LITMIR.BIZ

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five-minute walk along the beach in the opposite direction brought her to the little row of fishermen’s cottages, which almost touched the sand. Kat stopped dead and stood for a moment, breathing in the fresh sea air, feeling the sun burning through her wetsuit, unable to believe that she had the right to call this wonderful place home.

       Hers.

      She couldn’t contain the smile.

      It was like a fairy-tale.

      Acting on an impulse that was totally out of character, she’d paid the deposit, taken out a huge mortgage and moved in. And now they lived here. She and Archie.

      A new life.

      Her gaze shifted slightly to the abandoned lifeboat station that stood proudly at the head of a slipway near the cottages. It had been sympathetically converted into a luxury home, and from her vantage point on the beach Kat could see that the floor-to-ceiling windows of the living area gave the occupant fabulous views over the Cornish coast. On the abandoned slipway that led down to the beach there was a boat, obviously in the process of being restored, and a wetsuit lay over a bench.

      Whoever lived there obviously had taste and style and clearly loved the sea, she mused as she dumped her surfboard in the tiny shed in her new garden and walked towards her cottage with a smile on her face.

      She had a few hours before Archie was due home and she intended to finish the unpacking, shower and then devour the new textbook on accident and emergency medicine that she’d ordered from a store in London. Not that a few hours’ reading would make much difference to her performance in a busy A and E department, she thought ruefully, experiencing a sudden attack of nerves at the thought of starting her new job in the morning.

      Would it be very different from London? she wondered, and then gave a shrug. Accidents were accidents wherever they happened and whatever the mechanism. She was a good doctor, she reminded herself firmly. She had nothing to be nervous about. Whatever was thrown at her here, she’d be able to cope.

      Her new life was about to begin.

      And she was looking forward to it.

      * * *

      ‘So, how was the weekend? Did you manage without me yesterday?’ Josh strolled onto the A and E unit early the next morning and grinned at a staff nurse who was just going off duty after a night shift.

      ‘Just about, but it was a terrible struggle,’ Hannah said solemnly, removing her locker key from her pocket and jangling it in the palm of her hand. ‘I suppose you were sailing or surfing or something similarly wet and watery? Did you have an exciting day?’

      Josh thought of the girl on the beach. ‘Not as exciting as it might have been,’ he murmured regretfully, glancing at the whiteboard on the wall and scanning the list of patients. ‘So—we’re pretty full already, I see. Did you do any work at all last night or were you leaving it all for me?’

      ‘Filing my nails took longer than anticipated,’ Hannah said brightly, but she lifted a fist and punched Josh on the arm. ‘For your information, buster, none of us managed more than a snatched glass of water last night, so if you want to live to catch another wave on that board of yours, don’t make that remark to anyone else! Least of all the new doctor, who is waiting in Mac’s office. On first meeting she seems really nice, and I don’t want you teaching her bad habits.’

      ‘New doctor?’ Josh was still frowning at the whiteboard. ‘What new doctor?’

      ‘The new SHO. She was bright and early.’

      ‘The new SHO…’ Josh raked long fingers through his dark hair and pulled a face. ‘I’d forgotten the new doctors were starting today.’

      ‘It’s August,’ Hannah reminded him cheerfully. ‘And actually there are only three of them because most of the old lot are staying on, as you’d remember if you could put your mind to anything other than sailing and surfing.’ She gave a careless shrug. ‘Can’t think why they’ve chosen to stay on, personally. Given the chance, I’d be out of this place like a shot. Talking of which, how’s Louisa?’

      ‘Very pregnant,’ Josh drawled, ‘and Mac is driving me nuts. He’s totally lost his sense of humour.’

      ‘He’s certainly worried about her,’ Hannah agreed, ‘and I miss working with Louisa. She’s such a great nurse.’

      ‘She’s also a great cook, so at least one of her skills is still in use,’ Josh observed, thinking of the delicious lunch his sister-in-law had prepared for him the day before. ‘All right, I’ll grab the SHO, brief her and then we start the day. I hope she’s competent. Have a good sleep.’

      Josh strolled down the corridor to his office, suppressing a yawn as he pushed open the door.

      A girl stood looking out of the window, but she turned as he entered the room and Josh stopped dead.

      Yesterday she’d been wearing a wetsuit and today she was wearing the light blue scrub suit worn by all the A and E staff, but there was no mistaking those incredible green eyes and the fiery hair, twisted on top of her head.

      ‘Well, well…’ His voice was soft as he let the door swing shut behind him. ‘The girl with the green eyes and the sharp tongue.’ And the perfect body. ‘You ran off yesterday before we could be properly introduced. I’m Josh Sullivan. Pleased to meet you.’

      He walked towards her, his hand outstretched, and after a moment’s hesitation she slid her hand into his.

      Her fingers were slim and cool. Delicate, like the rest of her, he mused, watching with interest as she quickly removed her hand from his. Did she know that she’d just taken a step backwards?

      ‘I’m Kat O’Brien.’ Her voice was steady, professional and more than a little chilly. ‘And I didn’t run off.’ Her eyes flashed slightly at the suggestion, and he smiled.

      ‘Well, you didn’t exactly hang around to chat.’ He cast her a speculative look. ‘O’Brien? A good Irish name. Does it come with a good Irish temper?’

      Her eyes held his, accepting the challenge. ‘When provoked.’

      His smile widened. ‘I look forward to seeing that.

      What about the Kat part? Short for Katy? Kathleen?’

      ‘Katriona.’

      He nodded. ‘Pretty name. Well, Katriona, welcome to Cornwall and A and E. As you’re obviously going to be my new SHO, we’re going to have plenty of time to get to know each other better.’

      Was it his imagination or did her fingers curl into her palms?

      ‘You’re the A and E consultant?’

      He nodded. ‘One of them. And you’re on my team.’

      Her eyes slid towards the door as if she was expecting someone else to appear at any moment. ‘But I suppose I’ll be working mostly with your senior registrar.’

      Josh gave a rueful smile. ‘You would if I had one, but unfortunately we’re a bit down on numbers at the moment, so you’re going to be landed with me. I hope you like hard work.’

      She licked her lips. ‘We’re going to be working together?’

      ‘Well, if you want to learn something about working in A and E, that is the general idea,’ Josh said gently, wondering why she was so tense. ‘Although judging from your performance on the beach, you obviously know quite a bit already. Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?’

      ‘What do you want to know?’

      Suddenly Josh discovered that he wanted to know everything there was to know. He wanted to know whether she was always so tense and what it took to get her to relax. He wanted to know what made her laugh and what made her cry. He wanted to know what made her happy. He wanted to know what her legs looked like under the scrub suit…

      He pulled himself together

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