‘Ethan isn’t Quinten,’ Donna pointed out softly.
CJ huffed and shrugged. ‘I know but I still don’t need to tell him where I am at every moment of the day. I don’t ask where he goes. He gets up early and is out of the house before I’ve woken up, so I’ve taken to visiting people in the evening to give him some time to work, instead of hibernating in my bedroom.’
‘That’s very considerate of you.’
‘If I didn’t, then he’d probably go out and he’s got nowhere to go.’
‘True. Or here’s a thought—you could just try talking to him.’
‘I do talk to him but there’s only so much we can say about our patients.’
Donna chuckled. ‘Listen, once the baby is born, you’ll feel better. Your life will settle down into a nice, easy rhythm and Ethan Janeway will return to Sydney and all will be forgotten.’
‘It could be my hormones that are telling me I’m attracted to him when I’m really not.’ She closed her eyes and shook her head. ‘Man, that sounds silly when I say it out loud.’
‘But why don’t we blame those troublesome hormones at the moment?’
‘Yes. Yes, I think you’re right.’
‘And after all he’s the only good-looking, single man of your age in the vicinity.’
‘True. Very true.’
‘So there you go. Opportunity and motive, all of which you had absolutely no control over. You are not to blame.’
‘Excellent.’ CJ shifted out of the chair and stood. ‘Thanks, Donna. I’m glad I came over tonight.’
‘So am I. Go home, have a snack, get a wheat bag warmed up and lie down with a good book.’
‘Sounds like the perfect prescription.’ CJ hugged her friend, then said, ‘I might just use your bathroom first. Junior’s jumping on my bladder again.’
* * *
Ethan stared out the window at the dark and empty street. There weren’t as many streetlights here as there were surrounding his apartment in Sydney. The night sky seemed darker, the stars seemed brighter, and he could swear there were more stars here than there were in Sydney.
Where was she?
‘Ethan? Are you still there?’
‘Yeah. Sorry, Melody. What were you saying?’
‘That things are crazy at work. The director’s resigned.’
‘Oh, yeah. So who’s going to take over being Director of Orthopaedics?’ He turned away from the window and began to pace around the lounge room, returning a moment later to look out the window again when he thought he’d heard a noise. He’d spoken to his sister more in this past week than he had in the past year, finally managing to tell her the truth about Abigail and Ellie.
After they’d discussed things for a while, Melody had asked, ‘Why are you able to talk about it now? Not that I’m complaining, it’s just...you know, six years, Ethan, and now you can discuss things? You’ve changed—for the better—and I think it all has to do with the different pace of life in Pridham. You’ve been forced to re-evaluate your life, to slow down, to breathe, to—’
Ethan had cut her off, not wanting to discuss every aspect of his life with his sister. However, since then, Melody had taken to calling him, wanting to chat, wanting to share things in her life with him, and he was pleased she’d taken the initiative. It made him realise just how far he’d distanced himself from his family but, thankfully, they hadn’t let him disappear completely. He owed them for that, and he owed CJ for helping him to realise all this.
It was crazy how his housemate had come to mean so much to him so quickly. He’d never thought, when he’d made the decision to come to Pridham, that this sort of thing would happen, that he’d be able to open up and talk about his pain with those who cared about him. He also hadn’t expected to be attracted to his new colleague and end up being desperate to kiss her. Yet that’s exactly what he’d done. It was ridiculous, though, because his life wasn’t here in Pridham. His life was in Sydney, with his patients, his surgery, his department. He liked working in Sydney, he liked operating and was missing it here in Pridham. Granted, the pace of life here was much slower and, as far as his health went, it was doing him the world of good.
Except for this past week. Ever since he’d kissed CJ, he hadn’t managed to get any proper sleep. It was little wonder, especially as his thoughts had been constantly churning about what the kisses might mean.
Why did they need to mean anything? That had been his main argument. Perhaps those kisses had just been a means of him releasing the anguish he’d kept locked away for so many years, a way of thanking CJ for helping him to realise he still had a lot to offer the world. However, it was his desire to press his mouth to hers every other time he’d seen her that was starting to do his head in. Where he’d thought the attraction for her would begin to wane, it had, instead, intensified. He’d wanted to kiss her even more, to further explore the sensations only she’d been able to evoke, which was the reason why he’d woken up very early the morning after those exquisite kisses and ensured he had been out of the house before she’d got up.
Since then, he’d done his best to give her a wide berth, not wanting to become a complication in her life. She had enough to contend with and although both districts of Pridham and Whitecorn were watching over her, pledging their support once the baby was born, the desire to gather her into his arms and keep her safe, to protect both CJ and her unborn child, was something Ethan was constantly
