Read Online Masquerade by Nicole Flockton - Free Book Online Page B

phone she hadn’t dialed. “It seems he cut his arm and Tim heard his cry of pain. When Tim turned, he somehow knocked the pot full of oil and it caught alight. In his attempt to douse the flames, he got burned and tipped the oil over his hand. It was one of those freaky accidents.”
    “It was lucky we were there then.”
    “Yep, it was. Although having said that, the restaurant and Cliff, the doorman, all have my details in case of an emergency.”
    “So you would’ve been called anyway?” asked Alex.
    “Maybe, maybe not. The maître dꞌ initially insisted it was a ‘slight accident.’ He may not have contacted me, or if he did it may’ve been quite a while after the event.”
    “Does it happen often?” Alex questioned.
    “Does what happen often?”
    “Being called to help when there’s been an accident.” Alex lowered himself onto the corner of her desk.
    “Nope, never happened before, but I was glad we were in the restaurant. It could’ve been much worse if we hadn’t been close by.”
    Sophie stifled a yawn. The stresses of the day and evening were taking their toll and her morning shift would come around too soon.
    “Do you want to share a cab?” Alex’s words were softly spoken.
    “Isn’t it out of your way?”
    Her breath caught and her heart skipped a beat as Alex reached out and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He let his fingers rest gently on her cheek.
    “My car’s at your building.”
    Embarrassment flooded her and she shifted back slightly, breaking the contact.
    “Of course, I’d forgotten all about how you got to my place. I’ll call.”
    Humor laced his voice as he spoke. “I don’t think we need to call. I’m sure one is bound to be pulling up shortly with someone who’s injured themselves at a bar or sports club.”
    She laughed. His words were true. Some days there seemed to be an endless parade of cabs. More than you would see at an airport.
    She stood and stretched. When she straightened, time stopped as she became aware of Alex’s look. Desire burned in the dark depths of his eyes and she was transported back to their one night. The hairs on her arm stood to attention. She wanted to walk into his arms, have their strength surround and comfort and soothe her.
    Someone had to break the spell but she didn’t know whether she had the power to do it. She took a deep breath and turned toward the door.
    “Umm it’s getting late, we should, ahh, get going.”
    • • •
    Words deserted Alex right at that moment. What he wanted to do was trap her against the office door and ravish her.
    Once again, Sophie had surprised him with her excellent skills and unflappable demeanor. She’d handled the maître dꞌ as well as calmed Josh and Tim. She was a first-class nurse. Part of him wanted to get to know more about her on a personal and professional level.
    He escorted her through the amazingly quiet emergency department; maybe a cab wouldn’t be so easy to get after all.
    “It’s so quiet,” he murmured.
    Sophie laughed and the sound was melodic like a spoon hitting the finest of crystal glasses.
    “Don’t be fooled, generally it’s the calm before the storm. You think you’re going to have an easy night, then bam, five casualties come crashing through the doors.”
    They walked through the doors she’d just mentioned and heard the distant wail of a siren.
    He had to laugh at her I-told-you-so expression. He put a hand up in surrender. “I will never doubt your word again.”
    Luck was on their side when a cab pulled up, depositing a man holding a blood stained towel to his nose.
    Bar fight, Alex surmised. He caught the whiff of stale alcohol as the man walked past and into the ED. He turned to see Sophie turn up her nose in distaste.
    “Do you want to go in this cab?” he asked.
    She nodded her head tiredly. “I’m so beat. I’ll just wind down the window.” She then glanced down at her dress and saw the blood smeared down the front. “It’s