The Italian Doctor

‘I don’t know.’ She took a deep breath and tried to think what to say. However, it was hard to deal with the disappointment she’d felt on realising that he meant them to get together only to fool their families. He certainly hadn’t been asking her to go out with him for any other reason!

‘Come on, Maggie, what have we got to lose?’ His tone was persuasive. ‘It’s the perfect solution. We’re both happy with our lives the way they are—or we would be if we could stop our families interfering all the time. So why not let them think that we’ve done what they’ve been hoping we would do—fallen in love and are planning on getting married?’

‘But what happens in the future? I mean, we can only stall them for so long before they’ll start expecting us to name the day. What do we do then?’ she asked, wondering why she had this sinking feeling in her stomach. After all, the plan did make sense and it could be the answer to her problems, at least temporarily. She loved her family dearly but the pressure they kept putting on her to get married was placing a strain on her relationship with them.

‘We’ll just explain that we’ve had a change of heart. People break up all the time so it’s not as though it would be anything out of the ordinary. Even if this relationship only lasts for the six months that I’m in England then that’s six months of breathing space we’ll have had. That has to be a good thing, to my mind!’

Luke was right. Of course he was. Yet still she found herself reluctant to agree. He must have realised that she had doubts because he sighed.

‘Look, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. Think about it. If you decide it’s a good idea then fine. If not…well, there’s no harm done, is there?’

It seemed reasonable enough and she smiled in relief at being spared having to make a decision. ‘Fair enough. I’ll think about it, although I don’t know if I’d feel guilty about raising my mother’s hopes unnecessarily. It isn’t that I’m against marriage, you understand. It’s just that it isn’t on my agenda at the moment.’

‘It’s not on my agenda, full stop.’ He shrugged when she looked at him in surprise. ‘I don’t have time for it. There is so much I want to do, workwise, that my days are full enough as it is. Nor am I naïve enough now to believe that a woman would be happy to take second place to my job.’

‘That sounds as though you thought it might work once upon a time,’ she observed softly.

His expression darkened. ‘I did. But I learned my lesson the hard way that career and relationships don’t mix. I don’t intend to make that kind of mistake again.’

He opened the bathroom door, making it plain that he didn’t intend to discuss the subject any further. However, that didn’t mean she forgot about it. Throughout the evening she found herself thinking about what he had said. Luke must have been badly scarred by the experience he’d had and she couldn’t deny that she found the thought rather a painful one even though it wasn’t any of her business. It also disturbed her that he’d allowed it to influence him to such an extent that he’d decided that he would never marry. In fact, it disturbed her a lot.

The party broke up in the early hours of the morning. Maggie was glad that she was off duty for the next two days because it meant that she would be able to catch up on her sleep. She borrowed a pair of rubber beach sandals from Ruth and wore them rather than her own sandals to walk home in.

Luke, Robin and Angela walked with her as they made their way through the quiet streets. It was still warm and hundreds of stars were sparkling in a clear, black sky. Luke sighed as he looked up.

‘And to think that people back home warned me that it always rained in this part of the world.’

‘Slander! We have some of the best weather in the country, don’t we, folks?’ Robin replied glibly, and Maggie laughed.

‘We do if you’ve got webbed feet! Stop trying to mislead poor Luke. You know very well that you can count glorious days—and nights—on the fingers of one hand!’