Jayden gazed out at the sleeping town as Peter maneuvered the SUV through the streets of Queenstown. He hadn’t realized until then just how much he had enjoyed this place. He loved the view, the placid waters of the lake, the food, the people, and even the crazy sports. This was a perfect holiday spot. He’d be back for sure.
The drive was exhilarating, and Jayden allowed his eyes to feast on the rough beauty of the Central Otago area. Coarse, snow-covered mountains, pristine blue lakes, and twisted, gusting rivers came together as one in picturesque harmony. Now and again, distant winding roads led to vineyards and orchards and the remote formless dots of farmhouses. Sometimes the roads were so close to the edge of the cliffs Jay felt they were toying with the end of the world.
Three and a half hours of driving later, they arrived in the city of Dunedin on the east coast.
“This is George Street, the center of the city?” Jay asked as they came through the short length of the Octagon toward the north end of the town.
“Yep,” Pete responded, coming to a stop at the traffic lights on Hanover Street. “It’s a small town, bro. The Edinburgh of the South, they call it. We’ll have to park in the Meridian car park building. Damn busy on a Friday. Bloody students everywhere.”
“A city of students, huh?” Jayden commented, eyeing the crowd crossing the streets in front of them.
“Yeah,” Pete responded, taking out his cell phone.
Jay glanced at his friend, his eyebrows rising. “Not supposed to be texting while driving.”
Pete chuckled, and his thumbs moved faster like he was on a texting marathon.
Jay shook his head and turned his attention back to the streets. There was a thick crowd of students, and they were exceptionally well dressed. There were young men in fashionable jeans and coats (a few in shorts, a T-shirt, and flip-flops), while the young women wore flimsy coats, super skinny jeans or leggings and miniskirts, and three-inch heels. They strode and mingled as they laughed and chatted with their shopping bags in hand. The flawless faces of the girls were similar to that of the supermodels back in New York, by design, no doubt. Not bad for a small city from a near-forgotten country. Certainly few in New York would be familiar with this place.
Perhaps it was for this very reason that his eyes were suddenly drawn to a young woman striding across the street. She wore a bright-blue coat that had seen better days, and her long, dark hair was a mess, streaming around her as she dashed across the street. He noticed she wasn’t wearing the high heels so liked by others. Instead, she wore a pair of white sneakers that were a complete contrast to her black jeans. Jay had to shake his head. She had no sense of fashion whatsoever.
“Done! You didn’t see that,” Pete said.
Jay glanced at his friend and saw Peter slotting his cell phone back into his jeans pocket. As the traffic lights changed to green and Pete’s foot pressed on the accelerator, Jay glanced at the girl in the blue coat. He noticed she had slowed down her pace. She slipped her hand into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a cell phone. As she strolled toward a door, her head was down as though she were reading a message.
Not long after that, Jayden found himself in the public hospital cafeteria. He looked about his surroundings in astonishment. The atmosphere was as grey and dull as the faded wall paint, washed-out carpet, and the smell of hospital food.
He watched an elderly patient sitting across the table from them, trying to pick up a sandwich with wrinkled, liver-spotted hands that shook with the desperate determination of old age.
“What are we doing here?” Jay asked.
“Looking for the perfect girlfriend for you,” Peter said enthusiastically.
“Very funny,” Jay snapped, picked up his ham sandwich, and taking a bite.
They were looking in the wrong place. No proper socialite chick, even one desperate enough to be hired for whatever reason, would be found in this type of place.
At that moment, a large group of young doctors came into the cafeteria with trays of food and drinks in their hands. Some were wearing scrubs while the younger ones, the medical students, wore semi-formal clothing with stethoscopes hanging around their necks. Jay noted a few of the female doctors looked quite appealing.
“Hey, I can tell you like the looks of this,” Peter said as they watched the doctors taking their seats not far from them.
“Is she a doctor?” Jay asked.
Peter shook his head.
“A nurse?” Jay watched as a pack of young and old nurses wearing dark-blue scrubs filed into the cafeteria.
Again, Peter shook his head.
“What does she do, then? You said you know her,” Jay said, watching a pretty female heading their way.
She looked very attractive, long legs in heels, medium brown hair that flowed down her back, full lips, and bedroom eyes.
Peter nodded. “Of course I know her. She’s exactly what the criteria are not.”
“What? But she’s perfect.” Jay watched the woman gliding toward him. Then she smiled at him. My God, she was beautiful. She could be a model if she wanted to; only she was a doctor, which was even better. She had brains and possibly a good family background. What about manners? He had no doubt she had excellent manners. He couldn't imagine her yelling and screaming insanely at her sick, elderly patients.
Yes, she fit the criteria, all right.
“Really, that’s good. I’m glad you agree,” Peter said, eyeing the woman coming toward them. He waved as she approached the seat opposite them.
“Hey, you,” she said, greeting him. “I thought you were on holiday. What are you doing back here?”
Jay liked the sound of her voice. It was soft and sweet.
“Mary, this is Jayden, a friend of mine.” Peter introduced her, nodding toward Jay, who rose and offered his hand.
“Hi,” Mary said. “I’m Pete’s cousin. I’m a medical student.”
Jay liked her hand, too. It was soft. He could sense both gentleness and strength in it.
“So how is your holiday going?” she asked. “You’re not back to work yet, right?”
Peter shook his head. “Not for another week.”
She nodded prettily and turned to Jayden with a sparkle in her eyes. “So where are you from?”
“The States,” Jayden replied promptly.
“I like your accent.” She laughed delicately, brushing her hair over one shoulder. “So what brings you to New Zealand?”
“Just a holiday.”
“Having fun so far?” She leaned toward him across the table. Then beep, beep, beep. She glanced down. “Oh, damn, my pager. Excuse me for a second.” She got up and hurried to the phone on the far side of the room.
“She fits some of the criteria so far,” Jay commented, watching Mary. He saw her eyeing him as she was talking into the phone and jotting down notes.
“How do you know when you haven’t met her yet?” Peter asked.
Jayden glanced at his friend, frowning in confusion as he brought the cup of hot coffee to his lips. “Mary?”
“Nope, not Mary—her.” Peter nodded toward the far entrance of the cafeteria.
Jayden glanced in that direction, and his eyes widened in shock. His breath caught at the back of his throat, and he started spluttering—hot liquid burning his tongue.
“Hey, are you all right?”
“Yeah,” Jay muttered, wiping his mouth with the napkin. He glanced up and watched intensely, his frown darkening into a scowl. This female—the girl in the blue coat he had seen in the street—the girl who was walking toward them with a satchel over her shoulder and a cup of tea in one hand—was nothing like what he expected. She didn’t fit the criteria. Period!
She was average height. She wasn’t pretty. In fact, she was plain. Her baggy jersey was an odd, dull-grey color and didn’t exactly enhance her skin tone either. It made her face look pale and ghostly. Her long, dark hair was a mess and hung forward in long bangs that hid her eyes.
As she walked toward them, Jay couldn’t help but stare at her. She looked nervous.
She glanced at them, gave Peter a fleeting smile, and then rushed past them.
“What do you think?” Peter asked.
“Not her.” Jay felt his gut wrenching with dread. “Please tell me it’s not her.”
“It’s her.” Peter chuckled. “Once your family sees her, they will leave you alone.”
“How do you know that for sure?”
“Because they will give up. If you show them she is the type of girl you are in love with—and, mate, I know you are not at the moment—they will give up in the end and leave you alone.” Peter smiled smugly, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his chair.
Mary finished her phone call and joined them.
“You look busy,” Peter said.
“I am,” Mary replied. “Every patient in ED seems to have pneumonia. Then there are those with colds and flu. Can’t they just go to their GP?” She turned to Jayden, who suddenly went very quiet and had a trancelike look on his face. “Are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine.”
“Hey, we should go out Saturday night,” Mary suggested, eyeing Jayden. “Dinner, a movie, a quiet drink, and then—”
Jay raised his eyebrows. Peter cleared his throat and nodded. “How about inviting the others along too? It’ll be fun.”
Mary frowned at Peter. He simply shrugged his shoulders and tried on an expression of innocence—which failed.
DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALANDThough her eyes were on her book, Alexandra Stewart, known simply as Alex to close friends and relatives, knew Mr. Hot-Choc was still watching her. Perhaps he wanted to sit next to Mary St. Clair, which wouldn’t surprise her at all. Her ex-classmate from high school was popular with everyone. Her catwalk figure, dark-brown curls, and bright-blue eyes stole the tongues right out of the mouths of the boys. You could say she was perfect, almost. If only she didn’t act like such a bitch, thinking everyone was beneath her and that no one else was as deserving of her perfect life.Alex could never behave like Mary. She would rather hide in a closet or do dishes than flirt with a guy. In her world, she wasn’t pretty enough to have the confidence that seemed to exude from Mary.And now Mary looked to be hitting on Mr. Hot-Choc. Again, Alex wasn’t surprised. The man was a hunk, tall and trim, blond-haired, and blue-eyed. She was sure she had never seen him around Dunedin.
Alex gasped, her eyes squinting in the sudden darkness. Damn! She’d have to get the torch and replace that light bulb again.She shook her hands out of the soapy water, wiped them dry with a clean towel, and headed around the benchtop. As she groped her way into the living area, she heard a giggle, which sounded much like Emma. There, floating in the darkness, was a chocolate cake, candlelight flickering across its surface. Her dad was holding it, and her mom, with her arm in his. Her best friend, Ruby Williams-Chan, came into view, removing any doubt over whose idea this was. Nikita Buchannan and Isabella Robertson were there, too. Everyone was wearing big, sloppy birthday smiles.“Oh my God!” Alex murmured.Emma giggled again, as though she couldn’t contain herself, and rushed to stand next to her. The strains of “Happy Birthday,” sung in the traditional arrangement of out-of-tune voices, filled the room. A sudden eruption of light revealed Timothy with his hand on the switch. Alex
The aroma of coffee greeted Alex the moment she stepped through the door of SAN Restaurant. It was toasty warm inside compared to the sharp, cold air outside. She headed to the counter and ordered herself the hot chocolate she had been craving since Friday. Then she took a seat facing the door to make sure Peter would be able to spot her.Alex glanced about her surroundings, noting the busy staff, the happy customers, and cozy decor of the restaurant.SAN made the best hot chocolate in town, not to mention Cambodian food. She and her friends had always met here for their hot-choc sessions.She took off her blue coat nervously. In fact, her insides were shuddering with anxiety as she waited for Peter and his friend, whoever he was, to show up.Peter had called her late last night. After he sang her a happy birthday song loudly, he told her she shouldn’t be nervous meeting his friend, supposedly a nice person. She trusted Peter. He would never introduce her to anyone who had a questiona
Alexandra was going nuts! She couldn’t concentrate or do anything right after that damn hot-choc with Peter and Jayden. Once home and alone in her bedroom, she threw her satchel on the floor and collapsed on the bed.“You’ve sent me the wrong man,” she muttered under her breath, looking heavenward at the white ceiling. She sighed and rolled over to lie on her stomach. “He’s not even interested in me. He’s interested because I can help him.” She pouted her lips. “His girlfriend must be very hot.” Then she thought to add, “And very stupid.”She rested her chin on her palm as she stared at her pink netbook screen. Well, you better stop thinking about him and start paying bills, Alex, she told herself.Nodding her head and determined not to think about Jayden, she logged into her internet banking and started paying her electricity and phone bills. The balance in her bank account after that made her feel terribly depressed. She sighed. Oh, well, at least next Wednesday would be payday. Her
Margaret Thompson glanced at Peter and Jayden from where she stood in the kitchen, armed with a knife and chopping board. She wondered what they were doing, sitting there for almost an hour now, staring at the BlackBerry that was on the coffee table. It looked as though they were daring it to ring, so intense they were at their task. The air was thick with tension and anticipation. The telephone on the side table beside Peter shrilled out, causing the two men to jump. They glanced at each other. Peter ignored the ringing phone beside him that seriously demanded his attention and leaned closer to his BlackBerry. A second later, the continuous buzzing was starting to annoy the men. They both frowned at the damn thing and demanded it to shut up. Peter said, “Mum, aren’t you going to get that?” Margaret looked up, her green eyes peering above her spectacles at Peter, her red hair bright and glowing under the light. “I’m busy, Peter. Aren’t you going to pick it up?” “I’m waiting for an
Jayden wandered along the hallway, cursing himself. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he showing so much interest toward Alex? And why did he have to stand so close to her just then? No, wait. Pause right there, hot shot! He knew why. It was because she smelled great, like spring or something. He wasn’t able to help himself because he wanted to smell her again after she had squeezed past him through the entrance door into the hallway. It wasn’t a strong, perfumery smell like most of the women used back in New York, but rather a subtle scent, just a hint of lovely floral that pricked his interest, just a hint that made him want to inhale more. He reached the bathroom door, put one hand on the knob, and knocked lightly a couple of times with the other. When he didn’t hear any reply, he opened the door slightly and popped his head in. He saw her busy cleaning herself with some Kleenex. She had her jersey off, which was lying on the floor. She was wearing only her white single
In the dimly lit dining room, Jayden watched Alex from across the table. She had on his dark-grey jumper. It was way too big for her person, but she managed to make it look as though it fit her perfectly, with the sleeves rolled up to her slim forearms. “So how’s the house renovation going, Pete?” Alex asked, glancing up from her plate of roasted pork and various veggies. “Not too well,” Peter said. “Did I tell you about that mold?” Alex shook her head as she popped some pork into her mouth. “We have to take down the walls. God, more labor costs and more materials needed now,” he mumbled. “And Tracy is not very happy.” “I’m sure I wouldn’t be happy either,” Alex commented, thinking about the amount of money needed for a house renovation. “So, Alex,” Mr. Thompson said from across the table, sipping his glass of white wine. Alex looked over at Dr. Mark Thompson, who had only arrived five minutes before dinner. He had been busy at the Dunedin Public Hospital and at the lab. Well, a
Eight Weeks Later NEW YORK CITY, USA Alex was tired and frustrated. Finally, she thought with some small triumph, she had arrived in New York City. Now standing there in the lobby of LaGuardia Airport, she just wanted to collapse on the floor and rest. Where was Jayden anyway? Oh, God! What if he forgot to come and get her? Well, she couldn’t blame him if he had because she was late. She was supposed to arrive yesterday afternoon. But being the clumsy, inexperienced traveler she was, she managed to miss the flight from Sydney to Los Angeles and then the rest was history. She was still upset she missed that flight. It was first class. Now she would never know what it was like sitting in that luxurious, comfy seat with the airhostess serving her every need. Damn! Turning her attention back to her dilemma, she thought if she didn’t see Jay within the next five minutes, she’d take a taxi and check into the nearest hotel. Then she’d give him a ring to tell him where she was. She dragged