the lab for testing. There were no more patients to be seen so once everywhere was tidy she would be free until evening surgery. Adam had come back into the room and she looked at him in surprise when he started stripping the paper sheets off the couch.
‘I’ll do that in a minute. You don’t need to bother.’
‘It’ll be quicker if we both do it.’ He bundled the sheets into a ball and shoved them into a plastic refuse sack then picked up the spray bottle of disinfectant and began wiping down the work surfaces.
Beth was more than a little startled by his actions and it must have showed.
‘Old habits die hard, I’m afraid. I’m so used to having to clear up after myself that I feel positively embarrassed by the idea of anyone else doing it for me.’ He squirted some of the disinfectant onto the couch then began vigorously rubbing the leather. ‘Just ignore me. With a bit of luck I’ll have worked it out of my system in a week or two.’
‘By that time I might have got used to you performing such lowly tasks,’ she replied, trying to inject a little levity into her voice. However, the sight of him working away like that was having the strangest effect on her.
She swallowed hard as she watched the muscles in his arms flex each time he rubbed the cloth over the couch. He had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt so that she had a perfect view of his tanned forearms. When he reached across to the far side of the couch and his shirt suddenly parted company from the waistband of his trousers to reveal a couple of inches of muscular back, she had to bite her lip. Yet why should the sight of an inch or two of exposed flesh make her feel as though her insides had turned to mush? she wondered.
‘What else needs doing? Ah, yes. Those files need to go to the office.’ He stowed the cloth away in the cupboard under the sink and turned. His eyes narrowed when he saw the guilty start she gave. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘No, of course not!’ She gave a tinkly laugh, which wouldn’t have convinced anyone that she was telling the truth, and hurried on. ‘Are you here for evening surgery?’
‘I offered to split the list with Chris but he said that he could manage. I think he was worried that I might keel over from jet lag,’ he explained, although she could tell that she hadn’t completely allayed his curiosity. ‘I’ll be in first thing in the morning, though.’
‘Chris must be very relieved. It’s been hectic here these past few days. Mind you, it’s always busy,’ she replied, keeping the conversation flowing in the hope that it would distract him.
‘So Chris was saying. From what I could gather, they were having problems keeping up even before Jonathan was taken ill,’ he said levelly.
‘Dr Wright told me that the lists have doubled since that new housing estate was built on the outskirts of town,’ Beth explained, feeling easier now that the conversation was firmly centred on the practice.
‘And that’s probably been a contributing factor to why he’s in hospital,’ Adam said darkly. ‘It appears that Jonathan has been having chest pains for some time, only he was too busy to go for a check-up. He self-diagnosed angina and has been treating himself for it.’
‘I had no idea,’ she exclaimed.
‘Nobody had. Jonathan didn’t want anyone to know because he was afraid that he might be forced to cut down the amount of work that he does. Aunt Mary only found out because he confessed to the specialist.’
He gave a deep laugh. ‘I wouldn’t like to be in his shoes when he gets out of hospital. Aunt Mary might be a gentle soul but I’m sure she’ll make him pay for his deviousness!’
‘I expect she’ll forgive him in the end. She must be so relieved that he’s going to be all right,’ Beth said firmly.
Adam shrugged. ‘I’m sure you’re right. They have a great marriage. If anyone needs any tips on how to make a relationship work, they only need to look at that pair.’
‘A good role model for you?’ she suggested, suddenly curious about the state of Adam’s own love life. He hadn’t mentioned that he was married but suddenly the thought that he might have a wife and family was strangely unpalatable, and not just because it could have repercussions on what she wanted to ask him.
‘Oh, I decided a long time ago that marriage wasn’t for me. Once bitten, twice shy, as the saying goes.’
Beth frowned. That seemed to imply that he’d been let down at some point, and she couldn’t help wondering if it had anything to do with her sister. Claire had always claimed that her relationship with Adam Knight had been strictly fun, but had he felt the same about it?
The idea troubled her. However, before she could try to find out more he suddenly sighed. ‘Anyway, enough of all that. You must be itching to put your feet up for half an hour before evening surgery and here I am, rabbiting on. You’re too good a listener, Beth. You remind me of Claire in that respect as well.’
She summoned a smile, although she couldn’t deny that the comparison was disquieting. She had loved Claire and should have been pleased to be compared favourably to her, but the thought that Adam was measuring her against her sister troubled her.
‘I shall take that as a compliment,’ she said, refusing to dwell on the idea. There were far more pressing matters to focus on, but was this the right moment to tell him? He was obviously tired from all the travelling so maybe it would be better to leave it until tomorrow when he would be better able to cope with the news.
It was a relief to be able to put off the moment a while longer and she smiled at him. ‘Right, I’m away upstairs for a cup of tea.’
‘You’re living in the flat over the surgery?’ Adam asked in surprise.
‘Yes. It was a real bonus because I couldn’t have afforded anywhere as big otherwise. A bedsit certainly wouldn’t have been suitable when—’ She just managed to stop in time. Adam looked at her curiously, his brows drawing together into a slight frown.
‘Why wouldn’t a bedsit have been suitable?’ he asked flatly before an odd expression crossed his face. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. It’s none of my business if you’re living with someone.’
‘I’m not,’ she admitted huskily because it still hurt to recall what had happened. ‘I was in a relationship for quite some time but we split up a few months ago. That’s why I needed a place to live when I took the job in Winton. I moved out of the house we’d been sharing after I broke off our engagement.’
‘Tough. It must have been a difficult time for you.’
Adam reached over and squeezed her hand in a genuine show of sympathy, and for some reason she felt some of the hurt dissolve. It was all very strange so that it was an effort to reply calmly when he bade her goodbye.
Beth went up to the flat and made herself a cup of tea then opened the back door. There was a flight of steps leading from the flat to the car park, with a small balcony at the top. She’d filled some plastic tubs with colourful plants and had bought a small bench seat from the local garden centre and had arranged them out there.
It was her own little oasis of calm, the place she went to when she wanted to think, and there was a lot to think about at the moment, most of it centred on one person, funnily enough—Adam Knight. The man she had searched for for so long.
