Marrying the Runaway Bride

He tried to put a positive spin on the thought but he was all out of optimism. The cloud of gloom that had been hanging over him seemed to intensify as he went back to the ward and had a word with Mike, who was equally despondent. Archie assured him that he had done everything he could, but he knew his registrar didn’t believe him and that Mike wouldn’t have been half the doctor he was if he had done. As Heather had said, you had to care otherwise you couldn’t do this job properly.

As though thinking about her had conjured her up, she suddenly appeared. It was just gone six a.m. and she was on her way home. Archie frowned as he watched her button up her coat as she hurried along the corridor. Was that it, then? Was she going to leave and disappear for good? He had no idea if she was booked to work at the hospital again. Some agency staff did full weeks, others preferred to do the odd session here and there, and he had no idea which category she fell into. However, the thought that she might walk out of the door and that would be the last he saw her of her was very hard to swallow.

Archie wasn’t sure what his intentions were when he found himself following her. He wasn’t even sure if it was a good idea but that didn’t stop him. He put on a spurt when he saw her get into the lift but the doors closed before he could reach it.

He took the stairs instead, two at a time, careering down them as though a pack of hungry hounds was snapping at his heels. Heather was already leaving the building by the time he exited the stairwell so he raced after her, then had to stop when he reached the main door to let an elderly woman pass through ahead of him. He helped the old lady manoeuvre her walking frame inside then set off again—down the steps, across the car park, out into the street…

He ground to a halt when he spotted Heather standing at the bus stop. Quite frankly, he wasn’t sure what came next. Should he go over and tell her that he would like to see her again, maybe even ask her out? Bearing in mind recent events, did he really think she would accept?

Archie groaned when he realised how stupid it was to imagine that Heather might be interested in seeing him again. She had just run out on her wedding and going out with him would be the last thing on her mind!

It should have been the last thing on his mind, too. In a few weeks’ time he would be moving to Scotland and he would have enough on his plate, learning how to run the estate. He’d never taken much interest in it before—that had been Duncan’s prerogative. As the elder son, Duncan had always known that he would become Laird one day and had planned his life accordingly. Whereas some people might have felt aggrieved that they would never inherit either the title or the land, Archie had felt relieved. It had meant that he could follow his dream and become a doctor, but all that had changed on Duncan’s death. Now he was Laird and he had responsibilities to go with the title. He would be far too busy in the coming months to take on anything else.

He was still chewing it all over when Heather suddenly glanced round and spotted him. In that instant he knew that, no matter how crazy it was, he couldn’t let her get on the bus and disappear from his life for good. He would be constantly wondering what had happened to her and he couldn’t bear it.

He made his way over to her, feeling his insides judder when she gave him a tentative smile. Despite the busy night, she looked so beautiful as she stood there in the grey morning light that he’d have needed a heart of stone not to be aware of it. It was an effort to remember that neither of them was in a position to go looking for romance and behave accordingly.

‘Hi. I spotted you leaving and wondered if you fancied having breakfast with me.’ He pointed across the road. ‘The café over there does the best breakfasts in London. Can I tempt you?’

CHAPTER FOUR

‘THANK you.’

Heather waited while the waitress arranged her cutlery in front of her. She still wasn’t sure why she had accepted Archie’s invitation. After all, what was the point of spending any time with him? Although she had agreed to work at the hospital for the next few weeks, she wouldn’t stay on after that. It would be silly to get involved with him when there was no future for them.

She drew herself up short. Archie had offered to buy her breakfast, not suggest they should have an affair! Colour rushed to her face and she snatched up her cup of coffee to hide her discomfort.

‘Hmm. You can’t beat a decent cup of coffee.’ Archie inhaled deeply as he savoured the aroma, then grinned at her. ‘This is the point where I should really stand up and confess.’

‘Confess,’ Heather repeated blankly.

‘Uh-huh.’ He pushed back his chair and stood up. There was a smile twitching the corners of his mouth as he recited solemnly, ‘My name is Archie and I’m a coffee addict.’

Heather chuckled, appreciating the fact that he could make fun of himself that way. ‘Your secret is safe. There’s just me and a couple of dozen other people in here who’ve witnessed your confession.’

‘That’s all right, then.’ He resumed his seat and smiled at her. ‘It was worth outing myself just to hear you laugh.’

Heather sighed. ‘There hasn’t been much to laugh about recently.’

‘I can imagine. Life must have been pretty difficult for you these past couple of months.’

‘It has.’ She shrugged, wondering how much she should tell him. It was her problem and she had to deal with it herself. However, the thought of being able to share some of the heartache with him was too tempting to resist. ‘I hurt a lot of people and it isn’t easy to deal with that thought.’

‘Have you made your peace with your exfiancé?’ he enquired, his green eyes filling with sympathy.

‘Not really.’ Heather grimaced as she felt a wave of guilt rise up inside her. ‘I haven’t actually spoken to Ross yet. I know I should have done, but I had no idea what to say to him. I sent him a letter, apologising for what I was doing, but it really wasn’t enough. I’ll have to speak to him at some point and I can only hope he’ll forgive me.’

‘I imagine he’s had time to think things through by now and realised you made the right decision.’ Archie shrugged when she looked at him in surprise. ‘I can’t believe he didn’t know that something wasn’t right. His gut instinct must have told him that you weren’t happy.’

‘I don’t know about that. Ross isn’t big on following his instincts. He’s always very much in control—knows exactly what he wants from life and goes for it.’ She shook her head when she realised how that may have sounded. ‘That wasn’t meant as a criticism. Ross is just very single-minded and doesn’t allow anything to stand in his way. It’s one of the things I’ve always admired about him, in fact.’

‘Do you think he’ll find it hard to accept that you changed your mind about marrying him?’

‘I suppose the truthful answer is that I don’t know. I can’t see him falling apart, though, if that’s what you mean. It just isn’t in his nature.’ She sighed. ‘My father will have a harder time accepting what’s happened. He was terribly upset, blamed himself for pushing me and Ross together. He wouldn’t listen when I tried to explain that it was my fault, not his.’

Tears welled in her eyes and Archie reached across the table and squeezed her hand. ‘I’m sure your father will get over it in time, Heather.’

‘I hope so.’

Fortunately, their breakfast arrived just then. Heather had opted for scrambled eggs on toast but Archie had ordered the full works—bacon, eggs, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried bread—and he tucked in with relish.

‘Hungry?’ Heather said drolly, scooping up a forkful of buttery eggs.

‘Ravenous.’ He popped a chunk of sausage into his mouth, chewed and swallowed, then smiled at her. ‘The only thing left in the fridge last night was a lump of cheese and a tomato so supper wasn’t exactly a cordon bleu experience.’

‘Don’t tell me that you’re one of those men who can’t tell a frying pan from a Frisbee,’ she accused him, picking up a triangle of toast.

‘The frying pan’s the one with the handle, isn’t it?’ he replied with a wicked little chuckle.

Heather felt her heart give the oddest little leap and hastily averted her eyes from his laughing face. For some reason she felt all jittery inside and she couldn’t understand it. She bit off a corner of toast then stole a glance at him, feeling shock ripple along her veins when she realised all of a sudden how good-looking he was. She hadn’t paid much attention to how Archie looked before, mainly because she’d had other things on her mind, but suddenly she was seeing him as a man, and a very attractive one, too.

Facts tumbled over themselves as her brain rushed to log them. He was tall, over six feet, and well built, too, with a muscular chest and broad shoulders. His face was craggy rather than conventionally handsome, his features very masculine with those strong, uncompromising lines. His eyes were gorgeous, a clear deep green framed by dark brown lashes. His hair was the same rich brown colour, thick and glossy as it fell across his forehead. A mouth that had a tendency to curl upwards at the slightest excuse completed the picture. All things considered, Archie Carew was a man whom any woman would be happy to be seen with, and she was no exception.

Heather took a quick little breath as that thought wriggled its way into her head. She was happy to be there with Archie, very happy indeed.

Archie wasn’t sure what Heather was thinking as she stared at him across the table. He cleared his throat, uncomfortable at finding himself on the end of such an intent scrutiny, and saw her jump. There was a touch of colour in her cheeks as she applied herself to her breakfast that intrigued him, although he wasn’t going to make the mistake of asking her what was wrong. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.