by Sarah Morgan
Josh stared after him. ‘So that’s Archie. I have to admit he wasn’t quite what I expected.’
She turned to look at him, her mind elsewhere. ‘What?’
‘Yesterday you said you were with Archie.’ His tone was cool as he reminded her of their previous conversation. ‘Naturally I assumed that Archie was well over the age of consent. Obviously you’re a single parent. Why did you feel the need to lie?’
She froze. Why did her life have to be so complicated? ‘I didn’t lie.’
‘You said he was studying,’ Josh reminded her dryly. ‘What exactly is he studying? Architecture with play dough? Just for the record, I understand the word “no”, Kat. You don’t have to use a child to keep me at a distance.’
She doubted he’d ever heard the word ‘no’ in his life, at least not from a woman. ‘I really don’t want to talk about this now.’
‘Unless, of course, you didn’t feel able to say no to me.’ Ignoring her interjection, he carried on, his voice soft. ‘In which case maybe you were using Archie to protect you from yourself. Is that what you were doing, Kat? Didn’t you trust yourself to say no to me? You felt the need to invent a romantic attachment?’
She inhaled sharply. ‘You have a monumental ego, Dr Sullivan,’ she said coldly, and he gave a half-smile so sexy that it made her heart tumble.
‘Have I?’ His eyes clashed with hers and she felt her knees weaken as a powerful awareness thumped between them.
She stepped backwards. ‘I’ve got to go. I need to talk to him. He’s upset and he needs to know that he can’t just wander off like that.’
‘Ah, yes…’ His gaze shifted to her cottage. ‘Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little bit?’
‘No, I do not!’ Goaded, she whirled round to face him, her eyes flashing. ‘And you’re not blameless in all this. He was perfectly happy until you showed him your boat!’
One dark eyebrow lifted. ‘So is this all my fault?’
‘No. Yes!’ She bit her lip, knowing that it wasn’t really his fault. ‘Well, partly. Have you any idea what it’s like to wake up and find that your child isn’t in the house?’
‘Obviously not.’ His tone was level. ‘But once you’d discovered he was safe, surely that should have been it. Problem sorted. But you continued to freak out.’
‘I did not freak out.’
‘You freaked out. You’re still freaking out. You’re completely overreacting.’
‘Overreacting? You think I’m overreacting?’ Her mouth fell open and she gaped at him, outrage rendering her silent for a few pulsating seconds. Then she exploded. ‘There is no point in having this conversation with you. You obviously know nothing about parental responsibility!’
‘Fortunately not.’ His tone was cool. ‘But the boy was just exploring. No harm was done. Why don’t you just drop it?’
‘Because he’s six years old.’
He gave a shrug. ‘You can’t protect a child from life.’
She gave a short laugh and her eyes flashed. ‘That’s the job of a parent, Josh, to protect a child from life,’ she said, tossing her head back so that her hair shone like flame in the bright sunlight. ‘And that’s what I’m going to do.’
Josh watched her, his eyes on the bright swing of her hair and the swift, graceful movement of her slim legs as she sprinted the short distance back to her own cottage. At no point during the conversation had she appeared to realise that she was still dressed in her nightdress and he hadn’t felt it tactful to point it out. Clearly she’d been so traumatised by her son’s disappearing act that she hadn’t stopped to think about anything but finding him.
For some reason that he couldn’t immediately identify, Josh found that extremely touching.
You didn’t need to be a genius to see that she was devoted to her child.
It explained a lot of things. Like the fact she didn’t hang around after work. Unlike the other young doctors, she showed no inclination to end the day relaxing over a drink. He frowned slightly and leaned broad shoulders against the boat as he watched her all the way to her back door. She was beautiful, gutsy and intelligent, but as he watched her disappear into the house he saw only one thing.
Single mother.
And he had a golden rule. No single mothers.
They wanted something he wasn’t in a position to offer. Security. Compromise. All the things that made him shudder. All the things he was no good at.
Josh folded his arms across his chest, remembering the eager expression in Archie’s green eyes as he’d shown him the boat, his eyes exactly like his mother’s. And he remembered the bitter disappointment in those same eyes when Kat had told him that he had to go home. For a brief moment Josh had been tempted to invite them to spend the day with him, but he’d caught himself in time, astonished by the impulse. He couldn’t ever remember wanting to spend the day with a child before.
Remembering the strength of that impulse, Josh frowned, wondering what had come over him.
He usually avoided children like the plague! He was even nervous about the impending arrival of Mac and Louisa’s baby because he wasn’t sure he could be a decent uncle. He didn’t have any of the right qualifications. He didn’t like nappies and he certainly wasn’t prepared to put his life on hold while they grew up and developed a modicum of independence.
No, children definitely weren’t for him.
And no matter how powerful the chemistry between them, from now on Kat O’Brien was definitely off limits.
He was going to stop noticing her curves and her eye-catching hair, he was going to stop noticing the way her cheeks dimpled when she smiled and the way her eyes flashed when she was angry. In fact, he was going to stop noticing everything and he was definitely going to forget that he’d seen her in her nightdress.
He was going to find himself a woman to take his mind off Kat O’Brien, and he was going to do it fast.
CHAPTER FOUR
HE’D seen her in her nightdress!
Scarlet with mortification, Kat gave a groan and stepped into the shower. How could she have done that?! How could she have been so completely oblivious to the fact that she had been wearing cream silk that was virtually transparent?
But she knew the answer to that, of course. She’d only had one thing on her mind and that had been her son. She hadn’t been thinking about herself and she hadn’t been thinking about Josh.
Perhaps he hadn’t noticed, she thought weakly as she towelled herself dry and padded back through to her bedroom. Perhaps he’d been so absorbed in the conversation…
She gave a groan of humiliation and sank onto the edge of the bed with her hands over her face.
Despite the fact that it dropped all the way to the floor, the nightdress was incredibly revealing. She’d even hesitated before buying it but it was so pretty and such a bargain that not buying it had seemed a crime. And at the time she’d assured herself that the fact that it displayed rather too much of her generous curves really didn’t matter. Who was going to see her wearing it?
Well, now Josh Sullivan had seen her wearing it.
She gave a sigh and wondered how her new life had suddenly become so complicated so quickly.
Then she looked up and saw Archie standing in the doorway, a wary expression on his face. ‘Are we going to the beach?’
Relieved that the sulk seemed to have passed, Kat gave a nod. ‘Definitely. Just give me a moment to dress and then we’ll make a picnic together.’
Josh probably hadn’t even noticed, she told herself as she rummaged in her wardrobe for a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.
A man like him would have said something if he’d noticed.
He would have teased her or given her one of his looks.
No—she dragged on the shorts and slipped her feet into a pair of pretty flip-flops—he definitely hadn’t noticed.
* * *
They spent the whole weekend on the beach, digging in the sand and playing ball, and Kat took Archie into the s
ea on the surfboard she’d bought for him.
He was a natural. His balance was good and he had absolutely no fear of the water.
‘Again!’ Every time he fell off the board he scrambled up again, his face shiny with seawater, his eyes bright with laughter.
They plunged back into the waves repeatedly until Kat judged that they’d done enough for one day.
‘You must be tired. Time for lunch.’ She ignored his whine of protest and picked up his board, strolling back towards their picnic rug, which she’d placed in the shade by some rocks.
They were tucking into sausages when Archie returned to the subject of the boat. ‘Next weekend can I see the boat again?’ Ketchup dripped from his chin and his fingers. ‘Ple-ease, Mum?’
She leaned across and wiped his mouth before the red blob could land on his T-shirt. ‘No, sweetheart, we can’t. But I’ll make some calls and find out if I can take you sailing.’
He took another bite of sausage, clearly in gourmet heaven. ‘You could ask Josh. I bet he knows a place. He knows everything about boats.’
She didn’t want to think about Josh. Didn’t want to remember what he’d looked like without a shirt on, his chest gleaming from good, honest physical toil.
Didn’t want to remember that she’d stood in front of him in her nightdress.
Her body heated at the memory and she bit back another groan of humiliation. ‘Archie, I really think—’ She broke off as a large, clumsy dog bounded towards them. Instinctively she tried to grab the remaining sausages but the dog was too quick, homing in on the food with abandoned joy.
‘Hopeful!’ A female voice yelled from further along the beach. ‘Hopeful! Come here! Heel.’
Kat tipped her head on one side and studied the dog, who was now slavering over the remains of the sausages. ‘Are you Hopeful?’
Crazy with excitement, the dog wagged its tail and walked all over their rug with sandy paws, barking madly.
Archie shrank against Kat, his eyes huge. ‘That dog ate our lunch.’
Kat nodded. ‘Looks as though he did, but he seems friendly.’ Cautiously she stretched out a hand and Hopeful slobbered over that, too. ‘He’s not going to hurt you, Arch, he just fancied your lunch.’
‘I fancied it, too.’ Archie looked at the empty plates and giggled. ‘He’s eaten everything.’
‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ A very pregnant young woman walked up to them and snapped her fingers at the dog. ‘Hopeful, when I call you, you’re supposed to come!’ Her voice was stern but the dog continued to wag his tail happily, completely unrepentant. ‘Please, could you look a little sorry? Have some sensitivity! Think of the amount I forked out on dog-training classes!’
Kat smothered a grin as the dog trampled over the plates, his paws in the remains of the ketchup. She watched in a mixture of despair and amusement. She was going to be spending her afternoon washing the rug. ‘He’s been to dog-training classes?’
‘Hard to believe, isn’t it?’ The girl looked gloomily at the dog, who was now nudging her leg. ‘He wasn’t the best student. Mac, my husband, thinks what he really needs is a psychiatrist. It isn’t really poor Hopeful’s fault. He had a terrible upbringing and he’s very damaged psychologically.’ Her eyes scanned the rug. ‘I’m really sorry about your picnic. Hard to tell from the empty plates, but I’m guessing it was probably sausages.’
Archie stared at her with admiration. ‘Wow. How did you know that? Do you do magic?’
‘No, but sausages are Hopeful’s favourite and those plates of yours are so clean that it just had to be sausages.’ She winced and rubbed a hand over her stomach and Kat frowned. The young woman was extremely pregnant.
‘Are you all right?’
The girl pulled a face, her hand still on her stomach. ‘Not sure, to be honest. I suppose so. Never been pregnant before and I feel like a whale, but maybe that’s normal. And the weather is just so hot at the moment. I don’t stray far from home these days, but I was dropping something off at my brother-in-law’s house and Hopeful bounded off before I could stop him.’
Kat frowned. ‘Are you talking about Josh? Are you Louisa?’
The girl looked startled. ‘Am I suddenly famous?’
Kat smiled. ‘I work in A and E so I’ve heard your praises sung a few times, and obviously I’ve heard about Mac. Josh mentioned that his sister-in-law is pregnant so I put two and two together.’
Louisa’s face brightened. ‘You know Josh? Well, of course you know Josh.’ Her eyes narrowed as she studied Kat. ‘You’re incredibly pretty, so it goes without saying that you know Josh.’
Kat flushed and cast a look in Archie’s direction, but he was playing with Hopeful, totally enchanted by the dog.
‘I’m one of the new SHOs.’
‘Oh. You lucky thing. I miss it so much.’ Louisa pulled a face and stroked her stomach. ‘I think I’d better be getting back. Walking in the sun with this bump, which, by the way, Josh tactfully informs me is definitely a hippo, is not my idea of fun. Too much sand and Hopeful would make a very unreliable midwife.’
Kat laughed. ‘Our house is just up there.’ She waved a hand towards the cottage. ‘You’re very welcome to a cup of tea and then we could give you a lift home.’
Louisa glanced up at the house, measuring the distance. ‘Really? The white cottage? You live next door to Josh.’
Archie stopped playing with the dog. ‘He has a boat and he helped me with my knots, but Mummy won’t let me go over there again.’
‘You’ve been over there?’ Louisa stared at him, a thoughtful expression in her eyes. ‘When?’
‘Yesterday morning but Mummy shouted—’
‘Only because you didn’t tell me where you were going,’ Kat interjected quickly. Not keen to dwell on the subject of Josh, she changed the subject neatly. ‘Come and have a cup of tea, Louisa. You look as though you need one.’
‘I always need tea. That would be really great.’ Louisa tried to grab Hopeful by the collar, but she wasn’t fast enough and he bounded back to a delighted Archie. ‘I’m just too fat to catch him these days. Maybe we’d better leave Hopeful outside.’
Kat glanced across to Hopeful, who was now being hugged tightly by her little boy. ‘Wouldn’t it be safer to have him inside where we can see him?’
‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you?’ Louisa chewed her lip. ‘Trouble is, he misbehaves even when people are watching so it doesn’t always make a lot of difference. It might be a decision you regret for a long time. Are you sure about this? Do you have valuables?’
‘He’s being hugged by my valuables.’ Kat looked at the expression on her son’s face and smiled. It was great to see him so relaxed and happy. She gathered up their things and stuffed them into the rucksack she’d used to transport everything to the beach. ‘Come on, Archie, we’re going back to the cottage. You’d better be in charge of Hopeful.’
Archie stroked the dog’s head. ‘He’s coming, too? Cool.’ A satisfied smile spread over his face. ‘He’s lovely.’
Louisa sighed. ‘You’re probably the only person who thinks so at the moment. Yesterday he ate his way through Mac’s best pair of shoes and the latest copy of The Lancet. Then he proceeded to sick all of it up on our new bedroom carpet.’ She picked her way across the sand, one eye on Hopeful. ‘Mac is Josh’s older brother, but I suppose you know that by now. He works in A and E too but he’s been on holiday for a week so I suppose you haven’t met him yet.’
‘Not yet. I’ve been working with Josh.’
‘He’s an amazing doctor,’ Louisa said, pausing to get her breath back as they climbed the gentle path that led to the cottage. ‘And drop-dead gorgeous. It’s a lethal combination, as I’m sure you’ve discovered. Brain and looks. When are you having dinner with him?’
Kat stopped dead beside her. ‘Pardon?’
Louisa’s eyes twinkled. ‘I asked when you were having dinner with him.’
‘I’m not!’ Kat shook her head, suddenly flustered, relieved
that Archie was some way ahead with the dog. ‘Why would I?’
‘Because you’re beautiful and our Josh never lets a beautiful woman slip through his fingers?’
Kat looked at Archie. ‘But I’m not available.’
‘You’re married?’ Louisa gave an embarrassed groan and clamped a hand over her mouth. ‘Tactless me. I’m so sorry, it’s just that you don’t wear a ring so I assumed—’
‘I’m not married,’ Kat said gruffly, ‘but I’m not available.’
‘You’re seeing someone?’
Kat shook her head and Louisa frowned.
‘So why aren’t you available?’
‘Because I have Archie.’
Louisa stared at the boy. ‘I see.’
Kat could tell that she couldn’t see at all, but she didn’t intend to expand on her answer. She wasn’t used to explaining her life to anyone. She’d been forced to make her own decisions for so long she couldn’t remember what it was like to seek the advice of another person.
‘Come on.’ She unlocked the door of the cottage. ‘Let’s have that tea.’
* * *
‘I gather you met Louisa.’ Josh thrust an X-ray into the light-box and squinted at the films. ‘Well?’
‘I can’t see a fracture.’
He turned towards her with that lazy, sexy grin that did stupid things to her heart rate. ‘I was asking you about my sister-in-law.’
‘Oh…’ Kat blushed. ‘She’s lovely. Really friendly. Archie loved the dog.’
‘He’s the only one who does,’ Josh drawled. ‘That dog is one of Louisa’s rescues.’
‘One of her rescues?’
‘She’s always rescuing people.’ Josh swivelled his gaze back to the X-ray. ‘She rescued my brother. Last Christmas. Took over his life. Good thing, too. Thanks to Louisa, we get to eat decent food once in a while and my brother has rediscovered the meaning of life. You know, if Archie is interested in boats, you ought to take him sailing. You’re living in the right place. I was on a boat from the age of two. So was Mac.’