SHE would have known that laugh anywhere.
It rippled down the corridor, bringing smiles to the faces of the people who heard it, raising a chuckle here and there, leaving no one untouched. It was a rich, warm laugh; a deep laugh, spontaneous and generous, the laugh of a man who knew how to enjoy life.
It nearly brought Sally to her knees.
Heart pounding, her mouth dry, the strength in her legs vanishing by the second, she propped herself up against the nearest wall and sucked in a slow, steadying breath.
Not Nick. Please, God, not Nick. Not here, not now. Not ever! Seven years hadnât made it any easier to think about him, and if she imagined sheâd got over him, well, now she knew that lie for what it was.
She could hear footsteps approaching, and the low murmur of masculine voices, and before she could prise herself from the wall and run for cover Ryan OâConnor, the senior A and E consultant, appeared around the corner with another man at his sideâa man that Sally had longed for and yet had hoped never to see againâand she was trapped.
âAh, Sally! Just the person I was looking for,â Ryan said with a broad smile. âMeet Dr Nick Baker, my new specialist registrar.â
Reluctantly, her throat working convulsively to swallow the huge lump that had appeared as if by magic, she let her eyes move from Ryan to Nick.
How odd, she thought with the small, distant part of her brain that still seemed to be functioning. Heâs changed, and yet heâs exactly the same.
Her eyes, greedy for him, took inventory. Solidly built, a shade under six feet, his mid-brown hair shorter than it used to be but still rumpled and untidy, his eyes the same astonishing blue behind the character lines that bracketed them now, his mouth mobile and expressive, the smile every bit as sexy as it had ever beenâ
âHello, Sally,â he murmured, and the voice like dark chocolate slithered over her nerve endings and brought her hormones snapping to attention.
âHello, Nick,â she said automatically, and then Ryanâs words sank in. New specialist registrar? she thought frantically. Heâs working here? Belatedly she noticed the white coat, the stethoscope slung casually round his neck, the name badge on his pocket.
Thank goodness she was still propped up against the wall, because at that moment, without it, she would have fallen over with the shock.
âSallyâs a tyrant,â Ryan was saying with a hint of laughter in his soft Canadian voice. âStay on the right side of her and youâll be OK, but she runs a tight ship and she doesnât suffer fools gladly. Her temperâs legendary.â
âThat hasnât changed, then,â Nick murmured, his eyes scanning her, and she felt the touch of his gaze like fingers of fire over her body.
âHey, Sally, your reputation seems to have preceded you,â Ryan said with an amused chuckle, but Nick shook his head, his eyes never leaving her.
âNo. Weâre old buddiesâarenât we, Sal?â he replied, and his eyes challenged her to defy him.
âAbsolutely,â she said, still groping for a coherent thought. She dredged up a smile, hopefully not too inane, and switched her gaze pointedly to Ryan. âWell, to be exact, we were old buddies. We worked together, many years agoââ
âSeven,â Nick said softly.
And she thought, He remembers. How odd. Iâm surprised he can even be bothered to remember my name. She cranked up the smile.
âIs it really? Good heavens.â
A strong brow twitched sceptically, but he let it go, his mouth tipping in an answering smile more genuine than her own. âItâs good to see you again.â
He was holding out his hand, and without a huge breach of social etiquette it would have been impossible to ignore it. Heart pounding, she placed her hand in his and felt the shock of that contact, the first in seven years, to the tips of her toes.
His hand was hard and warm and dry, his fingers curling round hers. His thumb brushed against the outside of her wristâby accident? It sent quivers of reaction up the nerves in her arm.
She snatched her hand back as soon as was decently possible, but not before the impact of that everyday social gesture had played havoc with her blood pressure and turned her already weakened legs to jelly.
Ryan grinned at her. âWell, since you two know each other, why donât I leave you to show Nick round the department and catch up on old times? I have a couple of letters to dictate and some calls to make while weâre quiet.â
âQuiet? You do know how to tempt fate, donât you?â she said with what she hoped was her usual cynicism, struggling for a normal tone that didnât betray her shock. Not for the world did she want Nick to know he still had any effect on herâand especially not that effect! She turned to him as Ryan walked away.