Ross felt his heart surge into his throat when he saw the figure lying on the ground. Gemma looked so still, so lifeless, that he was afraid to move.

Then all of a sudden he was running towards her, slipping and sliding in his haste to reach her. He felt her breath on his skin. She was alive, and that was a miracle in itself.

‘Gemma, can you hear me? Sweetheart, it’s Ross. Can you open your eyes?’

There was no response at first, and then her lids slowly rose a fraction. ‘Ross? How did you find me?’ she whispered. She bit her lip and he saw her eyes fill with tears. ‘I didn’t think anyone would even notice I was missing, let alone come and look for me.’

‘I noticed you were missing.’ He smiled at her, uncaring what she might see in his eyes at that moment. He’d been through hell, and just to have her here, safe and sound, was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He kissed her lightly on the forehead, hoping she understood what he was trying to say. Maybe it was too soon to tell her how he felt, but there was no point denying it. The thought that he might have lost her today was more than he could bear. Now all he had to do was convince her that it was her he loved…

Jennifer Taylor lives in the north-west of England, in a small village surrounded by some really beautiful countryside. She has written for several different M&B series in the past, but it wasn’t until she read her first Medical™ Romance that she truly found her niche. She was so captivated by these heart-warming stories that she set out to write them herself!

When she’s not writing, or doing research for her latest book, Jennifer’s hobbies include reading, gardening, travel, and chatting to friends both on and off-line. She is always delighted to hear from readers, so do visit her website at www.jennifer-taylor.com

Recent titles by the same author:

MARRYING THE RUNAWAY BRIDE*

THE SURGEON’S FATHERHOOD SURPRISE†

THEIR LITTLE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

*Dalverston Weddings

†Brides of Penhally Bay

Dear Reader

This is the second book in my Dalverston Weddings series, and it tells the bridegroom’s story. The book begins the morning after Ross has learned that his wedding will no longer be taking place. Naturally, Ross is stunned by what has happened but, if he is honest, he is also relieved. Deep down he knows that he was getting married for the wrong reasons—although convincing his friends and family that he isn’t about to fall apart seems like an impossible task! The only person he can talk to is bridesmaid and practice nurse Gemma Craven. As the days pass Ross finds himself increasingly drawn to Gemma, but is he in danger of making another mistake? Can he really be falling in love with Gemma so soon?

Both Ross and Gemma have a lot of issues to work through before they can find true happiness, and it was a fascinating process bringing them together. I really enjoyed their story and hope you do too. The next book in the series features the best man, Ben Nicholls, who makes a brief appearance in this book, too. It’s one of the joys of writing a series like this—you really get to know your characters. I shall miss them all when the last book has been written.

If you would like to learn more about the background to this series then do visit my website: www.jennifer-taylor.com

Happy reading!

Love

Jennifer

THE GP’s MEANT-TO-BE BRIDE

BY

JENNIFER TAYLOR

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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For The Wedding Party: Vicky and Jamie,

Kathy, Carl, Pauline, John, Nigel, Neil, Mark, Mel.

And last but never least, Bill.

Thank you all for an unforgettable day.

CHAPTER ONE

TODAY should have been his wedding day.

Ross Mackenzie sighed as he stared out of the bedroom window. Dawn was starting to break now, the first pale streaks of wintry light sliding over the top of the surrounding hills. He hadn’t slept. He’d lain awake all night long, working out the best way to proceed. There were a lot of things he needed to do that morning. First and foremost on the list he would have to tell his mother that the wedding wouldn’t be taking place. He wasn’t looking forward to breaking the news to her because she was bound to be upset, but he would try to do it as gently as possible.

Next he would have to inform all the guests that the wedding had been called off. Some were travelling quite a distance so he would have to phone them as early as possible. Then there was the vicar—he would need to be informed, and the cars and the flowers would have to be cancelled, as well as the reception. The list seemed endless but Ross knew that he would work his way through it in his usual meticulous fashion. If he was honest, it wasn’t the practicalities that worried him, but how he felt. Surely he should feel more than this sense of relief that Heather had decided not to marry him?

He swung round, impatient with himself. He should be glad that he wasn’t standing here, feeling as though the world had caved in around him! Walking through to the en suite bathroom, he turned on the shower. Once he was dressed, he would set everything in motion. Granted, it would cause a stir once word got out and he wasn’t looking forward to being the focus of so much gossip. However, he wasn’t going to let it deter him. He would deal with what had happened the same way he dealt with everything else—calmly and rationally.

He grimaced as he stepped under the hot water because he knew that his reaction wasn’t normal. He was merely burying his feelings so he didn’t have to face up to them. Losing Heather should have been the worst thing that had ever happened to him, but he couldn’t pretend that he felt devastated by her decision. Thinking back, perhaps he’d sensed for a while that there’d been something missing from their relationship, but he had dismissed his fears as a last-minute attack of nerves. Now he was glad that Heather had saved them both from making a terrible mistake, although it was going to be difficult to convince everyone else that was how he felt.

His friends and family would think he was putting on a brave face if he told them the truth and that would make the situation worse. He was already in line for a lot of well-meaning sympathy and he didn’t intend to portray himself as the victim when he was sure that Heather had done the right thing. It might be easier if he didn’t say too much and simply let people believe what they liked.

Ross felt a little easier once he had decided how to proceed. As soon as he was dressed, he went downstairs and made himself a pot of coffee. He telephoned his mother while it was brewing, but there was no reply. She’d told him that she was going to have her hair done that morning and he could only assume that she wasn’t back yet.

He phoned the vicar instead and explained what had happened, politely refusing the man’s well-meaning offer of counselling. There was no danger of him falling apart—that just wasn’t his way. He would cope perfectly well with what had happened so long as the people around him let him do it his way. He knew what he wanted from life and he refused to let this setback alter his plans. He had worked too hard to prove himself to give up his dreams now.

Fired up by the same determination that had driven him all his adult life, Ross carried on making calls. He had just finished speaking to the florist when the doorbell rang and he went to answer it, unsurprised when he found Ben Nicholls, his best man, on the step. Ben grinned as he followed him inside.

‘So how do you feel this morning? Ready to face your fate, I hope.’

Ross shrugged as he headed back to the kitchen and poured Ben a cup of coffee. ‘There’s been a change of plans. The wedding has been called off.’

‘Oh, ha-ha, very funny. If you think I’m going to fall for that, you can think again.’ Ben plonked himself on a chair and gulped down a mouthful of coffee. ‘Oh boy, I needed that! Would you believe that I got called into work last night? Some idiot on a motorbike decided to play chase with a police car and hit a bollard in the process. He was in a right mess, I can tell you.’

Ross didn’t interrupt as Ben regaled him with the tale of the injured motorcyclist. They often exchanged stories about their working lives. As a GP in a busy town-centre practice, Ross was used to dealing with all kinds of medical matters ranging from the mundane to the life-threatening. He enjoyed the orderliness of general practice work, though, and wouldn’t have traded it for the adrenaline rush that Ben got from working in the emergency department at the local hospital.

He waited until Ben ran out of steam then returned the conversation to the subject uppermost on his mind. ‘Actually, I wasn’t joking. Heather sent me a letter last night to say that she’d changed her mind. The wedding has been called off.’

‘You’re not serious, are you?’ Ben demanded, gaping at him.

‘’Fraid so.’ Ross gave his friend a tight smile, hoping the news wouldn’t trigger a sudden outpouring of sympathy. He neither deserved nor wanted to be on the receiving end, quite frankly. ‘It means that I’m going to need your help to sort things out.’

‘Of course. It goes without saying that I’ll do anything I can,’ Ben said quickly. He sat up and stared at Ross. ‘Did Heather say why she’d changed her mind? I mean, there isn’t someone else involved, is there…?’

Ben tailed off, obviously unsure what to say now that he had voiced the question, and Ross sighed. He suspected it was a question he would have to get used to answering in the coming days.

‘Not as far as I’m aware. Heather simply wrote that she’d realised it would be a mistake if we got married.’

‘And that was it? You didn’t go to see her and talk it all through?’

‘No. She’d made her position perfectly clear in her letter.’

‘Fair enough.’

It was obvious that Ben thought he’d been wrong to have left it there. Ross frowned, wondering if he should have gone to see Heather and pressed her for an explanation. Had she met someone else, as Ben had suggested, someone she loved more than him?

He tested out that theory, unsure what his reaction would be if it proved to be true, but he felt very little. He certainly didn’t feel jealous at the thought of her seeing another man and that was something else he needed to think about later. If he didn’t feel jealous or even very upset then why had he asked Heather to marry him in the first place? Because she had ticked all the right boxes and fitted his ideal of the perfect wife?

It was alarming to realise how calculating he’d been. Ross cleared his throat, not sure that he liked discovering something so negative about himself. ‘Anyhow, I’ve phoned the vicar and told him. I’ve also been on to the florist and cancelled the flowers. I still need to contact the car-hire firm and the hotel where the reception was being held. Fortunately, we decided not to go away on honeymoon until the spring, so that’s one less job to deal with. But I did book the bridal suite, if you remember, so that will need to be cancelled too.’

‘I can do all that for you,’ Ben offered immediately.

‘Thanks.’ Ross gave him the phone numbers then found the guest list that Heather had tacked to the bulletin board next to the fridge. ‘I need to go and see my mother, and let her know what’s happened, so if you could make a start on phoning the guests as well, I’d be really grateful.’

‘No problemo.’ Ben took the list from him, grimacing when he saw the number of people who had been invited. ‘I don’t imagine we’ll be able to get hold of everyone before they set off, so d’you want me to go to the church and meet them there?’

‘I’m not sure. It might be better coming from me.’ He shrugged when Ben looked at him in surprise. ‘Some of those people are travelling quite a distance and it seems a bit rich to turn them away at the door. I’d feel better if I did it myself.’

‘Well, if you’re sure you’re up to it…’

‘It isn’t a problem,’ Ross assured him briskly, not wanting to admit how indifferent he felt about the idea. This should have been his worst nightmare, yet he felt unmoved by the prospect of cancelling all the arrangements. How odd.

Once again he shied away from examining his feelings too deeply. Standing up, he reached for his car keys. ‘I’ll leave it with you, then. I’ll get over to Mum’s and break the news to her before the grapevine gets to work. Give me a call if you have any problems. I’ve got my phone with me.’

‘Will do. And, Ross, I’m really sorry about what’s happened.’

‘Thanks. Although it’s probably better that it happened now rather than later,’ Ross said bluntly, heading for the door.

He left the house and got into his car. It was the second week of December and the weather was very cold. The forecast had predicted a dry sunny day—perfect for a wedding at this time of year. As he drove through the town, Ross tried to imagine how the day might have gone, but it was impossible to picture it. It was as though all the months of preparation had never happened, as though there never had been a wedding about to take place that day, his wedding.

In a sudden rush of insight he realised that he had merely gone through the motions, done what had been expected of him, but he had never connected emotionally with the event. Getting married had been just another step on his life plan, another box that had needed ticking. Was it any wonder that Heather had changed her mind about marrying him?

There was an envelope lying on the mat when Gemma Craven went downstairs on Saturday morning. She frowned as she picked it up. The post usually didn’t arrive until lunchtime, so it was a surprise to see it lying there at this hour of the day.

Her frown deepened when she turned the envelope over and discovered that there was no stamp or address on it, just her name. Ripping open the flap, she took out the single sheet of paper it contained, feeling her heart leap into her throat as she tried to make sense of what it said. It was from Heather, telling her that the wedding had been called off.

Gemma sank down onto the stairs in a state of shock. Was it true? Had Heather really decided not to marry Ross? She couldn’t imagine why her friend would have done such a thing, but there was no doubt that the signature on the bottom of the letter was Heather’s. What on earth had happened to make Heather do such a thing?

Scrambling to her feet, she hurried to the phone and dialled Heather’s home number, but there was no answer even though she let it ring a dozen times. She tried her friend’s mobile phone next but the call went straight through to voice mail. She left a brief message, letting Heather know she was worried about her and asking her to call back, and hung up. She wasn’t sure what she should do now. The arrangement had been that she would go round to Heather’s home to help her get ready. As the chief and only bridesmaid, Gemma’s job was to attend to the bride, but if there was no wedding then her services were no longer needed. However, she couldn’t sit at home, wondering what had happened. She had to find out what had gone on, and why Heather had decided not to marry Ross.

Gemma’s heart lurched as a picture of Ross Mackenzie suddenly appeared in her mind’s eye. The saying about tall, dark and handsome could have been coined for him. At a little over six feet in height, Ross was tall enough to stand out in a crowd and that was before you added in all the rest. With his black hair and cobalt-blue eyes, he drew admiring glances wherever he went. His features were both attractive and very masculine—a strong chin, chiselled lips, a straight nose. He played tennis in the summer and skied in the winter and his body definitely bore testament to the benefits of all that exercise. His whole bearing was that of a man in command of his life. Ross knew what he wanted and he got it, too. He’d wanted Heather to be his wife so what had gone wrong?

Gemma ran back upstairs to her bedroom. Scooping up the armful of clean clothes she’d left over the back of a chair the night before, she hurried into the bathroom. She couldn’t explain the urgency she felt to see Heather. All she knew was that she had to make her friend understand what a mistake she was making. Most women would give their right arm to marry Ross, yet Heather had thrown away her chance of happiness.

Ten minutes later Gemma left the house, shivering as the chill of a frosty December morning hit her. She hurried to her car, groaning when she discovered the windscreen was covered with ice. She wasted another couple of minutes clearing it away and her fingers were frozen solid by then, the tips of them turning pink with cold.

She slid into the driving seat, cranking up the heater to its highest setting, not that there was much hope of any warmth just yet. Still, at least it provided her with the illusion that she might soon start to defrost, although maybe the chill she felt didn’t stem solely from the weather. It was the thought of how upset Ross must be that was making her feel so cold. He must be devastated—completely devastated!

Gemma’s breath caught on a sob but she forced it down as she headed towards the centre of Dalverston. Heather lived with her father on the far side of the town and Gemma had to brave the traffic to get there. Normally, at this time on a Saturday morning the roads would have been fairly clear, but with Christmas a couple of weeks away, there was already a build-up of cars and that delayed her. By the time she reached the house, she was so tense that she was trembling. She parked in the drive then hurried to the front door and rang the bell. Matthew Thompson, Heather’s father, greeted her with a weary smile.

‘I take it that Heather’s told you she’s called off the wedding?’

‘She pushed a note through my door. I found it on the mat this morning when I got up.’

Gemma followed him into the house, shivering appreciatively as a blast of warm air hit her. Matthew led the way to the kitchen, obviously expecting her to follow him. Picking up the teapot, he offered it to her and she nodded.

‘Please.’

He poured them both a cup of tea and placed them on the table by the window. Gemma frowned when she saw that his hands were shaking. Heather’s decision to cancel her wedding must have been a shock for her father too.

‘Did Heather say why she’s decided not to marry Ross?’ Gemma asked as they sat down.

‘No. She just said that she’d realised it would be a mistake.’

Matt’s whole bearing seemed to have altered overnight; he appeared years older that morning. It was upsetting to see him looking this way when Gemma had always thought how full of life he usually was. He ran the busy general practice where she worked as one of the practice nurses with the vigour of a man half his age, but he looked grey and gaunt as he sat there, sipping his tea.

‘Is Heather here?’ she asked gently, not wanting to add to his distress by pressing him for answers.

‘No. She left last night, caught the last train to London, in fact.’ Pain darkened his eyes. ‘I should have realised she had doubts about getting married and made sure it was what she really wanted instead of adding to the pressure she felt to go along with it.’

Gemma looked at him in surprise. ‘It was Heather’s decision to marry Ross. Nobody pushed her into it.’

‘Maybe.’ Matthew gave her a grim smile then looked round when the doorbell rang. ‘Excuse me. I’d better see who that is.’

Gemma drank some of her tea after he left the kitchen. It seemed her trip had been a waste of time if Heather wasn’t here. She had no idea what she should do now, or if there was anything she could do. Going to see Ross was out of the question, of course. He would be far too upset to see her.

The sound of voices made her glance round and she felt her heart leap when she saw the two men coming along the hall. Matthew was tall but the man with him topped him by a couple of inches. In the wintry light filtering through the kitchen window, his skin gleamed like burnished gold, the perfect foil for his startling bluer-than-blue eyes.

Gemma felt a shudder run down her spine, then another until it felt as though her whole body was quaking. She had tried so hard to ignore these feelings, tried and, to some extent, succeeded too. Every time she’d found herself reacting to the sight of him, she’d reminded herself of all the reasons why it was wrong: he was her best friend’s fiancé; he wasn’t interested in her; he definitely wouldn’t find her attractive—especially if he saw her naked.

All those points still held good. Maybe the first one was in doubt but weddings had been called off and rescheduled before, and there was no saying this one wouldn’t be either. However, the second two points were as valid now as they had always been. Ross wasn’t interested in her and he most definitely wouldn’t find her attractive in bed. No man in his right mind would.

Gemma knew there was no hope wishing she could have a chance to win Ross’s love, but that didn’t stop the tingles, the shivers, the mini-earthquakes that were assailing her as he came into the room. Her head understood the truth, but her heart was deaf, dumb and blind to it, steadfastly believing that if she loved Ross enough from afar, one day he might learn to love her in return.

CHAPTER TWO

ROSS ground to a halt when he spotted Gemma sitting at the table. He hadn’t realised there was anyone else in the house and for a moment he was tempted to beat a hasty retreat. However, he would have to face people at some point and there was no time like the present.

‘Gemma.’

He nodded politely to her, seeing the wash of colour that ran up her face. With that silver-blonde hair and flawless porcelain skin, she must find it difficult to hide her feelings, he thought, then wondered why the idea had occurred to him now of all times. He had worked with Gemma for almost three years, ever since she had moved to Dalverston to take up the post of senior practice nurse at the surgery. She and Heather had soon struck up a friendship, so there had been many occasions when they had met outside work, too. However, he had never even noticed her hair or her skin before. How strange.

He turned away, uncomfortable with the way he was behaving. Maybe it had been a shock to be dumped if not literally at the altar but pretty close to it, but did that really explain why his mind seemed to be whizzing off at tangents all of a sudden?

‘Ross, I don’t know what to say apart from the fact that I’m really and truly sorry.’

Ross cleared his mind of all extraneous thoughts when he heard the pain in Matthew’s voice. ‘If Heather had any doubts then she was right to call off the wedding,’ he said quietly, not wanting to add to the older man’s distress. ‘It would have been much worse if she’d gone ahead and regretted it later.’

‘That’s what Heather said.’ Matt sank down onto a chair as though he was too weary to remain standing. He waved Ross to a seat. ‘Sit down. Would you like some tea? There’s some made…’

He went to get up again but Gemma quickly intervened. ‘I’ll get it.’

She stood up, easing around Ross with a murmured ‘Excuse me’. Ross felt a ripple of awareness run through him as she brushed against him in passing, and frowned. How many times had that happened over the last three years? There must have been dozens of occasions when he and Gemma had touched and he’d barely registered it, yet all of a sudden his brain was flashing signals along his nerves, alerting all the muscles and sinews to the fact that there was a young and attractive female in close proximity. And when he thought all his muscles, he meant all too.

He hurriedly sat down, stunned by what was happening to him. All right, so he was a normal healthy male with a normal healthy male’s interest in the opposite sex. However, was it really normal to be experiencing these feelings on the morning of what should have been his last day of bachelorhood?

Confusion clouded his mind so that when Gemma put a cup of tea in front of him he couldn’t even thank her. He took a gulp of the tea in the hope that it would ease the kinks out of his system. Maybe he needed to face up to his feelings instead of bottling them up? After all, he’d been looking forward to building a life with Heather, and to have his plans scuppered was bound to have hit him hard. Although he did feel a certain sense of relief, underneath that surely he was both upset and hurt?

Ross felt a little twinge deep inside him, not quite pain but something similar, and breathed a little easier. Of course he was upset and, that being the case, it was understandable if he was behaving oddly. He dredged up a smile, forcing his body to downgrade the alert from red to amber.

‘I take it that Heather isn’t here?’ he said, addressing himself to Matthew. He was aware in one part of his mind that Gemma had gone to refill Matt’s cup but he didn’t dwell on it. It had no relevance whatsoever to what had happened.

‘No. She left last night, caught the last train to London.’ Matt looked at him in despair. ‘I don’t know what she’s going to do there. I mean, she doesn’t know anyone and she has nowhere to live. London’s a big place. Heaven only knows what could happen to a woman on her own…’

His voice broke and he stared down at the table, overcome by fear for his daughter. Ross wished he could think of something to say, but anything he came up with sounded trite. It was left to Gemma to intervene again. Walking around the table, she laid a gentle hand on Matt’s shoulder.

‘Heather will be fine. You mustn’t worry about her. She’s bright, resourceful and more than capable of looking after herself.’

She smiled at the older man, a smile of such compassion that Ross felt his heart ache with longing. All of a sudden he longed for some of that compassion for himself. He wanted Gemma to smile at him and make him feel that everything would be fine and that someone cared. That she cared. The thought startled him so much that he flinched, but thankfully the other two didn’t notice.

‘You really think so?’ Matt asked desperately and Gemma nodded, her silky pale hair falling over her cheek for a moment before she tucked it behind her ear.

‘Yes, I do. You did a really great job of raising her, Matt, and she isn’t going to go off the rails just because she’s moved to the city.’

Another smile, another gentle squeeze of the shoulder before she moved away; however, Ross’s eyes remained locked on her. He didn’t want to watch her but he couldn’t stop himself. She picked up the cup and brought it back to the table, and once again her hair fell softly over her face as she bent and placed it in front of Matt. Ross felt his breath catch in anticipation as he waited for her to do it again, tuck that silky, satiny lock of hair behind her ear…

His whole body went into spasm as he watched her anchor it back into place. Now he could see the delicate curl of her ear, see how small and pale it looked, almost translucent, like a shell that had been washed clean by the sea. Ears had been just ears to him before. He understood their structure and could have explained in simple terms why they were necessary. However, Gemma’s ear—so delicate, so beautiful—was more like a work of art than an anatomical fact. He could have sat there and studied it all day!

* * *

Gemma sat down at the table, carefully keeping her eyes on her cup. Ross was staring at her and she couldn’t for the life of her understand why. She took a sip of her tea then almost choked as a thought occurred to her: did Ross believe that she’d known Heather had been planning to call off the wedding?

‘I had no idea what Heather was going to do.’ She turned to him in dismay. The worst thing was that she actually felt guilty even though she’d had no idea what her friend had been planning. As far as she’d been aware, Heather had been madly in love with Ross, and he with her.

The thought stung and she rushed on when he failed to answer. ‘It’s true, Ross. I swear, I didn’t know that Heather was going to call off the wedding.’

‘It doesn’t matter.’ He made a visible effort to collect himself. Picking up his cup, he swallowed some of the tepid tea and grimaced. If there was one thing he loathed it was lukewarm tea.

‘Of course it matters,’ Gemma snapped, suddenly angry with him. The least he could do was to be honest. Surely she warranted that much respect? She almost snatched the cup out of his hand and stood up. ‘Heather didn’t tell me, so if you’ve got it into your head that I knew something was wrong but was holding out on you, you can forget it.’

‘As I said, it doesn’t matter.’

There was an answering bite in his voice which was so out of character that Gemma did a double take. He gave her a tight smile, his blue eyes as bright and as cold as sapphires as he stared at her, and she was more convinced than ever that he did believe she’d had a hand in her friend’s decision. ‘The deed’s done, Gemma, so who knew what and when isn’t relevant. What’s important now is that we sort things out with the minimum of distress for everyone concerned.’

He held her gaze, daring her to proclaim her innocence a third time, but she wasn’t that foolish. Heads connecting with brick walls was a concept she had no intention of investigating at first hand. She smiled sweetly at him, her grey eyes as chilly as she could make them.

‘Of course. And it goes without saying that I’ll help any way I can.’

‘Thanks, but it’s all covered.’

He brushed aside her offer of help and Gemma’s mouth compressed. Ross may be every woman’s dream but he could also be her worst nightmare when he got into one of his stubborn moods. He was so focussed that once he got an idea into his head, it was impossible to shift it.

The thought was less than reassuring. Spinning round, she marched to the counter and switched on the kettle to make a fresh pot of tea. She needed to keep busy and could do with another cup to settle her nerves. As for Ross, well, she really didn’t care if he wanted tea or anything else. No wonder Heather had dumped him. He was so bloody arrogant, so opinionated, so…so…

Gorgeous, an inner voice suggested before she squashed it. As her grandmother had been fond of saying, handsome is as handsome does. She must remember that the next time she got the collywobbles around Dr Always-Right Mackenzie!

Gemma was still thinking evil thoughts and enjoying them too when the phone rang. Matthew sighed as he got up. ‘I expect this will be the first of many once the news gets out.’

There seemed little anyone could say to that so Gemma stayed silent, pouring the boiling water into the pot and popping on the lid. Ross seemed equally disinclined to talk, so she sat down and stared into space while the tea brewed, wondering if she should leave as soon as Matt came back. Ross had made it clear that her help wasn’t needed…

‘I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I seem to be all over the place this morning.’

Her gaze flew to him when he spoke and her heart, not to mention her anger, melted when she saw the bewilderment in his eyes. Ross was always so centred that it was a shock to see him looking this lost. Impulsively, she reached over and squeezed his hand.

‘And I’m sorry, too, for being so snappy. I had no right. After all, it’s you who’s suffering. This must be terrible for you, Ross.’

All of a sudden her eyes filled with tears and she heard him sigh. ‘Don’t upset yourself on my account, Gemma. I’m fine—really, I am.’

‘How can you be?’ She dug a tissue out of her pocket and blew her nose. ‘You must be in a state of shock—I am. I mean, I love Heather to bits. She’s the best friend anyone could have, but I can’t understand why she’s done this—and to you of all people.’

She hurried on when she saw his brows rise as he caught the vehemence in her tone. The last thing Ross needed at the moment was her admitting how she felt about him… Correction: the last thing Ross needed was her admitting how she felt about him, ever.

‘You two are perfect for each other. You have so much in common between your work and the things you enjoy doing. If I’d had to pick the ideal partner for either of you then I would have chosen Heather for you and you for Heather.’

‘That’s what I thought. Heather was perfect. She ticked all the right boxes.’ He broke off, looking a little embarrassed, and Gemma hastened to assure him there was no need.

‘And that’s why you fell head over heels in love with her,’ she said encouragingly.

‘Ye-e-s-s.’

There was something in his voice that made her stare at him. Had that been a hint of doubt she’d heard? Was Ross not sure—not one hundred and ten per cent sure—that he loved Heather with his whole heart? The thought was intriguing but before she could pursue it, Matt returned, looking more grim-faced than ever.

‘That was Ambulance Control on the phone. There’s been an incident on the canal, along that stretch which is being refurbished about ten miles south of here. One of the cranes has collapsed and there’s at least a dozen people injured, apparently.’

‘Have they despatched the rapid-response team?’ Ross demanded, standing up.

‘Yes, but there’s a snag. It appears there’s some sort of a problem with the fuel they use for the ambulances and other emergency vehicles. The whole fleet is off the road, apart from one paramedic car.’ Matt grimaced. ‘Ambulance Control has called for assistance from the neighbouring authorities but it’s going to be a while before they can get any ambulances here.’

‘And in the meantime they want us to do whatever we can,’ Ross guessed.

‘Exactly. I know it’s the worst possible day for something like this to happen, but we don’t have a choice, do we?’

‘No.’ Ross headed for the door. ‘I’ll get straight over there and see what I can do. Ben’s at my house, luckily enough, so I’ll pick him up en route.’

‘That would be a real help. I’ll phone Rachel and the others and follow you down.’ Matt turned to Gemma. ‘We’re going to need all the help we can get from the sound of it, Gemma, so can we count you in?’

‘Of course.’ Gemma jumped to her feet and hurried to the door.

‘Why don’t you come with me?’ Ross suggested as they all trooped into the hall. He paused, forcing Gemma to stop to avoid bumping into him. ‘That stretch of the canal is quite difficult to reach. The fewer vehicles that are there, blocking the way, the better.’

‘That’s a point,’ Matt concurred. ‘Heaven knows what sort of machinery they’ll need to shift that crane but there’s no point cluttering up the area. I’ll pick up Rachel and the others and that will help to keep the number of vehicles to a minimum.’

It was all sorted out without Gemma saying a word, not that she could have objected to going with Ross—that would have been too difficult to explain. She could hardly have admitted that the thought of being in the car with him was giving her hot and cold chills.

She slid into the rear seat, murmuring something about leaving the front passenger seat free for Ben. Ross obviously saw nothing strange in that, but he had no reason to be suspicious. He didn’t know that the thought of sitting next to him would have been torture for her. To feel his shoulder brush against hers, to smell the scent of his skin, to absorb the powerful force of his masculinity would have been both heaven and hell, and she couldn’t handle it. Not today. Not this day when he should have been on his way to church to marry her best friend.

She needed time to gather her thoughts and return them to the box mentally marked ‘Forbidden’ where they had resided for the last three years. Only then would she be able to cope, when Ross was back in his rightful place as her best friend’s fiancé… Only he was no longer that, was he? He was neither engaged to Heather nor married to her. To all intents and purposes, he was a free agent now. Available. Obtainable. Although not for someone like her. Not for a woman whose body had made men recoil in revulsion.

Pain speared through her heart as she stared out of the car window. She could only ever love Ross from afar.

CHAPTER THREE

GEMMA had been seventeen when her whole life had changed. She had been in her first year at sixth-form college and just finding her feet as an adult. She had been enjoying her studies and enjoying the new opportunities to socialise. Life had been exciting, exhilarating, fun.

When her friend Katie suggested that they go to Sheffield to see a concert, Gemma was thrilled. Katie had passed her driving test a few months earlier and the plan was that she would drive them there. Gemma pleaded with her parents to let her go and in the end, they agreed. They knew Katie and trusted her.

The concert was as good as they had hoped it would be. Gemma and Katie were on a high as they drove home afterwards, singing along to a CD of the bands they had seen that night. They were within a mile of home when a car suddenly pulled out of a side road and rammed straight into them.

Gemma took the brunt of the impact. Part of the door embedded itself into her side, slicing through her left kidney and damaging her spleen. There was extensive tissue damage, broken ribs, bruising to her spine, although, mercifully, she was unaware of how severe her injuries were. The long weeks she spent in ICU were a blank. She remembered nothing about them, although her parents told her later that twice they were warned to prepare themselves when it looked as though she was about to lose her battle to survive. Yet somehow, against all the odds, she pulled through.

Once she left Intensive Care she underwent months of physiotherapy plus more surgery. Her kidney had needed to be removed as well as her spleen, but the surgeons assured her that she would be able to function perfectly well without either organ. What they couldn’t do anything about was the extensive scarring from the many operations she’d needed, but that seemed relatively unimportant compared to the fact that she was alive. With the support of her family, Gemma resumed her studies and soon discovered that the plans she’d made for a career in law no longer appealed. She decided to train as a nurse and help people like herself who had been injured.

It was during her final year in university that she started dating one of the other students. Up till then she’d been more concerned about catching up with her peer group, but when Mike Walsh asked her out, she accepted. Within a couple of weeks Gemma knew that she was falling in love, and the wonderful thing was that Mike felt the same way. She had told him about the accident, glossing over the fact that she still bore the scars from it because they hadn’t seemed important; they were just part of her and that was that. Mike, however, viewed them in an entirely different light.

Gemma was stunned by his reaction the first time they slept together. Although he tried to hide it, she could tell he was repulsed by the sight of her damaged flesh. Every time they made love after that, she was aware that he averted his eyes from the left side of her body and never, ever, touched her there.

It was inevitable that their relationship would fail. Neither of them could cope with the continual stress. By the time they parted, all Gemma felt was relief that she would no longer be made to feel like a freak. However, it proved one thing to her: no man would find her attractive undressed. And that was when she made her decision to save herself a great deal of heartache by never having a physical relationship with a man again…

‘I’ll just fetch Ben. Is there anything you need? A coat, a sweater, gloves?’ Ross frowned when he saw Gemma jump. She hadn’t said a word on the drive to his house. She’d been so quiet, in fact, that he’d wondered if she had fallen asleep at one point. However, a glance in the rearview mirror had soon dispelled that idea.

His frown deepened as he recalled the expression on her face. She’d looked so lost, so lonely, so much in pain, and he couldn’t understand it… Unless she was upset about the wedding being cancelled? Gemma’s ability to empathise with people was legendary in the surgery; all their patients remarked on how sympathetic she was. Now he couldn’t help feeling guilty that she was suffering because of him. If he’d thought long and hard before he’d asked Heather to marry him, based the decision on his emotions rather than ticking all those wretched boxes, a lot of people might not be feeling quite so upset today.

It was galling to admit that he was at fault. Ross got out of the car without waiting to see if Gemma was going to take him up on his offer of extra clothing. He would take some stuff with him and she could choose what she wanted, he decided as he let himself into the house. Ben was just hanging up the phone—he grimaced when Ross went in.

‘I’ve only managed to contact about half the people on this list. Most of them are already on their way here.’

‘I’ll phone the vicar and ask him to meet them at the church,’ Ross said shortly, unhooking a waterproof jacket from the peg behind the door. He tossed it over a chair then rummaged through the stack of Wellington boots until he found a pair that should fit Gemma, then picked up a larger pair for himself plus a pair for Ben.

‘I thought you were going to meet the ones who turned up,’ Ben said uncertainly, eyeing the mound of clothing. ‘Don’t get me wrong. I understand if you’ve changed your mind. It’s not something I’d relish doing either.’

‘I’d go if I could but I’m afraid we’re needed elsewhere.’

Ross felt around on the shelf and came up with several pairs of gloves which he added to the pile. The kitchen was starting to resemble a jumble sale but they’d be glad of the extra layers. It was bitterly cold outside and they would be frozen if they were outside for any length of time, Gemma in particular. All she had on was a sweatshirt and jeans—she’d catch her death.

The thought was far too worrying. Ross pushed it aside and opened the cupboard. Lifting out the spare pack of medical supplies he kept for emergencies, he placed it next to the chair.

‘We are?’ Ben’s brows rose steeply. ‘Why? What’s up?’

‘A crane has collapsed down by the canal and there are several people injured,’ Ross explained, opening the pack to check that everything was there. Dressings, scissors, stethoscope, cannulas…what else? Ah, yes, saline, an essential in a situation like this.

He lifted out the box containing the pouches of fluid, and handed it to Ben. ‘Here. Grab hold of this.’

‘How come you’ve been asked to attend?’ Ben demanded, taking the box from him.

‘Because your lot aren’t up to the job,’ Ross quipped. He scooped up the clothes, swung the backpack over his shoulder and headed for the door.

‘Cheek!’ Ben loped along beside him. He reached around and opened the front door seeing as Ross’s hands were full. ‘Seriously, though, what’s going on?’

‘Apparently, there’s a problem with the fuel that’s been delivered to Dalverston’s ambulance station. All the vehicles apart from one paramedic car are out of action.’ He juggled the pairs of Wellingtons as he tried to unlock the boot of the car, dropped one, and cursed.

‘I’ll get that.’

All of a sudden Gemma was there, bending down to retrieve the recalcitrant boot. Ross nodded his thanks as he stowed the equipment in the car, then eased a waxed jacket out of the tangle of clothing and handed it to her.

‘Thanks.’ She shrugged it on, shivering as she zipped it up. Taking the box from Ben, she put it with the rest of the gear then slammed the boot lid.

‘I can’t believe this has happened!’ Ben was muttering to himself as they climbed into the car. ‘No ambulances? What on earth are they going to do for the rest of the day?’

‘It could take longer than a day to sort things out,’ Ross pointed out. He pulled out of the drive and turned right, heading towards the canal. ‘Remember that problem they had down south last year? Dozens of cars broke down because there was something in the fuel? It took weeks to get them back on the road. They had to strip all the engines.’

‘We can’t be without an ambulance service for weeks!’ Ben exclaimed. ‘Lives will be lost.’

‘They’ll come up with some sort of a contingency plan,’ Gemma said soothingly from the back seat.

‘You’re right.’ Ben turned round and grinned at her. ‘Of course they will. Sorry. I didn’t mean to get my knickers in a twist!’

They both laughed, Ben at his own stupidity, Gemma at the joke, although Ross didn’t join in. Ben and Gemma seemed very friendly all of a sudden. Far more friendly than he would have expected, although wasn’t it tradition that romantic sparks should fly between the best man and the bridesmaid? Had Ben been looking forward to upholding that tradition, perhaps? Well, if that was the case, maybe it was a good job the wedding had been cancelled.

The force of that thought surprised him so much that the car swerved as he pulled a little too forcefully on the steering-wheel. ‘Ice,’ he said briefly to excuse his error. He glanced in the rear-view mirror, expecting Gemma to smile with her customary understanding, but she was staring straight ahead with an expression of such terror on her face that he was instantly contrite. The last thing he wanted was to scare her witless!

The rest of the journey passed without incident, mainly because Ross refused to let his mind wander again. The paramedic car had already arrived when they reached the canal so Ben went to speak to the driver. Ross unloaded their gear, piling everything on the ground next to the car.

‘Help yourself to anything you need,’ he told Gemma when she came to help him.

‘Thanks.’

She picked up a woollen hat and pulled it on, silky tendrils of silver-gold hair peeking out from under the brim, and that funny wobbly feeling started up again in the pit of Ross’s stomach. Lifting out the haversack, he swung it over his shoulder and headed towards the footpath that led to the canal.

‘I’ll go and see what’s what,’ he said tersely, determined to keep a rein on his emotions before they got him into trouble.

‘I’ll come with you,’ she said immediately, grabbing a pair of gloves.

They climbed over the stile, followed the path through the copse then ground to a halt at the sight that met them. The whole arm of the crane, complete with a huge metal girder it had been lifting, had buckled and was straddling the canal from one bank to the other. Sections of metalwork had sheered off when it had collapsed and had rained down on the men who’d been working below. Ross could see a number of people lying on the ground and several others, including a boy of about ten, wandering about looking dazed. Turning to Gemma, he rattled out instructions.

‘You check the guy nearest to us while I take a look at the crane driver. I’ll check out the child first, though—I don’t want him hanging around here any longer than is necessary. Do what you can but don’t waste time if it doesn’t look hopeful. Speed is of the essence here. Ben should be along soon so don’t do anything stupid. And keep well away from the crane. That thing could collapse at any moment and I don’t want you underneath it if it does.’

‘It would mess up the surgery rosters,’ she said, tongue in cheek.

‘Too damned right it would,’ he said with a half smile, afraid that she would realise that he was genuinely worried about her.

The thought shook him. Ross turned away and hurried over to the boy, feeling more confused than ever. For three years Gemma Craven had existed on the periphery of his life. He’d had no feelings for her, one way or another, yet all of a sudden he seemed to be awash with them. Why was it happening today of all days? Was it the shock of having his plans ruined that was causing him to behave this way?

It was the only explanation that made any sense. His life had been turned on its head today and all of a sudden he was seeing everything in a completely different light. It was strange that he should be so fixated on Gemma, though. She certainly didn’t fit his ideal of the perfect woman, didn’t tick all the right boxes…although she ticked a lot of others.

His mind slipped its leash again, haring headlong down a route he knew he would regret. Gemma was beautiful and sexy and far more feminine than any woman had a right to be. She had the most fabulous figure, gorgeous legs, hair that made his fingers tingle whenever he imagined touching it, and that was just for starters. She was also kind and sympathetic, good at her job and blessed with a sunny nature that made light of the most arduous tasks.

Tick, tick, tick. Box after box was being checked off and there was nothing he could do to stop it happening. Some were the same boxes he’d ticked for Heather, but there seemed to be even more to tick for Gemma. As he put a comforting arm around the boy’s shoulders, he had to force down the feeling of panic that assailed him. For the first time in ages, he was responding instinctively and that was why he was finally seeing Gemma for what she was—a beautiful, sexy and desirable young woman. A woman he wanted.

The thought shocked him so much that Ross had to take a deep breath before he was able to speak. Turning the boy to face him, he performed a quick visual scan while he checked for injuries. Apart from a gash on his forehead, the child appeared unharmed, although he was obviously very frightened.

‘My name is Ross and I’m a doctor,’ Ross said gently. ‘Can you tell me your name, son?’

‘Jamie,’ the boy whispered tremulously.

‘Right then, Jamie, can you tell me if you’re hurt?’

‘My head hurts a lot,’ he muttered. Tears suddenly welled to his eyes. ‘I thought that crane was going to fall on top of me!’

Ross quickly sat Jamie down on the ground when his face turned paper white under his shock of bright red hair. ‘It’s OK, son. You’ve had a fright and that’s why you’re feeling a bit dizzy. Just put your head between your knees for me and you’ll feel much better in a moment or two.’

He crouched down and waited until the colour came back to the boy’s cheeks then checked him over. ‘It doesn’t look as though you’ve hurt yourself too badly. That gash on your forehead must be sore, though. It may need a couple of stitches, but that will be sorted out at the hospital.’

He glanced round, mentally crossing his fingers that Jamie’s father wasn’t amongst the severely injured. The site had been closed to the public for several months while work was being carried out, but it wouldn’t be the first time a parent had allowed his child to accompany him to a job. ‘I take it that you’re here with your dad, so do you know where he is?’

‘I didn’t come with my dad,’ Jamie admitted, looking guilty. ‘Mum and Dad have gone Christmas shopping. My sister was supposed to look after me, but her boyfriend phoned and Becky told me to get lost and stop pestering her. I thought I’d come and have a look at the crane ’cos I’ve been dying to see it.’

‘Ah, I see. So I take it that your mum and dad don’t know you’re here, then?’ Ross said, rapidly filling in the gaps. He sighed when the boy shook his head. ‘Right, then the first thing we need to do is let them know what’s happened.’

He asked Jamie for his phone number and called his home. Jamie’s parents were back from their shopping trip and frantic with worry because he’d gone missing. Ross explained what had happened and assured them that Jamie wasn’t badly injured. They agreed to go straight to the hospital, so he handed the boy over to the paramedic who would take him there in the car. At least he hadn’t had to break bad news to them, he thought as he watched the paramedic usher him away. The situation could have been a lot worse, although he suspected that Jamie and his sister might find that Santa wasn’t quite as generous with his presents this year!

Ross hurried over to the crane and carefully climbed up into the cab. The driver was unconscious and it was immediately apparent that he was in a very bad way. He grimaced as he eased himself between the broken spurs of metal. A lack of Christmas presents was the least of this poor fellow’s worries.

* * *

Gemma watched as Ross hurried over to the boy, then turned and headed towards the nearest casualty, a young man in his twenties. Kneeling down beside him, she drove all other thoughts from her mind. She wasn’t going to worry about what seemed to be bugging Ross, certainly wasn’t going to compromise her patient’s well-being by not staying focussed. Maybe Ross had been uncharacteristically sharp with her, but he had a lot on his mind, with the wedding being cancelled, so it was understandable. She certainly mustn’t go reading anything into it.

‘Hi, my name is Gemma and I’m a nurse. Can you tell me your name and where it hurts?’

‘Aidan Donnelly and my right arm is killing me.’ The young man groaned as he tried to move his injured arm and Gemma quickly stopped him.

‘Lie still. I’ll check you over and do what I can. OK?’

‘Fine.’

Aidan lapsed back onto the grass, groaning as she gently felt from his shoulder to his wrist. There was little doubt in her mind by the time she finished that the humerus was fractured mid-shaft. She checked his fingers next as this type of break could cause damage to the brachial artery and discovered that they felt cold to the touch and were turning blue, both worrying signs.

She quickly checked the pulse in Aidan’s right wrist and her fears were confirmed when she couldn’t detect one. Although the injury wasn’t life-threatening, ischaemia—an inadequate blood supply—could result in long-term damage and she was anxious to prevent that happening.

She looked round when she heard voices and was relieved when she saw Ben and the paramedic coming towards her. She went to meet them, lowering her voice so that Aidan wouldn’t overhear them. ‘This chap has a fractured humerus. There’s no pulse in his right wrist and his fingers are cold and turning blue.’

‘That needs sorting, asap,’ Ben said, turning to the paramedic. ‘Can you ferry him back to hospital as well, Charlie? He should be OK to travel by car once you’ve splinted his arm. Make sure ED knows that he requires immediate treatment. That artery needs to be freed and the blood supply restored pronto if he’s to regain full use of his hand and wrist.’

‘I’ll go and check on the others,’ Gemma said once she was sure that Aidan was being taken care of.

She told Aidan that he would be going to hospital then made her way to the next casualty, a middle-aged man. A section of metal had fallen on him, pinning him to the ground. He was lying face down, his hard hat obscuring his face. Gemma checked for a pulse at both neck and wrist but there was none. It was impossible to turn him over because of the weight of the metal, but she knew there was nothing she or anyone else could do for him. She left him there and hurried to the next person, arriving at the same time as Ben. He grinned at her as they both knelt down.

‘Not quite what I’d planned on doing today.’

‘Me neither,’ Gemma agreed, glancing across at the crane. Ross was leaning into the cab while he attended to the driver. He seemed oblivious to the danger he was in or maybe he didn’t care. Maybe his apparent calm was all a front and inside he was so devastated about losing Heather that he no longer cared what happened to him.

The thought was sheer torture. Gemma knew she couldn’t cope with it if she hoped to do her job properly. She dragged her gaze away and forced herself to concentrate on the injured man. There was a lot of blood on his face and that worried her until Ben discovered that he had broken his nose. That explained the heavy bleeding and a quick examination along with a few pertinent questions—name, age, what day of the week it was—soon established that he hadn’t suffered a serious head injury. He would need to be checked again when he reached hospital, of course, but she and Ben were happy to move on to the next casualty.

‘I hate to interrupt but I need a hand over there.’

All of a sudden Ross was standing beside them, sounding unusually curt again as he addressed himself to Ben. Gemma felt her heart ache because it was so unlike him to speak to anyone this way. He was always totally professional in his dealings with the staff at the surgery, never lost his temper, and was always calm and reasonable. He must be devastated by what had happened to behave so out of character, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it, either.

‘Typical. Gemma and I were just doing a bit of bonding and now you want to drag me away.’ Ben leered at her so comically that Gemma couldn’t help smiling then wished she hadn’t when she saw Ross’s expression darken.

‘Well, I’m sorry to spoil your fun but you’re the expert here. I’m just a humble GP, don’t forget.’

Ben whistled softly as Ross stalked away. ‘Ouch! That put me in my place, didn’t it? This wedding business has hit him really hard. It’s not like Ross to bite people’s heads off like that. I knew it was odd this morning when he told me what had happened. I mean, he didn’t even sound upset. He must have been bottling it all up until now.’

‘Probably,’ Gemma agreed sadly. ‘I just wish there was something we could do.’

‘To get Ross and Heather back together, you mean?’ Ben’s face lit up. ‘Great idea! It’s a crying shame, them breaking up like that. He and Heather are just perfect for each other. They’re so well matched that it’s disheartening, really. You just know that you’ll never find anyone as perfect yourself, or, more to the point, someone who thinks you’re perfect for them.’ His smile dimmed. ‘I certainly won’t.’

Gemma had a feeling there was more to that comment than Ben was admitting. However, there was no time to ask him to explain when there were so many lives at risk. She finished attending to their patient while Ben went to help Ross, using a wad of lint to clean away the blood. By the time that was done, the police had arrived, bringing with them more members of Dalverston’s rapid response team, although as one wit pointed out they might need a new name after today seeing as their response had been far from speedy.

It was good to have so many experienced people around, though. Gemma did whatever she was asked, unconcerned when at times she found herself acting as gofer. She wasn’t too proud to admit that other people knew more about emergency procedures than she did and was happy to learn from them. It was different in the surgery—she was completely at home there and confident that there was little she couldn’t handle, but this wasn’t her natural element.

Her gaze strayed once more to Ross, who was in the thick of things, helping the team attend to the crane driver. Even as she watched, she saw him issue instructions to one of the paramedics and saw the man obey them. No matter where Ross worked, or in what capacity, he would feel completely sure of himself. Heather had been exactly the same. No wonder they’d been so right for each other. Two good-looking, talented, perfect people who should have had a perfect life together.

Tears filled her eyes and she hurriedly turned away. She wasn’t perfect and she never could be. The scars on her body might have faded but they were still there, still looked repulsive to anyone who saw them. Even if Ross and Heather never got back together, even if Ross realised that he could find someone else equally perfect for him, it wouldn’t be her.

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