‘Ah, there you are. That was quick. I didn’t expect you to get here quite so fast.’

A strangely familiar male voice reached Sophie from across the room. She turned to see who was speaking, and immediately the breath caught in her lungs. All at once her throat was unexpectedly tight.

‘Lucas,’ she said, her blue eyes widening. A prickle of awareness ran down the length of her spine. He was the devil incarnate, as fiendishly good-looking as ever, with glittering grey eyes that held her fast and right now were registering every bit as much surprise as her own. ‘I didn’t realise—I mean, I hadn’t expected to see you here,’ she added under her breath.

Her voice must have had a salutary effect on him, because he seemed to snap out of his stunned reverie and his mouth curved faintly in acknowledgement. ‘That goes for me, too, Sophie,’ he responded huskily.

Dear Reader

Christmas … It’s that wonderful time of year when families get together to celebrate a very special day. With any luck there might be snow on the ground outside, and children will be playing on their sledges or throwing snowballs at one another, while inside there is a warming fire, and people are making the most of a joyful family gathering.

All those good things are what I wanted for Sophie in this book, A COTSWOLD CHRISTMAS BRIDE.

Things are not going smoothly for her, though, and Christmas promises to be a bleak and lonely time at Woodvale Farm.

Until Lucas comes along, that is. He doesn’t know how he’s going to do it, but it’s up to him to turn things around and help her see that they can have that fabulous Christmas and share a glorious future together.

Happy Christmas to all of you!

Love

Joanna

About the Author

When JOANNA NEIL discovered Mills & Boon®, her lifelong addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Medical™ Romance. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions.

Recent titles by the same author:

THE TAMING OF DR ALEX DRAYCOTT

BECOMING DR BELLINI’S BRIDE

PLAYBOY UNDER THE MISTLETOE

THE SECRET DOCTOR

A Cotswold

Christmas

Bride

Joanna Neil

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

‘SOPHIE … just listen to me for a minute, please … that’s all I’m asking. At least give me a chance to explain …’ Nathan’s hazel eyes pleaded with her, his hand swooping to grasp her bare arm lightly, and for a second or two, swayed by his obvious suffering, Sophie almost wavered. Almost, but not quite.

She closed her eyes briefly. It was hot in the hotel’s ballroom and her head was aching. She couldn’t think straight.

In the background the band was playing a heavy rock number, and the noise drummed inside her head. She could feel the vibrations coming up from the polished wooden floorboards, reverberating throughout her body and adding to the tension that was building up in her. At the centre of the dance floor, the happy bride and groom were living it up, surrounded by friends and family.

It was an autumn wedding, but the weather had served them well, with golden bursts of sunshine throughout the day. Now, in the evening, disco lights replaced the sun’s rays and cast vivid splashes of colour over the throng. For a fleeting moment as she watched the couple, Sophie longed for just a taste of that sweet, unfettered contentment.

But it wasn’t going to happen, was it? Not for her.

Not now. She looked at Nathan, her expression strained. It had turned out he wasn’t the quite the man she had thought him to be. She’d thought they’d had so much going for them, but in the end all her dreams had come crashing down.

She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, Nathan, I think we’ve said all we need to say. It’s over between us. You have to learn to accept it.’

‘I can’t do that.’ He tugged on her arm, drawing her towards him, and she resisted, trying to pull away.

‘Let go of me.’ The words came out on a sharp breath of air, and she frowned as his grip tightened on her arm. All evening she’d been trying to avoid him, afraid that this might happen.

She tried to pull herself free once more, but he was more determined than ever, and Sophie began to feel uneasy, not knowing what to do.

‘I believe she asked you to let her go.’ The man’s voice intruded on them, deep and compelling, laced with an inherent thread of authority. It took Sophie unawares, and she turned her head to see who had come to her rescue.

The stranger’s grey eyes were focussed directly on Nathan, a warning glint flickering in their steely depths, and as Sophie studied his perfectly etched features, she realised that she’d seen him before, earlier in the day, carrying out his duties as best man at the wedding. Lucas, that was his name. He had jet-black hair and a strong jawline, and he wasn’t a man that you would forget easily. He’d made a speech that was full of good humour and positive vibes towards the two young doctors who had just been married. Now, as then, he stood tall and lean, his muscular frame enhanced by the immaculate, expensively tailored suit he wore.

Nathan’s fingers remained securely on her arm. ‘This is a private matter,’ he said, his manner terse and dismissive. ‘We don’t need any input from you.’

‘It seems to me that the young lady doesn’t share your view.’ Her rescuer kept his voice neutral, but there was a definite threat underlying his words. ‘I hope for your sake that you don’t want to argue the point with me.’ He looked Nathan up and down. ‘If you don’t release her and walk away from here, I’ll be forced to remove you myself. Do you really want to cause a scene?’

Nathan finally appeared to be having second thoughts. Perhaps he took on board the unyielding purpose in his opponent’s glittering gaze, or maybe it was the breadth of those shoulders that gave him pause, along with the hint of controlled strength that no amount of trappings could disguise … whatever the reason, Nathan suddenly didn’t seem quite so sure of himself. Cautiously, he released his grip on her, and took a step backwards.

‘Good,’ Lucas said. ‘I’m glad you managed to see sense.’ He turned his back on Nathan and laid a hand gently beneath Sophie’s elbow, leading her away from the edge of the crowded dance floor towards the buffet table. ‘It’s Sophie isn’t it? I’m Lucas. I hope you didn’t mind my interruption but you seemed to need a way out of that situation. Now, can I get you something to eat?’ he asked.

Sophie shook her head. Right now she couldn’t manage to eat a morsel. It was as though her throat was clogged and there was a tight band of pressure around her head. ‘No, thanks.’

‘Maybe a drink, then?’

‘Yes, that would be good.’

‘It looks as though pink champagne is the order of the day.’ He smiled. ‘Would you like a glass?’

She nodded, and waited as he gave the bartender their order. For himself, he chose an ice-cold lager, and after handing her a fluted glass he said softly, ‘Here’s to new beginnings.’

Her eyes widened a fraction. She was all out of new beginnings. She was wary, guarded against getting involved ever again. But she clinked glasses with him, all the same. ‘New beginnings,’ she said, and took a sip of the cold liquid. ‘I want to thank you for what you did for me, back there. Nathan’s a good man, but he’s not been himself lately, and I wasn’t altogether sure how to handle things. I’m glad that you came along.’

‘It was my pleasure.’ His glance drifted over her, trailing over the shimmering golden hair that fell in soft waves to rest on her bare shoulders, and then moved on to trace the line of the silk dress that faithfully outlined her slender figure. ‘It means I get to be with the most beautiful woman in the room.’

He studied her once more, making her all too conscious of the way the softly ruched material of the bodice clung to her breasts and showed off her narrow waist and emphasised the gentle swell of her hips. From the dropped waistline the skirt was delicately layered, falling to mid-calf. ‘The colour suits you,’ he said. ‘It reflects the blush of your cheeks. You’re all peaches and cream … perfect. The bride must have been glad to have you as her chief bridesmaid.’

Hot colour swept along her cheekbones. He was flirting with her, being outlandishly flattering, and she ought to tell him that he was wasting his time but she stayed quiet. She wouldn’t be seeing him again after today, so what did it matter?

‘You must be a good friend of Harry’s?’ she remarked, glancing towards the bridegroom, who was still having fun with his new bride on the dance floor. ‘He chose you as his best man, so I guess you must have known one another for some time.’

‘That’s right.’ He nodded. ‘We grew up together in the same village, here in Buckinghamshire. Of course, we’ve both moved away since then, but we’ve always been good friends.’ He sent her an oblique glance. ‘Do you live locally?’

‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘I booked into the hotel for the night so that I wouldn’t have to drive home in the early hours. And, of course, it means that I can have a drink without worrying.’

He nodded. ‘That was a sensible decision—though you don’t seem to be having all that great a time. I’ve been watching you and you seem a touch on edge. Is that purely because of Nathan?’

‘I suppose so.’ Her blue eyes clouded. She wasn’t going to confide in him all the things she had on her mind. He was a stranger. A charming, persuasive and thoughtful stranger, but all the same he was not someone she could open her heart to. ‘I should have known he would be here. He knows both the bride and groom.’

‘He obviously has very strong feelings for you. Had you been together long?’

‘About a year.’ She finished off her pink champagne. ‘We met when he came to look at one of the animals on my parents’ farm. He’s a vet, and he treated one of the horses that had gone lame. Now it’s as good as new.’

‘That must have been a great relief for you.’

She nodded, and he took the champagne glass from her, signalling to the barman to fill it up again. ‘So you got together, and then things went wrong?’

That hunted feeling caught up with her once more, so that her stomach clenched and she wondered how long it would be before she could escape to her room. ‘Yes … only now he won’t let go.’

The corners of his mouth turned upwards. ‘I can’t say I blame him for that. I think I would feel much the same way.’

He handed her a second glass of champagne and she watched the bubbles fizz and sparkle. The air in the room was hot and oppressive, and she had a raging thirst. She put the glass to her lips and swallowed, feeling the effervescent sting as the liquid coursed down her throat. She felt as though she couldn’t breathe, as though the room was closing in on her.

‘It looks as though the bride and groom are getting ready to leave,’ he murmured. ‘Perhaps we ought to say our goodbyes to them?’

She nodded, putting down her empty glass and allowing him to lead the way across the room to the main doors. Lucas pinned back one of the doors so that the bride and groom could slip out and head for their waiting taxi. Sophie tilted her face to the waft of cool air, taking comfort in the brief respite.

They waved off the happy couple, and then had to battle their way through a small crowd of people in order to get back into the ballroom. A wave of heat and dizziness overcame her, and her legs seemed to buckle under her. She fumbled for a handhold on the shelf against the wall, but Lucas was already reaching out for her, supporting her in strong arms.

‘Are you feeling faint?’ he asked.

She nodded, unable to speak just then, and he turned her towards the foyer. She was content to let him take over. For some reason, her body felt like lead, and her head was muzzy, her brain fogged. In the far reaches of her consciousness, she heard him say something about finding her keys, but she wasn’t in any state to answer him. It was strange, having to rely on him like this. She had always been so fiercely independent, but right now she was glad that he was there to help her, because there was no way she could have managed by herself.

They must have gone up in the lift, because she vaguely remembered being still, her body resting against Lucas, her cheek buried in the fine worsted fabric of his jacket. There was a gentle bump as the lift came to a stop and he wrapped his arm more closely around her in order to stop her from falling.

She didn’t recall any more of what happened after that. Blackness closed in on her, and there was instant peace, nothingness.

When she came round, some time later, she was aware of a wonderful feeling of coolness. The fever had left her, and Lucas must have laid a cold, damp cloth across her forehead, because she felt its soothing touch, drawing the heat from her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. ‘I’m in my room?’ she asked softly.

‘That’s right. I found your key in your bag.’ Lucas came to her side, gazing down at her, a small line etched into his brow as he studied her. ‘Just lie still,’ he murmured, when she would have tried to sit up. ‘Take your time.’ He sat down beside her on the wide bed, looking into her eyes. His very presence was a comfort to her. He appeared so strong and capable, as though he would have no trouble resolving any problem that came his way. ‘You passed out.’ His mouth made a straight line. ‘I was worried about you for a while there.’

‘I remember I was dizzy … but I feel so much better now.’ She removed the cloth from her forehead and placed it on the bedside table. She gave him a weak smile. ‘It looks as though I have to thank you all over again for taking care of me,’ she said softly. ‘If it hadn’t been for you, I might have made a fool of myself back there, collapsing in the ballroom for all to see. I’m sure everyone would have imagined I’d had way too much to drink.’ She frowned. ‘Perhaps I did.’ Would two glasses of pink champagne have that effect on her? You couldn’t count the toast to the bride and groom, could you? After all, that had been hours ago. And she’d nibbled some food in the meantime.

‘Somehow, I doubt that was the problem.’ His voice was a low, warm rumble of sound. ‘You looked as though something was wrong, way before you fainted.’

She blinked and stared up at him. Exactly how long had he been watching her? He had turned up at just the right moment to save her from an awkward situation, and that couldn’t have happened by chance, could it? And now she was alone with him in her hotel bedroom, and it began to dawn on her that she was becoming increasingly vulnerable, lying here this way and allowing him to make all the running. She didn’t know the first thing about him.

She tried to sit up, and suddenly realised that she had complete freedom of movement, with no tight-waisted silk dress to bind her rib cage or folds of soft material to tangle with her limbs.

‘Stay where you are for a bit longer,’ he advised in an even tone, laying a hand lightly on the smooth, bare flesh of her arm. ‘If you try to get up too soon you may become dizzy all over again.’

A ripple of heat ran through her. His gentle, but firm, touch set her heart racing and she looked away from him, away from the purposeful silver glint reflected in his eyes.

Instead, she stared down at bare limbs, at her long, shapely legs, which were naked but for a shimmer of lace that edged her flimsy, silk chemise. She gasped. ‘You took my dress off me,’ she said in a shocked whisper. Her hand went up to cover the creamy swell of her breasts, but it was a futile gesture, one that came far too late, because he had already seen everything he wanted, hadn’t he?

His gaze moved over her, amusement lurking in the depths of his grey eyes. ‘I did,’ he agreed. ‘I thought it was the best course of action at the time. You were burning up, and I thought you might be able to breathe better for being unzipped.’

‘But you … you don’t know me, and yet you … I can’t believe that you would do that …’ She stared at him, her blue eyes troubled, her cheeks hot with mortification. ‘You could have just undone the zip … that would have been enough.’

‘I don’t believe in half-measures … and really, you shouldn’t worry—I had your interests at heart. I didn’t intend to take advantage of you. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.’

‘But you did.’ She fumbled around for a sheet, desperate to cover herself, but she was lying on the duvet and he was pinning it down with the weight of his body so that her efforts were futile.

He shrugged. ‘You’re worrying too much.’

‘That’s easy for you to say. I’m not used to being in this sort of situation.’

He gave a half-smile. ‘That goes for the two of us.’

She scrambled to a sitting position and then leaned back as a wave of dizziness threatened to swamp her once more.

Lucas leaned forward and piled up the pillows behind her. ‘See?’ he said. ‘Didn’t I tell you that would happen? Sit back for a while and let the blood settle.’ He assessed her thoughtfully. ‘Seriously, you don’t have to worry about me looking at you. I’m a doctor. My intentions are perfectly honourable, I can assure you of that.’ He left her for a moment and walked to the bathroom.

Returning, he handed her a satin kimono. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘put this on.’

‘Thank you.’ Sophie slid her arms into the robe and stared at him doubtfully from the sanctuary of her pillows. ‘You’re a doctor?’ she said. It didn’t really come as that much of a surprise to her. After all, the bride and groom worked in a hospital, and so a good many of their guests were likely to be medical professionals.

She was a doctor herself, a paediatrician at a hospital in the Cotswolds, but she didn’t want to share that information with him right now. This whole situation was way too embarrassing and she just wanted to escape from it as soon as she could. ‘If that’s the case, maybe you’ve managed to come up with a diagnosis of sorts?’ Perhaps her tone was sharper than she intended. She was frazzled, and annoyed because she had found herself in this predicament.

He might well have detected her note of cynicism, but he made a show of taking her words at face value. ‘Well, your pulse was racing,’ he answered, ‘and I suspect your blood pressure was sky high for a while. It occurred to me that you might be anaemic. If you’re not eating properly, you might not be getting all the right nutrients—and, of course, being a woman, you’ll be more prone to anaemia …’

‘Yes,’ she cut in swiftly. ‘I don’t believe you need to go into detail.’ She frowned. ‘And I doubt I’m anaemic. I’m just stressed, that’s all. I’ve been stressed for weeks, with one thing and another.’ She clamped her mouth shut. Why was she telling him her problems? How did she know if he was to be trusted?

‘Not just because of Nathan, then?’ His voice was soothing, coaxing her to divulge more.

She shrugged lightly, a movement that caused the robe to slip, allowing a glimpse of bare shoulders. His gaze followed the movement, lingering momentarily on the creamy slopes until she tugged the robe back in place.

‘I doubt he’s really worth all that anxiety,’ he murmured. ‘You seemed quite keen to be free of him earlier. Perhaps you’re at war with yourself.’

She shook her head. ‘No, you’re right, it isn’t just that.’ The end of a relationship was a bad thing, but she would get over it, wouldn’t she? In fact she was already over it. Or at least, so she had thought, until Nathan had turned up here today. She gave a heavy sigh. ‘I lost my parents a couple of months ago,’ she explained. ‘It was a shock. It was so unexpected. An accident.’

‘I’m sorry.’ He moved closer to her, laying a hand on her arm. ‘That must have been dreadful for you … an awful tragedy.’ He stroked her arm lightly, a gentle caress, like a breath of warm air gliding over her. It was meant to be a gesture of sympathy, to show her that she wasn’t alone, but his touch seared her flesh and Sophie had to take a deep breath in order to calm herself and enable her to go on.

‘It’s not something you think will ever happen.’

‘No. I don’t suppose it is.’ He lifted his hand to her face to smooth back the strands of hair that had fallen over her cheek. ‘Do you have any brothers or sisters that can help you through this?’

She shook her head. ‘There’s no one … no family.’ She hesitated, aware of his fingers following the line of her cheekbone, tucking the wayward tendrils of hair behind her ear. It was a strangely hypnotic motion that made her want to lean back into his embrace. It encouraged her to go on talking, to tell him everything that was going wrong with her life.

‘So how are you coping? Not well, by the sound of things.’

‘No—it’s difficult, you see, because now I have to take over the running of the farm. I used to help out, but finding myself in charge has been a bit overwhelming.’

‘I imagine it would be easier said than done.’ He sounded curious.

She nodded. ‘I’m at my wits’ end, really. I have to keep going because if I don’t do it, who else will see to the animals?’ She thought about it, and about Nathan’s reaction. ‘I’d hoped Nathan might want to help out, him being a vet and all, but it seemed he had other things on his mind.’

She’d expected Nathan to understand what she was going through and to be supportive, but he had seemed preoccupied, and she had been left to muddle through on her own. She felt as though he had let her down when she needed him most.

‘What sort of things?’

‘Well, after my parents died, I inherited the farm, as well as money tied up in shares and investment bonds. Nathan was full of plans for what we might do with it.’

‘You think the money was important to him?’

‘I don’t think it was the money in itself. I think it was just that it made him ambitious. He started to make plans, and he would talk about starting up a veterinary practice of his own—he’d need a large property and acres of land, he said, and he thought my farm, Woodvale, would be the ideal place for that. That wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t want the house turning into business premises … it was my home.’

She frowned. ‘I suppose I began to see him in a different light—he had started to take over, bit by bit. He was even planning Christmas without taking time to consider what I might want. We would go to Switzerland and spend the Christmas break in a ski lodge, he said, but I couldn’t get my head around it. I’d always spent Christmas at home, with my parents and relatives. It seemed too much of a jump from that to going skiing, for me, at least. I began to feel as though I didn’t know him at all.’ She gave a short laugh. ‘And yet the truth is, if I’d been sure of his love, I would have done anything for him. But somewhere along the way, he forgot to show me that he cared.’

‘You thought your relationship had lost its way?’

‘Yes. We’d been drifting apart for some time.’ She frowned, thinking about it. It hadn’t helped that she’d been ill. She’d been under par for some time, and perhaps she’d been working too hard, taking on too much, but, whatever the reason, her health had taken a battering these last few months. Her whole body seemed to ache, and she was constantly tired, and that was another thing that Nathan had found difficult to handle. Eventually, she’d gone to see her GP. So far, he hadn’t been able to pin it down to anything specific, but he was doing tests.

In the meantime, Nathan had imagined she could simply pull herself together and shake it off, and she’d tried, she’d done her best to get on top of it, feeling guilty for not pulling her weight in the relationship. In the end, as the illness had lingered, it had finished things off between them, and she was left wondering if perhaps she would never experience true love and marriage. There was something wrong with her, and maybe she couldn’t expect anyone to want her.

She looked up at Lucas. His expression was sombre, concerned, and she gave a ragged sigh. ‘I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this.’

‘I think perhaps you needed to get it off your chest. It sounds as though this has been building up inside you for a long time, until it became too much for you, and perhaps that’s why you fainted.’ He drew her hand into his, holding it between his palms as though to show her he cared.

It felt so natural, that small, intimate gesture. She’d never met him until this evening, but it was as though he knew exactly what she needed. He was offering her comfort and compassion … those things that had been sorely missing from her life of late. But instinct warned her that she shouldn’t read anything into it. She couldn’t place her trust in anyone. Not any more.

‘Perhaps I can help in some way,’ he said softly. ‘Even if you just need someone to talk to.’

She pulled in a quick breath. His offer filled her with temptation, but it wasn’t to be, was it? ‘Ah … there’s the rub … you and I aren’t likely to meet up again, are we? We’re just strangers passing through.’

‘It doesn’t have to be that way,’ he said. ‘I’d like to see you again, just to know how you’re getting along.’

He wasn’t suggesting that he felt anything more than friendly concern, but she was on her guard, all the same. She had been burned once, and she’d learned her lesson.

Besides, she had way too much on her plate right now for her to even think about getting involved with anyone.

She straightened up. ‘I’m all right now,’ she murmured. ‘I ought to get dressed. Where did you put my frock?’

He frowned. ‘Are you sure about that?’ he asked. ‘Perhaps you ought to rest a little longer.’

‘I need to put in an appearance downstairs,’ she said. ‘My friends will be wondering what’s happened to me.’

His gaze wandered over her, but he must have realised that she meant what she said, because he got to his feet and strode across the room. A moment later he came back with her dress, and handed it to her.

‘Thank you,’ she said. She took the dress from him and held it in front of her. ‘If you don’t mind …?’

‘Of course.’ He hesitated, reaching into his jacket pocket. ‘I’ll give you my number,’ he murmured. ‘That way, if you need me, you can give me a call.’

She glanced at the number he’d scrawled on the hotel stationery.

‘Thanks,’ she murmured. ‘But, as I said, I’ll be fine.’ She lifted her chin. ‘Goodbye, Lucas. Thanks for your help.’

He sighed, then turned away from her and walked towards the door. ‘I don’t like goodbyes,’ he said, halting momentarily to give her a fleeting glance before walking out into the corridor. There was a glimmer of something in his eyes, something that Sophie couldn’t interpret.

The door closed behind him, and she sat for a while staring at the place where he had stood just a moment ago.

She had done the right thing, letting him go, hadn’t she? He was interested in her, that was for sure, but she was in no state to get entangled with anyone else. Her life was a mess, and right now she didn’t know whether she was coming or going.

Why, then, did it feel as though she’d just passed over something special?

CHAPTER TWO

‘COME on, ladies,’ Sophie called to the hens. ‘Feeding time.’ She scattered a mix of corn and pellets over the rough ground and immediately found herself surrounded by a huddle of excited, squawking poultry. Ferdie, the goose, preened himself, then thrust out his chest and paraded around the compound as if he owned the place, until it dawned on him that he was missing out because the hens were already busy tucking in.

Sophie threw down the rest of the feed and walked over to the gate. Suddenly, she felt a nudge from behind and was pushed forward against the fence, so that she had to put out a hand to steady herself.

‘Don’t do that, George,’ she said crossly, turning to reprimand the goat. ‘I’ve told you before, you mustn’t butt people. It isn’t polite. Wait your turn, and I’ll feed you, too.’ But George was taking no notice at all and nudged her again. She sighed. ‘Why can’t you be nice and placid like your mate, Jessie?’ she queried. ‘Look at her, she’s munching grass. She’s quite contented and she never gives me any trouble. Unlike you.’ It occurred to her, though, that Jessie was maybe a little too content with life on the farm. She was always eating and she seemed to be putting on quite a bit of weight.

Still, she didn’t have time to dwell too much on the animals’ welfare just now. She was running late. Her shift at the hospital started in around three quarters of an hour and she still had to top up the ponies’ hay and fill up the water troughs.

It was some twenty minutes later that she was finally ready to set off for the hospital. Glancing back at the lovely, stone-built farmhouse, where a late flush of roses clambered over the walls and mingled with lush, green ivy, she felt the familiar pang of loss as she drove away. It was a beautiful house, lovingly cherished by her parents, and she missed them dreadfully. This had been her home from as far back as she could remember, a place where she had always felt safe and secure, but now everything had changed. Her life had been turned upside down overnight after that fatal traffic accident.

Once she arrived at work, there was no time to settle into the day. ‘You’re wanted down in A and E,’ the duty nurse told her. ‘It’s a five-year-old with breathing difficulties. He was brought in by ambulance a few minutes ago, and the registrar’s asking for a paediatric consultation.’

‘Thanks, Hannah,’ Sophie said. ‘I’ll go down there right away. Is everything else going smoothly here?’

Hannah nodded. ‘I’m doing observations on the children who were admitted overnight. There aren’t any problems that I can see, so far, except that the boy with the congenital heart condition is still very weak. He’s probably going to need surgery before too long, according to Mr Burnley.’

‘I’ll look in on him as soon as I get back.’ Sophie shrugged into her white linen coat and took a stethoscope from her pocket before hurrying towards the lift.

‘The registrar called for me to look at the young boy with breathing problems?’ she said to the house officer when she arrived in Accident and Emergency a couple of minutes later.

‘That’s right.’ Debbie Logan, a pretty, newly qualified doctor with long, chestnut-coloured hair and grey eyes, led her to the treatment room where the little boy was lying in bed propped up by pillows. He was pale, and in obvious distress, with his breathing shallow and rapid. He was already attached to monitors that registered his pulse and respiratory rate and showed the activity of his heart.

‘His blood oxygen level is very low,’ Sophie commented. The child was being given oxygen through a face mask, but clearly it was Sophie’s job to find out what was causing his difficulties.

She greeted the child’s parents, who were sitting beside his bed looking extremely anxious. ‘Hello,’ she said. ‘I’m Sophie Welland, the paediatrician. I understand that James was taken ill suddenly?’

‘He’s had a cough these last few days, and a bit of a wheeze,’ his mother said. ‘But it got worse in the early hours of this morning, and we were worried, so we called for an ambulance and he was brought straight to A and E.’

Sophie nodded. ‘I’ll listen to his chest, and we’ll do some blood tests and get an X-ray, so that we can see what’s going on.’

‘That’s what the other doctor said,’ Mrs Coleman told her. ‘He’s already ordered tests, but he was called away to another emergency. He said you’d be down to look at James.’

Sophie looked over the boy’s chart. The registrar had been thorough. The child had already been given antibiotics, and the doctor had ordered a nebuliser that would help widen the boy’s airways.

‘Ah, there you are. That was quick. I didn’t expect you to get here quite so fast.’ A strangely familiar male voice reached Sophie from across the room as she bent her head to carefully examine James a minute or so later. ‘I thought we should admit him, but I wanted your opinion as to whether we should put in an airway. I’d say he was a borderline case, but I’ll leave it to your judgement.’

Sophie withdrew the stethoscope from her ears and let the instrument dangle from around her neck. She turned to see who was speaking, and immediately the breath caught in her lungs and all at once her throat was unexpectedly tight.

‘Lucas,’ she said, her blue eyes widening. A prickle of awareness ran down the length of her spine. He was the devil incarnate, as fiendishly good-looking as ever, with glittering grey eyes that held her fast and that right now were registering every bit as much surprise as her own. ‘I didn’t realise—I mean, I hadn’t expected to see you here,’ she added under her breath.

Her voice must have had a salutary effect on him, because he seemed to snap out of his stunned reverie and his mouth curved faintly in acknowledgement. ‘That goes for me, too, Sophie,’ he responded huskily, keeping his voice low, as though he was all too aware of the boy’s parents close by. Not that they were paying any attention. They were watching the monitors and talking anxiously to one another.

‘I’d hoped I might see you again,’ Lucas said, ‘but I must admit I hadn’t expected it to happen quite so soon. Your friends were reluctant to give out your details, but all the same I felt sure I was pretty close to finding out where you lived.’ His gaze moved over her. ‘Somehow, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since the wedding.’

Her cheeks flushed with hot colour. No wonder he had given her that odd look when he’d left her hotel room the other day. He’d never intended to give up on trying to find her, had he? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

His shrewd smile told her he knew full well how he managed to get under her skin. Images of their last meeting filled her vision, causing a tide of heat to rush from her head to her toes and back up again. It was bad enough that he’d seen her half-naked, without adding to it that she’d given him her life history, and confided in him her worries about Nathan and the farm. She had always kept her private life to herself, but he had learned more about her in half an hour than anyone here had discovered in two years.

‘I’d no idea that you were a doctor,’ he said. ‘It’s great news to discover that we’ll be working together.’

Sophie winced. From her standpoint it didn’t bode well. ‘But I’ve worked at this hospital for some time,’ she said with a frown. ‘How is it that I haven’t seen you here before this?’

He gave a light shrug. ‘I only started working here last week. I was brought in to take over from Dr Friedman when he left for the States.’

‘Oh, I see.’ She was struggling to come to terms with the fact that he was going to be her colleague from now on. How would her credibility as a doctor hold up with him knowing that she was harassed and finding it difficult to cope? And it was especially galling that he knew that lately she had been prone to dizzy spells.

She pulled in a deep breath and turned her mind back to their patient. ‘I think we’ll postpone the intubation for a while,’ she said, doing her best to keep her manner professional. ‘James is still conscious and coping, albeit none too well, without an airway, but it could be a traumatic procedure for him, and one that I’d sooner avoid if possible. I think we should add steroids to his medication … and check the levels of potassium in his blood. If they’re too low, that could be adding to his problems. And of course we should admit him right away.’

‘My thoughts exactly,’ Lucas acknowledged. He gave a wry smile as though he knew just what was going on in her head. For her own part, she wanted to avoid even thinking about that night, but it stubbornly refused to go away. It stuck to her like a burr and irritated her just as much.

Lucas spoke to the child’s parents, while Sophie managed to escape the room by going off to make arrangements for James to be admitted to Paediatrics. She was saddened to see the little boy looking so ill. He was frail, not speaking, too wretched to do anything but lie there.

She added her notes to his chart and went in search of the young house officer. She found her a few minutes later, by the reception desk, chatting with Lucas. Debbie was clearly taken with him, and who could blame her? The man oozed charisma and from the whispering she’d heard amongst the nurses in the last few minutes, Sophie guessed the new registrar had scored a direct hit with all the female staff. She stiffened. Men were capricious at the best of times when it came to lapping up the attention of young women, and it seemed that Dr Lucas Blake was no exception. All the more reason for her to steer clear of him!

She left the boy’s chart with Debbie and started to head back towards Paediatrics.

Lucas caught up with her in the main corridor outside the treatment rooms. ‘Sophie, wait …’ He blocked her path, causing her to slow down and frown at him.

‘I’m in rather a hurry,’ she warned him. ‘I have to go and see to my patients.’

‘I understand … I know how busy you must be.’ He smiled, looking her over, taking in the sleek lines of the figure-hugging dress she wore beneath her white coat. ‘How is it that you always manage to look so good? Even a doctor’s jacket looks great on you.’

Her gaze locked with his. ‘I wouldn’t waste your time trying to sweet-talk me, if I were you,’ she told him. ‘Other men have been down that road and, I promise you, I’m immune.’

He shook his head. ‘So distrustful,’ he murmured. ‘Those men have a lot to answer for.’ He studied her. ‘I’m sorry if I took you by surprise back there—I was hoping we might meet under different circumstances. I’d planned on wining and dining you, and perhaps winning you round with soft lights and music.’

Her eyes narrowed on him. ‘It sounds as though you were very sure of yourself.’

‘Not exactly … but I wasn’t about to give up on seeing you again.’ He smiled. ‘I’d do anything to see you relax and lose that worried look. It can’t be right for you to be wound up quite so tightly.’

She pulled a face. He was probably right about her being wound up. Even now, she was stressed out. Her stomach was knotted, and there was a pain deep in her abdomen. Come to think of it, her hands ached, too. Weren’t those all the signs of burnout? She was too young, surely? She was still a good two years off thirty.

Perhaps she ought to go back to her GP, to find out if there was any news on the tests he’d done.

‘Problems?’ He was watching her, studying her features, as though he would learn everything there was to know about her.

She straightened her shoulders. ‘None at all.’

‘Really? You know, the only time I’ve seen you looking truly serene was when you were stretched out on the bed, back at the hotel, oblivious to everything. You were exquisite, and oddly vulnerable, and I had the strangest urge to protect you from whatever it was that was haunting you.’

Sophie’s composure began to falter. ‘On balance,’ she managed, ‘I dare say we should forget all about what happened the other day. I’d far sooner put it behind us.’

‘Of course.’ A faint smile played over his beautifully moulded mouth, and Sophie felt her stomach tighten all over again. He might as well have taken a photograph—she knew, and he knew, that her image was printed on his brain for evermore.

She stiffened her shoulders. ‘I really need to get back to Paediatrics, Lucas. I have to see a young patient with heart problems, and I want to be there when James arrives on the ward.’

He nodded. ‘Maybe we could meet up at lunchtime? I’d love to hear how you’re getting on at the farm. My parents are in the same line of business, so if you have any worries on that score, I might be able to help.’

‘I’m sure I’ll manage—unless …’ she gave a crooked smile ‘… you have any ideas on how to curb a playful goat who won’t stop butting people at inopportune moments? His horns are curved, but they can be quite tough, and I can tell you I’m getting quite sore.’

He laughed. ‘No wonder you’re feeling the strain.

I’d be the same way if I had to fend off an aggressive goat before work. A bit of padding down your jeans, perhaps? All I know is, it’s best to train them off the habit when they’re young.’

She nodded. ‘Yes, we tried that, but George is very stubborn. He thinks he rules the roost—along with the goose, who believes it’s his job to keep the hens in order.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Sorry, but I must go.’

‘I’ll see you at lunchtime, then? One o’clock, in the restaurant. My treat.’

‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘If I can get away.’ With any luck, she’d find a reason why she needed to be on the ward at one o’clock. Instinct warned her that she should steer clear of Lucas. He was keen to start up some kind of relationship with her, and that was the last thing she wanted. She’d been hurt before, and she wasn’t looking to go that way again.

He watched her walk away, and she felt his gaze scorching into her back as she went through the wide glass doors and out into the corridor. He was persistent, that was for sure.

On the paediatric ward, Sophie went to see Marcus, her little patient who was suffering from heart problems. He was four years old, a generally bright, happy child, but he was back in hospital right now, suffering from shortness of breath and trouble with his blood pressure. He was receiving oxygen through tubing that fitted into his nostrils.

‘Hello, Marcus,’ she greeted him. He had dark, tousled hair, and mischievous brown eyes that sought her out whenever she was close by. Now he was concentrating hard on a jigsaw puzzle, his tongue thrust out over his lower lip as he searched for the right piece. ‘How are you getting on with the puzzle?’

Marcus frowned. ‘Can’t find pussycat’s ear,’ he said. ‘I had it, but then my leg hurt and jumped up and it made me knock the puzzle over. It went … whoosh.’ He waved his arms in a wide arc to show Sophie what had happened.

‘Oh dear … so now you’ve had to start all over again?’

He nodded.

‘That’s a shame … but you seem to be doing very well, all the same. You’ve done half of it already.’

It was worrying that he’d started having leg cramps again—it was a sign that the circulation to the lower half of his body was weak, one of the symptoms of his condition. He had been born with a narrowing of the aorta, the main blood vessel of the heart, and that could only be corrected by surgery.

She looked around. ‘I wonder if any of the puzzle pieces fell on to the floor?’ Bending down, she searched the area around his bed, and came up triumphantly a moment later with two pieces of puzzle. ‘Aha … I think we’ve found the kitten’s ear,’ she said with a smile, handing them over. ‘Perhaps you could put them in place, and then I’ll check your blood pressure?’

He nodded obligingly. He was a good-natured boy, and it tore at Sophie’s heart that his body let him down.

She left him at work on his puzzle a few minutes later, and went to speak to the nurse. ‘I’m going to alter his medication,’ she told Hannah as she wrote instructions on his chart. ‘We’ll give him a slightly higher dose to strengthen the contractions of the heart. That should help ease the leg cramps. Did Mr Burnley say when he was hoping to operate?’

Hannah shook her head. ‘He’s talking to the parents now. He wants to do an echocardiogram so that he can see how the heart is working. He’s scheduled it for tomorrow morning.’

‘Good.’ It was a simple, non-invasive procedure, using ultrasound to transfer images of the heart in action on to a computer screen, and it wasn’t something that would upset Marcus in any way. ‘Let’s hope the medication does the trick. The sooner we can get him stabilised, the sooner he can have surgery.’

Sophie spent the rest of the morning tending to the other patients on the ward. One o’clock came and went, and it was only when Lucas startled her by coming onto the ward that she remembered she was supposed to have met up with him. Seeing him stride briskly into her territory filled her with unease. What would it take for him to realise that she really didn’t want to get to know him better?

‘Since you didn’t come to the restaurant for lunch,’ he remarked, walking to where she stood by the nurses’ station, writing up her notes, ‘I thought I’d better bring lunch to you.’

He was holding two sturdy, waxed carrier bags, and she frowned, wondering what on earth he had brought with him. ‘Um … we’ve been really busy here this morning,’ she murmured.

‘Of course. It’s like that down in A and E all the time. The only difference is we encourage staff to take their breaks whenever possible, otherwise they’ll begin to flag before the day is out.’

He glanced around the ward. ‘Everything looks fairly peaceful here at the moment. Dare I hope that you might come and share some food with me?’ He lifted a dark brow in invitation, wafting one of the bags in front of her nose. A delicious aroma of cinnamon, fruit and pastries filled the air, and in spite of herself Sophie’s mouth began to water.

‘I take it you haven’t already eaten?’ he queried.

She shook her head. ‘Not since I grabbed a cereal bar this morning. I should have stopped for a snack mid-morning, but you know how it is—something cropped up.’

He tut-tutted. ‘It won’t do, you know. Doctors have to take care of themselves. How else can they expect to be fit enough to take care of their patients?’ He looked around. ‘Is there somewhere we can go to sit and eat this?’

She frowned. It would be criminal to let that food go to waste. ‘The office is empty right now,’ she suggested. ‘There’s a kettle in there, so we can have a hot drink if you like.’

‘No need,’ he said, ‘unless you’d rather have tea. It’s all in hand. I brought coffee along with me.’

‘Okay.’ She showed him into the office, and then peered into the carrier bags that he set down on the desk. ‘Goodness! You thought of everything.’

His grey eyes crinkled. ‘I do my best.’ He began to take out packages, and Sophie watched as appetising dishes appeared one by one.

‘I’m overwhelmed.’ Sophie smiled as she surveyed the feast. ‘It’s everything I might have bought for myself.’

‘It just goes to show that great minds think alike,’ he murmured, setting out cutlery on the desktop. He sat down opposite her. ‘So, how come you only managed a cereal bar this morning? If that’s how you normally go on, it’s no wonder you have fainting attacks.’

‘Like I said, I’d really rather forget about that,’ she answered, frowning. ‘I told you I was stressed. It’s just that there’s so much to do, what with feeding the animals twice a day and making sure they’re clean and comfortable. Then there are the eggs to collect, and the fruit needs picking before it rots on the stems. We grow several different kinds of fruit on the farm—strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants and cranberries.’

She drew in a quick breath. ‘It’s late in the season, but a good many of the plants are still fruiting because they’re under cover in polythene tunnels. I should have started on it before this, but there’s been so much to do. It was okay when my parents were alive, because they took care of everything. I helped out when I could, but coping with all this on my own is a bit beyond me at the moment.’

Her expression was thoughtful. ‘The cranberries, especially, are ripe for picking. Every year I would help my mother gather them in, and then we would make cranberry sauce, jar upon jar of the stuff, ready for the Christmas season. She’d give it away to friends, neighbours, anyone who wanted it, really.’ She picked up her fork. ‘I don’t know what I’ll do this year. It won’t seem the same somehow. Christmas is going to be nothing like what it was before. How could it be?’

‘The first year will be the worst.’ He frowned. ‘I’m sure your friends will be keen to invite you to their places, though. After all, it’s a time when you should be with other people.’

‘Maybe. Or I could go and help out at a refuge, or somewhere.’

‘You have a while yet to think it through.’ He sprinkled cheese over his baked potato and dug in a fork. ‘In the meantime, maybe you should think of bringing in some help around the farm.’

She nodded, causing her honey-blonde hair to glide silkily over her shoulders. ‘I thought of asking around in the village. I put an advert in the local paper, but so far no one’s answered. There might be some teenagers looking for part-time work, though. I suppose I could put a notice in the newsagent’s shop. I already have people to help with the other crops—we grow vegetables and corn, but they aren’t really a problem. It’s just the animals that I worry about.’ She helped herself to salad, enjoying the crisp flavours and the sweet tang of mayonnaise.

She glanced at him. ‘You said that your parents have a farm. I suppose you must have been brought up there?’

‘Not exactly. It’s something they took up after they opted for early retirement, but they’ve taken to it surprisingly well. I suppose it’s what prompted me to move to the area. My sister and her family came over here to be near them, and I decided to follow suit. We’ve always been close as a family, and this part of the Cotswolds appealed to me—it’s really lovely. I worked at one of the hospitals in the surrounding area for a time, and then this post came up, exactly what I wanted, so I grabbed it with both hands.’ He swallowed a mouthful of coffee. ‘As to the farm, it’s more the kind of place where people can visit—children come to see the animals or play in the hay barn. And then there are trailer rides and a play area.’

Her mouth curved. ‘It sounds wonderful. What did your parents do before they retired?’

He added salad to his plate. ‘My father was a GP and my mother worked as a health visitor. Even my sister, Ella, joined the profession. She was a nurse, but she gave it up when she and her husband started a family.’ He grinned. ‘It’s something she seems to be good at—she’s pregnant again. This will be her third child.’

Sophie thought about that for a moment. ‘I think it would have been good to be part of a family like that. I was an only child, but I often wished I had a brother or a sister.’ She lifted her shoulders briefly. ‘It wasn’t to be.’

‘It happens that way, sometimes. I was fortunate.’ He helped himself to a spiced fruit bun. ‘So how did you come to study medicine?’

She took a sip of coffee before she answered him. ‘I’m not sure when it began, but I’ve always known that I wanted to work with children. Perhaps it was because I had no brothers and sisters. I was around eleven years old when our neighbours’ children were taken ill with meningitis, and that had a profound effect on me. They were my friends and I was scared they might not get better, but our GP rushed them into hospital and when they came home a few weeks later, they were fine. I was impressed. I thought hospital work was something I might do later on.’

‘I think you chose the right career. You were very good with James earlier—tender, caring and professional at the same time. His parents are reassured that he’s in good hands.’

‘I’m glad they feel that way.’ She finished off her coffee. ‘He settled into the ward well enough, and he’s sleeping now, which is probably a good thing. I doubt he had much rest last night with all his breathing difficulties.’

He nodded, and then gave her a musing glance. ‘Does it ever bother you, working with children?’

‘Oh, yes.’ It was a heartfelt statement. ‘All the time. I’d defy anyone to be blasé about it. But it’s rewarding, too.’ She thought about young Marcus, with his engaging smile, and brightened. ‘Children take life as it comes and grab it with both hands. It’s lovely to see what a wonderland it is for them. Everything is new and exciting, and sometimes it’s refreshing to look at the world through their eyes.’

His gaze trailed over her. ‘I’m sure they love having you as their doctor.’

‘I hope so. I do my best.’ She wiped her hands on a serviette and surveyed the remains of their lunch. ‘We seem to have polished that off between us with no trouble at all. Thank you for that,’ she said, returning his gaze with real appreciation.

It was hard to imagine why he was going to so much trouble to feed her and get to know her, but it would have been churlish of her not to acknowledge his efforts. Perhaps he was more concerned about her fainting on him than she had realised, and that was the real reason he was keeping an eye on her.

There was a knock on the door, and Hannah looked into the room. ‘Sorry to interrupt,’ she said, ‘but Mr Burnley’s looking for you, Sophie. He wants a word with you before he goes off on his rounds.’

‘Thanks, Hannah.’ Sophie stood up. ‘I’ll go and find him.’ She glanced at Lucas. ‘I’m sorry to cut this short,’ she said, ‘but Mr Burnley’s our cardiac surgeon, and I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting.’

‘That’s all right, I understand.’ Lucas began to clear away the remains of their feast. ‘I’ll take the opportunity to go and look in on young James while I’m here, if I may.’ He gave the nurse a look that would have set fire to steel. ‘Perhaps Hannah would show me where he is?’

Flustered, Hannah stared at him, her mouth dropping open a little. ‘You want me to take you to him? Um … yes … yes, of course. I can do that.’ She pulled herself together, as though she realised she was babbling. ‘I was forgetting you’re new around here. He’s in the bay along the corridor. If you want to follow me, I’ll lead the way.’

‘Thank you.’ Lucas’s smile had an even more devastating effect on Hannah’s composure. He walked to the door, holding it open so that she could retreat into the corridor, and for just a second their fingers touched. Hannah looked as though her senses were in a whirl, and Sophie could see that she was trying desperately to get a hold on herself.

A wry smile edged Sophie’s lips. It was just as well she’d made up her mind to steer clear of Lucas. He was obviously pure dynamite, and she’d no intention of becoming his next conquest.

CHAPTER THREE

‘HOW is our little patient doing?’ Lucas was frowning as he walked towards the bed in the paediatric bay of the emergency unit. It was some days later, and Sophie was getting used to seeing him about the place.

‘Not so badly now,’ Hannah said on a heartfelt sigh, ‘but I can tell you, that was a worrying hour or so.’ She glanced at Sophie. ‘For a while there, I thought we were going to lose her.’

Sophie nodded. ‘Me, too.’ She stretched, easing the ache in her lower back. It was mid-afternoon and she had been working full out all day, first with her charges on the paediatric ward and now with this small child who had been rushed to hospital by ambulance.

‘Her parents had no idea she would have such a bad reaction to nuts,’ Lucas commented. ‘They’ll have to be extra careful from now on.’ He gazed down at the small child, whose fair curls tumbled over the pillow. The five-year-old’s face was drained of colour so that she was almost as pale as the sheets. ‘Still, she seems to be a lot more comfortable now.’

‘Yes, she does. It was lucky you managed to get in an airway before the swelling in her throat became too severe.’ Sophie glanced at him. Her respect for Lucas had grown by leaps and bounds over the last hour or so. By all accounts, he had worked desperately to save this little girl before calling Sophie down for a consultation, and as soon as she had set foot in A and E she had been able to see for herself how capable he was, and how gentle and caring he had been with the child.

Hannah was right. It had been touch and go for a while, but after all Lucas’s efforts and a further shot of adrenalin, the child was at last beginning to recover, to everyone’s relief.

‘She’ll need to be observed over the next few hours,’ Sophie said, dragging her thoughts away from Lucas to the job in hand, ‘so we’ll admit her to the paediatric ward.’ She glanced at Hannah. ‘We’ll keep Sarah on IV fluids for a while, with the addition of a low-dose steroid and an antihistamine.’

‘Okay, you can leave it with me.’ Hannah went to check on the IV fluids, and Sophie went to find a computer in the doctors’ writing-up area where she could sit down to type up her notes.

Lucas followed her, coming to sit on the edge of the desk, watching her as she worked and making her all too conscious of his powerful, overwhelmingly male body. She sent him an oblique glance, her fingers pausing on the keyboard. ‘Have you made arrangements for the parents to talk with a specialist?’ she asked him, trying to keep her voice on an even keel. He was long and lean, flat stomached, and just having him close by made her abdomen tighten and had all of her senses in a flurry.

He nodded. ‘I told them I would make an appointment for Sarah to see an immunologist.’

‘Good. Sometimes, if things are handled the right way, the allergy might disappear completely after a few years.’

‘True. Let’s hope she’s one of the lucky ones.’ He stayed silent while she finished inputting the data, and when she leaned back in her chair, arching her back and suppressing a faint yawn, his gaze trailed over her.

‘How are things with you?’ he murmured, a hint of concern coming into his eyes. ‘You look tired. Are you still overdoing things?’

‘It’s good of you to ask, but I’m fine, thanks,’ she answered, absently curling and uncurling her fingers to dissipate the ache in her knuckles. It wasn’t the truth, but rumours spread like wildfire in this place, and she didn’t want it broadcast that she was under the weather and feeling the strain. She had a responsible position to uphold, and the last thing she needed was for people to think she couldn’t cope.

‘Hmm.’ It was clear he didn’t believe her. ‘You’re very pale. Are you quite sure you aren’t anaemic?’

‘Like I said, I’m fine.’ She was compounding the lie. She’d been so tired lately, that it was quite possible she was anaemic, but at least she’d done the responsible thing and paid another visit to her GP. He had found some problems with the haemoglobin levels in her blood, but wanted to know more about what was causing these, along with her other symptoms, and had ordered another set of blood tests. As soon as the results from those were back, hopefully she’d know if her problems were physical or simply the result of all the stress she’d been under of late. Not that she’d want Lucas to know any of that. All she actually wanted right now was to go and take her long overdue break. Perhaps a cup of coffee would perk her up a bit.

‘You’re very cagey, aren’t you?’ Lucas commented in an amused tone, as he tried to fathom her expression.

‘I wonder if Nathan’s responsible for that, or whether you’ve always been that way?’

‘Perhaps it comes from being an only child,’ she murmured, logging out of the computer. ‘In some ways, it has its advantages. You learn to appreciate your independence.’

‘And miss out on so much.’ He studied her briefly. ‘You make it hard for anyone to get close to you—or perhaps it’s just me that you have a problem with.’ He frowned. ‘But that only makes me all the more intrigued.’ He shook his head in a perplexed fashion. ‘I’m not quite sure what it is about you that has me all fired up … but I can’t help feeling that I need to shield you from whatever life is throwing at you. Maybe it’s that we seem to be opposites—the fact that I have a strong family to back me up, while you appear to be all alone in the world and put up a defensive front—but whatever the reason, I definitely want to get to know you better, Sophie … and I’ll do it, sooner or later.’

She shook her head. ‘Like I said, you don’t need to do that.’

His pager began to bleep, and he checked the text message before turning his attention back to her. ‘Sorry Sophie, but I have to go,’ he said, his brow creasing. ‘Something about a pregnant woman with high blood pressure.’

‘That doesn’t sound too good.’ She stood up, preparing to follow him into the main reception area.

‘No, it doesn’t.’ He sent her a thoughtful look. ‘Are you heading back to Paediatrics, or will you be able to find time to take a break? We do great coffee down here in A and E. And I keep a snacks table on hand for the staff. You could help yourself from it, and maybe go and sit in the garden room for a while. It might make you feel better.’

She gave him a wry smile. So much for her trying to fob him off. He hadn’t believed a word she’d said, had he?

‘I’m not sure … I was due a break over an hour ago.’ The cafeteria was two flights up, and didn’t hold out much appeal for her at the moment. She wanted sunshine and fresh air and a complete change of scenery. Perhaps that would help to lift her spirits.

‘There are glazed fruit tarts … and jam doughnuts,’ he said in a coaxing fashion as they walked towards the treatment area. ‘And salad sandwiches, freshly made, with bread bought this morning from the bakery down the road … and cheese. You like cheese, don’t you? It’s very good for you—full of—’

She laughed. ‘Enough,’ she said. ‘You don’t need to go on. You’ve convinced me. I’ll grab something from the snacks table and take it out into the garden room.’ It would be good to enjoy the late October sunshine.

‘Good.’ He looked pleased with himself. ‘I’ll come and join you just as soon as I can … as soon as I’ve taken a look at this young woman.’

Sophie’s brows rose a fraction. She might have known there was a hidden motive in his attempt to get her to stay around. What was it with Lucas that he wasn’t prepared to give up on her? Was she some kind of a challenge to him? So far she seemed to be the only female in the hospital who didn’t swoon at his mere presence! Or perhaps she presented him with a medical conundrum that he needed to solve?

The thought pulled her up sharply. Why would any man be drawn to a woman whose life was marred by illness? Hadn’t she learned that lesson with Nathan? He might have attempted to start up the relationship with her again at the wedding, but that would have been a short-lived exercise. As soon as he realised she was still plagued by symptoms he would have dropped her like a hot brick. And eventually Lucas would do the same.

It would be better if she didn’t think about it any longer, though. Weren’t there enough complications in her life without adding him to the list?

They parted company a few minutes later, and Sophie made her way to the sunlit garden room. She was alone in here, and for a while she enjoyed the solitude. The glass doors were open a little to let in a light breeze, and she could see white tables and chairs set out on the terrace beyond.

She chose a table by the door, and breathed in the fresh air. Yellow jasmine scrambled over trellised wooden panels, and here and there stone tubs were filled with autumn flowers, yellow and bronze chrysanthemums and bold, white asters with yellow centres. At intervals there were tall green palms that added a restful touch.

She sat down and began to eat from the selection of food on her tray. The fruit pie was cool and refreshing, and instead of coffee she had chosen fresh orange juice. It wasn’t too long before she began to feel her batteries recharging. Maybe there was nothing wrong with her after all. The thought cheered her, and she looked around, happy with her surroundings, drawing energy from the complete break from work.

A short time later, she heard children’s voices coming closer. A line edged its way into her brow. Did the youngsters belong to someone who worked here? This was a place where the staff could rest a while, so they weren’t likely to be the offspring of patients.

‘Is Mummy very poorly?’ The voices came nearer, and Sophie looked around to see Lucas coming towards her, holding the hands of a fretful young girl, around six years old, and a little boy who looked to be a year or so younger.

‘She needs to rest. That’s why she’s going to stay in hospital for a while, so that we can take good care of her.’ Lucas’s voice was warm and reassuring.

Sophie stood as he approached the table, ‘Lucas, is anything wrong?’ She could see from his grim expression that his return to the hub of A and E had turned out very differently from what he had expected.

He nodded. ‘The patient I was paged for,’ he answered quietly, ‘turned out to be my sister Ella. I didn’t realise who she was until I went to see her because no one had her details.’ He put an arm around each of the children’s shoulders and drew them forward. ‘These are my niece and nephew, Emily and William. Apparently they were out on a shopping trip together when Ella was taken ill.’

Sophie could only imagine what he was going through, but she kept up an appearance of calm, so as not to upset the children. ‘Hello,’ she said, smiling at them. ‘I’m sorry to hear that your mother is poorly … but I know that your uncle will look after her very well. He’s a very good doctor.’

William nodded. ‘I know.’ He was frowning, his grey eyes confused, and Sophie guessed he was trying his utmost to come to terms with what had happened.

‘It must have been a shock for you,’ she said, looking from one to the other. ‘Do you want to tell me about it?’

William shook his head, but Emily couldn’t contain herself and blurted out, ‘Mummy fainted. A lady in the shop had to help us. We didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t make Mummy wake up.’

Sophie wanted to put her arms round the little girl and give her a hug. ‘You must have been very frightened.’ William didn’t give way to his emotions. He was still trying to be stoical, but surely it couldn’t be good for him to keep everything bottled up inside?

She glanced at Luke. ‘Was there any indication that this might happen? How was she in her previous pregnancies?’

‘It was plain sailing with both Emily and William but she has found this third pregnancy much harder. Really, I should have expected something like this. She’s been complaining of headaches and blurred vision, and I could see that there was some swelling in her hands and around her ankles. I told her to talk to her obstetrician as a matter of urgency and check with the midwife. She said she would, but it doesn’t look as though she carried it through.’

‘I suppose she was busy with the children,’ Sophie said in a low voice. ‘Women don’t always get their priorities right when they’re looking after a family.’

‘I’m beginning to realise that now.’ Lucas encouraged the children to sit down, and Sophie offered them orange juice and sandwiches from her tray. William accepted the sandwich but sat holding it, not attempting to eat, while Emily sipped at a glass of juice. Her cheeks were flushed, and streaked with tears that had escaped.

Sophie felt in her coat pocket for her small stock of badges. She gave them to children on the paediatric ward whenever they had been brave or needed cheering up. ‘Perhaps you’d like to colour these in,’ she suggested. ‘There’s a teddy bear with a spotted necktie, and a teddy bear with a flowery vest. Choose which ones you want. I think I’ve some coloured pencils in my other pocket.’ She delved around and produced half a dozen small pencils. ‘There you are. Just the thing.’

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.