But I was right too,she told herself firmly.What does it matter how crazy I am about you when you don’t feel the same way?
When they reached the table, he lifted her onto it as though she weighed no more than a child. ‘Let’s take a look at this,’ he said. Her hand was still bleeding and he picked out a sliver of glass that was embedded in the skin.
‘Sorry,’ he said as Kate yelped. ‘Does it hurt?’
‘Just stings a bit.’
He got a cloth and dabbed away the blood. He opened his mouth to speak, but apparently thought better of it. Kate prayed he wouldn’t say anything about Brian – she couldn’t bear it if he said something sympathetic. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself crying, and it was embarrassing enough that he knew.
‘I think you’ll live. Got any plasters?’
‘There should be some in the cupboard over the sink.’
He found the box and fished one out, opening it as he came back to her. Then he took her hand and put it around her finger.
God, this doctor mode is way sexy!Kate thought, beginning to enjoy herself.
‘There. All better,’ he said and pressed a light kiss to the plaster. Suddenly he looked up and she was knocked sideways by his smile. He really was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. ‘Remember when Grace used to kiss it better?’ he said, still holding her hand.
‘Oh, all mothers do that,’ Kate said gruffly, blushing crimson and looking away.
‘Not when you’re twenty-one!’ Will said drily.
‘True.’ Kate laughed.
At that moment, Brian came in from his walk and found Kate sitting on the table holding hands with Will and laughing up into his eyes.
‘Oh, Brian!’ Kate pulled her hand away when she saw him and jumped down from the table.
‘Having fun?’ he said, with biting sarcasm.
‘Yes, we’re playing doctors and nurses,’ Will said, smiling impudently but his eyes were cold as ice. ‘Or, rather, doctor and patient.’
Without a word, Brian left the room, boot-faced.
‘I’d better go after him,’ Kate said.
‘Go on,’ Will said, casting a murderous look after Brian’s retreating back. ‘I’ll clear up in here.’
* * *
The next morning, Kate went down to the beach. She needed to clear her head and think things over. She hadn’t had much sleep.She had finally got up the nerve to confront Brian with his infidelity, but far from being contrite or penitent, he had been quite blasé about it. To her dismay, he didn’t understand what she was so upset about. It wasn’t as if they were married, he had pointed out – they hadn’t even been ‘engaged’ at that stage. She hated the way he always said ‘engaged’ in quotation marks, as if it was marvellously ironic. He had also reminded her that they had been on a break. What difference did an hour or two either way make.
Against her better judgment, she had asked him if he had been with Suzanne while she was away – which, of course, he had.
‘It’s only natural to explore every relationship,’ he had said.
‘That’s just a fancy way of saying you shag all your friends,’ Kate had retorted.
‘What about you? You’ve been flirting with Will all weekend.’
‘I havenotbeen flirting with Will! We’re friends, that’s all – of course, you wouldn’t understand that people can be friends without shagging each other!’
It had turned into a blazing row. They had finally made up after spending almost the entire night talking, but the whole thing had left her feeling wobbly. The trouble was, she didn’t feel she was in any position to cast the first stone. It was true that nothing had happened between her and Will, but no thanks to her. Brian could be with Suzanne if he wanted to, but he didn’t: he had chosen to be with her. But if she could be with Will… On the other hand, since that was never going to happen, was she supposed to stay single and celibate for the rest of her life? She did love Brian – she just loved Will more. Kicking off her sandals, she walked along the shoreline, letting the waves wash over her feet. The cold water made her catch her breath, but she soon acclimatised to it.
This whole weekend had been a disaster. Rather than bringing Brian and her family closer together, it had merely emphasised the division between them. She hated to admit it, but it had made her see him in another light. He was different when it was just the two of them, one to one, but too often over the weekend she had found herself being embarrassed by him or apologising for him. Worst of all, she had discovered that she was still head over heels, blind as a bat, in love with Will.
She sank down near the water’s edge, picking up a twig from the sand. Brian had offered her a fresh start, and that was what they would have, she decided. What they had was real, and they could make it work. It was just that she had been pushed together with Will too much over this weekend, which had brought back her old feelings painfully and vividly. But she would put that behind her. She wouldn’t take the job in Tuscany and Will would fade out of her life, resurfacing occasionally on holidays and family occasions.
