Emily Forbes - Georgie's Big Greek Wedding?

She lifted her eyes. Abdominals and then pectoral muscles came into view followed by full lips that were smiling, and above those a narrow, perfectly straight nose and grey eyes. Gunship grey.

Her eyes widened. Standing in front of her, semi-naked, was the cute doctor from yesterday. All that was missing were the Australian flag board shorts.

He was the new doctor?

She could feel her heart beating in her chest and she imagined everyone else could hear it too in the quiet of the room.

‘You’re Dr Wetherly?’ She broke the silence but didn’t apologise for bursting in on him while he was changing. Anyone who was at all self-conscious needed to learn to change in the bathrooms. Besides, she’d been treated to the same spectacular view yesterday and looking at this man’s semi-naked body she couldn’t think of a single reason why he might need to hide away. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue speaking. ‘I’m Georgie Carides.’ She took a deep breath and tried to relax.

‘Please, my name’s Josh,’ he said as he extended his hand and stepped forward to meet her halfway. He was several inches taller than she was and as he closed the distance between them her gaze fell on his bare chest. Again. It took all her self-control to force her gaze up to his face. But even that was no great hardship. His grey eyes were watching her with amusement and she realised he was still holding his hand out, waiting to shake hers, while she stood there, staring at him. She couldn’t believe he was the new doctor.

Quickly she clasped his hand, unprepared for the tingle that shot through her. It was the same reaction she’d experienced yesterday when he’d helped her to her feet on the pontoon. It felt as though he’d triggered a connection in her palm that led straight to her chest. Her breathing was shallow and rapid and her heart was racing. Again. Yesterday she’d put the feeling down to the adrenaline that had been flowing through her but that wasn’t the case today. This time she knew it was all Dr Wetherly’s doing. Josh.

‘It’s good to see you again,’ he said. He appeared completely unflustered, calm and relaxed, behaving as though he was the old hand, while she felt completely disoriented. He let go of her hand and pulled a grey T-shirt over his head, before slipping his arms into the sleeves of his jumpsuit and zipping it closed. ‘Small world.’

‘Isn’t it?’ she replied, able to speak now that he’d let go of her and her breathing had returned to normal.

‘You guys know each other?’ Marty’s voice came from behind her, startling her. She’d forgotten Marty and Sean were there.

‘We met yesterday—’ she told him.

‘But I didn’t know who she was.’

‘You’re in good hands, mate. Georgie’s a good operator,’ Sean said.

‘We’re going to be working together?’ Josh’s grey eyes hadn’t left her face. He was watching her intently, almost as though he was committing her face to memory. But why he’d need to do that she had no idea. His gaze was intense and focussed but not obtrusive.

She nodded and remembered what had brought her in here. ‘I’m the rostered paramedic today and our first call has just come in. A four-month-old girl in respiratory distress—she’s in the Tully hospital but they’re concerned her condition is deteriorating. Pat, our pilot, is just getting the flight details. We should be ready to take off in about ten.’ That was better. If she concentrated on work, she could block out the image of a bare-chested doctor.

‘The chopper’s restocked and ready to go,’ Marty said as he slammed his locker closed. ‘Good luck, Josh.’

‘Thanks, guys,’ Josh replied as the night crew headed out the door. He turned back to Georgie, watching her with his grey eyes. ‘So you drew the short straw.’

Georgie could see flashes of silver in Josh’s eyes. The colour was striking. She forced herself to concentrate on speaking. Gazing into his eyes was not terribly professional. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You get to work with the new guy on his first day.’

‘I don’t mind,’ she said with a grin. ‘This way I can get you trained up just how I want.’ And she didn’t mind. She’d seen his CV and she knew he came with an excellent reputation, although she had expected someone older. Josh looked to be in his early thirties, pretty young for a specialist with his credentials, but that didn’t bother her because this time she’d be in charge.

In an effort to stop ogling him, she opened her locker and threw her bag inside. She needed to get changed.

‘I’ll meet you outside,’ Josh said as she slipped off her sandals and stowed them in her locker.

She turned to him and nodded. He was standing very close to her; she could have reached out a hand and touched him but she didn’t.

As he stepped away she wondered if he was nervous about her disrobing in front of him? Surely not, she thought. He was a doctor, he’d have seen it all before. And he’d seen pretty much all of her just yesterday, she recalled. Her cheeks darkened a little as she remembered what she’d been wearing. Her black bikini hadn’t seemed revealing out on the pontoon, not when everyone else had been dressed in a similar fashion, but now she felt her outfit yesterday may shown him more than she would have liked. She was glad of her olive complexion. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed the blush staining her cheeks.

‘See what other info you can get about the job,’ she said as she tried to quell her embarrassment. ‘Louise should have a contact number for someone at Tully hospital.’

He nodded and said, ‘No worries, I’ll get onto it.’

He turned and left the change rooms, taking the image of Georgie Carides with him. Hearing her voice today and realising they were to be colleagues had been a surprise. A very pleasant surprise, he thought as he entered the corridor. Working with an attractive woman was always a bonus.

He could remember her features. Her face was round and almost perfectly symmetrical. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face and her widow’s peak in the centre of her forehead further highlighted the roundness of her face. Her nose was small and straight and her olive skin smooth and tanned. Her almond-shaped eyes were the colour of chocolate and were accentuated by perfectly shaped black eyebrows. The only splash of colour on her face was the red of her lips.

Her natural demeanour seemed to be quite serious and solemn but when she smiled her whole face changed. Unsmiling, she was striking to look at but when she smiled she was beautiful. Her whole face came to life. Her teeth were brilliantly white against her skin tone and her mouth and eyes and eyebrows all lifted. It wasn’t just her lips that smiled, it was everything.

He’d wanted to give her some privacy to get changed but it had been an effort to make himself leave the room. The room was unisex but it seemed wrong to stand around and chat to her while she was changing when they’d only just met. But when he recalled what she’d been wearing yesterday he’d been tempted to stay. He’d seen plenty of her in her black bikini and he could recall every detail.

Despite the fact they’d been working to stabilise a patient, he was able to recollect every one of her curves. The curve of her waist as it had flared out to her hip. The curve of her bottom at the top of her thigh. The curve of her cleavage where the Lycra of her halter-neck top had pushed her breasts together.

He’d known he couldn’t stand there talking to her while those images had been flashing through his mind, that wouldn’t have been a very professional start to their working relationship. He had no plans to get involved with anyone during his six-month stint; but if there were more women like Georgie Carides in town, his time in Cairns was looking more promising.