Summer Fling: A Bride for Glenmore

‘You’re saying that you were wrong?’

‘No.’ She had beautiful eyes, he decided. In fact, the whole package was beautiful. ‘I still think it doesn’t do to get too involved with patients, but I can see that it might be hard to do that on an island like this. And you’re very caring, there’s no doubt about that.’ And it was impossible not to respond to her.

Suddenly he wanted to touch her. Really touch her. He wanted to taste and feel and immerse himself in the woman she was.

‘Caring is what makes this community so special.’

‘I’m sure that’s true. But isn’t it also true that caring too much sometimes makes it difficult to do your job?’

A shadow darkened her blue eyes and her slim shoulders sagged slightly. ‘Perhaps. But it’s hard to change your personality, Ethan. You just have to work with what you’ve got. This is me. This is who I am.’ Her simple statement encompassed the differences between them and guilt gnawed at his insides.

She was open and honest. Transparent.

Whereas he …

Her quiet declaration reminded him that she knew nothing about the person he really was.

He clenched his hands into fists by his sides to stop himself from reaching out and hauling her against him. To make any sort of move would be inexcusable when he was hiding so much from her.

Cold and hard were adjectives that many women had applied to him but so far no one had thrown ‘immoral’ at him, and he didn’t intend them to start now.

‘I just think that you can do your job better if you can stay slightly detached. It makes it easier to think clearly.’

She gave a sigh and turned back to the pan on the hob. ‘You sound like Logan. He always manages to get the balance right. I’m terrible. I take everything much more personally, but I can’t help it.’

‘And that’s what makes you a nice person.’ He realised that it was true. Even during the short time he’d been on the island he could see that she gave a great deal of herself to her job and to the community. ‘What are you cooking?’

‘Soup from a can. I can hardly bear the anticipation.’ She stared at the gloopy liquid with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. ‘I’d offer you some but frankly I wouldn’t want to poison you. You’re better off with whatever you have in your own fridge.’

‘There’s nothing in my fridge apart from milk and beer and neither of those is going to make a decent meal. Is there a good pub on the island?’

‘The Stag’s Head. Down on the quay. Given that they know what you did for Doug, I doubt you’d even have to pay for your supper. You’ll probably get a hero’s welcome.’

‘I don’t mind paying but I need to eat something soon. I missed lunch.’ He leaned forward and turned off the hob. ‘Let’s go.’

She stared at him and then at the saucepan on the hob. ‘I’m eating soup.’

‘Not any more. You’re eating in the pub with me.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘What if I don’t want to eat in the pub?’

‘You’d rather eat congealed soup of indeterminate origin?’ He watched her shudder and gave a smile. ‘Come on. We both know that a stranger walking into that place is going to be given the third degree. If you’re so committed to helping people in the community, the least you can do is give me some moral support.’

She looked at the soup and then back at him. ‘It isn’t that hard a choice.’

‘Good.’ He glanced down at her feet. ‘Just put some shoes on or the locals will talk.’

And he hoped she’d change out of the jeans in order to allow his blood pressure to settle.

Kyla walked into the pub ahead of Ethan and felt every pair of eyes in the room fasten themselves on her.

Let them talk, she thought cheerfully, elbowing her way to the bar through the crowd of locals. It had been a long time since anyone had had reason to gossip about her. It would do them all good. ‘Coming through,’ she sang out as she wiggled and pushed her way to the front. ‘This is a medical emergency. Starving hungry and gasping for a drink.’

The man behind the bar grinned and opened a fridge. ‘So this is for medicinal purposes?’

‘Of course, Ben. What else?’ She settled herself on a stool at the bar and rested her arms on the bar.

Ben handed her a glass of white wine. ‘We were all shocked to hear about Doug.’

‘Logan spoke to the hospital today and he’s doing all right. He’ll be home before you know it.’

‘All the same, I feel responsible.’ Ben scratched his head awkwardly and Kyla looked at him quizzically.

‘How can you possibly be responsible?’

‘He was lugging my crates around,’ Ben said roughly, and Kyla gave a soft smile.

‘And from what I heard, you were the one to take him straight to the surgery, so you did him a good turn. Stop fretting.’ Kyla glanced behind her and noticed that Ethan was hovering on the edge of the crowd. On impulse, she ordered for him and pushed her way back through to a vacant table, clutching the glasses. ‘I ordered you a pint of the local brew. Hope that’s OK. We’ll sit here.’

‘I feel like a zoo animal on display. Do they ever stop staring?’

‘Only when someone more interesting walks in. Here. Try this.’ Kyla handed him the drink. ‘It will put hairs on your chest.’

His eyes met hers and she felt her heart skip a beat. Now, why had she said a stupid thing like that when she was trying so hard not to think about his body?

‘Unless you want the whole island gossiping, I suggest you stop looking at me like that,’ he suggested in a soft tone, and lifted the glass and drank.

‘I am not looking at you. You’re looking at me. And if I walk into the pub with a man, people are going to gossip. It’s a fact of life.’

He put his drink back down on the table. ‘Sorry. I’m not used to being the centre of attention.’

Wasn’t he? Kyla was willing to lay bets that wherever he went women stared at him, but perhaps he just wasn’t aware of that fact. ‘Does it bother you?’

‘No. Does it bother you?’

She smiled. ‘I’ve lived here for most of my life. I’m used to it. But I know that it drove Catherine potty sometimes.’

He looked at her. ‘What was she like?’

‘Oh …’ She wondered why he was interested. ‘Lively, a bit on the wild side, flirtatious, quite amusing. She had a sharp tongue and she wasn’t terribly patient.’

‘How did she meet Logan?’

‘She was travelling and arrived on the island one day. They met. Hit it off. Catherine became pregnant. They got married—and, yes, that was all in the wrong order so don’t start my mother on that topic—and then …’ Kyla broke off and sighed. ‘And then it all went wrong.’

‘And that’s why Logan doesn’t encourage women to have home births?’

‘Can you blame him? Not that Catherine was booked to have a home birth, anyway, but, given what happened, Logan wants every woman safely on the mainland the moment she starts to dilate.’

‘And Evanna disagrees?’

‘Evanna is a midwife. She wants to give every woman the birth experience they want. But she accepts the limitations of living somewhere like this. You can tell yourself that the helicopter can come and fly you out in an emergency, but what if the weather is bad, or there’s been another accident somewhere and they can’t get out to you?’

‘I can understand Logan’s reluctance.’

‘He won’t even consider it, and the women here respect that. To be honest, most of them want the reassurance of giving birth in a consultant-led unit so we don’t get that many requests. I am completely starving. I need to order before I faint.’ She turned and squinted over her shoulder towards the blackboard on the wall. ‘The food here is amazing. See anything you fancy?’

‘Why don’t you choose for both of us? But I ought to warn you that I hate haggis.’

‘That’s because you’re a soft Englishman.’ She caught the eye of Jim, the ferryman, who was downing a pint with one of the local fishermen. He winked at her and she smiled broadly. ‘Have the beef Wellington. It’s amazing.’

‘I feel as though I’m in a goldfish bowl,’ Ethan said mildly. ‘How does anyone ever have a relationship in a place like this? It’s impossible to keep anything private.’

‘The relationship bit is all right,’ Kyla said easily, reaching for her wine. ‘It’s the private bit that presents more of a challenge. You just have to ignore it. And, anyway, we’re not having a relationship. We’re just colleagues, out for a civilised meal.’

His eyes held hers. ‘That’s right. So we are.’

It was impossible to look away. Impossible not to feel the powerful spark of chemistry that drew them together. She saw his mouth tighten and sensed his growing tension. ‘We should order.’

‘Yes.’ He dragged his eyes away from hers and glanced over to the bar. ‘I presume I have to fight my way through the crowd for that pleasure?’

‘Actually, you don’t.’ Ben, the landlord, was standing next to them, a grin on his face as he looked at them. ‘After what you did for Doug this morning, you’re right at the front of our queue.’

‘We’ll both have the beef,’ Kyla said quickly, ‘and the treacle tart. Thanks, Ben.’

He scribbled on the pad in his hand. ‘How’s young Shelley?’

‘Fine.’

‘Mary’s worrying herself sick.’

‘I know that.’ Kyla’s voice was quiet. ‘We’re dealing with it as quickly as we can, Ben. As soon as we know anything, we’ll be in touch with Mary.’

He nodded. ‘Call me when you hear anything.’ He walked off and Ethan stared after him in amazement.

‘How did he know about Shelley? And how does he know so much about Doug? And how do you ever honour patient confidentiality in a place like this?’

‘Doug works for him and Ben is Mary’s cousin, but you’re right that most people find out who’s ill with what about five seconds after you’ve found out yourself. Anyway, Ben is on the crew of Glenmore lifeboat so he’s an important part of this community.’

‘The island has a lifeboat?’

‘Yes. It has a berth by the quay. Haven’t you seen it?’

‘I haven’t been down here since the day I arrived. Do they have a lot of callouts?’

‘Unfortunately, yes. Especially in the summer. Usually walkers on the cliffs who drop down to pretty bays and then get stuck when the tide comes in. And if it’s a medical emergency, they call on Logan. So, you see, we all work together and, yes, people are interested in one another, but we don’t betray a confidence. There’s a way of responding without giving anything away. But I can assure you that the moment you’ve spoken to Mary about the results, she’ll be on the phone to at least five other people and they’ll be on the phone to another five. But that’s their business.’

Ethan shook his head. ‘It’s so different to London.’

‘Of course. That’s why we live here.’ She tilted her head to one side, challenging him. ‘You’re missing all the positives. Like the fact that almost everyone on this island is part of an informal support network and that counts for a lot. When Fraser was in hospital with pneumonia when he was younger, everyone rallied round to help Aisla, even though she’d only just arrived on the island and knew no one.’

He sat back in his chair, his expression watchful. ‘Go on.’

She shrugged. ‘When Mrs Linton tripped down her stairs someone phoned us within the hour because they’d noticed that her bin hadn’t been taken in. In London she probably would have been on the floor for a week before it occurred to anyone that something might be wrong.’

‘Probably even longer than that,’ Ethan said dryly, finishing his drink and sitting back as their food arrived. ‘All right, you’ve convinced me. I can see that it has its advantages.’

‘But it isn’t somewhere that you could ever settle for good.’ The words left her mouth before she could stop them and she froze, appalled at herself for being so indiscreet.

Why had she asked that question? What was the matter with her? It wasn’t even as if she wanted him to be there for ever. She just wanted—she wanted—

A fling, she acknowledged finally, looking away from his searching gaze so that she didn’t reveal any more. She wanted a wild, abandoned fling with an incredible-looking, intelligent man, and Ethan Walker fitted that description.

‘What about you?’ His voice was even as he handed her a knife and fork and reached for his own. ‘You’re obviously an extremely skilled nurse. Have you ever considered leaving here?’

‘What’s that supposed to mean? That the people on the island deserve less than mainlanders?’

‘That wasn’t what I meant.’ His tone was wry. ‘You’re very touchy. Stop jumping down my throat. I just wondered whether you might be bored.’

‘I trained on the mainland and that was enough for me. Here I have a great deal more autonomy than I would have on the mainland. I happen to think that anonymity is vastly overrated.’ She poked the food on her plate for a moment and then looked up. ‘I like people, Ethan. I like knowing what they’re up to. I don’t even mind the fact that they know everything that I’m doing before I even do it. I like the feeling of belonging. I like the knowledge that there is a whole community out there, pulling together, trying to improve each other’s lives. In cities all you read about is stabbings and muggings, whereas here—’ She broke off and gave an embarrassed shrug.

‘I sense that we’re back to caring again.’

‘They probably care in the city, too, it’s just that life is so fast and busy that no one has the opportunity to show it, and before you know it you don’t even recognise your neighbours.’

‘Is that really an excuse?’ Ethan gave a short laugh. ‘You’re not exactly kicking your heels here and you manage to know everyone.’

‘But we have a pretty static population except for the tourist season. Live in a city and people come and go. Here, everyone we see here is known to us. It’s different. And I love the challenge of having to work with limited back-up. It makes you more resourceful.’

They’d both finished eating and Kyla suddenly realised that she’d been too absorbed in their conversation to even notice the food. ‘Did you enjoy it?’

His surprised glance at his empty plate told her that he’d been similarly distracted.

‘Very much. The treacle tart was delicious.’

‘Shall I order some coffee?’

Ethan looked at her. ‘Let’s have coffee at home. That way we can drink it without everyone watching.’

She smiled. ‘Good plan.’

What had possessed him to suggest coffee when what he really needed was to keep as far away from her as possible?

Frustrated with himself, Ethan walked briskly back towards the cottages and resolved to make the coffee quick and businesslike. If he kept the conversation fairly formal, that would help.

And he wouldn’t look at her.

‘Ethan? Are you OK?’ Kyla’s voice had a soft, breathy quality and he suddenly realised that not looking at her wasn’t going to make any difference at all. He could have had his eyes shut in a dark room and she still would have had the same effect on him.

‘I’m fine.’ He could feel her looking at him and lengthened his stride. ‘How is Doug doing anyway? Did Logan get any feedback from the hospital?’

‘Oh. Better, I think. Seems a bit more relaxed. It’s Leslie who’s the problem. She’s hanging over him every minute of the day, just waiting for him to collapse. I’m going round there tomorrow to see if I can help her get her head around the whole thing.’

This was fine, Ethan told himself as they reached the cottages. This was good. Talking about work kept everything on a safe level. He could handle this. Quick coffee. Small talk. And he wasn’t going to touch her.

His resolve lasted as long as it took to follow her into her kitchen.

She was still wearing the jeans but she’d added a pair of sexy heels and a pretty cardigan in a shade of blue that matched her eyes.

‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ she said cheerfully, reaching for mugs and coffee, ‘and we can take it down to the beach if you like. It’s lovely to sit on the sand in the dark and watch the stars.’

He felt a sudden rush of heat through his body. ‘Here is fine,’ he said hoarsely, running a hand over the back of his neck. He didn’t need the darkness or stars. ‘The kitchen is fine.’ There was nothing romantic about fluorescent light.

‘All right. If that’s what you prefer.’ She shot him a curious look and spooned fresh coffee into a cafetière. ‘Do you realise that you’ve been here for two weeks and I still know hardly anything about you? We’ve been so busy we’ve hardly exchanged more than two words.’

And that was the way he’d wanted it. ‘There’s not much to know about me.’

‘You mean there’s not much you want to tell.’ She poured water into the pot. ‘Where did you work last?’

Hell? ‘Abroad.’

She gave a soft laugh and turned to face him. ‘You don’t give anything away, do you, Ethan? Did anyone ever tell you that one-word answers don’t make a conversation?’

‘I’m not that great at conversation. You should have worked that out by now.’ She had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen and her legs looked impossibly long. ‘I ought to go …’

She hesitated and then walked towards him, narrowing the distance that he’d carefully placed between them. ‘You haven’t drunk your coffee.’

He wasn’t even sure who touched who first.

He just knew that one moment he was standing there full of good intentions and then next she had her arms wrapped round his neck and his mouth was hard on hers.

His good intentions dissolved, as did his conscience and all the other better parts of his nature that had been holding him back.

His hands traced the soft curves that his eyes had already admired. His mouth devouring hers, he slid his hands over her hips, then over her bottom, anchoring her against him. The taste and the scent of her threatened to overwhelm him and he dragged his mouth away from hers and pressed his lips against her neck.

‘Ethan …’ She murmured his name and pressed closer and that movement alone was enough to snap the last of his self-control.

His mouth found hers again and his hands moved to the hem of her top, sliding underneath, finding the smooth, tanned skin that he’d admired earlier.

Her breasts pressed into his hands and he almost lost control as he felt her nipples peak under the brush of his fingers and heard her soft gasp of pleasure.

He lifted his head and their mouths met again in a fierce kiss, each demanding of the other, each hungry and possessive and increasingly desperate. His entire body was consumed by a ferocious heat and he felt her hands shaking as they struggled with the buttons on his shirt.

It was the touch of her fingers against his bare chest that brought him to his senses.

Another minute more and neither of them would have stopped.

‘Kyla …’ With difficulty he broke his mouth from hers and forced his hands to release her smooth, golden flesh ‘… we have to stop. This isn’t a good idea.’

She gave a whimper of protest and leaned in towards him again, but he stepped backwards, breathing heavily.

‘Kyla, no.’

She blinked, her eyes dazed and disorientated. ‘Why—? What?’ Her mouth was soft and bruised from his kiss and he gritted his teeth and reminded himself that she knew nothing about him.

She didn’t know who he was or why he was there. But when she did. ‘Trust me. This is a mistake.’

She took a step back and when she spoke, her voice was soft. ‘Did it feel like a mistake, Ethan?’

Physically, no. But he had more sense than to take that route given the present set of circumstance. ‘We need to forget this happened.’

‘Why?’ Her blue eyes studied his face, searching for answers to the questions bubbling up inside her. ‘This wasn’t just me, it was you, too.’

‘I know that.’

‘Then—’

‘I can’t explain, but it isn’t you, it’s me,’ he growled, reaching for the door like a drowning man would have grasped anything that happened to float. ‘And now I need to go home.’

‘But—’

‘Goodnight, Kyla. Thanks for dinner.’

He didn’t wait to hear her reply, just strode out of her cottage and kept his eyes on his own front door.

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