The Midwife's Christmas Miracle (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 5)

‘That’s the one.’ She put her drink down on the small table next to the sofa, laughter in her eyes. ‘But do you want to know the truth? The father is probably having an affair with his wife’s best friend and the wife doesn’t know yet but wouldn’t care anyway because she has a secret life as a high-class escort whenever her husband is away on business. It actually suits her that he isn’t around much because she doesn’t particularly enjoy his company except when they’re eating yoghurt in front of a film crew.’

Amusement flickered in his gaze and he tilted his head to one side as he listened. ‘And the children?’

She nestled more deeply in the sofa, wondering why he was so easy to talk to. ‘The girl has been so damaged by the lack of attention from her parents that she’s now shoplifting regularly with her friends and has already started smoking and taking drugs behind the toilets at school, and the little boy is being badly bullied but hasn’t told anyone and no one has noticed because they don’t show enough interest in each other as individuals.’ She stopped and took a breath and he lifted a dark eyebrow in question. The amusement in his eyes had been replaced by speculation.

‘And the dog? Looked like a perfectly good-natured Labrador to me. No vices. Are you about to tell me that he’s bitten the neighbour and needs a doggy psychiatrist?’

She laughed. ‘They’ve received an official warning from the police because he regularly fouls the pavement and barks so loudly that he wakes the neighbours. So far he hasn’t actually bitten anyone but don’t think that just because he looks friendly he can’t have a bad side. Dogs and people have a way of surprising you.’

‘That’s right. They do.’ He studied her closely. ‘Sounds like the family from hell.’

Her smile faded. ‘A pretty normal family, actually. I’m just making the point that the picture presented by the media falls short of the real thing. Families are full of imperfections.’

‘Is that your experience?’

She realised suddenly that she’d said too much. Revealed more than she’d intended. ‘It’s the truth.’

He swirled the last of his drink around his glass. ‘I agree that families are complicated,’ he said slowly, ‘and I agree that it’s pretty hard to find the right person and make it all work in today’s fast-paced, driven, consumer-orientated environment. And I think happiness is probably something different for each person. The important thing is to find someone like-minded and then live your own definition of happiness together.’

She stared at him. ‘You really believe that?’

‘Why wouldn’t I?’

‘Because it’s a romantic view of relationships.’

‘I disagree. I think it’s a realistic view.’

‘Believing that a family can be truly happy isn’t realistic.’

His gaze was searching. ‘Clearly you’ve never met anyone in a good relationship.’

‘Neither have you.’ She lifted her drink. ‘You can’t judge a family by watching from the outside. You have to be on the inside to know the truth. You probably have friends who you think are happy…’

A slight frown touched his brows and something flickered across his face. ‘I have friends who I know are happy,’ he said softly, and she shook her head.

‘How do you know? Are you there when the door closes and they’re left alone together? Do you know anything about the rows that they have in private?’

‘No, but I know a lot about the rows they have in public,’ he said dryly, reaching for the bottle and topping up his drink. ‘He’s Spanish and she’s Irish and to call their relationship volatile would probably be to risk accusations of understatement but, believe me, they’re happy. It might not work for everyone, but it works for them. And that’s what I mean when I say you have to find someone who wants what you want. One person’s happy marriage is another person’s living hell.’

Miranda felt the cold trickle down her spine. She knew everything there was to know about hell.

For a moment she sat in frozen silence and then felt the sofa dip as he sat down next to her.

‘Tell me about yourself. Tell me what you’re thinking about.’

She shook the shadows away from her mind. ‘Nothing.’ She’d already said far too much. She smiled at him and handed him her empty glass. ‘So—given that you’re such a romantic, why aren’t you married?’

He pulled a face. ‘I’m not sure that I’m particularly romantic. And I don’t have a wife because I happen to be picky about who I spend the rest of my life with.’ The gleam in his blue eyes made her heart skip and dance and she gave herself a sharp talking-to. It wasn’t so long ago she’d fallen for a charming smile and smooth patter. She wasn’t about to do it again in a hurry.

He put her empty glass down on the table. ‘If you ask me, the biggest problem with relationships is the reality gap.’

‘Reality gap?’

‘The gap between reality and expectations. People are basically flawed. If you expect families to be perfect then you’re doomed to disappointment.’

‘Maybe.’ She was suddenly very aware of him. ‘Do you realise that I haven’t even asked your name?’

He smiled. ‘It’s Jake. Jake Blackwell.’