have tried harder at the time to convince her that nothing had happened when he’d stayed at Amanda’s flat. But he’d been so hurt that Sophie had believed he would betray her and she’d been too angry to listen to him. Neither of them had been thinking clearly because they’d been so devastated by the loss of their precious child. It was that thought which made him soften his tone.
‘It may have escaped your notice but we’ve already set sail. We’re currently heading out into the middle of the Mediterranean and, from what I can remember of our itinerary, we won’t reach land until tomorrow morning. Even then, do you really think it would be fair to just up and leave?’
He sighed as he let the curtain fall back into place. ‘There’s several hundred people on board this ship and any one of them could need our help at a moment’s notice. Surely it would be better if you contacted the employment agency in the morning and asked them to find a replacement for you? It would mean us making the best of things for a few days, but I promise you that I’ll do my bit if you’ll meet me halfway. So what do you say, Sophie?’
‘I…I don’t know.’
She bit her lip and Liam could tell how difficult she was finding it to make up her mind. He crossed the cabin but this time he didn’t make the mistake of touching her. Sophie had made it clear how she felt about that.
‘We’ve worked together in the past, and successfully, too, so surely we can manage to do so again for a short time,’ he said softly, refusing to dwell on how distressing he found the idea. ‘I’d offer to leave but the people at the agency made it clear that they’d had problems finding a suitably qualified doctor. I wouldn’t want to leave the passengers in the lurch.’
‘No, it wouldn’t be right,’ she agreed reluctantly.
She took a deep breath that made her small breasts rise beneath the close-fitting T-shirt and Liam just managed to stifle his groan when he felt his body respond with a fervour that shocked him. He drew the robe around him, relieved that its bulk concealed his predicament. He’d not exactly led the life of a monk since their divorce but he couldn’t recall responding so wholeheartedly to any woman in the past two years, not even Julia.
The thought threw him into confusion so that he missed what Sophie had said. ‘I’m sorry, what was that?’
‘I just said that we shouldn’t need to see each other all that much.’ She shrugged but this time Liam wisely kept his eyes on her face and didn’t let them stray. ‘Once we’ve seen any patients who turn up for morning surgery then that should be it, basically.’
‘Of course,’ he agreed, trying to appear positive, no easy task in view of the way his mind was churning. He’d honestly and truly believed that he was ready to get on with his life and that all he needed to do was to draw a line under the past. But how could he be ready to plan his future when he was still so susceptible to his ex-wife’s charms?
‘And so long as the agency can find a replacement for me then there shouldn’t be a problem?’
‘It might take them a few weeks to find someone suitable,’ he warned, deciding it would be better to focus on this problem rather than start digging up any others. ‘Experienced nurses of your calibre don’t exactly grow on trees.’
A touch of colour ran up her face but she didn’t acknowledge the compliment. ‘I’m sure they’ll find someone eventually.’
‘And what about you, Sophie? What will you do?’ He frowned as he thought about the implications of her having to leave the ship. ‘Maybe you could return to the Royal Memorial? I’m sure they’d be delighted to take you back.’
‘They probably would but I’ve no intention of going back there. The reason I left in the first place was because I needed a change of scene. Don’t worry about me, Liam, I’ll find something else, maybe go abroad. There’s a lot of nursing posts advertised in the USA so that’s one option.’
‘So what you’re saying is that you’re completely flexible?’ Liam couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice.
‘Yes. The world’s a big place and I’ve seen far too little of it.’
‘And there’s nothing to tie you down to any one place?’ he insisted, because he couldn’t help being surprised by her attitude. The Sophie he remembered had been a homebody, not an adventurer. It made him see just how great the change in her had really been.
‘Nothing and nobody,’ she stated firmly. ‘So if you’re trying to find a diplomatic way to ask if I’m involved in a relationship then don’t bother. I think the phrase which best sums up my feelings is once bitten, twice shy.’
‘It wasn’t all bad,’ he protested, because it was painful to realise how much their divorce had affected her. Sophie had always had a very loving nature and he hated to think that she’d ruled out the possibility of finding happiness again even though the thought of her finding it with another man didn’t sit comfortably with him, strangely enough.
‘You’re entitled to your view,’ she said dismissively. ‘Anyway, what about you, Liam? Is there someone special in your life?’
Liam pushed the troubling thought aside because he needed to deal with the question. For some reason it seemed incredibly difficult to decide how to answer it. It wasn’t that he was afraid of upsetting her—Sophie had made it perfectly clear that he no longer featured in her life—but he felt rather awkward about discussing his plans with his ex-wife. Crazy though it undoubtedly was, it felt as though he was letting Sophie down.
The idea was just so ludicrous that it immediately cleared his mind of any doubts. ‘Actually, there is. Her name is Julia and she’s a doctor, too. We met while we were both working overseas, although she’s from London originally.’
He shrugged because there was no point holding back the most important bit now he’d got this far. ‘We’re thinking about getting married later this year, in fact.’
‘I see. So it appears that congratulations are in order.’
Liam frowned when he heard what sounded suspiciously like a catch in her voice. He breathed a sigh of relief when she treated him to a brilliant smile because he wouldn’t like to think that Sophie had been upset by his announcement.
‘I hope you and the second Mrs Kennedy will be very happy, Liam. I certainly hope the marriage works out better than ours did!’
‘Ah, so there you are, Sophie! I was just coming to find you. I thought you had got lost.’
‘I’m afraid I got delayed. Sorry.’
Sophie summoned a smile as Yuri greeted her at the entrance to the dining-room. She followed him across the room, murmuring her thanks when he pulled out a chair for her to sit down. Glancing around, she repeated her apologies for the benefit of the other diners seated at their table.
‘I’m sorry I’m late.’
‘Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it, young lady.’ The elderly American gentleman on her left smiled at her. ‘If my wife wasn’t sitting right here beside me, I’d tell you it was well worth the wait!’
The blue-rinsed matron next to him raised her eyes. ‘Take no notice of Randolph, honey. He’s all talk these days! Anyhow, you’ve only missed the introductions and that isn’t a problem.
