The Doctor's Engagement

‘What?’ She closed the door firmly and locked it, returning the key to the chest of drawers.

‘How would you feel about keeping most of your stuff in my room?’ he asked finally, giving her a wary smile. ‘It’s just that if anyone visits, they could easily stumble into your room and if they see that all your stuff is there...’

‘Then we’ve blown our cover,’ Holly finished for him. It sounded logical. So why was she blushing? To hide her discomfort she changed the subject. ‘That’s fine. Perhaps you’d better tell me about Caroline now.’

Mark sighed and closed his eyes. ‘I suppose I’d better. Let’s grab some drinks and nibbles and go and sit on the deck.’

‘Good idea.’ Holly followed him down the stairs to the kitchen and they piled snacks and a bottle of wine onto a tray and took it out onto the deck.

‘OK, tell me the gory details.’ Holly settled herself comfortably on one of the chairs and waited expectantly as he yanked the cork out of the bottle of wine and took a deep breath.

‘Well, Caroline has worked at the surgery for about a year, from what I can gather. Only part time, but everyone treats her with kid gloves because she’s had such a rough time. It’s common knowledge so I’m not breaking a confidence by telling you that—’

‘That’s fine, Mark.’ Holly’s voice was soft. She knew that he would never gossip or do anything unethical. If he was telling her this then there must be a reason.

‘It’s pretty sad really.’ He poured wine into a glass and passed it to her. ‘Apparently she was engaged to some man—was crazy about him by all reports—and he stood her up at the altar. Literally. Just never turned up on the day, no explanation, nothing.’

‘Oh, no!’ Holly gave a gasp of horror. The poor woman. That was an awful thing to happen to anyone.

‘It affected her really badly.’ Mark sat down and stretched long legs out in front of him. ‘It was a huge wedding with most of the town present, so it was a pretty awful thing to do.’

‘Wicked,’ Holly agreed, her green eyes appalled. ‘So what happened to poor Caroline afterwards?’

Mark shrugged. ‘Well, she’d resigned her job because he’d promised to take her travelling, but Ian took her back.’

‘That was nice of him.’

Mark nodded slowly. ‘He’s a nice guy. It must have been a difficult decision for him really. He’s incredibly supportive and loyal towards his staff, so he would have wanted to take her back, but deep down he must have known that she was going to take a long time to recover from something like that. It was bound to have a negative effect on the practice.’

‘You said “was”.’ Holly raised her eyebrows. ‘Isn’t it a problem any more?’

‘Well, she seems to be getting better.’ Mark stared thoughtfully across the estuary. ‘Lately we’ve all seen an improvement in her mood. Despite the way she behaved to you this morning.’

Holly shrugged. ‘She wasn’t so bad.’

Mark gave a wry smile. ‘But, then, you never see bad in anyone.’

‘That’s not true—it’s just such an awful thing to happen to anyone.’ Holly murmured, her expression troubled. ‘I’m not surprised she wasn’t welcoming. Especially if the reason she’d cheered up was because she’d suddenly found another man she was attracted to.’

‘You’re very perceptive.’

‘Not really.’ Holly gave a shrug. ‘I suppose she felt as though she could never find another man attractive, and then suddenly you come along, handsome and generally gorgeous, and her heart lifts slightly, only to be dashed into the ground when she discovers you’re not interested.’

‘Don’t!’ Mark raked long fingers through his dark hair and gave a long sigh. ‘I feel guilty enough already without you spelling it out.’

Holly reached across and squeezed his hand. ‘I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty. It isn’t your fault. You can hardly have a relationship with her out of pity. I’m just saying it’s a sad situation.’

‘I know that,’ Mark said gruffly, his eyes closed, his thick dark lashes touching his angular cheeks. ‘And the truth is, it didn’t happen exactly the way you suggested. Apparently she’d started to recover, and she’d been on a few dates with Greg—that’s the GP I was telling you about that I sail with—and then she saw me.’

Holly gave a sigh. ‘What is it with you and women?’

‘Not my fault!’ He gave her a black look. ‘Anyway, she stopped seeing Greg and seemed to develop this wild, almost teenage crush

on me. Horrendous! Maybe I should have just been blunt with her, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings so I thought it would be gentler if I just said I was already involved.’

‘And a fictitious fiancée seemed the most gentle approach...’

Mark opened her eyes. ‘Did I do the wrong thing?’ Suddenly he looked unsure. ‘You’re a woman, Holly, you know how the female mind works. Was I wrong?’