Читать книгу Single Dads Collection - Lynne Marshall - Страница 90

DAMN. Damn. Damn.

What the hell had he done?

He’d kissed his best friend.

Jack stared after Bryony, trying to decide what shocked him most. The fact that he’d kissed her, or the fact that he hadn’t wanted to stop.

He sat in the car with the engine switched off, staring into the frozen darkness feeling as though something fundamental to his existence had changed.

Where had it come from? That sudden impulse to kiss her…

Blondie was family.

As much a baby sister to him as she was to Tom and Oliver.

And until tonight he’d never thought of her in any other way.

Or had he?

Had he really never thought of her like that or was it just that he’d trained himself not to?

He sat still, watching the house, and then suddenly the lights went on. He saw her walk into her cosy sitting room and shrug off her coat, revealing that amazing red dress and an avalanche of blonde hair.

For years he hadn’t seen her in a dress and suddenly she seemed to be wearing a different one every week.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, still able to detect the tantalising scent of her hair and skin. The instantaneous reaction of his body was so powerful that he gritted his teeth and shifted slightly in his seat, trying to find a more comfortable position.

There wasn’t one.

Suddenly, somehow, she’d invaded every part of him.

He’d made an unconscious decision never to cross that boundary but now he’d crossed it there was no going back.

Whichever way he looked at her, he didn’t see a surrogate sister any more. And he didn’t see his best friend. He saw a woman. A living, breathing, stunningly beautiful woman.

But he couldn’t do anything about it.

Lizzie was looking for a father. Someone strong who could swing her in the garden. Someone funny who’d let her watch television before school and who wouldn’t make her eat sprouts.

Well, he could do that bit with no problem. He wasn’t that keen on sprouts himself so he was more than happy to collude over their exclusion from their diet. And he had no trouble swinging her in the garden, hugging her and making her laugh. In fact, he was great at all those things.

The problem came with the last bit of her letter.

I want a daddy who will hug my mummy and stay with us for ever.

Jack leaned his head back against the seat and let out a long breath. He didn’t do for ever. He had trouble doing next month. The whole concept of ‘for ever’ frightened the life out of him.

And Bryony knew that.

She knew him better than anyone.

Which was probably why she’d looked so shocked when he’d kissed her. Hell, he’d been shocked! And now he was confused, too, which was a totally new experience for him. He was never confused about women. He knew exactly what he wanted from them.

Everything, as long as it wasn’t permanent.

Which meant that he had absolutely nothing to offer Bryony.

He started the engine and clenched his hands on the wheel. He had to stop noticing her as a woman. Surely it couldn’t be that hard? After all, he’d only just started noticing her that way. It couldn’t be that hard to go back to seeing her as his best friend.

He’d just carry on as they always had. Dropping round to see her. Chatting in her kitchen. And seeing other women.

It would be fine.

If working with Jack had been hard before the kiss, for Bryony it became even harder afterwards.

When he walked into a room she knew instantly, even when she had her back to him.

She didn’t need to see him. She felt him. Felt his presence with every feminine bone in her body.

And she noticed everything about him. The way the solid muscle of his shoulders moved when he reached up to yank an X-ray out of the lightbox, the way his head tilted slightly when he was concentrating on something and the way everyone always asked his opinion on everything. She noticed how good he was with anxious relatives, how strong and capable he was with terrified patients and how well he dealt with inexperienced staff. He was the cleverest doctor she’d ever worked with and he had an instinctive feel for what was wrong with a patient before he’d even examined them.

If she’d had butterflies before he’d kissed her, they seemed to have multiplied since the kiss.

Which was utterly ridiculous because obviously, for him, nothing had changed.

Their relationship followed the same pattern of blonde jokes, man jokes and evenings when he sat with his feet on her table in the kitchen, watching while she cooked, a bottle of beer snuggled in his lap.

And now they were into December and there was no sign of a man who was even remotely close to fulfilling Lizzie’s criteria for a daddy.

David hadn’t asked her out again and she’d resigned herself to the fact that he was probably now dating Nina.

‘Are you upset about that?’ she asked Jack one evening, when they were curled up in front of the fire. She was writing Christmas cards and he was staring into the flames with a distant look in his eyes.

‘Upset about what?’

‘Nina.’ She said the other woman’s name as lightly as possible. ‘Someone told me that she’s seeing David Armstrong.’

‘Is she?’ Jack suppressed a yawn and stretched long legs out in front of him. ‘Well, good for him.’

‘You never should have sent them home together. I’m amazed you’re not upset.’

He gave her a mocking smile. ‘Come on, Blondie. How long have you known me?’

She stared at him. ‘You engineered it, didn’t you?’ Her pen fell to the floor as she suddenly realised what had happened. ‘You got rid of her.’

His gaze didn’t flicker. ‘I encouraged her to find someone else, yes.’

‘Why?’ Bryony shook her head, puzzled. ‘She was nice. And she seemed crazy about you.’

Jack looked at her steadily. ‘She was.’

Which was why he’d ended it.

It was Jack’s usual pattern.

Bryony sighed. ‘Jack, you’re thirty-four,’ she said softly. ‘You can’t run for ever.’

He gave a funny lopsided grin that made her heart turn over. ‘Watch me.’

‘Listen…’ She put her pen down and gave up on her Christmas cards. They could wait. ‘I know your parents’ divorce was really difficult for you, but you can’t—’

‘Drop it, Blondie. I don’t want to talk about it.’ His eyes glittered ominously and she saw the warning in the blue depths. Taboo subject.

She sighed. ‘But, Jack, you can’t—’

‘Why did the blonde tiptoe past the medicine cabinet?’ he drawled lazily, and she rolled her eyes, exasperated by his refusal to talk about his emotions.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Because she didn’t want to wake the sleeping pills.’ Jack gave a wicked smile that made her heart jump in her chest.

He was so shockingly handsome it was totally unfair, and when he smiled like that she just melted.

‘How many men does it take to change a toilet roll?’ She smiled sweetly. ‘No one knows. It’s never been done. So what did Nina do wrong?’

Jack gave a sardonic smile. ‘Frankly? She said, “I love you”,’ he said dryly, and gave a mock shudder. ‘Which is the same as “goodbye” in my language.’

Bryony rolled her eyes. ‘They always say that if you want to get rid of a man, you should say “I love you, I want to marry you and most of all I want to have your children.” It’s guaranteed to leave skid marks.’

Jack laughed. ‘That’s just about the size of it. Why do you think I bought a Ferrari?’

Bryony sighed. ‘Poor Nina.’

‘She knew the score.’

But Bryony was willing to bet that knowing the score hadn’t made it any easier. On the other hand, Nina seemed to have moved on quite happily to David so she couldn’t have been that broken-hearted.

‘One day you’ll settle down, Jack,’ Bryony predicted, licking another envelope. ‘You’ll be such a great father.’

‘That’s nonsense.’

‘Look how great you are with Lizzie.’

‘That’s because I have all the fun and none of the responsibility,’ he said shortly, frowning slightly as he looked at her.

‘I don’t think that’s true. Lizzie expects a lot from you and you always deliver. How many netball matches have you been to this year?’

Jack grinned. ‘Lots. You know me. Rugby, rock-climbing, netball—my three favourite sports.’

She laughed. ‘Precisely. The sight of you standing on the side of a netball court would be funny if it wasn’t so touching.’ She added the envelope to the ever-growing pile. ‘And it is touching, Jack. You’re fantastic with Lizzie.’

A muscle worked in his jaw. ‘But what she really wants is a father.’

Bryony shrugged. ‘And who can blame her for that?’

‘She doesn’t realise that fathers aren’t perfect.’

‘I think she probably does, actually. But she still wants someone.’

‘So how is the quest going? Any suitable candidates lined up? Obviously David is now off the scene…’

Something in his tone made her glance up at him but his expression was neutral.

‘Well, it’s not going that well,’ Bryony muttered, licking another envelope and adding it to the pile. ‘Christmas is three weeks away and I don’t have another date until Saturday.’

His expression was suddenly hostile. ‘You have a date on Saturday? Who with?’

Bryony blushed slightly. ‘Toby.’

‘Toby who?’ Jack was frowning and she laughed.

‘You know—our Toby. Toby from the mountain rescue team.’

‘You’re kidding!’ He glared at her. ‘Toby? He’s totally unsuitable.’

‘Calm down, Jack,’ Bryony said mildly, gathering up all the envelopes and putting them on the table. ‘Toby is nice. And he’s always been kind to Lizzie.’

‘Toby has a terrible reputation with women,’ Jack said frostily, and she shrugged.

‘So do you, Jack.’

‘But I’m not dating you.’

And how she wished he was. Her gaze met his and held and then he sucked in a breath and rose to his feet, powerful and athletic.

‘You can’t date Toby.’

‘Why not?’

There was a long silence and a muscle twitched in his jaw. ‘Because he isn’t right for you.’

She sighed. ‘Jack, you’re so jaded about relationships that you’re never going to think anyone is right, but trust me when I say I’m not going to choose anyone who would hurt Lizzie.’

He took several deep breaths. ‘I don’t want anyone to hurt you either.’

‘I know that.’ She smiled at him, touched that he cared at least that much. ‘You don’t need to be so protective. It’s nice, but I can look after myself.’

‘Where are you going on Saturday?’

She wondered why he was asking and then decided that it was idle curiosity. ‘Actually, I don’t know. Toby is keeping it a secret.’ She smiled. ‘Isn’t it romantic?’

‘Suspicious is the word I would use,’ Jack muttered, grabbing his coat and car keys and making for the door. ‘I’ll talk to him.’

Bryony gave an exasperated sigh. ‘Jack, you are not my minder.’

‘Toby is definitely not to be trusted when it comes to women,’ Jack growled. ‘I want him to know that I’m looking out for you.’

‘I should think he knows that, seeing as you spend half your life in my house,’ Bryony pointed out mildly, and he nodded.

‘Well, let’s hope so. I won’t have him messing either of my girls around.’

His girls.

Bryony swallowed and her eyes clashed with his. Something flickered in those blue depths and she knew that he was remembering their kiss. ‘We’re not “your girls”, Jack.’

He hesitated and a strange expression crossed his handsome face as he stared down at her. Then he muttered something under his breath, jerked open the front door and left the house.

The next day the temperature dropped further still and it started to snow. Wrapped up in her MRT gear, Bryony was posting her Christmas cards when her pager went off.

Relieved that Lizzie was spending the day with her mother, she drove herself to the rescue base, which was less than five minutes’ drive from her house.

‘Two women out walking,’ Jack told her, zipping up his jacket. ‘One has cut herself and one has an ankle injury.’ He exchanged looks with Bryony. ‘What is it with women and ankles?’

‘I don’t know but at least it gives you and me an excuse to climb mountains in filthy weather,’ she said happily, and he smiled.

‘I suppose there is that.’

The rest of the team gathered, picking up equipment and listening while they were given a brief.

‘We’re not sure where they are—’ Sean, leader of the MRT, tapped a point on the map ‘—but this was where they were aiming for when it started to snow. The path is covered now and they’re totally lost.’

Bryony looked at the map. ‘It’s really easy to lose that path in bad weather,’ she said. ‘I know because I’ve done it myself.’

Jack rolled his eyes. ‘Never let a blonde loose on a mountain,’ he drawled, but his eyes gleamed wickedly and she smiled back at him.

‘At least a girl will ask for directions if she’s lost. Men never ask for directions.’

‘That’s because they don’t need to. Men don’t get lost,’ Jack returned blithely, and Sean sighed.

‘Maybe you two could argue on the way,’ he suggested mildly, pointing at the map. ‘Ben, you go with Toby up this path and hopefully we’ll come across them. Stay in touch. And watch yourselves. The weather is awful. I’ll deploy the rest of the team as they arrive.’

Toby glanced at Bryony. ‘I could go with Bryony…’

‘No, you couldn’t.’ Jack’s response was instantaneous, his blue gaze hard and uncompromising. ‘I go with Bryony.’

Toby’s eyes narrowed slightly and then he shrugged. ‘Whatever.’

Bryony followed Jack out of the rescue base and they drove a short distance and parked the four-wheel-drive in a farm near the path.

Jack hoisted the rucksack onto his back and waited while she did the same thing. ‘Come on. We need to get going before we freeze to death.’

They set off at a brisk pace and she glanced at the sky. ‘It’s going to snow again in a minute.’

‘It’s Christmas,’ Jack pointed out. ‘It’s supposed to snow.’

Bryony gave a shiver and pulled her fleece up to her chin. ‘Well, it looks nice on the Christmas cards but it’s not so great when you’re out on the mountains. Why didn’t you let me go with Toby?’

‘Because he’d be so busy staring at your legs he’d let you fall down a crevice.’

Bryony gaped at him. ‘Jack, I’m wearing fleece trousers. They’re hardly revealing!’

‘Your legs would look sexy in a bin bag.’

She stopped dead. He thought her legs were sexy? He’d never said anything like that to her before. She was staring after him in confusion, wondering why he’d said that, when he glanced back at her.

‘Why have you stopped? You needed to admire me from a distance?’

She grinned, suddenly feeling light-hearted. ‘Why are men like placemats?’ Shifting her rucksack slightly to make it more comfortable, she caught up with him. ‘Because they only show up when there’s food on the table.’

He smiled and as they continued up the path it started to snow again. ‘I hope they’ve got some form of shelter,’ Jack muttered, and Bryony nodded, her expression concerned.

‘I hope we find them soon. It’ll be dark in a couple of hours.’

They trudged on and the snow suddenly grew thicker underfoot.

‘Crampons and ice axes, I think, Blondie,’ Jack muttered, pausing by a snow-covered rock and swinging his rucksack off his back.

They stopped just long enough to equip themselves safely for the next part of the rescue and then they were off again.

Bryony stayed behind Jack, watching him place his feet firmly and confidently in the snow, the sharp points of his crampons biting into the snow.

They walked for what felt like ages and then suddenly heard shouts from above them.

‘Sounds hopeful,’ Jack said, increasing his pace and altering his direction slightly. ‘We’ll check it out and then I’ll radio in to base.’

Bryony breathed a sigh of relief when they rounded the next corner and saw two women huddled together.

‘Watch your footing here,’ Jack said, frowning slightly as he glanced to his right. ‘There’s a slope there and a sheer drop at the end of it. I know because I climbed up that rockface last summer with your brothers. This snow doesn’t feel very stable to me.’

‘Shall we rope up?’

He shook his head. ‘We’re all right for now, but we’ll rope up before we go down.’

They reached the two women and one of them immediately burst into tears.

‘Oh, thank goodness…’

Bryony dropped onto her knees beside her, aware that Jack was already on the radio, giving their exact location to the rest of the team.

‘You’re going to be fine,’ she said gently, slipping her arm around the woman’s shoulders and giving her a hug. ‘Where are you hurt?’

‘I’m not hurt,’ the woman said, but her teeth were chattering and she was obviously very cold. ‘But my sister slipped on the snow and hurt her ankle and cut her wrist. I think she must have hit a rock when she landed. It was bleeding very badly so I pressed on it hard with a spare jumper that we had in our bag and it seemed to stop.’

‘Good—you did just the right thing.’ Bryony shrugged her rucksack off her back. ‘I’m Bryony and I’m a doctor and a member of the local mountain rescue team. What’s your name?’

‘Alison Gayle.’ The woman was shivering. ‘And my sister’s name is Pamela. I feel so guilty dragging you out in this weather. We’ve put everyone in danger.’

‘Don’t feel guilty,’ Bryony said immediately, ‘and you haven’t put us in danger. It’s our job and we love it. And we have all the right equipment for this weather.’

Which was just as well, she reflected ruefully, because the weather was getting worse by the second.

The snow started to fall heavily and Bryony brushed the soft flakes away from her face with a gloved hand and looked at the sky with a frown. The visibility was reducing rapidly. She moved over to check on Pamela and Jack joined her.

‘All right, the rest of the team is on their way up.’ He dropped down next to her and smiled at Alison. ‘Lovely day for a stroll in the hills.’

Bryony moved over to Pamela and noticed that the woman looked extremely pale and shocked.

‘You’re going to be fine now, Pamela,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m just going to check your injuries and then we’re going to get you off this mountain.’

She pulled off her gloves and carefully unwrapped the blood-soaked jumper so that she could examine the wrist injury more carefully. As soon as she released the pressure and exposed the wound, blood spurted into the air and Bryony quickly grabbed the jumper and pressed down again.

‘It’s an artery, Jack,’ she muttered and he was by her side in an instant, the bulk of his shoulders providing a barrier between her and the elements.

He was strong and confident and, as usual, she found his presence hugely reassuring.

‘I’ve put Alison into a casualty bag so she’ll be fine for the time being.’ He unwrapped the wrist himself, quickly assessed the extent of the injury and then pressed a sterile pad over the laceration and smiled at Pamela.

‘That’s going to be fine,’ he said smoothly, elevating her arm and handing a bandage to Bryony with his free hand. ‘We’re going to bandage it tightly and keep it up just until we can get you off this mountain.’

The woman looked at him with frightened eyes. ‘I can’t walk down—my ankle hurts.’

‘Don’t you worry about that. That’s why we bring my blonde friend here,’ Jack said cheerfully, winking at Bryony. ‘She’s the muscles of the operation.’

While he chatted and teased, Bryony tightened the bandage and gave him a nod. ‘All done.’

‘Good. So now let’s check the ankle. How painful is it, Pamela?’

The woman looked at him, her lips turning blue with the cold. ‘Agony.’

‘So we’ll give you some gas and air to breathe while we check it out,’ Jack said immediately, reaching into his rucksack. ‘I want you to take some slow breaths. Great—perfect.’ He looked at Bryony. ‘Right, can you cut that boot off and let’s see what we’re dealing with here? And make it quick. She’s cold and we need to get her into a casualty bag.’

Bryony sliced through the laces and gently removed the boot and then the sock. ‘The ankle is very swollen,’ she murmured, and Pamela gave a little groan and took several more breaths of the gas and air. ‘Could you put any weight on it after you fell, Pamela?’

The woman shook her head. ‘It was agony. I fell straight away, that’s how I cut my wrist.’

‘What do you reckon, Blondie?’ Jack asked, his arm around Pamela as he supported her.

‘She’s tender over the distal fibula and the lateral malleolus,’ Bryony said quickly. ‘I think it’s probably a fracture. She’s going to need X-rays when we get her down.’

‘So we splint it now, give her some more analgesia and then get her into a casualty bag until the rest of the team gets here with the Bell,’ Jack said decisively, his arm still round Pamela. ‘You’re going to be fine, Pamela.’

Pamela groaned. ‘Have I broken it? And why do you need a bell?’

‘A Bell is a type of stretcher that we use, and it looks as though you might have broken your ankle,’ Jack said, watching as Bryony pulled out the rest of the equipment. ‘Don’t you worry. We’re going to make you comfortable. We have these amazing fleecy bags that are very snug. In a moment you’re going to feel like toast. Did you hear about the blonde who ordered a take-away pizza? The waiter asked her if she wanted it cut into six slices or twelve—’ swiftly he helped Bryony apply the splint ‘—and she said, “Six, please. I could never eat twelve.”’

‘Just ignore him, Pamela,’ Bryony advised with a smile. ‘He doesn’t know the meaning of politically correct and frankly it’s amazing he hasn’t been arrested before now. If I didn’t need him to carry you down this mountain, I’d push him off the cliff myself.’

But despite the pain she was obviously suffering, Pamela was smiling. ‘He’s making me laugh, actually.’

Bryony groaned. ‘Don’t tell him that or he’ll tell you blonde jokes all the way down the mountain. Trust me, you’d rather be left on your own in the snow than have to listen to Jack in full flow.’

She and Jack kept up their banter, taking Pamela’s mind off the situation she was in, working together with swift efficiency. They’d just got Pamela into a casualty bag when the rest of the team approached out of the snow. Bryony’s brother was among them.

Jack rolled his eyes. ‘The last thing we need up here is an obstetrician,’ he drawled. ‘Who’s delivering all those babies while you’re wasting your time on the mountain?’

Tom adjusted the pack on his back. ‘They’re all queuing up, waiting for me to come back.’

‘Well, you took so long you needn’t have bothered coming.’ Jack stood up, tall and broad-shouldered. ‘You’ve missed all the action. Blondie and I have sorted it out as usual. Don’t know why we need such a big team really.’

‘If we weren’t here you wouldn’t have anyone to boss around,’ Tom said dryly, working with the rest of the team to get a stretcher ready. ‘We rang the RAF to see if there was any chance of an airlift but the weather is closing in so it looks like we’re going to have to carry them down.’

Jack walked over and conferred with Sean, the other A and E consultant and the MRT leader, and discussed the best way to get the two women off the mountain while Bryony kept an eye on Pamela. Fortunately the casualty bag had zip access, which meant she was able to check on her patient without exposing her to the freezing air.

Finally Pamela was safely strapped onto a stretcher. Her sister had revived sufficiently to be able to walk down the mountain with some assistance from two bulky MRT members who roped her between them.

Bryony reattached her crampons and picked up her ice axe. The snow was thick now and she knew that one false step could have her sliding halfway down the mountain.

The snow was falling so thickly she could barely see and she scrubbed her face with her hand to clear her vision.

‘Rope up, Blondie,’ Jack’s voice said, and as she opened her mouth to answer, the ground beneath her suddenly shifted and she was falling.

She didn’t even have time to cry out, sliding fast down the slope towards the edge of the cliff that Jack had described so graphically.

Immediately she braced the axe shaft across her body, digging the pick into the snow slope and raising her feet so that they didn’t catch in the snow. She jerked to a halt and hung there for a moment, suspended, her heart hammering against her chest, her hands tightly locked on her ice axe, which was the only thing holding her on the slope.

She heard Jack calling her name and heard something in his tone that she hadn’t heard before. Panic.

She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. She didn’t want Jack to panic. Jack never panicked. Ever. Jack panicking was a bad sign. Realising just how close she was to the edge of the cliff, she kept a tight hold on her ice axe and gingerly moved her feet, trying to get some traction with her crampons.

‘Hang on, Bry,’ Tom called cheerfully. ‘Jack’s just coming to get you. You won’t live this one down in a hurry.’

But despite his light-hearted tone, Bryony heard the anxiety in his voice. And it was hardly surprising, she thought ruefully, risking another glance below her. Another couple of metres and she would have vanished over the edge of a sheer cliff.

And it could still happen.

‘Hang on, Blondie,’ Jack called, and she glanced up to see him climbing down towards her, a rope attached to his middle.

‘You think I’m going to let go?’ Her voice shook slightly. ‘You think I’m that stupid?’

As he drew closer she could see his grin. ‘Of course you’re stupid. You fell, didn’t you? And you have blonde hair. You must be stupid. It says so in all the books.’

Bryony tried to smile but then she felt the snow give under her ice axe and she gave a gasp of fright and jabbed her feet into the slope. ‘Jack!’

‘I’ve got you, angel.’ His voice came from right beside her and he slid an arm and leg over her, holding her against the slope while he attached a rope to her waist. ‘God, you almost gave us all a heart attack.’

She turned her head to look at him and his face was so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheek and see the dark stubble shadowing his hard jaw. He looked sexy and strong and she’d never been so pleased to see anyone in her life.

Then she glanced down at the drop beneath her and thought of Lizzie. ‘Oh, God, Jack,’ she whispered, and she felt his grip on her tighten.

‘Don’t even say it,’ he said harshly. ‘I’ve got you and there’s no way I’m letting you go.’ He glanced up the slope and shouted something to Sean, who was holding the other end of the rope. ‘They’re going to take you up now, sweetheart. Try not to do anything blonde on the way up.’

She gave a weak smile and he smiled back. ‘Go for it.’

And gradually, with the aid of the rope and her ice axe and crampons, she managed to climb back up the slope, aware that Jack was behind her.

Finally she reached the top and Tom rolled his eyes. ‘Thanks for the adrenaline rush.’

‘Any time,’ Bryony said lightly, but she was shaking badly now that the danger had passed, and Jack must have known that because he pulled her into his arms and held her until his warmth and strength gradually calmed her.

He didn’t speak. He just held her tightly, talking all the time to Sean and Tom as they reassessed the best way to get safely down the increasingly treacherous slope.

Bryony stood in the circle of his arms, wishing that she could stay there for ever. There was no better place in the world, she decided, closing her eyes and breathing in his tantalising male scent.

And when he finally released her she felt bereft.

She looked at him, trying to keep it light as he checked the rope at her waist. ‘I didn’t know you were into bondage.’

He smiled down at her as he pulled on the rope. ‘There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Blondie,’ he drawled, his blue eyes teasing her wickedly. ‘There’s no point in learning to do all these fancy knots if you don’t put them to good use.’

She smiled and then her smile faltered. ‘Thanks, Jack.’ Ridiculously she felt close to tears. ‘I would have done the same for you.’

He winked at her, maddeningly self-confident. ‘I wouldn’t have fallen, babe.’

She gasped in outrage. ‘You arrogant…!’ Words failed her and he smiled and flicked her cheek with a gloved finger.

‘That’s better. At least you’ve got your colour back. Let’s get moving.’

He turned to Sean and she realised that his inflammatory statement had been a ploy to rouse her to anger. Which meant he must have guessed how close she’d been to tears.

She gave a reluctant laugh, acknowledging once more just how clever he was.

It was much easier to get down the mountain feeling annoyed and irritated than it was feeling scared and tearful.

In the end it took several hours to get down safely and the two women were immediately transferred to A and E in the MRT ambulance.

Jack drove Bryony home, the swirling snow falling thickly on the windscreen. ‘If this carries on we’re going to be busy in A and E,’ he said, his eyes searching as he glanced at her.

‘I’m OK.’

He nodded. ‘Thanks to your ice axe technique. You did well. That’s if you overlook the fact that you fell in the first place.’

She gaped at him. ‘I did not fall,’ she protested. ‘The mountain slipped out from beneath me.’

‘It wasn’t my fault I crashed the car, Officer,’ Jack said, mimicking her tone. ‘The road suddenly moved.’

Bryony pulled a face. ‘What’s it like being so damn perfect, Jack?’

‘I’ve learned to live with it,’ he said solemnly, ‘but I realise it’s tough on those who struggle around me.’

‘You can say that again,’ she muttered darkly, dragging off her hat and scraping her hair back from her face. ‘One of these days I’m probably going to shoot you.’

‘Is that before or after I save you from falling over a cliff?’

She groaned. ‘You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?’

‘Probably not.’ He pulled up outside her house and switched the engine off. ‘So are you going to invite me to supper tomorrow night?’

There was a gleam in his eyes and she felt butterflies flicker inside her stomach. ‘I have a date with Toby,’ she croaked, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

‘Of course you have.’ He was silent for a moment and then he smiled. ‘Another time, then.’

He leaned across to open the car door for her and she fought against the temptation to lean forward and hug him. He was so close—and so male…

Suddenly she wished she didn’t have the date with Toby. She would rather have spent an evening with Jack.

But then she remembered Lizzie’s Christmas list. She shouldn’t be spending her evenings with Jack. It was a waste of time.

‘Lizzie and I are going to choose our Christmas tree tomorrow,’ she said, telling herself that spending time with Jack during the day didn’t count. ‘Do you want to come? She’d love you to join us, I know she would.’

Jack grinned. ‘Will I have to play Weddings?’

‘Probably, but you’re getting very good at it now so I don’t see the problem.’

‘All right, I’d like to come.’

‘Goodnight, then, Jack,’ she said softly, undoing her seat belt and gathering up her stuff. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

And she scrambled out of the car without looking back.