Prognosis Christmas Baby - Amy Andrews Page 0,2

across prominent cheekbones, and he had deep crinkles on his forehead and tiny lines around his eyes like he enjoyed a good laugh as much as he enjoyed a good dose of Australian sunshine.

She became aware she was staring again and snapped herself out of it. ‘Should we get this tube taped in?’ she prompted.

‘Good idea,’ Nash murmured.

Maggie dragged her gaze away, grateful to have a job that required looking down and not up. She’d applied the first piece of tape, ignoring his long tanned fingers holding the tube firmly in place, when the ICU reg finally made his entrance.

‘Mac,’ Nash greeted him. ‘You’re a little too late.’

‘Sorry,’ Mac Caldwell panted, bending over and clutching his side. ‘I ran all the way.’

Nash laughed. ‘Have a seat, man. Crisis over.’

Maggie found concentrating on the finicky task of wrapping zinc tape around the tube even more difficult with him being so close. His belly was at her head level and his body heat combined with his intoxicating aftershave formed a potent mix.

Her downward gaze took in the rich tan of his chinos and the obvious flatness of his abdomen beneath the casual masculinity of his checked shirt. He wore it open at the neck and rolled up to his elbows revealing tanned forearms in stark contrast to the covering of blond hairs.

She listened as he filled Mac in on the case and spoke with just the right amounts of empathy, confidence and authority to the infant’s distressed mother.

‘Let’s hook her up to the portable ventilator,’ Nash requested as the last tape was secured around the tube. ‘We’ll get an X-ray to check the tube position, and can we load her with some anti-convulsants, please, Zoe?’

‘I’ll just let the consultant know we’ve got ourselves another customer,’ Mac said, excusing himself to find a phone.

Maggie fussed with the tapes, trimming one end that had been stuck across the little girl’s tiny ear, hyper-aware of Nash still standing close. Her elbow occasionally came into contact with his shirt and she seemed to be tuned into his every move, every breath.

‘Thank you...’ Nash looked at the nametag clipped to his assistant’s collar. She had a smiley-face sticker over her picture and a red heart sticker covering her surname. ‘Maggie. Thank you, Maggie.’

Her hands stilled as his voice washed over her like warm treacle. Maggie chanced a look at him and immediately wished she hadn’t. He was smiling one of those hey-baby smiles and she was equal parts turned on and annoyed.

Annoyed won out.

Some men were just too charming for their own good. Some men just didn’t know how to turn it off. She aimed for nonchalance with her shrug. ‘Just doing my job.’

‘Ah, but you do it so well.’

Maggie felt things shift inside at the suggestive quality of his low, sexy voice. She sniffed, not at all comfortable with shifting innards. This man was too young and too sure of himself by far. ‘Well, I would, wouldn’t I? I have been doing this for a very long time.’

Nash chuckled at the emphasis. He got it — she didn’t approve of him flirting with someone of her years. ‘I love experienced women.’

Maggie refused to be flattered by such a consummate flirt. She raised an eyebrow. ‘Only experienced women?’

He grinned. ‘Okay, you got me.’

‘Nash?’

He looked away from Maggie reluctantly. ‘Yes, Zoe?’

‘Can you assess the kid in cube two for me? I think he can progress to hourly nebs now.’

‘Sure, be right there,’ Nash said. He turned back to Maggie. ‘I’ll be seeing you around, Maggie.’

She sent him a stiff smile. Not if she could help it.

Maggie finally got to lunch at two o’clock. The day had been crazy busy and everyone’s lunch-breaks had been pushed back. She found an isolated table in the almost empty canteen, glad she didn’t have to spend her thirty minutes making small talk with anyone. She cracked the lid on her calorie laden fizzy drink and sank her teeth into the divine smelling hot meat pie.

A pair of freakish blue eyes rose unbidden and she shook her head to dispel them from her mind. There’d been no time this morning to think about her weird response to Nash Reece and she was damned if she was going to spend her precious break thinking about him either.

‘Now that’s a nice healthy lunch.’

And sometimes the universe was just out to get you.

Maggie tensed as the voice behind her took form and shape in front of her. Hunky, sexy form and shape.

‘May I join you?’

Maggie looked