one.’ He held up his fingers, demonstrating, as though he was taking a pinch of salt.
‘You’re hopeless,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘What am I to do with you?’
‘Throw caution to the wind and elope with me,’ he suggested, a wicked grin curving his mouth. ‘No one will miss us for a while, and I promise to have you back here, safe and sound, at some point. I’m not exactly sure when that would be, but we could think about it eventually.’
‘Think about unpacking your bags and getting ready for the evening meal,’ she told him firmly. ‘As if you’d let anything come between you and a three-course dinner.’
He blinked. ‘True. That’s very true.’ He clapped a hand to his head. ‘What on earth was I thinking?’
‘I could hazard a guess, but on second thoughts I won’t go there. Out of the room, Dr Broughton…this one will do nicely for me. Go play on your own balcony.’
He walked mournfully out of the room, and she could hear his soft mutterings as he went. ‘Cruel, hard-hearted woman. Made of stone…has to be. I’m maltreated and misunderstood. Was there ever anyone dealt as bad a hand as me?’
Phoebe’s mouth curved. All sorts of adjectives came to mind where Connor was concerned…irrepressible, mischievous, wily and conniving, to name just a few.
He may well tease her and test her mettle, but underneath it all was there just a hint of real intent?
Connor had never been one to let chance pass himby, and for all his artifice and devious ways she couldn’t help but feel a tug of attraction towards him. Was she in danger of losing her heart to him?
She couldn’t let that happen. He would never seriously entertain the idea of love and commitment, yet those were values she prized above all else.
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘O KAY , then. What do we have planned for today?’ Connor looked at Jamie across the breakfast table, inviting him to choose. ‘There’s fishing, canoeing, archery practice or horse riding, to name but a few.’
‘I want to try the zip wire,’ Jamie said, his eyes shining in anticipation. ‘I saw the children whizzing down it last night and I wanted to have a go then, but Mum said no, it was too late, we’d only just got here and we needed to unpack.’
‘I noticed them, too,’ Phoebe said. ‘They looked as though they were having a great time, didn’t they?’
Jamie nodded excitedly and started to talk animatedly to Phoebe about everything he wanted to try while he was at the centre. ‘And I want to take lots of photos—I got a new camera for my birthday.’
‘That’s a good idea. What kind is it?’
Seeing that Jamie was deep in conversation, Connor glanced at Mrs Brannigan. ‘Whizzing down the zip wire sounds like fun…What do you think, Chloe?’
She looked a little doubtful. ‘To be honest,’ she said, keeping her voice low so that Jamie would not hear,‘I’m not altogether sure what will be okay for him and what won’t.’
Connor nodded. ‘Up to now, you’ve always let him choose his own activities, haven’t you? Generally, children with heart problems are very sensible in knowing their own limitations. I think the same probably applies after surgery. Up to now he’s made a good recovery, so we’re justified in hoping that he’ll become stronger and eventually be able to lead a normal life.’
‘But he collapsed a while ago…I’m afraid that might happen again.’
‘It’s understandable that you’re worried, and certainly we need to keep an eye on his blood pressure. Having the occasional bout of hypertension doesn’t signify that anything major is wrong. It probably just means that he over-extended himself too soon, and he’ll learn to adjust to that.’
Jamie finished telling Phoebe about his new camera, and then turned back to his mother. ‘So can I go on the wire today? It’ll be great. I can’t wait to try it out.’
Chloe hesitated, and Jamie directed his plea towards Connor. ‘Will you tell her it’ll be
‘You’re hopeless,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘What am I to do with you?’
‘Throw caution to the wind and elope with me,’ he suggested, a wicked grin curving his mouth. ‘No one will miss us for a while, and I promise to have you back here, safe and sound, at some point. I’m not exactly sure when that would be, but we could think about it eventually.’
‘Think about unpacking your bags and getting ready for the evening meal,’ she told him firmly. ‘As if you’d let anything come between you and a three-course dinner.’
He blinked. ‘True. That’s very true.’ He clapped a hand to his head. ‘What on earth was I thinking?’
‘I could hazard a guess, but on second thoughts I won’t go there. Out of the room, Dr Broughton…this one will do nicely for me. Go play on your own balcony.’
He walked mournfully out of the room, and she could hear his soft mutterings as he went. ‘Cruel, hard-hearted woman. Made of stone…has to be. I’m maltreated and misunderstood. Was there ever anyone dealt as bad a hand as me?’
Phoebe’s mouth curved. All sorts of adjectives came to mind where Connor was concerned…irrepressible, mischievous, wily and conniving, to name just a few.
He may well tease her and test her mettle, but underneath it all was there just a hint of real intent?
Connor had never been one to let chance pass himby, and for all his artifice and devious ways she couldn’t help but feel a tug of attraction towards him. Was she in danger of losing her heart to him?
She couldn’t let that happen. He would never seriously entertain the idea of love and commitment, yet those were values she prized above all else.
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘O KAY , then. What do we have planned for today?’ Connor looked at Jamie across the breakfast table, inviting him to choose. ‘There’s fishing, canoeing, archery practice or horse riding, to name but a few.’
‘I want to try the zip wire,’ Jamie said, his eyes shining in anticipation. ‘I saw the children whizzing down it last night and I wanted to have a go then, but Mum said no, it was too late, we’d only just got here and we needed to unpack.’
‘I noticed them, too,’ Phoebe said. ‘They looked as though they were having a great time, didn’t they?’
Jamie nodded excitedly and started to talk animatedly to Phoebe about everything he wanted to try while he was at the centre. ‘And I want to take lots of photos—I got a new camera for my birthday.’
‘That’s a good idea. What kind is it?’
Seeing that Jamie was deep in conversation, Connor glanced at Mrs Brannigan. ‘Whizzing down the zip wire sounds like fun…What do you think, Chloe?’
She looked a little doubtful. ‘To be honest,’ she said, keeping her voice low so that Jamie would not hear,‘I’m not altogether sure what will be okay for him and what won’t.’
Connor nodded. ‘Up to now, you’ve always let him choose his own activities, haven’t you? Generally, children with heart problems are very sensible in knowing their own limitations. I think the same probably applies after surgery. Up to now he’s made a good recovery, so we’re justified in hoping that he’ll become stronger and eventually be able to lead a normal life.’
‘But he collapsed a while ago…I’m afraid that might happen again.’
‘It’s understandable that you’re worried, and certainly we need to keep an eye on his blood pressure. Having the occasional bout of hypertension doesn’t signify that anything major is wrong. It probably just means that he over-extended himself too soon, and he’ll learn to adjust to that.’
Jamie finished telling Phoebe about his new camera, and then turned back to his mother. ‘So can I go on the wire today? It’ll be great. I can’t wait to try it out.’
Chloe hesitated, and Jamie directed his plea towards Connor. ‘Will you tell her it’ll be
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