But he paused fractionally when he caught Beth’s gaze and for the third time that night she was trapped by the expression in those dark grey eyes.

There was no hint of displeasure in them this time. Or the suggestion that she had changed beyond recognition. And, very oddly, the flicker of warmth that she saw was far more of a shock than Luke’s earlier reactions to seeing her had been.

His voice touched exactly the same tender place as that fleeting glance had.

‘Thanks, Beth,’ Luke said softly. ‘You were brilliant.’

CHAPTER THREE

IT WOULDN’T go away.

That flash of warmth in Luke’s gaze had been contagious, and Beth could still feel it, hours later, when she was finally able to follow Chelsea to the staffroom where Maureen was making a pot of tea.

She could still abandon her new job and leave Hereford, she reminded herself as she sank gratefully onto a chair. Her head was telling her that in no uncertain terms again and again. Her heart, on the other hand, was insufferably smug in the knowledge of how difficult it would be her to talk herself into walking away. From this place. From the new job.

From Luke Savage.

And all it had taken had been that one little spark from the warmth in those grey eyes and the tone of his voice when he’d said she’d been brilliant.

Brilliant!

Beth’s toes actually curled inside her shoes as a new wash of the glow spread through her.

‘You’re looking happy.’ Maureen placed a steaming mug on the table in front of Beth. ‘Sugar?’

‘No, thanks.’

‘I reckon she’s just relieved it’s all over.’ Chelsea reached for the sugar bowl. ‘What a night!’

Beth smiled wryly. ‘It’ll certainly go down in history as the most memorable first shift I’ve ever had at work, that’s for sure.’

And the major incident with the gang members had only been the half of it.

‘You did an amazing job out there.’ Maureen pushed a plate of chocolate biscuits closer to Beth. ‘Well done.’

‘Yeah…’ Chelsea was eyeing Beth curiously. ‘You were brilliant.’

Beth hadn’t blushed like that since she’d been a teenager. She reached for a biscuit to cover an embarrassment that had little to do with any modesty concerning her professional skills.

It hadn’t been the first time she had been a key player in a dramatic life-and-death scenario in an emergency department. Not that she’d assisted with a thoracotomy, of course—in a big department there was always a queue of more senior staff eager to participate in something that big, but there had been that emergency Caesarean that time. And the puncture wound in a carotid artery and…

And none of that history mattered a damn because any praise that had come her way had been strictly professional.

As the comment that Chelsea appeared to have overheard from Luke had been, she reminded herself firmly.

But it hadn’t felt like that, had it? The approbation from Luke had touched a place that hadn’t been touched since…since…

Since she had been Luke’s lover.

Beth crushed the thought relentlessly because Chelsea was still giving her an odd look. As though she was determined to read her mind.

So was Maureen, come to that. Beth’s eyebrows rose sharply.

‘What?’ she asked. ‘Have I got chocolate all over my nose or something?’

‘We’re just curious,’ Maureen explained.

‘About the thoracotomy?’

Chelsea laughed. ‘No. About whether you’re going to ask or not.’

Beth was mystified. ‘Ask what?’

‘What every new female staff member always asks.’

So the interest had to concern a male staff member, and Beth suddenly knew exactly whom Chelsea had in mind. She could stop this conversation right now. Change the subject. Pretend that an urgent trip to the bathroom was called for. But her mouth had other ideas. It smiled.

‘Which is?’

Chelsea exchanged another significant glance with Maureen. ‘Whether Luke Savage is married or not, of course.’

The fact that the answer was expected did not stop Beth’s heart stumbling over the next beat or two, but she actually laughed and shook her head in a valiant attempt to feign indifference. She picked up her mug of tea with a remarkably steady hand and took a sip.

Her lack of any verbal response did not faze Chelsea but she did seem puzzled.

‘Well, that’s a first, then.’

‘What? A woman not throwing herself at Luke Savage?’

‘Yep.’

Beth couldn’t pretend to be all that surprised. She’d had a vivid reminder tonight of what it had been like the first time she had clapped eyes on Luke. There must be countless women out there who would feel that same level of attraction. What was surprising was the distinct impression she was getting that Luke was, in fact, still single.

‘Not that any of them succeed,’ Chelsea added wistfully enough for Beth to wonder if she had been one of those women herself. ‘Maureen and I have a kind of running bet to guess how long it will take for them to realise he’s not interested.’

That explained the significant glances but it left rather a lot still not explained.

Like why was Luke not interested in the women who clearly made themselves easily available?

Why was he here? In a medical backwater that lacked so much of the resources a larger hospital would have in the way of specialty expertise and facilities?

And why was she experiencing such an overwhelming level of curiosity?

The need to escape took on greater urgency and Beth glanced up at the wall clock.

‘Nearly time to go home,’ she said in relief. ‘Is there anything I should be doing before the day shift arrives?’

‘No.’ Maureen smiled at Beth. ‘You go and get some sleep. You’ve done more than enough on your first shift. We’ll take care of the paperwork and handover.’ She waved aside the protest Beth was clearly about to make. ‘Go on,’ she ordered. ‘And if you see Mike out there, tell him his cup of tea’s getting cold. I don’t know why he hasn’t come in yet.’

Beth soon found out. Mike was leaning against the central desk, in a now deserted department, talking to Luke. Both men looked exhausted but Beth could sense their satisfaction.

‘How’s Stella?’ she queried.

‘Stable,’ Luke answered. ‘We’ll be transferring her to Wellington pretty soon.’

‘Thanks to you two,’ Mike added. ‘You’re a pretty good team, aren’t you?’

Beth gritted her teeth. The old wound must have opened more than she had realised for Mike’s words to have the effect of rubbing salt into it. This wasn’t good.

‘Runs in the blood for Beth, mind you,’ Luke told Mike lightly. ‘Did you know that her father is Nigel Dawson?’

Beth could barely suppress her groan. Of course Mike didn’t know. It was the last thing she’d be pointing out to any new colleagues.

‘Not the Nigel Dawson of heart-transplant fame?’

‘That’s the one.’

Mike’s glance towards Beth was openly interested but it was Luke he directed his comment to. ‘How on earth did you know that?’

‘Beth and I worked together for a while, years ago.’ Luke made it sound completely impersonal. ‘She did a stint as a theatre nurse.’

‘Lucky for Stella that you did.’ Mike was smiling warmly at Beth but it was almost impossible to return the gesture.

Not only had Luke dismissed their past relationship as not rating a mention, he had revealed a large chunk of Beth’s personal history that had been the other major part of her past she had been hoping to leave behind in coming to Hereford. It was the last straw and the balance finally tipped. No. Thanks to Luke, there was no way she could envisage the future she’d hoped to find here.

‘I’d better go,’ she said aloud.

Of course, her new colleagues couldn’t detect any undertones to her statement. They both smiled understandingly.