Read Playing the Playboy's Sweetheart for Free Online Page B

anything if you want it to be successful, Hugh,’ Alex said, ‘and I’m not just talking about the salaried stuff.’
    Hugh wasn’t sure if that was a small dig about his and Olivia’s break-up but, then again, he was surprised that Alex was talking about bumpy times at home to him. ‘Well, I hope you both have a great summer.’
    ‘We shall,’ Alex said. ‘Right now I’m off to breakfast with Clem. I’ll see you in theatre.’
    * * *
    Emily hadn’t been looking forward to Monday either.
    She walked into the staffroom and there was Hugh sitting in his usual spot. After making a coffee, Emily went and joined him, just as she usually did. ‘About what I said the other night—’ Emily started.
    ‘Your shift doesn’t start for another ten minutes,’ Hugh interrupted, ‘so you don’t have to talk to me yet.’
    ‘Hugh, it came out all wrong.’
    ‘I think you made yourself very clear.’
    ‘I do like you,’ Emily said, her cheeks going red, ‘just not in that way.’
    ‘Okay.’
    ‘And if we did suddenly start going out...’ She just gave a shake of her head and tried to explain how it could never work. ‘I’ve got my dad’s wedding next month. Do you really want to go to that circus? Because he’d know about us too.’
    ‘How?’
    ‘Because he follows me on Facebook,’ Emily said. ‘It’s pretty much how we communicate and Mum follows me too. It would just all get too complicated.’
    ‘Fine.’ He looked at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes. ‘I shan’t keep you. I’ll see you in Theatre.’
    ‘Hugh,’ Emily called him before he could walk off. ‘I’m not in Theatre today, I’m rostered for Anaesthetics.’
    ‘You don’t have to run your schedule by me.’
    ‘I’m just explaining that I’m not avoiding you, I’m filling in this morning so I didn’t get to do the placements...’
    Hugh didn’t answer, he just walked off.
    What a mess, Emily thought as she made her way to the anaesthetic room. It was a small annexe that led to two of the theatres. Here the patient would be anaesthetised and intubated before being taken into the operating theatre. She was in for a busy morning. First was Ernest Bailey and though his was a long case, before Hugh’s next one there were two epidurals scheduled for two planned Caesareans.
    Emily smiled when she saw that it was Rory who was on. He was pulling up medication so that everything would be ready, well out of sight of the patient, and they chatted for a moment as they set up. ‘I thought I was down to work with Gina,’ Emily said.
    ‘And I thought I had Monday off,’ Rory responded, and then explained that he’d been called in the early hours to come in. ‘She called in sick—I think she had a bit too much Hugh on Saturday night.’
    Emily simply rolled her eyes—maybe Hugh had been busy trying to persuade Gina to pull the wool over Alex’s eyes for a few weeks.
    Maybe the two of them had got it on.
    Emily bit her lip as she looked at the theatre list. That burn of jealousy was low in her chest and reminded her how much getting too close to Hugh could only inevitably hurt.
    He
was
a friend, though, despite what she had said the other night, and that was something she didn’t want to lose.
    Rory was explaining to Emily that Ernest would be going to ICU after his surgery when Hugh came in.
    ‘He’s not here yet,’ Emily said, because usually the patient would be here by now and waiting for a brief word with the surgeon before going under.
    ‘I know,’ Hugh said. ‘He’s taking his time to say goodbye to his wife. Poor old boy doesn’t really want the surgery but his wife has told him she wants him there for their golden wedding anniversary...’ He paused as Ernest was wheeled in. ‘Good morning, Mr Bailey.’ Hugh was lovely to the man. ‘How’s Hannah?’
    ‘Fussing,’ Ernest said.
    ‘And how are you feeling?’
    ‘Thirsty!’ came another one-word answer as Hugh checked again the markings he had made on