‘Never seen my big brother disconcerted about anything before,’ Bryony said dryly, shifting gears and slowing down as she approached the exit of the hospital. ‘I wish I could have been there.’
‘Well, fortunately Emma was,’ Sally told her. ‘That wasn’t a meeting I would have wanted to have in private.’
‘So what did he say?’
Sally moistened dry lips. ‘He wants to talk.’
Bryony paused at the junction, her expression serious. ‘About what?’
‘The past, I suppose.’ Her eyes met her friend’s and Bryony pulled a face.
‘Well, that was to be expected.’
‘I don’t want to talk about it, Bry. It was bad enough when it happened, without reliving it. What can we possibly achieve by talking about it?’ Sally asked hoarsely, pulling her coat around herself with a slight shiver. ‘Can you turn the heating up in this car? It’s freezing.’
‘The engine will warm up in a minute,’ Bryony said absently, checking the traffic and pulling onto the main road. ‘And you know as well as I do that if my big brother sets his mind on something, he gets it.’
Sally lifted her chin and stared into the frosty darkness. ‘I can be as determined as him.’
In the past seven years she’d discovered reservoirs of strength in herself that she hadn’t known existed.
She wasn’t the same person who had run for cover when he’d rejected her.
Bryony sighed. ‘I know. Which means we’re in for fireworks.’ She gave her a sympathetic glance. ‘You may not want to talk, but if it’s what Tom wants then, trust me, you’ll be talking. He isn’t easily distracted when he wants something. You know that as well as I do.’
Of course she did.
It was that same single-minded approach that had made him such a respected obstetrician at such a young age.
Bryony sighed. ‘You’ll be fine, Sally. You’ve put him behind you.’
A long silence greeted her words and Bryony glanced at her friend in consternation. ‘Oh, no, tell me you’re not …’
‘No.’ Sally’s voice sounded croaky and she cleared her throat. ‘No, I’m not. But it was hard, Bry. Really hard. Even harder than I thought it would be.’
And she’d always known that seeing Tom again would be difficult.
Bryony reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘Just take it a day at a time. What you need is a new love interest. I’m going to find you someone gorgeous to help take your mind off my brother.’
Sally shook her head. ‘No, thanks. I’m better off on my own.’
‘Can I ask you something?’ Bryony pulled up outside her old cottage and switched off the engine. ‘Has there been anyone since Tom?’
Sally turned away, her eyes fixed out of the window. ‘Let’s just say he was a hard act to follow.’ She gave a sigh and then turned to Bryony with a bright smile. ‘But I’m working on it. Truly.’
Somewhere out there was a man who wouldn’t seem like second best.
She sat, lost in thought, and the silence stretched into infinity.
Finally Bryony spoke. ‘Are you truly going to be able to move on?’ Her tone was doubtful and Sally stirred.
‘I’ve moved on. I’m home,’ she said simply, undoing her seat belt and reaching for her bag. Suddenly she needed to be on her own. ‘Thanks for lending me the cottage. I’ll find somewhere of my own soon.’
‘No need,’ Bryony said with a frown. ‘Jack and I don’t use it any more. We were going to rent it out anyway. Does Tom know you’re staying here?’
Sally paused with her hand on the doorhandle. ‘No. He asked where I was living but I dodged the question.’
‘But it isn’t going to take him long to figure it out. What if he comes here?’
‘I hardly think he’s going to go to those lengths to have a conversation,’ Sally said with a faint smile. ‘Goodnight, Bry. Thanks for the lift.’
‘You left your bike at the hospital,’ Bryony reminded her. ‘I’ll pick you up in the morning.’
Smiling her thanks. Sally let herself into the cottage, flicked on the lights and walked through to the cosy kitchen, feeling the tension in her neck and shoulders.
It had been a hard day. Harder than she’d anticipated.
She’d known that the first meeting would be difficult, of course. Known that seeing Tom would be painful.
She’d expected to feel anger and contempt. Expected to dismiss him with a few well-rehearsed words.
What she hadn’t anticipated had been the race of her heart and the kick of her breathing.
Sally made herself a coffee and then sat down at the kitchen table, her hands coiled round the hot mug.
Tom Hunter was still a dangerously attractive man.
But he had no place in her life any more.
She wasn’t that careless with her heart.
Tom sat in his sister’s kitchen, tapping long fingers on the table.
‘She’ll be home in a minute, but I probably ought to warn you that you’re not flavour of the month,’ Jack said mildly, opening two beers and handing one to his friend.
Tom drank from the bottle and then banged it down on the table. ‘Did you know Sally was back?’
Jack settled himself opposite, his feet on the table. ‘No. If Bry wanted to keep it from you, she’s hardly going to tell me, is she?’
‘You’re her husband.’
Jack grinned. ‘And you and I have been best mates since primary school, Tom. Takes more than a woman to come between us, even if that woman is your sister.’
Tom sighed and rubbed long fingers over his aching temples. ‘I wish someone had warned me.’
‘Why?’ Jack took a slug of beer. ‘I thought you weren’t interested in her anyway.’
Tom reached for his beer. He’d thought that, too.
But seeing her again had unsettled him more than he would have thought possible.
Being on the receiving end of her cool indifference had made him feel as though he’d lost something special.
At that moment the kitchen door flew open and Bryony stalked into the room, her whole manner confrontational.
Tom rose to his feet, his own gaze equally accusing. Ordinarily they were as close as a brother and sister could be, but tonight they glared at each other like enemies.
‘Why didn’t you tell me that she was coming back?’ Tom’s voice was hard and Bryony’s gaze was equally hard as she met her brother’s eyes.
‘And good evening to you, too, Tom.’ She leaned forward and kissed Jack, her expression softening slightly. Then she straightened and shrugged out of her wool coat.
‘You should have told me she was coming back,’ Tom snarled, and Bryony lifted an eyebrow, refusing to be intimidated by the dangerous light in her brother’s eyes.
‘Why? What reason did I have to believe you even cared? You ended it, remember?’
Colour touched Tom’s cheekbones and his jaw tightened. ‘That is none of your business.’
‘It’s my business