Harlequin Medical Romance February 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Charlotte Hawkes

Author:Charlotte Hawkes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘MR HUDSON.’ LIBBY addressed the man she had directed to follow her inside the makeshift infirmary. She paused as she closed the door. ‘Please come in.’

‘It would be my pleasure,’ he told her, then continued, ‘But you can call me Maxwell.’

Libby drew a short breath. His response had been followed by a peculiar stare in her direction. Her intuition was telling her that Maxwell’s gaze was not purely patient-nurse. His eyes seemed to hover on her lips, not meeting her eyes at all. It was odd but she shrugged it off. Maybe his hearing was compromised and he was lip reading. Some of the older patients she had cared for over the years did that, although Maxwell appeared to be in his late forties but she couldn’t be sure. He was not particularly tall and quite stocky in build, with a receding hairline so his age was difficult to pinpoint.

‘Please sit down,’ she said, motioning towards the chair adjacent to the cabin desk as she stepped inside the en suite bathroom and washed her hands. ‘The doctor is not available, but I can take some notes and see what the issue is and call for him if there’s anything urgent. He isn’t too far away.’ Just far enough to allow her to feel more comfortable.

‘He can’t go too far—we’re on a ship. Unless he jumps overboard and then it would just be you and me.’

His response was odd and made her feel uncomfortable. And the way he was looking at her when she reappeared with freshly scrubbed hands even more so.

‘It was a joke,’ he said with a snigger and a raised eyebrow. Still standing a little too close for Libby’s liking, he continued, ‘I’m sure he wouldn’t jump off the ship—at least not while you’re on here.’

Libby was not impressed but was determined to remain professional and move past the blatant flirting.

‘What appears to be your problem today?’ Libby asked in a monotone.

Maxwell stared at her in silence, his eyebrow still arched.

‘Is everything all right, Mr Hudson?’ Libby continued in the same professional but unemotional tone, only a little louder.

‘Call me Maxwell. It’s less formal,’ he said with a smirk.

‘Maxwell, as I said, please take a seat…’ she motioned again to the chair ‘…and tell me what the problem appears to be.’

He sat down without taking his eyes off her. ‘It’s my back. I fell asleep in the sun and now I’m burnt.’

‘I see. Please remove your shirt and I can take a look.’

Maxwell began unbuttoning his brightly coloured shirt, patterned with flamingos and palm trees. His eyes remained fixed on hers and he mimicked a male entertainer as he slowly undid each button, making Libby’s discomfort grow by the second.

‘I don’t see a ring, pretty lady.’

* * *

Libby had a fairly good idea where the conversation was heading and she had no intention of helping it along. Quite the opposite, she was going to stop it dead in the water by ignoring it.

‘It’s such a lovely day and I’m sure you want to get back to the group so let’s look at your sunburn.

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