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taking rapid stock as he came towards her, with a leanly muscular physique which the conservative navy trousers and paler blue shirt he was wearing couldn’t disguise. His hair was a rich sandy-blond colour rather than merely fair, the kind of shade that a woman would pay a small fortune for at the hairdresser’s, she thought inconsequentially.

      With hair that colour she expected his eyes to be blue, so it came as a surprise to see that they were a very dark brown, the same colour as his eyebrows. It was only when she noticed the amusement they held that she realised she had been staring at him and quickly looked away.

      ‘I’m Ben Cole,’ he said, offering her his hand. ‘Adam explained that he couldn’t be here to meet you, I believe?’

      ‘He did.’ Anna fixed a smile to her mouth as she shook hands, hoping that her discomfort didn’t show. Ben Cole was a very attractive man and it probably wasn’t the first time he’d caught a woman staring at him. However, it wouldn’t do to give him the wrong impression. ‘He said that you’d let me have the keys to the flat.’

      ‘I’ve got them right here.’ He handed her a bunch of keys then looked round, frowning when he spotted her suitcase by the door. ‘Is that all you’ve brought with you?’

      ‘I didn’t think I needed anything else,’ she replied quickly, deeming it wiser not to explain that the case held all her worldly goods. It would only give rise to more questions and that was something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

      She experienced a momentary qualm as she wondered what would happen when Ben Cole and his colleagues found out what she had omitted to tell them. Legally she’d had no need to say anything, of course. There were rules governing the type of questions that could be asked at an interview, so she hadn’t done anything wrong by withholding the information, though she knew that it would have been common courtesy to have mentioned the fact before she had accepted the post. Now all she could hope was that by the time she was forced to tell everyone the truth, she would have proved herself capable of doing the job.

      ‘Probably not.’ Ben treated her to an openly quizzical look. ‘I don’t suppose it was worth bringing too much stuff with you when you’re only going to be here for four months or so. To be honest, I was surprised when Adam told me that he had found someone willing to take the job. Not many people are interested in short-term contracts, especially not someone with your experience. I believe you used to work at St Luke’s in London. In the renal unit, wasn’t it?’

      ‘That’s right,’ Anna replied, feeling her nervousness increase when she heard the curiosity in his voice. ‘I dealt mainly with children and teenagers, doing home support visits to those who were undergoing dialysis or were hoping to have a kidney transplant. I really enjoyed it, too.’

      ‘So what made you decide to give it up?’ he asked with a heavy frown. ‘It seems a strange thing to do, especially if you enjoyed the work so much. Taking this post doesn’t strike me as a career move.’

      Anna bit back a groan as she realised that she only had herself to blame for giving him an opening to ask more questions. She really must be more careful and watch what she said.

      ‘I had to move back to Cheshire to be nearer to my sister. She…well, she needed me here and I moved in with her for a while,’ she finished lamely, wishing she had never got into this conversation in the first place.

      ‘Really? Why was that?’ Ben leant against the sink unit and studied her thoughtfully. Anna could feel his warm brown eyes travelling over her face and had a sudden mental image of the reflection she had seen in the mirror that morning. She sighed.

      The past weeks had taken their toll and there was no escaping the fact that she looked vastly different to how she had previously. She wasn’t vain but she knew that a lot of men had found the combination of lustrous black hair and a porcelain-fine complexion attractive in the past.

      She’d always thought that her mouth was too big but several had remarked that it was her best feature. Others had commented on her deep grey eyes, framed by lashes so thick and black she never needed to use mascara. However, that had been then and the reflection she had seen that morning had born little resemblance to how she had looked once upon a time.

      ‘My sister had endometrial cancer. Unfortunately, they didn’t find out what was wrong with her until it was fairly advanced,’ she explained, realising that he was waiting for her to answer his question. She shrugged but she could feel the pain biting deep inside her once again. ‘The doctors did all they could, and at one point we thought that Jo was going to make it, but it turned out that there were secondaries. She d-died a month ago.’

      Anna swallowed hard because she didn’t want to make a fool of herself by breaking down in front of him. She jumped when he suddenly reached out and squeezed her hand.

      ‘I’m sorry. I know how hard it is to deal with something like that, especially in our line of work. You tend to think that you should be able to find a cure for everything, but sadly that isn’t the case.’

      Anna looked up when she heard the pain in his voice. ‘Did you lose someone close to you through illness?’

      ‘Yes. That’s why I know what you must be going through.’ He gave her hand a final squeeze then let it go. ‘Anyway, let’s get you up to the flat and then I’d better get back to work before Eileen has a riot on her hands!’

      She laughed softly because she knew that he was making a deliberate effort to lighten the mood. It was obvious that whatever had happened in Ben’s past still hurt him and she couldn’t help wondering what had gone on before it struck her that it was none of her business. She, more than anyone, should understand his desire not to talk about it.

      He picked up her case and led the way to a staircase at the end of the hall. ‘There’s another flight of steps leading up to the flat from the car park, so you can come and go that way rather than having to trail through the surgery. However, it’s handy being able to use these stairs of a morning. I know Beth found it useful.’

      ‘Beth’s the nurse who I’m covering for, isn’t she?’ Anna asked, following him upstairs.

      ‘That’s right.’ He glanced over his shoulder as they reached the top of the stairs. ‘She used to live in the flat before she moved in with Adam.’

      ‘You mean Dr Knight?’ she asked, frowning.

      ‘That’s right.’ He laughed as he put her case down by the door. ‘It’s a long story which I really don’t have time to go into at the moment. But if you ever get the chance, ask Beth to tell you all about it. I never used to believe in fate but I do now!’

      Anna laughed. ‘That sounds very intriguing.’

      ‘Oh, it is, believe me!’ He smiled at her and she felt a trickle of heat flow through her veins when she saw the warmth in his eyes. ‘Anyhow, I’d love to stay and talk to you for longer but I really must go. We’re usually finished by eleven so if there’s anything you need, just give me a shout.’

      ‘Thank you,’ she said softly. Maybe it was silly but she couldn’t help noticing that he was looking at her like a man looked at a woman he found attractive.

      ‘Oh, and in case I forgot to say it before, I’ll say it now—welcome to Winton surgery, Anna. I hope you’ll be very happy here, even if it is only for a short time.’

      He disappeared down the stairs before she could reply. Anna heard him speaking to someone at the bottom, heard a burst of laughter flow up the stairs and smiled. Maybe it was a bit too soon to make up her mind but she had a feeling that she was going to be very happy here. She sensed that she could grow to like Ben Cole once she got to know him better and…

      And what? a small voice whispered in her mind. What if she did grow to like him? What if he liked her? What if they found each other attractive, even? Exactly what did she hope would come out of it? What future could there be for a woman in her situation?

      Anna felt the little bubble of happiness burst. Her future was all mapped out and there was no place

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