A Very Special Surgeon

by Laura MacDonald

  ‘What do you think he will do?’ asked Tom as the doors closed behind them.

  ‘I think he’ll stay with his wife,’ said Kate. ‘I think he had already decided to do that once he knew she was pregnant, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell Sara, especially when he knew she also was expecting.’

  ‘She’s going to be very upset when she finds out,’ said Tom.

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Kate, ‘I fear she will.’

  ‘It’s been quite a day.’ Tom peeled off his surgical gloves. ‘Do you have time for a drink?’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Kate, ‘I don’t. I’m already late as it is, but I wanted to see Sara safely delivered. I should have been home hours ago.’

  ‘Me, too,’ he said with a grin. ‘Never mind. Friday is still on, I hope?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ she said, her gaze meeting his and her heart giving that delicious little lurch again at what she saw there. ‘Of course it is.’

  Later, as Kate drove home, she once again felt that pang of unease, brought on, no doubt, by the events of the day, but quickly she tried to dismiss the thoughts as once again she told herself her relationship with Tom bore absolutely no resemblance to the tortuous triangle Philip Browne had created for himself. Philip was married and his wife deserved to come first in his affections, whereas Tom was divorced and his love for his ex-wife was long over. So, if that was the case, why this sense of unease? She had no answer to that—she could only hope that in time it would go away.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ‘IT’S not fair! Why can’t we go?’ demanded Siobhan, her face flushed with indignation.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Kate, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible, not wanting confrontation with her daughter, particularly before going out for the evening, ‘but it’s all arranged now.’

  ‘But why can’t we all go?’ Clearly Siobhan hadn’t finished.

  ‘Well, for a start, I expect Joe and Francesca are with their mother and that’s probably why Mr Fielding has just asked me.’

  ‘I think he’s asked you because he wants to be your boyfriend,’ said Connor solemnly, joining in the argument.

  ‘Don’t be stupid,’ said Siobhan, rounding on her brother. ‘Mum doesn’t want a boyfriend. She had Daddy…’ She trailed off in confusion, as realisation suddenly appeared to sink in. ‘Mum…?’ she said uncertainly.

  Kate took a deep breath. ‘I very much doubt that Mr Fielding wants to be my boyfriend,’ she said. ‘All that has happened is that he has asked me to go out for a meal with him.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Connor philosophically, ‘just like you were his girlfriend.’ With his quick grin he went out of the room, leaving Kate alone with Siobhan.

  ‘Would it bother you if I did have a boyfriend?’ Kate gently asked her daughter.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Siobhan began kicking the edge of the hearthrug with the toe of her trainers. ‘What about Daddy?’ Predictable tears filled her eyes at mention of her father.

  ‘You know something, Siobhan,’ said Kate after a moment’s consideration. ‘I used to worry about that—that if I went out with someone else it would in some way be disloyal to your father. But when I told Aunt Bessie that, do you know what she said?’

  ‘No—what?’ Siobhan rubbed at her eyes.

  ‘That Daddy himself had once said to her that if anything happened to him he hoped I could find happiness with someone else.’

  ‘Do you think that’s what will happen—with Mr Fielding?’ said Siobhan with a sniff.

  ‘Darling, I have no idea, and really you mustn’t read more into this than there is. I have known Mr Fielding for a long time and tonight is about two people, colleagues who have also become friends, sharing a meal together.’

  ‘Will you sleep with him?’ asked Siobhan.

  ‘Siobhan! Of course not!’ Kate stared at her daughter, perturbed that she should even think such a thing. ‘Whatever gave you such an idea?’

  ‘Dunno.’ Siobhan shrugged. ‘Except that Chloe said her cousin slept with her boyfriend and they’d only been out together once.’

  ‘Well, I can assure you that isn’t going to happen, and maybe Chloe’s cousin should think about what she’s doing. The next thing we know is that she’ll be pregnant.’

  ‘No, she won’t,’ said Siobhan. ‘She said they used a condom.’

  With Kate searching for a suitable reply, Siobhan stood on tiptoe in front of the large mirror that hung over the mantelpiece and screwed her hair up into a knot on the top of her head. ‘Actually,’ she said, studying her new appearance with apparent satisfaction, ‘it could be rather neat if you and Mr Fielding got together. On the other hand, if you married him, what would that make Joe and me?’

  ‘Stepbrother and -sister,’ replied Kate. ‘But—’

  ‘And can stepbrothers and -sisters go out together…or get married?’ Siobhan interrupted, tilting her head first to one side, pouting her lips as she did so, and then to the other.

  ‘Yes, I think so,’ Kate replied.

  ‘Oh, well, that’s all right, then,’ Siobhan replied.

  Not wanting to get any more involved in that particular conversation, Kate made her way to her bedroom and for a moment stared at the dress she’d hung on the wardrobe door. She’d bought it that afternoon on a sudden impulse on her way home, in a little dress shop in town. She’d agonised over what she should wear on her date with Tom, and while she had played the whole thing down to Siobhan, that it was simply a meal between colleagues and nothing more, she’d known in her heart that she wanted to make an effort with her appearance. But at the same time she’d been only too aware there was little in her wardrobe to fit the occasion.

  She’d chosen the proverbial little black dress, knowing that it would take her anywhere and at the same time be an asset to her wardrobe for future occasions. It was made of a soft, silky material, hanging straight from slender shoulder straps and swirling gently at the knee, and when, after showering and carefully applying her make-up, Kate stepped into it and drew it up over her body, the sensuous feel of the material made her feel like a million dollars. And if she was still in any doubt about her appearance, it was laid to rest when she walked into the sitting room and Aunt Bessie and the children caught sight of her.

  ‘That’s a new dress!’ exclaimed Siobhan.

  ‘You look very nice, dear,’ said Aunt Bessie with a little smile.

  ‘Just like someone on the telly,’ said Connor, which, coming from him, was praise indeed, for he hardly ever noticed what anyone was wearing.

  ‘Well,’ said Kate a little nervously, ‘I thought I should make a bit of an effort.’

  ‘I bet he’ll want to be your boyfriend now,’ said Connor with a grin.

  ‘Don’t be silly, Connor,’ said Kate. ‘Mr Fielding is still my boss. Oh,’ she exclaimed as the doorbell rang, ‘that’ll be him now.’

  ‘Have a good time, dear,’ said Aunt Bessie, ‘and don’t worry about these two. I’ll see they do their homework before bed.’

  It was something of a relief in the end to leave the room, away from Aunt Bessie’s knowing smile and her children’s speculative glances. Honestly, she thought as she hurried down the stairs, they were nearly as bad as Natalie with her matchmaking, and had done nothing to allay her own nervousness for, if the truth were known, she was feeling just like a teenager on her first date.

  Tom was waiting for her on the doorstep, while behind him in the lane stood the Mercedes convertible.

  ‘Hi,’ he said, his gaze briefly taking in her dress and her best cerise pink jacket, which she had draped around her shoulders. ‘You look lovely.’

  It was the first male compliment she had received for a very long time, so long, in fact, that she had almost forgotten how to receive one, and she found herself almost saying that this was just something she’d found in the wardrobe and flung on at the last moment. But just in time she remembered, smiled and inclined her head. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

  He looked casually
handsome in light-coloured chinos, a black cotton poloneck shirt and a soft, tailored leather jacket. ‘I thought,’ he said as he opened the car door for her, ‘that we’d take a run down to the coast—there’s a rather nice little restaurant I know that serves the most delicious seafood. What do you think?’

  ‘Sounds wonderful,’ she said. ‘I adore seafood.’ She leaned back in the luxurious leather seat, and as the car pulled away she glanced up at the house and was convinced she saw the sitting-room curtains twitch. They would all have been there, watching, she knew that—Siobhan especially, Connor and even Aunt Bessie, who wouldn’t have been able to hide her curiosity.

  Tom must have seen her smile for he threw her a sidelong glance. ‘Did we have an audience?’ he said.

  ‘Undoubtedly.’

  ‘Did you have any problems in getting away?’ he asked as he eased the car out of the lane and onto the main road.

  ‘Not really.’ Kate shook her head and settled down into her seat, surprised to find that her nervousness had gone and she was looking forward to the evening ahead. ‘Aunt Bessie was great, no problem at all with her looking after the children, and Connor—well, Connor is just Connor. He seems to take most things in his stride.’

  ‘And Siobhan?’ Tom raised one eyebrow.

  ‘Ah, well, Siobhan is a little different.’

  ‘She wasn’t happy about us going out together?’

  ‘Oh, I don’t think she was too worried about that, although we did have to have a little talk about it not being disloyal to her father in any way.’

  ‘She thought that?’ Tom sounded concerned.

  ‘It’s new to her, that’s all—me going out with another man—but, no, her main concern seemed to be the fact that she wasn’t going, too. She seemed to think that it should only be family outings that we have.’

  ‘Oh, dear,’ said Tom with a laugh. ‘I hope you told her that Joe and Francesca aren’t coming with us.’

  ‘Yes, I did.’ It was on the tip of Kate’s tongue to tell him what else Siobhan had said, about whether or not people should sleep together on the first date and about what relationship Joe would be to her if her mother and Tom were to marry, but she thought better of it, thinking that Tom might find the comments presumptuous. Instead, she said, ‘What about your two? What do they think about us going out together?’

  ‘Actually, I haven’t told them yet,’ he replied.

  ‘Oh?’ she said. ‘Is there any reason for that?’

  ‘Mainly because I haven’t seen them,’ he said.

  Some slight inflection in his tone prompted Kate to say, ‘But there is another reason, is that what you’re saying?’

  ‘Only that I have to tread very carefully in that respect, especially where Francesca is concerned. For a long time after her mother and I parted she cherished a dream that we would get back together again.’

  ‘I believe that is the case with most children whose parents have parted,’ said Kate.

  ‘It happened once,’ he said, and as she threw him a quick glance she noticed once again that pulse that throbbed at the edge of his jaw. ‘After one of the monumental fights that Jennifer has with Max Oliver,’ he went on, ‘she packed their bags—hers and the children’s—and came back.’

  ‘That must have been upsetting for you.’

  ‘It was. Not only for me—for us all, because I knew it wouldn’t last.’

  ‘Would you have been prepared to take her back?’ she asked curiously.

  Tom didn’t answer immediately and she guessed he was battling with some dark emotions which had probably until that moment never seen the light of day. ‘I would have been prepared to try again for the sake of the children,’ he said at last.

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘She went back to him, as I knew she would, and things settled down again.’

  ‘Surely now that she’s married again, things are different?’

  ‘Ah, but she isn’t married,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Not married?’ She frowned and threw him another glance.

  ‘No, Max Oliver’s wife wouldn’t give him a divorce, so if they wish to marry they will need to wait the full five years.’

  ‘You gave Jennifer a divorce,’ she said.

  ‘Yes.’ He nodded. ‘After two years. I didn’t see any point in not doing so.’

  They were silent after that, Tom apparently concentrating on the road ahead and Kate digesting the information he had just divulged, especially the fact that Francesca lived in hope that her parents would one day get back together again, and the fact that Jennifer and Max Oliver weren’t married.

  As they neared the coast, and somewhat to Kate’s relief, Tom changed the subject and recounted a couple of anecdotes about fellow members of staff, together with such accurate and witty observations that Kate laughed aloud. She relaxed even more, realising there was much more to Tom than she had ever imagined.

  He eventually brought the car to a halt in a little car park at the rear of a boatyard, and as Kate opened her door and stepped from the car the fresh salty air invaded her senses. To the accompaniment of the cries of the gulls, which swooped and wheeled overhead, they made their way through narrow, cobbled streets to the little restaurant, which was tucked away behind another building. They would surely have missed it if Tom hadn’t known it was there.

  They were shown to a table in a tiny bay window that overlooked the harbour and had a clear view of the sea beyond. ‘The sunset should be pretty spectacular when it happens.’ Tom glanced at his watch. ‘Which should be in about an hour and a half.’

  The food was delicious—from the salmon mousse and asparagus to the lobster accompanied by crisp white Chablis and the strawberry syllabub with shortbread that followed.

  They talked endlessly—this time not of their previous lives and partners, or even of their children, but of themselves, their likes and their dislikes. They found to their surprise that they had a remarkable amount in common, from their taste in books, music and films—even food. They talked of travel, the places they’d visited, somewhat limited in Kate’s case to family holidays in France and Spain, more adventurous in Tom’s with visits to Thailand and India and skiing trips to Europe and Canada, and of the places they wanted to visit—Italy and Egypt for Kate, and Peru for Tom.

  ‘Do you ski?’ he asked her as they lingered over coffee.

  ‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘Never had the opportunity.’

  ‘In that case, I shall teach you,’ he replied, his answer somehow setting the seal on the question as to whether or not their relationship had a future.

  And when at last they left the restaurant after enjoying a truly spectacular sunset, watching until the very last sliver of orange had slipped into an indigo sea, it seemed the most natural thing in the world when Tom suggested a stroll along the sea wall. As they walked, he took her hand.

  Only once did Kate think of Liam and of how it had been on her first dates with him—of the arguments with her father about her riding pillion on his motorbike, of the way he’d invariably dressed in jeans and leathers, and of how she’d been the envy of all her friends when she’d started to date the handsome Irishman with the powerful motorbike. All so very different from the man at her side now. Not that there was any question that he was any less handsome than Liam, she thought with a little smile, but he was different, very different. But, then, hadn’t she too changed in those years since meeting Liam? So maybe…just maybe there was a chance…

  ‘Penny for them,’ he said suddenly, and she was jolted out of her daydream.

  ‘For what?’ she asked.

  ‘Your thoughts,’ he said. ‘You were miles away.’

  ‘I was just thinking how I can hardly believe this is happening,’ she said, modifying her answer slightly, not wanting Tom to think even for a moment that she was comparing him to Liam in any way. ‘That you and I are here like this.’

  ‘I know,’ he said, squeezing her hand as he spoke. ‘It is pretty amazing, i
sn’t it? I mean, we’ve known each other all this time, worked together, seen each other every day, and yet when it comes down to it we hardly knew each other at all.’

  ‘I’ve been surprised to find just how much we have in common,’ she said, ‘but I would never have imagined that this would happen.’

  ‘Why is that?’ He raised one eyebrow. ‘Because I wasn’t your type, or, as Francesca would say, because you didn’t fancy me?’

  ‘No, of course not,’ she said quickly, ‘but—’

  ‘Ah, so you do fancy me?’ he said, cutting in swiftly.

  ‘What I meant was,’ she replied, skirting round his question, ‘that we were poles apart. As far as we nurses are concerned, you consultants appear like a breed apart.’

  ‘Oh, dear.’ He pulled a face. ‘You make us sound like some alien species.’

  ‘Not at all,’ she protested. When he laughed, she said, ‘Just out of reach, that’s all. But isn’t the reverse also true?’ she asked. By this time they had almost reached the end of the harbour wall.

  ‘How do you mean?’ He frowned.

  ‘Well, would you consultants normally look amongst the nursing staff for serious relationships, or would you concentrate more on your fellow doctors?’

  They stopped and in an involuntary movement turned to face each other.

  ‘You’d be surprised,’ he said with a grin, ‘just what is said in the consultants’ staffroom. I can assure you it isn’t necessarily a case of not noticing—or fancying—the nursing staff, as much as a fear of being rebuffed. You have to remember, many consultants are over fifty and many nurses are in their early twenties.’

  ‘So we are the exception to the rule?’ she said lightly.

  ‘I would say so, yes.’ He looked down at her and from the light of an overhead harbour lamp she detected a gleam of amusement in his dark eyes. ‘Shall we walk on the beach for a while?’ he said suddenly, as if on impulse.

  Kate only hesitated for a moment, considering the suitability of her high-heeled black sandals for such a pursuit. ‘All right,’ she replied. ‘Why not?’