‘Come on, Holl, this is me. I know you better than anyone.’ His voice was gruff. ‘You’re not the sort of person to leave a job without good reason.’
She’d had a good reason. A very good reason. ‘I—It was nothing. Just politics.’
‘Don’t lie to me, Holly.’ His voice was calm and matter-of-fact. ‘I know something’s wrong. And I know it’s something big because it’s the first problem in your life you haven’t shared with me.’
He was right. It was the first thing she hadn’t been able to tell him. But he’d been miles away in Cornwall and it wasn’t something she could talk about on the phone.
She bit her lip. ‘Mark—’
‘It’s OK, babe,’ he said softly. ‘I know you’ll tell me when you’re ready. I’m just suggesting that whatever it was might heal faster down here. The job is yours for as long as you want it, and if you decide to leave when this is all over then fine. I know you’re not happy just doing agency work—’
‘It means I can pick and choose the jobs I do.’
Which was absolutely essential for her peace of mind.
‘But that’s not you. You like stability.’ Mark was as astute as ever. ‘So get yourself down here and then I’ll be close by when you’re ready to spill the beans.’
‘I don’t know, Mark,’ Holly croaked, and there was a pause.
‘Get yourself down here,’ he ordered, his voice gruff and kind. ‘That way I can keep an eye on you.’
Tears blurred her vision and she gave a watery smile, relieved that he couldn’t see her. Just talking to him made her feel safe. If she was honest, she could do with a bit of Mark’s protection right now.
‘Maybe I should. You’re a good friend.’
‘Despite the snake and the ice?’
‘Despite that,’ Holly admitted, her voice choked.
‘So come and be my fiancée and practice nurse.’
Holly thought for a long moment. ‘What would it involve?’
‘The job?’
‘No.’ For some unknown reason Holly felt her colour rise. ‘The other bit. Just how “touchy-feely” would we have to be?’
‘I don’t know. Use your imagination.’ He chuckled. ‘Generally I would think it would be fine if you just hang on my every word, gaze at me adoringly and follow me round like a puppy.’
‘Yuck!’ His teasing made her feel better again. ‘I don’t think I could do that without being sick.’
And without feeling jolly uncomfortable. Pretending to fancy Mark would feel odd.
‘You’ve done it before—’
‘Mark, we’ve already established that we were in primary school at the time,’ she reminded him dryly. ‘Hardly the same thing at all.’
‘Well, just do your best.’ There was a brief silence. ‘And you’d have to live with me, of course.’
‘Live with you?’ Her voice was little more than a squeak and Mark laughed again.
‘Of course, live with me. This is the twenty-first century, Holly. People usually live together when they’re engaged. Anyway, it’s an ideal arrangement because you’d need somewhere to stay and it’s impossible to get short-term lets in Cornwall in the holiday season.’
‘I don’t know, Mark.’ Holly hesitated. ‘What if it ruins our friendship?’
‘Why on earth should it do that?’ He sounded astounded at the suggestion. ‘Holly, we’ve been friends for twenty-four years. Nothing has ever ruined our friendship.’
She frowned. ‘But this is different, Mark.’
‘“Always and for ever”,’ he reminded her softly. ‘That’s what we used to say to each other as children. Remember?’
Holly gave a soft smile. She’d never forgotten their childish promise to be friends for ever. ‘Of course I remember, you idiot.’
‘Then what’s the problem?’ His voice was gruff. ‘Nothing has ever threatened our friendship, Holly. Not even when we’ve lived miles apart and had serious relationships with other people.’
Holly bit her lip. Serious relationships? She’d never had a serious relationship. Not really. In fact, she was beginning to think that she must have totally unrealistic expectations about relationships because they were always such a colossal disappointment.
‘We haven’t lived together before.’
‘So confess all your annoying habits, then.’ He spoke in that lazy drawl that turned women weak at the knees. ‘Do you leave the top off the toothpaste? Am I going to find your undies strewn over my radiators?’
‘Surely that would be part of the fiancée role,’ Holly quipped, and he laughed.
‘Probably would. You see? You’re more attuned to it than me.’ There was a slight pause and when he spoke his voice was serious. ‘I really need you, Holly. I’m sorry to do this to you, but say yes, babe. Please?’
Her protests collapsed in a heap. Mark needed her. And when had she ever been able to refuse him? He’d always been there for her. Always.
All he needed was a fake fiancée. He wasn’t asking much really and, if she was honest, working with him again would be fun. She bit her lip. Maybe having Mark nearby would help her. Maybe living with him would get rid of some of the nightmares. Mark was so physically strong that it was hard to be nervous of anything with him around. Nobody threatened Mark.
‘Holly?’ His voice was sharp. ‘Are you still there?’
‘Yes, I’m here.’ She took a deep breath. ‘OK, Mark. I’ll do it.’
‘You’ll do it?’ She could hear the triumph in his voice and she smiled in response.
‘I think I must be mad but, yes, I’ll do it. I’ll be your “fiancée”.’
As Mark started bombarding her with instructions Holly tried to ignore the little voice inside her head which suggested that pretending to be in love with him might not be as straightforward as it seemed.
She agreed to meet the senior partner in London for an interview and then, providing all was well, travel down to Cornwall at the end of the week.
It would be all right, she told herself firmly. Of course it would. After all, they were only pretending. It wouldn’t change their relationship.
Would it?
