He grinned. ‘It would but I think you’re right.’ He tucked into the steak pie for a while and then said on a thoughtful note, ‘Did you have any particular reason for wanting to come to this conference? It’s not as though you’ll have much use for this technology in paediatric A and E, is it? Unless you’ve come across problems, of course?’
She laid down her spoon for a moment while she answered him. ‘You’re right—so far there hasn’t been any situation where I’ve needed to have the equipment on hand. But I’m thinking of the wider issues. A job has come up that I’m really interested in. I felt coming here might be useful to me, because the work will involve administration—seeing to the needs of the region, not just the local hospital.’
He was silent for a moment, seemingly preoccupied with his thoughts, but then he frowned and asked, ‘Are you thinking of moving away from paediatrics?’
She shook her head, making the chestnut curls gleam in the golden light of the chandelier. ‘Not at all. It just means I’ll have extra responsibility on top of what I’m doing now. My boss has been encouraging me to go for it. It’s really important to me to get this job—I’ve worked hard these last few years, because I always wanted to become a consultant. This is the ideal opportunity for me to achieve that.’
‘As a registrar, you’re only one step away from that, though some people might think you’re still rather young, and maybe you could do with a bit more experience under your belt.’ His dark brows drew together. ‘Is your career that important to you? What about marriage and children? Don’t they figure in your plans?’
‘Of course they do…at some point,’ she said in a faintly troubled voice. ‘But right now my job is everything to me. I love what I do.’
The truth was, there’d been boyfriends along the way, and one in particular who she’d cared about quite deeply, until she’d discovered that he’d cheated on her. That had hurt her badly, and had shaken her confidence, so that she decided to put all her energies into her work. She’d made up her mind she wasn’t ever going to allow herself to be hurt that way again.
She’d learned a valuable lesson, and at the same time she’d realised that none of the men she’d dated had measured up to her ideal. Perhaps, subconsciously, she’d been setting them all against her first love…or should that be infatuation? Somehow, Ross had always been there in the back of her mind, right from the beginning. He was so wrong for her, and yet the dream had persisted. There was always that ‘what if’ hovering in the background.
‘Katie, Ross! Who’d have thought we would meet up here?’ The male voice cut into her thoughts, and Katie looked up from her seat by the window to see a tall man, immaculately dressed in a dark suit and subtly patterned silk tie, standing by their table. His dark hair had a natural wave, and his blue-grey eyes glinted with recognition.
‘Josh? Josh Kilburn?’ Katie smiled as she recalled the earnest young man she’d been at school with several years before. She turned to Ross, wondering if he remembered him, too.
‘Hi, there,’ Ross said, nodding acknowledgement. ‘Are you here for the other conference—something to do with the legal profession, isn’t it?’
‘That’s right. I’m a solicitor—we’re finding out about using video links to liaise between the courts and people in prison. One way for convicts to give testimony without having to travel to and from court.’
Katie patted the chair beside her. ‘Why don’t you come and join us?’ she suggested with a smile. ‘I’d really like to hear what you’ve been up to these last few years.’
‘I’d love to,’ he said, a look of regret coming over his face, ‘but I won’t, thanks, because I’m with my colleagues. I just wanted to come over and say hello. I’ll be staying here overnight, so if you’re doing the same, perhaps we could get together at some point? I’m in room twenty-eight.’
‘That must be on the floor above mine. I’m in number twelve,’ Katie murmured, ‘and Ross is along the corridor from me.’
‘Room nine,’ Ross said. ‘Come and knock on the door if you want to meet up later on. Otherwise we’ll be round and about the place.’
‘It’s great to see you again,’ Katie told him. ‘Are you working on the mainland? I never ventured that far—not for any length of time.’
‘I was, but actually I just moved back to the village, so I guess you’ll be seeing see me around from time to time. I’m a partner of a law firm setting up there.’
‘That’s good to know. We’ll be able to catch up, and talk over old times.’ She ran her gaze over him briefly. Judging by the expensively tailored suit and the crisp linen shirt he was wearing, he’d done well for himself. She could see the merest hint of gold cufflinks beneath the sleeves of his jacket. ‘Will you be bringing family over with you?’
‘No, just myself. I’m planning on buying a house not too far from where my parents live. It’ll be good to be close to them and my brother again.’ He turned as his friends tried to catch his attention. ‘It looks as though they’re going into the annexe to eat,’ he said. ‘It seems to be filling up fast in here.’ He smiled. ‘I’d better go. It was good meeting up with both of you—maybe we’ll be able to talk again later? Perhaps we could all get together for dinner this evening?’
Katie and Ross nodded, and then, as Josh walked away, they turned their attention back to their meals.
‘He used to be a regular visitor to your family estate at one time, as I recall,’ Ross murmured. ‘Weren’t you and he dating at one time?’
‘Off and on, yes, but it was nothing serious. He was always more interested in Jessie. Anyway, I left for medical school soon after.’
‘How’s Jessie doing? Has she left the nest or is she still working on the family estate?’
‘Oh, she won’t leave. She loves that job.’ She sent him a wide-eyed glance. ‘What’s not to love—all that beautiful countryside, people wanting to be shown around the place? She’s in her element there. The house is only open at certain times, though—my parents value their privacy—but there are the gardens to see, and the woodland paths, and the horse riding. I expect you know it all fairly well.’
He shook his head and looked at her from under his dark lashes. ‘I was never very welcome on the estate, remember?’
She frowned, disturbed by the mixed emotions she read in his eyes. What was it she saw there? Regret? Disillusion? ‘But you must have visited—Jessie brought you back to the house a few times, didn’t she? I don’t think I was at home then, but…’
His mouth made a wry twist. ‘Your parents usually found a way to see me to the door before too long. They didn’t want me around. Apparently I was a bad influence on their younger daughter.’
She sent him a concerned glance. ‘I’m sorry about that. Jessie was a bit wild and headstrong in those days.’ And, of course, their worst fears had come to fruition when they’d discovered Jessie had been with him that night at the Old Brewery. Perhaps that was why Jessie didn’t want to talk about that incident. She knew she shouldn’t have been with him, and she’d let her parents down.
His brows arced upwards. ‘Didn’t they have the same qualms about you? You’re not much older than she is, and yet you seemed to come and go as you pleased, and as I recall you were never short of young men wanting to go out with you.’
She shrugged lightly. ‘I guess they thought I was more level headed.’
‘More than likely.’ His blue eyes gleamed. ‘You were always the one to look out for her and try to keep her out of trouble, like that night when we were all partying down by the stream, a group of us lads and some