Page 29 of Falling for His Best Friend

Paula was older than Joe, closer to forty than thirty, and he doubted his charms would work on her. She’d probably seen and heard it all before. A young nurse would no doubt be more accommodating but he had to try. ‘I got into this mess by trying to protect her. I need to know if she’s all right.’ Paula wore a wedding ring so he tried appealing to her sense of romance, hoping she was happily married to someone who would protect her if necessary.

She looked at him and he smiled. There was no point in pretending he wasn’t trying to get her on side.

‘OK, I’ll see what I can find out.’

It was only when Paula left that he realised he should have asked about the baby too. But, if he was honest, the baby wasn’t his concern. Kitty was.

Joe had a constant stream of people in and out of his room for the next ninety minutes. First was the upper limb specialist, who advised him he would need surgery on his hand. The knife had cut through the flexor tendon of his little finger. It could have been worse but even so it would mean six weeks in a hand splint, and surgery had been scheduled for her afternoon list today.

The surgeon had been followed by the police, who wanted a statement from him, but he had no good answer for them about why he’d acted as he had. He’d reacted. That was the best explanation he had. He’d reacted without thinking.

Although not totally without thought, but his only consideration had been for Kitty. He’d been taught to assess the danger before diving in but there hadn’t been time for that. He’d seen Kitty lying on the floor and reacted, ignoring all his training. His only thought had been Kitty’s safety, he hadn’t considered his own at all.

Despite the fact that Joe hadn’t exactly followed protocols, the police also wanted to know if he would like to press charges. But unless pressing charges meant Kitty’s assailant would be forced to undergo rehab Joe didn’t see the point, and he didn’t want to spend any longer than necessary on filing paperwork. He wanted everyone to get out of his room—unless they were bringing him news of Kitty.

But Paula went one better than news. Five minutes after the police had left she wheeled Kitty into his room.

His heart missed a beat when he saw her in a wheelchair. She had dark circles under her eyes but she was smiling. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he’d feared. ‘Kitty! Are you OK?’

She nodded slowly. ‘I have a concussion, a headache, a bit of dizziness and a few bruises, but otherwise I’m fine,’ she said, as Paula put the brakes on the wheelchair and told them she’d be back in ten minutes.

‘And the baby?’

‘Is fine too,’ Kitty said, as she stood and took the two steps to Joe’s bedside. She bent over and kissed his cheek. ‘I’m doing better than you by the looks of things.’

‘I’m OK.’ He was much better now that he’d seen her with his own two eyes.

‘Lisa said you got stabbed.’

‘Slashed, more precisely.’ He held up his right hand, downplaying his injuries. ‘A cut to my hand and one to my stomach.’

‘Lisa also said you saved my life.’

‘That’s a definite over-exaggeration.’

Kitty wasn’t so sure. She preferred to believe Lisa’s version of events. The version where Joe had rushed to her side like a knight in shining armour. No one had ever done that for her before. It sounded very romantic but she knew she’d just embarrass him if she made a big deal out of it. It was a big deal to her. ‘Thank you anyway,’ she said, before kissing his cheek again. ‘How long will you be in here for?’ she asked as she sat carefully on the edge of his bed.

‘Hopefully only until tomorrow. I’m having surgery on my hand this afternoon.’

‘Surgery?’

‘I have to have a tendon repaired, which means six weeks in a splint, but I shouldn’t need long in hospital.’

‘Does that mean six weeks off work?’ Kitty asked. She knew he’d go mad from boredom if he was out of action for that long.

‘I’m sure there will be office work or something I can do,’ he said. ‘Paramedics are always getting injured on the job, there’s a constant rotation through the office of ambos on light duties or returning from extended time off. I’m sure they’ll find me something. Otherwise I’ll go around to Cam and Jess’s and help paint the nursery.’

‘Left-handed?’

‘Sure.’

She smiled. ‘Jess won’t let you anywhere near her nursery. She’s been planning it for ever.’ Jess was an interior designer and Kitty knew that her baby’s nursery would be the most important project her sister had ever tackled. She had already spent hours obsessing over paint colours, fabrics and furniture to make sure it was perfect. ‘You’re going to be sidelined for a while, though, aren’t you? Showering and dressing will be difficult, let alone cooking.’ She’d been a nurse for long enough to know the difficulties Joe would face, being right-handed and living alone. ‘You might have to get Victoria to give you a hand when you’re discharged.’

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