‘You’reblushing.’ Bella’s astonishment became laughter. ‘Auntie Katie blushing. Who knew?’
‘Give it a rest, Bella. This thing between Connor and me is friendship, that’s all.’
A friendship like nothing Kate had ever had in her life. It had begun with that bike ride to the beach and that gentle kiss in the sunset.
No. It had really begun that night on the dance floor, hadn’t it?
Or maybe even when she’d followed those tyre tracks to where he’d wheeled that ridiculous machine into the children’s ward.
It had been strengthened by the addition of trust in the way Connor had handled the incident of the diagnostic error with Estelle’s tumour. Their dinner date this week had been a celebration of the approval for immediate funding of the pathology lab in Theatre. Within a short space of time, hopefully, Kate was to have the honour of being the first pathologist to be on duty for Theatre, to have a test run to check that they had all the equipment they needed in the sparkling new designated area. It might be no more than the size of a cupboard, sheared off from one end of the staffroom with a sliding glass hatch into one of the operating theatres, but it was a huge step for all the interested parties and Kate was as excited about it as Connor.
What had taken their friendship to a completely new level, however, was that incident in the car park.
Connor was the first person she had ever told about her past. Even the men she’d had relationships with in the last few years had never known.
Could that be part of the reason why they’d never worked out?
And while Kate might protest that it was nothing more than friendship with Connor, she knew it was more than that. Or potentially more than that. On both sides? They seemed to be in a kind of holding pattern. Spending time together and keeping options open without taking things any further.
Did Connor want to?
Did she want to or was it just that she was reluctant to lose this amazing connection that they seemed to have? And she would lose it, if Connor learned about the parts of her story that she still had locked away.
‘It’s not going anywhere,’ she told her niece firmly. ‘So stop going on about it.’
But Bella couldn’t let it go. She refilled both their wine glasses. Kate tried to refuse. She started gathering the dishes that should have been loaded into the dishwasher long ago.
‘Leave it.’ The very idea of ordering Kate around made Bella offer up a surprisingly contrite smile. ‘Please? I really like talking to you.’
Kate liked it too. She hadn’t realised how nice it would be to have company in her home at night. Someone to share food with. Even if they were both busy with other things in the evenings it was nice to have someone else in the house. To not feel so… alone.
‘Just don’t go on about Connor, then,’ she relented.
Bella sighed theatrically. ‘But he’s gorgeous. You’re both single. You like each other. I can’t see what the problem is.’
‘Neither of us wants a long-term relationship.’
‘So have a short-term one, then. A friendship with benefits.’ Bella’s eyebrows wiggled suggestively. ‘Somefun. I’ll bet Connor would be up for it.’
‘I’ll bet.’ Kate’s tone was dry. ‘And that’s one of the reasons it couldn’t possibly work. He’s got a reputation for breaking hearts. He’s probably the world’s expert in “friendships with benefits”. What woman in her right mind would want to be another notch on someone’s bedpost?’
‘He’s only like that because he hasn’t found the right woman. That might be you.’
Oh… She had to stop this conversation. That feeling of wanting… hoping… was too painful.
She gave her head a sharp shake. ‘I don’t do casual sex.’
The odd look that Bella had on her face made Kate sigh. ‘So you’ve heard the rumours, then.’
Bella chewed her bottom lip and wouldn’t meet Kate’s eyes.
‘I’m not a middle-aged virgin and I’m not a lesbian, okay? People round St Pat’s have short memories. You met Tim, didn’t you? That nephrologist I was with for two years?’
Bella nodded. ‘Seems a long time ago.’
It was. Over three years, in fact. Tim had left St Pat’s not long after the relationship had ended. Connor had arrived not long after that. Hospitals were like that. People coming and going all the time. Romances starting. Others ending.
‘He was a nice guy,’ Bella added. ‘What went wrong, Kate?’
