About the Author

ALISON ROBERTS is a New Zealander, currently lucky enough to be living in the South of France. She is also lucky enough to write for the Mills & Boon Medical Romance line. A primary school teacher in a former life, she is now a qualified paramedic. She loves to travel and dance, drink champagne, and spend time with her daughter and her friends.

Also by Alison Roberts

Melting Her Trauma Doc’s Heart

Single Dad in Her Stocking

Rescue Docs miniseries

Resisting Her Rescue Doc

Pregnant with Her Best Friend’s Baby

Dr Right for the Single Mum

Medics, Sisters, Brides miniseries

Awakening the Shy Nurse

Saved by Their Miracle Baby

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Awakening the Shy Nurse & Saved by Their Miracle Baby

Alison Roberts

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90236-0

AWAKENING THE SHY NURSE & SAVED BY THEIR MIRACLE BABY

Awakening the Shy Nurse © 2020 Alison Roberts Saved by Their Miracle Baby © 2020 Alison Roberts

Published in Great Britain 2020

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Table of Contents

Cover

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Awakening the Shy Nurse

Back Cover Text

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

Saved by Their Miracle Baby

Back Cover Text

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

About the Publisher

Awakening the Shy Nurse

Alison Roberts

One stolen kiss…

…and they’re both in deep water!

Sensible Annalise has always played it safe, but when she accepts a job as nurse aboard a cruise ship, her guard is instantly disarmed by the ship’s playboy doctor! She’s never felt so alive and liberated, but Hugh Patterson has no interest in putting down roots. Their fling may be temporary, but is falling for Hugh a complication she’s ready to embrace?

PROLOGUE

‘WHAT’S THAT?’

‘Nothing.’ Annalise Phillips tried to fold the sheet of paper and stuff it back in the envelope at the same time. Her nonchalance didn’t quite work and her younger sister Abby narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

‘That’s envelope’s got a window. It’s a bill, isn’t it?’

‘It’s nothing to worry about. I’ve got everything under control.’ Lisa watched as Abby manoeuvred her wheelchair to the other side of the kitchen table. She’d always been able to convince Abby that she could manage and that had turned out to be an accurate prediction for so many years that it had become an automatic and genuine reassurance. So why was Lisa aware of a nasty edge of panic approaching this time?

‘Look…’ It was good that there was a distraction on hand. ‘There’s a letter here for you as well. No window.’

‘Really?’ Abby transferred her laptop from her knees to the table and reached for the letter. ‘Oh…maybe it’s confirmation of my date to sit my driver’s licence.’ She grinned at Lisa. ‘I still can’t believe you managed to find that funding for my modified car. It’s the most exciting thing ever…’

It felt good to be able to smile and tap into the glow of having achieved something that had been such a long time coming. Abby didn’t need to know that Lisa hadn’t exactly found funding from a charitable community support organisation and she had, instead, taken out a huge loan against the house to pay for the modifications the car had needed to accommodate a paraplegic driver. Or that the first repayment of the loan was now due at such an unfortunate time when she was between jobs, having been forced to resign from her nursing home position due to a merger that would have meant she had to move to another city.

‘Oh…oh, you’re not going to believe this…’ Abby sounded as though her new car had just been demoted from being the most exciting ever. She handed her letter to Lisa. ‘There’s a room available at the uni hostel. Ground floor, with an en suite bathroom—one of the ones that are only available to disabled students. And get this… it’s an unexpected vacancy because a student has pulled out of her course so I can move in next week!’

‘Next week?’ Lisa took the sheet of paper but she couldn’t focus on the words. ‘But…but…’ She had to swallow hard. She wasn’t ready for this after all.

Abby was waiting for her to look up. ‘You knew this was coming, Lise,’ she reminded her gently. ‘I’ve had my name down for one of those rooms in that hostel ever since I started uni and that’s years ago.’

‘I know.’ Lisa tried to find that smile that seemed a million miles away now. ‘And it’s wonderful. You’re going to be completely independent and I’m so proud of you and…and…would you like a cup of tea?’ Lisa got to her feet quickly to escape her sister’s watchful gaze. ‘Wait, no…we should be having a drink to celebrate, shouldn’t we? Have we got any wine?’

‘We never got round to opening that fizz when you found out about your new job. You said that seeing as you weren’t starting for more than a month, we might as well keep it on ice, but maybe now is the perfect time.’

‘Mmm… I think it is.’ Lisa busied herself finding the bottle in the back of the fridge, getting glasses down from the high cupboard and then opening the sparkling wine. It certainly seemed like a good idea. Abby wouldn’t know that she might be drowning her sorrows instead of celebrating, would she? Or panicking because she needed to find enough money to pay a rather large bill in the very near future?

But, of course, her sister knew her better than that. How could she not, when Lisa had been pretty much her principal carer for as long as she could remember? Her only family since their grandmother had died nearly ten years ago now.

‘What’s really up, Lise?’ she asked quietly.

What could Lisa say? That she was beginning to wonder if she’d made a big mistake applying for that desk job as a junior manager in another nursing home just because it had regular hours and was close to home and would make life a lot simpler? That living alone in this little house they had inherited from Gran suddenly seemed like the loneliest prospect ever and it would give her far too much time to worry about how Abby was coping. Worse, it would be more time to revisit the guilt that it was her fault in the first place that her sister was having to cope with so many more challenges in life?

No. She couldn’t go there. They’d agreed long ago that it was so far in the past it was a no-go subject. That you could destroy your future if you didn’t leave your past behind…

But she couldn’t be dishonest either. ‘I’m going to miss you,’ she told Abby.

‘I’ll only be on the other side of town. I’ll drive you crazy with how often I visit.’

‘And I’m only a phone call away.’ Lisa nodded, taking another sip of her wine. ‘If…you know…’

‘If I fall out of my chair, you mean?’ Abby laughed. ‘I can manage. It’s a long time since I’ve needed you hovering around like a helicopter parent.’

It was meant as a joke but Abby must have realised it stung a bit because she reached out to touch Lisa’s arm. ‘It’s not that I don’t appreciate everything you’ve done, you know that, don’t you?’

Lisa nodded. And took a longer sip of her wine.

‘You’ve been—and still are—the best sister ever but it’s time we both got to live our own lives. It’s the next step for me and then I’ll really be able to have a place of my own. Where I can bring my boyfriend home. Or you can bring yours, at least.’

Lisa’s jaw dropped. ‘You’ve got a boyfriend?’

‘No, silly.’ There was a beat of something very dark in the way Abby avoided her gaze. Avoided allowing a memory any hint of the light of day in the hope that it would stay buried for ever. It was another reason that Lisa felt the need to stay close to Abby to be able to protect her. If she hadn’t come home when she had that night, they both knew what would have happened because Abby had been unable to defend herself.

‘You’d be the first to know if I did.’ Abby’s tone was too bright. ‘I’ve been way too busy getting my Master’s in occupational therapy to want the hassle of a man in my life again. And now I’m well into my postgraduate course in hand therapy so I’m still too busy but, for heaven’s sake, Lise—you’re nearly thirty and you haven’t had a proper boyfriend yet and it feels like that’s at least partly because you think you have to keep looking after me.’

‘I have had boyfriends,’ Lisa protested. If Abby was determined to deal with her past trauma by burying it, then all she could do was support her. She made her own tone light and bright as well. ‘I’ve had lots of them. There was Michael. And Stephen. And…um…what was his name? Oh, yeah… Geoffrey. I guess he doesn’t really count…’

Abby was laughing again. ‘None of them count. They were all the most boring men on earth. Stephen wore socks and sandals and the most interesting thing he had to talk about was his worm farm. Michael was so skinny and tall and bald he looked like one of the test tubes in his laboratory and…oh, my God… I’d forgotten about Geoffrey. Wasn’t he the one whose mother turned up on your first date?’

The wine was definitely helping because Lisa was laughing now, too. ‘I think he’d booked a table for three all along.’

They’d seemed like such nice men, though. Safe…

‘You’re right,’ she had to admit. ‘I have a talent for picking boring men.’

‘Being bored is bad,’ Abby declared. ‘I think that’s your problem at the moment. You haven’t got enough to do until you start your next job. You should go on a holiday.’

Lisa’s breath escaped in a huff of laughter. As if. She’d never been on holiday in her life and she certainly wasn’t about to start now. Not when money was so tight it was scaring her.

‘What I should do is find a job for a few weeks.’

She didn’t realise that she had voiced the thought aloud until she saw the frown on Abby’s forehead.

‘Why? Oh…it’s because of my car, isn’t it? I knew it cost too much…’

‘No.’ Lisa shook her head. ‘It’s because I need something to do so I don’t die of boredom. I’ll go crazy rattling around here by myself for weeks after you move into the hostel. I might end up on your doorstep every day.’

‘Can’t have that.’ Abby feigned horror. ‘Fill up those glasses again.’ She opened her laptop and started tapping keys. ‘I’m going to see what’s on offer for a super-talented nurse who only wants a few weeks of work. Hmm…we need a high-end medical locum agency, don’t we?’

By the time Lisa had their glasses brimming again, Abby was looking triumphant.

‘I’ve found the perfect thing. Tailor-made. It’s work but it’s a holiday at the same time. And it’s legit. This agency—London Locums—is obviously highly rated.’

‘What is it?’

‘A cruise. More specifically, a Mediterranean cruise. Oh…’ Abby’s sigh was heartfelt. ‘It starts in Spain and then goes to places in the south of France and Italy and some Greek islands before finishing up back in Spain again. How romantic is that…?’

The countries and islands were fantasy destinations. A cruise ship even more of a fantasy but not one that Lisa had ever considered desirable.

‘I couldn’t do that. Cruise ships are full of self-indulgent people who have too much money and just want to float around having a good time, eating and drinking far too much. It would be disgusting.’

It certainly went against the values Lisa Phillips had embraced since she’d been no more than a child.

‘There’s nothing wrong with having a good time occasionally.’ Abby was watching her sister again. ‘It might be fun. They need a nurse in this ship’s well-equipped infirmary, just for a two-week cruise, to fill in a gap in a team of two doctors and three nurses. You’ll get time off to go on shore at some ports of call and accommodation and all meals are provided. And they’ll pay top rates for the right person. Why don’t you give this woman a call tomorrow? Julia, her name is…’

Lisa’s attention had certainly been caught. Not so much by the idea of shore excursions in foreign parts or shipboard accommodation or even the novelty of working in a completely different kind of environment. There was, however, something that made this feel like it might be meant to be—probably the words “top rates”.

‘Show me…’ She leaned closer as Abby turned her computer so she could see the screen. ‘Oh, wow…they’re paying that much? And it doesn’t start until after next week so I’d be here to help you move.’

Lisa pulled in a deep breath. ‘I think you’re right. It is perfect…’

CHAPTER ONE

WEARING JEANS HAD been a bad idea.

It was much hotter than Lisa had expected in Barcelona and, by the time she climbed out of the taxi after her trip from the airport to the port, it felt like the denim was actually sticking to the back of her legs. Even her short-sleeved white shirt felt too warm, despite her having removed her light cardigan. She could only hope that the uniform Julia from London Locums had told her would be supplied for her temporary job as a ship’s nurse was better suited to a late summer Mediterranean climate.

The friendly taxi driver opened the boot of the car to retrieve her small, bright red suitcase. ‘Here you go, señorita.’

‘Thank you so much.’ Lisa dug in her bag to find her wallet. ‘I don’t suppose you know which of the ships here belongs to the Aquamarine cruise line?’

Her driver shrugged. ‘It’s no problem. See that big round building over there?’

Lisa looked over her shoulder and nodded.

‘That’s the World Trade Centre. Your ship will be one of the ones berthed around it.’

Lisa could see the massive ships docked around the building. They looked like floating cities and one of them was going to be her home for the next couple of weeks. Maybe those butterflies in her stomach weren’t solely due to the nervousness that came from starting any new job. Maybe they were due to something she didn’t have that much experience of…like excitement? She could feel a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she turned back to pay her driver but for a split second her gaze snagged on what was happening over his shoulder.

Another taxi had pulled up. The rear door was open and a man had stepped out. A tall, lean, ridiculously good-looking man… He was wearing light, casual clothing and looked as though he’d just spent a very relaxing day of sightseeing and highlighting those streaks of sun-kissed blond in his hair. To add to the impression of sheer pleasure, she saw the long, long legs of his companion emerging from the back seat of the car. Slim, elegant arms went straight around the man’s neck as the woman got to her feet and he leaned in to kiss her with a leisurely grace that suggested it was by no means a first kiss and more like a continuation of a sexy, afternoon romp.

‘Um… Here you are. Is that enough for a tip?’ Embarrassed, Lisa was fumbling with the notes and coins. The embarrassment wasn’t just because she didn’t know about tipping practices in Spain. It was more to do with what was going on just a few feet away from her. That kiss… It was still going on. And on. For heaven’s sake, it was broad daylight. Those two needed to get a room. Again…?

‘Enjoy your time before you set sail,’ her driver instructed. ‘You can walk to Las Ramblas from here in less than fifteen minutes. If you have time, take a tour on the bus. This is the most beautiful city in the world.’

Lisa nodded her thanks for the advice but she knew she wouldn’t be exploring Barcelona today. Arrangements for her urgent passport hadn’t been finalised in time for her to join the cruise along with all the new passengers in Malaga a couple of days ago so it felt like she was playing catch-up already. She was due on board her new place of employment at four p.m. and that was…she glanced at her watch…less than twenty minutes from now, which didn’t give her that much time to identify the correct ship to board. Being late was the height of rudeness as far as Lisa Phillips was concerned.

As her taxi pulled away she noticed that that kiss was finally over and the leggy blonde was—reluctantly—getting back into her taxi. As Lisa pulled the long handle out of her suitcase the man lifted his hand in a farewell wave and then turned, his gaze locking onto Lisa’s a heartbeat later. He had to know that she’d seen what he’d just been doing but he didn’t seem remotely bothered. If anything, that quirk of his eyebrow seemed like nothing more than a flirtatious invitation. Perhaps she might like to find out how good at kissing he was?

Lisa could feel colour flooding her cheeks as she snapped the handle of her suitcase into place and then tipped it so she could start dragging it behind her. She’d already had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t just the sightseeing and unlimited food and drink people took cruises for and that had just been confirmed. Some people clearly found a cruise an opportunity for unlimited sexual adventures as well. A “what happens on board stays on board” kind of thing.

‘Can I be of some assistance?’

Oh…dear Lord… The man’s voice was just as gorgeous as the rest of him. Deep and sexy and with a hint of laughter that went with his whole, laidback look. It had to be the overly warm air she was dragging into her lungs that was adding to the heat Lisa could feel in her cheeks. And in the pit of her stomach, come to that. A rebellious corner of her brain was melting in that heat as well. Otherwise, why would it come up with the absurd idea that maybe she would rather like to find out how good this man was at kissing?

‘No,’ she said firmly, without looking up, so he wouldn’t notice her fiery cheeks. ‘Thank you, but I’m fine. It’s not heavy and I’m perfectly capable of managing by myself.’

‘No problem.’ That hint of laughter was more pronounced now. ‘Enjoy your cruise.’

A group of women, in flowing maxi dresses and floppy sunhats were coming towards them. Amidst the giggles, a call came that sounded more like a command.

‘Hugh… You must see these photos we took at the beach today. Wait until you see Scout’s new bikini.’

He’d already slowed his pace so it took only seconds for Lisa to leave him behind with the young women. Fellow passengers from the same ship, she decided. Hopefully not hers. She quickened her own pace, heading towards the first ship that was towering over her more and more as she got closer. There was a covered gangway sloping up to a door on the side of the hull and a desk shaded by a canopy at the bottom, staffed by uniformed people who might well be able to help her. If this wasn’t her ship, they could no doubt point her in the right direction.

Well, well, well… So there were still women in the world who blushed?

Hugh Patterson was intrigued, he had to admit, as he strolled along the marina, having finally extricated himself from the group of overexcited young women that he really didn’t have the energy for after a long lunch with his Spanish friend, Carlotta. Well acquainted with the tourist circuit of the Mediterranean for a couple of years now, Hugh had friends in many of the popular cruise ship destinations.

It wasn’t just sailors that had a girl in every port these days, he mused. Ships’ doctors could be just as privileged and if you were that way inclined, it was the easiest sex life ever because anybody involved knew that it was never going to be anything serious. It was just intermittent fun. Living life for the moment and enjoying every minute of it.

That young woman he’d made blush at the taxi rank had looked as if she needed to learn to let herself enjoy the moment. Fancy being so uptight you wouldn’t even let someone help with your suitcase? Or even make eye contact with them when they offered? Maybe it was actually irritating rather than intriguing? Being dismissed like that was not something he was used to.

‘Hi, Hugh. Had a good day?’

One of the team welcoming people back on board the ship after their shore excursions saw him heading for the gangway.

‘Fabulous, thanks, Simon. I love Barcelona. I had a picnic with a friend in Parc Guell.’

‘Oh…lucky you, not having to work today. I don’t get a day off on shore until Santorini this time. Or it might be Mykonos. One of the Greek islands, anyway.’

‘I know… I’m lucky. We only need one doctor on board at all times when we’re in port so, with two of us, we can take turns.’

He did feel lucky. What other doctors got to do their work in what could seem like an endless holiday but still got to practise enough real medicine that it didn’t get boring and it was also possible to keep one’s skills honed? Okay, he’d probably want to settle down sometime in the future but not yet. Maybe never, in fact. He’d almost done that once and look what a disaster that had turned out to be.

‘I’m about to go and take over from Peter now, though,’ he added, heading towards the gangway. ‘That way he can at least get out and stretch his legs on land.’

Hugh took the stairs rather than the elevator to get to the lobby atrium of the ship, which was one of the most impressive areas on board with its marble floors, glittering chandeliers, huge potted palm trees, and the grand piano that was always providing some background music for the crowds taking advantage of the boutique shops and bars that circled the lobby on several levels.

Except old Harry wasn’t playing his usual repertoire of popular classics. He wasn’t playing anything at all but standing beside his piano stool, looking down at a knot of people at the base of one of several staircases that curved gracefully between the atrium levels.

What was going on? Hugh’s pace increased as he got close enough to see that someone was on the floor in the middle of the group. An elderly woman, who, despite what had to be well over thirty-degree heat today, was wearing quite thick stockings. One of her shoes had come off and was lying beside someone that was crouched at the woman’s head.

‘Let me through, please,’ he said calmly. ‘I’m a doctor. What’s happened here?’

The crouching person looked up and Hugh was momentarily startled to see that it was the blushing girl from the taxi rank. Right now, however, she was supporting an elderly woman’s head in a manner that suggested she knew what she was doing to protect and assess a potential cervical spine injury.

‘She fell,’ he was told. ‘From about halfway down these stairs. Her neck seems to be okay, though.’

‘Did you see it happen?’

‘Yes… I was almost beside her going up the stairs.’

‘Please…’ the victim of the fall raised her hands. ‘Just help me up. I’m fine… I really don’t want to cause such a fuss.’

‘We need to make sure you’re okay first,’ Hugh told her. ‘My name’s Hugh and I’m a doctor and this is…’ He raised his eyebrows at the young woman who had, he couldn’t help noticing, rather extraordinary eyes—a golden hazel shade but the edge of the iris had a dark rim around it, as if nature had been determined to accentuate the design.

‘Lisa,’ she supplied. ‘My name’s Lisa and I’m a nurse.’

No wonder she was giving the impression of competence, Hugh thought, as he focused on his patient. ‘What’s your name, love?’ he asked.

‘Mabel…’

‘Is anything hurting, Mabel?’

‘I… I’m not sure… I don’t think so, dear.’

‘Can you take a deep breath? Does that hurt?’

‘No…’

‘Is someone with you?’

‘Frank…my husband…he’s coming shoon. We need to shee about our…our…’

Hugh frowned. Mabel might look to be well into her eighties but that didn’t mean she might not have been having a drink or two this afternoon. But slurred speech could very well be an indication of something more serious as well—like hypoglycaemia from a diabetic emergency or a head injury, which was not unlikely given the hard marble flooring beneath her.

‘Was she knocked out?’ he asked Lisa.

She shook her head. ‘I don’t think so but, if she was, it would have only been for a moment because I was beside her by the time she got to the bottom of the stairs. I tried to catch her but I was just a split second too slow, unfortunately.’

This Lisa might be small but Hugh could imagine her leaping into action to try and help someone. She was still clearly determined to help.

‘She didn’t just fall,’ Lisa added. ‘She looked dizzy. She was already holding the railing but she let go and…’ Lisa was watching the elderly woman carefully. ‘Mabel? Do you remember that?’

‘No…pleashe…let me up…’

Hugh was holding Mabel’s wrist, finding her pulse rapid but very pronounced, so her blood pressure couldn’t be low enough to explain any dizziness.

‘Move back, folks.’ Old Harry, the pianist, had come down from the stage and was trying to move people further away. ‘Let’s give them some space.’ He caught Hugh’s gaze. ‘I’ll go to the infirmary, shall I? And get some help?’

Hugh nodded. ‘Yes, thank you.’

Mabel pulled away from his hand and moved as if she was making an effort to sit up.

‘Don’t move, Mabel,’ Lisa said. ‘Let us look after you for a minute, okay?’

But Mabel tried to roll and then cried out with pain.

‘What’s hurting?’ Hugh asked.

‘Look…’ Lisa tilted her head to indicate what she had noticed. ‘That looks like some rotation and shortening of her left leg, don’t you think? A NOF?’

Fracturing a neck of femur was a definite possibility given the mechanism of injury and they were often not that painful until the patient tried to move, but Hugh was impressed that Lisa had picked up on it with no more than a glance.

‘Try and keep still, Mabel.’ Lisa leaned down so that Mabel could hear her reassurance. ‘It’s okay…we’re going to take care of you…’

The warmth and confidence in her voice was as distinctive as her eye colouring. She sounded absolutely genuine—as if she was well used to taking care of people and doing it extremely well. If Hugh were unwell or injured, he would certainly feel better hearing that voice. Mabel was trying to respond but seemed to be having trouble getting any words out and that was when Hugh noticed the droop that was now obvious on one side of her face. Lisa’s observations that it had appeared to be a medical event that had caused the fall rather than a simple trip and the other symptoms like the slurred speech now were coming together to make it urgent to get this patient into hospital.

It was a relief to see the other ship’s doctor, his colleague Peter, coming into the lobby, with the emergency kit in his arms. One of their nurses was following and she carried a pillow and a blanket under one arm and an oxygen cylinder under the other. Hugh had another flash of relief that they were currently docked in the port of a major city. They might be very well equipped to deal with emergencies on board but someone who was potentially having a stroke and had fractured their hip in a fall would have needed evacuation to a land hospital as quickly as possible. At least they wouldn’t need to call in a helicopter this time.

‘We need an ambulance,’ he told Peter. ‘Not just for the NOF. We’ve got signs that the fall might be the result of a CVA.’

‘We’ll get them on the way.’ the older doctor nodded.

‘Mabs?’ An elderly man was pushing his way through the concerned spectators. ‘Oh, no…what’s happened?’

He crouched down beside Lisa, who moved to let him get closer to his wife. Hugh turned to reach into the emergency kit as Peter opened it. They needed to get some oxygen on for their patient, check her blood glucose level, get an IV line in and some pain medication on board and to splint her hip. They needed to talk to Mabel’s husband, too, and find out about her past medical history and what kind of medications she might be taking. It was only when he looked back to start talking to Frank that he realised that Lisa had disappeared. Did she think she might be in the way now that the rest of the ship’s medical staff were on scene?

It was a shame she’d gone, anyway. He would have liked to have thanked her. And to tell her how helpful she had been.

Lisa should probably have introduced herself to the ship’s doctor and the nurse who’d come in with him and she should have offered to keep helping, but after she’d moved to let Mabel’s husband get close enough to comfort his wife, the nurse had moved in front of her and it just hadn’t been the right time to say anything that might interrupt the focus on their patient so Lisa had let herself slip into the background to let them do their work. She would have expected that good-looking passenger who also happened to be a doctor to stand back and let the people in uniform take over but it almost looked as if he was still in charge of the scene.

Moving further back brought Lisa to the bottom of the staircase and she took a few steps and then paused to watch what was happening. She might be doing this herself very soon, dressed in pale green scrubs with a stethoscope hanging round her neck like the nurse who was currently taking Mabel’s blood pressure. The doctor, in a crisp, white uniform with epaulettes on the shoulders of his shirt, was attaching electrodes to monitor Mabel’s heart and the extra doctor… Hugh…was sorting something from what looked like a well-stocked kit. IV supplies, perhaps?

She could only see Hugh’s profile but she’d been much closer to him only a minute or two ago and she’d been aware from the instant he’d appeared that this was a very different man from the one who might have been flirting with her near the taxi rank earlier.

It wasn’t that he was any less good looking, of course. Or even that that relaxed grace that came from an easy enjoyment of his life had vanished. It was more that there was a focus that made it obvious this man was intelligent and he knew what he was doing. Lisa could respect that. She could forgive him for being some kind of playboy, in fact. After all, doctors were just like any other professional people and there were no laws that prevented them going on holiday and letting their hair down occasionally, were there?

Onlookers were being asked to leave the area and make space as a team of paramedics arrived with a stretcher. Lisa found herself in a flow of people that took her to the next level of the atrium but she knew she needed to find an elevator or internal stairway. Not that there was any point in finding the ship’s medical centre to introduce herself when she knew the staff were busy here for the moment, but her suitcase would have been delivered to her cabin by now so it would be a good time to find out where that was and freshen up before she went to meet her new colleagues.

She did know she had to go down rather than up. Crew members didn’t get cabins with balconies. They were possibly right in the middle of the ship and might not even have any portholes. Lisa had to hope that she wasn’t prone to seasickness. Either that, or that the Mediterranean was a very calm sea.

An hour or so later, Lisa was heading for the middle of Deck Two, where a helpful steward had told her the medical centre and infirmary were located. She had showered, swapped her jeans for a more formal skirt and brushed her short waves of auburn hair into a semblance of order. A large red cross painted on a steel door told her that she had found her destination and a sign below that gave the hours the medical facility was open and phone numbers for the nurse on duty for out of hours. So, it was a nurse rather than a doctor that made the first response to any calls?

Lisa’s heart skipped a beat as she went into an empty waiting room. She was going to be one of those nurses for the next two weeks, with possibly more responsibility than she’d ever had before if she was going to be the first responder to something major like a cardiac arrest or severe trauma. This time she knew that that internal flutter was definitely excitement. She was stepping well out of her comfort zone here, and…well…she couldn’t wait…

‘Hello?’

The desk at one side of the waiting room was empty. Lisa peered around a corner and walked a short distance down the corridor. There were consulting rooms, a room labelled as a laboratory where she could see benches covered with equipment that looked like specialised blood or specimen testing machines and a closed door that had a sign saying it was the pharmacy. An open door on the other side of the corridor showed Lisa what looked like a small operating theatre. Surprised, she stepped into it. There was a theatre light above the narrow bed in the centre of the room, a portable X-ray machine, cardiac monitor and ventilator nearby and glass-fronted cupboards lining the walls that looked to be stocked with a huge amount of medical supplies.

A movement in her peripheral vision as she entered the narrow corridor again made Lisa turn, to see the back view of the white pants and shirt of the ship’s doctor’s uniform as he stood at the desk in the waiting room.

‘Hello…’ she said again, walking towards him. ‘I was starting to wonder if I was all alone here.’

The doctor turned and Lisa could actually feel her jaw dropping. If she’d thought this man was good looking when she’d seen him kissing his girlfriend, it was nothing to how attractive he looked in uniform. Especially this uniform, with the snowy, white fabric accentuating his tanned skin and making those brown eyes look remarkably like melted chocolate. He also looked as startled as Lisa was feeling. They both spoke at precisely the same time.

‘What are you doing here?’ Lisa’s voice was embarrassingly squeaky.

‘It’s you…’ His tone was more than welcoming. It was almost delighted.

They both stopped speaking then and simply stared at each other. Lisa was confused. Why was Hugh wearing the same uniform as the ship’s doctor? And, now that they were nowhere near someone who needed medical attention, why was it that the first thought that came into her head as she looked at him was the image of him kissing that woman so very thoroughly? To her dismay she could feel heat creeping into her cheeks.

It was Hugh who finally broke the awkward moment, his mouth curving into a lazy smile. ‘You’re blushing.’ He sounded amused. ‘Again…’

Oh, help… So, avoiding eye contact with him out on the pier hadn’t been enough to disguise her beetroot-coloured cheeks, then. Lisa closed her eyes as she sighed. ‘I’m a redhead. It kind of goes with the territory.’ She opened her eyes again, frowning. ‘I thought you were a passenger.’

‘But you knew I was a doctor. We’ve just been working together.’

‘Yes, but… I thought you were a doctor who was on holiday.’ Good grief…the look she was getting suggested that it was Hugh who was confused now. He probably thought that she was an idiot. ‘I’m Lisa,’ she added. ‘Lisa Phillips. I’m a—’

‘Nurse,’ Hugh put in helpfully. ‘Yes, I remember. A good one, too, I think. Thank you for your help earlier. With Mabel.’

‘It was a pleasure.’ The compliment about her abilities was making her feel far more proud of herself than it merited. ‘Do you know how she is?’

‘I believe she’s doing well. She’s scheduled for hip surgery later this evening but the better news was that her neurological symptoms had virtually resolved by the time she reached the hospital.’

‘So it was a TIA rather than a stroke?’ A transient ischaemic attack could present with the same symptoms of a stroke but they were temporary. A warning signal rather than a critical event.

‘So it would seem.’ The quirk of Hugh’s eyebrow told her that he was impressed by her medical assessment but then his smile reappeared. ‘Now…what it is that I can help you with, Lisa Phillips? I hope you’re not unwell…or injured…’

Along with a very genuine concern in his voice, there was a gleam in those brown eyes that made Lisa remember that kiss all over again. Or rather the moment he’d caught her gaze after the kiss and they’d both acknowledged what she’d seen. There was also an acknowledgement of something on a different level—one of mutual attraction, perhaps? Oh…help… Lisa looked away. Any attempt to return the man’s smile evaporated instantly. She’d never expected to see him again and things were about to get even more unsettling.

‘I’m a nurse,’ she explained.

‘Yes, I know. A nurse on holiday.’

‘No… I’m here to work. Through London Locums. I believe I’m replacing someone called Amanda who needed time to support her mother who’s having surgery?’

There was another moment of startled silence. ‘You’re our locum? Why didn’t you say something?’

‘Why would I? I thought you were a passenger.’

‘But you didn’t say anything when Peter turned up.’

‘Peter?’

‘Our other doctor. And Janet was there—one of our nurses.’

‘Well…it didn’t seem quite the right moment to be introducing myself.’

‘I guess not. Let’s do that properly now, shall we?’ Hugh was holding out his hand. ‘I’m Hugh Patterson. Pleased to meet you, Lisa. I look forward to working with you for the next couple of weeks. And it will be me you’re working with mostly because you’re filling a gap on my Blue Watch.’

‘Oh?’

Lisa had taken his hand automatically but, instead of shaking hers, he simply held it for a moment and then gave it a slow squeeze, and that did it. Like a switch being flicked on, an electrical jolt shot from Lisa’s hand and raced up her arm—an extraordinary tingle she had never felt before in her life. It was enough to make her pull her hand free with the kind of instinctive reflex she might have had to touching something that was hot enough to burn her badly.

How weird was that?

And this Hugh Patterson was looking forward to working with her?

‘Yes,’ he said, as if confirming her silent query. ‘I’m Blue Watch. Peter’s Green Watch. It just means that we’ll be working together. Probably having the same days off as well and you should be able to get some shore excursions if there’s space. Do you have a favourite place to visit around the Mediterranean?’

‘This is the first time I’ve been out of England,’ Lisa confessed.

‘Really?’ Hugh sounded astonished. ‘You don’t like travelling?’

‘I’ve…um…never really had the opportunity, that’s all.’ Lisa wasn’t about to tell him the reasons why. He didn’t need to know about her family responsibilities and he certainly wouldn’t be interested in hearing about financial hardship. This Hugh Patterson looked like one of life’s golden people who never had to worry about anything much. Someone from a completely different planet from her own, which made her wonder how well they might be able to work together. Perhaps he was thinking along the same lines now because the look she was receiving made her feel as if she was being seen as someone very unusual. Someone…interesting?

The prospect of her new working responsibilities pushing the limits of her professional comfort zones were nothing in comparison to how this man was pushing the boundaries of anything she considered personally safe when it came to men.

No wonder she’d snatched her hand back as if she was about to get burned.

Anyone who had anything to do with Hugh Patterson could be playing with fire. Lisa could feel herself releasing her deeper than usual breath carefully. It was nothing to worry about because she never played with anything dangerous. Never had. Never would. That there was even any temptation there was enough of a warning that she wasn’t about to ignore.

‘I’m looking forward to working here as well,’ she heard herself saying with commendable calmness. ‘And, if you’ve got a moment, I’d appreciate a bit of a tour, if you’ve got time, that is. I’d like to get up to speed as soon as possible—preferably before my first shift tomorrow morning.’

Lisa was edging back a little as she spoke. Even though she had broken the skin contact between them well over a minute ago, she could still feel that odd tingle it had provoked. It was almost as if she could still feel the warmth of his skin, filling the air between them, and when he spoke both his words and his tone made both those impressions even more noticeable.

‘No problem,’ he said. Those dark eyes were watching her so closely Lisa had the horrible feeling that he knew about that tingle. That he knew that she thought he was dangerous.

‘Come with me,’ he added, with that lazy smile that was already beginning to feel familiar—the one that suggested he was finding this all rather amusing and he intended to enjoy the entertainment as much as possible. ‘I’m all yours, Nurse Phillips.’

CHAPTER TWO

OH, DEAR…

It was going to be too tempting not to tease this new colleague a little. There was something about her that made her seem much younger than she probably was. First appearances were giving him an interesting impression of someone being well educated and intelligent but possibly naïve at the same time. Hugh had never had a little sister, but if he had, he was quite sure he’d feel like this in her company. He could appreciate the fact she was gorgeous without being remotely attracted, feel proud of her ability to do her job well and perhaps recognise that there were things he could teach her. That, in the interests of being a kind, big brotherly sort of person, he had a duty to teach her, even.

Like persuading her that life could be significantly more enjoyable if she relaxed a bit? She was so tense. So eager to give the impression that she could cope with anything she might be asked to do. It seemed that this Lisa not only liked to be able to manage on her own when it came to carrying a suitcase, she was determined to get all the information she needed to be able to achieve the ability to manage alone in her professional environment if that should prove necessary.

‘So…do you follow a standard protocol for resuscitation in cardiac arrest?’ Lisa was clearly familiar with the model of life pack for cardiac monitoring and defibrillation that was on top of their rapid-response/resuscitation trolley. ‘Thirty to two compressions to ventilation rate until an advanced airway is secure? Immediate shock for documented VT or VF and then every two minutes?’

Hugh nodded. ‘You’ve got a recent Advanced Care Life Support qualification, I assume? That’s one of the standard requirements for working on board a ship.’

Lisa mirrored his nod. ‘I’ve had experience with laryngeal mask airways and administration of adrenaline but I’m not yet qualified for antiarrhythmic drugs or intubation.’

Something in her tone made Hugh curious. Or maybe it was the use of that qualifying ‘yet’.

‘What made you decide to go into nursing and not become a doctor?’ he asked her.

There was a flash of surprise in her eyes that made him wonder if she wasn’t used to people asking her personal questions—or that she discouraged them because she preferred to guard her privacy.

The response was no more than a verbal shrug, however. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘I just get the impression you’d like to be doing more. Like intubating someone in a cardiac arrest?’

Lisa’s glance slid away from his. ‘I always wanted to work in a medical field,’ she said. ‘Nursing was the most practical option at the time.’ She turned to touch another piece of equipment that was close. ‘Does this take digital X-rays?’

‘Mmm…’ Hugh was still curious but he knew when someone wanted to avoid talking about something. Had Lisa become a nurse because she hadn’t been able to afford the time or costs to go to medical school? ‘It can be helpful to be able to transmit an image, either for a second opinion—which we can get via internet links to all sorts of international experts—or to get the right treatment available as soon as possible if we transfer someone to a land hospital, by chopper, for instance.’

‘Do you go with them?’

‘Sometimes they might need a doctor on board if they’re critical. If someone local doesn’t come with the evacuation crew we might send Tim, who’s qualified as both a paramedic and a nurse and covers a lot of our night shifts currently. Or you might even go as a medical chaperone, depending on what else is going on.’

It was a true statement but Hugh was telling her that she might be involved because he wanted to see her reaction and, sure enough, there was a gleam of interest in those amazing eyes at the prospect of being choppered off the ship and back again. A glow of excitement even, and that gave him an odd little kick in his gut. So, she was up for a bit of adventure, this Lisa, even if she was uptight. This was good. It could make teasing her even more enjoyable.

‘And do you ever do actual surgery in here? It looks more like an operating theatre than an assessment or treatment area.’

‘It is, at times.’ Hugh told her. ‘We have to be able to deal with every situation you could imagine and sometimes we’re out of range of emergency transport for some time. We’ve got anaesthetic and ventilation gear along with the digital X-ray and ultrasound and a full range of surgical instruments, though I haven’t had to use too many of them yet.’

‘But you’ve got a surgical background?’

‘I’ve mostly specialised in emergency medicine and critical care but I’ve got both surgical and anaesthetic diplomas as well. How ’bout you?’ Hugh led the way out of the room. ‘What’s your background?’

‘My early experience was working in A and E,’ Lisa said. ‘Which I really loved. But my last job as head of a nursing home team gave me a lot of scope for first response and medical assessment and that was interesting, too. I’m…between jobs at the moment, which was why a locum position was ideal.’ She had paused to look through the door of the laboratory. ‘What range of tests can you do on board?’

It seemed like asking Lisa a question only made him want to ask more—like why she’d gone to work in a nursing home if she’d loved the emergency department so much? And, if she’d had so much experience already, why did she give off this impression of…well, it was almost innocence. Unworldliness, anyway, and that certainly wasn’t something Hugh normally came across in the women he met these days. He was curious, he realised. A lot more curious than he usually was when he met someone new.

‘Again, we have to be prepared for as many things as possible. We can test for cardiac enzymes if we suspect a heart attack, infections, arterial oxygen levels and blood glucose levels and a dozen or more other things. Janet’s our expert and she can give you a rundown on how to do the tests but it’s mostly automatic so it’s easy. And, speaking of Janet, she’s in our little two-bed infirmary at the moment because we admitted a woman with a severe migraine earlier today for monitoring so let’s go there and I can introduce you.’

‘That will be great, thank you.’

Hugh watched as Lisa took a last, slow glance back over her shoulder towards the areas he’d already shown her, as if she was mentally cataloguing and memorising everything she’d learned so far, and he was almost tempted to give her a quick quiz but then her gaze ended by catching his and there was a note of surprise there. Or maybe it was criticism because she had expected him to be moving by now and taking her to the next source of information about her new job.

She could turn out to be bossy, he decided, once she had settled in and was confident of her surroundings and responsibilities, but he took the hint and led her towards the hospital end of the medical centre.

“Bossy” was the wrong word, he decided moments later. “Feisty” was probably a more accurate prediction. His internal correction made him smile.

Hugh liked feisty. He liked it a lot.

If he was any more laidback, he’d be horizontal.

But Lisa knew that this relaxed impression of complete confidence with a streak of an impish desire to liven things up a little was just one side of the coin as far as Dr Hugh Patterson was concerned. She’d seen him morph into a completely focused professional dealing with an accident scene and she saw the coin start to flip again as they entered the ship’s hospital at the other end of the medical centre. There were two small four-bed wards, one for passengers and one for crew, separated by a nursing station currently staffed by the team’s senior nurse. Janet was older, with a friendly face and a Scottish accent but they had no time for more than a brief introduction before Hugh picked up the chart for their inpatient.

‘She’s responded well to the treatment,’ Janet told him. ‘She’s had a good sleep, her headache’s down to a two-out-of-ten pain score and she hasn’t vomited since her first dose of anti-emetic.’

Lisa saw the frown line of concentration that appeared between Hugh’s eyes as he rapidly scanned the information on the chart of medications administered and observations taken. Then he walked towards one of the only two beds in the room, the frown line evaporating as his mouth curved in a reassuring smile.

‘Rita, isn’t it? I’m Hugh Patterson, one of the doctors on board. It was my colleague Peter who saw you this morning, yes?’

The woman on the bed, who looked to be in her early forties, was nodding. ‘I feel ever so much better,’ she told Hugh. ‘Those pills have been wonderful.’ She was staring at Hugh. ‘Have we met somewhere before?’

His smile was charming but fleeting. ‘I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure but I’m very glad you’re feeling better. I suspect the main thing that’s helped was to give you something for the nausea and vomiting and fix the dehydration that was making things worse. This wasn’t your first migraine, was it?’

‘No, but I haven’t had one for ages. I know to stay away from triggers like chocolate and red wine.’

‘Are they the only triggers that you know of? Flashing lights and loud noises can do it for some people. You haven’t been out partying in the nightclubs on board till all hours, have you?’ His tone was teasing.

‘I should be so lucky.’

Rita was smiling now. And blinking more rapidly, Lisa noticed. Good grief…was she trying to flirt with her doctor? Batting her eyelashes even? If so, at least Hugh wasn’t responding with anything more than a hint of his earlier smile.

‘Might be an idea to keep avoiding anything like that for a day or two. I’m sure you don’t want to be stuck in here and missing out on any more shore excursions.’

‘No…my friends all went out for a horse riding trek today and I was so looking forward to doing that. Oh…’ Rita’s eyes widened. ‘I remember now. I do know you. You’re that Hugh Patterson…’

‘Oh?’ Hugh was looking wary now. ‘Which one would that be?’

‘Your mother was Diane Patterson, yes? The District Commissioner for the Windsor pony club and you used to have a three-day event on your family estate every year. I rode in it more than once—oh, ages ago now but I remember you used to be on the quad bike, doing errands like delivering coffee to the judges.’

Wow… His family had an estate in Windsor? Somehow that didn’t surprise Lisa. That laidback, making the most of good things approach to life often went hand in hand with extreme wealth, didn’t it?

‘Mmm… Ancient history.’

His clipped tone made it very clear that he had no interest in pursuing this line of conversation and Lisa dropped her gaze instantly when his glance slid sideways so she could let him know she wasn’t interested in hearing personal information like this. She could understand perfectly well why he might be embarrassed at having his family’s financial situation made common knowledge and she could sympathise with that. She might be completely at the other end of the financial spectrum but she wouldn’t want strangers knowing about hers either.

‘We’ll be setting sail in the next hour or so.’ Hugh was scribbling something on Rita’s chart. ‘What we’ll do is take your IV line out and give you some medications to take with you.’ He was turning away from this patient. ‘Don’t hesitate to call if you’re not continuing to improve, though. One of our wonderful staff members will be available at all times.’

His smile became suddenly a lot more genuine as his gaze shifted to catch Lisa’s and, for the first time, it was impossible not to smile back. He was making her feel so welcome and as though he really did believe she would be a welcome addition to their team, even though he had only just met her. There could be relief making that welcome more pronounced because he could get away from a conversation he obviously didn’t want to have but it didn’t matter… Lisa was going to make sure that Hugh wasn’t disappointed with his new staff member.

Janet was also very welcoming and, after she had taken out Rita’s IV line, dispensed the medication Hugh had prescribed and discharged her, the older nurse took Lisa to find her uniform and then continue her exploration of the ship’s medical facilities as she heard about what her duties would entail.

It was during this additional tour that Lisa became aware of a background hum of sound that was new and an odd sensation that something was changing in the air around her. Janet smiled at her expression.

‘We’re underway,’ she told Lisa. ‘I love that moment when we leave shore and head out into the freedom of the open sea. It’s what keeps me coming back every season.’

Yes. Lisa could recognise that it was the distant hum and vibration of extremely powerful engines that she could both hear and feel, and the realisation hit her that this massive vessel and the thousands of passengers and crew on board were soon going to be far from land and reliant on what suddenly seemed like a very small medical team to deal with any medical or traumatic emergency that might happen.

They were also on the way to somewhere Lisa had never been in her life and the combination of potential adventure and challenge was…well…it was enormously exciting, that’s what it was. The hum and sensation of movement was coalescing somewhere in the pit of her stomach in a tingle that was not unlike the one she had experienced earlier today, when Hugh Patterson had been holding her hand, but this was far more acceptable. Welcome, in fact, because it was almost completely a professional kind of excitement.

Whatever this exotic position threw at her for the next couple of weeks, she was going to do her absolute best. She always did, of course, but there was an incentive here that was a little different from anything she’d experienced before. She had to admit that part of that incentive was a little disturbing, however. While it was perfectly natural to want to do her job exceptionally well for the sake of anybody who was ill or injured on this ship, and she’d always had that determination wherever she’d worked, what was different this time was why it seemed almost more important to impress her new boss.

I found your ship online. Looks amazing!

It’s totally unreal. There are bars and restaurants open all night, shows like you might see on Broadway, fitness clubs and dance classes—you name it, it’s happening on board this ship.

I found a page with pictures of all the important people who had lots of stripes on their shoulders.

They’re the officers.

Lisa was curled up on her bunk, typing rapidly in the message box on her laptop screen. Conversations with Abby were both more reliable and a lot less expensive this way than by phone.

The ship’s doctors were there too.

They’re considered to be officers as well. The nurses get privileges too. We can go anywhere we like on board and not just keep to the crew quarters for meals and things.

Who’s the doctor with the beard?

That’s Peter.

And who’s the other one? The really *really* good-looking one?

Hugh. He’s the one I mostly work with.

Oooh… Lucky you.

A string of emojis with hearts instead of eyes made Lisa shake her head before she tapped back.

You’re just as bad as every other woman on board. We had four of them in the clinic yesterday, all trying to outdo each other to get his attention and…get this…two of them had come in to ask for the morning-after pill because things had got “out of hand” the night before at some party.

Wow…not the best line to take if you want to get somebody interested, I wouldn’t have thought.

Lisa was smiling as she responded.

No. And anyway there are strict rules about the crew fraternising with the passengers.

What about the crew fraternising with the crew???

It was a winking face at the end of Abby’s message this time.

Not going to happen.

Why not? Is he single?

I haven’t asked him.

Why not?

I’m not interested.

Oh…yeah…right… Why not? Because he’s too good-looking? Doesn’t wear socks with sandals?

Lisa leaned back against her pillow and closed her eyes for a moment. She’d been busy enough settling into her new environment in the last couple of days so that she could concentrate purely on her work and find her way around this enormous ship. There was a lot of work to do during the often busy open surgeries at the medical centre, which ran for a couple of hours both morning and early evening, where she was responsible for triaging any patients that arrived and dealing with minor cases that didn’t need to see a doctor, like small lacerations or medication needed for seasickness.

Between those hours, there seemed to be plenty of administration to take care of, new people to meet and calls to what had so far proved to be easily managed situations in cabins or public areas of the ship.

But now that Abby was teasing her, there was no getting away from the fact that she was not immune to Hugh Patterson’s charms, however confident she was in being able to resist them. Not that she’d had to resist them, mind you. He was both charming, friendly and great to work with, but it was patently obvious that she was a curiosity to him and she knew why. She’d seen one of the type of women he was attracted to, for heaven’s sake, and she couldn’t be more different to the sophisticated, confident and sexy blonde that had accompanied him back to the port in Barcelona.

The woman that he’d been kissing with such…thoroughness…

Oh, no…there it was again. That tingle that she thought she had actually conquered over the last busy days. Distraction was needed.

Lisa opened her eyes and started tapping again.

How are things for you? Do you still like the hostel?

Love it. It’s so much easier to be close to campus like this and the food’s great. Miss you, though.

Miss you, too. Got a date for your driver’s licence test yet?

Next week. And guess what?

What?

I’m going to try out for a wheelchair basketball team. I need some more exercise, what with all the great food in the canteens.

Hope that’s not as dangerous as wheelchair rugby.

Lisa hit the “enter” button before she stopped to think that maybe Abby wouldn’t appreciate the warning but it had always been difficult not to be over-protective of her little sister.

Sure enough, she could almost hear the sigh that came with Abby’s response. And she obviously wasn’t the only one who would prefer a distraction.

Stop being a mother hen. Tell me about where you are. Have you been on a shore excursion yet?

Not yet. My watch was on duty for the stops in both Corsica and Marseilles. Next stop is Nice, though—tomorrow—although we actually stop around the corner in Villefranche sur Mer because this ship is too big for the Nice port and we have to take small boats to get in to shore. We dock at dawn and then the ship doesn’t sail until about ten o’clock at night and I’m just helping with the morning surgery hours so I’ve got most of the day and the evening to go sightseeing.

OMG…on the French Riviera? You’re living the dream.

I know.

Lisa found an emoji with a huge grin.

I’ll send photos but try not to get too jealous.

Don’t send a photo unless it’s you and that cute doctor alone in some romantic French café. Preferably drinking champagne.

LOL Lisa sent back.

Give it up, Abby. Not going to happen.

But, despite any firm intentions, it was what she was thinking about as she shut down her computer, climbed into bed a bit later and switched off her light. Champagne. Delicious food. An outdoor eatery, maybe shaded with grapevines. Someone playing a piano accordion nearby. And a companion who was only biding his time before taking the opportunity to kiss her senseless. Lisa could actually feel the tension of that anticipation. The curiosity. Desire…?

No. She pushed it away, rolling over to find a cool patch on her pillow. She’d certainly never found a kiss that lived up to that level of anticipation. It was the stuff of romance novels, not real life. It was just easier to toy with fantasy when she was temporarily “living the dream”, as Abby had reminded her. Floating on the Mediterranean in a luxury cruise ship. Heading for land in a country that was famous for romance as much as anything else.

And there she was again…imagining being on the receiving side of a kiss like the one Hugh had been giving the gorgeous blonde. Not necessarily with Hugh, of course…just a kiss like that.

Oh…who was she kidding? It had to be Hugh, she realised as she was drifting into sleep. She’d never even seen anyone kissing like that in real life—she’d only read about it, or seen it on a movie screen. But this wasn’t real life, exactly, was it? Lisa was already deeply into a very odd mix of real life and fantasy and the lines between the two were already a bit blurred. About to indulge herself by drifting further towards the fantasy side, it was a rude shock to hear the strident beeping of her pager. She snapped on her light and reached for the small device.

Code One, the pager read. Lido Deck.

Lisa was out of bed and hauling on her uniform in seconds. There was no time to even think about what her hair looked like. Her cabin was the closest to the medical centre. She had to go and grab the rapid response trolley and head for the deck that had the swimming pools. Hopefully, someone else from the team would join her quickly but, for the moment, she knew she was on her own.

Her heart skipped a beat and then sped up as she raced along the narrow corridor towards the medical centre. This was definitely real life and not any kind of fantasy and she was on the front line. Lisa had no idea if any of the other medical staff would also be responding to this call, even if Code One was the most urgent kind of summons. She might well be on her own until she found out whether the situation was really serious enough to warrant extra staff at this time of night.

It had to be well after midnight by the time Lisa had commandeered a service lift to get her to the Lido deck as quickly as possible. Heads turned as she raced past people wrapped up in blankets lying on deckchairs. It was a movie night where a huge screen had been lowered on the other side of the largest swimming pool, the deckchairs lined up in rows to accommodate the audience. Red and white striped bags of popcorn got spilled as a crew member in a white hat jumped out of Lisa’s way. She passed restaurants that were still open and she could smell the variety of food on offer—from burgers to Indian meals.

There were people everywhere, laughing and having fun, even dancing in the area that Lisa was heading for where there was another pool and two spas, which made it feel quite bizarre to find a knot of crew members and others around a figure that was slumped against the side of one of the spa pools, wearing only a bathing suit.

Lisa could hear that the young man was having trouble breathing as she crouched down beside him, feeling for his pulse on his wrist. It was rapid and very faint, which suggested his blood pressure could be low.

‘I’m Lisa,’ she told him. ‘One of the ship’s nurses. Can you tell me your name?’

He opened his mouth but all she could hear was the harsh sounds of him trying to move air through obstructed passages.

‘His name’s Alex,’ someone told her. ‘We got him out of the pool because he started coughing and couldn’t stop.’

‘Are you asthmatic, Alex?’ Lisa was pulling open drawers on the resus trolley. She needed to get some oxygen on her patient and probably a nebuliser to try and help him breathe.

‘He’s allergic.’

Lisa looked up at the young woman in a red bikini. ‘To what?’

‘Strawberries. He told me when he didn’t want to try my strawberry daiquiri.’

‘He said he had an adrenaline pen in his pocket,’ A crew member added. ‘But we haven’t found where he left his clothes yet.’

‘Okay…’ Lisa slipped an oxygen mask over Alex’s face. ‘I’m going to give you an injection right now,’ she told him.

Her own heart rate was well up as she located the drug she needed, filled the syringe and administered the intramuscular injection. An anaphylactic reaction could be a very satisfying emergency to treat if it responded rapidly to adrenaline and the frightening swelling in the airways began to settle, but it could also be a situation that could just as rapidly spiral into something worse—potentially life-threatening.

Waiting the few minutes to see if a repeat dose was needed gave Lisa a chance to take some vital signs and check Alex more thoroughly, and that was when she noted the diffuse, red rash that was appearing all over his body.

‘You didn’t drink the daiquiri, did you, Alex?’

He shook his head. He was holding the oxygen mask against his face and his eyes, above the mask, were terrified. Even through the plastic of the mask, Lisa could see that his lips were swelling.

‘I kissed him.’ The girl in the red bikini burst into tears. ‘This is my fault, isn’t it? He’s not going to die, is he? You have to do something…’

She did. Nebulised adrenaline was the next step, along with a repeat dose of the drug by injection but, even if that started to make a difference, Lisa was going to need help and, as if she’d sent out a silent prayer, the figure that pushed through the group of spectators was the answer she would have wanted the most.

Hugh Patterson.

‘Fill me in,’ was all he said. ‘I’ve got some crew bringing a stretcher.’

‘Anaphylaxis to strawberries,’ Lisa told him. ‘Diffuse rash, hypotensive, tachycardic and respiratory obstruction with stridor—oxygen saturation currently eighty-eight percent. First dose of adrenaline was about three minutes ago but there’s no improvement.’

‘No worries.’ His nod let Lisa know that he’d absorbed all the information and he knew how serious this was. His tone was still laidback enough not to alarm anyone else, however. ‘Let’s get another dose on board. And can you set up a nebuliser as well?’

Lisa drew up the medication as Hugh put a hand on their patient’s shoulder. ‘We’ve got this, okay? But we’re going to take you down to our medical centre where we’ve got all the bells and whistles. I’m just going to pop an IV into your arm while we wait for your transport.’

Lisa knew her way around the trolley drawers by now so she was able to hand Hugh everything he needed before he had to ask. A tourniquet to wrap around Alex’s upper arm, an alcohol wipe to clean the skin, a cannula to slip into a vein and then the Luer plug and dressing to secure the access. Lisa prepped the bag of saline by puncturing the port with the spike of the giving set and then running fluid through the tubes to eliminate any air bubbles. Hugh was attaching the line to the Luer plug as the crew members arrived with the stretcher and then helped lift Alex onto it.

‘Carry that bag, please, Lisa. And squeeze it. We need to get that fluid in fast.’

They moved swiftly through an increasingly subdued crowd of people on the Lido deck, into the lift and then down to the deck they needed. Lisa was relieved that they would soon be in their well-equipped treatment room. She was even more relieved that she had Hugh by her side. They had just been working seamlessly, side by side, to stabilise this patient and she was sure that they would have things under control in no time.

‘On my count,’ Hugh said to the crew. ‘Lift on three. One, two…three…’

Alex was being placed smoothly onto the bed as Lisa reached up to flick on the overhead operating theatre light and she caught her breath in a gasp of dismay as it went on. Alex’s head had flopped to one side and his chin had dropped enough to close his airway completely. He had clearly lost consciousness.

Hugh heard her gasp and his gaze locked on hers—only for a heartbeat but it was enough for a very clear message to be shared. Their patient’s condition had just become a whole lot worse. They were in trouble and Hugh was counting on Lisa’s assistance. She could also see the determination not to lose this battle in those dark eyes.

Lisa tilted her head instantly in a nod to let Hugh know she had received the message. That she would do whatever she could to help. That she shared his determination to succeed. And then she took a very deep breath.

CHAPTER THREE

IT WAS VERY likely that other members of the medical staff on board were already making their way to help with a Code One emergency but the non-medical crew members who’d helped transport their patient were dispatched to make sure that Peter knew what was going on. In the meantime, the situation was escalating so quickly that Hugh and Lisa were the only people available to deal with it and they would have to work fast to save this young man’s life.

The bag of IV fluid that Lisa had been squeezing to administer it more quickly was empty so she reached for a new one. Fluid resuscitation was an essential part of dealing with anaphylactic shock. As was oxygenation. As she worked to set up the new bag of saline she could see how smoothly Hugh was working to tilt Alex’s head back to try and open his airway and then, using one hand, to shift his stethoscope over all lung fields to listen for air movement.

‘He’s still shifting some air but it’s not enough.’

Lisa checked that the clip on Alex’s finger was secure and looked at the screen of the monitor, below the overly rapid spikes of the ECG. ‘Oxygen saturation is down to seventy five percent,’ she told Hugh. The automatic blood pressure cuff was deflating at the same time. ‘His BPs dropping again. Seventy-five over forty.’

‘Come and take over here. We’ll swap the nebuliser mask and use an Ambu bag and a hundred percent oxygen. I’ll get another IV line in and start an adrenaline infusion. I’m not going to wait if things deteriorate any more, though. We’ll go for a rapid sequence intubation.’

Lisa could feel the fierce concentration when Hugh took her place by Alex’s head a minute or two later to try and insert a breathing tube through the swollen tissues in their patient’s mouth and throat. A lot of doctors might have panicked when not only the first but the second attempt failed. Hugh only looked more focused. He caught Lisa’s gaze as she moved back in with the bag mask and tried to deliver oxygen to Alex’s lungs.

‘Oxygen saturation’s down to seventy percent,’ he said quietly. ‘We’re in a “can’t intubate, can’t oxygenate” situation. Have you ever assisted with a surgical cricothyroidotomy?’

‘No.’ Lisa held his gaze. ‘Do you want me to find Tim? Or Peter?’

‘There’s no time.’ Hugh hadn’t broken the gaze either. ‘You can do this. I’ll talk you through it.’

And, within what felt like seconds, when they were both gloved and Hugh had unrolled another kit, that was exactly what he was doing as he palpated the front of Alex’s neck around his Adam’s apple after swabbing it with antiseptic.

‘I can feel the thyroid cartilage here and this is the cricoid cartilage. I’m aiming for the space between them, where the membrane is, and I’ve got a good grip on it all so nothing moves.’

With his free hand, Hugh picked up a scalpel and made first a vertical incision and then a horizontal one. Because Alex was now deeply unconscious and this was such an urgent situation, there was no time or need for local anaesthesia but Lisa found herself holding her breath at Hugh’s confident, swift movements.

‘I can feel the “pop” so I know I’m in the trachea now.’ Even his voice sounded calm. ‘I’m going to put my finger in when I take the scalpel out but what I need you to do is pick up that tracheal hook, put it at the top end of the incision and retract everything for me.’

Lisa had never been this hands on in such a dramatic invasion procedure but, amazingly, her hand wasn’t shaking and she had no problem following Hugh’s clear instructions. She watched as he widened the incision, inserted a bougie as a guide for the endotracheal tube that followed and then inflated the balloon around the end of the tube that would help secure it. He attached the Ambu bag to the tube and squeezed it.

‘Good chest rise,’ he said quietly. ‘I’ll have a listen to be sure and then we can take that hook out and secure the tube properly.’

Lisa could tell that the tube had been correctly placed because the concentration of oxygen in Alex’s blood was already increasing and his heart rate slowing a little. They had got through a crisis that could have killed an otherwise healthy young person and, when Hugh looked up and smiled at Lisa, while he was still listening to lung sounds with his stethoscope, she knew that he was just as happy as she was.

They had done this together. She could hear other people arriving in the medical centre now, with rapid footsteps coming towards the treatment room, but it was Lisa and Hugh who had done the hard work here. They were the only ones to have shared that rising tension, background alarm of the ticking clock of a limited amount of time available and the nail-biting stress of a dramatic procedure to deal with it. So they were the only ones who got to share this moment of relief. Joy, even.

Along with something else. A knowledge that they could work together this closely under extreme circumstances. That they could trust each other. That they were in exactly the same place when it came to how much they cared about their patients and how hard they were prepared for a fight for something that really mattered. The moment of connection was only a heartbeat before others rushed into the room but the effect lingered as Lisa stepped back to let Peter and Tim close to their patient. It was Tim who was tasked with securing the tube and Peter assisted Hugh in setting up the portable ventilator.

‘We’ll need transport to the nearest hospital. He’ll need intensive care monitoring for a while.’

‘Chopper?’

‘Possibly. We might be close enough to shore for a coastguard vessel. I’ll get hold of the captain.’

‘I can go with him, if he needs an escort,’ Tim offered.

Hugh nodded his acknowledgment of the offer but his gaze shifted to Lisa, one eyebrow raised. Was he asking if she wanted that drama? Maybe he was even suggesting that they both go to look after the man who had been a patient they had both been so invested in saving. Suddenly, it felt like the connection they had just forged was strong enough to make Lisa feel flustered. Unsure of which way to jump and it was a well-practised habit to find a safe option as quickly as possible. Ignoring the unspoken invitation was a first step. Removing herself from the situation was the second.

‘We’ll need more details, won’t we?’ she said. ‘I could go back up to the Lido deck where we found him. They might have found his clothes and his medication. He’ll need something more than a swimming suit when they discharge him.’

‘Good thinking, Lisa.’ It was Peter who was nodding now. ‘We can get Housekeeping to go to his cabin and pack a few things for him as well. I’ll get someone to meet you.’

By the time Lisa got back to the medical centre with Alex’s suitcase, she found the entire team were ready to escort their patient up to helipad at the very bow of the ship.

‘None of us need to go with him.’ Hugh had a clipboard in his hands and must have been working fast to have written up what looked like a very detailed report. ‘They’re sending an intensive care doctor and a paramedic to take him back.’

‘Come and watch,’ Janet said. ‘It doesn’t happen that often and it’s pretty exciting, especially in the middle of the night.’

‘Does the ship have to stop?’

‘It’s already slowing down but I’ve seen them land even in fairly big seas when the ship is going fast. If it’s too dangerous to land, they’ll winch the patient up. They’re amazing.’

It was an opportunity not to be missed. Lisa followed the entourage and waited with them to watch as the helicopter got close enough to glow in the floodlit area of the helipad located right at the bow of the ship, overlooked by the bridge, as it hovered and very slowly sank until its skids were on the deck. Two of the French crew ducked their heads beneath the still whirring blades of the aircraft and came to meet Hugh, who was standing at the head of Alex’s stretcher, holding the clipboard, raising his voice to give a verbal handover to the new health professionals in charge.

‘Bonjour, messieurs. Voici Alex, qui a eu une réaction anaphylactique sévère…’

The fact that Hugh was doing the handover in French was not only astonishing, it completely took Lisa’s breath away. That he was already such a charming and good-looking man had been quite enough to deal with in terms of being happy to keep herself at a safe distance. That he seemed to be at ease speaking what had to be the most beautiful language on earth took his attractiveness to another level and, on top of that, there was now that moment of connection they’d shared tonight that made Lisa think that the social planets they inhabited might not be that far apart after all.

Minutes later, she also had to wonder whether the butterflies that had taken over her stomach were due solely to the excitement of standing here as the helicopter lifted off and swung away right in front of her, the beat of its rotors vibrating right through her body. It was quite possible that these unfamiliar sensations had even more to do with the man who was standing right beside her.

It was no wonder that Lisa found it impossible to go back to bed and try to sleep after the tension and excitement of the last few hours. Even though it was nearly three a.m. she decided she needed to go and walk off the adrenaline or whatever it was that was still bubbling in her veins and making her brain race in an endless loop of reliving those fraught minutes of working to save Alex’s life. The beat of fear when she’d believed she was facing the challenge alone. The relief when Hugh had arrived. That feeling of someone moving close enough to touch her soul when they’d shared the joy of success and, possibly the most disconcerting recurrent thought, how she’d felt when she’d heard him speaking French so fluently.

Yes…that very odd, melting sensation that was happening every time that part of the loop resurfaced was the best reason of all to go for a brisk walk and get some fresh air outside.

Lisa headed for the stairs that would take her to the deck she wanted that had a running track available. They were right beside a set of elevators and the doors on one slid open as she walked past. She heard the giggle of an obviously inebriated woman and she probably would have heard her voice even if she was halfway up the stairs.

‘But you are coming to my cabin, aren’t you, darling? You promised…’

‘Yes, I did. And I will. Oops-a-daisy… I think you’d better hang on a bit more tightly…’

It was the sound of the male voice that made Lisa turn her head and slow her feet enough to count as a long pause. A deep, sexy voice with that note of muted amusement she was rather familiar with. She knew she was staring. She knew her mouth was gaping and she was probably looking as appalled as she was feeling.

For one long, horrified moment she held Hugh Patterson’s gaze. And then she all but fled up the stairs because, quite honestly, she couldn’t get away fast enough. Not that she had any intention of trying to analyse why she felt so…disappointed? Because she suspected that there might be a corner of her mind that could justifiably taunt her with the notion that she was jealous.

Oh…man…

It had been all too obvious what Lisa Phillips had been thinking when she’d seen him holding up that drunk woman in the lift. She probably wouldn’t believe him if he told her that he’d found the woman rather too worse for wear when he’d gone back to the bar on the Lido deck to reassure the staff who’d been so worried about Alex, and he’d offered to make sure she got safely back to her own cabin. What was his nurse still doing up, anyway? He had the excuse of having been waiting for an update from the hospital that had taken their patient and then spending time with the staff on the Lido deck, but Lisa should have been in bed long before now.

As if he’d ever take advantage of an inebriated passenger. Or any passenger, for that matter. Okay, it was not unpleasant to have an endlessly changing number of beautiful women who were often remarkably uninhibited in advertising that they’d like to add to their holiday pleasures by including a dalliance with him but he very rarely had any desire to do more than a bit of harmless flirting.

He’d practically been a monk, for heaven’s sake—apart from that first cruise when he’d been a passenger and not a crew member, of course, and when he’d needed a lot more than the on-board entertainment to distract himself from the betrayal of the woman he’d believed had loved him as much as he’d loved her. A woman he’d been on the verge of committing to for the rest of his life, in fact.

His friendship with Carlotta, in Barcelona, was the closest he’d come to in any kind of relationship since then and they both knew that it was no more than a friendship with occasional benefits.

It seemed a bit ironic that the first time he’d seen Lisa she’d been watching him kiss Carlotta and he’d been well aware that she’d been somewhat shocked. Well…she’d looked more than shocked when she’d seen him in the elevator tonight. She’d looked positively disgusted, and the worst thing about that was that a part of Hugh’s brain could see himself through her eyes only too easily and…he had to admit, it looked shallow.

He looked like a pleasure-seeker with a job that might provide the occasional medical challenge, as tonight had done, but was mostly delivering a kind of private general practice, catering for an elite group of people who were wealthy enough to take luxury holidays. It was also a job that could obviously provide a playground for unlimited sexual adventures.

Hugh didn’t like the thought that Lisa would think so little of him. But, then again, he didn’t like the idea that she was judging him either. She knew nothing about why he was here or how much satisfaction this job could deliver on a regular basis. She was only here for a couple of weeks anyway, so why the hell should it matter what she thought?

But it seemed that it did. Having found a female crew member who had helped him get the passenger back to her cabin and taken over the responsibility of getting her into bed and checking on her later, Hugh didn’t go straight back to his own cabin. He needed a bit of fresh air, he decided. A moment to take a breath and dismiss whatever unpleasant vibe that look on Lisa’s face had left him with.

It was unfortunate that he chose that particular deck to go out onto. Or that his new colleague had still not retired to her cabin and was looking over the railing at the stern of the ship, watching the moonlight sparkle on the impressive foam of the wake stretching back into the inky darkness of the sea. It was even more unfortunate that, when she finally noticed him walking in her direction, she chose to try and make some sort of negative comment about his sexual prowess.

‘That was quick,’ she said. She sounded surprised but there was a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, as if the idea of him being terrible in bed was somehow unexpected but amusing.

‘Excuse me?’ Hugh stopped. He took a breath, trying to put a lid on how defensive he was feeling, but the lid didn’t quite fit. ‘I take it that you’re assuming I jumped into bed with the passenger you saw me with?’

‘The invitation was obviously there.’

‘And you think I would have been unable to resist? That I sleep with every woman who offers invitations for sex even if they’re not sober or if it might jeopardise the position I hold here?’

Her gaze slid away from his. ‘It’s none of my business,’ she said. At least she had the grace to sound uncomfortable. She might even be blushing, although it was hard to tell in this light, but Hugh wasn’t about to let her off that lightly. For some inexplicable reason this mattered.

Maybe that was because he was feeling something other than defensive. Something like disappointment? Working with Lisa tonight and especially that moment when they’d both acknowledged how amazing it was to know that you’d saved someone’s life had given Hugh a feeling of connection with a woman that was different from anything he’d ever experienced before.

A chink in his armour even, where he could feel what it must be like to be with someone you could really trust. Someone who could share the important things of life—for either celebration or encouragement to conquer. And maybe he had felt that way because he’d seen himself in a big brother role, which gave Lisa the status of family—someone it was safe to care about.

But she was judging him and his lifestyle now and any glimmer from that chink in his protective armour was nowhere to be seen. Lisa wasn’t family. She was a stranger and, while she might be damned good at her job, she was uptight to the point of being a prude.

‘At least I know how to relax occasionally and enjoy myself,’ he heard himself saying. ‘What’s your problem, Lisa?’

‘I haven’t got one.’

She sounded as defensive as he had been feeling and Hugh could see that her hands were gripping the railing so tightly her knuckles were white. Was she scared of something? Hugh contemplated the ship’s wake for a long moment and he could actually feel his negative thoughts getting washed away and disappearing into the night. There was something vulnerable about Lisa. She was the one who needed encouragement right now, even if she didn’t realise it. He injected a teasing note into his voice as he turned to lean his back against the railing so he could watch Lisa’s reaction.

‘Are you a virgin?’ he asked.

That shocked expression he’d seen on her face when she’d seen him propping up that passenger in the lift was back again.

‘No… Of course I’m not.’

‘But I’m guessing you don’t like sex that much?’

Her breath came out in such an incredulous huff he could hear it over the hum of the engines and the sound of the churning water far below them.

‘Just because I don’t approve of jumping into bed with total strangers?’ Her chin came up. ‘I think sex is an important part of a relationship, if you must know. But I also happen to think there are more important things.’

‘I’m not talking about a relationship.’ Hugh was keeping his tone light. He was curious about how far down the list sex would come on the list of important things in a relationship for her but that could wait for another conversation. Right now, all he wanted to find out was just how tightly this woman kept herself under control.

‘I’m just talking about sex,’ he added. ‘Enjoying a physical activity. Like dancing.’ This seemed inspired. Did Lisa ever let herself go enough to dance? ‘Do you dance?’

‘No.’ Lisa was resolutely keeping her gaze on the endless wake, although he had the feeling that she knew how closely he was watching her.

Hugh could feel a frown line appearing between his eyebrows as he leaned a little closer so that he could lower his voice. ‘What about eating some amazing meal? Or drinking champagne? Do you like drinking champagne, Lisa?’

She shrugged. ‘I’ve never tasted real champagne.’

Wow…she’d never tasted a lot of things, it seemed. Hugh’s annoyance had long since vanished. He was watching Lisa’s profile—the way the wind was playing with that short tumble of waves, the freckles he could see dusting her pale cheeks and that delicious curve at the corners of her mouth that looked like an embryonic smile, even though she was clearly not that happy at the moment.

Hugh leaned even closer. So close he could feel the tickle of a windblown lock of hair touch his forehead.

‘What do you enjoy, then?’ he asked.

He hadn’t really intended to use his best flirtatious tone that he knew women loved. He hadn’t actually intended to be this close to Lisa and he certainly hadn’t expected the punch in his gut when she turned her head slowly and he found himself so very close to those remarkable eyes. They were a very dark shade of golden brown right now, with the pupils dilating rapidly towards that intriguing dark rim.

Hugh knew exactly what that punch in his gut was telling him. He also knew by Lisa’s reaction that she was experiencing the same thing. Whether or not she was prepared to acknowledge that shaft of desire was quite another matter and Hugh knew he should move before she even had the time to think about it. He should step back, say something about it being far too late to be out and about and escape before this odd moment turned into something they might both regret.

Except he left it a split second too late. Just long enough for his gaze to catch something other than the expression in Lisa’s eyes. He could see the way her lips were parting… The way the tip of her tongue appeared to touch her bottom lip. It was mesmerising, that’s what it was. Hugh was unaware of any movement from either of them but their faces were even closer now. Close enough for their noses to touch as his mouth hovered above hers.

And then their lips touched. So lightly it was no more than a feather-light brush—not dissimilar to the touch of the wind that Hugh could feel caressing the bare skin on his arms and neck as he bent his head. A scrape of a touch that was also similar to a match being struck and it certainly created a flame. It was impossible not to repeat the action and, this time, Hugh could feel the response.

He might have expected Lisa to be shocked. He was shocked himself, to be honest, but it seemed that even that gentlest of touches contained something far too powerful to be resisted. On both sides. There was nothing for it but to really kiss her, Hugh decided as he covered her lips with his own and began a conversation that he might have had a thousand times already in his life but he’d never found one quite like this.

Ever…

Oh…dear Lord…

She’d wondered what it might be like to be kissed by this man from the moment she’d first clapped eyes on him kissing another woman. She’d imagined how it might feel. She’d even dreamt about it but she’d had no idea, had she?

It wasn’t the first time she’d been kissed by any means but it felt like it was.

Who knew that there were such infinite variations in pressure and movement that a kiss could feel like listening to the most amazing music with its different notes and rhythms? That closing your eyes would only intensify other senses and there’d never been anything that tasted like Hugh’s mouth and that the silky glide of his tongue against hers would trigger a sensation that felt like the inside of her whole body was melting…

She could feel the absolute control that Hugh had but she could sense the strength behind it and she wanted more. So much more. If a kiss with this man could be like this, what would sex be like?

Any judgement she might have had about people on cruise ships who were intent on finding as much pleasure as possible in the shortest amount of time were disappearing—getting buried under the weight of curiosity. No…make that a kind of desire that Lisa had never, ever experienced before. Hugh hadn’t been that far off the mark, had he, when he’d suggested that she didn’t like sex that much? She’d never been kissed like this, though. Or felt desire that was more like a desperate need to discover something she might otherwise miss out on for the rest of her life.

It was a subtle change in the engine noise beneath them that finally broke that kiss. Or perhaps it was a need for more oxygen because Lisa knew she was breathing far more rapidly than normal as they pulled apart. Her lips were still parted as well, and her eyes drifted open to find her gaze locking onto Hugh’s.

His smile grew slowly. ‘I take it back,’ he said.

‘Take what back?’ The thought that he was already regretting that kiss was like a shower of cold water in her face.

‘Thinking you were so uptight,’ Hugh said. ‘Where did you learn to kiss like that, Lisa Phillips?’

She couldn’t say anything. Because she’d have to admit that she’d never learned to kiss like that until he’d taught her? Or because she was processing the fact that he’d considered her to be uptight? Lisa could feel herself taking a step back to create some more distance between them.

Was Hugh laughing at her? She couldn’t let him know that that kiss had, quite possibly, been life-changing for her when it was probably no more than an everyday occurrence for Hugh. He’d think she was immature as well as uptight, wouldn’t he? Had he just been amusing himself all along by kissing her in the first place? Or…and it was a horrible thought…had she been the one who had initiated that kiss? Lisa could feel her cheeks reddening in one of her hated blushes so she turned away so that she could catch the breeze on her face.

‘We’re slowing down.’ Hugh broke a silence that was on the verge of becoming really awkward moments later as the engine noise dropped another note. ‘We can’t be that far away from docking. I expect we’ll have a busy clinic in the morning. When most of the passengers have gone ashore, it gives a lot of the crew a chance to visit us.’

He was talking like her boss, which prompted Lisa to shift her gaze to catch his again. Was he dismissing that kiss as something that shouldn’t have happened between people who had to work together? Or was he warning her that it couldn’t go any further? It was more like there was a question to be seen in his eyes than a warning, however. Maybe he was wondering if he should say something about that kiss? Or was he waiting for an indication from her that she’d enjoyed it as much as he had? That she wasn’t that “uptight” after all?

Well…she didn’t have to prove anything. And she didn’t want to talk about it either—certainly not with someone who thought sex was just something to enjoy as a physical activity, like dancing or drinking champagne. She’d already let Hugh know how much she disapproved of people who simply jumped into bed with each other for no other reason than giving in to lust.

Okay, she might have just gained a disturbing new insight into how it could easily happen but, now that she’d had a moment to catch her breath, she could remember that she wasn’t that type of person herself. That she knew it was dangerous to break rules or step too far outside the boundaries of what you knew was the right thing to do. The safe thing.

Maybe what Hugh was really asking was if she’d like to pretend the kiss had never happened. Or that it was no big deal—which it obviously wasn’t for someone like Hugh. It was the first thing she’d ever seen him doing, after all. Perhaps he’d mentioned work because it was a safer topic and a place where they had discovered a professional connection and that was absolutely something Lisa could use as a life raft when her head was such a whirlpool of jumbled sensations and emotions she was in danger of drowning. She grabbed hold of it.

‘And it’s late,’ she added briskly, turning away. ‘Don’t know about you but I need some sleep before I turn up for work. See you in the morning, Hugh.’

CHAPTER FOUR

HOW THE HELL had that happened, exactly?

Okay, he’d been pushing her a bit after being irritated by that unimpressed comment that he had interpreted as judgement on his performance in bed. Deliberately being in her personal space as well as he’d prodded that barrier Lisa seemed to have between herself and the good things in life, but he’d certainly never expected it to end in a kiss. He hadn’t even been attracted to her, given that she was so not his type. Was that what had made that kiss seem so different? Why it had haunted his dreams in the few snatched hours of sleep he’d managed later and why it was still lurking in the perimeter of his consciousness this morning?

Hugh arrived early at the medical centre, despite his lack of sleep, but moving around his familiar environment as he checked that everything had been thoroughly cleaned and restocked in the wake of managing their dramatic case of Alex’s respiratory arrest due to anaphylaxis in the early hours of this morning, he was aware of an unfamiliar tension.

He might not understand how that kiss had happened exactly but there was no getting away from the fact that it had happened and now it felt like it was going to be more than a little awkward working with Lisa. Most women he knew would be happy to either dismiss that kiss as fun but naughty, given they had to work together, or to enjoy a bit of sexual tension and have fun playing with it for a while. But Lisa wasn’t like any of the women he knew and Hugh wasn’t confident he would know how to respond to a different, less relaxed reaction.

Sure enough, when she arrived a few minutes before morning surgery was due to begin, she avoided any direct eye contact with him when he gave her a friendly greeting and said that he hoped she’d had enough sleep, given her extended working hours last night.

She merely nodded, still not meeting his gaze as she reached for a stethoscope to hook around her neck. ‘Shall I set up in the second consulting room to do the initial obs?’

‘Yes, please.’ So she was going to pretend the kiss had never happened? That was a bit “head in the sand”, but he could go along with that. And it was always useful to get an idea of what a patient was presenting with, along with baseline observations that let him know whether they had any signs of infection like a fever or any problems with their blood pressure or heart rhythm. A competent nurse could also deal with minor stuff herself, like dressing a burn or closing a small laceration with sticky strips or glue.

It was a walk-in clinic that didn’t require appointments and the knowledge, based on experience, that they might be very busy for the next couple of hours should have been enough to focus Hugh’s attention completely on his job.

Except it wasn’t quite enough. He was watching Lisa from the corner of his eye as she moved swiftly around the medical centre for the next few minutes, collecting supplies like the plastic sheaths for the tip of the tympanic thermometer, a new roll of graph paper for the ECG monitor and dressing supplies and antiseptic ointments that might be needed to deal with minor injuries that didn’t need a doctor’s attention. How hard was she finding it to pretend that the kiss hadn’t happened?

Was she thinking about it as much as he was? Those unwanted flashes of memory that were strong enough to interfere with anything else he might be trying to focus on? Did she have the same, disturbing idea that it could be tempting to do it again or was she avoiding even looking at him directly because she really was wishing it had never happened in the first place?

He found himself listening in from the treatment room as he made sure the electronic equipment like the X-ray machine was turned on and ready for use, when Janet arrived to help with the surgery by manning the reception area and triaging to get the most important cases seen first.

‘Tim’s been telling me about all the excitement last night. Can’t believe something like that happened when I’m not even on call.’

‘It was a memorable night, that’s for sure. Possibly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.’

Hugh flicked another switch to turn the steriliser on. Was Lisa making a reference to the case…or the kiss? Not that it mattered, because maybe he agreed with her—on both counts.

‘You could be right. I’ve never seen a cricothyroidotomy done on land, let alone at sea.’

‘I’d never seen one done either and I’ve worked in ED a lot. It was amazing. Hugh was amazing. He saved that guy’s life…’

‘We saved that guy’s life.’ Hugh couldn’t eavesdrop any more when he was the subject of the conversation.

Perhaps it was because she was startled by his sudden appearance or the genuine compliment he was offering that Lisa finally looked at him properly and something in Hugh’s gut did an odd little flip as her gaze met his. The last time he’d seen those eyes had been very close up indeed…

‘Lisa was first on the scene,’ he added, ‘and I couldn’t have handled his airway later without her excellent assistance.’

‘So he actually arrested?’ Janet was open-mouthed.

‘Close enough. His oxygen saturation got down to below seventy percent at one stage and he was unconscious.’

‘Wow…’

‘Have you had any update on his condition?’

Lisa shifted her gaze swiftly as he looked back to answer her question. The way she was biting her lower lip was another sign that she was finding any interaction between them awkward this morning and that had the effect of making whatever that was in Hugh’s gut flip back the other way. Yep…this was awkward all right and Hugh was aware of a beat of another, unfamiliar emotion.

Guilt? He’d imagined himself in a big brother kind of role with Lisa, hadn’t he? Well…nobody would trust him to take on that kind of role again, would they? Had he really asked her if she was a virgin? And suggested that maybe she didn’t like sex? How insulting had that been? Plus, he’d told her how uptight he’d thought she was as well and that had been an unkind thing to say. No wonder Lisa had backed off so fast. She probably wasn’t looking forward to working with him at all and he couldn’t blame her.

‘Alex is fine,’ he said aloud. ‘They monitored him in Intensive Care for the rest of the night but everything had settled by the time I spoke to someone an hour or so ago. They’re going to patch up his neck, give him a course of steroids for a couple of days and have advised him to wear a medic alert bracelet and make sure he has his auto-injector within reach at all times. He should be back on board before we sail this evening.’

A late sailing, Hugh remembered, turning to head into his consulting room as Janet moved to open the doors to their first patients. And after this morning’s surgery he had the day to himself in one of his favourite parts of the world, which was just what he needed. A chance to relax and soak up some of the very best things in life. The kind of things that Lisa didn’t seem to be at all familiar with. That he’d thought he could help her discover. Maybe he could try and step back into that helpful role.

He turned back. ‘What are you going to do with your first onshore leave, Lisa?’

If nothing else, he could provide some recommendations for things she could see or do and that might get them past this awkwardness.

‘I’m not sure.’ Lisa’s gaze skittered away from his again. ‘One of the team on the excursions desk told me about a walk that was lovely around the Cap d’Antibes but what I’d really love to see is one of the medieval towns.’

‘Get up to Eze, if you can. It’s an outstanding example of a medieval village. Or St Paul de Vence, although that could still be pretty crowded on a lovely day like this. It’s a shame we won’t finish in time for you to tag along with one of the organised bus tours. They’re always keen to have someone from our team available as medical cover but a taxi probably wouldn’t be too expensive. Less than fifty euros, probably.’

The expression on Lisa’s face suggested that their ideas of what wasn’t too expensive were poles apart. She was the one to turn away this time but he caught the hint of smile that felt like an acknowledgement of his effort to restore their working relationship to its former amicability. Not that it seemed to have worked particularly well.

‘I expect I’ll just take a walk around Villefranche sur Mer from where the tender boat drops us,’ she said. ‘Or I can find the bus that goes into Nice. I’ll explore the old town and then find somewhere lovely for a late lunch. I’m sure it will be gorgeous.’

Oh…help…

The first time Lisa had been in this reception area and had realised that she was going to be working with Hugh, she hadn’t been able to dismiss the memory of having seen him kissing that leggy blonde woman.

Now she was totally unable to dismiss the memory of having been kissed herself. And it was so much more than merely a thought. She could actually feel it happening again. The soft press of his lips on hers. The taste of his mouth. The fierce lick of desire that sent an electric buzz to every cell in her body and made her knees feel distinctly weak.

Biting her bottom lip hard enough to hurt helped. So did avoiding any more than a split second of eye contact. Even better was being able to focus on the patients that started arriving within the next few minutes. Hugh had been right—they were in for a very busy few hours and, best of all, there was plenty for Lisa to do in her consulting room and she wasn’t being asked to assist Hugh in any way.

An hour in and she was starting to feel a lot more confident that they could continue working together without the awkwardness of that kiss hanging in the air between them. A purely professional exchange presented no problems at all after the first couple.

‘This is Elaine.’ Lisa handed the clipboard to Hugh as she took her tenth patient into his consulting room. ‘She’s running a fever of thirty-nine point six, has frequency and pain on urination and the dipstick test was positive for blood in her urine.’

It would be a quick consult for Hugh to double check the history and any other health issues that Elaine had and then prescribe the antibiotics and other medications to ease the discomfort of a urinary tract infection for their patient.

Jeff, the next patient, only needed a certificate to be signed by Hugh to give him a day away from his job as a kitchen hand.

‘It’s a second degree burn but the blisters are still intact,’ Lisa told him. ‘I’ve cleaned it, put antibiotic cream on and a non-stick gauze dressing and I’ve told Jeff to come back tomorrow for a dressing change so that I can make sure it’s not infected. If it’s looking okay, I think he’ll be able to work as long as he wears gloves and keeps it dry.’

Hugh scrawled his signature on the certificate. ‘How’s the waiting room looking?’

‘Still quite full. I’ve got someone with chest pain to do an ECG on now, but he’s a dancer in one of the cabaret acts and I suspect he’s pulled a muscle.’

‘It should start to slow down soon.’ Hugh handed back the piece of paper and smiled at Lisa. ‘You’re doing a great job,’ he told her. ‘Thanks…’

She tucked the praise away as she went back to Jeff to give him his final instructions on how to look after his burn injury today and sort out an appointment for a dressing change tomorrow morning. Hugh’s words made her feel good, she decided, but they hadn’t undermined the relief of stepping back into the purely professional interactions between herself and her boss. If anything, they were giving what had happened in the early hours of today a dreamlike quality—as if that kiss couldn’t possibly have happened for real.

The final patient that came in turned out to be the real test of whether things were back to normal. A tall, brusque Scotsman in his fifties, he was reluctant to admit to having anything wrong.

‘But if it gets any worse, I’m not going to be able to do any more of these tours, Nurse,’ he said as he limped from the waiting room. ‘I can barely put any weight on my foot now.’

His anxious wife was by his side. ‘We’re supposed to be doing a tour of St Jean Cap Ferrat that includes lunch at that amazing hotel that was in a movie we saw recently. The Abolutely Fabulous one? It would be such a shame to miss out.’

Lisa had a look at the sole of the man’s foot. He had a reddened area just below his middle toes that could be a deep blister.

‘Let me just run a couple of checks and then we’ll get the doctor to have a look.’ Lisa wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his arm. ‘You haven’t been doing a lot of walking in a new pair of shoes, have you? Going barefoot more than usual? Could you have had an injury that you might not have taken much notice of, like a stone bruise?’

She went in with her patient to give handover to Hugh a few minutes later. ‘This is Gordon,’ she told him. ‘He’s presenting with nine out of ten pain when he tries to put any weight on the ball of his left foot. Vital signs are all normal. He had an injury two weeks ago when he was replacing boards on his deck and fell through a rotten part but he was treated in his local ED and discharged.’

‘Oh? What did they do for treatment?’

‘Cleaned out a small cut but it wasn’t anything to worry about.’ Gordon shook his head, dismissing the incident. ‘They X-rayed my foot, too, in case I’d broken something but they said it all looked fine. They gave me a tetanus shot and some antibiotics.’

‘And it’s only started to get painful again now?’

‘It’s been sore ever since.’ It was Gordon’s wife who spoke. ‘He’s just been putting a brave face on it but when he got up this morning it was suddenly a whole lot worse. He almost fell over.’

Lisa had been about to leave Hugh to deal with his patient and go and finish up her own paperwork but he caught her gaze.

‘Could you set up the treatment room for us, please?’ he asked. ‘I think we’ll have a look with the ultrasound.’

‘Why would you want to do that?’ Gordon’s wife echoed Lisa’s first thought. ‘I thought ultrasounds were just for when you were pregnant.’

Lisa had seen that kind of smile on Hugh’s face many times already but this time she noticed the crinkles around his eyes as well. It wasn’t that he was making fun of a layperson’s lack of medical knowledge in any way. This smile held understanding rather than amusement and it was also reassuring. Lisa knew that the people in front of him would be confident that he cared about them. That he was doing what he believed might help.

‘There are some things that don’t show up on X-rays,’ he told them. ‘It could be that there’s something in your foot, like a piece of glass or a splinter.’

Sure enough, there was something to be seen on the screen as Hugh gently examined Gordon’s foot.

‘The entry wound’s healed over now,’ Hugh warned. ‘We’ll need to do a bit of minor surgery to open it up and see what we can find. Are you happy for us to do that or would you like a referral to an emergency department of a local hospital?’

‘I’d rather you did it, Doc. That way we can get it over with and we might make our posh lunch after all.’

‘Oh…’ His wife didn’t look so happy. ‘I can’t watch. Not if there’s going to be blood…’

Hugh’s smile reappeared. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘We’ll get Janet to make you a nice cup of tea while you wait. Lisa and I have got this covered. We’re the A team, aren’t we?’

Reopening a wound to explore it for the presence of a foreign body was a walk in the park compared to making an opening in someone’s neck to establish an emergency airway. Lisa found herself smiling back at Hugh in total agreement. They most definitely did have this covered and it could prove to be a very satisfying end to their morning clinic. Even better, it seemed that the awkwardness had finally evaporated.

This was fun.

Minor surgery was an unexpected finale to an ordinary clinic but Hugh really was enjoying himself. He’d already known that Lisa was someone that he could rely on in a tense, emergency situation but this time he could relax and appreciate her skilled assistance even more. As he filled a syringe with local anaesthetic, he watched her setting up everything he could need on a tray and then swabbing the skin of Gordon’s foot and arranging sterile drapes to protect the area.

‘This is going to hurt, isn’t it?’ Gordon’s stoic expression slipped a little.

‘Not once the local is doing its job,’ Hugh assured him. ‘Bit of a sting just to start with. Lisa, can you hold Gordon’s foot steady, please?

It wasn’t the easiest area of the body to be working on and it was frustrating to be able to feel the tip of whatever it was embedded in his patient’s foot but be unable to grasp it firmly enough to extract it. Hugh could feel Lisa watching him as he pressed a little deeper into the wound and opened the forceps a little wider. Then he took a grip and held it and this time he could feel something shift. The dark object slowly came out through the skin and just kept coming. With a silent whistle of how impressed he was, Hugh held up an enormous triangular splinter between the teeth of the forceps.

‘Look at that.’

He didn’t need to tell Lisa to look. She was staring in disbelief that anyone could have been walking around with something that size buried in their foot. Her gaze only had to shift a fraction to catch Hugh’s, given that he was watching her reaction, and he wasn’t disappointed. Her astonishment morphed into delight. Or maybe it was just professional satisfaction but it didn’t matter because just watching the change was a joy. The note of connection might pale in comparison to the satisfaction they’d shared in getting a secure airway into Alex last night but this was significant in its own way because it felt like that awkwardness between himself and Lisa had gone.

She certainly sounded happier. ‘You’re not going to believe how big this splinter is,’ she told Gordon. ‘You’ve been walking around with a log in your foot.’

Hugh showed their patient what he’d pulled out and Gordon grinned. ‘That’s a piece of my deck, that is. No wonder it was a wee bit sore.’

‘I’m going to clean out the wound thoroughly now,’ Hugh told him, ‘and then we’ll get you patched up and bandaged. You might want to keep the weight off your foot as much as you can today but there’s no reason you can’t go and enjoy your lunch.’

As he intended to enjoy his own. It was nearly two p.m. by the time Hugh had taken one of the tender shuttles to get into the port of Villefranche sur Mer and he was delighted to find that his arrangements for the afternoon were in place. He picked up the keys to the classic car he’d hired, and when the powerful engine of the gunmetal-grey nineteen-sixties E-type Jaguar purred into life a short time later he just smiled and listened to it for a moment, before pulling onto the road.

It was a sparkling blue day with that soft light and warmth that he loved about the French Riviera. He was going to put the roof of this convertible down and drive up towards the mountains and one of his most favourite restaurants ever. He might even indulge in a glass of the best champagne they had on ice.

Lisa Phillips had never tasted champagne…

The thought came from nowhere but with an intensity that let him imagine exactly what she might look like when she did taste it for the first time. He would see that surprise in her eyes and be able to watch it shift and grow and light up her whole face with the pleasure of something new and delicious. Kind of like the way he’d seen her satisfaction with her work but better somehow. More like what he’d seen in her eyes after that kiss? Until he’d ruined the moment by telling her how uptight she was.

Why had he done that? It was almost as if he’d been trying to push her away as a form of self-protection but that was ridiculous. Even if Lisa had been completely his type of woman, he had absolute control over how involved he ever got with anyone. He wasn’t about to make the mistake of falling in love again.

But, hey…maybe he could bring a bottle of champagne back with him as a way of making up for being a bit of a jerk.

Or…

Maybe there was a way he could not only make it up to Lisa but reassure himself just how in control of his own feelings he was.

He was moving slowly down the street now, towards a new group of people who’d just been ferried from the cruise ship by the tender. Heads were turning to admire the car he was driving but he was focused only on the solitary figure amongst them. Lisa was wearing a pale yellow T-shirt, jeans that were rolled up to mid-calf, and sensible-looking shoes on her feet that would be just right for a lot of walking as she explored the medieval centres of either Villefranche or Nice. She was clutching her shoulder bag as if she expected a pickpocket was already following her and, as Hugh got closer, he saw her pause and look around. He could even see the way she was taking a deep breath as if she might be a little overwhelmed by the prospect of a solo adventure but he could sense her determination as well. She was going to make the most of whatever new experiences were in store for her in the next few hours.

His foot pressed on the brake as he made the decision to go with that flash of inspiration he’d just had. The car was right in front of Lisa as he stopped, and Hugh leaned across the empty passenger seat to open the door. Then he put on what he hoped was his most charming smile.

‘Perfect timing,’ he said. ‘Hop in.’

He couldn’t see the expression in her eyes because she was wearing sunglasses but he knew it would be surprised. Possibly shocked. Definitely hesitant.

‘You won’t regret it.’ He caught his own sunglasses, pulling them down enough that she could see his eyes. ‘I promise…’

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