Emergency Doctor and Cinderella Read Free Page A

dinner.
    She gripped the balcony rail with an iron grip and lifted her face to the breeze, breathing in the salty air, wishing she could be on one of those yachts and sail away into the sunset.
    ‘You wouldn’t happen to have a cup of sugar, would you?’ Eamon Chapman’s voice sounded from her right.
    Erin swivelled her head to look at him, her heart giving a little free fall. He was bare-chested, his legs encased in dark blue denim slung low on his lean hips. Every muscle on his chest and abdomen looked like it had been carved into place by a master craftsman. She had studied anatomy, yet not one of her textbooks would have done Dr Eamon Chapman justice. ‘Um…sugar?’
    His mouth tilted wryly. ‘Yeah, that sweet stuff you put in coffee. I forgot to get some when I shopped on the way home.’
    Erin brushed a strand of hair that the breeze had worked loose from her chignon away from her face. ‘The shops are only a short walk away,’ she pointed out.
    ‘So you don’t have any?’ he asked, leaning on the dividing rail with his strong forearms. ‘Sugar, I mean?’
    Erin tried not to look at the way his biceps bulged as he leaned his weight on the railing. He was more or less at eye level, which was disconcerting to say the least. This close she could see tiny brown flecks in his green eyes that fanned out from his dark-as-ink pupils. ‘I…I don’t take sugar,’ she said.
    His mouth tilted even further. ‘Sweet enough, huh?’
    This time Erin was sure he was mocking her. ‘I have five fillings,’ she said primly. ‘I am not keen on getting any more.’
    ‘Didn’t your mother teach you the importance of dental care?’ he asked.
    She schooled her features into a blank mask, hoping he hadn’t noticed the slight flinch at the mention of her mother. ‘It wasn’t one of her strong points, no.’
    Erin felt his silent scrutiny, as if he was reading her word by word, page by page. She wanted to go back inside but she felt inexplicably drawn to him, like tiny iron filings to a strong magnet.
    ‘It’s quite a coincidence, me moving in next door, don’t you think?’ he asked.
    She gave a little shrug. ‘There are three nurses and an orderly in this apartment block. Mosman’s a convenient suburb. It’s close to Sydney Met.’
    ‘Are you renting or do you own your apartment?’
    ‘The bank owns it,’ she said. ‘I work to keep up the payments.’
    Erin had forgotten to close the balcony doors and Molly chose that moment to strut out like a model on a catwalk.
    ‘I didn’t realise you were allowed pets here,’ he said, looking down as Molly began to weave around Erin’s legs.
    She grimaced as she scooped up the big fluffy bundle of fur. ‘I–I’ve got special permission from the body corporate,’ she lied.
    Eamon Chapman cocked his head, as if debating whether to believe her. ‘Isn’t it cruel to house a cat indoors all the time?’
    Erin stroked Molly’s silky head. ‘She’s a Ragdoll. They prefer to be indoors.’
    ‘What’s its name?’
    ‘Molly.’
    ‘One of my sisters has a cat,’ he said. ‘Personally I’m a dog man, but yours looks cute.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    He straightened from the railing and stretched. Erin’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, like popcorn from a hot pan, as each of his muscles rippled in response.
    ‘Have you had time to look at my proposal?’ he asked as his arms came back down to his sides.
    Erin had to blink a couple of times to reorient herself. ‘Um…yes, I have. I’m not sure it’s going to work—that follow-through care thing—it’s too complicated. A&E is too busy as it is to expect us to wander off to plump up patients’ pillows on the wards.’
    ‘You’re missing the point, Dr Taylor,’ he said. ‘It’s not about plumping up pillows; it’s about treating the patient from start to finish as a person, not a statistic.’
    ‘I don’t treat patients as statistics.’
    ‘Tell me the names of the last five patients you saw