by Kate Hardy
‘And you’ll do the operation yourself? We won’t have to see another doctor?’
‘If there’s a complication, I might need to get one of the cardiac surgeons in to give me a hand to fit a slightly different sort of ICD,’ Kelly said, ‘but in any case I’ll be there. Let’s go and see Jordan and her grandad, and I’ll explain to her what’s going to happen and answer any questions you all might have.’
‘I just don’t want to lose her.’ A tear slid down Mrs Martin’s cheek. ‘It’d be like losing Savannah all over again.’
‘Fitting the ICD will give her a much better chance,’ Kelly promised. ‘While you go and see Jordan and your husband, I’ll grab a computer and check the schedule so I can give you a date.’
By the time she’d finished explaining the operation and reassuring Jordan and her grandparents, Kelly had just enough time to grab a sandwich and gulp down a mug of coffee deliberately made half with cold water before her next clinic started. She didn’t even bump into Luc on the ward rounds, but he’d left her a text. Pick you up at quarter to seven.
OK, she texted back. Dress code?
Smartish came the answer.
Was she going out with the Prince or with the heart surgeon?
He hadn’t said she needed to wear anything as formal as a ballgown, so she hoped that her little black dress would be smart enough, teamed with heels she could also walk in. As it was a nice evening, a walk after dinner would be lovely.
At quarter to seven precisely, he rang her doorbell.
She’d never seen him wear a formal suit before; it looked good on him, and her mouth went dry.
Then she remembered that this wasn’t a real date. It was a getting-to-know-you thing to help her decide if she could go ahead with the marriage of convenience. They weren’t really going to have a whirlwind courtship. She needed to squash the inappropriate feelings right now.
‘You look lovely,’ he said.
‘Thank you. So do you,’ Kelly said, feeling slightly awkward and shy,
He introduced her to Gino, his driver and security detail, and then Gino drove them to a seriously plush hotel overlooking Kensington Park Gardens. ‘I thought maybe we could walk through the Italian gardens here, and then along the bank of the Serpentine,’ Luc said.
‘That sounds perfect,’ she said. ‘Am I dressed up quite enough for this place, though?’
‘You’re fine,’ he said with a smile.
The menu was amazing. ‘It’s really hard to choose,’ she said.
‘The food’s good here,’ he said. ‘I think anything you choose will be excellent.’
And it was also expensive enough not to have prices on the menu.
‘We’re going halves on the bill,’ she said.
‘No. My idea, my bill,’ he said. ‘Don’t argue.’
‘Provided I can treat you to dinner another time.’ She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Assuming I’m fake-dating a heart surgeon.’
His smile was slightly weary. ‘You are. And thank you.’
Once they’d chosen their meals, Luc said, ‘So tell me about you.’
‘I thought you had a dossier on me?’
‘Which isn’t the same thing at all,’ he said. ‘It’s bare bones.’
‘OK. I’m the youngest of two girls. My sister Susie is a lawyer and had twin boys, my dad Robin works in financial services, and so does my mum Caroline. I trained as a doctor in London and I love my job.’ She looked at him. ‘You?’
‘I thought you said you’d looked me up on the Internet?’
‘And it’s a good rule of thumb not to believe everything you see there,’ she pointed out.
He inclined his head. ‘Well as I mentioned, I’m the middle of three—my older sister Elle has a girl and a boy, and my younger sister Giulia is married but doesn’t have children yet,’ he said. ‘You know who my parents are. They all work in the family business. I trained in London and stayed because I like the city and I love my job.’
‘OK. That’s background done,’ she said. ‘We already know how each other ended up in cardiac medicine. How about music?’ she suggested. ‘I know you were in a band, so what do you listen to?’
‘I operate to Bach because it’s regular and calming, but it’s nineties indie bands all the way in the gym and when I’m driving,’ he said. ‘You?’
‘My guilty pleasure is eighties pop—the sort of thing I grew up with my mum playing in the kitchen,’ she said. ‘And I love the Proms. Anything Mozart.’ She looked at him. ‘Are you actually allowed to go to a gig or a concert?’
He laughed. ‘My life isn’t quite that restricted. Yes. So we can go to some, if you like.’
‘That sounds good.’ She smiled. ‘Movies?’
‘Sci-fi and action all the way,’ he said.
’How clichéd.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Blokey stuff. And there was me hoping that you liked obscure French films.’
‘I think that’s a double bluff and what you really like seeing are rom-coms—the soppier, the better,’ he said.
She laughed. ‘Busted. Anything with Ryan Gosling or Tom Hanks is just fine by me. I normally go with Susie or Ange. And I read practically everything.’
‘Anything set in Ancient Rome, for me,’ he said.
Funny, this was so easy, Kelly thought. Luc was good company, and they had a fair amount in common. This was starting to feel like a proper date, getting to know each other—which was weird and yet nice at the same time. ‘So you were saying about music at the gym. I take it you have a personal trainer come to you?’
‘I have a gym at home,’ he said, ‘and a pool. Not just for me—my team use it as well. And sometimes we train together. How about you?
‘Dance aerobics a couple of times a week, and taking the boys to the park with Susie at weekends. On wet days, we’ve taken them to the trampoline park to burn off some energy. They’ve got this amazing obstacle course that adults can go on, too.’
‘That sounds like fun.’ He looked slightly wistful.
She was about to ask him if he was allowed to do that sort of thing, then remembered what he’d said about going to concerts and decided not to remind him about the restrictions in his life. Instead, she said, ‘So are you a lark or an owl?’
‘Owl,’ he said. ‘I’m all about sitting watching the stars.’
‘In London?’
‘You’d be surprised. There are a few sites in London where you can see the Milky Way at night,’ he said. ‘Maybe we can do that together some time.’
‘I’d like that. I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights. Simon and I went to Iceland, but it rained for the whole week we were there and we weren’t lucky enough to see them.’
‘That’s on my bucket list, too,’ he said. ‘Along with seeing Old Faithful in Yellowstone.’
‘Good choice,’ she said. ‘We saw the Strokkur geyser in Iceland, and it was amazing, despite the rain.’
He smiled. ‘So are you a lark or an owl?’
‘Lark,’ she said. ‘I’m all about the sunrise. With the hours I work, it wouldn’t be fair to have a dog—but if I did I’d take him for walks half an hour before sunrise, when the world is quiet and full of birdsong.’
By the time they’d finished their meal, Kelly felt she knew Luc a lot better. And, in other circumstances, she would have been tempted to forget all this fake stuff and date him properly. She liked the man she was getting to know; and he was definitely attractive, with those huge dark eyes and that killer smile. It shocked her, because she hadn’t expected to have any feelings like this again. She’d been so caught up in work that she’d forgotten to have fun.
So maybe Luc was the one who could help her move on with her life.
But she knew that for him this was just a means to an end—persuading his parents to let him live the life he chose and continue makin
g a difference to his patients. It wasn’t a prelude to really dating each other. Today was simply letting them get to know each other so their stories would be straight if anyone asked awkward questions.
Luc pretty much underlined it when he said softly, ‘Tell me about Simon.’
‘We met at a party—a friend of a friend. He was an architect. He saw me home and we ended up spending the whole night talking. We started dating, but we pretty much knew each other was The One right from the beginning. We moved in together after six months and got married six months after that. He loved his job and he was really good at it.’ She smiled. ‘He used to run in the park every weekend and he cycled everywhere.’
‘Did you join him?’
‘No to the cycling, and I prefer to walk rather than run. But I was always happy to do long walks through London with him, looking at the buildings. And some of them are amazing—all you have to do is look up and you see things you never even knew existed.’ She gave him a wry smile. ‘We’d planned to extend our house and start a family. He’d drawn up all the plans, and the planning permission came through on the day he died.’
Luc reached across the table and squeezed her hand. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘It is as it is,’ she said. ‘I don’t have any regrets about our life together. We were happy. I just wish we’d had more time—or that I’d had some idea about his heart condition so he’d had treatment for it. The only things I regret are the things we didn’t get the chance to do.’
‘I’m glad you were happy,’ he said.
‘Now I just want Jake and Summer to get the treatment they need. Jake followed Simon in a lot of things—he’s an architect, too. But he and Millie started their family earlier than we planned to.’
‘I’m still waiting to hear from their doctor,’ Luc said. ‘But I’ll push again tomorrow.’
‘Thank you.’
When they’d finished their coffee, Luc suggested walking through the water gardens.
‘It’s so pretty here,’ Kelly said. ‘As it’s an Italian garden, does it remind you of home?’
‘A bit—and I have to admit my own garden is an Italian one, with a fountain and topiary to give layers and height,’ he said. He caught her fingers in his, startling her. ‘If this is going to be a whirlwind romance,’ he said as her eyes widened, ‘people will expect me to hold your hand at the very least, and if you flinch every time we touch then everyone will know we’re faking it.’
‘Good point.’ But this was the first time she’d held hands with a man since Simon, and it felt strange.
Clearly her feelings showed on her face, because he let her hand go and asked, ‘Would you rather we stop this whole thing right now?’
She shook her head. ‘I said I’d think about it. It’s just...’
‘I’m not Simon,’ he said. ‘And I’m taking this too fast for you.’
She winced. ‘I’m sorry. I’m making a mess of this.’
‘You’re absolutely not,’ he said. ‘Let’s keep walking.’
Kelly could understand why his girlfriends from a different background would find it hard to deal with the intrusiveness and all the protocols; but she didn’t understand why someone from Luc’s world couldn’t relate to the other side of him, the doctor who needed to make a difference to the world for his best friend’s sake. Her heart ached for him.
Would it be so hard for her to agree to help him? Just for a few short months? Or, if she agreed to help him with the clinic as well, would it get too complicated?
To distract herself, she said, ‘I’m fitting an ICD to a six-year-old girl with Long QT Syndrome on Thursday. Are you around if there are complications?’
‘I’m teaching,’ he said, ‘but if you need me I can be there.’
‘I’ll ask my patient’s grandmother if your students can observe.’
‘Thanks.’ He looked at her. ‘Given that you mentioned her grandmother, I presume there’s a familial link?’
She nodded. ‘Her mum. Who died.’
‘That must be hard for you.’
‘Dealing with a genetic cardiac condition that can be fatal? No, actually, it gives me hope that I can help people,’ she said. ‘Just... OK, I admit I get too involved. I want to save everyone, even though I know I can’t.’
He took her hand and squeezed it. ‘I know how that feels. But we do our best and that has to be enough.’
When Gino pulled up outside her flat, Kelly said to Luc, ‘You and Gino are very welcome to come in for coffee.’
‘Thanks, but I need to get back. See you tomorrow at work,’ he said. ‘And I’ll see you at my place tomorrow night for dinner. Anything except red meat, right?’
‘Right,’ she said with a smile. ‘Thanks for a lovely evening.’
‘You’re welcome. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you better.’
So had she. And that was worrying.
* * *
Luc spent the entire Wednesday working on a tricky coronary artery bypass graft, and didn’t get a chance to see Kelly once he’d left the operating theatre. He texted her swiftly. I’ll send Gino to pick you up.
It’s fine. I’ll get the Tube, she replied. Text me the address.
He did so, admiring her independent streak. And he’d really enjoyed her company last night. In other circumstances, he would’ve been tempted to ask her out properly. But he knew she wasn’t ready to move on; the way she’d been so startled by him holding her hand was proof of that, and he could’ve kicked himself for being so insensitive. She hadn’t agreed to marry him yet, and although they’d talked about making it look like a whirlwind courtship he’d taken things too fast. He needed to be patient. Even though he knew the clock was ticking for him.
And today would show her more of the other side of his life. Would it make her back away, the way Rachel had?
Luc was a prince. Of course he’d live in a mansion on the edge of Hampstead Heath, Kelly thought as she reached his address. And of course it would be a gated community where she’d have to check in with the concierge before she could even walk down his road.
The house was amazing—a new build, and yet with a nod to past architectural styles at the same time. Simon would’ve loved the Georgian symmetry of the three-storey facade, the shape of the roof, the dormer windows and the curved roof above the portico by the front door. There was a sweeping carriage drive in front of the house, and the garden was planted immaculately. Kelly felt a little like Cinderella; she definitely wasn’t dressed up enough for this place.
But when Gino answered the front door to her, he was dressed in jeans.
And so was Luc, when she walked inside.
‘Thank you for coming,’ Luc said. ‘Can I get you a drink?’
‘A glass of water would be lovely.’ And please don’t let him put it into some fragile, priceless crystal that she’d end up dropping, she begged silently. ‘And these are for you.’ She handed him a bag. ‘I forgot to ask if you’d prefer red or white, so I played it safe.’
‘I love Sauvignon Blanc,’ he said with a smile when he looked at the contents. ‘And these are seriously good chocolates. Thank you very much.’
‘It didn’t feel quite right, bringing you flowers. Given your front garden, I think I made the right choice.’
‘Maria—my housekeeper—had a hand in the planting. I admit, I don’t really notice the flowers in the house, but she likes them. If my team’s happy, then I’m happy.’ He smiled at her. ‘Would you like a guided tour before dinner?’
‘Yes, please. I’d love to see this Italian garden you told me about yesterday.’
The interior of the house was even grander than the outside. The large living room had French doors, enormous sofas, a huge cream rug on the maple floors, and small occasional tables that held lamps and the largest vase of lilies she’d ever seen. And to think that if she agreed to his
marriage of convenience she would be living here for a few months. She’d be terrified of breakages and spills whenever Susie and the twins came to visit.
Though she loved the large oil painting of a seascape on the living room wall. ‘That’s beautiful.’
‘It’s the view over the harbour from the castle in the Old Town in Bordimiglia,’ he said.
The dining room was equally large, with a table big enough to seat twelve, and again it overlooked the garden. In the centre of the table was a huge vase of red tulips. ‘They’re gorgeous,’ she said.
‘Maria’s favourites,’ he said with a smile. ‘And my mother’s.’
‘Mine, too.’
The kitchen was bigger than her entire flat, and everything was glossy white and gleaming chrome. The sort that would show every single fingerprint, she thought; this was definitely a high-maintenance house. There was a smaller table at one end of the kitchen, set for two.
‘I thought we’d eat in here tonight—it’s a bit cosier than the dining room,’ Luc said. ‘I tend to eat in here if it’s just me.’
‘Something smells very nice,’ she said.
‘My speciality,’ he said.
There were a couple more sitting rooms, then a study lined with books and with a state-of-the-art computer on an otherwise clear desk, a comfy chair that was clearly his reading spot, and a small coffee table next to it stacked with medical journals. Next to that was a music room containing a baby grand piano, a couple of electric guitars on stands, and an amplifier.
‘I’m expecting a demo,’ she said.
‘After dinner,’ he promised. ‘Though remember I warned you I’m not professional standard, and that wasn’t false modesty.’
The hallway was massive, with marble flooring and a beautiful curving wrought-iron staircase. ‘Bedrooms,’ he said, ‘all with en-suite bathrooms. The staff quarters are through here, on three floors.’ He gestured to a corridor. ‘The gym and pool are that way.’ He led her down a different corridor. ‘This is the garden room, for days when it’s too wet to be outside.’ The room was even bigger than the kitchen, with marble floors and comfortable chairs and what looked like orange trees in huge terracotta pots.
