making inroads on the clearing-up, and Craig was seeing to it that the remaining guests found safe transport home.
‘I’ll give you a hand in a minute or two,’ she said to the girls. ‘I just need to freshen up first.’
Rebecca went into the bathroom and rinsed her hands under the tap, then pulled a brush through the long swathe of her hair, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She gave a soft sigh. There were faint shadows beneath her eyes and her skin had a pale, translucent gleam. Would this day ever end? Her aunt was ill, her sister was still overseas, and her own carefully made travel plans had fallen apart when her little patient at the hospital had been too poorly to be transferred by ambulance to his original hospital. So far, it had turned out to be a kind of postscript to all that was going wrong in her life. None of her dreams had come to fruition in this place.
Her boyfriend, who had persuaded her to come here in the first instance, had cheated on her, and the work that she had believed would be so fulfilling, using her skills as a doctor to tend to desperately ill young patients on the paediatric ward, had brought her torment and sadness along with its rewards.
All in all, she would be glad to be away from here, to leave the hectic rush of the city behind her.
She started to exit the bathroom, pulling open the door, but before she made her way back to the living room she took a moment to lean back against the tiled wall, closing her eyes and pulling in a deep, calming breath. Was there any way this day could disintegrate any further?
‘Are you all right?’
Craig’s deep voice cut into her thoughts, eddying around her, coaxing a response, and she quickly opened her eyes. ‘I’m fine,’ she said.
His gaze was watchful. ‘I thought you handled everything that happened back there really well.’ There was a faint inflection in his voice as he added, ‘You seemed to know what you were doing, and because of you your friend James will probably come through this all right.’
She looked at him. ‘You sound as though you’re surprised by that. It’s not so incredible, is it?’ She smiled lightly. ‘I know it must have appeared to you as if things have been wildly out of control around here, but we all have to accept that there are times when everything that can go wrong does go wrong. It’s just been one of those days where you get out of bed and wish you could have stayed under the covers.’
He nodded. His smoke grey glance travelled over her, sliding over the creamy slope of her bare shoulders and moving down to linger on the soft swell of her hips. ‘I can see occasions when that might be an inviting prospect,’ he said in a husky, amused drawl.
Rebecca pulled in a quick breath. She felt a rush of warm colour run along her cheekbones. Was he actually propositioning her? The way he was looking at her could hardly be misinterpreted, could it? And yet just a short time ago he had been treating her almost as though she was someone he would only have dealings with if he couldn’t avoid it.
‘Dream on,’ she murmured, her mouth making a taut line. ‘I may have been enjoying the party but I haven’t had that much to drink.’
He laughed, a low rumbling sound that started in the back of his throat. ‘Perhaps that’s just as well,’ he said. ‘Your friend tells me you have to be at work early in the morning. Perhaps we’d both do best to keep a clear head.’
‘You’re probably right.’ Rebecca pushed herself away from the wall. ‘I’d better go and give Angie a hand with the clearing-up.’ She sent him a quick glance. ‘I should thank you for helping us out. We would have struggled without you.’
‘I was glad to be able to do something.’ He returned her gaze with a look that she couldn’t quite interpret. Perhaps it was a mix between a threat and a promise because he added in a soft tone, ‘Maybe I’ll drop by in the morning and see if you’re doing all right. You seem to have had a pretty traumatic day, one way and another.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ she told him as she started towards the living room. ‘I’ll see you out. I expect you have things of your own that you need to be doing.’
He wasn’t likely to find her at home by the time he surfaced, judging from his efforts this morning. She would be up and away first thing, ready to make the move to her Scottish island home. As far as she was concerned it couldn’t come a minute too soon.
CHAPTER TWO
‘I’LL miss you so much, Rebecca.’ Angie put aside her coffee-cup and came across the kitchen to give her a hug. ‘You have to promise me that you’ll phone and let me know how you’re getting on. You will, won’t you? And maybe we could meet up again from time to time?’
‘On high days and holidays? Of course…I’m not going to be all that far away—at least, not as the crow flies.’ Rebecca smiled. After a few snatched hours of sleep, she was on much better form today. ‘And I’ll phone you as soon as I’m settled back in Scotland.’
‘That’s good. You’ll have to let me know how you’re getting on.’ Angie’s expression was wistful. ‘I’ll be thinking of you when you’re on your island, looking out over the sea or walking along the beach. You’re so lucky, being offered the chance to work there.’
‘It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Of course, the job isn’t cut and dried yet, so I might have to look around for something temporary to tide me over. It all depends on whether the doctor at the centre changes her mind and decides that she might want to go back to work after her maternity leave—or whether I’ll find it’s not really what I’m looking for. At the moment, though, the prospect of working with mothers and babies in an island community seems ideal.’
‘Just as long as it doesn’t make you feel broody.’ Angie grinned. ‘All those babies would be bound to set me off… It’s just a question of finding the right man…’
Rebecca wrinkled her nose. ‘You’ll manage that all right, but I don’t think that’s going to happen for me any time soon. I’ve already had my fingers burned and I’m not looking to get involved with anyone.’
‘Ah, but Ben was a mistake. He seemed perfect for you to begin with, until he revealed his true colours, the ratfink. But there’ll be someone out there, waiting for you, I’m sure of it.’
‘Not if I see him first.’ The words came out with a little more vehemence than Rebecca had intended, but she wasn’t going to back down. ‘I’m a long way from trusting any man ever again.’
Even her parents had managed to mess up their relationship, with consequences that had been devastating for Rebecca and her sister, Alison. Neither of them was going to recover easily from the distress of living through the break-up of their parents’marriage and the trauma of coming to terms with the chaos and uncertainty of a broken home.
She didn’t have any faith that there was someone out there with whom she could find lasting happiness. No, she would definitely be better off keeping clear of the opposite sex while she licked her wounds.
‘You’re out of your mind.’ Angie laughed. ‘Everybody needs someone.’ She rinsed her cup under the tap. ‘I have to go. I have to review patients with the consultant before he does his ward round, and he’s always there bright and early before the patients have even had their early morning cuppa.’
‘That’s because he likes to take breakfast with Sister Hennessy first thing. She keeps a stack of pancakes in the fridge
