A Sister's Dilemma, page 16
'Stop it,' she said. 'I'm curious now.' She picked up the little box.
It was a grey leather presentation box, with the name of a jeweller on top. Inside was a smaller box, this time in red suede, just the size of...
Her heart pounded. Suddenly she was so excited. She flicked up the lid. In a setting of white satin, there was a ring. An engagement ring. In gold, a heart-shaped ruby, with diamonds around it. She couldn't speak, she couldn't breathe.
Now he was sitting by her. She could feel the warmth of his thigh alongside hers, the touch of his hip and the strength of his arm as he laid it around her shoulders.
He took the ring from its bed of velvet and felt for her left hand.
'If I put this on that finger it'll mean we're engaged,' he said. 'Will you marry me, Kate?'
It was a shock but she didn't need any time to think.
'Of course I will,' she said.
They might have missed their flight. They had stayed awake till the small hours: thinking, planning, deciding.
Then they had phoned room service. A bottle of champagne ordered at four o'clock in the morning was nothing out of the ordinary.
'I want to spend my life with you,' he said, 'and this will be a partnership. If you want to be a wanderer, then I will wander with you.'
She shook her head. 'I've had my wild times. I want to come home now,' she said. 'I want a house in Kirkhelen. I want you to work at the practice, and to start with I want a job in A and E at the Milner. Perhaps once a year we'll fly over here to see old friends. But this part of my life is now finished. Tomorrow I'll tell them that I don't want the place on the emergency response team.'
'Are you sure? This is quite a change for you.'
'Not at all,' she said stoutly. 'For weeks I've been thinking that... that... that friends was all very well, but what I really wanted was a lover. Actually, what I really wanted was a husband. But you seemed so certain that you only wanted a casual relationship...'
'Perhaps to start with. Then I only kept on saying it because I wanted to please you. I wouldn't let myself think about what life would be like without you.'
She shook her head in wonderment. 'And I kept quiet because you seemed so certain you wanted to stay a bachelor. I didn't want to... harass you.'
'We could have missed each other—just because we were too polite.' He shuddered. 'From now on I'm going to be selfish. I'm going to tell you what I want as soon as I want it.'
'Tell me, then,' she said, reaching up for him. 'Who knows? It might be what I want too....'
EPILOGUE
It was raining when they got home—and that made them happier. The plane had flown overnight, but by some miracle it had never quite got dark; there had been sunlight all the way. While the rest of the passengers had tried to sleep they had talked, whispering to each other, planning, arranging, deciding.
'We can't do anything till Jo is fully better,' Kate had said, 'but I want to announce our engagement at once. And we'll have a party in a few months.'
'Whatever you think is best. After all, I'm still her GP. I can't let her health suffer just because I want to get married.'
Kate had giggled. 'What about my health? I think I'll go for that full-time job in A and E. I like the department.' At the airport they were picked up by Vanessa. She had offered them a lift and the practice partners had said she could have the time off. Kate was just a bit worried at first but, when she told Vanessa that they were engaged, and showed her the ring, Vanessa seemed pleased.
'I'm only surprised you didn't get married over there,' she said.
When they were on the motorway Vanessa handed two envelopes back to Steve. 'Plenty of official mail,' she said, 'and you can make a start on it when you come in tomorrow. But these two were marked Personal, so I brought them.'
Steve looked at the two letters dubiously.
'Open them,' commanded Kate. 'I can't stand people who don't open letters.' The first letter was boring—details about investments from the bank. The second letter was handwritten, and Steve pointed to the postmark. 'I think this is from Amy,' he said.
They had sent Amy a couple of postcards, knowing how much she liked to hear from people abroad.
Steve read the letter first then expressionlessly passed it to Kate. She read it.
I am so glad that I came here and I'm very contented among my friends. I know now I shall never return to my cottage. It is just a memory, but a happy one. I have consulted Dr Stanmore, who assures me I am in my right mind, and Mr Donnington, my solicitor, who does the same. I am very well provided for. I was left a very substantial pension and, unlike some others here, I do not have to sell my house to pay for my keep. So I may dispose of my assets as I wish. I therefore want you to have my cottage. And if you choose to share it with that nice nurse Kate, so much the better...
'Can we accept?' she asked.
He thought for a moment. Then, 'Yes,' he said. 'We can keep it either as a holiday home, or let it and keep it for our own retirement. On the other hand, it would be a great place to bring up children.'
'We haven't decided how many yet,' she said.
'There's a lot we still have to decide. We need to buy a house, we need to furnish it and start planning for our wedding. Mrs Russell-to-be, you don't know how much deciding you're going to have to do.'
He looked rather worried. 'Are you sure you're going to be happy with that? No more living out of a blue rucksack? No more wandering round the world when it suits you?'
'Of course I'm going to be happy. I don't want to wander any more. I want to live in Kirkhelen and have holidays in Amy's cottage. And if we have two little girls they can be called Jo and Amy.'
'Two little girls! If we're going to have that many—ought we to start trying for them at once?'
'Well, soon,' she said. 'Very soon.'
Gill Sanderson
Medical Romances
For more information about Gill Sanderson
and other Accent Press titles
please visit
www.accentpress.co.uk
Published by Accent Press Ltd – 2015
ISBN: 9781783753734
Copyright © Gill Sanderson 2015
The right of Gill Sanderson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Gill Sanderson, A Sister's Dilemma
