it further.’ He removed his shades and winked at his brother. ‘So you do—’
‘Well, you do,’ Mac interjected dryly, ‘not everyone does.’
‘Can I help it if women find me irresistible? So you take it further and then you start seeing each other. Then there’s the passion.’ He gave a slow smile. ‘And obviously that’s the best bit.’
Mac rolled his eyes but Josh ignored him.
‘Then at some point, usually somewhere between the first time she leaves her toothbrush at your place and the time she starts staring hopefully into prams, there’s a slight shift in the relationship. Spotting that shift is the key to remaining a happy bachelor. Miss it and before you know it the highlight of your life is buying baby car seats to fit in your people carrier.’
He gave an exaggerated shudder and Mac stared at him in exasperation. ‘You’re thirty-two, Josh. Don’t you ever want to settle down?’
Josh thought of his home, an abandoned lifeboat station that he’d converted himself, slogging away in what little spare time he had to lovingly convert it into a stunning home. He thought of his plasma-screen TV, his high-performance car and the boat he was restoring. He thought of the punishing hours he spent at the hospital in the accident and emergency department and the fact that he lived life to his own timetable. He didn’t want to change a thing. ‘My life works well just as it is.’
‘And does that make you happy? Being on your own…’ For a moment Mac’s tone was serious. ‘Is that really what you want?’
Josh gave a wicked grin that was totally male. ‘I’m not often on my own. And when I am…’ he replaced his shades in a smooth movement ‘…I’m resting.’
Mac laughed and shook his head in exasperation. ‘So who’s the lucky woman at the moment? I haven’t seen anyone around.’
‘There’s currently a vacancy,’ Josh said airily, ‘but I’m considering a few applicants. I always enjoy the interview process.’
‘When are you going to grow up?’
‘When Cornwall runs out of decent-looking women.’ Josh glanced at a girl running towards the waves in a minuscule bikini. ‘Which judging from today isn’t going to be any time soon.’
Mac followed his gaze. ‘You are as shallow as the average rock pool, do you know that?’
‘Me?’ Josh planted a hand in the middle of his chest and looked affronted. ‘I’m just terribly misunderstood. I’m a dedicated doctor who needs an antidote to the stress of daily living. You, on the other hand, have turned so respectable since I sorted out your love life that I’m reluctant to be seen in your company in case you damage my reputation as a heartless playboy.’
‘You don’t choose who you fall in love with,’ Mac said mildly, glancing round for the dog, ‘and one of these days it’s going to happen to you. And I’m going to be there to rub your nose in it.’
Josh turned his gaze back to the waves, wishing he were out there. The sea glistened and sparkled in the summer sunshine and the waves curled and foamed as they hit the beach.
The female surfer was up on her board again and he sucked in a breath as his eyes slid down the girl in masculine appreciation. ‘How the hell does she balance?’
‘Same way you do,’ Mac said wearily, ‘by using her feet and her body.’
‘I haven’t got that body.’ Josh shook his head in wonder. ‘She shouldn’t be able to balance. According to the theory of relativity, she should be tipping forward.’
‘Theory of relativity?’
‘Yeah.’ Josh flashed him a wicked grin. ‘The size of her backside relative to the size of her—’
‘OK, I get the message.’ Mac whistled for the dog, shaking his head in blatant disapproval. ‘With you, it’s all about appearance, isn’t it? She’s probably as thick as a plank.’
Josh narrowed his eyes. ‘With a body like that, who cares?’
Mac rolled his eyes. ‘I can’t understand why some thoroughly modern woman hasn’t blacked your eye before now.’
‘Because I’m irresistible,’ Josh suggested, his eyes darkening as the girl jumped neatly off her board and tucked it under her arm, shaking her wet hair out of her eyes. ‘She’s coming this way. Any moment now she’s going to notice me. Watch and learn, bro’. I think that vacancy of mine is about to be filled.’
He gave a wicked smile and Mac gave a grunt of disgust.
‘I’ll get ready to resuscitate her when she’s knocked flat by the size of your ego. Has it occurred to you that she might not actually be interested in you?’
‘Are you kidding?’ Josh grinned and flexed his muscles. ‘Brain and brawn. What more could a girl possibly want?’
He stood still and watched as the girl turned back into the waves, lay on her board and paddled out to sea again without a glance in his direction.
‘Obviously losing your touch,’ Mac drawled, glancing at his watch. ‘Come on. What you need is some cold water on that libido of yours. Let’s go home. You can take a shower and have some lunch with us before you go back to patching up that boat of yours.’ He whistled for the dog and Josh’s face brightened at the prospect of lunch.
‘Has she cooked Indian? I love it when she cooks Indian.’
‘I’ve no idea. Whatever you think of my sad existence, even I’m not reduced to discussing menus with my wife.’ Mac fended off the dog as it bounded up to them, soaking wet and tail wagging madly. ‘But I doubt it’s Indian, on a Sunday. More likely to be a roast of some sort. She’s very traditional, my Louisa. Hopeful, down! Sit. For goodness sake, sit, you stupid dog!’
Josh wondered whether there was a woman in the world who would have the same effect on him as Louisa had on Mac. Probably not, he decided. He tried to imagine himself in his brother’s position, about to become a father for the first time. He couldn’t think of anything more terrifying. He’d thought about children, of course, but only to dismiss them with a shudder. He just couldn’t work out where they’d fit into his life. And he wasn’t about to give anything up, that was for sure. His job as a consultant in the A and E department didn’t leave much time for anything else, but what little time he had was spent with his boats or windsurfing. He certainly didn’t want to spend that precious time changing nappies. No, his life worked perfectly well the way it was. He could do without the whole family scene, although he had to admit that he enjoyed being with his brother, and his sister-in-law certainly knew how to make a cosy home.
‘Well, whatever she cooks will be delicious.’ He turned and prepared to head off the beach towards the dunes that ran along the bottom of Mac’s garden. A series of shouts stopped him and he turned, staring at a group of surfers in the water with a frown.
‘What’s the matter with them?’
‘Over here!’
Josh narrowed his gaze and watched as several people dragged a man out of the water and onto the beach. Even from that distance he
