LITMIR.BIZ

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      ‘What time do you want to be off tomorrow, Sally?’ Jean asked. Sally was contemplating the figure now moving towards the exit of the hall.

      Jean waited a few seconds for a response then, grinning, dug her friend gently in the ribs. ‘Hey! You’re in another universe, aren’t you?’

      ‘What? Oh…yes, sorry. I thought I saw someone I used to work with, but it can’t be him—I believe he works abroad now. What did you say?’

      ‘Tomorrow—when do you want to leave? There’s a lecture in the morning but do you mind if we go after breakfast? If you want to stay, I can always get a lift back to Crachan from someone else.’

      ‘Suits me to leave early,’ said Sally absently, her eyes drifting back to that tall figure. ‘I think I know all I want to know about cardiac health at the moment, thank you!’

      Suddenly the man turned round and Sally gave a quick shocked intake of breath, her whole body stiffening in amazement. Good God! She wasn’t imagining a likeness, no doubt about it—it really was Jack! She looked in stupefaction at the good-looking, strong face and the lock of hair falling over his forehead as it always used to…and the years fell away as she saw the man who’d given her the most gloriously romantic time of her life—and had then broken her heart so cruelly and inexplicably six years ago.

      For a second his eyes locked with hers before he turned away, and then suddenly he did a double-take, a frown of uncertainty flickering across his face as he stared at her in puzzlement. Then his eyes widened in recognition and, mumbling something to the person beside him, he began to make his way through the crowd towards her.

      Sally stood rooted to the spot, gazing at him in disbelief until he was standing before her and those familiar periwinkle-blue eyes set in a tanned open face held hers in total amazement. The babble in the hall seemed to recede and for a few moments it was as if there were just the two of them alone together.

      ‘Oh, my God—it’s Sally, Sally Lawson,’ he said softly.

      He had a lovely voice, deep and warm, and it brought all sorts of memories tumbling back through Sally’s mind—quite unsuitable memories considering she was engaged to another man now. The first time Jack had kissed her, the feel of his body against hers when they’d danced, the first time they’d… She swallowed hard. She was damned if she was going to go overboard welcoming Dr Jack McLennan. Since he’d left her after a year together, there’d never been a letter or a phone call to ask how she was—not even a Christmas card. He’d treated her abominably and she couldn’t forget that.

      She pulled herself together and stood tall, gazing at him steadily. ‘Why, hello,’ she said coolly. ‘I…I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought you lived in Australia now.’

      His eyes hadn’t left her face, raking her features as if to convince himself that it was her. ‘Sally Lawson!’ he repeated, ignoring her remark about Australia. ‘What a surprise!’ His lips curved in that slightly lopsided smile of his that used to melt her heart. ‘At least, that’s what you were called six years ago. I guess your name could be something else now.’

      Sally swallowed hard, a lot of confused emotions flooding through her. Jack still had that rangy, athletic figure that looked as if he ran ten miles a day, and the power to send any girl’s pulse racing—his physical presence was as potent as it ever had been. But damn him—the man had broken her heart once and led her up the garden path. He was a deceiving rat! She forced a stiff smile.

      ‘Yes,’ she admitted. ‘I’m still Sally Lawson—for the moment. How are you, Jack?’

      ‘Just fine. It’s good to see you again. I wasn’t quite sure it was you for a moment because your hair’s different.’ He paused for a second, his glance sweeping over her. ‘It suits you short like that.’

      Could Sally see any change in him? Not really. He’d kept time at bay very well—a hint of grey around the temples, a few more lines creasing the corners of his eyes perhaps. She saw his glance flicker over her hands, obviously noting her engagement ring with its enormous glinting diamond. Tim liked flamboyant gestures and wouldn’t have entertained buying his fiancée something restrained. She put her other hand over it almost protectively. Funny how heavy it felt and how huge it looked on her slim finger—almost as if it were shouting, Look at me! I’m getting married to someone who’s loaded! She had to admit that sometimes she felt it was a tad ostentatious.

      ‘I see you’re engaged,’ he remarked lightly.

      She nodded. ‘Yes…I’m getting married in a few weeks.’ She was about to ask him if he was married and then thought better of it. She wasn’t interested in his domestic life, was she? It was better to stick to work-related matters.

      She said flippantly, ‘And what brings you to Glasgow? I’d have thought you were running the Australian health service by now. Did you reach the top of the ladder?’

      ‘What?’ He suddenly looked discomfited, as if reminded of the career he’d told her he’d wanted to follow rather than carry on with their relationship. Then he said briefly, ‘It worked out fine—but my mother died suddenly, and I came back for her funeral. I’ve a younger brother just starting at university so I decided to stay to keep my eye on him.’

      Sally flicked a look at his bleak expression. ‘Oh, that’s sad…about your mother I mean. It must have been hard for you.’

      She felt a flash of sympathy for him. Obviously his mother had died before he’d been able to see her again. In the year she’d gone out with Jack she had never met his parents—they had lived in a village in the wilds of the Highlands. There was a short silence and the sound of the voices in the room reasserted themselves. Sally suddenly realised that Jean was waiting patiently by her side.

      ‘Oh, sorry, Jean. This is Jack McLennan, an old… er…colleague of mine from my days at St. Mary’s hospital six years ago. We did our A and E rotation together. Jack, this is Jean Cornwell, the senior partner in the G.P. practice I work for.’

      Jack took his gaze off Sally and turned to shake Jean’s hand. ‘So are you local?’ he asked.

      ‘We’re on the west coast in a town called Crachan. Sally and I thought we’d take up the offer of two nights in Glasgow being pampered at a good hotel with this refresher course in cardiac care,’ explained Jean.

      Jack grinned. ‘That echoes my thoughts too. I’m doing a locum job in a practice round here but it comes to an end soon, so I’ll be looking for somewhere else for a few months before I start a permanent job in the autumn.’

      Jean turned to Sally with a broad smile. ‘Aha! Hear that Sal? Someone who wants a temporary job! That could be helpful!’

      Sally felt her stomach give a nervous little jump of anticipation at what she was sure Jean was going to say next. ‘Oh, I don’t think Jack would be interested in our practice,’ she intercepted quickly.

      ‘Why on earth not?’ asked Jean, arching an eyebrow. ‘Surely it’s not as bad as all that!’

      ‘Well, it’s a bit of a backwater…’

      Sally bit her lip. It shouldn’t matter to her whether Jack McLennan worked at the practice or not—as long as he was good at his job, that was the important thing wasn’t it? After all, he meant nothing whatsoever to her now. Perhaps a lingering sadness that she’d misread his character and not realised that he was an opportunistic creep underneath that charismatic veneer, regret over the wasted years of sadness after their break-up—but maybe the real reason was that she didn’t feel like revisiting the past if they became colleagues again.

      Jack looked from one woman to the other. ‘What’s this about, then? Are you looking for someone to work with you?’

      Jean nodded. ‘I want to go and help out my sister in New Zealand—she’s in her third pregnancy and her husband is in hospital himself after a bad car crash. I’d like to go over for three months, so Sally’s going to need help in the practice. She just mentioned

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