The Doctor's Wife for Keeps

by Alison Roberts

  ‘Where is he?’ There was an angry edge to Georgia’s voice now. ‘How could he do something like this to you?’

  A good question. Except that it was precisely what Kate had been about to do to him, wasn’t it? She might not understand what was going on, but she couldn’t put all the blame at Luke’s feet. She blinked hard to keep tears at bay. Focussing on what she could see in the distance helped—that odd outline that created the kind of corners on the ramparts that she and Luke had discovered on their recent visit to Edinburgh castle.

  Where they’d stood, looking out at that amazing view.

  She could hear his words again, as clearly as if he was leaning forward from the back seat of this car to whisper them in her ear.

  I wonder how many people have stood in this spot and looked out at that view and tried to figure out what life is all about. Or what they really want from it.

  ‘I think I might know where he is,’ she said quietly.

  ‘Good. Let’s go and find him.’ Georgia was scowling now. ‘Oh, boy... I knew you can’t trust men. Any of them. I actually thought Luke was different but now I can’t wait to give him a piece of my mind.’

  Kate smiled. ‘I don’t think so. What you can do is give me a lift to the top of the hill, though. Close to the castle gates?’

  ‘You think he’s gone sightseeing?’

  ‘I don’t know. It’s just a hunch. But even if I don’t find him, I could do with some time to think about things anyway.’

  ‘Not by yourself, you don’t. You need a friend right now.’ Georgia started the car. ‘I’ll wait somewhere close for a while, okay? I don’t care how long it takes. Text me when you need a ride home.’ Her smile was sympathetic. ‘I can buy chocolate and wine while I’m waiting.’

  It helped to know that her best friend would be somewhere in the vicinity when Kate had purchased her ticket to tour the castle and went straight for the long flight of stairs that would take her up to the ramparts. If nothing else, she was going to get cold before too long. It might be a lovely, sunny day but there was enough of a breeze to ruffle the skirt of her dress and tease goose-bumps onto her bare arms.

  Or maybe that was due to nerves.

  She was running on instinct here, and it was quite possible she didn’t know Luke as well as she thought she did. He could be miles away. Onto his third whisky in a bar somewhere perhaps. Feeling relieved that he’d dodged the bullet of committing himself to someone he couldn’t really trust because she hadn’t stuck to the premise of the pact?

  He must have guessed somehow.

  He had realised that she couldn’t be trusted because she’d been hiding the truth.

  Lying to him, even if it was only by omission.

  This was a good thing, Kate told herself, rubbing at her arms as she kept walking. She would feel relieved to be able to be honest.

  But...how devastating was it going to be to lose Luke?

  She paused for a moment as the premonition of how much grief she was on the brink of became overwhelming.

  Maybe she couldn’t do this. It might be better to turn around and text Georgia to come back to the castle gates. To go and get that emergency supply of wine and chocolate and tissues and just go home and hide for a while.

  And then she saw him.

  Just a silhouette of a figure at this distance but she knew it was Luke. Not so much because it was obviously a tall, male shape but because it was in the exact spot that she had thought he might be. And because of how still he was standing, lost in the limitless view of those horizons that had made him ponder the meaning of life that most people had to deal with at some point. It was obviously his turn right now.

  So Kate kept walking. It felt as though she was being pulled forward now, not pushing herself. As if she was within range of a magnetic force she couldn’t resist. A force that became increasingly powerful with every step closing that distance between them.

  And, as if he felt the same force, Luke turned away from the view by the time Kate was still metres away.

  The colour seemed to drain from his face.

  ‘Katy...’

  He was wearing a suit and tie. He did look impossibly gorgeous. In a way, this was a comfort. Luke had obviously intended to go to the registry office. To marry her.

  Whatever was going on, seeing her here was the last thing he’d expected, judging by how shocked he looked right now.

  ‘Oh, my God... I only came here because I needed to think.’ He wrenched at the sleeve of his jacket to expose his watch. ‘I completely lost track of the time. We’re so late...’

  ‘Too late.’ To her surprise, Kate’s words sounded oddly calm. ‘It’s not going to happen now, Luke.’

  He dropped his hands in slow motion and then his whole body seemed to freeze. Just a lock of that wavy brown hair got caught in the breeze and shifted on a furrowed forehead.

  ‘You were waiting for me.’ His voice cracked. ‘You must have thought I’d changed my mind. That I wasn’t coming...’

  Kate shook her head. ‘I couldn’t go in,’ she said, quietly. ‘I couldn’t do it.’

  His face looked even paler now. His words came out in no more than a whisper. ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because I haven’t been entirely honest with you. I broke the rules.’ Kate wrapped her arms around herself as she shivered. ‘I’m in love with you, Luke. I fell in love with you a long time ago.’

  He didn’t move a muscle. Even that stray lock of hair was completely still for a long, long moment.

  But then one corner of his mouth moved, tilting upwards.

  ‘That’s okay,’ he murmured. His whole body seemed to be waking up now. He was taking a step towards her.

  It was Kate’s turn to freeze. It was okay? He didn’t mind that she had broken the most important rule? What was going on here?

  ‘I broke that rule, too.’ The warmth of Luke’s hands on her bare arms was startling. Almost as astonishing as what she was hearing. ‘I’m in love with you, too. Oh, Katy... I love you so much...’

  His hands had moved to cradle her face and the touch was gentle. The touch of his lips on hers was gentle as well. Heartbreakingly tender.

  And this kiss was different from any kiss they had shared before.

  Because it was honest?

  Because it was possible to let every ounce of the love she felt for this man rush through her body and be communicated through what was only a tiny patch of physical contact?

  Maybe it was because she was receiving the exact same kind of message. She could sense the power of a love that matched her own and together they were fusing into something extraordinary.

  Kate never wanted this kiss to end. It was only a lack of enough oxygen that finally forced her to pull back far enough to snatch a gasp of breath.

  The breeze had picked up again. She could feel her skirt swirling around her legs and strands of her hair were blowing over her face to snag on moist lips. Luke smoothed them away, his gaze locked on hers.

  Kate never wanted that eye contact to end either. How amazing was it that love could be felt as a physical force by the touch of a gaze as much as lips?

  So powerful, it sent a shudder through her entire body.

  ‘You’re cold.’ A furrow appeared between Luke’s eyes. He shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it over Kate’s shoulders. The smooth silk of the lining kissed her skin and the warmth that had come from Luke’s body wrapped itself around her like an even more intimate caress.

  For a moment, Kate was transported back to that memorable night when they had agreed to reinstate the pact. When she’d been engulfed by his oversized anorak and had caught the scent of Luke from its soft, woolly lining. She’d been under the erotic spell of those first waves of intense, physical desire for this man that night.

  That spell had never worn off. If anything, it felt stronge
r now. A part of her life instead of just a temporary sprinkle of magic dust.

  Luke took hold of her hand. ‘Come on, let’s find somewhere out of this wind.’

  It didn’t matter that there were tourists everywhere in the castle grounds. It felt as if she and Luke were the only people in the world. And when they went into the first sheltered building they could find, miraculously they were the only people in the space.

  They tucked themselves into a corner of one of the few wooden pews in the ancient chapel of St Margaret’s in front of its carved stone archway with the soft glow of the small, stained-glass window behind the altar on the other side of the archway.

  It seemed entirely appropriate to celebrate the discovery of this new level of love by sharing another kiss.

  And by speaking only in whispers.

  ‘When?’ Luke asked. ‘When did you break the rules?’

  ‘That first night we had dinner. At that Italian restaurant?’ Kate had to smile. ‘Just before you said how much better it was just to be friends and how you could never trust being in love. When you persuaded me to give the pact a go.’

  Luke groaned softly. ‘I did say that, didn’t I? I actually believed it.’

  ‘I couldn’t tell you. Not after that. I was too scared you might disappear from my life. Because you couldn’t trust me.’

  ‘I could never not trust you, Katy. I’m trusting you with my heart for ever now. With my life...’

  ‘But I was being untrustworthy. I was lying. Pretending that I felt the same way you did.’

  Luke’s smile was ironic. ‘You did a good job, too. You were so good I believed you so well that I couldn’t tell you how I really felt. In case you disappeared.’

  ‘When did you know?’

  ‘That night you got hit by the car. When I thought the worst for a few seconds and realised how much I didn’t want to live without you. But you know what?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I think I’d actually felt that way for ever. I just hadn’t realised what had been hiding.’

  Kate nodded. ‘Do you want to know something else? When we first met, way back at med school, I...um...had a real crush on you.’

  ‘What? Really? How come I never knew that?’

  ‘I could see the way you looked at other girls. I felt kind of invisible in that way. I guess I got good at hiding it and then I convinced myself I was over it.’

  ‘I must have been completely blind,’ Luke groaned. ‘Or maybe I just needed to grow up enough to see what was real and what wasn’t.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘We’ve wasted a lot of time, haven’t we?’

  Kate mirrored the headshake. ‘It wasn’t wasted. If that’s what was needed to get us to where we are right now, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.’

  ‘I’m sorry about the registry office. It might be a long time before we can get a new appointment.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter.’

  Luke kissed her before he spoke again. ‘It does matter. And it doesn’t seem enough any more. My first wedding was in a registry office. I think I want a real wedding this time.’

  ‘With me in a meringue dress and people throwing rose petals?’

  ‘Whatever spins your wheels.’ Luke smiled. ‘But, yes, I want it to be a bit over the top. With all our friends here to witness it. In a really special place.’ He turned his head to gaze around them. ‘Like this...’

  ‘You probably have to book years in advance to get a wedding in this chapel.’

  ‘We got lucky with the registry office. People cancel sometimes, you know.’

  ‘Or they don’t turn up.’ Kate’s smile was teasing. ‘I wonder how often it happens that both people don’t turn up to their own wedding?’

  ‘That wouldn’t work. We’d need at least a bit of time. So that you can buy the meringue.’

  ‘I don’t want a meringue. But... I do want a real wedding.’ A bubble of excitement was layering itself onto the sheer joy of knowing that Luke loved her this much. That he was in love with her. The dreams of the future were within touching distance now. Maybe the dreams from the past could be indulged a little, too.

  A sacred place. A white dress. Heartfelt pledges made in front of others. A slow walk down an aisle because every step would bring her closer to the man she loved.

  Closer to the rest of her life with Luke.

  ‘You know what?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘It wouldn’t hurt to ask...’

  * * *

  The evening chill in the air wasn’t entirely responsible for the shivery sensation that rippled down Kate’s spine.

  ‘What if he’s not there?’

  Georgie snorted. ‘As if...’

  She cast a critical eye over Kate’s dress. The bead-encrusted lace bodice had a sweetheart neckline in the front and a deep V at the back. From just under the bust, a drape of pale, ivory silk fell far enough to touch the cobbles of this courtyard.

  ‘Phew... I thought for sure you were going to get some marks on that skirt climbing those stairs.’

  ‘I was being careful. What about my hair? There’s enough of a breeze up here to have messed with it.’

  ‘You look stunning.’ Georgia’s smile was misty. ‘And I love that wreath. The flowers are so tiny.’

  ‘You look pretty amazing yourself, Georgie.’

  ‘For a bridesmaid the size of a small elephant, you mean?’ Georgia ran her hands over her belly. ‘Thank goodness for wraparound dress styles. I feel more elegant than I have for months.’

  Kate drew in a shaky breath. ‘This is really happening, isn’t it?’

  ‘It would seem so. I can’t believe you’re doing it here, though. At the castle.’

  ‘I know. Who knew that some American couple was going to have a last-minute hitch with their visas? Or that we happened to make an enquiry on the only day ever that St Margaret’s chapel didn’t have a waiting list for cancellations?’

  Everything had simply fallen into place after that. Finding the perfect dress in the first shop she and Georgia had gone into. Job interviews in New Zealand that fitted perfectly into the timeframe for an extended honeymoon.

  ‘And you got the whole package. The party in that tower next door afterwards. Even the piper to serenade your walk up the aisle. Oh, look... I think that’s him getting ready.’ Georgia sighed happily. ‘I do love a man in a kilt.’

  Kate eyed the stone archway that was the entrance to the tiny chapel. She could see the soft light beyond that would be coming from the dozens of candles. The pews would be filled with the twenty or so close friends who had been chosen to witness this ceremony. Through the internal archway, in the space at the front beside the altar, would be where Luke was standing.

  Waiting for her.

  Some muffled squeaking sounds were coming from the direction of the lone piper as he got his bagpipes ready.

  ‘Stand by...’ Georgia said in a stage whisper.

  ‘No...’ The call came from behind them. ‘Wait...’

  Both Georgia and Kate turned swiftly to see a figure running towards them. A tall, dark man in a dark suit, a black bow-tie against a snowy, white shirt.

  For the briefest moment Kate thought it was Luke, arriving late to his own wedding. But then her face lit up with the widest smile.

  ‘Matteo...you made it.’

  ‘I didn’t think I could. Not after the last delay with the fog.’ Matteo was out of breath. ‘But I couldn’t let my best friend get married without me.’ He put his hand to his chest as he tried to catch his breath. ‘You look...bellissima, Kate. Luke is a very lucky man.’

  ‘He certainly is,’ Georgia put in. ‘Hi, Matteo.’ The glance she slid towards Kate was oddly accusatory. ‘You didn’t tell me Matteo was coming.’

  ‘We really weren’t sure that he could make it. Luke’s going to b
e as surprised as you.’

  But probably happier.

  Was that why Kate hadn’t mentioned the idea of flying in the only option for a best man? There’d been something between Georgia and Matteo back at the competition. Something that hadn’t ended so well despite her friend’s refusal to ever discuss it. Just how acrimonious had it been when Matteo had been discarded in favour of Dave the New Zealander—the man she still suspected might be the father of Georgia’s babies?

  She could see the shocked expression on Matteo’s face as his gaze slid over Georgia’s impressive bump.

  He cleared his throat. ‘Hello, Georgia. You’re looking...um...well?’

  ‘I’m very well, thank you.’

  ‘I’d better get inside. Give me a minute to find my place, okay?’ Matteo disappeared through the arched entrance just as the piper finished warming up and began to play.

  ‘Here we go,’ Georgia said. ‘You good?’

  Her smile was bright. If Matteo’s presence wasn’t something she wanted, she wasn’t about to let it interfere with Kate’s special day. She’d make sure she found time to talk to her closest friend later. To let her know how much she was loved and how much Kate appreciated everything she’d done to help her through the last few weeks.

  ‘Never better.’ She nodded. ‘I feel like I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life.’

  ‘It was always going to happen. I knew you were fated to find your perfect person.’

  ‘But I’d never have dreamed it would be Luke.’

  ‘You can thank me, later.’ Georgia touched Kate’s arm and nodded towards the entrance. ‘It’s time, hon.’

  But Kate hesitated a moment longer. ‘It was down to you, wasn’t it? It was your idea to go that competition. We might never have reconnected otherwise. I hope...well... I hope I can return the favour one day.’

  Georgia shook her head, a stray curl escaping from the pins holding her hair in place.

  ‘No, thanks. Just make sure you live happily ever after, okay?’

  ‘I’ll do my best.’

  The sound of the bagpipes would have been overpowering in the small space of the chapel but, drifting in behind them, the haunting notes were beautiful.