Kitabı oku: «The Seduction Challenge», sayfa 2

Maybe it was a good sign.

Maybe she was slowly starting to recover from everything that had happened.

Strong fingers gripped her arm and held her firmly. ‘Stay well back while they land.’

She did as she was told, responding automatically to the cool authority in his tone. She had no intention of arguing with him. As far as she was concerned there’d been no question as to who’d been in charge from the moment he’d stepped off his motorbike.

Lucy watched in fascination as the helicopter hovered and the pilot landed with breathtaking skill. She’d heard about the air ambulance of course, but this was the first time she’d actually seen it in action.

Two paramedics ran from the helicopter and one of them grinned in surprise when he saw the doctor.

‘Joel? I thought we’d got rid of you, mate!’

‘So did I,’ the doctor replied, his tone dry, ‘but someone up there obviously thought differently. The motorcyclist needs a line in fast, Greg. Let’s get some Hartmann’s into him, and for goodness’ sake make it warm or we’ll kill him off. And grab a Hudson mask because he needs ninety percent oxygen. You’d better warn them to have three units of O-neg ready in A and E because he’s going to need blood. He’s our priority. We need to evacuate him before the occupants of the car.’

The paramedic called Greg nodded. ‘There’s an ambulance on its way—ETA three minutes. They can take the people from the car.’

‘Great. Let’s get to work, then.’

Lucy stood to one side, assuming that if he wanted her help he’d ask for it. He reeled off several other instructions and then strode off to deal with the motorcyclist while the second paramedic hurried up to her.

‘What’s the story with the guy in the car?’

‘It’s his neck, or at least that’s what he—Joel.’ She stumbled over the name. ‘Joel is worried about. He thinks it should be immobilised before he’s moved.’

The paramedic nodded. ‘Let’s do it then. I’ve never known Joel be wrong.’

So the self-confidence was justified.

Lucy glanced in the direction of the doctor, who was now on his knees beside the motorcyclist, squeezing fluid into him from an IV bag. ‘I can’t understand how he can be so cool. I was in a total panic before he turned up.’

The paramedic gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘So at a guess I’d say you’re not a trauma doctor. He is.’

A trauma doctor? Well, that would explain the unshakable self-confidence.

‘So that’s why he wasn’t fazed.’

The paramedic gave a short laugh as he handed her some equipment. ‘Never seen him fazed by anything, to be honest, but some people are just like that, aren’t they? We used to call him Joe Cool. One thing’s for sure. If I was ever in a pile-up and I saw him hovering over me I’d know I was going to be OK. He’s one hell of a clever doctor and a big loss, if you ask me.’

‘Loss?’ Lucy obediently held the equipment he gave her and waited to be given instructions.

‘Yeah. He was working with us until two weeks ago. Then he left for pastures new. Bloody waste. Best trauma doctor I’ve ever seen.’

‘So why did he leave?’

The paramedic shrugged. ‘He wanted a change. Fed up with being in the news, I suppose. Anyway, let’s get this guy out.’

In the news?

Why was the doctor in the news?

Lucy stared at the paramedic, who gave her a friendly grin and went back to the car.

Behind her she heard the helicopter taking off again and realised that the motorcyclist was already on his way to hospital.

Her eyes widened as she realised how quickly they must have worked.

The doctor sprinted back to the car and helped the paramedic stabilise the driver while Lucy checked on his passenger.

A fire engine and an ambulance arrived and suddenly there were people everywhere. In no time at all the man was freed and he and his companion were on their way to hospital.

Suddenly Lucy found herself alone with the blue-eyed doctor.

‘Well, that livened up the lunch-hour,’ he drawled as they watched the ambulance race away, siren blaring.

Lucy gave a rueful smile and pushed a thick strand of dark hair out of her eyes with trembling fingers. Now that it was all over she felt slightly sick.

In fact, she felt dizzy.

The doctor must have noticed because he frowned suddenly. ‘Are you OK? Damn, you’re white as a sheet. Sit down fast—that’s it. Head down.’

He pushed her down onto the grassy bank and guided her head between her knees with a strong hand. She took several deep breaths and waited for the swimmy feeling to pass.

‘Sorry.’ She lifted her head and gave him an embarrassed look. ‘I don’t—’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said softly, his hand still lingering on the back of her neck. ‘It’s the shock. You’re all right while it’s happening, and then when the crisis has passed it hits you. It happens to everyone.’

She was willing to bet that it had never happened to him, but she was grateful to him for trying to make her feel better.

She gave him a shaky smile, relieved that he’d forced her to sit down. She didn’t think her legs were capable of holding her.

‘I’m not used to dealing with emergencies by the roadside,’ she confessed, her breath clouding the frozen air. ‘I felt totally helpless. I hope I didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve never panicked so much in my life. I just didn’t know who to deal with first, and my first aid is so—’

‘You did a good job,’ he said, interrupting her gently, his eyes sharply observant as they scanned her pale features.

Shy and uncomfortable under his scrutiny, she dipped her head and her dark hair tumbled forward over her face. ‘Well, I’m a nurse,’ she muttered, and the man threw back his head and laughed. A rich, masculine sound that made her stomach flip over.

‘I suspected that from the glimpse of your uniform under your coat and the inexhaustible supply of sterile dressing pads.’ He chuckled, his eyes dancing. ‘Either that or you’re a stripogram, but I assumed it was a bit early in the day for that.’

Lucy smiled hesitantly, unused to exchanging banter with strange men, but his answering smile was so warm and compelling that she started to relax.

‘I’m really glad that you came along when you did,’ she confessed. ‘It was definitely my lucky day.’

His smile faded and his gaze was suddenly disturbingly intense. ‘I’m starting to think it was my lucky day, too,’ he said softly, and she felt hot colour flood into her cheeks.

Was he flirting with her?

It had been so long since anyone had flirted with her that she didn’t have a clue how to respond, and she scrambled unsteadily to her feet, feeling gauche and ridiculously shy.

‘I’d better go.’

She had to. She had to get away from the way he was looking at her.

He rose to his feet with the easy grace of a jungle predator and strolled with her back to her car, pausing to scoop up his discarded helmet on the way. One sideways glance confirmed just how incredibly good-looking he was and she almost laughed at herself.

Any other woman would have taken advantage of the situation and made witty conversation, but faced with all that raw masculinity all she wanted to do was run a mile.

He paused by the car and his eyes rested on her face. ‘You know, you shouldn’t worry. You did incredibly well back there.’ His voice was deep and cultured. ‘And you didn’t drag off his helmet, which is what most people would have done. What sort of a nurse are you?’

Lucy blushed awkwardly, thinking that his voice matched his looks. ‘Just a practice nurse.’

‘Just?’ His dark brows rose and his mouth tilted slightly at the corners. ‘Must be a pretty lucky practice if those skills you just showed are anything to go by.’

‘I—well, thanks…’ Lucy had never felt so tongue-tied in her life. It had been fine when they’d been working together, but now she was suddenly aware that they were alone and the way he was looking at her unnerved her. Not as a doctor surveying a colleague but as a man looking at a woman. And what a man…

His easy assurance made her feel awkward and out of her depth, and the strength of her reaction to him shocked her.

Tim had been her first and only boyfriend and she couldn’t remember a time when he’d been intimidating. Far from it. In many ways Tim had always been the boy she’d grown up with. Familiar and comfortable.

But there was nothing familiar and comfortable about the man watching her now. Nothing remotely boyish. He was every inch a man, and his arrogant stance and the confident way he surveyed her brought her flesh out in tiny goose-bumps.

Catching the gleam in his wicked, sexy eyes, she knew instinctively that he was aware of the effect he was having on her.

‘I’ll wait here for the police,’ he suggested, tucking his helmet under one arm and trapping her gaze with his. ‘Perhaps you ought to leave me your details if you’re thinking of dashing off.’

Her eyes widened and her heart leapt into her mouth. ‘Why?’

His smile was slow and lazy. ‘So that I can call you up and pester you, of course.’

‘Oh…’ His directness took her breath away and his smile widened.

‘Alternatively, I could give it to the police, who are bound to want a statement.’

Flustered, she lifted a hand and scraped her dark hair out of her eyes. ‘The police…’

For a moment she’d seriously thought he’d been asking her out.

He was laughing at her now, but there was warmth and something else in his gaze.

‘You look about fourteen when you blush.’

She felt about fourteen.

‘So come on, gorgeous,’ he said easily, ‘tell me all. Name, rank and serial number.’

Gorgeous?

No one had ever called her gorgeous before.

She opened her mouth but no sound came out.

‘Look, it’s easy. Just copy me.’ He folded his arms across his broad chest, his eyes teasing her gently. ‘I’m Joel. I’m thirty-three years old, I’m single and when I grow up I want to be a doctor. I love people and animals and what I most want is world peace. There. How hard was that? Now it’s your turn.’

What should she say?

Hi, I’m Lucy and I used to be married, but I’m not any more because my husband was a total rat and he broke my heart.

Maybe not.

‘Come on, let’s introduce ourselves.’ His tone was persuasive and he stuck out his hand. She stared at it for a moment and then stretched out her own, immediately regretting the impulse as his warm, strong fingers closed over hers. His grip was as confident and powerful as the man himself, and she felt a flutter of panic. She couldn’t tell him her name. Acknowledging that he was exceptionally good-looking was one thing, but handing out names and phone numbers was completely different. It might lead to something she wasn’t ready to handle.

She might not have had much experience with men in her life, but she could see at a glance that he was way out of her league.

Jerking her hand away, she stooped to pick up her bag.

‘I’d better be going. The time of the accident was 12.30. That’s all I know. I didn’t see anything at all. Nothing. So I’d be no use to the police.’ Gabbling in her haste to get away from him, she fumbled in her pocket for her car keys, but his strong fingers closed over her arm, holding her trapped.

‘Slow down.’ His voice was incredibly gentle. ‘Why are you running away from me?’

Her breath was coming in gasps. ‘I’m not running.’

‘Liar.’

‘—I’m going to be late,’ she stammered, finally retrieving the keys and freeing herself from his grasp.

He reached out a hand and took the keys from her, unlocking the car and opening the door so that she could slip inside.

‘So why the big secret?’

She glanced at him warily. ‘Secret?’

A smile touched his mouth. A slow, sexy smile that made her heart stop and her breath catch in her throat.

‘Go on, give me a clue.’ Joel’s voice teased her senses. ‘Just the first letter? E for Esmerelda? L for Lucretia?’

‘L for Lucy.’ The minute she’d said it she could have bitten her tongue off. She’d had no intention of telling him, but the way he was looking at her made her feel—made her feel…

‘Lucy…’ He repeated her name slowly and thoughtfully, not even pretending to disguise his blatant interest in her. He wanted her and he wasn’t afraid to show it.

For one fleeting moment she wondered what it would be like to go out with a man like him and then she dismissed the thought quickly. It would be scary. There would be nothing safe or tame about him. He was one hundred per cent hot-blooded male and she had absolutely no experience of men like him. The strength of attraction between them was so powerful it warmed the freezing air around them.

‘May I have my keys?’ She reached out a hand, her cheeks burning as he held her gaze steadily for several seconds more before slowly handing them over.

‘Look…’ He hesitated, clearly searching for the right words. ‘I can see I’ve made you nervous, and I know that this isn’t exactly a conventional place to meet, but I’d really like to see you again.’

She felt as though someone had squeezed all the breath from her body. ‘I can’t.’

‘Why not?’ He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘Don’t you believe in love at first sight?’

She looked at him, and her smile was filled with sadness and all the pain of the last twelve months.

‘I don’t believe in love at all,’ she said quietly, turning the key in the ignition and driving away from him before her hormones made her do something she knew she’d regret.

CHAPTER TWO

IT WAS her.

The nurse from the car accident.

Completely amazed by his good fortune, Joel stopped dead in the doorway of the waiting room. Without the covering of her thick wool coat he was able to get a good look at her, and he ran an appreciative eye over her long legs, her ridiculously slim waist and her incredible curves.

She was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.

His eyes narrowed and his insides clenched as he watched her face, noting the huge green eyes and the soft pink mouth. She was completely and utterly feminine and every male bone in his body reacted to her.

As he watched, she bent down to retrieve a toy from the floor and he had to stop himself groaning aloud.

She had a bottom straight out of a bad boy’s dreams. A perfect, rounded curve. He’d never been able to understand why women thought thin was attractive. Personally, he hated thin. As far as he was concerned, a woman was meant to have curves. And, boy, did this one have curves…

He remembered her wistful comment about not believing in love and wondered what had happened to make her look so sad and vulnerable. After she’d made that announcement he’d let her go, all his experience with women telling him that it would be a mistake to persist.

But he’d had every intention of seeing her again.

All the way to the surgery he’d been racking his brains for a way of tracking her down, but now here she was, in his father’s waiting room. He couldn’t believe his luck.

He was about to throw a lifetime of commitment phobia to the wind and propose to her on the spot when he heard his name.

‘Dr Whittaker. Dr Whittaker!’

He blinked, shook himself and reluctantly dragged his eyes away from Lucy, focusing instead on the woman smiling up at him.

‘Er—hello, Ros.’ He bent to kiss her cheek, genuinely fond of the woman who had been his father’s receptionist since he was a child. ‘You look gorgeous. Nice jumper.’

He always noticed what women wore. In fact he always noticed women, full stop.

Especially when they looked like Lucy.

‘Go on with you!’ The receptionist blushed and lifted a hand to her hair, visibly flustered by his attention. ‘You’re late, Dr Whittaker. Your father and brothers were expecting you this morning.’

‘Something came up.’ Joel gave her a saucy wink, knowing that she’d think the worst of him, because people always did and it amused him to wind them up.

With a last regretful glance towards the nurse with the curves, who still hadn’t noticed him, he followed Ros through the waiting room, along the corridor that ran past the consulting rooms and up the stairs to the staff sitting room.

‘I saw you on the television, Dr Whittaker.’ Ros grabbed the handrail, slightly out of breath as she negotiated the stairs. ‘In fact, I have to admit I didn’t miss a single episode of Helicopter Doctor. You were fantastic. So cool and calm and wonderfully in charge of every crisis. I could hardly believe I once changed your nappy.’

‘Thanks for that reminder, Ros.’ Joel’s tone was dry but his eyes gleamed with humour. ‘Just as long as you don’t sell any photos of me in the buff to the press…’

Ros laughed. ‘What was it like, trying to work with a camera on you all the time?’

‘Actually, I hardly noticed them,’ Joel said truthfully. ‘I just got on with the job and they hovered in the background. When you’ve got a patient lying in pieces after a road accident you don’t exactly care who’s watching.’

‘But now you’re giving it all up to be a GP. Do you think you’ll miss all the drama?’ Ros paused at the top of the stairs and Joel gave a careless shrug.

‘I don’t think so. Six months with the air ambulance was long enough, really. I’m ready to join the family firm.’

Particularly now he’d seen the nurse that his father had employed.

The job was looking up by the minute.

Ros smiled. ‘It’s your father’s dream, you know. All three of his sons in practice with him.’

‘Yeah, I know. We spoil him.’ Joel gave her a friendly wink and then went ahead of her and pushed open the door of the staffroom.

His father and older brother had practised in an old converted house until four years before, when they’d moved into this purpose-built, architect-designed medical centre built around an impressive glass atrium, which allowed plenty of light into the building. His father, who believed in the importance of pleasant working conditions, had also insisted on a spacious, well-equipped staffroom which had stunning views over the Cornish coastline.

Both his older brothers were in the staffroom now, deep in conversation with their father.

Joel sauntered in and slung his bag down on the floor. ‘I thought GPs were supposed to be having a hard life at the moment. Since when did life get this relaxed? And there was I thinking you were desperate for some help from a decent doctor…’

‘Well, well—it’s the prodigal son.’ Richard rose to his feet, strode across the room and clapped Joel on the back. ‘Better late than never. We expected you earlier. What kept you?’

Joel cleared his throat. ‘Well, actually—’

‘Don’t you mean who kept him? It’s bound to have been a woman. It always is.’ His older brother Michael gave him a wry smile from the comfort of his chair and gestured to the coffee-pot. ‘Are you in need of caffeine?’

Joel nodded. ‘Yes, please, but I’ll have you know I was—’

‘If you’re seriously joining the family firm, you’re going to have to curb your social life.’ His other brother Nick interrupted his attempt at an explanation, his expression mocking. ‘You don’t get special treatment here. You can’t bunk off just because you’re a film star.’

Joel’s eyes gleamed with humour and he rose to the bait. He was well used to responding to his brothers’ banter. He’d had thirty-three years of constant practice. He gave Nick a sympathetic look, designed to drive him mad. ‘I didn’t realise you’d be so jealous.’

‘Me? Jealous of you?’ Nick gave a disgusted snort. ‘Don’t be soft. As if I’d want to spend six months practising medicine with a film crew stuck up my—’

‘Thank you, Nick, this is a family show.’ Michael’s tone was dry as he cut in and handed Joel the coffee. ‘You did a good job, Joel. It was an interesting series. You almost made medicine look exciting and you’ve definitely got the proudest mum in Cornwall.’

‘You’ve also got the biggest mailbag,’ his father commented. ‘You’re certainly not going to be short of adoring women to choose from after all the exposure you’ve had.’

‘As if he ever was. Unfortunately, most of the female sex can’t see further than his pretty face.’ Nick yawned, and Joel leaned broad shoulders against the wall and looked at him innocently.

‘If you like, you can help me answer my mailbag.’

Nick gave him a withering look and then grinned. ‘Any naughty ones?’

‘Dozens.’ Joel’s smile was wicked. ‘You just don’t want to know what some women would like to do with my underwear.’

Nick gave an exaggerated shudder. ‘Please! Spare us the details.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Enough of this idle banter. I’ve got calls to make, so I’ll catch up with you later.’

His father lifted his eyebrow. ‘Are you and Tina joining us for supper at the house?’

Joel brightened at the prospect of a family gathering. ‘Has Mum killed the fatted calf?’

‘Yes, although I can’t think why.’ Nick stood up and gave his brother a wink to take the sting out of his words. He bent down and picked up his jacket and his bag. ‘Yes, we’ll be there, Dad. Tina can’t wait to see Joel. Seems to think that if he’s living here she can calm him down and find him a nice girl who’ll cure him of his wicked ways.’

‘Who says I want to be cured?’ Joel’s eyes gleamed. ‘And I don’t need Tina to find me anyone. The girl of my dreams is standing in your waiting room at this very moment.’

There was a moment’s silence while they all digested this piece of information and then Michael cleared his throat.

‘No way is any girl who features in your dreams, which are undoubtedly pornographic, sitting in our surgery,’ he said mildly, delving into the fridge for something to eat. ‘Oh, for crying out loud—no more milk. Didn’t anyone remember to shop this morning? Whose turn was it?’

Nick looked sheepish. ‘Er—I think maybe mine, but I had an urgent house call…’

Michael picked up the empty carton with a sigh and threw it in the bin. ‘OK, so who’s volunteering to go across the road to the shop?’

There was a sudden chorus of excuses and Joel rolled his eyes.

‘How do you lot manage to stay so undomesticated and not starve? You’re useless!’ He folded his arms across his broad chest and shook his head. ‘I’ll go, on condition that you tell me everything I need to know about my dream woman. I’ve already met her once this morning and—’

There was a collective groan and then Michael spoke for all of them.

‘So that’s why you were late! We knew it! It was bound to be a woman.’

Joel tilted his head back and swore under his breath. ‘I hope your listening skills are slightly more advanced than this when you’re with patients.’

His father put a hand on his shoulder and gave his older sons a disapproving frown. ‘We’re listening, Joel.’

‘There was an accident on the coast road,’ Joel explained. ‘A nasty one. I stopped to help, which is why I was late.’

Michael shook his head in total disbelief. ‘What is it with you and accidents? The rest of us seem to go through life only ever seeing boils and rashes, but drama is your middle name. You attract accidents like a magnet.’ He leaned back in his chair and lifted an eyebrow. ‘So how did the girl of your dreams fit into this?’

‘She stopped to help. In fact, she was first on the scene.’ Joel’s voice was soft. ‘She’s a nurse. Your nurse. Although I didn’t know that at the time.’

The room fell silent and his brothers exchanged glances.

‘Our nurse?’ His father cleared his throat. ‘You mean Lucy? The woman you’re talking about is our Lucy?’

‘Yes.’ Joel glanced between them, his gaze questioning. ‘What’s wrong with that?’

‘Forget it. She’s not your type,’ Nick said slowly, his expression serious for once. ‘In fact, she’s definitely not your type.’

‘I disagree,’ Joel drawled, a strange gleam in his eye as he looked at his brother. ‘From what I’ve seen, she’s definitely my type. She’s gorgeous.’

‘I didn’t say she wasn’t gorgeous.’ Nick’s mouth tightened. ‘She is gorgeous. But she’s also sweet and gentle and definitely not able to cope with someone like you.’

‘Surely that’s up to her to decide.’

Nick shook his head. ‘Don’t even go there, Joel, don’t even think about it.’

Unfortunately it wasn’t that simple.

He’d thought about little else since he’d seen her bending over the injured motorcyclist, her cheeks pink in the frozen air and her expression troubled.

‘She came here for some peace and quiet and to escape some hassle she was having,’ Michael told him, his face as serious as Nick’s, ‘so she doesn’t need any more from you.’

‘Whoa! Dismount from your charger, will you?’ Joel lifted a hand and looked at them curiously. He’d never seen his brothers quite so protective of anyone before. ‘I don’t want to give her hassle.’

‘No. We know exactly what you want to give her,’ Nick said shortly, walking across the room and pausing with his hand on the door, ‘and you can forget it, buster. You lay one hand on her—just one finger—and I’ll knock you out cold.’

Joel’s eyes gleamed and his fists tightened by his sides. ‘You mean you’ll try.’

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, grow up!’ Richard Whittaker looked at his sons impatiently. ‘Haven’t the three of you got anything better to do than regress to boyhood? Nick, get on with your calls.’

Nick gave a good-natured smile and waggled his finger at his brother. ‘You have been warned. Anyway, she’s one of Mum’s projects, so you won’t be let near her.’

Nick left the room, leaving Joel to digest his last remark. A real sucker for causes, his mother was always rescuing waifs and strays—animals and people.

‘What’s Mum got to do with Lucy?’

‘She and Dad interviewed her for the job.’ Michael reached for his jacket and ran his hands through his hair. ‘You know Mum. Always a sucker for a sob story, and apparently Lucy’s is worse than most.’

Was it?

Joel leaned his broad shoulders against the wall and looked at his brother thoughtfully.

That would explain a great deal.

Like the sadness in her eyes and the reason she hadn’t wanted to give him her details.

He was experienced enough with women to know when someone was attracted to him, and Lucy had been attracted to him.

But she hadn’t wanted to be.

Suddenly he was intrigued. ‘So what’s her story?’ He asked the question casually but he didn’t feel casual at all. In fact, he felt more serious than he’d felt for a long time.

Maybe ever…

Michael shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Mum refuses to discuss it. All we know is she’s got—’

There was a tap on the door and Ros stuck her head round. ‘I’ve got two urgent calls and Lucy needs someone to see a patient.’

‘Add the calls to my list.’ Michael stood up.

Joel did the same. He glanced at his father. ‘I’ll see Lucy’s patient.’

Richard frowned. ‘Joel…’

‘I’m a GP with this practice,’ Joel pointed out smoothly. ‘I need to start seeing patients some time. It might as well be now.’

Michael shot him a warning glance and Joel smiled.

‘Go out and heal the sick, big brother. I promise to behave myself.’

‘You better had. Nick and I are watching you. I’ll see you later, then.’ Michael followed Ros out of the room and Richard caught Joel by the arm to stop him following.

‘Joel, I need to talk to you. I know Lucy’s pretty, but Nick and Michael are right. She’s not your type.’ His father’s tone was sharp. ‘You’re to leave her alone.’

Joel looked his father in the eye. ‘Where’s she living?’

Father looked at son. ‘Joel!’

Joel clapped a hand to his broad chest and looked innocent. ‘Did I say a word?’

‘You didn’t need to. I’ve known you for thirty-three years and women have always been at the top of your agenda,’ his father said dryly. ‘Especially pretty ones. Come on, Joel, you’re a national heartthrob after that TV series. You’re not short of female company and you never have been. You don’t need Lucy.’

Oh, yes, he did.

Joel lifted his chin. ‘What’s the story, Dad?’

His father sighed. ‘She doesn’t want us to discuss it, so I’m not going to, but let’s just say that there’s no way a girl like her is going to want anything to do with a man like you.’

‘A man like me?’ Joel lifted his eyebrows and glanced down at himself. ‘Two legs, two arms, a good pair of shoulders—what’s wrong with me?’

‘Nothing.’ Richard gave a wry smile as he ran his eyes over his son’s muscular frame. ‘There’s nothing at all wrong with you, as you well know.’

‘So?’

Richard sighed and shook his head. ‘She doesn’t want anyone, Joel. And I warn you now, I won’t have her pestered. The girl’s been through enough.’

What had she been through?

Joel’s voice was quiet. ‘I’m not in the habit of pestering women, Dad.’

‘No, because they usually fall at your feet,’ his father agreed, his tone dry. ‘But Lucy is different. She came here for a quiet life and that is exactly what she’s going to have. She’s out of bounds, Joel, and please remember that or your mother will kill me. And she’ll kill you too, probably.’

Joel wasn’t giving up. ‘It was a man, presumably.’ His expression was grim as he contemplated the possibilities. ‘Did he hit her? Hurt her in some way? Maybe Mike, Nick and I could find the guy—’

His father cut him off with an impatient gesture. ‘Put your fists away, Joel. This isn’t your battle.’ Richard gave a long sigh and rubbed his forehead with the tips of his fingers. ‘We all want to help, but she won’t accept more than we’ve done already. I suspect that what she really needs is friendship. She must be very lonely. Your mother and I keep inviting her round but she always refuses.’

‘I make a good friend,’ Joel said softly, and his father frowned.

‘No, Joel! I don’t want—’

‘Relax, Dad.’ Joel put a hand on his father’s shoulder, a confident smile playing around his firm mouth. ‘You need to learn how to chill out! You’re getting too old for all this stress.’

‘Too old!’ His father choked and spluttered and Joel grinned.