Summer Fling

‘And how’s that going to give you energy through a long day?’ Meg tutted her disapproval as she put the pad back in her pocket. ‘You need flesh on your bones, lass.’

‘I have flesh on my bones,’ Evanna said dryly. ‘I can’t lecture people on losing weight if I’m overweight myself. At the moment I can still fit into my clothes and that’s the way I want it to stay, especially given that it’s the swimsuit season.’

‘Could you stop being so perfect? You’re ruining my enjoyment of this ice cream.’ Kyla licked her spoon and looked regretfully at the empty dish as Meg removed it and walked back towards the kitchen. ‘So—did you meet anyone gorgeous while you were away?’

Evanna hesitated. ‘Sort of.’

‘Really?’ Kyla’s eyes were suddenly interested. ‘Tell me.’

‘There’s nothing to tell. He was a registrar in obstetrics and he was really … nice.’

‘Nice? What sort of a word is nice? It doesn’t tell me anything. Was he good-looking? Sexy? Intelligent?’

‘All those things. We went out for a few drinks.’

‘And?’

‘There is no “and.”’

‘Did you sleep with him?’

‘Kyla!’ Evanna shot an embarrassed glance across the c

afé but everyone was engrossed in their own conversations. She answered the question in a low tone. ‘No, I did not.’

‘Shame.’ Kyla was unrepentant. ‘If you ask me, you could do with some unbridled passion in your life.’

‘I didn’t ask you, and my life is fine.’ Evanna sat back and gave a smile of thanks as Meg put the coffee in front of her. ‘We just had drinks. But it made me think. And I came to a decision.’

‘What decision?’

Evanna blew on her coffee to cool it and waited for Meg to walk away before she spoke. ‘I’m not doing this any more, Kyla.’ Her voice was firm and steady. ‘I’m not wasting any more of my life pining after a man who doesn’t even notice me.’

Kyla’s smile went out like a light bulb in a power cut. ‘You’re talking about my brother.’

‘Of course. Who else? Who else has there ever been for me?’ Evanna shook her head and gave a derisive laugh. ‘Ever since we played kiss chase in the playground, it’s been Logan. I’ve never even been able to see another man if he’s in the same room as me. And when he’s not in the same room as me, he’s in my head. Even when I close my eyes I can still see him. I can see his smile, I can see that wicked gleam in his blue eyes. I can see the way he walks as if he owns the world. And it’s a crazy waste of time, because he doesn’t even know I exist.’

‘He does know you exist.’

‘I mean as a woman. When it comes to seeing his patients, making his dinner or caring for his child, he knows I exist,’ Evanna said flatly. ‘When it comes to anything more personal, I’m invisible.’

‘He lost his wife, Evanna.’

‘I know that. And I also know that it was over a year ago and, sooner or later, he’s going to find someone else to share his life with. And no matter how much I dream that it might be, that someone is never going to be me. So I’m over him.’ She said it for herself as much as Kyla. To remind herself of all the promises she’d made to herself while she’d been away. ‘No more moping. No more pining. No more wishing for something that is never going to happen. I’m putting plan A into action. I’m moving on.’

‘How can you move on? He’s a GP and you’re his practice nurse. We all work together.’

‘Of course I have to see him at work. And of course I’ll help him with Kirsty. He’s had a horribly rough time and he’s a single father now, so of course I’m going to help with his little girl. But I’m going to have my own life, too.’ She felt the confidence rise inside her and suddenly felt strong and determined. Everything was going to be fine. After all, she hadn’t seen Logan for a month and she’d survived, hadn’t she? There had even been moments when she’d enjoyed herself. A few seconds when she’d managed to forget about him. And she was going to build on that. Seconds would become minutes. Minutes would become hours. ‘I’m going to go out.’

Kyla raised an eyebrow. ‘With?’

‘I don’t know.’ Evanna sipped her coffee and gave a shrug. ‘Anyone who asks me. Nick Hillier?’

‘You fancy Nick?’

‘No.’ Nick was the island policeman and they’d been at school together. ‘Not really. It’s just that.’

‘It’s just that he isn’t Logan. Wow. That’s a really good way to begin a relationship.’