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‘And why on earth do you keep saying no? Rumour has it that he’s gorgeous.’
Libby thought of Andreas, remembering his luxuriant black hair and his incredibly sexy eyes.
‘He is gorgeous.’
Katy looked baffled. ‘So what’s wrong?’
‘He’s a man,’ Libby said flatly, putting her spoon down and staring at the patterns she’d made on the surface of her coffee. ‘That’s what’s wrong.’
‘So?’ Katy finished her tea. ‘You’re twenty-nine, Lib. You can’t carry on being this defensive. Eventually you’ve got to trust someone.’
‘Why would I want to do a silly thing like that? It’s asking for trouble.’
‘I can tell you like him,’ Katy said softly, and Libby gave a short laugh and picked up her coffee-cup.
‘Oh, I like him. I like him a lot.’ She felt things for Andreas that she’d never felt for a man before, and that worried her. It made her vulnerable. ‘It doesn’t change the fact he’s a man.’
‘Libby, not all men behave badly,’ Katy said gently. ‘You have to get out there and give it a go.’
‘I’ve given it a go,’ Libby said flatly. ‘And I found him in bed with his wife.’
Katy frowned. ‘But were you in love with Philip?’
Libby sipped her cappuccino. ‘No,’ she said finally, ‘I wasn’t. Which just makes me doubly determined not to get involved again. Imagine how much harder it would have been if I’d really cared. I’d be humiliated and broken-hearted, instead of just humiliated.’
Katy looked confused. ‘So you’re going to go through life picking men you know you can’t fall in love with? How is that ever going to work?’
‘It isn’t,’ Libby agreed, ‘but, then, I don’t actually want it to work. I just can’t deal with the pain that goes with relationships.’
‘But maybe if you chose someone you really liked, the relationship might stand a chance of working,’ Katy suggested logically. ‘At the moment you’re so afraid of being hurt that you pick people who you can’t possibly fall in love with. You’ll never meet Mr Right that way.’
‘I don’t believe in Mr Right,’ Libby reminded her. ‘He’s a myth invented for children by the same person that thought up Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny. Personally I’d rather believe in the Easter Bunny. At least he comes armed with chocolate.’
But, despite her light-hearted words, she found herself thinking about what her sister had said. It was certainly true that she’d never really felt anything for Philip. Did she really pick men that she knew she couldn’t fall in love with?
‘You’re so busy protecting yourself from hurt that you never go out with anyone remotely suitable. You’re afraid of falling in love, Libby.’
Libby glared at her. ‘I thought you were an A and E doctor, not a psychiatrist.’
‘Today I’m your sister,’ Katy said softly, ‘and I love you. I want to see you settled with babies because I know that’s what you want, too. I want to see you in love. And so does Alex, which was why he didn’t buy you, I expect. He hoped you might meet someone, and you have.’
Libby stared at the river, watching the way the sunlight glittered on the surface. ‘I don’t want to be vulnerable and being in love just makes you vulnerable.’
Katy gave a humourless laugh. ‘I know that. I know that better than anyone. I had such a dilemma when I met up with Jago again. He hurt me so badly the first time.’
‘That was different. That was because our father meddled.’
‘He still hurt me. Believe me, Lib, trusting him again was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.’
‘And Alex and I had to manipulate the two of you back together,’ Libby reminded her dryly. ‘You were going to marry Lord Frederick Hamilton.’
‘I was marrying Freddie because I was scared of what I felt when I was with Jago,’ Katy admitted. ‘I was doing what you’re doing. Running from being hurt. But there comes a point you have to take a risk with your heart, Libby. Otherwise you’ll miss out on love. I shiver when I think what might have happened if Jago and I hadn’t got back together. I love him so much. Without him, my life would have been so different. Empty.’
Libby sighed, acknowledging that she was envious of her sister’s relationship.
‘It’s different for you,’ she said gruffly. ‘You and Jago are crazy about each other and you always were.’
She knew how powerfully Jago had affected Katy.
