The Doctor's Wife For Keeps

Finally, there were reminders of the rules.

‘The competition is held in English. All instructions will be in this language and your patients are fluent enough to answer any relevant questions. The officials grading your performance will also be doing this in English and teams will be marked down for communication in any other language.’

Kate caught Luke’s eye again. Surely that gave them a distinct advantage over many of the teams here? For the first time, she could feel a kick of a desire to do well. To win, even?

Maybe that was down to the gleam she’d caught in Luke’s gaze. They’d always set out to see who could better the other. And then they would always celebrate the winner without any suggestion of animosity. With a dollop of pride, even...

‘And while we’re on the subject of communication,’ the official continued, ‘it is forbidden for any team to discuss the scenarios with other teams until the competition is finished so please be careful. Anyone found to be using information they have received in advance will be eliminated.’

‘What section are you in?’ she asked as soon as the formalities were over. ‘All doctors? Doctors and med students?’

‘Doctor/paramedic.’ Luke put his arm around the man standing beside him. ‘This is Matteo Martini. Italian paramedic extraordinaire.’

‘Ooh...’ Georgia had moved closer. ‘A martini? Yes, please... Extra-dry—with an olive.’

They all laughed. ‘This is Georgie,’ Kate said. ‘My paramedic partner.’

She caught Luke’s gaze again and this time the gleam took her right back to her student days. Standing in line outside an examination room with both of them knowing how hard they’d studied and both of them determined to be top of the class.

It had become a joke amongst their fellow students about whose turn it was to come first because they were such an equal match. There was never much of a gap between their marks.

‘My turn, I think.’ Kate grinned.

‘I don’t think so.’ But then Luke frowned. ‘Who got first last time? Good grief...it’s so long ago, I can’t even remember.’

‘Finals,’ Kate growled. ‘And it was you.’ She was scowling at him now. ‘You don’t need to look so smug about it.’

Luke adjusted his face. ‘It was a long time ago.’

‘Mmm.’ Kate held his gaze. ‘Too long.’

They were being herded out of the room now. A glance over her shoulder showed Kate that Georgia and Matteo were following so they went with the flow. It seemed that everybody was heading for the bar to wait until their scenario list and start times were handed out.

‘So how are you?’ Kate had to raise her voice to be heard over the babble of so many languages around them. ‘I haven’t seen you since your wedding.’

‘I know. I’m sorry...’ There was something in Luke’s expression that suggested he was sorry for more than the lack of contact. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

‘Just a soda water,’ Kate said. ‘I need to keep a clear head for tomorrow.’

‘Beer for me,’ Matteo said. ‘Georgie?’

The mischievous expression on Georgia’s face made Kate suppress a sigh. It was clear she was enjoying the handsome Italian’s company but surely she wasn’t going to be obvious enough ask for a martini? The sigh came out as one of relief as Georgia spoke.

‘White wine,’ she said. ‘Sparkling, if they’ve got it. I do love a bit of sparkle.’

Matteo raised an eyebrow. ‘A taste for champagne, yes? Classy...’ He went to help Luke carry the drinks while the girls found a place to sit down.

‘You want me to take Matteo somewhere else?’ Georgia asked. ‘So that you and Luke can have some alone time?’

‘Don’t be daft.’ The words came out sounding more irritated than Kate had intended. ‘We’re friends. Or we were. It’s so long since I’ve seen him that we’re practically strangers now.’

She averted her gaze as she finished her sentence. It was so far from the truth. But she couldn’t admit to Georgia how it made her feel to see Luke again. She hadn’t quite got her own head around it yet.

It seemed that Luke had followed her example and got a non-alcoholic drink for himself as well. Clearly he wanted to be as competitive as possible tomorrow as well. Kate had to hide a smile as they touched glasses.

Game on...

‘Cheers,’ she said. ‘I have to say, you’re probably the last person I would have expected to run into here. Have you changed specialties and gone into emergency medicine?’

‘No. I’m still a paediatric surgeon but I do specialise in trauma cases. It’s Matt’s fault I’m here.’

‘Snap,’ Kate told him. ‘Georgia entered me as a birthday present. She said I needed some adventure in my life.’

‘And do you?’ There was a question in Luke’s eyes that went far deeper than the amused query.

Was her life going the way she had planned it out so carefully? Was she happy?

She was saved having to find an answer by Georgia leaning closer. ‘So how do you two boys know each other?’

‘I did a stint in a hospital in Milan,’ Luke told her. ‘I got lost one day trying to find my apartment and this ambulance pulled up beside me. Matt was driving.’

‘I’d seen him in the emergency department of the hospital,’ Matteo put in. ‘I’d stayed with a child I’d brought in who’d been hit by a car and Luke had been called for a surgical consultation.’

‘He gave me a ride home,’ Luke continued. ‘And then he said he’d pick me up again after he finished his shift because he knew where the best beer in Milan was.’

‘Italy,’ Kate breathed. ‘How exciting. Did Nadia love living there?’

Matteo was staring at Luke. ‘Who’s Nadia?’

‘My ex-wife.’

‘Ah...the cheating cow?’

‘That’s the one.’

It was Kate’s turn to stare at Luke. ‘Oh, my God...you and Nadia split up?’

Luke was eyeing Matteo’s beer as if he was regretting his decision on drinks. ‘Yep.’

‘But...’

Everybody turned to stare at her and Kate bit her lip. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered. ‘It’s just that you guys were so in love...’

Luke snorted. ‘Yeah...well, I won’t be making that mistake again, believe me.’

‘It kind of cures you,’ Matteo offered. ‘When the wife you love turns out to have been shagging every other man she met. I’m with Luke on this one. If someone cheated on me or lied to me like that, I would never let her name pass my lips again either.’

Kate wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. Poor Luke... And she’d made things worse by opening her big mouth and reminding him of something it was obvious he would rather forget. Good grief...he hadn’t even told Matteo his wife’s name? Just referred to her as ‘the cheating cow’?

And something else was trying to push its way into her consciousness.

The fact that Luke was single again?

No. She was too old and wise to allow any seed to grow in that long-ago abandoned space. She’d been romantically invisible back then. Why would that have changed?

What needed to change was the subject. Fast.

‘How long were you in Milan?’

‘Two years. And then I won a consultancy position six months ago. In Edinburgh.’

‘No way...’

Luke blinked. ‘What’s so surprising about that? Did you think I was going to stay a registrar for ever?’

Kate shook her head. ‘It’s not that. I’m a consultant too. In Glasgow.’

Luke laughed. ‘You mean we’ve been living fifty miles from each other and we had to travel halfway across Europe to catch up?’

‘Not even fifty miles. Georgia and I live in Brackenburn—halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. I work in the Eastern Infirmary in Glasgow and Georgie’s a paramedic at a rescue base in Edinburgh.’

‘Do you have helicopters?’ Matteo asked Georgia.

‘Yes. Two. I don’t get to go up in them very often, though. Only when they’re short of staff. You?’

‘I’ve been a flight paramedic for eight years now. I love it...’

Kate and Luke weren’t listening to the conversation between their partners. People around them were starting to move, which meant that the time for finding out exactly what tomorrow would bring was getting close.

But they were both sitting very still. So much had happened in the years since they’d last seen each other. Kate wanted to know more and she was saddened by more than a hint of bitterness in Luke’s tone when he’d confirmed that his marriage was over. How could that have happened to one of the nicest people she had ever known?

Maybe something of what she was thinking was showing in her face.

‘What about you, Katy?’ Luke asked quietly. ‘You happily married now? Got a couple of kids at home? That was the plan, wasn’t it?’

Kate dropped her gaze. There was something a little shameful about admitting that she had failed to achieve her most important personal goals. She didn’t say anything, simply shaking her head as she reached for her glass to finish her drink.

‘We’d better get going,’ Matteo said. ‘It’s time...’

Kate stood up, more than happy to leave this conversation behind for the moment.

But Luke stayed where he was for a moment, staring up at Kate.

‘It was your birthday in March,’ he said.

‘It always is.’ Kate grinned. ‘Two weeks after yours, in fact.’

‘Yeah...so we both turned thirty-five.’

Was he trying to rub in the fact that she was still single? That parenthood was probably still years away? That she might get into her forties and get past the point where it might be even possible?

She could feel defensive hackles begin to rise. Maybe, thanks to his own unfortunate experience, Luke had changed from being the nicest person in the world.

But he was grinning. And he didn’t have to say a word for Kate to realise that he hadn’t been trying to remind her that time was ticking on.

He was reminding her of something else. Something they’d agreed on after that legendary night of celebrating their final results as they’d graduated as fully fledged doctors. Something she hadn’t thought about in at least five years.

Because it had become redundant the moment that Luke had got married.

Surely he didn’t think it could be reinstated because he was single again?

No. Kate turned away with a dismissive shake of her head.

‘The pact’ was no longer in existence.

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