CONTENTS

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Title Page

       PROLOGUE

       CHAPTER ONE

       CHAPTER TWO

       CHAPTER THREE

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       Extract

       Copyright

PROLOGUE

      ‘YOU’RE going to love me. I’ve solved all your problems.’

      ‘I don’t have any problems.’ He had hundreds of problems. Mac Sullivan tucked the phone under his ear and carried on sifting through the pile of post he’d scooped from the mat just before the phone had rung. He’d only been at the hospital for two days and yet the door would barely open. Where the hell had it all come from? He turned his attention to the phone call. ‘And if this is the point where you tell me you’ve fixed me up with another blind date then I ought to warn you that I’m leaving the country. If you weren’t my brother I’d have knocked your teeth down your throat before now.’

      ‘Wouldn’t be the first time,’ Josh said easily, ‘but in this case it would be the wrong move. It’s not a blind date. But I have chosen you a great Christmas present.’

      Mac binned the post without opening it and strolled through to the kitchen, the phone still tucked under his ear. He winced at the mess. The remains of a takeaway lay dried up and congealing in foil containers and unwashed dishes were stacked on every available surface.

      ‘I don’t need a Christmas present, I need a housekeeper,’ he muttered, glancing towards the overflowing bin with something close to desperation. ‘Or a brother who clears up after himself. Why doesn’t someone invent a bin that empties itself?’

      ‘Last time I looked, ours was emptying itself,’ Josh said mildly, ‘mostly over the kitchen floor. And housekeepers always leave because they fall in love with you. Personally I find you a moody, sarcastic bastard but for some inexplicable reason women seem to find that irresistible. You need to smile more and cut out the brooding, Heathcliffe look and maybe they could concentrate on looking after the house.’

      Choosing to ignore his brother’s remarks, Mac flicked on the kettle and hunted in vain for a clean mug. ‘I’m putting in another advert.’

      ‘It’s Christmas in less than two weeks,’ Josh reminded him. ‘Everyone is shopping and cooking and decorating the house with lights. They don’t want to come and clear up our mess. No, in the short term we’re in trouble. But in the long term, you need to get married again. That would solve everything.’

       Married?

      Mac closed his eyes and the breath hissed through his teeth. ‘I don’t think so.

       He was better off alone.

      There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. ‘You can’t lock yourself away for ever,’ Josh said softly. ‘It’s time to move on.’

      ‘I have moved on.’

      ‘So why are you living in that massive house on your own?’

       Because he liked being on his own.

      Mac opened his eyes and glanced at the mess. ‘Last time I looked, you were living in it with me. And I wish you’d learn to clear up after yourself. This place is a pit.’

      ‘You’ll miss me when my boathouse is finished,’ Josh said cheerfully, and Mac gave a ghost of a smile as he took a last glance around the kitchen.

      ‘Will I?’ He strode out of the kitchen and closed the door firmly behind him. The mess depressed him and he was too tired to tackle it. ‘How are things there? Did you transfer the aorta guy to Theatre?’

      ‘Don’t change the subject. We were talking about you getting married again.’

      ‘You were talking about that, not me,’ Mac said irritably. Marriage definitely wasn’t on his agenda. ‘Did you get him to Theatre before it ruptured?’

      Josh sighed. ‘Yes, but you need to stop thinking about work. You need to ease off and develop different areas of your life. Achieve some balance.’

      Mac frowned into the phone. ‘Balance? Have you been reading women’s magazines? And were you working in the A and E department with me last night or not? Did you happen to notice any drunk, abusive patients, brainless drivers and idiots who can’t walk along an icy pavement without breaking a limb? Because they were all out in force. I’m knackered and I need my bed. I don’t have time for balance and I don’t have time for your psychobabble.’

      ‘I’m not giving you psychobabble, I’m telling you where you’re going wrong with your life.’

      ‘That’s why you called?’ Mac eyed the mud on the hall floor and exhaled slowly. He was never in the house. How did it get so dirty? ‘To tell me where I’m going wrong with my life? Thanks.’

      ‘Actually, I called to arrange delivery of your Christmas present. I’ve gone to a lot of effort. It’s important that you’re in.’

      Mac checked