finding a suitably qualified doctor. I wouldn’t want to leave the passengers in the lurch.’
‘No, it wouldn’t be right,’ she agreed reluctantly.
She took a deep breath that made her small breasts rise beneath the close-fitting T-shirt and Liam just managed to stifle his groan when he felt his body respond with a fervour that shocked him. He drew the robe around him, relieved that its bulk concealed his predicament. He’d not exactly led the life of a monk since their divorce but he couldn’t recall responding so wholeheartedly to any woman in the past two years, not even Julia.
The thought threw him into confusion so that he missed what Sophie had said. ‘I’m sorry, what was that?’
‘I just said that we shouldn’t need to see each other all that much.’ She shrugged but this time Liam wisely kept his eyes on her face and didn’t let them stray. ‘Once we’ve seen any patients who turn up for morning surgery then that should be it, basically.’
‘Of course,’ he agreed, trying to appear positive, no easy task in view of the way his mind was churning. He’d honestly and truly believed that he was ready to get on with his life and that all he needed to do was to draw a line under the past. But how could he be ready to plan his future when he was still so susceptible to his ex-wife’s charms?
‘And so long as the agency can find a replacement for me then there shouldn’t be a problem?’
‘It might take them a few weeks to find someone suitable,’ he warned, deciding it would be better to focus on this problem rather than start digging up any others. ‘Experienced nurses of your calibre don’t exactly grow on trees.’
A touch of colour ran up her face but she didn’t acknowledge the compliment. ‘I’m sure they’ll find someone eventually.’
‘And what about you, Sophie? What will you do?’ He frowned as he thought about the implications of her having to leave the ship. ‘Maybe you could return to the Royal Memorial? I’m sure they’d be delighted to take you back.’
‘They probably would but I’ve no intention of going back there. The reason I left in the first place was because I needed a change of scene. Don’t worry about me, Liam, I’ll find something else, maybe go abroad. There’s a lot of nursing posts advertised in the USA so that’s one option.’
‘So what you’re saying is that you’re completely flexible?’ Liam couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice.
‘Yes. The world’s a big place and I’ve seen far too little of it.’
‘And there’s nothing to tie you down to any one place?’ he insisted, because he couldn’t help being surprised by her attitude. The Sophie he remembered had been a homebody, not an adventurer. It made him see just how great the change in her had really been.
‘Nothing and nobody,’ she stated firmly. ‘So if you’re trying to find a diplomatic way to ask if I’m involved in a relationship then don’t bother. I think the phrase which best sums up my feelings is once bitten, twice shy.’
‘It wasn’t all bad,’ he protested, because it was painful to realise how much their divorce had affected her. Sophie had always had a very loving nature and he hated to think that she’d ruled out the possibility of finding happiness again even though the thought of her finding it with another man didn’t sit comfortably with him, strangely enough.
‘You’re entitled to your view,’ she said dismissively. ‘Anyway, what about you, Liam? Is there someone special in your life?’
Liam pushed the troubling thought aside because he needed to deal with the question. For some reason it seemed incredibly difficult to decide how to answer it. It wasn’t that he was afraid of upsetting her—Sophie had made it perfectly clear that he no longer featured in her life—but he felt rather awkward about discussing his plans with his ex-wife. Crazy though it undoubtedly was, it felt as though he was letting Sophie down.
The idea was just so ludicrous that it immediately cleared his mind of any doubts. ‘Actually, there is. Her name is Julia and she’s a doctor, too. We met while we were both working overseas, although she’s from London originally.’
He shrugged because there was no point holding back the most important bit now he’d got this far. ‘We’re thinking about getting married later this year, in fact.’
‘I see. So it appears that congratulations are in order.’
Liam frowned when he heard what sounded suspiciously like a catch in her voice. He breathed a sigh of relief when she treated him to a brilliant smile because he wouldn’t like to think that Sophie had been upset by his announcement.
‘I hope you and the second Mrs Kennedy will be very happy, Liam. I certainly hope the marriage works out better than ours did!’
‘Ah, so there you are, Sophie! I was just coming to find you. I thought you had got lost.’
‘I’m afraid I got delayed. Sorry.’
Sophie summoned a smile as Yuri greeted her at the entrance to the dining-room. She followed him across the room, murmuring her thanks when he pulled out a chair for her to sit down. Glancing around, she repeated her apologies for the benefit of the other diners seated at their table.
‘I’m sorry I’m late.’
‘Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it, young lady.’ The elderly American gentleman on her left smiled at her. ‘If my wife wasn’t sitting right here beside me, I’d tell you it was well worth the wait!’
The blue-rinsed matron next to him raised her eyes. ‘Take no notice of Randolph, honey. He’s all talk these days! Anyhow, you’ve only missed the introductions and that isn’t a problem. I’m Gloria Walters and this is my husband, Randolph. We’re from Georgia and this is our first trip to Europe. We’re trying to see as much as we can, which is why this cruise is such a great idea.’
‘I’m Sophie Patterson, the ship’s nurse,’ Sophie explained. She jumped when someone approached her, but it was only the waiter wanting to drape a napkin over her knees. She smiled her thanks but she could feel her heart beating in time to the sentence that was reverberating inside her head: Liam is getting married, Liam is getting married.
‘Oh, we already know that. Yuri here told us all about you,’ Gloria assured her.
Sophie had no idea what the purser had said but it was a relief not to have to go into detail about her role on the ship. She smiled and nodded as the rest of her table companions introduced themselves, though she doubted if she would remember many of their names later.
Discovering she would be working with Liam had been a big enough shock but learning that he was getting married had been much worse, and yet she couldn’t understand why she felt so devastated. Their marriage was over and she most certainly didn’t want to resurrect it, but she couldn’t help feeling bereft at the thought of Liam marrying another woman.
‘And here is our final guest. Excellent! We shall be able to enjoy the evening now.’
Yuri placed his hand lightly on her shoulder as he stood up, and Sophie flinched. She felt as nervous as a kitten, her whole body vibrating with a fine tremor that was making her feel sick.
She picked up her water glass and took a sip of the cool liquid in the hope that it would steady her, but all it took was the sight of the purser greeting Liam to make the tremor increase. It appeared that Liam would be joining them for dinner and the prospect of having to make conversation with him was more than she could bear. It was only the thought of the scene it would cause if she got up and left that kept her sitting there.
‘Allow me to introduce our new doctor.’ Yuri swiftly made the introductions, smiling charmingly when he came to Sophie. ‘I’m not sure if you two have met yet.’
‘Dr Kennedy and I have already introduced ourselves,’ Sophie said hurriedly.
‘Indeed