not that bad.’
‘If you say so, but I’d much rather take you.’
She tilted her head on one side and studied him searchingly. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Of course I’m serious. Why not? We’ve just been given two free tickets for a very funny play, and frankly I could do with a good laugh and you look as if you could, too. So—are you free to come with me or are you going to make me take Kate?’
Was she free? Free to go, yes, if her mother would babysit, and tonight wasn’t a night she was usually busy. But—free to go out with Dr Gorgeous?
That was an altogether different question and it made her heart beat a little faster.
‘I need to check with my family,’ she said evasively, and his smile softened.
‘Me, too. So, shall we both do that and then confirm?’
‘Good idea. I’ll let you know.’
‘What happened to our coffee, by the way?’ he asked as they walked out of Resus together.
‘Ah. I left it outside. Thought we’d had enough coffee dramas today.’
His eyes flicked down to her chest, and he smiled, sending all sorts of crazy messages to her nerve endings.
‘Probably wise. Want to try again?’
But the red phone and her pager had other ideas, and they headed off in different directions, coffee on hold again.
‘Don’t forget to let me know,’ he called after her, and she nodded.
She still wasn’t sure if she wanted to go. No, she was sure that she did, but she wasn’t sure—at all—of the wisdom of it. Nevertheless, as soon as she could, she rang her mother.
* * *
‘So, are you taking me to the theatre tonight?’
He looked down into Kate’s guileless eyes and smiled wryly. ‘No. I’m taking Annie, if she’s free.’
‘Annie?’
‘Yes, Annie. What’s wrong with that?’
Kate shrugged. ‘Nothing. Just—she’s older than you, and she’ll need a babysitter if her mum can’t do it.’
Babysitter?
‘She’s checking it out,’ he said smoothly, while his understanding of Annie realigned itself in private. ‘And age is nothing to do with it. This is hardly a hot date and, anyway, she’s not exactly ancient.’
‘Well, if you change your mind, I’m definitely available,’ she said, her tempting smile promising to turn it into the hot date of the century.
He wasn’t tempted. Not in the least, which was odd because normally he might well have been, but compared to Annie—well, there was no comparison, and he had to put her straight or life was going to be really difficult.
‘Thanks, but I’m sure it’ll be fine,’ he said gently but firmly. ‘And for what it’s worth, I won’t change my mind. Ever. I’m not in the market, Kate, so you’re wasting your time with me.’
She smiled ruefully. ‘Shame. We could have had fun. Well, if you do change your mind, you know where to find me.’
Did she have no pride?
He went back to work, the word ‘babysitter’ echoing in his head. Funny. She hadn’t mentioned a child. Family, yes, but a child? Not that it changed anything, not for this evening. Or any other evening. He wasn’t going there, he reminded himself firmly. Tonight was a definite one-off.
He grabbed the little mid-afternoon lull and went out of the door to call his grandmother. ‘Hi, Marnie. How are you doing?’
‘OK. What’s wrong? You don’t usually ring during the day.’
‘I wanted to ask you a favour. We’ve been given tickets to the theatre tonight by a patient. I just wondered if you could cope without me this evening if I went.’
‘Of course I can cope. You go and have a lovely time. Are you going with anyone nice?’
He laughed softly. ‘I’m going with a colleague. We were both working on the case.’
‘Well, have fun with her.’
Her? Damn her razor-sharp intuition. He could challenge her but that would draw attention to it, so he changed the subject. ‘How’s he been today? Are you sure you can get him to bed all right on your own? Mum and Dad should be around if not.’
‘Of course I can do it. As you said, your parents are around if I run into difficulties.’
Although they both knew she wouldn’t call them unless there was an out and out crisis. And he could see where they were coming from, how emotionally distressing his father found it, but—
‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course I’m sure. You go out and have a lovely time, but I expect you to tell me all about it.’
He chuckled. ‘OK, will do. I’ll see you later. Call if you need me, I’ll have my phone on silent but I’ll feel it ring and I can always leave. It won’t be too late, anyway.’
‘I won’t need you. You go and have fun. Love you, darling.’
‘Love you, too. I’ll see you later.’
He hung up and turned round, to find Annie watching him thoughtfully.
‘I thought you said you were single?’
He blinked. ‘I am. That was my grandmother.’
‘Oh.’ She coloured slightly and waved a hand. ‘Sorry. I’m a bit, um...’
‘Suspicious?’
‘Sorry,’ she said again. ‘It’s a habit.’
He nodded, then said casually, ‘So did you get your babysitter sorted out?’
She stiffened, her eyes widening briefly with alarm, and then she frowned. ‘How...?’
‘Kate,’ he told her, although he didn’t tell her what else Kate had said in the process of eliminating the competition.
She rolled her eyes. ‘Of course. Silly me.’ She gave a wry laugh but she didn’t look pleased and so he didn’t pursue it. Her dependants were none of his business.
‘So—did you sort it?’ he asked again, and she nodded.
‘Yes. Yes, I did. It’s fine.’
‘Good. That means we’re both free. So, shall I pick you up at seven?’
Panic
