Читать книгу Special Deliveries Collection - Kate Hardy - Страница 20

JED WAS GONE before Simon woke up, but her resolve was the same and once she’d given Simon his breakfast and got him dressed, Jasmine picked up the phone and rang Penny.

‘What are you doing, ringing me at work?’ Penny sounded irritated at the intrusion.

‘It’s the only chance I get to speak to you,’ Jasmine said. ‘Of course I can talk to you there if you prefer.’

‘No, this is fine,’ Penny sighed. ‘What did you want?’

‘I was hoping we could catch up away from work. There’s something I’d like to talk about, something I need to check with you.’

‘Fine,’ Penny said.

‘Tonight?’ Jasmine asked.

‘I’m going out tonight.’ And she was working the next one. ‘I’m going to Mum’s on Sunday for dinner—how about then?’

Jasmine really didn’t want to discuss this in front of their mother, but maybe they could go for a walk afterwards, or she could suggest that Penny go back to her place for a coffee?

‘Sounds good.’

‘So, when are you working again?’ Penny asked.

‘In a couple of hours’ time.’ Jasmine smiled. ‘I promise to keep on ignoring you.’

As she dropped Simon off at crèche, Jasmine realised that things were starting to work out—she was starting to think that this was maybe doable and that nine-to-five job in the fracture clinic might not be necessary after all. Vanessa’s mum was looking after Liam this evening, which meant that Ruby would pick Simon up from crèche and take him back to Jasmine’s. Her babysitting arrangements were all under control, if a touch too expensive, but it was worth it to be doing a job she loved and for the first time since way before Simon’s birth things were starting to look stable.

Well, not stable. Her heart leapt in her throat still at the sight of Jed and she was shaky with all the rush of a new romance, but the rest of her life seemed to be slotting together when just a few weeks ago it had seemed an impossible dream.

There was actually no chance to speak to Lisa about anything personal, or Jed, come to that. The department was incredibly busy and the late shift flew by, so much so that Jasmine blinked in surprise when Lisa caught her on the way up to the ward with a geriatric patient and lightly scolded her for not taking her breaks.

‘I had no idea of the time,’ Jasmine admitted, surprised to see it was already seven o’clock. ‘I’ll just take this one up to the ward.’

‘Well, make sure that when you get back you take a break,’ Lisa said. ‘I don’t care how busy the place is, I don’t want my staff burning out.’

Lisa was always insistent that her staff take their allotted breaks, and often she would ring Admin and have a nurse sent down from the wards during particularly busy periods.

After handing her patient over, Jasmine realised she was actually hungry and stopped at the vending machine for chocolate to take to her break. ‘It’s crazy out there,’ Vanessa greeted her when she got back to the staffroom. ‘Did Lisa tell you off for not taking a break?’

‘She did,’ Jasmine said, slipping off her shoes. ‘Maybe it’s going to be a full moon tonight. I don’t envy the night staff.’

‘It will be your turn again soon.’

‘I know,’ Jasmine groaned.

‘Did you speak to Ruby about staying over while you’re on nights?’

‘I did,’ Jasmine said. ‘She can do the first week. The problem is with the weekend on the second.’

‘I can help you with that,’ Vanessa said. ‘If you can help out next month when it’s my turn?’ She gave Jasmine a nice smile. ‘It all works out in the end.’

‘I know,’ Jasmine admitted. ‘I think I’ve got to stop looking too far ahead and take things more day by day.’

‘That’s all you can do when you’ve got little ones.’

Right now, Jasmine was looking forward to it being nine o’clock so that she could go home. Jed got off duty at ten and had promised to bring food, which meant she had just enough time to chat with Ruby and then hopefully have a quick shower before Jed arrived.

Yes, she was starting to think that things might work out.

‘Are you going to that?’ Vanessa broke into her thoughts.

‘Sorry?’

‘It’s the accident and emergency ball in a couple of weeks.’ Vanessa pointed to the rather impressive poster up on the staff noticeboard. ‘It’s the big fundraiser for the department. Apparently there are still some spare tickets.’

Jasmine’s eyes widened when she saw the price of the tickets and she wasn’t surprised that there were still a few left.

‘I doubt I’ll be going.’ Jasmine shook her head as she broke off some chocolate. Especially when she factored in the price of the new dress, hair, shoes and paying a babysitter. ‘Are we expected to go?’

‘Not really,’ Vanessa said. ‘It’s really more for the bigwigs. Mind you, it will be a fun night—there’s always loads of gossip whizzing around after an emergency do—we can have our fun with that afterwards, even if we can’t be there.’ Vanessa gave a mischievous smile. ‘Still, it’s a shame that we won’t get to watch Jed and Penny studiously avoiding each other and trying to pretend that they’re not together.’

Jasmine felt her blood run cold. She couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. ‘Jed and Penny?’

‘Didn’t you know?’ Vanessa was idly watching the television as she spoke and didn’t see Jasmine’s appalled expression and carried on chatting, blissfully unaware of the impact of her words. ‘They’ve been on and off since Jed started here, not that they would ever admit to it, of course. Heaven forbid that Penny brings her personal life into work and be so reckless as to display human tendencies.’ Vanessa’s words dripped sarcasm. ‘God knows what he sees in her.’

‘Maybe he doesn’t.’ Jasmine was having great trouble speaking, let alone sounding normal. ‘Maybe he doesn’t see anything in her. It’s probably just gossip—you know what this place can be like.’

‘I wish,’ Vanessa sighed. ‘Jed is just gorgeous. He’s wasted on that cold fish. But I’m afraid that this time the hospital grapevine is right—Greg walked in on them once and you can hardly miss the tension between them.’ She turned and looked at Jasmine. ‘I can’t believe you haven’t noticed. It’s an open secret, everyone knows.’ Vanessa stood up. ‘Come on, we’d better get back out there.’

Except Jasmine couldn’t move.

‘I’ll be along in a moment,’ Jasmine said. ‘I shan’t be long.’

Her hand was clenched around the chocolate so tightly it had all melted, not that she noticed till Vanessa had gone and Jasmine stood up. She headed for the bathrooms—she didn’t just feel sick, she actually thought she might vomit as she washed the mess off her hands. She held onto the sink and tried to drag in air and calm her racing thoughts before heading back out there.

Not once had it entered her head that Penny and Jed might be together.

Not one single time.

And Penny had never so much as hinted that she was seeing someone.

But, then, why would she?

Penny never told Jasmine what was going on in her life. Her engagement had ended and Penny had said nothing about it other than it was over. She certainly never invited discussion. Jasmine, in turn, had never confided in Penny. Even when her marriage had been on the rocks, Jasmine had dealt with it herself—telling her mum and Penny that it was over only when her decision had already been made.

She should have listened to Penny, Jasmine realised. She should never have worked in the same department as her sister.

Jasmine scooped water from the sink into her hand and drank it, tried to calm herself down. Somehow she had to get through the rest of her shift.

Jed was coming round tonight.

Jasmine spun in panic at the thought.

She would talk to him … And say what?

If there was anything between him and Penny she would just end it and move to the fracture clinic.

Or back to Melbourne Central, because that sounded quite a good option right now. And if that sounded a lot like running away from her problems, well, at that moment Jasmine truly didn’t care. As much as she and Penny didn’t get on very well, never in a million years would she do that her sister.

Except it would seem that she already had.

‘You seem in a hurry to escape the place,’ Penny commented.

‘For once, yes,’ Jed said. ‘It’s all yours.’

He had more on his mind tonight than a busy department.

Tonight he was going to tell Jasmine the truth about what had happened with Samantha.

It was an unfamiliar route Jed was considering taking and one he was not entirely comfortable with. He was way too used to keeping things in. He’d avoided anything serious since his last break-up. Sure, he’d had the occasional date, but as soon as it had started to be anything more than that, Jed had found himself backing away. And as if to prove him right, the texts and tears that had invariably followed had only strengthened his resolve not to get attached and to step away. Except for the first time he felt as if he could trust another person. After all, Jasmine had opened up to him.

Jed wasn’t stepping away now.

Instead, he was stepping forward.

He rang ahead to his favourite restaurant and ordered a meal for two, but despite confidence in his decision there was more than a touch of nerves as he paid for his takeaway and headed back to the car, as he built himself up to do what he said had sworn he would never do—share what had happened, not just with someone he was starting to get close to … but with someone he was starting to get close to from work.

‘Hi.’

Jasmine opened the door and let him in, still unsure what she should say, how best to broach it. Did she really want to know that he was with her sister? Did she really want Jed to find out the truth?

Surely it would better to end it neatly?

To get out before they got in too deep?

Except she was in too deep already.

‘I bought Italian,’ Jed said, moving in for a kiss, ‘but to tell the truth I’m not actually that hungry.’

She’d meant to carry on normally, to sit down and discuss things like adults while they were eating, but as he moved in to kiss her, just the thought that he might have been with Penny had Jasmine move her head away.

‘Jasmine?’ She saw him frown, heard the question in his voice about her less-than-effusive greeting, but she didn’t know how to answer him. Despite three hours trying to work out what she might say to him, how best to approach this, she still didn’t know how and in the end settled for the first thing that came into her head.

‘I’m not sure that you ought to be here.’

‘Sorry?’

‘I don’t think this is working, Jed.’

‘It would seem not.’

Of all the things he had been expecting tonight, this wasn’t one of them. Sideswiped, Jed walked through to the lounge and put the takeaway down on her coffee table, completely taken aback by the change in Jasmine. They’d made love that morning, he’d left her smiling and happy, with no hint of what was to come. ‘Can I ask what has changed between this morning and tonight?’

‘I just think things have moved too fast.’

‘And could you not have decided this before you introduced me to Simon?’ He didn’t get it and he knew she was lying when he saw her blush. ‘What’s going on, Jasmine?’

‘I heard something at work today,’ Jasmine admitted. ‘Something about you.’

‘So it’s gospel, then?’ was Jed’s sarcastic response. ‘And while you were listening to this gossip, did you not consider running it by me first, before deciding we that weren’t working?’

‘Of course I did,’ Jasmine attempted. ‘That’s what I’m doing now.’

‘Is it even worth asking?’ Jed said. ‘Because it sounds to me as if the jury is already in. So, what is it that I’m supposed to have done?’

‘I heard …’ Jasmine swallowed because it sounded so pathetic, especially with how good he had been with her secret last night, but still she had to find out for sure. ‘I heard that you and Penny …’

‘Penny?’

‘Someone told me that you and Penny …’ She couldn’t even bring herself to say it, but the implication was clear and Jed stood there and shook his head.

‘Jasmine, we agreed from the start that as erratic as things may be for us you and I wouldn’t see anybody else so, no, I’m not seeing Penny.’

‘But have you?’ Jasmine asked. ‘Have you dated Penny in the past?’

‘What on earth …?’ He just looked at her, looked at her as if he’d suddenly put glasses on and was seeing her for the first time and not particularly liking the view. ‘I’m being dumped because the hospital grapevine states that I might be or in the past might have slept with a colleague?’ He shook his head. ‘I never took you for the jealous kind, Jasmine.’

‘I just need to know.’

But Jed wasn’t about to explain himself. ‘Look, I don’t need this.’ He didn’t confirm it and he didn’t deny it and she honestly didn’t know what to do. She could feel tears pouring down her cheek.

‘Jed, please,’ she said. ‘Just tell me. I need to know if there’s ever been anything between you and Penny.’ She was starting to cry and she knew she had to tell him, no matter how awkward it made things for them, no matter the hurt to Penny, she just had to come right out and say it, and she was about to, except Jed didn’t give her a chance.

‘You want a complete itinerary of my past?’ Jed said. ‘What do you want, a full list of anyone I’ve ever dated so you can check them out online?’

‘Jed, please,’ Jasmine attempted, but he wasn’t listening to her now.

‘You’re the one with the past, Jasmine. You’re the one who’s just had her divorce certificate stamped and has a baby sleeping in the bedroom and an ex who stole from patients. Did I ask for a written statement, did I ask for facts and details?’ He turned to go and then changed his mind, but he didn’t walk back to her. He picked up his takeaway and took it. ‘I’m hungry all of a sudden.’

He headed out to his car and drove off, but only as far as the next street, and it was there that Jed pulled over and buried his head in his hands.

He couldn’t believe it.

Could not believe the change in her—the second they’d started to get serious, the moment he’d actually thought this might work, he’d been greeted with a list of questions and accusations and for Jed it all felt terribly familiar.

After all, he’d been through it before.