Читать книгу Re-Awakening His Shy Nurse - Annie Claydon, Annie Claydon - Страница 8

KATYA SAT OPPOSITE Olenka at the dining-room table, a sheet of paper between them. ‘So what do you think?’

Olenka picked up the application form, and read it through. ‘Sounds great. Really impressive.’

‘What would you do?’

‘Well, he hasn’t offered you the job yet. There’s nothing wrong with making an enquiry to find out whether it’s what you want …’ Olenka twisted her mouth in an expression of resignation. ‘That’s not the problem, eh.’

‘No. I’m going to have to tell him about what happened.’

Olenka sighed. ‘Okay, so what did happen? You meet a guy in the course of your work, have a few conversations with him and he decides that he’s in love with you. He asks you out, you turn him down nicely and he stabs you. It wasn’t your fault. No one said it was your fault.’

‘That’s not all, though, is it?’ Olenka made it all sound so simple but there was so much more to it than that. Enough to fog even the most straightforward decisions.

‘Of course not. It’s all that matters to any employer, though.’ Olenka looked weary. She worked hard, raising a child and running a business, and now it seemed she had Katya to look after as well.

‘I’m sorry, Ola. You’ve enough on your plate, you can do without me turning up and dumping my troubles on your doorstep.’

Olenka grinned. ‘Lucky for me that’s not what your parents said when I arrived from Poland with a new baby and no husband.’ She crooked her little finger and Katya wound hers around it. Shades of the time when Katya had been the one to offer comfort, helping Olenka with her English and babysitting when she went out looking for work. ‘Look, the only thing I care about is that you’ll be safe and happy. And from what I know of Luke, you will be.’

‘You mean from what your spies tell you?’ It hadn’t escaped Katya’s attention that Olenka had drawn a couple of her customers aside, people who, she guessed, knew Luke well, and asked a few hushed but clearly important questions.

‘You’re not in London now, this is a village. Everyone has spies.’ Olenka brushed the accusation off. ‘And none of mine have a word to say against him.’

‘Right. And what do they have to say about me?’

‘Nothing. What happened to you is your business, no one else’s. The only thing that Luke has a right to know is whether you can do the job. This other thing is …’ Olenka waved her hand dismissively ‘… nothing to do with it.’

‘You think so?’ Katya supposed that Olenka was right. On the other hand, this was a position of responsibility. Shouldn’t a prospective employer know that she had feet of clay?

‘You came here to make a new start. You can leave it all behind you if you want to. Whatever you want to think, none of what happened was your fault.’

Katya shrugged. She couldn’t bear to say that she was innocent when she felt so very guilty, even for Olenka’s sake. ‘Well, I’ll send the application form off and see what happens. Maybe I won’t even get the job.’

Clutching the envelope that contained her curriculum vitae, Katya walked through the pub and into the garden behind it, scanning the wooden tables and benches. Luke was there, an untouched pint of beer in front of him and a blond Labrador retriever dozing in the sun at his feet. He frowned when he caught sight of her.

‘I thought we decided this wasn’t an interview.’ His eye travelled from her blouse and skirt to his own work-worn jeans. ‘I didn’t bother to dress up.’

‘Neither did I.’ Like hell she hadn’t. Katya had spent a good couple of hours deciding what to wear. Lively and outgoing the job description had said. She’d reckoned that warranted a bright summer skirt and a pair of strappy sandals, and that her plain blouse would cover the responsible part of things.

‘Oh. Well, in that case what can I get you to drink?’ He grinned up at her, his dark eyes flashing with mischief.

‘Water, please. Sparkling.’ Katya sat down opposite him, laying her envelope on the wooden trestle table.

‘Sure? I can’t get you anything stronger? This really isn’t an interview, it’s just an informal chat …’

‘I’d like some water, please.’ Katya wanted to keep a clear head for this.

‘Of course.’ Luke bent and ran his hand down the sleeping dog’s back and it opened its eyes. Dark and soft, like its master’s. ‘Meet Bruno. Say hello, Bruno.’

The dog rose and lifted its paw, and Katya took it. ‘Is he yours?’

‘Don’t let him hear you say that. Bruno’s always earned his own living. He’s retired from the rescue business now, though, and I’m the one who gets to feed and look after him.’ Luke rose from his seat. ‘Ice and lemon?’

‘Yes, thanks. Not too much ice.’

Katya watched him go. Pale, washed-out jeans that fitted him far too well and a dark polo shirt, which clung to his broad shoulders. An easy, laid-back gait, which made her want to walk beside him. Any woman would. Luke was by far the best-looking man she’d seen in years, probably for ever, and he had that indeterminate quality about him that turned good-looking into something that made you catch your breath and shiver every time you even thought about his lips.

She’d get used to it, though. After a couple of weeks working alongside him she’d get to see the person and forget all about the gorgeous outer wrapping. And she wanted this job. Katya had come to the conclusion that she wasn’t ready to go back to nursing yet, but she’d outgrown the coffee shop. She wanted something more, and this was an ideal stepping stone.

The clink of ice in a glass shattered her reverie. ‘I see you’ve already won the chairman of the board over.’ Luke’s eyes were flashing with gentle humour as he indicated Bruno’s head, resting in her lap.

‘He gets a vote?’

‘Yeah. I just get to do the talking.’ Luke sat down, sliding a bar menu across the table towards her. ‘Would you like something to eat?’ He saw her hesitate and laughed. ‘It’s not a trick question. I’m starving. Let’s order and we can talk while we’re waiting.’

He ordered a home-made burger with steak-cut chips and salad, grinning his approbation when Katya said she’d have the same. He took a draught of beer from his glass and then all his attention was on her. Katya tried not to think about how his gaze always seemed to resemble an embrace.

‘I’ve brought my CV for you.’ She laid her two-page résumé on the table between them, along with the fat A4 envelope. She’d brought a handkerchief, too. There was one point in this story that always sent tears coursing down her cheeks, however many times she practised it in front of the bathroom mirror.

‘What’s in the envelope?’

‘Just some supporting documents.’ Katya took a sip of water, wondering whether perhaps a little Dutch courage might not have been a good idea. ‘There’s something I’d like to tell you.’

‘No.’ Luke was suddenly still. Only his hand moved, to Bruno’s head, his fingers absently fondling his ears.

‘No?’ This was the one reaction she hadn’t expected from him. Anything else, but not this flat refusal to even listen to her.

‘I don’t want to hear it, Katya. The form that you filled out said that you’re a nurse. That you had a senior position in one of the top London hospitals but you left more than a year ago.’

‘Yes, that’s right.’ There was still a swell of pride. Muted now, and tinged with bitter experience, but it was still there.

‘In my experience, someone with that kind of background, who’s working in a coffee shop, is in need of a new start. Is that right?’ His manner was kind, but he’d sliced right to the bone.

‘Yes. That’s right.’ Katya felt her spine begin to sag, and pulled herself upright, squaring her shoulders.

‘Then let’s make one. Look forward instead of back.’

‘But you need to know …’ Katya knew that she had to put her own feelings aside. Disclosure was one of those things you had to do in this kind of job. ‘I’ll be working with children, with vulnerable adults …’

‘Not yet you won’t. It’ll be another month before the reserve is open to the public and we get the project going to take animals into the hospital. I need to put an advanced CRB check in motion, and I’ll take up the references that you’ve given, but …’

‘The references will be fine. There’ll be nothing on the CRB check either.’

‘So is there any reason why you shouldn’t work with me, setting up procedures and getting things organised?’

‘No.’ Luke would be in charge, and that was her safety net. She could refer any difficult decisions back to him.

‘Then this can wait.’ Luke pushed the envelope back across the table towards her. ‘Until you’re ready.’

He was giving her a chance. Taking her at face value and letting her prove herself. This was not what Katya had expected, but it felt okay. It was a place from which she could move forward.

‘Aren’t you curious?’ She almost wanted him to be.

‘Truthfully?’ He grinned. ‘Yes, of course.’

‘But you’re not going to do anything about it?’

‘No. Bruno and I are unanimous in that.’ The old dog looked up at Luke at the mention of his name and started to lick Katya’s hand. ‘See?’

There was little else to do but give in gracefully. ‘Okay.’ Katya sealed the envelope, pushing it back towards Luke. ‘Keep that for me, will you? We might be having this conversation again.’

He took the envelope without a word and stashed it, along with her résumé, in the leather document wallet that lay on the bench beside him.

‘In the meantime, I’ll be giving this job my best. And Olenka can tell you that I’ve no history of trying to strangle my work colleagues.’

He shrugged. ‘That’s okay.’ The delicious sweep of his gaze, up and down her body, made her shudder. ‘I can take care of myself.’

Luke wasn’t so sure about that. Something about her, maybe her obvious vulnerability, which she seemed determined not to give in to, stirred feelings that he would rather forget. Feelings that he’d had no trouble forgetting until a few weeks ago.

He couldn’t go back on what he’d promised her now, though. It was plain that she needed this job, and someone like Katya, with practical nursing experience and willing to take the paltry amount he could offer to pay her, was a godsend for the project that he was trying so hard to get off the ground. If it took a little bravado to make out that he was indifferent to her charms, then so be it.

They talked all through their meal, until the evening chill drove them inside. Then they talked some more, until the pub landlord called time. By then, her eyes were shining with as much enthusiasm as Luke felt.

‘Do I get the job, then?’ She’d waited until they were strolling across the car park towards her car before she asked.

‘Do you want it?’ Being able to tease her, without worrying that she was going to crumple, was something new, which they’d worked their way round to during the course of the evening, and Luke rather liked it.

‘I asked first.’ She tilted her face up towards him in the darkness. For one sweet moment Luke thought that he might kiss her and the shock of how good that felt bounced him back into reality.

‘You got the job about three hours ago. If you get into that car without accepting it, Bruno might have to beg.’ That’s right. Get Bruno to do the dirty work.

‘I’d hate to see that happen. I accept. Thank you.’

‘You might not be saying that in a week or so’s time. There’s a lot on that list we’ve just made.’

‘We’ll get through it.’ She pressed her lips together in thought, and Luke’s head began to swim again. ‘We talked about getting some shirts with the name of the nature reserve on them.’

‘Yeah. I’ll make some calls …’

‘I can speak to the guy who does the polo shirts for the coffee shop, if you’d like. When Olenka ordered some for me she said he was very reasonable and I can get his catalogue for you to look at.’

Luke grinned. He’d made the right choice. ‘That’s okay, I’m sure you’ll pick something suitable.’ He pulled out his wallet and extracted the last couple of notes from it. ‘Will that cover it?’

‘It’s more than enough. I’ll save the receipts for you.’

Accounting had never seemed so delicious. ‘Right. Thanks. If there’s room in the budget, perhaps you can get a couple for me, too.’

She folded the notes, putting them into her bag. ‘Consider it done. What size …?’ In the darkness, Luke couldn’t see whether she was blushing or not, but from the way she suddenly looked away from him she probably was. Something inside him crowed with triumph at the thought. ‘They only come in small, medium and large, so I’ll get large.’

‘That’ll be fine.’ A thought struck him. ‘Is Olenka ever going to speak to me again?’

She laughed. Luke could almost feel her breath on his cheek. It was time to step back, but somehow he couldn’t. ‘Olenka will be fine. She’ll probably give you free coffee for a week for taking me off her hands.’

‘I doubt it.’ How could she think so little of herself? Luke wondered whether the answer to that was in the manila envelope tucked in his notecase. He’d have to lock it away safely somewhere and consider swallowing the key.

She didn’t reply. As she turned to unlock her car, the temptation to take her by the shoulders and shake this nonsense out of her gripped Luke and he stumbled backwards. He wasn’t her lover, her social worker or even really a friend. He was just a guy who’d offered her a three-month contract, and it didn’t matter what either of them thought of each other as long as she did the job.

‘I’ll see you next week, then.’ Maybe he should start as he meant to go on. No popping into the coffee shop just to see her in the meantime.

‘Yes. I’m looking forward to it.’ She grinned at him. ‘Don’t forget your coffee run in the morning.’

‘Um … no, of course not.’ So much for good intentions. When she came to work with him Luke was going to have to do a little better than that.

That wasn’t going to be a problem. He only needed to think about his marriage, and how a woman’s secrets had almost destroyed him, to know that Katya’s personal life would stay locked away in that envelope and that he would stay away from her. Anything else could shatter everything he’d built here, and he wasn’t about to do that.