Page 37 of One Night with the Doctor

But everyone had been blasé about it and Geraldine had announced, ‘Thank the Lord for that,’ when they were sprung one afternoon after work in Sebastian’s office, stealing a kiss.

Callie had also fretted that seeing so much of each other – during and after work – would be a recipe for disaster.

But she’d been wrong on that count, too.

Maybe the fact that they always went home to their own beds to sleep, that they weren’t spending twenty-four seven with each other, had been the key.

Sebastian had been right, it seemed. They were perfect for each other. They were both in it for the same reasons – to have fun and enjoy each other without the expectations of a formal relationship. Neither of them wanted marriage or kids so the pressure wasn’t on to make anything more of it than it was.

Which was sex.

Lots and lots and lots of truly amazing, fabulous sex that just kept getting better and better. It certainly hadn’t fizzled out, as Sebastian had suggested on the plane. If anything, their appetite for each other seemed to be increasing.

Burning out of control, actually.

Callie was going to miss it when Sebastian went back to Melbourne. She was going to miss it a lot. Along with the other things. Like the laughter. And the dining out. The movies. The Sunday drives after sprawling out on her deck, eating pastries for brunch and bingeing stuff on Netflix.

She smiled, she’d really loved Netflix and chill…

She was still smiling a minute later when her phone rang and she pushed the button so she could talk hands free.

‘Callie?’

Callie’s smile broadened at the voice that was as familiar to her now as her own. ‘I was just thinking about you.’

‘That’s nice.’

It was an innocuous enough reply but Sebastian sounded tense and her smile slipped. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’ve just taken a call from Frank Jessop’s wife. He’s agitated and she’s concerned.’

Frank was an Afghanistan veteran who suffered from PTSD marked by severe flashbacks. ‘You want me to divert there?’

‘Please. I’m on my way but you’re closer and with this afternoon traffic I could be half an hour.’

She nodded. ‘That’s fine. I’m only a few minutes away. See you when you get there.’

‘Callie…’

She’d been about to hang up but the strained note in his voice stopped her.

‘Just be there, for June, okay? If you think he’s close to the edge, leave the house with her and ring for an ambulance… Don’t engage him, okay?’

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him she knew what she was doing but Callie could hear the tension in his voice and guessed that this had to be hard for Sebastian. That he’d probably faced this situation not only professionally but personally.

‘Of course,’ she murmured reassuringly then ended the call.

When Callie arrived at the Jessops’ she was greeted by Frank’s wife as if she was a floatation device and June was drowning. A gentle, petite woman, she looked frantic and had obviously been crying.

‘Are you okay?’ Callie asked, surreptitiously running her gaze all over June to check she hadn’t been harmed. ‘Has he hurt you?’

‘No, no, no,’ June dismissed. ‘He hasn’t… he never would. I just…’ She pressed her hand to her mouth. ‘I haven’t seen him like this in a long time.’

Callie reached for June’s hands and smiled. ‘It’s okay now. I’m here and Sebastian’s on his way.’

‘Thank you,’ June whispered. ‘Thank you.’

Callie smiled again and squeezed the woman’s hand. ‘I might just pop in and check on him, okay?’