‘You’ll do it, too. There’s no doubt in my mind that you’ll make the grade. You’ll see, you’ll work out what it is that you really want, and you’ll end up with the career that satisfies you beyond all else.’ He smiled down at her, his grey-blue eyes searching her face and seeking out everything she would have kept hidden from him. ‘You were always the sensible one, the girl who had her priorities all worked out. People know they can rely on you, Phoebe, and that will go for the children in your care, too.’
‘I’m glad you think so. I just wish I wasn’t filled with so many doubts.’
‘You shouldn’t let them get to you. You haven’t changed a bit, from what I’ve seen. You’re cool under pressure, caring, practical and completely organised…all the things that make for a doctor who can be relied on. And you’re beautiful, with it…even more beautiful than I remember.’ His gaze intensified, lit by a warm glint of appreciation. ‘When I saw you last night, wearing that dress that looked as though it had been sprayed on, I thought, Wow, that girl is a stunner.’
A quick flush of colour ran along her cheekbones. ‘Well, thanks for that, I think…’ She sent him a quizzical look. ‘Not that I recall you ever commenting as such in the past. Then again, you were always too busy racketing around.’
‘Not a bit of it. I had a very clear view of you…silky blonde hair shining like a halo of gold, and blue eyes as deep as the ocean. A soft, kissable mouth…What I wouldn’t have given to explore the possibilities there…only you were always just that little bit out of reach…’ He gazed down at her, a smile playing around his mouth. ‘That was deliberate, wasn’t it? You weren’t ever going to let me that near you…at least, not close enough to make any kind of physical impact.’
Her brows lifted. ‘Can you blame me? I saw too many girls wandering around with broken hearts, wondering where it was they had gone wrong.’ She wagged a finger at him. ‘But I knew where the answer lay. Their mistake was in thinking that you could ever be serious about any of them.’
Her mouth twisted slightly. ‘I really don’t see that things are any different now. You’re just that bit older and more experienced at winding women around your little finger. I was never going to let myself be counted among them.’
She had always been well aware of Connor when they’d been young. Alex was keen to spend time with his cousin, and since she and Alex were good friends it followed that she would run into Connor every now and again.
They went around together in a group, from time to time, and she enjoyed the usual banter and camaraderie, but she was always careful to keep a guard on her heart where Connor was concerned.
She treated him to a high-voltage smile. ‘And that still stands. You can cross me off your list of would-be conquests. I had the vaccination early and I’m immune.’
‘And I’m cut to the quick to hear you say that.’ He put on a wounded look. ‘I don’t know how you could imagine that I would play with your feelings that way. I practically grew up with you. I think the world of you.’
She laughed. ‘Maybe. I’m sure plenty of people would believe you.’ She fixed him with her gaze. ‘So, tell me how things are going for you. On the work front, I mean. I expect you found your feet straight away in A and E.’
He gave a slight shrug, letting his hand drop away from her, and immediately she felt as though a draught of cold air had wafted over her. ‘It’s okay, I guess.’
He didn’t seem to have any problem with changing the direction of the conversation, and that only confirmed her belief that he was all gloss and no substance.
‘It’s scary, some of the things these children get up to, though,’ he added. ‘You’d think they would have an inbuilt sense of self-preservation, but time and again you see them involved in accidents that might have been prevented. Only this morning I had to treat a six-year-old boy who fell thirty feet from a tree.’
She frowned. ‘Is he going to be okay?’
‘I think so. With any luck, there’ll be no lasting damage. He has a couple of limbs in plaster, and we’re keeping him under observation for a head injury, but he’s better than we might have expected.’
‘That’s a relief.’ She sighed. ‘It’s always boys, isn’t it? It seems as though they simply have to push things to the limit when it comes to exploration and inquisitiveness.’
She wrinkled her nose at him. ‘Like you, when you filched your father’s canoe and went out on the river—do you remember? That stretch of water was hazardous, and you weren’t a particularly strong swimmer at the time.’
‘How was I to know that I needed to be?’ His expression was one of bewilderment. ‘I thought the water was about two feet deep. It was only when they brought in a clean-up team a few months later that I learned the river was some eight or nine feet deep.’
She shuddered at the memory. ‘No wonder my parents told me to keep away from you. You were a liability, to yourself and others.’
He laughed. ‘Maybe, but it was exciting, wasn’t it?’
‘For you, perhaps.’ To this day, she remembered the anxiety in the pit of her stomach as she’d watched him tip over into the frothing waters of the weir and come up seconds later, thrashing about and gasping for air. It had only been because he’d managed to grab hold of the canoe and cling on until it washed up against the river-bank that he was here to tell the tale. And yet it hadn’t served to daunt him, had it? Just weeks later he’d been wading out further downstream, trying to catch fish with his bare hands.
‘You never did learn a lesson from that, did you?’ she said. ‘You were back there the next day, bold as brass, showing off to all the youngsters from the village.’
‘You were there, too, weren’t you? I remember waving to you and you shook your head and turned your back on me.’ He frowned. ‘I was devastated.’
‘No, you weren’t. I heard you laughing and fooling about with your friends. You acted like you were the king of the river.’
He chuckled. ‘Maybe. I was an idiot. I craved excitement. I wanted to prove that I could do anything I wanted. Even knowing that I was going to get it in the neck from my father didn’t stop me from testing the boundaries.’ He walked with her over to the lifts.
Phoebe pressed the button on the wall panel. ‘I used to wonder how your poor mother coped. You have a sister, too, don’t you, but at least she was never in any kind of trouble. She had far more sense than to follow in your footsteps.’
‘Olivia was always going to turn out all right. She set her sights on family and children and that’s exactly what she has now. She’s a homemaker. It suits her to let the world pass her by.’
‘But that wouldn’t do for you, would it?’ She studied him briefly as she heard the lift start to make its descent towards the ground floor. ‘You were always a restless spirit, forever on the move. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when you headed off for London. It was only later, when I heard that you had decided to go to medical school, that you did something unexpected with your life.’
His glance trailed over her. ‘You have no faith in me at all, do you? I can see that we have a lot of catching up to do.’ He smiled. ‘Are you free for lunch today? It might be pleasant to take a walk in the woodland close by here. It starts just at the back of the hospital, and we could enjoy the spring sunshine for a while.’
She shook her head. ‘I’m afraid I’m not. I said I would meet up with Alex in the cafeteria at lunchtime, but you’d be welcome to join us if you wanted. My break starts at 1.30. Alex isn’t having too great a time, by all accounts, and I want to give him some moral support. Jessica