Page 2 of From the Moment We Met

“Mum was never renowned for her culinary skills, or her nursing ones. Have you been to a doctor? You might need an antibiotic.”

Jacob could see Janie shaking her head in disgust; her opinion of Western medicine hovered on an even par with the flu virus. “I’ll be fine. Enough about me, how are you? I can’t believe they chose Howard Banks over you. That movie was atrocious. Who cares about a colony of mutated humans on Mars, anyway?”

“The Academy Board, apparently.” Jacob smiled in spite of himself; Janie always cheered him up, even in his bleakest moments. “It’s fine, Janie. I’ll be in London for the next month; get to spend time with family.”

“I would love that Jakey, Elizabeth misses you so much. You haven’t seen her in two months, since Boxing Day. I miss you too, so does Audrey.”

“Like hell I do.” Audrey’s voice cut into the conversation, her tone biting.

“Audrey!” Janie hissed, but once Audrey opened her mouth, there was no closing it.

The line jostled, and Audrey’s voice boomed in Jacob’s ear. “Sorry to hear about your loss; perhaps now that you’re one of us commoners again, Elizabeth might finally get to see her uncle? Or will you be too busy flitting around the globe with another silicone-filled floozy?”

Jacob's jaw gritted, but his tone remained even. “No floozy globe flitting for the next several weeks, Audrey. You’re in luck, I’ll be only a few kilometers from you.”

“I can hardly wait.” Her sarcasm was unmistakable. “You’ll have to explain to Elizabeth who you are since she so rarely sees you.”

Jacob had a biting retort at the tip of his tongue when his sister wrestled the phone from her wife’s hands. “Jakey I’m sorry; Audrey is so tired with the business and Elizabeth, and now me being sick…she doesn’t mean what she says.”

“Yes, she does, Little Bit, she means every word. I’m about to board. I’ll call you when I land at Heathrow.”

“Sure Jakey, I love you, big brother—”

Jacob stared at the phone. He ended the call before he could return the sentiment. He adored his sister, but he wasn’t demonstrative. Victoria had been an exception to the rule and look where that landed him. His public affections toward her had cost him his career; a mistake he wouldn’t make again. It was far safer to keep his feelings buttoned up with his head down, nose to the grindstone.

The ticket agent’s voice boomed through the seating area. “Our first-class passengers are now welcome to board, first-class passengers only.”

Sighing, Jacob grabbed his bag and headed to the plane.

∞∞∞

Lilly

“Iassume that’s nursing related?” Lilly smirked at her co-worker behind the nurses station.

Sabina shoved the newspaper into a drawer, her hands fluttering to her face in mock surprise. “Of course, Ms. Staver, what else would I be reading during my shift?”

Lilly chuckled, pulling the paper from the drawer. “Hmm, the stock market crashed again, bombing in Iran, Jacob Edmonton loses acting award to Howard Banks—you’re catching up on your market analysis, aren’t you?”

Sabina snatched the newspaper, smoothing it in front of her. “I don’t understand how he lost. Aces High was one of the highest grossing movies last year, and Jacob is so sexy, it ought to be illegal.”

“Which movie was this again?”

“Which movie?” Sabina gasped. “He’s a handsome doctor fighting a jewel cartel in Africa; he even learned Krio. Did I say how sexy he looked?”

“You might have mentioned it,” Lilly chuckled as she perused a patient chart. “I can’t keep those movies straight; they’re all the same to me. Same plot, same premise, same tired sex scenes.”

“Hmm. Jacob Edmonton is a fine piece of ass, even if he is a little too skinny for my taste. But damn, that mouth; he could kiss me anytime…and anywhere.” Sabina cooed, fluffing her mane of tight curls.

Lilly burst out laughing, hiding it behind her hand. “Good to know.”

“Do you even know what he looks like?”

Lilly shrugged, flipping through the patient chart. “I think so? He’s tall and blonde, right?”

“He is more than tall and blonde; he is a Grecian god.” Sabina thrust her phone under Lilly’s nose. The display showed a man with piercing blue eyes and a smile that could melt an iceberg.

Lilly tried to appear disinterested in the photograph, but the actor was mouthwatering. Something about his potent gaze made her weak in the knees, and this was only a picture. “I’m not into blonde men,” she lied.

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