A Date with the Ice Princess. Kate Hardy
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of ideas on how to persuade you into joining in with the team outside work.’
So this wasn’t actually a date? She found herself relaxing. ‘I take it this is a team thing today, then?’
‘No. It’s just you and me.’ He shrugged. ‘And a few strangers.’
‘What do you mean, strangers?’
He spread his hands and gave her a mischievous little-boy smile. ‘There’s only one way to find out what we’re doing. Let’s go.’
She wasn’t that surprised to discover that his car was a convertible.
‘Very flashy,’ she said dryly. Though she supposed that navy blue was a tad more sophisticated than red.
‘Very comfortable, actually,’ he corrected her, unlocking the car and pressing a button to take the roof down.
The seats were soft, white leather. This should be clichéd and cheesy and make her want to sneer at him.
But he had a point, she discovered as she climbed in. The car was comfortable. And driving in the sunshine with the roof down and the wind in her hair was a real treat. She hadn’t done anything like this in ages; her own car was sensible, economical and easy to park, rather than a carefree convertible.
‘So where are we going?’ she asked.
‘About three-quarters of an hour away.’
He really wasn’t going to be drawn, was he?
‘Feel free to choose the music,’ he said.
The first radio station she tried was dance music—not her cup of tea at all. The second was playing one of her dad’s songs; she left the station playing, and couldn’t help humming along to the song.
Lewis smiled at her. ‘I had you pegged as listening only to highbrow stuff. Classical music. Like those tickets you bid on.’
He’d noticed that?
‘See, I told you that you could surprise me.’
‘So you don’t like this sort of stuff?’ Abigail had to remind herself not to jump to her dad’s defence.
‘Actually, I do. This sort of stuff is great on a play-list if you’re going out for a run. But I didn’t think you’d be a fan of Brydon.’
Their biggest. Not that she was going to tell Lewis that. Or why.
He didn’t press her to talk, and she found herself relaxing, enjoying the scenery.
Until he turned off the main road and she saw the sign.
‘Urban Jungle Adventure Centre.’ And it wasn’t just the name. It was the photographs on the hoarding of what people were doing at the centre. ‘We’re going zip-lining?’
‘It’s one of the biggest rushes you can get.’ He gave her a sidelong look as he parked the car. ‘With your clothes on, that is.’
She felt the colour stain her face. ‘Are you determined to embarrass me?’
‘No. I’m trying to make you laugh. I’m not trying to seduce you.’
‘I don’t understand you,’ she said. ‘I don’t have a clue what makes you tick.’
‘Snap. So let’s go and have some fun finding out.’
Fun. Zip-lining. The idea of launching herself off a platform and whizzing through space, with only a flimsy harness holding her onto a line to stop her plummeting to the ground… No, that wasn’t fun. It made her palms sweat.
He frowned. ‘Are you scared of heights, Abby?’
She let the diminutive pass without correcting him. ‘No.’
‘But you’re scared of this.’
She swallowed. ‘I work in the emergency department. I see accidents all the time.’
‘And you think you’re going to have an accident here?’ His expression softened. ‘It’s OK, Abby. This is safe. All the staff are trained. All the equipment is tested. Very, very regularly. Your harness isn’t going to break and you’re not going to fall. No broken bones, no concussion, no subdural haematoma. OK?’
How had he known what the pictures were in her head? She blew out a breath. ‘OK.’
‘The first time you do it, I admit, it can be a bit daunting. Hardly anyone jumps off the platform on their first time. The second time, you’ll know what the adrenalin rush feels like and you’ll leap off as if you’ve never been scared.’
She doubted it. A lot. ‘So this is what makes you tick. You’re an adrenalin fiend.’ And that was probably why he worked in the emergency department. Because it was all about speed, about split-second decisions that made the difference between life and death. Real adrenalin stuff.
‘Actually, I’m probably more of an endorphin fiend,’ he corrected. ‘Which is why I usually go for a run before every shift, so I feel great before I start work and I’m ready to face anything.’
She’d never thought of it that way before. ‘That makes sense.’
And of course he made her climb up the ladder before him. ‘Ladies first.’
‘You mean, you want to look at my backside,’ she grumbled.
He grinned. ‘That, too. It’s a very nice backside.’
She gave him what she hoped was a really withering look—no way did she want him to know just how scary she found this—and climbed up the ladder. Stubbornness got her to the top. But when it came to putting the harness on all her nerves came back. With teeth. And could she get the wretched thing on, ready for the adventure centre staff to check? Her fingers had turned into what felt like lumpy balloons.
Way to go, Abigail, she thought bitterly. How to embarrass yourself totally in front of the coolest guy in the hospital. Nothing changed, did it? She just didn’t fit in.
‘Let me help you,’ Lewis said.
He was all ready to go, harness and wide smile both in place. Well, they would be, she thought crossly.
‘And this isn’t an excuse to touch you, by the way. Fastening the harness can be a bit tricky, and I’ve already gone through that learning curve.’
Now she felt like the grumpiest, most horrible person on the planet. Because Lewis was being nice, not sleazy. She’d attributed motives to him that he clearly didn’t have and had thought the worst of him without any evidence to back it up. How mean was that? ‘Thank you,’ she muttered.
He laughed. ‘That sounds more like “I want to kill you”.’
‘I do,’ she admitted. And somehow he’d disarmed her. Somehow his smile didn’t seem cocky and smug any more. He was… Shockingly, she thought, Lewis Gallagher was nice.
Which was dangerous. She didn’t want to get close to a heartbreaker like Lewis Gallagher. She didn’t want to get involved with anyone. She just wanted her nice, quiet—well, busy, she amended mentally—life as an emergency department doctor.
‘OK. Step in.’
And what had seemed like an impossible web was suddenly fitting round her. Lewis’s hands were brushing against her, yes, but that was only because he was checking every single buckle and every single fastening, making doubly sure that everything was done properly and she was safe. There was nothing sexual in the contact.
Which should make her feel relieved.
So why did it make her feel disappointed? Surely she wasn’t so stupid as to let herself get attracted to a good-time guy like Lewis Gallagher?
‘OK. Ready?’ he asked.
No. Far from it. ‘Yes,’ she lied.
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