The Doctor's Wife For Keeps. Alison Roberts
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triggered a screech of feedback that made people groan.
‘Sorry about that but welcome, everybody... If we could have a bit of quiet, please?’
Kate shut up immediately but Luke didn’t appear to have heard the request.
‘What on earth are you doing here?’
‘It was a birthday present,’ she muttered. ‘Long story...’
‘Shh,’ someone behind her hissed. ‘We’re trying to listen.’
Luke made an apologetic grimace but then winked at Kate.
‘Later,’ he mouthed, turning to peer over the heads of others to see who was speaking.
Kate started listening, too. After the welcome speech and a list of how many countries were participating, another speaker got up to share important information.
‘Between eleven-thirty and midnight tonight, you will all receive your list of events. You will be given the GPS coordinates of the scenario and a start time. Please be there at least ten minutes before that time. If you are late, you will not be admitted and you will not be marked in that section of the competition.’
Georgia elbowed Kate. ‘No chance of that happening,’ she whispered. ‘Not when I’m with you.’
The dig at her compulsion to follow directions to the letter failed to bother Kate. How could it when she was feeling so unexpectedly good?
She had Luke standing on her other side and, every so often, they glanced sideways—apparently at the exact same moment—to catch each other’s gaze. And every time it happened, the feeling got stronger.
It was like going home. Or back to a beloved place, like where you’d had your summer holidays all through childhood. A feeling of something so familiar you could relax completely. Of something that had the promise of delivering the same good things it always had.
And, yes...there was something more.
A flicker of that initial crush, perhaps? A realisation that none of her own relationships had ever worked well enough because that flicker had never been fanned into something that had felt as meaningful as even her friendship with Luke had been?
‘The rally covers a period of twenty-four hours and you will have both a daytime and a night-time section. There will be twelve tasks for you to complete but there will be breaks in your schedule during which you can take meals or have a rest.
Time to catch up properly with an old friend, perhaps? The feeling of anticipation took on a softer edge for Kate. A warm glow, even.
There were pictures on a big screen on the wall now. There was a map of the local area as an official explained how far they might have to travel to get to some of the scenarios and what local landmarks and hazards to watch out for.
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