Her Playboy's Proposal. Kate Hardy
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wasn’t in an emergency department, as such—I was a nurse practitioner in a GP surgery. I retrained in Glasgow and then came here,’ she said.
Something else he hadn’t known about her. ‘You retrained to give you better opportunities for promotion?’ he asked.
‘Something like that.’
She was clearly regretting sharing as much as she had, and he could tell that she was giving him back-off signals. OK. He’d take the hint. He smiled at her. ‘Sorry. We’re a nosey bunch at the London Victoria—and I talk way too much. Blame it on the sugar rush from the cake.’
‘And on having a rough day,’ she added. ‘So you’ve always worked in the emergency department?’
‘Pretty much. I trained in London; I did my foundation years here, with stints in Paediatrics and Gastroenterology.’ Because of what had happened to Tasha, his first choice had been Paediatrics. He’d been so sure that it was his future. ‘But, as soon as I started in the Emergency Department, I knew I’d found the right place for me. So I stayed and I worked my way up,’ he said.
‘Thirty-two’s not that old for a special reg,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘Though I’ve already seen for myself that you’re good at what you do.’
Funny how much her words warmed him. He inclined his head briefly. ‘Thank you, kind madam.’
‘It wasn’t meant to be a compliment. It was a statement of fact,’ she said crisply.
He grinned. ‘I like you, Isla. You’re good for my ego. Keeping it in check.’
She actually smiled back, and his heart missed a beat. When she smiled, she really was beautiful.
‘I’ve known worse egos in my time,’ she said.
‘And you gave them just as short shrift?’
‘Something like that.’
He looked at her. ‘Can I ask you something?’
‘That depends,’ she said.
‘Why haven’t you come to any of the departmental nights out?’
‘Because they’re not really my thing,’ she said.
‘So you don’t like ten-pin bowling, pub quizzes or pizza.’ He paused. ‘What kind of things do you like, Isla?’
‘Why?’
‘Because you’ve only been at the London Victoria for a couple of weeks, you’ve told me that you retrained to come here, and I’m assuming that you don’t really know anyone around here. It must be a bit lonely.’
Yes, she was lonely. She still missed her family and her friends in the Western Isles hugely. And, even though she was trying to put her past behind her, part of her worried about socialising with her new colleagues. It would be too easy to let something slip. And then their reaction to her might change. Some would pity her; others would think there was no smoke without fire. And neither reaction was one she wanted to face.
She didn’t think Harry was asking her out—he’d already made it clear he thought his reputation wasn’t deserved—but it wouldn’t hurt to make things clear. ‘You’re right—I don’t know many people in London,’ she said softly. ‘And I could use a friend. Just a friend,’ she added. ‘Because I’m concentrating on my career right now.’
‘That works for me,’ Harry said. ‘So can we be friends?’
‘I’d like that,’ she said. Even if his smile did make her weak at the knees. Friendship was all she was prepared to offer.
‘Friends,’ he said, and reached over to shake her hand.
And Isla really had to ignore the tingle that went through her at the touch of his skin. Nothing was going to happen between them. They were colleagues—about to be friends—and that was all.
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