Chapter 18
FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS, Nate and Jess kept busy delivering food and checking on the crew. Jess tried to hide the sparks she felt working alongside Nate under a cover of professionalism, but the more time they spent together, laughing and chatting, the more she liked him.
Before long, most of the crew had recovered and filming could resume.
Back on set, Jess took her lunch break, and was greeted by Monica, the set cook, with a warm hug. “Darling girl! I hear your soups were amazing. I might need to steal your recipe.”
“Great to see you feeling better, Monica,” Jess said, noticing the cook’s eyes looked brighter and full of clarity.
The confusion and dehydration that had sent her to the hospital, gone.
“It was Nate’s recipe, actually, and I don’t think he gives up his secrets easily,” Jess said. “But I’m sure he will for you.”
Nate slid up behind her in the lunch line and Monica winked. “The handsome Doctor cooks? Who would’ve guessed you’re a real doctor?! Smart, sexy, and good in the kitchen.” Monica tipped her head conspiratorially at Jess and lowered her voice. “He’s a catch.”
Having spent the past few days with Nate, Jess had to agree.
It felt weirdly good to spend so much time with him.
Easy. But she’d managed so far to keep her crush on Nate to herself.
The guy had recently come out of a serious relationship and, anyway, she’d made a commitment to herself, and to her best friend Poppy, that she’d steer clear of men for the near future.
A chaos free, man free life. Did it have to be so hard?
She leant into her stubborn side, determined to stick to her plans.
“With you two around, I should probably be worried about my job.” Monica laughed, handing them each a plate piled high with lasagna.
“We couldn’t compete with your skills. I’ve never seen such a good-looking lasagna.” Nate smiled at the older woman in a way that made Jess’s pulse race. He radiated a warmth she knew was genuine, and it never failed to surprise her.
In the crowded temporary cafeteria, Jess and Nate found a place to sit at the end of a long fold-out table, greeting the nearby crew members as they took their seats.
Jess ate slowly, enjoying her meal and the feeling of comfort she’d noticed falling over her in the last few days. Being here, on set, with this man opposite her was exactly where she was meant to be.
“You’re great at this, you know,” she said quietly to Nate.
He paused, a forkful of lasagna midway to his mouth. “At what?”
“At this.” She indicated around the room. “Looking after everyone. The doctoring. And the fake doctoring,” she laughed. “Just all of it.”
Raising his eyebrows, like a shrug, he took a mouthful of lasagna as if thinking it over. Eventually, he looked back at her, his eyes locked on hers. The seconds ticked over. The room was full of noise, but her own heartbeat in her throat drowned it out.
“I was thinking the same of you,” he said. “I know you were nervous about being on set, and I’m sorry I didn’t make you feel the most welcome at the start.”
“It’s okay. You were focused and—”
“No, I was rude. I wasn’t convinced we needed a medical consultant, if I’m being honest. But we’re lucky to have you here.” His eyes crinkled with the beginnings of a smile. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” She broke eye contact, looking down at her plate. If only she’d met this man at a different stage in both their lives. If real love was possible—and she still wasn’t convinced—he’d be the kind of guy who might be worth taking a risk with.
Laney pulled a chair up next to them and interrupted Jess’s thoughts.
“Jess, I have a problem.” The young director’s hair fell over her shoulders in two messy braids, even more frizzed up than usual. The illness likely put everything well behind schedule, which she could imagine cost money and caused a fair amount of stress.
“How can I help?”
“We have a plot point that’s just not working. With Lilia still in hospital with preeclampsia we’re down a writer and we need a really crucial medical moment for this next scene. We’re coming up blank.” She placed a script down on the table, folded open on a scene. “Can I leave this with you?”
Jess’s stomach tightened. Laney had so much confidence in her. The imposter syndrome she’d thought was gone, quietly nagged. Mustering fake confidence, she took the script and smiled at Laney. “No problem.”
“You’re the absolute best,” Laney gushed, standing and hugging Jess awkwardly. “We start filming at one.”
Watching Laney leave, Jess let out a long, slow breath to calm herself.
“You’ve got this,” Nate said, clearly picking up on her nervousness.
“Thanks.” His belief in her meant a lot and her nerves lifted slightly. Already she’d come to rely so much on his calming presence.
“Would you have time to give me a hand?” She had an idea of something that might work, a situation she’d experienced at the hospital recently, but having someone to test it against would be helpful.
She wanted to make sure she delivered a strong scene to Laney and Nate had both acting and medical knowledge.
“Sure. What are you thinking?” He said, placing his fork down on his now empty plate.
“I had a stuck shoulder birth recently and I think that might make for a dramatic scene. Considering they didn’t have many strategies to deal with it back in the 50s, it would be a high-risk birth.”
Nate nodded, fully engaged and listening, which Jess appreciated.
“Great idea. Were you thinking they’d do a Gaskin maneuver? Pretty sure that wasn’t around until the 70s?”
She remembered doing the Gaskin with her own patient, encouraging the mother onto her hands and knees and using gravity to gently reposition the baby’s shoulders.
“So, I don’t know if this is breaking the rules—”
“It’s television. You can break the rules. What were you thinking?”
“I thought your character could try all the standard procedures of the time. Pressing the woman’s knees up to her abdomen. Applying pressure to the pubic bone.” Sharing her ideas with Nate, all her nerves disappeared. He nodded along, his eyes sparkling with interest.
“So it’s looking pretty dire,” she continued. “It’s taking too long and the midwife has an argument with Doctor Raynard, well, with you, and he finally steps back.”
“Ah, I think I see where you’re going with this. Brilliant,” Nate says. “And then the midwife?”
“The midwife tells the woman to move onto her hands and knees.”
“And does the Gaskin maneuver.”
“But nothing is happening. The clock is ticking. The baby’s been without oxygen for over five minutes, so she gently rotates the shoulder in the birth canal and, at the last minute, the baby is delivered.”
“Happy endings all around. Perfect. I think Laney will love it.”
“It makes your character look a bit like an idiot,” she said, with a playful smirk.
“He doesn’t need any help with that. He makes himself look like an idiot.”
“True.”
“I just hope my patients back home don’t watch the show and think that’s how I really am.”
Home. The word landed like a brick in Jess’s stomach.
Why did the idea of Nate leaving make her so upset?
It wasn’t like it was a secret. He was here temporarily.
Then he’d head back to London. Back to his city apartment and his big city job.
He’d talked about it enough when they’d been cooking together.
“I don’t think there’s a risk of that,” she said, and meant it. No-one would ever confuse the arrogant Doctor Raynard with Nate. Although she had when she’d first met him.
“Do you leave straight after filming ends?”
“The night of actually. A painfully long 23 hours of flying. And I don’t sleep well on planes, unfortunately.”
Scrunching up her nose, she remembered her own long flight a few years back to Europe when she’d travelled with her ex. “I hope you’ve got first class booked?”
“Not even premium economy, I’m afraid.”
“At least you have the in-flight meals to look forward to,” she said, sarcastically.
“I actually like the in-flight meals. Better than mouldy sandwiches in the back of loan cars.”
Jess laughed. “You should pack it in your carry on, just in case.”
THE NEXT FEW WEEKS FLEW by and Nate couldn’t believe it had been a month since he’d left London, escaping to this beautiful country and meeting the equally beautiful Jess.
He didn’t dare let it show, but his feelings for Jess had only grown stronger in the last few weeks.
As much as he wanted to, there was no point pursuing a relationship with her.
He no longer thought of her as being similar to his ex.
Sure, they had similar looks, but the more he got to know Jess, the more her bubbly, passionate personality shone through.
She was someone who lived life fully, loved a good laugh, and had this way of making everyone around her feel important. Including him.
It made him realise how broken his relationships back home had been.
How much he’d neglected them and made his friends and family feel second to his work, especially his ex.
He didn’t know how much of his life was salvageable, but he knew his priorities had shifted.
He wanted to try living the way Jess lived.
Working hard, but also valuing the people in her life.
He’d taken too much for granted for too long, and it was a painful lesson to learn.
Once he was back home, he’d make it right.
Nate packed his bags, ready for his flight that evening and drove to the Five Stags where the crew were having their wrap party.
He couldn’t stay long, only a few minutes.
He liked to be organised with flights, so he’d arranged an Uber to take him to the airport well before check-in time to avoid any stress.
Still, he wanted to say goodbye to the film crew, many of whom had become like family.
His stomach fluttered thinking about the main reason he was there. Yes, there was one person he wanted to see one last time. He couldn’t seem to convince himself to shut his feelings off for Jess.
He entered the Five Stags and was greeted with a welcoming cheer from the crew.
His colleagues slapped him on the back, hugged him, and Laney offered to shout him a drink.
Would he be getting this kind of welcome back home?
Not likely. His dad had offered to meet him at the airport, but Nate had told him not to worry.
The flights were so late. He’d be arriving in a cab to an empty apartment.
“Doc, you’re going to be a massive hit!” Laney gushed, already fairly tipsy, and shoved a pint towards him. “What a comeback for your acting career! I see big things in your future.”
“Thanks, Laney, but back to real doctoring for me now,” he said, declining the cider. “In fact, I’m heading back now. I just dropped in to say thank you and goodbye.”
Laney pouted and leaned in conspiratorially, pointing at Jess across the room.
“I think you’d better say a special goodbye to someone over there.
” Nate breathed in sharply. Laney must have noticed something.
Had she caught him watching Jess on set?
Getting flustered when she was nearby? Had he made it that obvious?
Embarrassed, he tried to brush it off. “I’ll try to be back for the premiere.”
“You better be.” Laney hugged him tight.
When she released him, Nate headed in Jess’s direction, trying to be as subtle about it as possible.
He stood behind her, suddenly unsure of what to do next. Her long hair was tied up in a high bun, her dress’s open-back showing off her soft golden skin all the way to her waist. More than anything, he wanted to reach out and touch her. Feel her warmth under the palm of his hand.
Instead, he cleared his throat and placed his hands safely behind his back.
“Jess?”
She turned around, the smile on her face widening. “You’re here. I was worried you’d left already.”
“Just about to. I wanted to come say goodbye.”
“Oh.” Jess frowned and sipped her drink. Her eyes met his, all the unsaid things hanging in the air between them. Did she feel it too?
His phone dinged, alerting him the Uber was arriving. “That’s my ride now, actually.”
“Can I walk you out?”
“I’d like that.”
She followed him to the door, his stomach churning with nerves. Collecting his bag from the coat area where he’d left it, he walked next to her toward the Uber, neither of them speaking.
What could he say? Tell her he’d fallen for her? That seemed unfair. He had far too much baggage to sort out from his failed engagement, plus an apartment to save, a life to recover.
“I really enjoyed getting to work with you, Jess,” he said, trying to hold back from saying more and making it awkward.
“Me too, Nate. Thanks for all your help. It meant a lot.”
The Uber pulled up. If only he had more time. He wanted so much more time with this beautiful woman. “I wish we’d met in other—”
“I know,” she interrupted him.
Nate leant in for a hug, but Jess took his face in her hands, kissing him on the lips. Her kiss, light at first, hesitant, and then deeper. His hands found her hips and pulled her close. With her body up against his, he forgot all his sensible intentions.
There was only this.
This moment. Jess in his arms, kissing him like nothing else mattered.
The Uber driver beeped his horn, and Jess stood back.
“You better go,” she whispered, finding his hands.
He held her fingers tight, not wanting to let go. “I should.”
But his body refused to budge. If he took his eyes off her, that would be it. It would be over, and he didn’t want it to be. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to say more. Tell her all the things he was feeling.
“Go,” she said, her eyes seeming to say the opposite as she released his hand.
Looking from the Uber to Jess and back again, Nate’s mind froze. Automatically, he grabbed his bag and placed it in the back of the car.
“Thanks, Jess.”
She smiled.
What an idiot. Of all the things he could say, of course he went with politeness.
He tried to shake his head clear, his lips still burning, still speechless, from her kiss.
She waved and Nate, not knowing what else to do, stepped into the car, closed the door, and waved back as the driver pulled away.