St Piran's: The Fireman and Nurse Loveday Read Online Free

said. She took a notepad from her pocket and scribbled quickly on it. ‘That’s my address, my home phone and my mobile phone.’
    ‘Thank you.’ Tom dragged in a breath. ‘This is going to sound really ungrateful. My instincts tell me to trust you, but—’
    ‘I’m a stranger,’ she finished. ‘You can never take risks with children. They’re too precious.’ She bit her lip and looked away, and Tom felt like an utter heel. She was trying to help and he’d practically thrown the offer back in her face.
    ‘Talk to Nick,’ she said. ‘And then, if you’re happy for Joey to come with me, I’ll be next door at the nursery.’
    Somehow, she’d understood that this wasn’t personal—that he’d be the same even if the offer had come from a teaching assistant he didn’t know. ‘Thank you,’ Tom said and, making sure Joey was right by his side, went to find Nick Tremayne.
    At half past seven that evening, Flora heard the car tyres on the gravel and glanced across at Banjo, who was standing guard over the child asleep on the beanbag. ‘All right, boy. I heard him. Shh, now. Let Joey sleep. ‘
    She’d opened the kitchen door before Tom could ring the doorbell. ‘Joey’s asleep in front of the fire,’ she whispered. ‘Come in. ‘
    He’d showered and changed; out of his uniform, and with his face no longer covered by a mask and soot, Tom Nicholson was breathtakingly handsome. When he smiled at her, her heart actually skipped a beat.
    Which was ridiculous, because he was way,
way
out of her league. He probably had a girlfriend already; though, even if he didn’t, Flora knew he wouldn’t look twice at her. Looking the way he did, and doing the job he did, Tom was probably used to scores of much more attractive women falling in a heap at his feet. He wouldn’t be interested in a shy, plump nurse who spent most of her time looking like a beetroot.
    ‘He’s absolutely sound asleep,’ Tom whispered, lookingdown at his nephew, who was lying on the beanbag with a fleecy blanket tucked round him.
    ‘It’s been a long day for him—and a scary one.’ She glanced at Tom. ‘Um, I’ve already fed him. I hope that’s OK.’
    ‘That’s great. Thanks for being so kind,’ Tom said.
    ‘I could hardly let him starve.’ Flora shrugged it off. ‘Poor little lad. He’s had a lot to cope with, losing both his parents. I know what that’s like.’ She’d had to face losing both her parents, the previous year, so she had an idea what he was going through—though, being twenty years older than Joey, at least she’d had an adult’s perspective to help her cope. She looked more closely at Tom and saw the lines of strain around his eyes. ‘You look exhausted.’
    ‘Once the immediate danger’s passed, the real work starts—making sure we keep the site damped down so the fire doesn’t flare up again.’ Tom grimaced. ‘Sorry I’ve been so long. And I took time out for a shower, because if I turned up covered in smuts and stinking of smoke it might scare Joey. ‘
    He’d put his nephew first; and no doubt the shower had been at the expense of taking time to grab a meal. It was good that he could put Joey first, but the poor man must be starving as well as tired. And if she made him something to eat, she could keep herself busy doing something practical—which was a lot easier than sitting down and having a conversation where she’d end up blushing and stumbling over her words and getting flustered. She’d learned the hard way that being practical and doing something was the best way of dealing with her hated shyness. ‘He’s perfectly safe and comfortable where he is, so why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you a hot drink and something to eat?’ Flora asked.
    ‘I can’t impose on you like that.’
    ‘You’re not imposing. I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce this afternoon. It won’t take long to heat it through and cook some pasta—that’s what Joey and I had.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    The