Early on, he’d wanted to introduce the effervescent Elissa to his wife, sure they’d become friends. Elissa had a four-year-old, and she was full of tips about kids’ activities in Canberra. But the women had never met, and now Marty had stopped mentioning Elissa’s name—though he still passed on information from her, lightly disguising the source.

‘A nurse told me about this gymnastics place. Great classes for kids.’

‘Apparently the library has a dress-up day on Tuesday. Do you think Bella would like that?’

Lexie had enrolled Bella in gymnastics and occasionally took her to the library. It was Elissa who had suggested a playgroup, which had become Lexie’s lifeline. And somehow Elissa herself had become Marty’s lifeline.

Sometimes, over lunch and later, as he recalled a flick of her hair and that seductive smile, a twinge of guilt flared. But Elissa was only a friend. A friend. Nothing disloyal about that. He needed someone to talk with, to laugh with, that was all.

‘So, are you going out for a drink with that specialist?’ Marty asked.

He knew Elissa was single but she rarely talked about men.

‘None of your business, Dr Parker,’ she retorted. ‘Why? Are you jealous?’

Marty felt his face flush to the very roots of his hair. Christ, he was so transparent.

‘Ah, do you know a good plumber?’ Marty quickly changed to a safer topic. ‘That gardener you recommended has been great.’

‘A plumber?’ Elissa raised her eyebrows. ‘Yes, I can give you a number. And no, I didn’t have a drink with him.’ She giggled. ‘The plumber, I mean. I’m still deciding about the specialist.’

She had found a pen in her handbag and copied a number from her mobile phone onto a napkin. Marty wished she’d just text it to him—then he’d have her number too.

‘Thanks.’ Marty took the napkin and folded it into his pocket. ‘Gotta dash. See you on the ward.’

‘Sure.’ That smile again. ‘When I was there this morning, Owen in bed four was crying a lot. You might want to check on him.’

As he left, Marty avoided touching her arm, avoided looking at her body. Dangerous territory.