The Playboy Doctor's Surprise Proposal

Caitlin hugged her sister. ‘I’m sorry, sis. Particularly seeing as it’s me that’s supposed to be watching out for you.’

‘Anyway, all’s well that ends well,’ Andrew said, taking the bag from Niall. After hunting around for a few moments, he pulled out a bottle and a dressing. He reached for Caitlin’s leg once more and propped it on his knees. Caitlin was deeply aware of the heat of his skin on hers. Once again there was that tingle. Dismayed, she tried to pull her leg away again. Equally determined, he pulled it back and held it there with a steel-like grip. Caitlin gave up, knowing that if she entered into a tug of war with this man she was likely to come out the loser, and would look even sillier than she felt right now.

He glanced up at her and Caitlin could see laughter in his deep brown eyes. ‘Just do as you’re told for a few minutes,’ he drawled. ‘Brianna did warn me that you were a stubborn woman. Goes with the red hair, I guess.’ He looked from Brianna to Caitlin. They both had auburn hair—or at least until Brianna’s had fallen out as a side effect of her treatment. But where Brianna’s hair had been a mass of curls, Caitlin wore hers longer, tamed into a silky curtain of thick waves. But adding to her discomfort, Caitlin was conscious that as her hair dried in the heat of the sun it was beginning to frizz. At the moment she was as far away from the sleek professional she liked to present to the world as was possible.

‘I did not!’ Brianna protested. ‘I said she was determined—not stubborn.’

‘Well I guess we both know who the other is, then,’ Caitlin said, feeling ridiculous as she held out her hand. She in her bikini, frizzing hair plastered to her scalp, her leg in the lap of her colleague and now here she was holding out her hand as if they had just met at some cocktail party. It was so ludicrous she had to smile.

‘Dr Caitlin O’Neill,’ she said with a grin.

He stopped what he was doing for a moment and engulfed her hand in his. ‘Dr Andrew Bedi. At your service.’ Then he too smiled. The effect was devastating. His teeth were a flash of white against the darkness of his skin, his dancing eyes crinkled at the corners. He really was the most incredible-looking man. Caitlin’s pulse, which had been beginning to resume its normal rhythm, uncomfortably started pounding again.

Eventually, having dressed her leg, he placed it back on the blanket. ‘It’ll feel a little bruised,’ he said, ‘and might be sore for a day or two, but that’s all. You’ve been lucky. If it had been one of the brutes up the coast a bit that had stung you, you’d have been a goner for sure.’

Caitlin shuddered, her gaze shifting to the clear blue Pacific. There was no way she was going back in there unless she was sure it was perfectly safe. Once stung twice shy.

‘I think we should go back to the house,’ Niall said. ‘And have our barbie there. Andrew, if you could take the girls, I’ll follow with the kids once I’ve packed up here.’

‘Please don’t,’ Caitlin said. ‘I don’t want to spoil everyone’s day. If Andrew thinks my leg is okay, we should just carry on as if nothing has happened. C’mon, Niall. Please. I don’t want to spoil it for everyone.’

‘Yes, Daddy. Let’s stay,’ Caitlin’s nephew, Ciaran, begged. ‘We haven’t been down to the beach since Mummy got sick. And Siobhan and I have only half finished our castle.’

Caitlin was stricken with remorse. She was supposed to be here to help make things easier for the family. Now it looked as if she had ruined their first proper day out.

‘I insist we stay,’ she said firmly. ‘Brianna and I will lie on the blanket here and chat. We still need to catch up properly. And as Andrew said, my leg will be perfectly fine.’

‘Yippee,’ Siobhan yelled in delight. ‘Uncle Andrew was going to show us his tricks on his board. Now he can.’ Now the drama was over, the little girl flung herself at Andrew, who pretended to be knocked over. He fell back in the sand, taking Siobhan with him. Seconds later, Ciaran had jumped on top of him too. Andrew seemed used to this behaviour. After a few minutes of horseplay he picked up Siobhan and threw her over his shoulder.

‘C’mon, then. You kids can help me get my board set up. Your dad has to help too.’

As the two men walked away, two excited children off their shoulders, Brianna turned to Caitlin.

‘Well, what do you think?’ she said, her green-grey eyes twinkling.

‘About what?’ Caitlin replied, although she knew full well what her sister meant.

Brianna smacked Caitlin playfully on the shoulder.

‘About Andrew, of course.’

‘What about him? He seems very nice. Rescuing me and all that. Very civil of him,’ Caitlin said dryly.

‘C’mon, Cat,’ Brianna said warningly. ‘Don’t you think he’s gorgeous?’

‘I suppose some people would think he’s good looking,’ Caitlin replied slowly, studiously ignoring her sister’s look of incredulity. ‘But he’s a bit Crocodile Dundee for my liking.’

‘I don’t believe you don’t find him sexy as hell,’ Brianna retorted. ‘Every single woman I have ever seen meet him gets that same ga-ga look as you have. It’s written all over your face.’

‘Okay.’ Caitlin laughed. ‘He’s a hunk. But he’s so not my type.’

Her sister sighed. ‘Just as well, I suppose, because I hate to tell you, sis, you haven’t a hope as far as Dr Andrew Bedi is concerned.’

Caitlin popped a sun hat on her head and scrabbled around for her glasses. The world swam back into focus. Andrew, Niall and the two children had returned to the beach carrying a board and a sail. It looked like a windsurfing board to Caitlin, although she wasn’t an expert. Andrew had pulled on a wetsuit over his Bermuda shorts and the fabric clung to his body, emphasising his height and muscular build.

‘Why do you say that?’ Caitlin asked. ‘Not that I’m remotely interested, of course.’ The two sisters shared a smile. ‘You know me, Bri, I’m much too happy with my life as it is to want to get involved. Men and kids aren’t part of the plan. Not for a few years anyway. But I’m a bit offended that you think I haven’t a chance. What makes you think he’s so out of my league?’

Caitlin had never really thought about whether men found her attractive. She had been happy with David for the last few years and, until a few weeks ago, had thought that one day they would marry. Undemanding and not the least bit resentful of the time she spent at work, they had rubbed along well enough. And if it hadn’t been the most exciting relationship, at least it had been comfortable. However, Caitlin had been surprised at how easily they had parted when she’d told him she was coming to Brisbane for six months. David had told her that she was mad to jeopardise her career just when it was really taking off. But to Caitlin there was no competition. Her sister needed her and that was that. They had split up with surprisingly little regret on either side.

‘Oh, you’ll find out about Andrew in good time. But let’s just say he’s a man who likes women and seems determined to have as much fun with as many as possible before settling down—if he ever does. And you, my darling sister, are far too serious for a fun-loving guy like him.’

Caitlin let out a low whistle, then wrinkled her nose disapprovingly. She looked over to the water’s edge. Niall and Andrew had rigged the sail on the board and were pointing it towards the sea. Then with a push of his foot, Andrew was on the water and heading out away from the shore. Within seconds he was racing across the sea. With her glasses back in place, Caitlin could see him attach something that looked like a rope to the sail and then, as he leant back, the board seemed to leap forward, skimming over the waves. Within minutes he was a speck on the horizon.

‘No, you’re right. Men like Andrew have never appealed to me. If I marry, it will be to someone who likes the same things I do. Someone solid and steady.’

‘Someone boring, you mean. Like David. That didn’t work very well either.’ Brianna laughed.

Brianna had met David on the one occasion she and her family had come back to Ireland for a visit to show off the children to their mother when Ciaran had been two. Caitlin realised that they had never discussed David. She’d assumed Brianna had liked him. Everyone did.

‘Hey, you never said you didn’t like David. I thought you two hit it off.’

‘I didn’t say I didn’t like him, Cat. I just never thought he was right for you. If you ask me, he squeezed the fun right out of everything. You two were like a couple who had been married for years. You never really struck me as two people in love.’

Caitlin was taken aback. She’d had no idea that Brianna had thought that. But she was right. She had never felt anything more than a deep fondness for David.

‘Ah, excitement and passion. Surely that fizzles out in time anyway? Isn’t that why marriages fail? Once it’s gone, couples are left with nothing to say to each other,’ she said. But a tiny bit of her, a side she didn’t care to acknowledge too often, wondered what it would be like to experience an all-consuming passion. She pushed the thought away. She was a scientist, and scientists were ruled by their heads—not their hearts.

Brianna looked at her sharply. ‘Maybe you and Andrew have more in common than I thought. But, love Andrew as I do, I would advise any sane woman to keep her distance, particularly someone like you, who would have no idea how to handle a man like him.’

‘Don’t worry, Bri. By the sound of it, he is not my type either.’ Caitlin felt a momentary stab of regret. Dismayed at her reaction, she shook her head. Good looking he may be, but her sister was right. Even if she were interested in a relationship so soon after David, the last man on earth she would be interested in would be Andrew Bedi. She didn’t think men like him still existed in this day and age. She picked up a tube of sun block, keen to change the subject. ‘Fancy putting some on my shoulders?’

Brianna smiled. ‘Oh, Cat, I’m so glad you’re here. I know I told you not to come, but now that you’re here, I’m so happy.’ Her voice shook slightly.

‘You know I would have been here sooner if I could.’ Caitlin took Brianna’s cool hand in hers. ‘If you hadn’t convinced me not to come. Shouldn’t I have believed you?’

‘But I was fine. After all, I had Niall—and Mammy.’ The two sisters shared a smile. Although they loved their mother dearly, they both agreed she could be a bit much after a while. Mrs O’Neill insisted on treating her daughters as if they were still about twelve years old and incapable of managing without her. ‘I have to admit, Cat, that I was glad when she told me she had to go back home to Dad. She fussed so much, it drove me mad. She would never have agreed to go back to Ireland if you hadn’t been coming out.’

Caitlin could only imagine how much her mother had fussed over Bri. Since her elder daughter had been diagnosed with breast cancer, their mother had been determined that Brianna wouldn’t face her illness alone. If it weren’t for the fact that her three sons were needed back home to help on the horse farm their parents owned, Caitlin was sure that their mother would have ordered her whole brood to Australia. Strapping young men though her brothers were, they were no match for Mrs O’Neill when she made up her mind about something.

‘I should have come sooner, Bri,’ Caitlin said softly. ‘I can’t believe it’s been three years since we saw each other! Why on earth did we leave it so long?’

The sisters shared a look. Why had they left it so long? They had always been close, and when Brianna and Niall had decided to emigrate to Australia, they had promised each other that they would visit at least every couple of years. But it hadn’t worked out like that. Apart from that one visit to Ireland three years ago, Brianna hadn’t made it back. And Caitlin had never managed to come to Australia. Work had always got in the way.

But then, three months ago, Brianna had phoned with the devastating news that she had discovered a lump in her breast. A biopsy had confirmed their worst fears. It was cancer. Caitlin wanted to fly to her sister’s side immediately, but her mother and Brianna had persuaded her to wait and apply for a sabbatical. That way her career wouldn’t suffer while she was away. Indeed, having secured a post at the prestigious Brisbane hospital, there was every chance her career would be helped by her time in Australia.

Despite being pleased at the way it had worked out and delighted to be in Australia with her sister at last, Caitlin wished the circumstances had been different. She couldn’t bear to think about what would happen if Brianna didn’t get better. Caitlin shook her head to get rid of the negative thoughts. They all had to remain positive and believe that Brianna would make a full recovery.

‘If it hadn’t taken so long to arrange the work visa, I would have come as soon as I heard. Or at least been here to help you through more of the chemo.’