The Single Dad's Marriage Wish (Bachelor Dads) Read Free

seen.’
    ‘According to his mum, it’s really flared up in the last few weeks. She’s taken him to the doctor and he’s changed his medication…he’s having all his topical treatments.’
    ‘Well, it’s clearly not working. I’m going to get Kenneth to come and take a look—’
    ‘And if he could talk to someone, a child psychologist perhaps,’ Charlotte broke in, quietly delighted that this emergency consultant was thinking along the same lines as her—addressing not just the presenting problem but the bigger picture.
    ‘To help him learn some new tricks?’ Hamish asked with a distinctly dry note—but his sarcasm didn’t touch her.
    ‘Let’s hope so! His mum’s saving up for some more fashionable glasses—I know it’s not going to make amassive difference, but if he could just get a shred of confidence…’
    ‘Well, he certainly needs some. Though I admit that I saw a different side to him when he opened up in there, I’m sure he’s depressed—and certainly he’s suffering from anxiety.’
    ‘You know…’ she chewed her lip thoughtfully ‘…just one friend would make such a difference to that little guy. One friend to play with, one party to be invited to…’
    ‘One magic wand!’ Hamish gave a rueful smile. ‘Can you write down your findings for me?’
    ‘Done.’ Charlotte smiled. ‘Well, nearly—I’ve just got a few lines to add before I head off.’
    ‘Thanks.’
    More than a few lines, it would seem—she was still there at the nurses’ station, just finishing off, when he came back from a prolonged conversation with young Andy.
    ‘Here…’ She handed him a page of neatly written notes. ‘I went into a bit more detail, given how much he spoke to me.’
    ‘Thanks for that.’ Hamish nodded appreciatively, glancing down at her words—his sales pitch to various specialties suddenly made easier by her diligently recorded notes. ‘Well, ’night, Charlotte. Have a nice sleep.’ It was a casual goodbye often made as night staff went off duty, one you normally called out without even looking up, so why didn’t it feel so casual, why, instead of sitting down and writing up his own notes, why, instead of getting on with his day , was he listening as Charlotte spoke about hers?
    ‘Chance of sleeping would be a fine thing! I’ve got an interview at nine.’
    ‘An interview—oh, was this just a casual shift, then?’
    ‘No…’ She was pulling off her stethoscope and hair tie and placing them in the largest handbag Hamish had ever seen, running her hands through her hair. He watched as a mass of dark curls fluffed into a cloud, then, without even attempting to hide what she was doing, boldly she whipped out a mirror, sat on a stool in the middle of the nurse’s station and preened herself, adding a dash of mascara followed by a quick coat of lip gloss, chatting all the time. ‘I’m permanent in Emergency—well, as long as I survive my three-month probation period! I started here couple of weeks ago.’
    ‘So why the interview?’ Hamish asked—and with good reason. The last thing he needed on his team was exhausted nurses juggling two jobs. Not that she looked exhausted, she literally oozed energy and vitality. Now she was popping her make-up back into her bag, yet still she rummaged through it, producing a bottle and adding a squirt of perfume to her neck and wrists, enveloping them both in a cloud of the scent that had first hit him when she’d entered Andy’s cubicle.
    ‘Charlotte!’ Helen, the charge nurse, scolded as she walked into the work station, her fabulous Dublin accent which had survived unscathed for more than forty years in Australia ringing out for all to hear. ‘You can’t be spraying perfume here—people have allergies.’
    ‘To a tinsy bit of perfume?’ Charlotte laughed, andto Hamish’s surprise Helen smiled—Helen, who normally looked as if she’d sucked on a lemon for breakfast, was actually cracking a smile as Charlotte actually