in this country and name your price.’

It was a startling reality for her but Evie knew that a man like Finn had to operate. Even if it meant doing it somewhere else. Didn’t they say if you loved someone you had to set them free?

Finn turned again. He knew that. He’d done nothing but turn the conundrum over and over in his brain for the last half an hour. He’d trawled through his many options but had discarded each one. Partly because Sydney Harbour Hospital had the best cardiothoracic department in the country, partly because Evie was here and he just didn’t seem to be able to stay away, but mostly because it felt like home. It was the longest he’d ever stayed anywhere and deep down Finn was still an eight-year-old boy desperate for the stability of the familiar.

‘I only work at the best,’ he said impatiently, knowing it was only a half-truth and feeling like a coward as she looked at him with her clear hazel gaze. ‘Sydney Harbour Hospital is the best.’

He marched to the lift and pushed the button. She followed. The empty lift arrived promptly. He got on.

She followed.

And because he was angry that she was still right beside him and that she was always going to be around as long as he was here, smoothing away at his edges and his resistance like bloody Chinese water torture, he lashed out at the first thing that entered his head.

‘I didn’t realise you and Marco D’Avello were such pals.’

Evie frowned at the slight accusation in his voice, nervous that he might connect the dots. ‘I’m sorry?’

‘You need to be careful. You know how easily gossip starts in a place like this.’

Evie blinked as his implication became clear. Clearly no dots to worry about! ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she spluttered.

Finn held up a hand in surrender. ‘I really don’t care what you do, Evie, or who you do it with,’ he lied, ‘but maybe you might like to consider his wife and their newborn baby and how gossip might affect them.’

Evie was momentarily speechless. Which turned to outrage pretty quickly. She wasn’t sure if it was because of what he was suggesting or the fact that he really didn’t seem to give a fig if it was the truth or not.

That she might actually be sleeping with Marco D’Avello.

Who was married!

The lift pinged as they arrived on the third floor and the doors opened. ‘Is that what you think?’ she asked as he walked out. She stepped out too just as two nurses appeared, grabbing the lift as the doors started to shut. ‘That Marco and I are … having some kind of affair?’ she hissed as the doors shut behind them.

Finn sighed at the injury in her voice and quashed the little niggle of irritation that had pecked at his brain since he’d witnessed the canteen hand squeeze. ‘Of course not, Evie. But in this place, where gossip is a second language, you can bet that others will … that’s all I’m saying.’

Evie glared at him. Wanted to tell him he was being preposterous but she knew it to be true. How much gossip had she heard about herself over the years? In her first year it had been about what a stuck-up cow she was, breaking poor Stuart’s heart, thinking she was too good for him even though he’d broken her heart when she’d discovered he only wanted her for her family name and connections.

And in this last year or so endless reams of gossip about her and Finn.

Evie felt herself deflate like a balloon as all the fight oozed out of her. ‘Yes. People do like to talk, don’t they?’

Finn shrugged. ‘Well, they’re going to talk anyway. Best not to feed them too much ammunition—that’s my philosophy.’

Evie blinked. ‘You’ve done nothing but feed them ammunition the entire time you’ve been here. Sleeping with any pretty young thing that batted her eyelashes at you.’

Even her. Not that she’d ever batted her eyelashes.

He grinned. ‘It stopped them talking about my injury, though, didn’t it?’

Evie grinned back at his unashamed admission—she couldn’t help herself. He suddenly seemed years younger than his trademark stubbly jawline portrayed and it was rare to share such a moment with him. He