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The Doctor's Wife For Keeps
Alison Roberts


Surgeon Luke Anderson let her go once…But this time around he’ll get down on one knee!Seeing paediatrician Kate Saunders again, Luke can feel the chemistry that still sizzles between them. But, bruised from his failed marriage, he doesn’t believe in happy-ever-afters any more. Until he’s reminded of the marriage pact they made in college…and he realises that Kate might be the one woman worth waiting for!







Surgeon Luke Anderson let her go once...

But this time around he’ll get down on one knee!

Seeing pediatrician Kate Saunders again, Luke can feel the chemistry that still sizzles between them. But bruised from his failed marriage, he doesn’t believe in happy-ever-afters anymore. Until he’s reminded of the marriage pact they made in college...and realizes Kate may be the one woman who was worth waiting for!


ALISON ROBERTS is a New Zealander, currently lucky enough to be living in the south of France. She is also lucky enough to write for the Mills & Boon Medical Romance line. A primary school teacher in a former life, she is now a qualified paramedic. She loves to travel and dance, drink champagne, and spend time with her daughter and her friends.


Also by Lauri Robinson

The Fling That Changed Everything

The Forbidden Prince

Their First Family Christmas

A Life-Saving Reunion

The Surrogate’s Unexpected Miracle

Sleigh Ride with the Single Dad

Rescued Hearts miniseries

The Doctor’s Wife for Keeps

Twin Surprise for the Italian Doc

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).


The Doctor’s Wife for Keeps

Alison Roberts






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


ISBN: 978-1-474-07487-2

THE DOCTOR’S WIFE FOR KEEPS

© 2018 Alison Roberts

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


For Sarah, Luke and Brendan,

with lots of love and very fond memories

of our adventures in the Czech Republic. xx


Contents

Cover (#u2aa7dc04-2bdb-5bc2-8166-eda0110a1eba)

Back Cover Text (#u6d7cb314-2b3b-51c6-88af-fed410d78bbe)

About the Author (#u879376ed-6a80-5d40-b43d-ec3953add88b)

Booklist (#u6d5111aa-064c-56c6-b41c-afd597fc47ee)

Title Page (#ub61ee4a4-4135-5c8e-8cb0-61569c174480)

Copyright (#u98565240-4de4-5e66-af2d-b66587762a57)

Dedication (#u32af401f-ab05-57e2-b51f-331723373bbd)

PROLOGUE (#uf33a4e2e-af04-5d65-b3eb-6a8eb3164979)

CHAPTER ONE (#uf569e814-e806-5991-8013-d7b400ff9121)

CHAPTER TWO (#ucb5b6882-43c4-57f8-a5d5-64edf5e2e6a5)

CHAPTER THREE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)


PROLOGUE (#ua7fcba53-dff0-5697-b62c-02e5c137cd55)

‘I THINK WE’RE LOST.’

Kate Saunders slowed the SUV she was driving to take another hairpin bend on this alpine road that seemed to be going on for ever and getting narrower as the tall forest pressed in on both sides. She glanced sideways at her companion—her best friend and flatmate, Georgia.

‘Whose bright idea was it to enter this international medical rescue competition? Oh, yeah...yours...’

‘It’s an adventure.’ Georgia was grinning. ‘Admit it—you’re loving it already.’

Kate snorted, tipping her head a little to ease the crick in her neck. ‘Road trips always sound more fun than they actually are. It’s a hell of a long way from Scotland to the back of beyond in the Czech Republic. I’ve never even heard of the town we’re trying to find.’

‘Rakovi. It’s a ski resort. And this is the biggest competition of its kind in the world. I’ve been hearing about it for years—ever since I became a paramedic.’

‘Well, I’ve never heard of it.’

‘That’s because you’re a doctor and your lot aren’t as adventurous.’

‘Hmm...’ There was some truth in that. Kate had been focused on her career from the moment she’d been accepted for medical school at the age of twenty two. Georgia had helped her celebrate her thirty-fifth birthday a few months ago and her idea of a gift had been to enter her in this competition as a doctor/paramedic team. She had already booked accommodation in London and Germany to break up the travel and, probably thanks to the bottle of excellent champagne they were sharing, it had seemed like a brilliant idea at the time.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

‘Have we even got out of Poland yet?’

‘Ages ago. It’s not far now.’

‘We don’t want to be late for registration.’

‘Don’t stress. They’ve got a couple of hundred teams from about twenty different countries to process. If we’re a bit late it’ll just mean we don’t have to queue for so long.’

Kate slowed again to cross a narrow bridge over a tumbling mountain stream. ‘I can’t believe we’re competing in such a huge field.’

‘It’s broken up into categories, remember. There’ll be paramedic teams with their ambulances from all over Europe. I can’t wait till the end where everybody drives in convoy around all the local villages with their lights and sirens on. I’ve heard it’s a memorable experience. Then there are the doctors and medical student teams and other combinations. I just hope there’s enough like us to give us our own category, otherwise we’ll be competing against teams that have up to four members.’

‘I just hope I don’t make an idiot of myself. I’m a paediatrician, Georgie. I work in a nice, safe hospital with any amount of resources and backup. You would have been better to pick an emergency specialist.’

‘You do plenty of emergency work. And you’ve lived with me long enough to qualify as an honorary paramedic. You’ve even been out on the road with me a few times. You’ll be brilliant and who cares if we don’t win? We’re here to have fun, remember? To have an adventure and meet lots of new people and...’ Georgia’s grin was decidedly mischievous now. ‘We’re both single and gorgeous. Have you thought about how many men there are going to be at this thing?’

‘Georgie...’ Kate shook her head. ‘You never give up, do you? You’ve only just got over the last disaster and you’re ready to do it again?’

‘Oh, I have no intention of falling for someone. What’s that saying? The best way to get over a man is to get under another one?’

Kate had to laugh. And she had to admire Georgia’s resilience. At least she kept trying and Kate hadn’t even done that for quite some time. It was so disheartening when a relationship failed to live up to expectations and the goalposts of true love and that dream family and children of her own got shifted a little further away yet again.

‘Casual sex has never appealed to me.’

‘Yeah...you’re so old school, Kate. An ultimate romantic. You really believe that you’re going to see ‘the one’ across a crowded room and it’ll be love at first sight and a happy-ever-after with a few bluebirds fluttering over the carpet of rose petals and...’

‘Oh, stop it,’ Kate growled. Her friend’s tone was teasing but, disturbingly, there was an element of truth in the scene. Not the bluebirds, of course. Or the rose petals.

But, yeah...she did believe that ‘the one’ was out there somewhere and that happy-ever-afters were quite possible for the lucky few. And who knew? It wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that he might be amongst this huge, random gathering of people with a common interest.

A flicker of excitement that had nothing to do with the adventure of competing lifted her spirits noticeably. And with that flicker came a rush of affection for her friend. Poor Georgia had been through the mill when it came to men so it was no wonder she was a little on the bitter side at the moment.

‘Just be careful, hon. Okay?’

‘Of course.’

Kate had seen that innocent look before. It meant that she was hiding something.

‘You have given up on that hare-brained scheme you came up with after that bastard, Rick, walked out, haven’t you?’

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

‘Oh, yes, you do. The one where you gave up on men completely and were going to have a baby all by yourself?’ As much as Kate adored children, she couldn’t imagine choosing to have a family on her own. The whole package was the goal and there was a proper order to do it in. You fell in love, got married and then had a baby. Georgia was only a year older than she was. They still had time...didn’t they?

‘Well, obviously I haven’t given up on men completely. And I’m over Rick. He’s ancient history—like all the others. Ooh, look...a signpost. We’re only fifteen kilometres away.’

That flicker of excitement ignited into a small but steady flame. Kate hadn’t given up on men completely either and maybe fate, in the form of Georgia’s determination, had pushed her in the direction of this competition for a reason.

‘Halleluiah.’ Kate grinned at her friend. ‘The end is in sight.’

‘Nah...the beginning is in sight.’ Georgia stretched her arms above her head and gave a whoop. ‘Bring it on.’


CHAPTER ONE (#ua7fcba53-dff0-5697-b62c-02e5c137cd55)

NO WAY...

It couldn’t be...

‘Come on, Kate. You can get your T-shirt later. We need to register and then find our room.’

A firm nudge made Kate turn her head and start moving again. ‘Sorry... I thought I saw someone I knew.’

‘Who?’

‘Luke. Luke Anderson. An old friend. We went through med school together.’

‘Hmm...’ Georgia was scanning the queues in front of a line of desks. ‘Can you see what’s on that sign?’

‘The desks are divided into alphabetic sections according to the country the team is representing. “S” is over there.’ This time it was Kate leading the way. She approved of such disciplined organisation and it boded well for a smoothly run competition. The people behind the desks were looking weary. How many hundreds of people had they processed already? There was still a queue in front of the section that included ‘S’.

Kate looked around at the sea of people, many of whom were in the uniforms of their ambulance organisation, with bright orange or red overalls and jackets. It was noisy and she could hear languages she couldn’t identify. A lot of people seemed to know each other very well and enthusiastic greetings added to the aura of controlled chaos. At least she had a few minutes to take it all in as they waited their turn.

‘So...this Luke...’ Georgia raised an eyebrow. ‘Is he good looking?’

‘I guess...’ Kate tried to recapture that fleeting glance to decide whether it was possible she had really seen him. ‘Very tall. Dark hair. Brown eyes.’

‘Oh... I love brown eyes. My favourite.’

Kate’s breath came out in a huff. They were both women in their mid-thirties. Independent and successful. Were they really having a conversation that made them sound like boy-mad teenagers?

‘I haven’t seen him for five years. Since he got married.’

‘Oh...’ The tone was very different this time. Georgia’s interest had evaporated.

For some reason that annoyed Kate. ‘We were really good friends. We lost touch because his wife couldn’t handle him having a female friend. I’d love to catch up. I don’t even know what part of the world he’s living in now. But he’s a paediatric surgeon so it’s pretty unlikely he’d come to something like this.’

‘I’ll bet he’d say the same thing if he thought he’d seen you.’

Kate couldn’t argue with that. Not that there was any more time to even think about it because they’d reached the front of the queue. There were folders of documents to collect that included detailed instructions and maps. They received large identification numbers that they would have to wear pinned to their clothing at all times and coloured wristbands that were clipped on.

‘These numbers go on your vehicle.’ The official’s English was excellent but heavily accented. ‘These are your vouchers for meals and this is your room number. Go to the accommodation block and they will show you where to go. Don’t forget the welcome ceremony and briefing at nineteen hundred hours. If you hurry, you should have time for a meal first.’

The ski resort sprawled over several levels on the steep hillside with a road that separated each level in a zigzag. A road that was jam packed with vehicles parked on both sides of it. The variety of colours was amazing. Red and white predominated but there were yellow and green emergency vehicles with various designs of reflective stripes and insignia. Amongst the dozens of ambulances and marked emergency Jeeps and SUVs—many of which were also decorated with flags and other accessories, Georgia’s car looked small and plain. And it was parked far enough away to make it a mission to collect their bags.

‘You’ve got a Scottish flag, haven’t you?’

‘Och, aye...’ Georgia nodded. ‘One for each front window. And a bagpipe-playing bear that we can attach to the front bumper. We can do that later, though. I’m starving...’

‘I’ll just put the vehicle number stickers on. It was one at the front and one at the back, wasn’t it? Did they say which part of the windscreen it should go on?’

Georgia shook her head. ‘Just make it visible. You can read the rules later.’

Kate frowned. ‘I’ll just put the front one on the dashboard for now. If we stick it in the wrong place, it might not come off.’

Georgia paused in her task of hauling their bags from the back to give Kate a loaded glance.

‘You know, sometimes you make me feel like I’m out with my mother.’

‘If it keeps you out of trouble then that’s a good thing.’

‘I’m a big girl, Kate. I can look after myself.’ But Georgia was smiling now. ‘It’s a good thing you’re here, though. We certainly won’t get eliminated for breaking any rules. And, hey...how good is it that we’ve got our own category? There must be at least five other teams that have a doctor and one or two paramedics with them. Maybe one of them includes your friend.’

Kate pulled out the handle of her bag and started wheeling it down the road.

‘Doubt it. It must have just been someone who looked a bit like him. I’ve seen a dozen tall men with dark hair since then.’

Because she’d been looking?

She was still looking, she realised as they lined up and presented their meal vouchers in exchange for a plate laden with stew and dumplings. There was a bar open in the dining area and many tables had people enjoying a beer or wine with their meals. So many tables. So many people.

She’d already decided Luke couldn’t possibly be here so why was she scanning the room so carefully now?

‘There’s some space on that table.’ Georgia led the way. ‘Do you mind if we join you guys?’

‘Please do.’ The man’s face lit up beneath sun-streaked blond hair as he looked at Georgia. ‘I’m Dave. This is Ken and that’s Sally, who’s stuffing her face there.’

‘You’re from Australia, right?’

‘No. New Zealand.’ Dave sighed heavily. ‘Everybody thinks our accent is the same but it really isn’t.’ He grinned at Georgia. ‘No mistaking yours. You’re Scottish.’

‘I am. I like your uniforms. Are you paramedics?’

‘Yeah... You guys?’

‘I’m a paramedic. Kate’s a doctor. Is this your first time here?’

‘Sure is. Never seen anything like it.’

‘Where are you based at home? City or country?’

‘Auckland. Biggest city in the country. And up there in the top cities of the world to live in. You should come and visit sometime.’

‘Oh? What’s so great about Auckland?’

The conversation, as they swapped details about their home towns and talked about how little they knew of what was to happen tomorrow, was lively but Kate was only half listening.

Why was it so unsettling, she wondered, to be disappointed that she’d made a mistake? It wasn’t as if Luke had ever been anything more than a friend.

On his side, anyway.

On her side, too, after she’d got over that silly crush. And it hadn’t been that hard, had it?

Humiliating, maybe, when she’d felt invisible as anything more than a friend, but they had been very good friends and that was something special. Something that often lasted way longer than any romantic relationships. They’d studied together, competed fiercely to see could get better marks in exams and had supported each other in those first, nerve-racking encounters with real patients in real hospitals.

They’d kept in touch all through those early years of their careers after medical school, even though they’d ended up in different cities and she’d convinced herself that she was genuinely delighted when he’d fallen head over heels in love with the gorgeous Nadia—a nurse he’d met in his first year as a surgical registrar. She hadn’t been the one for Luke but she’d cared enough about him to wish him complete happiness with the woman who’d been lucky enough to be chosen.

Okay, it had been more than a little hurtful when contact had ceased but she’d always hoped that, one day, when Nadia felt more secure, the friendship would somehow be rekindled. A hope that had been slowly evaporating over the years, however. She hadn’t even thought about Luke for quite a long time. Until she’d thought she’d spotted him...

Maybe, when she got home, she’d find out where he was working these days. Drop him an email, even, and just say hi.

The plan was satisfying enough to enable her to put the distraction firmly to one side and tune in properly to the conversation around her. New Zealand was a place that had always fascinated her and she was keen to hear about what it was like to live and work there.

By the time she followed the others to get to the welcome ceremony and briefing, she had completely forgotten about Luke Anderson. It was taking more than enough concentration not to lose sight of Georgia or their new friends as they squeezed into a very crowded room.

‘Excuse me...’ She had to turn sideways to get past a group of medics wearing heavy coats with fluorescent stripes and rescue insignia. They were big men and maybe they hadn’t heard her because one of them stepped back and pushed Kate into the person on the other side of the space she’d been trying to get through. She felt hands grip her arms as someone tried to prevent her falling.

‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ Kate could feel her face reddening as she regained her balance.

‘No problem. It’s a bit of a squeeze in here, isn’t it?’

Kate’s jaw dropped as she lifted her head. She knew that voice so well...

‘Oh, my God... Kate?’

A huge, dumb grin was spreading over her face but words had deserted her. Not that she needed them for a moment because Luke had enveloped her in a hug that was making it difficult to take a breath.

‘Kate?’

The voice came from behind her and she turned as the tight hold loosened.

‘Oh, thank goodness. I thought I’d lost you.’

‘Georgie...this is my friend, Luke...’

Someone was tapping on a microphone, which triggered a screech of feedback that made people groan.

‘Sorry about that but welcome, everybody... If we could have a bit of quiet, please?’

Kate shut up immediately but Luke didn’t appear to have heard the request.

‘What on earth are you doing here?’

‘It was a birthday present,’ she muttered. ‘Long story...’

‘Shh,’ someone behind her hissed. ‘We’re trying to listen.’

Luke made an apologetic grimace but then winked at Kate.

‘Later,’ he mouthed, turning to peer over the heads of others to see who was speaking.

Kate started listening, too. After the welcome speech and a list of how many countries were participating, another speaker got up to share important information.

‘Between eleven-thirty and midnight tonight, you will all receive your list of events. You will be given the GPS coordinates of the scenario and a start time. Please be there at least ten minutes before that time. If you are late, you will not be admitted and you will not be marked in that section of the competition.’

Georgia elbowed Kate. ‘No chance of that happening,’ she whispered. ‘Not when I’m with you.’

The dig at her compulsion to follow directions to the letter failed to bother Kate. How could it when she was feeling so unexpectedly good?

She had Luke standing on her other side and, every so often, they glanced sideways—apparently at the exact same moment—to catch each other’s gaze. And every time it happened, the feeling got stronger.

It was like going home. Or back to a beloved place, like where you’d had your summer holidays all through childhood. A feeling of something so familiar you could relax completely. Of something that had the promise of delivering the same good things it always had.

And, yes...there was something more.

A flicker of that initial crush, perhaps? A realisation that none of her own relationships had ever worked well enough because that flicker had never been fanned into something that had felt as meaningful as even her friendship with Luke had been?

‘The rally covers a period of twenty-four hours and you will have both a daytime and a night-time section. There will be twelve tasks for you to complete but there will be breaks in your schedule during which you can take meals or have a rest.

Time to catch up properly with an old friend, perhaps? The feeling of anticipation took on a softer edge for Kate. A warm glow, even.

There were pictures on a big screen on the wall now. There was a map of the local area as an official explained how far they might have to travel to get to some of the scenarios and what local landmarks and hazards to watch out for.

Finally, there were reminders of the rules.

‘The competition is held in English. All instructions will be in this language and your patients are fluent enough to answer any relevant questions. The officials grading your performance will also be doing this in English and teams will be marked down for communication in any other language.’

Kate caught Luke’s eye again. Surely that gave them a distinct advantage over many of the teams here? For the first time, she could feel a kick of a desire to do well. To win, even?

Maybe that was down to the gleam she’d caught in Luke’s gaze. They’d always set out to see who could better the other. And then they would always celebrate the winner without any suggestion of animosity. With a dollop of pride, even...

‘And while we’re on the subject of communication,’ the official continued, ‘it is forbidden for any team to discuss the scenarios with other teams until the competition is finished so please be careful. Anyone found to be using information they have received in advance will be eliminated.’

‘What section are you in?’ she asked as soon as the formalities were over. ‘All doctors? Doctors and med students?’

‘Doctor/paramedic.’ Luke put his arm around the man standing beside him. ‘This is Matteo Martini. Italian paramedic extraordinaire.’

‘Ooh...’ Georgia had moved closer. ‘A martini? Yes, please... Extra-dry—with an olive.’

They all laughed. ‘This is Georgie,’ Kate said. ‘My paramedic partner.’

She caught Luke’s gaze again and this time the gleam took her right back to her student days. Standing in line outside an examination room with both of them knowing how hard they’d studied and both of them determined to be top of the class.

It had become a joke amongst their fellow students about whose turn it was to come first because they were such an equal match. There was never much of a gap between their marks.

‘My turn, I think.’ Kate grinned.

‘I don’t think so.’ But then Luke frowned. ‘Who got first last time? Good grief...it’s so long ago, I can’t even remember.’

‘Finals,’ Kate growled. ‘And it was you.’ She was scowling at him now. ‘You don’t need to look so smug about it.’

Luke adjusted his face. ‘It was a long time ago.’

‘Mmm.’ Kate held his gaze. ‘Too long.’

They were being herded out of the room now. A glance over her shoulder showed Kate that Georgia and Matteo were following so they went with the flow. It seemed that everybody was heading for the bar to wait until their scenario list and start times were handed out.

‘So how are you?’ Kate had to raise her voice to be heard over the babble of so many languages around them. ‘I haven’t seen you since your wedding.’

‘I know. I’m sorry...’ There was something in Luke’s expression that suggested he was sorry for more than the lack of contact. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

‘Just a soda water,’ Kate said. ‘I need to keep a clear head for tomorrow.’

‘Beer for me,’ Matteo said. ‘Georgie?’

The mischievous expression on Georgia’s face made Kate suppress a sigh. It was clear she was enjoying the handsome Italian’s company but surely she wasn’t going to be obvious enough ask for a martini? The sigh came out as one of relief as Georgia spoke.

‘White wine,’ she said. ‘Sparkling, if they’ve got it. I do love a bit of sparkle.’

Matteo raised an eyebrow. ‘A taste for champagne, yes? Classy...’ He went to help Luke carry the drinks while the girls found a place to sit down.

‘You want me to take Matteo somewhere else?’ Georgia asked. ‘So that you and Luke can have some alone time?’

‘Don’t be daft.’ The words came out sounding more irritated than Kate had intended. ‘We’re friends. Or we were. It’s so long since I’ve seen him that we’re practically strangers now.’

She averted her gaze as she finished her sentence. It was so far from the truth. But she couldn’t admit to Georgia how it made her feel to see Luke again. She hadn’t quite got her own head around it yet.

It seemed that Luke had followed her example and got a non-alcoholic drink for himself as well. Clearly he wanted to be as competitive as possible tomorrow as well. Kate had to hide a smile as they touched glasses.

Game on...

‘Cheers,’ she said. ‘I have to say, you’re probably the last person I would have expected to run into here. Have you changed specialties and gone into emergency medicine?’

‘No. I’m still a paediatric surgeon but I do specialise in trauma cases. It’s Matt’s fault I’m here.’

‘Snap,’ Kate told him. ‘Georgia entered me as a birthday present. She said I needed some adventure in my life.’

‘And do you?’ There was a question in Luke’s eyes that went far deeper than the amused query.

Was her life going the way she had planned it out so carefully? Was she happy?

She was saved having to find an answer by Georgia leaning closer. ‘So how do you two boys know each other?’

‘I did a stint in a hospital in Milan,’ Luke told her. ‘I got lost one day trying to find my apartment and this ambulance pulled up beside me. Matt was driving.’

‘I’d seen him in the emergency department of the hospital,’ Matteo put in. ‘I’d stayed with a child I’d brought in who’d been hit by a car and Luke had been called for a surgical consultation.’

‘He gave me a ride home,’ Luke continued. ‘And then he said he’d pick me up again after he finished his shift because he knew where the best beer in Milan was.’

‘Italy,’ Kate breathed. ‘How exciting. Did Nadia love living there?’

Matteo was staring at Luke. ‘Who’s Nadia?’

‘My ex-wife.’

‘Ah...the cheating cow?’

‘That’s the one.’

It was Kate’s turn to stare at Luke. ‘Oh, my God...you and Nadia split up?’

Luke was eyeing Matteo’s beer as if he was regretting his decision on drinks. ‘Yep.’

‘But...’

Everybody turned to stare at her and Kate bit her lip. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered. ‘It’s just that you guys were so in love...’

Luke snorted. ‘Yeah...well, I won’t be making that mistake again, believe me.’

‘It kind of cures you,’ Matteo offered. ‘When the wife you love turns out to have been shagging every other man she met. I’m with Luke on this one. If someone cheated on me or lied to me like that, I would never let her name pass my lips again either.’

Kate wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. Poor Luke... And she’d made things worse by opening her big mouth and reminding him of something it was obvious he would rather forget. Good grief...he hadn’t even told Matteo his wife’s name? Just referred to her as ‘the cheating cow’?

And something else was trying to push its way into her consciousness.

The fact that Luke was single again?

No. She was too old and wise to allow any seed to grow in that long-ago abandoned space. She’d been romantically invisible back then. Why would that have changed?

What needed to change was the subject. Fast.

‘How long were you in Milan?’

‘Two years. And then I won a consultancy position six months ago. In Edinburgh.’

‘No way...’

Luke blinked. ‘What’s so surprising about that? Did you think I was going to stay a registrar for ever?’

Kate shook her head. ‘It’s not that. I’m a consultant too. In Glasgow.’

Luke laughed. ‘You mean we’ve been living fifty miles from each other and we had to travel halfway across Europe to catch up?’

‘Not even fifty miles. Georgia and I live in Brackenburn—halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. I work in the Eastern Infirmary in Glasgow and Georgie’s a paramedic at a rescue base in Edinburgh.’

‘Do you have helicopters?’ Matteo asked Georgia.

‘Yes. Two. I don’t get to go up in them very often, though. Only when they’re short of staff. You?’

‘I’ve been a flight paramedic for eight years now. I love it...’

Kate and Luke weren’t listening to the conversation between their partners. People around them were starting to move, which meant that the time for finding out exactly what tomorrow would bring was getting close.

But they were both sitting very still. So much had happened in the years since they’d last seen each other. Kate wanted to know more and she was saddened by more than a hint of bitterness in Luke’s tone when he’d confirmed that his marriage was over. How could that have happened to one of the nicest people she had ever known?

Maybe something of what she was thinking was showing in her face.

‘What about you, Katy?’ Luke asked quietly. ‘You happily married now? Got a couple of kids at home? That was the plan, wasn’t it?’

Kate dropped her gaze. There was something a little shameful about admitting that she had failed to achieve her most important personal goals. She didn’t say anything, simply shaking her head as she reached for her glass to finish her drink.

‘We’d better get going,’ Matteo said. ‘It’s time...’

Kate stood up, more than happy to leave this conversation behind for the moment.

But Luke stayed where he was for a moment, staring up at Kate.

‘It was your birthday in March,’ he said.

‘It always is.’ Kate grinned. ‘Two weeks after yours, in fact.’

‘Yeah...so we both turned thirty-five.’

Was he trying to rub in the fact that she was still single? That parenthood was probably still years away? That she might get into her forties and get past the point where it might be even possible?

She could feel defensive hackles begin to rise. Maybe, thanks to his own unfortunate experience, Luke had changed from being the nicest person in the world.

But he was grinning. And he didn’t have to say a word for Kate to realise that he hadn’t been trying to remind her that time was ticking on.

He was reminding her of something else. Something they’d agreed on after that legendary night of celebrating their final results as they’d graduated as fully fledged doctors. Something she hadn’t thought about in at least five years.

Because it had become redundant the moment that Luke had got married.

Surely he didn’t think it could be reinstated because he was single again?

No. Kate turned away with a dismissive shake of her head.

‘The pact’ was no longer in existence.


CHAPTER TWO (#ua7fcba53-dff0-5697-b62c-02e5c137cd55)

‘I THINK WE’RE HERE.’

Kate looked at the two-storeyed village house they were parked in front of. The door was shut and there was nobody to be seen trying to flag down medical assistance. She had programmed the satellite navigation system with all the GPS coordinates of their daytime tasks herself, however, so she was confident that no mistakes had been made.

‘We’ve got ten minutes. We’ll knock on the door at precisely seven forty-five. You might want to turn off the light.’ The portable flashing light on the top of the SUV was plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter. ‘We don’t want to flatten the battery while we’re on scene.’

‘Roger that.’ Georgia pulled the plug from the socket. She smiled at Kate but then her face scrunched into a grimace. ‘First scenario. You nervous?’

‘I wish we had some idea of what we’re going to. The name doesn’t give us much of a clue, does it? “Sweetheart”?’

‘Maybe it’s got something to do with sugar. A diabetic emergency, maybe?’

‘Good thinking.’

‘Or...’ Georgia wiggled her eyebrows. ‘Maybe it’s a young couple who are madly in love and they were having morning sex in the shower and one of them has slipped over and hit their head on the side of the bath.’

Kate didn’t want to think about people who were so crazy in love they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. She’d never experienced that kind of love. Why was it that the balance always seemed to be tipped far too much in one direction? The people she fell in love with never felt the same way but if she was only mildly interested she could guarantee that the guy would fall head over heels for her and become suffocatingly attentive.

She checked her watch. ‘Five minutes.’

‘Do you think another team is still in there? Luke and Matteo, maybe?’

Kate didn’t want to think about Luke, either. Not when thinking about the past could be a distraction. She had every intention of beating his team in this competition. It was her turn, after all. Payback for him getting better marks in finals.

He’d been so gracious about that, hadn’t he? Toasting her with that excellent champagne he’d brought with him. The first bottle, that was. The second bottle had been a bad idea because it had culminated in concocting ‘the pact’ but the evening had been all about celebrating their graduation to start with. And each other’s success.

‘I owe it all to you, Katy. If you hadn’t been my study buddy and I hadn’t been trying so hard to keep up with your brilliance for the last few years, I’d probably have been at the bottom of the class.’

Not true, of course. Luke had one of the sharpest minds she’d ever had the pleasure of arguing with and, if she’d had the edge on remembering everything she learned, Luke had been better at the practical skills in those days. More confident, with surprisingly nimble fingers. It was no surprise that he had become a surgeon and Kate had no doubt that he was excelling in his field. Did those skills extend to an environment outside of an operating theatre? How much had Matteo taught him about front-line emergency procedures?

‘Time?’

‘Oh, help. It’s seven forty-six.’ How had that happened?

Both Kate and Georgia leapt from the vehicle, slamming the front doors to go around to the back and collect the well-stocked kits that Georgia’s Edinburgh ambulance station had provided for them. She’d been distracted, Kate realised, by thinking about Luke.

It wasn’t going to happen again.

* * *

‘We’re early.’

Luke grunted. Eight-fifteen was their start time for the scenario with the odd name of ‘Sweetheart’ but he’d been determined not to risk disqualification by being late at any of the tasks they’d been set for the day. Especially now, when he had the added incentive of competing with Kate.

Her turn to win?

He found himself smiling. Whatever the result, this competition had just become a lot more fun.

The smile faded, however, as he looked around them at the quiet street dotted with small, village houses. ‘Doesn’t look like much.’ A bit disappointing, in fact. He’d expected to have something like a car versus pedestrian scenario for the coordinates in the middle of this small town. ‘You sure we’re in the right place?’

‘Sì. Assolutamente.’ Matteo pointed through the windscreen. ‘That car parked over there is a competitor. It’s got the numbers. And a light on the roof, like ours. And the flags are...’

‘Scottish,’ Luke murmured. There was only one team representing Scotland here and he knew who that was.

That smile was resurfacing. How astonishing had it been to run into Kate here, of all places in the world?

And how good had it been to see her again?

It made him realise that he’d been lonely ever since he’d taken up his new position in Edinburgh. He’d missed his mate, Matteo, who’d been so good for him during his time in Milan as he’d licked his wounds after escaping the disaster that his marriage had been. Focusing so completely on work in Edinburgh had left no time to try and make new friends, which was probably why he’d taken up Matteo’s invitation to join him for this competition.

And while it had been great to catch up with his mate, seeing Kate again was on a whole new level. They had history—heart-warming history—that made her like family.

He hadn’t thought about that ‘pact’ for years.

Not until last night, that was, when Kate’s avoidance of answering his query about whether she was married with kids yet had reminded him of how much time had passed. Plenty of time to have achieved the ‘plan’.

The plan they’d discussed that night after graduation, over that really great bottle of champagne.

‘Me? I’m going to start my stellar career and find the woman of my dreams to share the glory. What about you, Katy?’

‘Oh... I’m going to have a brilliant career, too. And I’m going to find the man of my dreams and get married and have a couple of the world’s most gorgeous children...’

And then they’d polished off that second bottle and things had become a whole lot more mushy. The ‘plan’ had morphed into the ‘pact’.

‘You’re my best mate, Katy. I love you to bits.’

‘Love you, too, mate.’

‘Tell you what...’

‘What?’

‘If we haven’t found those dream people by the time we’re...oh...say, thirty-five...let’s marry each other.’

‘Why would you want to marry me?’

‘I might be desperate by then.’

‘Cheers, mate.’

‘Oh, come on...it was a joke.’

‘Your idea of getting married is a joke.’

‘No... I’m serious. Let’s make a pact. If we’re both still single when we’re thirty-five, we’ll marry each other. Okay?’

She’d drained her glass of champagne, pushed her hair out of her eyes and given him a curiously intent stare. And then she’d done it. Agreed to the pact.

‘Okay. You’re on.’

‘So it’s a pact? Signed and sealed?’

‘It’s a pact. But now I need to go to sleep.’

Ancient memories but good ones.

Yes. It was extraordinarily good to see Kate again. Best of all, he had discovered that she lived close enough to his new home town that they would be able to see each other whenever they both had some free time.

Unless she had a boyfriend, of course. Thanks to Matteo’s conversation with Georgia last night, he now knew that Kate wasn’t married and that she was sharing a house with Georgia, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone else in the picture. Why wouldn’t there be? Kate was gorgeous, with that impressive intelligence shining from those bright, blue eyes. And he liked that her hair was a bit longer these days. The blonde bob almost touched her shoulders and had a bit of a swing to it.

Not that it would be a problem if she had a significant other in her life. It could mean that Luke’s circle of friends was about to expand, in fact. Maybe they could even double date. He and Matteo had had a lot of fun doing that in Milan. Nothing serious, mind you. Matteo might be dead keen to settle down and start a family of his own with the woman of his dreams but Luke had abandoned any such fairy-tale long ago. At about the same moment he’d learned that his marriage was a complete sham. As he’d remarked so bitterly to Kate, he had no intention of ever losing his head—or his heart—over a woman again.

Still...he wasn’t getting any younger. It would be a shame to miss out completely and spend the rest of his life caring for other people’s children...

* * *

The noise coming from the other side of the door was enough to make Kate and Georgia share a startled glance.

A party? At this time of the day?

Georgia pounded on the door. ‘Ambulance,’ she yelled.

There was no response, so she opened the door. They walked straight into a living room and there were at least half a dozen people, talking loudly enough to hear each other over the music. A bottle of vodka was being passed around and glasses clinked together. Nobody took the least bit of notice of the newcomers.

‘Hello...’ An earlier coin toss had decided that Kate was taking the lead role in this first scenario and she approached the nearest person. ‘Did someone call for an ambulance?’

‘Not me,’ the young man replied. ‘Hey...’ He put his arm around a young woman. ‘Let’s dance...’

Kate blinked. This was nothing like she had expected. Where were the officials that would be judging their performance? Where was someone who looked remotely like a patient?

Georgia’s eyes narrowed as she caught Kate’s glance and she raised her voice loudly enough to be heard by everyone.

‘Oi...’

The vodka carrier lowered the bottle. Heads turned in surprise.

‘Someone called an ambulance,’ Georgia said sternly. ‘Who was it?’

‘Oh...’ There was a man sitting in the corner of the room, leaning on the wall. ‘That was me. My girlfriend is upstairs. She’s lying down because she has a bad stomach ache.’

‘Anything else we should know?’

‘No. I don’t think so.’ The man raised a glass as he smiled at them. ‘Oh, she is pregnant. Is that important?’

Turning swiftly, they raced up a narrow set of stairs to find themselves in a bedroom and here it was. The scenario...

Two judges with clipboards were standing by. A young woman was sitting on a bed and she was holding a manikin of a newborn infant wrapped in a T-shirt.

‘Check mum and get her history,’ Kate told Georgia. ‘I’ll check the baby.’

The young mother didn’t want to let go of her baby.

‘How long ago was the baby born?’

‘Only a minute...maybe two...’

‘Have you heard it cry?’

‘No. No... Please don’t take my baby away...’

‘It’s okay,’ Georgia told her. ‘We just want to help you. Kate’s a baby doctor.’

Kate moved the folds of the T-shirt to reveal the baby’s face. The cord was wrapped tightly around the baby’s neck.

‘The baby is blue,’ one of the judges said.

Kate scooped the manikin from the patient’s arms. She turned to find that Georgia had stopped her examination of the mother for the moment. She’d laid a towel on the floor and had the kit opened, with the paediatric resuscitation gear that Kate would need within easy reach. A suction bulb, a tiny bag mask unit and tubes in case intubation was necessary.

‘No significant haemorrhage from the mother,’ Georgia told her. ‘And she has a radial pulse.’

Kate nodded approvingly. ‘Thanks.’ If the mother had a radial pulse it indicated that her blood pressure was adequate and that meant they could both focus on saving the life of this baby.

She laid the baby on the towel and positioned its head to ensure the airway was clear.

‘Can I feel a pulse?’ Kate asked swiftly, her fingers now on the baby’s neck.

‘The pulse is thirty,’ the judge said.

‘Can I see or feel any movements of respiration?’ Kate already knew what the answer was likely to be. This infant hadn’t cried and its colour meant that it was receiving no more oxygen than the umbilical cord was hopefully still providing.

‘The baby is not breathing,’ the judge confirmed.

Kate gave five puffs of oxygen through the bag mask unit and then started CPR, which was needed even though there was a pulse to be felt. The heart rate was too slow and the baby wasn’t breathing on its own yet.

She handed the bag mask to Georgia, who had positioned herself at the baby’s head.

‘Three to one?’

Georgia nodded. With only two fingers on the baby’s chest, Kate kept her compressions gentle but swift. After every three compressions, she paused for a moment to allow Georgia to administer a puff of air. At the same time, she kept an eye on the mother, reassuring her that they were doing all they could and watching for any signs of a post-partum haemorrhage that they would need to manage.

Every thirty seconds, she checked what the baby’s heart rate was. It crept up to forty and then sixty.

‘The heart rate is now over eighty,’ the judge informed them after a few minutes.

‘Colour?’

‘Getting pink.’

‘Breathing?’

‘Yes, she’s breathing. She’s crying now.’ The judge was smiling. ‘Well done.’

Kate put the baby back into its mother’s arms and wrapped them both warmly. ‘Keep her against your skin,’ she said.

‘Is she going to be all right?’

‘She’s going to be fine.’ Kate smiled. ‘Congratulations. You have a beautiful baby daughter.’

The young woman was a very good actor. Kate could swear she had tears of relief in her eyes as she thanked her rescuers and cuddled her newborn. The whole scenario had felt so real that Kate found she was having an emotional response of her own. One that she had had many times in her career—the sheer wonder of a new life being brought into the world and...

And envy of the mother who got to hold it and know it was her own?

Good grief. The baby was plastic and the whole scenario, however brilliantly acted, was not real. While this competition set out to test and even improve the skills of the participants, it was nothing more than a game. Kate needed to step back and not become so involved with the stories or she would be too exhausted to be a good partner for Georgia by the time the night tasks came along.

‘That was awesome,’ Georgia said, as soon as they shut the front door behind them again. ‘You were awesome. I think we smashed that one.’

‘We certainly saved the baby. And the judges looked happy.’ Kate checked her watch and then opened the back hatch of the car. ‘We’ve only got ten minutes to locate our next task. We’d better get a move on.’

But Georgia had paused. She was waving. ‘Look—there’s Matteo and Luke in that car. They must be next.’

‘I wonder how long it’ll take before they figure out their patient isn’t downstairs.’ Kate felt a sudden urge to help Luke out. To give him a clue...

‘It’s no wonder it’s against the rules to talk about the scenarios until it’s all over.’ Georgia slung her kit into the back. ‘And I got the feeling that Matteo is as much a stickler for the rules as you are, Kate. You two would get on very well.’

‘I’m not here on a man hunt. What’s the matter? Don’t you like him?’

Georgia shrugged. ‘He’s cute but there are a lot of fish in this particular sea and today is not the day to be casting my net.’

Kate snorted. She knew Georgia quite well enough to know that she wasn’t the least bit serious about finding a casual sexual partner just for fun. This was just bravado, that was all. Was she trying to prove to the world that she was over the last disaster and more than ready to move on?

Pausing for a moment, before climbing into the driver’s seat, Kate turned her head to look at the car parked a little further up the road. She lifted her hand in greeting and, by the instant response as he raised his, she knew that Luke had been watching her.

A weird frisson of something she couldn’t identify rippled through her belly. Was it a little disturbing to have someone from her past suddenly appear in her life like this? As if Luke was some kind of ghost?

Or was it just nice to have reconnected with an old and very dear friend?

Yeah...that had to be it. Because the feeling was too pleasant to be a warning.

* * *

‘Look...they’re coming out of the house.’

Luke found himself hunkering down in his seat a little. It was pure coincidence that they were the next team for this particular scenario but, oddly, it felt like he was pushing himself back into Kate’s life or something. Stalking her, even? Was she as pleased to see him as he’d been to see her?

Maybe not. It had been Georgia who’d spotted them and waved. Kate had seemed intent on putting her gear back into the car and checking her watch. Of course she would be making sure she was going to be on time for the next task—that was so like Kate. Responsible and reliable. And she was taking this contest seriously, as she did everything she became involved with.

It looked as though she was going to get in the car and simply drive off, but then she paused and looked straight at him and there was a smile to go with her wave.

Luke let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding as he raised his hand in response. A sigh of something like relief as something clicked back into place. The connection of their friendship, perhaps, where he didn’t have to worry about how his actions might be interpreted. A place he could relax in and simply be himself.

‘Be nice to have an idea of what we’re heading into,’ he said. ‘They weren’t giving away any clues, were they?’

‘And neither should they,’ Matteo said sternly. ‘That would be dishonest.’

‘Not exactly.’ Matteo liked to have his English improved. ‘Dishonesty is when you fail to tell the truth. Breaking the rules of the competition to give someone else an advantage would be dishonourable rather than dishonest.’

‘Hmm...’ Matteo absorbed the correction. ‘They are both unacceptable.’

‘Too right they are,’ Luke agreed.

The first scenario was initially confusing but, as soon as they discovered that the party was a red herring, the two men worked well on their paediatric resuscitation. In the next task, they found a man who’d summoned an ambulance because of sudden back pain and nausea. Diagnosing a case of kidney stones was easy but there was a twist in the case because the man had an anaphylactic allergic reaction to the morphine they administered for pain relief.

The twist was unexpected but Matteo spotted the first symptoms within seconds and they both reacted swiftly, attaching a bag of fluids to the IV line already in place and drawing up and administering drugs to counteract the reaction. Then they had to answer questions from one of the judges about which of the available hospitals they would be transferring their patient to.

‘Hospital A,’ Luke told them. ‘They have an internal medicine department and an intensive care unit and they are the closest.’

‘And what is the most important information to pass on about your patient?’

‘That he has a previously undiscovered allergy to morphine. We will write it on his notes and make sure the information is received by everyone we speak to. We will also advise the patient that it would be a good idea to wear a medic alert bracelet from now on.’

‘That was good.’ Matteo slapped Luke on the back as they left the house. ‘I might not have thought of recommending the bracelet.’

‘I was too slow to spot the change in our patient’s condition. Well done, you.’

Matteo grinned at him. ‘We make a good team.’

‘We’ve got a break now, haven’t we? About an hour?’

‘We should use it to do the driving test.’

‘Okay.’ The driving test was something they could do at any point of the day. A gravelled area beside the river that ran through this village had been cordoned off. A line of orange road cones marked the test area. They could see an ambulance completing the test as they arrived, clouds of dust billowing as it snaked around the cones at high speed and then came to a sudden halt between the cones marking the end of the course.

Another car was waiting for its turn.

The car with the Scottish flags.

‘Cute.’ Matteo grinned. ‘I didn’t notice that before.’

Luke raised his eyebrows. ‘You mean Georgia? Or Kate?’ He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Matteo being attracted to Kate. Then he shook the reaction off. Why not? Matteo was a great guy and the best friend he’d had since Kate had vanished from his life. He’d make some lucky woman an ideal husband and father for her children and, if Kate felt the same way, he should do his best to make it happen.

But Matteo was laughing. ‘Oh, the girls are both cute but that wasn’t what I was looking at. Have you seen what is tied to the front of their car?’

No. Because Luke had been looking at Kate who was standing beside the car, talking to Georgia who was in the driver’s seat. He glanced at the stuffed toy bear that was wearing a kilt and holding a set of bagpipes.

Matteo rolled down his window and pointed to the toy. ‘He is going to get dirty, I think.’

‘All part of the fun,’ Georgia called back. ‘Which one of you is going to do the driving? You’re only allowed one person in the vehicle.’

Georgia was clearly the one doing the test for their team. Luke glanced at Matteo and unclipped his seat belt.

‘You do it,’ he said. ‘You’ve got far more experience with emergency driving skills than I have. I’ll wait with Kate.’

‘Cool.’ Matteo was already focussed on what Georgia was doing to see what his turn would involve.

Luke walked over to where Kate was standing, well away from where the dust clouds would drift.

‘How’s it all going?’ he asked.

‘Great.’ Kate’s expression was animated and she opened her mouth again as if she couldn’t wait to tell him about something but then it snapped shut and the excitement faded into disappointment. ‘But we can’t talk about it yet.’

‘No.’ It was a moment longer before Luke turned away from watching her face. Did she have any idea how much of what she was thinking was revealed in how quickly her expressions could change? He’d forgotten that about conversations with Kate. Forgotten how entertaining it was.

They both watched Georgia as she careened through the serpentine, knocking over a couple of cones.

‘She’s a bit wild.’

‘Enthusiastic,’ Kate conceded. ‘But she’ll get another go. The team before us had three goes.’

So they had a few minutes, then. And nothing to talk about?

‘Where did you say that you’re working in Glasgow? At the Western?’

‘No. The Eastern. We’re a specialised maternity and paediatric hospital. Best PICU in Scotland.’

Luke nodded. ‘Yes...some of our surgical cases have been transferred there. Are you based in PICU?’

‘No. I’m on the wards as a senior paediatric registrar. I do the occasional shift in Emergency as well.’

‘Are you happy?’

Kate’s eyes widened. ‘With the job? Of course. I’ve always loved working with kids.’

Luke wanted to know what that flicker in her eyes suggested. That she wasn’t happy with her life away from work?

‘I remember,’ was all he said. ‘You had a rapport with small people right from the start. How come you haven’t got some of your own now? You never said last night...’

‘Huh? Some of my own what?’

‘Kids.’

‘No.’ Kate’s gaze slid away from his to watch Georgia’s second attempt at the course. ‘I will, though. One day. It’s certainly still part of the grand plan.’

There was a wistful note in her voice. A flick of a glance that made him wonder if she was hearing the echoes of that champagne-doused conversation. Remembering his plan to have a stellar career and find the woman of his dreams to share the glory with?

His breath came out in a soft snort. Ah, well...he was well on the way to the career he’d dreamed of, at least. He flicked a glance back at Kate.

‘So you’ve got a potential father lined up?’

Kate shaded her eyes against the sun. ‘That’s better, Georgia, but you’re too slow now...’

‘A partner?’ Luke persisted. ‘A boyfriend? Any kind of significant other?’

Kate sighed, sounding a little exasperated. ‘No.’

Luke was silent for a moment, digesting the information, as Georgia circled back to where the officials were standing. They seemed to be having a discussion about whether she would have another attempt.

So Kate was single.

This was good, he decided. It meant that there were no barriers to them spending some time together and he didn’t have to find someone so that they could double date.

This was more than good. It was excellent.

‘And you’re thirty-five...’ Oh, help. Had he said that aloud?

Judging by Kate’s dismissive snort, she had heard the impulsive statement.

‘I can’t believe you even remember that, given how drunk you were at the time.’

Kate had been just as enthusiastic about opening that second bottle of champagne. And she obviously remembered the pact...

‘Anyway, it’s null and void now. You got married.’

‘Hey... I made a mistake.’ Luke kept his tone light. ‘You don’t need to rub my nose in it.’

‘Sorry.’ Kate offered him a smile. ‘Good thing you didn’t have kids, I guess. Or did you?’

‘No. Thank goodness. It was a clean—and complete—breakup.’

There was a moment’s silence. Georgia was lining up to have what would probably be her last attempt at the driving test. Matteo was leaning out of his window, watching carefully.

Kate was also watching carefully but Luke couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease her a little.

‘The pact didn’t have any sub-clauses that I remember,’ he said. ‘Didn’t we solemnly declare that if we were both still single when we were thirty five, we would marry each other?’

The glance Kate gave him over her shoulder was dismissive. ‘Thanks, but I intend to give it a bit more time. I haven’t given up on true love yet. My soul mate is out there somewhere—I just haven’t found him yet.’

Luke had to groan. ‘You don’t really believe in that, do you? Finding ‘the one’?’

He could see her shoulders stiffen. And her voice was cool. ‘Maybe I want what you and Nadia had.’

‘No.’ The word came out with unexpected vehemence. ‘You don’t.’

‘It was great when it started, though, wasn’t it? I’d never seen you so happy.’

There was that wistful note again and Luke’s brain broke the rules and dredged up a memory of what it had been like to be so in love. How magic it had been. He shut down the memory instantly. He didn’t need that kind of magic in his life now because that was all it was. A spell. One that could be reversed with no more than a click of someone’s fingers to leave devastation in its wake.

Kate broke the silence. Maybe she realised she’d stirred up something unpleasant for him because her tone was gentle.

‘You just found it with the wrong person,’ she said.

‘And you think you can find the right one?’

‘I hope so.’

‘How will you know?’ Luke was genuinely curious.

‘I don’t know exactly,’ Kate admitted. ‘I guess I’ll have to trust my instincts.’

‘Good luck with that.’ Luke was more than happy to leave this conversation. He was relieved to see that Georgia was driving back towards them, passing Matteo who went to take his position at the start. ‘I really hope you’ll find him,’ he added. ‘And that you’ll live happily ever after.’

Kate smiled at him. ‘So you agree that the pact is null and void, then?’

Luke shrugged. ‘I’m over the whole marriage thing, anyway. Been there, got the T-shirt. Friendship’s better.’ He smiled back at Kate. ‘Seems to last a lot longer, too.’

He could see sympathy in Kate’s eyes. And something more. Something warm.

‘You’re right. True friendship is the most important thing in the world.’ Her breath came out in a sigh as she smiled again. ‘It’s really good to see you again, Luke.’

‘Likewise. We’ll have to make sure we don’t lose touch when we get back home. I’m still a fish out of water in Scotland. I haven’t had time to meet anybody, apart from the people I work with, yet. I haven’t been anywhere or seen anything, either.’

‘I haven’t done much sightseeing myself,’ Kate told him, as Georgia joined them. ‘I’m sure there are some great places to go in Scotland.’

‘Are you kidding?’ Georgia sounded offended. ‘It’s the most beautiful country in the world. We’ve got the most gorgeous lakes and forests and more castles than could ever wish for.’ She grinned. ‘The weather can be a bit grey and wet, of course, but it’s summer now. You’ll get at least three days of sunshine.’




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