The Doctor's Christmas Bride (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 1)

‘Well, only because a child with asthma was admitted at the last minute,’ Bryony said mildly, tugging open the fridge and reaching for a bottle of wine. ‘You know how it is.’

‘Do I?’

Instead of settling himself at her kitchen table as he usually did, he prowled round the room, his eyes constantly flickering back to her dress.

Trying to ignore his intense scrutiny, Bryony poured two glasses of wine and handed him one. ‘Here you are. Cheers.’

He took the wine and put it on the table, his eyes fixed on her legs.

Bryony felt her whole body warm with embarrassment. She hardly ever showed her legs. She usually wore trousers for work because they were more practical, and when she went to the pub with the rest of the mountain rescue team she wore trousers, too.

But tonight, for the first time in ages, she’d put on a pair of sheer, black stockings and she was beginning to wish she hadn’t.

‘You hate it, don’t you?’ she croaked, and his eyes lifted and welded to hers.

‘Hate what?’

She swallowed. ‘The way I look. My dress. Me. You’re staring and staring.’

Jack let out a breath. ‘That’s because I don’t think you should be going out with a man dressed like that,’ he said tightly. ‘It sends out all the wrong messages.’

She frowned at him, totally confused. ‘What messages?’

He tensed. ‘Well—that you’re available.’

‘Jack,’ she said patiently, ‘I am available. That is the message I want to send out.’

‘So you wear a skirt that’s up to your bottom?’ He glared at her and she stared back helplessly, totally confused by his attitude.

She’d met some of the girls that he’d dated and they were almost all blondes with skirts up round their bottoms.

‘Jack, my skirt is just above the knee,’ she pointed out, glancing down at herself to check that half her dress hadn’t fallen off without her knowledge. ‘It is nowhere near my bottom.’

‘Well, it’s definitely too low in the front,’ he said hoarsely, reaching across the kitchen table, yanking a flower out of a vase and snapping it halfway up the stem. ‘Try this.’

He walked up to her and slipped the flower down the neckline of her dress and stood back with a frown.

‘That’s a bit better.’

‘Jack—’

Before she could say anything, Lizzie came running into the room wearing a pink gauze fairy dress and wearing wings. ‘Jack, Jack!’ She flung herself into his arms and he picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

‘Hello, beautiful. Shouldn’t you be in bed?’

‘I was waiting for you.’ Lizzie curled her legs round his waist and waggled her finger at him. ‘Look. I’m wearing three rings. They’re sweets really, but aren’t they great?’

Jack dutifully studied her finger. ‘Really great. And if you get hungry in the night you can eat them.’

Lizzie beamed. ‘Can we play a game, Jack?’

‘Sure.’ Jack put her down gently and smiled indulgently. ‘Any game you like. Just name it.’

‘Weddings.’

Jack’s smile vanished. ‘Weddings?’

Lizzie nodded happily. ‘Yes, you know. You’re the boy and I’m the girl and we get married.’