Christmas With Her Daredevil Doc
Kate Hardy
Can he convince her to be his Christmas bride…?When Dr Hayley Clark met Sam Price in Iceland their holiday romance was unforgettable – and unrepeatable! Sam was the first man to reawaken Hayley after losing her firefighter partner, but she wasn’t ready to risk her heart again, especially with a guy who loves danger!Yet when Sam arrives at Hayley’s hospital as the new registrar they’re both shocked and delighted – could their fling become more after all? Only if Hayley can come to trust that her daredevil doc can both heal and protect her heart – for ever!Miracles at Muswell Hill HospitalChristmas is a time – for healing broken hearts!
Can he convince her to be his Christmas bride?
When Dr. Hayley Clark met Sam Price in Iceland, their holiday romance was unforgettable—and unrepeatable! Sam was the first man to reawaken Hayley after losing her firefighter partner, but she wasn’t ready to risk her heart again, especially with a guy who loves danger!
But when Sam arrives at Hayley’s hospital as the new registrar they’re both shocked and delighted—could their fling become more after all? Only if Hayley can come to trust that her daredevil doc can both heal and protect her heart—forever!
Miracles at Muswell Hill Hospital
Christmas is a time for healing broken hearts!
Medical marvels occur every day at Muswell Hill Hospital—but two friends who work there, Dr Hayley Clark and Dr Danielle (Dani) Owens, are deserving of some special Christmas miracles. Bonded by recent traumatic life events, they’ve helped each other recover with their year-long pact of saying yes to everything!
As Christmas draws near—ready or not—they are about to meet two gorgeous guys who, if they will just let them in, can finally mend their broken hearts!
Hayley and Sam’s story
Christmas with Her Daredevil Doc
Sam and Hayley had one incredible week in Iceland—but when Sam appears for work at Muswell Hill Hospital, they struggle to keep their ‘temporary’ romance in the past. Can their holiday fling become so much more?
And Dani and Alex’s storyM
Their Pregnancy Gift
Alex is determined never to have children—but Danielle is irresistible. And after one night of passion they must face the shocking and wonderful consequences!
Both available now!
Dear Reader (#u774e7069-05ba-50bb-9c66-e67f952f7057),
How do you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again when your life implodes? That’s partly why my heroine Hayley has a pact with her best friend to have a ‘Year of Saying Yes’—agreeing to opportunities that will make their lives happier. And going to Iceland means that she’s met someone who might just change her life for ever…
But Sam has his own issues to work through—and the way he deals with the fallout from his own life is to take risks to remind himself that he’s still alive and kicking. Which makes him the worst possible man that Hayley can fall for.
How can he teach her to trust that risk-taking won’t lead to another disaster in her life? And how can she teach him to trust that she won’t let him down the way his ex did?
I hope you enjoy their story—and definitely the romance of their wedding!
With love,
Kate Hardy
Christmas with Her Daredevil Doc
Kate Hardy
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
KATE HARDY has always loved books, and could read before she went to school. She discovered Mills & Boon books when she was twelve and decided this was what she wanted to do. When she isn’t writing, Kate enjoys reading, cinema, ballroom dancing and the gym. You can contact her via her website: katehardy.com (http://www.katehardy.com).
To Gerard, Chris and Chloe, who shared Iceland with me and fell in love with it as much as I did.
Contents
Cover (#ud5140392-43dc-5917-a5e8-f5458aa990be)
Back Cover Text (#u733a4b52-e7d4-5188-9530-22d56d768e0d)
Introduction (#u2a281fe0-4fb7-5560-b434-8a283f15ec03)
Dear Reader (#uff960ba7-c596-5b7f-aa63-c0be02a2a6ca)
Title Page (#u6fb95fc2-f5c3-59b9-bbdf-ca33c0f58a12)
About the Author (#uff960ba7-c596-5b7f-aa63-c0be02a2a6ca)
Dedication (#u00da5d07-3993-5de1-aaa0-779630b3a5c5)
PROLOGUE (#ubf6b70f3-f2bb-5e0f-93d2-13d092928f2e)
CHAPTER ONE (#u091b8c9b-8ead-5fcd-a150-a8226dba3b08)
CHAPTER TWO (#u1eb23b5a-de32-5e05-b4e7-2559c1d44535)
CHAPTER THREE (#uaaad888f-aed8-5382-b97c-4b90d4b2c80c)
CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
PROLOGUE (#u774e7069-05ba-50bb-9c66-e67f952f7057)
HAYLEY DID A double take as her best friend hobbled into the hospital canteen on crutches, with a full-length walking cast up to her right knee.
‘What happened, Dani?’ she asked as Danielle heaved herself into the seat opposite hers and rested the crutches against the wall so they wouldn’t be in the way of anyone else in the canteen. ‘Did you break your ankle?’
‘It’s not quite that bad—it’s a second and third metatarsal stress fracture,’ Danielle said, grimacing.
Hayley frowned. They’d been out to their usual dance aerobics class, two nights ago, and Danielle had seemed fine then. ‘When did it happen?’
‘According to the orthopods, three or four weeks ago, because the fracture shows up on the X-ray and looks as if it’s been trying to heal for some time—but the actual diagnosis was this morning.’ Danielle sighed. ‘I suppose my foot had been aching for a bit.’
And Dani, being Dani, had no doubt ignored it because she was too busy. ‘Why didn’t you say something, the other night?’ Hayley asked. ‘We could’ve missed class to let you rest your foot.’
Danielle flapped a dismissive hand. ‘It was fine.’
Hayley raised an eyebrow. ‘Fine enough for you to be wearing a walking cast right now?’
Danielle sighed. ‘OK, OK. I thought it wasn’t anything major and resting it for a day or two would be enough to sort it out, but it felt a bit worse yesterday so I thought I’d better get it checked out. I was pretty sure my doctor was going to roll his eyes at me and say it was just because I still needed to get used to my new running shoes. Except he sent me for an X-ray instead. And apparently almost everyone with a metatarsal stress fracture says the same thing as I did—they don’t remember doing anything different or they’ve just got new shoes.’
‘Ouch. So how long are you going to have the cast?’ Hayley asked.
‘They said it’ll take between one and three months to heal,’ Danielle said. ‘So it’s crutches this week and then I have to wear the cast and rest my foot as much as possible.’
‘Rest’ wasn’t in Danielle’s vocabulary, Hayley knew. It would drive her best friend crazy to have to sit with her foot up.
‘And they said if I don’t rest it properly and for long enough, I’ll risk making it worse and then I’ll end up needing surgery to fix it—which will take even longer to heal, so obviously I’d rather avoid that.’ Danielle pulled a face. ‘Bang goes finishing my training for that charity run in October. I won’t even be able to walk the course, let alone run it. I’ll have to return all the sponsor money.’
And the run was close to Dani’s heart because she was raising money to buy an MRI scanner for newborns on the maternity unit. ‘Unless the organisers will let me run in your place,’ Hayley said thoughtfully.
Danielle stared at her in surprise. ‘I can’t ask you to do that. You hate running.’
‘Yes, but it’s for a good cause. I can run it for you. Remember, we agreed, this is the Year of Saying Yes. We’ve both had a horrible year.’ Hayley’s own life had imploded just over a year ago, when Evan, her fiancé, had been killed while trying to rescue someone from an industrial fire; and Danielle’s husband Leo had left her unexpectedly for someone else, nine months ago. They’d supported each other through the wreckage of their lives and, the previous month, when Danielle’s decree nisi had come through and the anniversary of Evan’s death had passed, they’d agreed that they’d spend the next year saying yes to every opportunity that came their way. The theory was, it would help them both to move on and live life to the full. Or, as Dani had put it, living well was the best revenge and she wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life crying over someone who didn’t love her any more.
‘We agreed we’d make the most out of life and say yes to every opportunity,’ Haley reminded her. ‘So you have to say yes to me taking your place, and we’ll talk the organisers into bending the rules slightly if they have to. They can’t expect you to run with a broken foot—and surely it’s better to have a substitute so the hospital can keep the sponsor money towards the scanner?’
‘If you’re really sure,’ Danielle said, ‘then thank you.’ She bit her lip. ‘But that’s not the worst bit.’ She dragged in a breath. ‘I’m so sorry, but I’m not going to be able to go to Iceland with you next week. The orthopods tried to sign me off work. I said I can do a lot of my job sitting down—which I can, so don’t argue,’ she said, holding up one hand to stop Hayley protesting. ‘They’ve agreed to let me have the walking cast, provided I agreed to rest my foot as much as possible. But they said that hiking round Iceland for a week is totally out of the question. And, with the kind of walks we were planning to do, there’s no way you could push me round in a chair—not when there’s loads of rough ground, volcanic sand, and a fair bit of clambering about on slippery boulders. It’s just not doable.’
‘Then we’ll talk to the travel agent and reschedule,’ Hayley said.
Danielle shook her head. ‘You wanted to go in the summer so you’d get to see the midnight sun. If we reschedule, then it’ll be another year before we can go away—and you really, really need a break. Especially as you’re taking up your new job in a couple of weeks.’
Her promotion to senior registrar, which was bittersweet because Evan wasn’t here to be pleased that her hard work had paid off. ‘I’m fine,’ Hayley said.
‘This is supposed to be the Year of Saying Yes, remember,’ Danielle said. ‘We said we’d do it so we’d have fun instead of being miserable.’
‘I’m not so sure it’ll be much fun, going to Iceland on my own,’ Hayley said.
‘But you’ll still get to see the whales and the geyser and the glacier—tick all those things off your bucket list. You need a break, Haze. Go and have a wonderful time. And I’ll talk to the travel agent to sort everything out this end.’
‘It’s not fair that you’re missing out,’ Hayley said.
‘We can plan something else when my foot’s healed,’ Danielle said. ‘We could maybe go to Vienna in November for the Christmas markets. We can eat lots of gingerbread and drink the best hot chocolate in the world.’
‘Maybe,’ Hayley said.
‘Definitely,’ Danielle insisted. ‘And you can send me a ton of photos from Iceland.’ She smiled. ‘If I were you, I’d stock up on the fun now—if you were serious about running that charity race for me, you’ll be in strict training for the next two months.’
‘Two and a half months, less my week in Iceland,’ Hayley pointed out.
‘The couch to 10K running programme is supposed to take about twelve weeks,’ Danielle said thoughtfully, ‘but you do dance aerobics twice a week, so you’re not really starting from couch level.’
Hayley did dance aerobics simply because Dani had pushed her into it two weeks after Evan’s funeral, making her leave her flat instead of hiding within the four walls and wishing that her fiancé had never, ever become a firefighter. And Hayley had to admit that the combination of the music and the movement had made her feel better, if only for a little while. For the same reason, she’d forced Dani to keep coming to the class with her after Leo had walked out on her.
‘OK. You sort out the training programme and I’ll do it.’
‘You,’ Danielle said, reaching over to squeeze her hand, ‘are the best friend ever.’
‘No, that would be you,’ Hayley said. ‘And you can sit still while I sort out some lunch for you. Even you can’t juggle a tray and hot coffee with crutches.’
‘Try me?’ Danielle said.
‘Behave,’ Hayley ordered with a grin.
‘Yes, ma’am. And you’re right—I can’t hold coffee with crutches,’ Danielle admitted, and fished in her purse for some money. ‘Thanks, Haze. Just grab the first sandwich you come to—I don’t mind what it is.’ She paused. ‘So you promise me you won’t cancel the trip?’
‘It’s the Year of Saying Yes,’ Hayley said. ‘So I’ll go.’ Even though a solo trip felt daunting, Hayley knew that her best friend was right. She did need a break. And maybe ticking some things off her bucket list would help her move on.
She’d always miss Evan, but she knew he wouldn’t have wanted her to spend the rest of her life on her own. So she was going to say yes. And, in accordance with their agreement, she was going to date the next man who asked her out.
CHAPTER ONE (#u774e7069-05ba-50bb-9c66-e67f952f7057)
THE LAND OF the Midnight Sun. Hayley had been stunned by the sheer quality of the light from the moment she’d arrived at the airport; everything seemed brighter in Reykjavik.
Evan would’ve loved this, she thought with a pang. Especially the whale-watching trip she’d chosen to do this morning. Now the boat was out in the middle of the open sea, the temperature had dropped quite sharply, but the sun was bright and she leaned against the railing at the side of the boat, listening to the guide and trying to spot the tiny puffins with their bright orange beaks.
‘There are lots of birds just above the water ahead of us, and that often indicates cetacean activity—they’ll be picking up bits of fish the whales have left behind,’ the guide said. And then, a couple of minutes later, she called, ‘Spout at nine o’clock!’
Hayley could actually see the spout of warm, moist air blown up by the whale; to her amazement, it really was like you saw in TV documentaries. A perfect misty funnel.
‘And here’s our minke!’ the guide said.
The ship drew to a standstill, and Hayley could see just the dark back of the whale, like a slight hump above the surface of the sea. And then a fin appeared, bright white against the sea and the sky, almost as if the whale was waving to them.
This was magical.
She took a few shots on her camera, hoping they’d come out. And then, to her sheer joy, the whale breached, its snout coming up out of the water and then its body performing a perfect arc, revealing its white belly before the whale splashed back into the sea.
She’d never seen anything so awe-inspiring. The whale’s snout came up again, and then a fin; then she saw the divided end of the tail as the whale dived down again.
‘I’m sure you could all see the flukes then—that’s the whale’s tail—and this usually indicates that the whale’s diving more deeply,’ the guide said. ‘So we’re going to move on.’
This was a truly humbling experience, Hayley thought; it made her feel glad to be alive.
But then, a few minutes later, the guide called, ‘Do we have a doctor on board?’
Her heart skipped a beat. When a tour guide put out that kind of call, it could mean a true emergency, and right now they were almost an hour’s sail away from Reykjavik. She had no idea how the emergency services worked here. Would they send out a helicopter to the ship, or would the tour guide have to cut the trip short and they’d have to sail straight back to the city?
She made her way to the guide’s post. ‘I’m Hayley Clark, a doctor from England. Can I help?’
‘My husband’s having an asthma attack,’ an American woman said, looking anxious and wringing her hands. ‘And we don’t have his inhaler with us.’
Just as well she worked in the emergency department, Hayley thought. ‘Can you put out a call to see if anyone has a reliever inhaler we could borrow, please?’ she asked the guide. ‘Even a preventer inhaler would help.’
‘Will do,’ the guide said.
She turned to the woman. ‘Would you like to take me to your husband? My name’s Hayley and I work in the emergency department of a London hospital.’
‘I’m Lulu Adams and thank God you’re on board,’ the woman said, leading her towards the next deck down. ‘I can’t believe Milton’s having an attack out here. Normally it’s pollen and cat hair that sets him off.’
‘Cold can set off asthma, too, and the air’s quite cool out here,’ Hayley said, ‘so it’s always a good idea to keep a reliever inhaler with you—even if you don’t think you’re going to come across your usual triggers. Does your husband take his preventer inhaler regularly?’
‘He’s a man. You can’t tell him anything,’ the woman said with a sigh.
So this was probably an attack that had been brewing for a while, Hayley thought, with a patient who didn’t bother taking his preventer inhaler that often. Milton Adams’s doctor definitely needed to talk to him about the importance of asthma control. She just hoped she could keep him stable until they managed to get some proper bronchodilator medication for him. ‘Does he have any other medical conditions?’ she asked.
‘Just the asthma.’
Which was tricky enough to deal with, by the sound of things. ‘OK. Thanks.’
* * *
Do we have a doctor on board?
There were maybe a couple of hundred other people on the boat. The chances were, Sam was the only doctor. Plus this would be a test. Had he done the right thing in accepting the job at a London hospital, or had his experience in Manchester soured his love affair with medicine to the point where he really didn’t want to go back to it?
He made his way to the bridge to talk to the guide, and on the way he heard her ask if anyone had an asthma inhaler that another passenger could borrow.
‘My name’s Sam Price, and I’m an emergency doctor from England. It sounds as if you have a passenger who’s having an asthma attack and doesn’t have an inhaler. Can I help?’ he asked.
‘There’s another doctor gone to see him already, if you want to join her,’ the guide said. ‘You’ll see her on the deck below. She’s wearing a yellow raincoat.’
‘OK. Thanks. Has anyone come up with an inhaler?’
‘Not yet, but I’m going to put another call out,’ she said.
Asthma attacks could be tricky. If nothing else, Sam thought, he could help calm down whoever was with the patient, so the other doctor could get on with treating the patient. He headed down to the next deck, and saw a woman wearing a yellow raincoat. She was talking to a man who was clearly panicking and wheezing, and the woman with them was wringing her hands and looking equally panicky.
‘Hello. I’m Sam Price, and I’m an emergency doctor,’ he said as he joined them. ‘Can I help?’
‘Hayley Clark—also an emergency doctor, from London,’ the woman in the yellow raincoat said.
He noticed how blue her eyes were—like an Icelandic summer sky—and her sun-streaked blonde hair was caught back at the nape of her neck, with soft tendrils framing a perfect oval face.
What the hell was he doing, noticing the colour of her eyes when there was a sick patient who needed their attention? Besides, even if he was looking for a relationship—which he wasn’t, after Lynda—she was probably already spoken for. Cross with himself for getting distracted, he paid attention to what she was saying.
‘This is Milton Adams and his wife Lulu,’ Hayley continued. ‘He doesn’t have his reliever or preventer inhaler with him, and we think the cold air probably brought on his asthma attack. He doesn’t have any other medical conditions.’
‘The guide’s putting out a second call to see if anyone on board has an inhaler with them,’ Sam said. ‘But even if there isn’t anyone, we can help you, Mr Adams.’
The man continued to wheeze, fighting for air, clearly panicked by the tightness in his chest.
Really, they needed to get him away from the cold air that had triggered the attack and into a warm place. But, given the state of his breathing right now and the fact that he was quite overweight, no way would Mr Adams be able to cope with the steep stairs to go back inside the ship. First, Sam thought, they needed to get Mr Adams stabilised so he was calm, and breathing more slowly. Anxiety released cortisol in the body, constricting the bronchial tubes even further, and panicking that you couldn’t breathe caused a vicious circle: it tightened the chest muscles, which made it harder to breathe, which in turn made the patient panic more and then the chest muscles tightened even further.
‘Mr Adams, can you sit up straight for us?’ Sam asked. ‘It’ll help you breathe more easily, because bending over constricts your breathing.’
Milton Adams continued gasping, but to Sam’s relief, he did as he was told.
‘I’m going to loosen your tie and undo the button of your collar,’ Hayley said, ‘because that’s also going to help you breathe more easily. Is that all right?’
The man nodded.
‘I told him he ought to bring his inhaler. I told him,’ Mrs Adams said, almost in tears.
Hayley reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘Mrs Adams—can we call you Lulu?’ At the woman’s nod, she continued, ‘I know how worried you are about your husband, but right now I really need you to do an important job for me and count. Can you do that for me?’
‘Yes,’ Mrs Adams said, her voice slightly quavery.
Brilliant management, Sam thought—she’d acknowledged the woman’s fears and distracted her by making her feel useful. What Hayley had just said about counting told him that she’d intended to use the same method he would’ve used.
‘Mr Adams—can we call you Milton?’ At the man’s nod, Sam continued, ‘We want you to try to take some really long, deep breaths for us. I know right now it’s scary, but I promise we can make you feel better. I want you to breathe in through your nose for a count of four and out through your mouth for a count of six. Can you do that for us?’
Mr Adams nodded, still fighting for breath.
‘Can you count for us now, Lulu?’ Hayley asked. ‘Four in, then six out. Count with me for the first set so we can get the rhythm right together. One, two, three, four...’
Mrs Adams joined in with counting.
Sam took the older man’s hand to reassure him. ‘OK. Breathe in—now out.’ Breathing to the counts would slow Milton’s breathing down, making it easier for him.
‘Purse your lips as you breathe out, Milton,’ Hayley said. ‘That helps to slow your breathing and keeps your airways open. That’s it. Keep going. You’re both doing really great.’
Mr Adams was still wheezing, but his colour was improving. ‘Can you place one hand on your stomach, Milton, just below your ribcage?’ Sam asked. ‘Then, when you breathe in, focus on pulling down into your stomach. Use your stomach muscles to help you push out,’ he said. ‘It’s called diaphragmatic breathing and it will really help you take deep, slow breaths.’
Eventually, Mr Adams’s breathing pattern settled and he seemed noticeably calmer.
Sam caught Hayley’s eye. ‘Shall we all go downstairs, so we’re away from the cold air?’
She nodded. ‘And we can ask the crew if they’ll sort out a bowl of hot water and lend us a towel.’
‘Good call,’ he said. They could make a tent with the towel and the bowl of hot water, and then Milton Adams could breathe in the moist air to help him recover.
Everyone else on board was on the upper decks by the railings, watching what sounded like a couple of whales playing in the water, so it made their passage down the stairs a bit easier—even if they were missing out on all the fun. They supported Milton Adams down the steep staircase to the inner deck, but he was wheezing badly again by the time they’d got him sitting down by a table.
‘Could you get your husband a cup of coffee from the bar, please?’ Hayley asked Mrs Adams.
‘He doesn’t like coffee,’ Mrs Adams said. ‘Or tea. Only hot chocolate.’
‘Maybe make the coffee milky and sweet?’ Hayley suggested. ‘The chemical structure of coffee is similar to theophylline, which is in most asthma medications, so a hot cup of coffee can help with wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Plus the warmth of the liquid will help break up the phlegm and mucus, making breathing easier.’
‘I’ll drink the coffee,’ Mr Adams wheezed.
‘Great. Are you OK to sit with Milton while I sort out a towel and hot water?’ Hayley asked Sam.
‘Sure,’ he said. ‘What I’d like you to do, Milton, is to sit up straight for me again, and count the number of blue things in the room.’
‘Blue things?’ Mr Adams looked nonplussed.
‘Blue things,’ Sam confirmed. ‘Count them, and keep breathing like we did upstairs. I’ll count while you breathe. In for four, out for six.’
As he’d hoped, the small task of looking round the room for blue things distracted the older man enough to help calm him further, and by the time Mr Adams had drunk the coffee and Sam and Hayley had arranged the bowl of hot water and towel as a temporary recovery tent so he could breathe in warm, moist air, he was looking in a much better condition.
When the boat arrived back at the dock, they were met by an ambulance. The guide came to join them as Sam and Hayley explained the situation to the paramedics.
‘Thank you both so much for all your help.’ Mrs Adams bit her lip. ‘And you missed most of the trip and the whales because of us. I feel so bad.’
‘We can arrange a replacement trip at no charge,’ the guide said. ‘And I’d like to thank you both, too. We have trained first aiders among the crew, of course, but we really needed a doctor to help us in this case.’
‘No problem,’ Hayley said.
‘Call into the office whenever suits you best,’ the guide said, ‘and we’ll rearrange your trip.’
‘I ought to give you something for helping us,’ Mrs Adams said.
‘There’s really no need,’ Sam said. ‘It’s what doctors are supposed to do—help people who need it.’
‘Agreed. Though if you really want to give us something,’ Hayley added, ‘then I’d like you to promise you’ll talk to your asthma specialist about what happened today, Milton, and that you’ll take your preventer inhaler regularly—even if you don’t think you need it, because taking it regularly is what helps to keep you well.’
Milton looked slightly shame-faced. ‘I will.’
‘Good.’ Hayley patted his shoulder. ‘Best of luck, and enjoy the rest of your holiday.’
‘You, too.’
When the ambulance doors closed and the Adamses were taken to hospital, Sam looked at Hayley. ‘Would you like to go for a coffee? Or do you need to get back to whoever you’re travelling with?’
‘I’m on my own,’ she said. ‘So a coffee would be lovely—unless you need to get back to your travelling companions?’
‘I’m on my own, too,’ he said. ‘Do you want to rebook your whale-watching trip first?’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘I saw one come up out of the water and dive back in. Expecting anything more’s probably greedy. Though if you want to rebook yours...?’
He smiled. ‘I’m greedy enough as it is. I go every week.’
‘Every week?’ She looked surprised. ‘Do you work at a hospital here, then?’
‘No. I’m kind of on sabbatical,’ he said. ‘My brother has a tour company out here, specialising in extreme trips—taking people walking on a glacier and that sort of thing. I’ve been helping him. But I go whale-watching every Monday afternoon. It’s the most amazing experience.’
She nodded. ‘It’s something Dani and I always wanted to see.’
‘Danny?’ Well, of course someone as pretty as Hayley Clark would be spoken for.
‘Danielle. My best friend,’ she explained.
How ridiculous that he should feel pleased that Dani was her best friend, not a partner. He was in no position to even think about starting a relationship, not with his new job starting in a fortnight.
Yet something about Hayley Clark tempted him.
Which was weird, because he’d had tourists throwing themselves at him all summer and not one of them had interested him.
What was it about her?
‘She fractured her second and third metatarsal last week, so the orthopods said she couldn’t come,’ Hayley continued.
He’d come across those kinds of fractures before. ‘Your friend’s a runner, then?’
Hayley nodded. ‘She was training for a charity run. Obviously she can’t do that now, so we talked the organisers into letting me run in her place.’
‘You’re a runner, too?’
She grimaced. ‘No. Actually, I loathe running. But the only way to keep her sponsorship money is if I run for her.’
‘That’s good of you.’
‘She’s my best friend, and she’s been through a lot. And doing that for her helps me feel less guilty about coming here while she’s missing out.’ Hayley wrinkled her nose. ‘Though I’m pretty sure she could’ve done the whale-watching—and if we’d asked at the tourist place, they could’ve found us some wheelchair-accessible trips.’
‘But you would both have missed out on a lot. Not all the paths around the waterfalls and the geysers are wheelchair-friendly,’ he said, ‘and some of the slopes would make it seriously tricky going downhill.’
‘That’s what Dani said.’
He should shut up right now. What he ought to do was to suggest a couple of reliable tour operators and let her find her own way round the island. But the pull he felt towards her was too strong, and he found himself asking, ‘How long are you staying?’
‘Until Friday.’
Shut up, shut up, shut up.
But his mouth wasn’t listening to his common sense. ‘Then why don’t you rebook your whale trip for tomorrow morning?’ he suggested. ‘And if you like, I’ll take you on a personalised tour.’
She blinked. ‘But aren’t you helping your brother?’
It was the perfect get-out. He knew he ought to take it. But his mouth was on a roll. ‘He’s had a couple of cancellations,’ Sam said, ‘so I wasn’t doing much this week. I’m free if you’d like to come with me.’
* * *
Hayley could practically hear Dani yelling in her ear, ‘Say yes! It’s the Year of Saying Yes.’
But Sam Price was a total stranger.
Even if he was a doctor and they’d just worked together to help a patient.
And, with that dark hair brushed back from his face and soulful hazel eyes, he was also the most attractive man she’d met since Evan, the first who’d even made her look at him, which made her feel guilty. It was only just over a year since Evan had died. Was she rushing into this?
She ought to be cautious. She was in a country where she didn’t speak the language; even though everyone in Iceland spoke perfect English, this still wasn’t England. She was a three-and-a-half-hour flight away from home. The sensible thing to do would be to say no.
But this was the Year of Saying Yes.
And maybe putting caution aside was something she needed to do for once. To help her move on.
‘Yes,’ she said.
CHAPTER TWO (#u774e7069-05ba-50bb-9c66-e67f952f7057)
THEY REBOOKED THE whale-watching tour for the following morning, then headed to a café in the centre of the city.
‘I love the ambience here,’ Hayley said when they were settled at a table.
‘Reykjavik lives up to your expectations, then?’ Sam asked.
‘Very much,’ she said. ‘I had a walk round yesterday evening when I got here. I really want to explore that amazing-looking church—I’ve never seen a spire like that, kind of spreading out like wings.’
‘The Hallgrímskirkja,’ he said. ‘It’s meant to resemble the volcanic basalt flows—and actually there are a couple of caves by one of the beaches that have columns looking very much like that.’
‘That’s amazing.’
‘The inside of the church is actually very plain,’ he said, ‘as it’s a Lutheran church—the simplicity is lovely, though. And the views from the tower are amazing.’ He paused. ‘We could go and take a look after we’ve had coffee, if you like.’
‘I’d like that very much,’ she said, ‘if you have time.’ She looked him straight in the eye. ‘And if your partner won’t mind.’
‘No partner,’ he said. Lynda had broken their engagement the week after he’d been suspended, and he hadn’t been tempted to date anyone since. It was going to take him a while to trust again. And he wasn’t actually dating Hayley, even if he did feel a strong pull of attraction towards her.
Though he needed to be clear that she wasn’t involved with anyone, either. The lack of a ring on her left hand meant absolutely nothing, nowadays. ‘I take it that it’s the same for you?’
She nodded. ‘No partner.’
This felt like another step towards dating. But it wasn’t, he reminded himself. No commitments and no promises. They were just doing some sightseeing together, that was all.
She took a deep breath. ‘I’m not looking for pity or anything like that, but I should probably tell you that he died just over a year ago.’
So she was still grieving?
If so, that made her safe, because it meant she wouldn’t be looking for a proper relationship.
But to lose her partner... He judged her to be around his own age, early to mid thirties, so it must’ve been either an accident or a seriously aggressive form of cancer that had killed her partner; either way, she’d clearly been through a lot. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘That must’ve been hard for you.’
She nodded. ‘He was killed in an industrial accident. I’m just glad I’d kissed him goodbye that morning and my last words to him were “I love you”—I think if our last words had been something awful said in the middle of a row, it would’ve been harder to deal with.’
‘Yes.’ And Sam knew that one from experience. The morning when his career had imploded, he’d had a fight with his fiancée on the way to work. Lynda had wanted him to give up his mountain rescue work in favour of something that would boost his career at the hospital. Something on a dull committee. He’d refused.
But he should have taken notice of the way she’d been behaving towards him, that last year. Then he would’ve expected Lynda’s reaction to his suspension, a few days later, instead of being shocked to the core by it.
‘So how long have you been in Reykjavik?’ she asked.
‘Since the end of March,’ he said.
She raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s quite a career change, from working in emergency medicine to being a tour guide.’
‘Yeah.’ Sam knew he was lucky. His family had believed in him. His older brother Martin had dragged him out to Iceland, saying that the job was only temporary, but he really needed the help—and someone who had mountain rescue team experience was the perfect person to come and help with glacier walking tours.
Sam knew that Martin hadn’t needed the help at all—he just hadn’t wanted Sam to sit at home alone and brood about the situation. And Sam would be grateful for ever to his brother for giving him something else to concentrate on, without expecting him to talk about the situation or his feelings.
Hayley winced at his flat tone. ‘Sorry, that was really intrusive—you don’t owe me any explanations. Please forget I said anything.’
‘It’s OK. It was a mix of a rough patch at work and a messy break-up.’ Short and to the point. Hayley didn’t need to know his team had been suspended after a diabetic patient’s death from a silent heart attack. He’d been sure that they’d followed all the right procedures during his admission and treatment, but the patient’s family had needed someone to blame for a death that shouldn’t have happened and they’d made a complaint. The hospital trust had been duty-bound to take the complaint seriously and launch an investigation.
A week later, Lynda had broken off their engagement, worried that the stain on his career would transfer to hers because she was his fiancée—according to her, everyone would still think there was no smoke without fire. How it had hurt to discover that the one person he’d expected to bat his corner for him, the way he would’ve done if their positions had been reversed, didn’t actually believe in him. All Lynda had wanted was to buy him out of his share of their house and get his name off the mortgage.
‘I took a sabbatical because I needed a bit of space to help me decide what to do next. Iceland’s a good place to think.’ And he’d come to realise that Lynda hadn’t been right for him anyway. She’d wanted him to be something he wasn’t—the sort who’d serve on committees and boards, moving away from medicine to admin. Sam had wanted to make a difference where it really mattered, saving lives and making his patients better rather than talking budgets and politics. So her breaking up with him had done him a favour, really.
‘I think we all get rough patches at work,’ Hayley said. ‘Days when you lose people, or you know the system isn’t going to get your patient the right help and you can’t do anything about it.’
There was a hint of sadness in those blue, blue eyes, and he guessed she was thinking about her fiancé. But it was none of his business. He wasn’t going to push her to talk.
‘Though I’m sorry you had to deal with a break-up at the same time as a rough patch. That’s a bit of a double whammy,’ she said.
He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. ‘If I’m being honest, we’d been heading for the rocks for a while. I’d been kind of deluding myself.’ Knowing he was being a coward, but wanting to get back on safer ground and talk about something less emotionally daunting, he asked, ‘So why did you come to Iceland?’
‘I’ve always wanted to see the midnight sun,’ Hayley said. ‘And there were other things on my bucket list, like seeing the whales.’
‘What else is on your list?’
‘Seeing a geyser erupt,’ she said promptly, ‘and touching a glacier, and seeing the split between the continental plates. Oh, and I saw this video of people walking behind a waterfall—I’d really like to do that, too.’
‘I can take you to do all that, as well as that beach with the cave that’s a bit like the church columns.’
‘Thank you. But it’s your job, so obviously I’ll pay you the going rate for a guide,’ she said.
‘No,’ he said. ‘Apart from my weekly self-indulgence of going to see the whales, I haven’t really done anything just for fun. So if you don’t mind me muscling in on your bucket list, and maybe making some suggestions of places I think you might enjoy, it’d be a holiday for me.’
She frowned. ‘Surely you’ve already visited all those places with clients—I mean, aren’t they on every tourist’s wish list?’
‘True, but seeing something through someone else’s eyes keeps it fresh,’ he said. ‘Please don’t offer to pay me.’
‘At least let me pay for the petrol,’ she protested. ‘And buy you lunch.’
He really ought to shut up. But his mouth wasn’t working to the same script as his head. ‘As long as you’ll let me buy you dinner tonight,’ he found himself saying.
‘I’d like that. Thank you.’
‘It’s a deal.’ He reached across the table to shake her hand.
* * *
When Sam shook her hand, it sent goose-bumps over Hayley’s skin.
This felt more like a date than agreeing to share some travel plans. Yet in a way it was a kind of blind date, because she knew hardly anything about him—just that he’d had some kind of career crisis and a bad break-up, so he was taking time out to decide what to do next with his life.
But, if she pushed him to talk about it, that would give him the right to ask her the same: and she didn’t want to talk about Evan and how her life had sunk into a black hole after her fiancé’s death.
She was just going to focus on the fun stuff. That was the reason she was in Iceland, after all. To help her move on. And if this was some kind of date—well, it wasn’t serious, but maybe it was something that she needed. Something that perhaps they both needed.
After coffee, they went to see the church with its soaring ceilings and tall windows. Hayley loved the sheer simplicity of it, and the beauty of the simple crystal font. She enjoyed the tour of the city afterwards, with Sam pointing out the places of interest—the Town Hall, the Tjörnin lake behind it, which was a perfect mirror for the town hall and old buildings that lined it, the Parliament building and the striking black glass building of the Harpa concert hall. Sam knew lots of anecdotes and stories and entertained her thoroughly, though she wasn’t entirely sure whether he was teasing her when he told her about the locals throwing yogurt at the Parliament building as part of a protest.
Before they stopped for dinner, he asked, ‘Do you have any food allergies, or are you vegetarian?’
She smiled at him, liking the fact that he’d been thoughtful enough to ask. ‘No and no. I’m very happy for you to recommend somewhere.’
He took her to a little bistro by the Old Harbour. ‘They do some of the best fish in Iceland here,’ he said. ‘And I can guarantee it’s freshly caught.’
The place was tiny and candle-lit; the interior walls were all of polished wood, and Hayley noticed that there were vintage photographs of the area hanging on the walls. ‘Would I be right in thinking that this used to be a fishing shed?’ she asked.
‘A lot of the buildings in this area are,’ Sam explained. ‘They’ve been renovated and painted different colours. Some are shops, some are cafés and restaurants, and there’s an ice cream shop here that does an amazing array of flavours.’
The ambience was lovely—but the food was even better. On Sam’s recommendation, she chose ‘catch of the day’, which turned out to be a seafood risotto topped with fresh cod.
‘The food is amazing,’ she said.
And the dessert was spectacular: a chocolate dome that, when she poured hot caramel sauce onto it, melted into a rich chocolate pudding.
Even better than the food was the company. Hayley couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out to dinner with a man, and Sam was nice. He had an innate kindness that appealed to her; and he was easy on the eye, too, with short dark hair brushed back from his face, hazel eyes and a sensual mouth.
Not that she ought to be thinking about his mouth. Or kissing. Or wondering what his hands would feel like against her skin. It made her feel disloyal to Evan—even though she knew that Evan wouldn’t have wanted her to be alone for ever.
They lingered over coffee, took a last stroll round the Old Harbour area, and then Sam walked her back to her hotel.
‘I can hardly believe it’s half-past eleven at night and it’s still so light,’ she said, marvelling. ‘Back at home it would be dark by now.’
‘With your hotel being this side of the bay,’ he said, ‘you’re going to get amazing views of the sunset across the sea.’
Just what she’d hoped for.
Ahead of them was a steel sculpture of what looked like a Viking boat; it glowed gold in the light of the setting sun. And when Hayley looked back over her shoulder, the sky was ablaze with orange and gold and hot pink.
‘The midnight sun,’ she said softly. ‘I’ve always wanted to see it. And it’s as incredible as I thought it would be.’
When they reached her hotel he asked, ‘Shall I meet you on the dock outside the ship at nine?’
‘That sounds good. See you there,’ she said.
He didn’t attempt to kiss her, and Hayley was shocked to realise that she was faintly disappointed. And then she felt ashamed. They weren’t dating and they hadn’t even agreed to have a holiday fling. Sam Price was simply a kind stranger she’d met by chance, and he’d offered to keep her company in her travels. She really shouldn’t be throwing herself at him. And wasn’t he still getting over a bad break-up? The last thing he needed was someone mooning about over him. Maybe she should have made a polite excuse and stayed on her own after all. Tomorrow, after the whale-watching trip, she’d feign a headache.
‘Goodnight,’ she said, and headed for her room.
Her window overlooked the sea, so she took some last shots of the sunset and emailed them to Dani, along with an account of her day and the fact she was acting in accordance with their agreement about saying yes to opportunities. She woke in the middle of the night and was surprised to see it was still quite light; back in London at this time it would be dark. She woke again in time for the sunrise and was stunned to see how the sea turned into a shimmering mass of gold and silver.
After breakfast, she walked down to the old harbour to meet Sam for the whale-watching trip. This time, nobody on board needed a doctor’s help. They saw a school of porpoises, and then two minke whales together. When the whales leaped out of the water in a perfect arc and she gasped with pleasure, it felt natural for Sam to slide his arm around her shoulders—and for her to slide her own arm around his waist.
Though at the same time it felt wrong. This was exactly what she would’ve done with Evan. And Sam wasn’t Evan. ‘Sorry,’ she said, sliding her arm away from his waist. ‘I think I got a bit...well, carried away with the emotion of seeing the whales.’
‘Me, too,’ Sam agreed, removing his arm from her shoulders. He looked just as shocked as she felt.
They were careful not to even let their hands touch accidentally until they were back on land. She should make up some excuse, Hayley thought, say she had a headache or something—though it would be a shame to miss out on the trip they’d planned.
Sam looked slightly awkward. ‘Would you still like to come and see the waterfall and the geyser?’
He was clearly offering her a chance to back out, recognising that the moment he’d held her on the ship had been difficult for her. But she could see something in his eyes. Something that struck a chord with her. Loneliness maybe, even if it wasn’t something either of them would admit to. And it would be good to have some company. ‘If you’d still like to go,’ she said carefully. After all, it must’ve been awkward for him, too.
‘Let’s go, then.’ Sam drove her out to see the Gullfoss waterfall.
‘The water looks almost golden,’ she said in amazement when they’d made their way down the path to the double drop.
‘That’s how it gets its name—“gullfoss” means “golden falls”,’ he said. ‘Partly it’s because of the sediment in the water.’
As they drew nearer to the edge, Hayley slipped on a smooth piece of stone and Sam caught her arm, steadying her. His touch felt almost electric. And she could see in his expression that it was the same for him—instant attraction that neither of them had been expecting or looking for, and it seemed that neither of them quite knew what to do with it or how to react.
‘Sorry,’ she said.
‘Uh-huh.’ But he didn’t move his hand away. He just looked at her, as if he was as surprised by the feelings as she was. And then he cleared his throat. ‘They say if you don’t like the weather in Iceland, wait five minutes—and look, the sun’s just come out.’
She looked to where he gestured, and hanging over the waterfalls was a bright rainbow.
It was a natural phenomenon, she knew, caused by the sunlight and the spray from the waterfall. But in a weird kind of way it felt as if it was Evan telling her was it OK, that she was ready to move on and he approved.
She shook herself. ‘Photo opportunity,’ she said brightly, moving away just the tiniest bit so his arm fell naturally away from hers.
And how stupid that she missed it being there.
What was she, a recycled teenager?
She was just going to have to ignore it and be sensible. She smiled, and took a snap of the rainbow on her phone.
When she’d had her fill of the waterfall and the rainbow, Sam drove them out to the Geysìr area. ‘The old Geysìr is the one that all geysers are named after,’ he said. ‘Apparently it used to be even bigger than the one in Yellowstone, but it’s been dormant for years.’
‘So I won’t actually get to see a geyser going up?’ she asked.
‘Oh, you will.’ He smiled. ‘Strokkur erupts pretty much about every ten minutes. And if you have a slow-mo setting on your phone, I’d recommend that because then you’ll really see how it works. The water at the top of the pool is cooler and acts as a kind of lid to the hot water below, so the pressure builds up and then you can see it boil over and the geyser erupts. Then it leaves a sinkhole and the water drains back in, and the cycle starts all over again.’
She could see a circle of people standing round what she assumed was the geyser, and then suddenly a massive plume of water shot into the air. ‘Oh! That’s amazing.’
‘Let’s go and get a better view,’ he said, and walked with her to where everyone was standing.
As he’d suggested, she filmed it on slow-mo. ‘Dani would’ve loved this,’ she said wistfully. So would Evan, though she didn’t say it.
Then, as they moved deeper into the fields, his fingers accidentally brushed against hers. Again, she felt that swoop of butterflies in her stomach; and when she caught his eye, she was pretty sure it was the same for him.
What were they going to do about it? Ignore it? Or see where it led them?
There wasn’t any future in it. Couldn’t be. After the end of this week they’d be in different countries, thousands of miles apart, and he’d said nothing about returning to England.
The sky had turned the deepest summery blue, and the scenery was amazing. There were little puffs of steam rising from underground pools, and a tiny pot that produced a bubbling spout a few centimetres tall. Sam seemed to be careful to keep a little distance between them when he showed her the site of the old Geysìr, now just a pool with the occasional bubble to remind you that the water was extremely hot, and the twin pools of Blesi—one perfectly clear so you could see into the yawning cavern beneath it, and one that was the most amazing milky azure blue.
‘The milky colour’s from silicates in the water,’ he said. ‘That’s the cool one—it’s only about forty degrees Celsius.’
‘Cool?’ she asked.
‘The other one’s hotter,’ he said.
‘The milky blue pool: is that what the Blue Lagoon’s like?’ she asked.
‘Pretty much. We can go there this evening, if you like—that’s provided we can get a ticket, because evenings are pretty popular,’ he added.
‘I’d like that.’ She smiled at him.
‘Give me a second.’ He made a quick phone call, and she noticed that he spoke in fluent Icelandic. ‘OK. We’re in luck—I’ve booked us in.’
‘Thank you.’
They had dinner at a little village outside the city—lamb stew and rye bread, followed by blueberries and thick Icelandic yoghurt—and then stopped off firstly at her hotel so she could pick up her swimming things and then at his seafront apartment so he could pick up his.
‘I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed,’ she said as they sat in the warm water of the lagoon, her face covered in a mask of white silica and an ice-cold smoothie in her hand.
‘That’s what this is meant to be about,’ he said with a smile.
‘This must be amazing in the winter—sitting in a hot pool under the stars.’
‘And with the rocks all covered in snow,’ he agreed. ‘It’s pretty.’
Their gazes met, and for a second she thought he was going to kiss her.
He didn’t, but she could feel the anticipation brewing between them as he drove them back to the city and parked outside his apartment building. Every time they’d accidentally touched that day, she’d been so aware of him. And she didn’t think she was alone in that reaction.
‘Shall we walk along the harbour again to catch the sunset?’ he asked.
‘That’d be nice.’
At her hotel, he turned to face her. ‘Goodnight, Hayley.’
‘Goodnight. Thank you for such a lovely day.’
‘My pleasure. Would you like to see the glacier, waterfalls and beaches tomorrow, if it looks as if it’ll be dry?’
Spending more time with him? Part of her thought it was a good idea; part of her didn’t. But she found herself agreeing.
‘You’ll need sturdy shoes,’ he said.
‘And a waterproof, just in case the weather changes?’
He smiled. ‘Yes. Wear layers. And hiking trousers are better than jeans, if you have them—we’re going to get wet by the waterfalls, plus they’re better protection than denim against the wind.’ And then the look in his dark eyes grew more intense. He lifted one hand and placed it gently against her cheek. In answer, she tipped her head back very slightly. And then he brushed his lips against hers—more asking than demanding. She slid her arms round his waist, and he kissed her again, his lips teasing hers until she opened her mouth and let him deepen the kiss.
Desire flooded through her, mixed with a dose of guilt. But this wasn’t being unfaithful to Evan. He wouldn’t have wanted her to spend her life alone and mourning him. He would’ve wanted her to keep seeing the joy in life and focus on the good stuff. Sam Price was the first man she’d wanted to kiss since she’d lost Evan. And this was meant to be the Year of Saying Yes. So she leaned into Sam, kissing him back.
When he finally broke the kiss, there was a dark slash of colour along his cheekbones and his mouth was reddened; she was pretty sure that she looked in the same state.
‘Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said. ‘I’ll meet you here at nine—if that’s not too early?’
‘That’s perfect,’ she said.
And she couldn’t wait.
CHAPTER THREE (#u774e7069-05ba-50bb-9c66-e67f952f7057)
ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, Hayley walked out of her hotel at nine on the dot to see Sam walking towards her from his car.
‘Perfect timing,’ she said with a smile.
‘Absolutely,’ he agreed.
Hayley tingled right down to her toes. Crazy how this man made her feel like a teenager. It had been a long, long time since she’d felt butterflies in her stomach just at the sight of someone.
‘Before we go,’ she said carefully, ‘I think we ought to talk about last night.’
He nodded. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you.’
This was the crunch moment. ‘I’m not sorry,’ she said, and watched his eyes darken. ‘We’re both single.’
‘So are you saying...?’
That maybe, just maybe, a holiday romance would be good for both of them. No strings, no consequences, no promises. And no depth, so saying goodbye would be easy. ‘You’re getting over a bad break-up. I’m getting over my partner’s death. We’re both...a bit stuck where we are, I guess. Neither of us wants anything permanent right now.’
He seemed to be following her thought processes exactly. ‘But a holiday romance might help us both move on,’ he said.
She nodded. ‘With an end date. I’m only here for a couple more days.’ Neither of them would get hurt in such a short space of time.
‘Just so you know, I don’t do this with every woman I meet,’ he said. ‘You’re the first woman I’ve kissed since Lynda and I split up.’
‘You’re the first man I’ve even noticed since Evan died,’ she said softly. ‘And I think my years in emergency medicine have made me a reasonable judge of character. I’d already worked out that you’re not one of these men who have notches carved on their bedposts. You’re one of the good guys.’
He inclined his head. ‘Thank you. Though I wasn’t fishing for compliments.’
‘I didn’t think you were.’ She smiled. ‘So where are we going today?’
‘I think,’ he said, ‘given what you’ve just said, I’d like to start by kissing you hello.’
‘Sounds good to me.’
He took a step forward, rested his hands on her shoulders, and brushed his mouth lightly against hers. The butterflies in her stomach started doing a stampede; then he slid his hands down her arms, wrapped them round her waist, and kissed her more thoroughly.
Her knees were weak by the time he broke the kiss.
‘Good morning,’ he said.
She smiled. ‘It is now.’
He stole another kiss. ‘We’re going to start at Reynisfjara, to see the beach with black sand and the basalt columns,’ he said. ‘And then we’ll go to see a glacier and your waterfall.’
‘That sounds perfect,’ she said.
Once he’d parked at Reynisfjara and they were out of the car, he looked at her and held out his hand. She took it with a smile, and they walked hand in hand onto the beach. The sand was black and slightly pebbly, in sharp contrast to the turquoise blue of the Atlantic, and Hayley stood watching the waves crash onto the shore.
‘The sea’s pretty calm right now,’ Sam said, ‘but in the winter the Atlantic rollers can get absolutely huge.’
She could just imagine the massive waves thundering in.
‘And right at this point there’s nothing but ocean between you and the Antarctic.’
She blinked. Was he teasing her? ‘Seriously?’
‘Seriously.’ He led her over to the cave with the hexagonal basalt columns.
‘It reminds of me of Giant’s Causeway in Ireland,’ she said. ‘And it’s definitely like the church in Reykjavik.’
Tourists were standing on the shorter columns, posing for photographs. ‘When in Rome—or, rather, Reynisfjara,’ he quipped, and helped her climb onto the columns so he could take a photo with her camera. The touch of his hands, even through the material of her T-shirt, sent a thrill right through her.
Once she’d climbed down again, he pointed out the colony of puffins above; the tiny birds with their distinctive orange beaks moved incredibly fast, and Hayley had to admit defeat when she’d tried to take ten photographs of them and all had failed.
They walked hand in hand back to the car, then he drove them up a steep, winding track to the Dyrhólaey promontory, where they had a clear view of the rock with a ‘door’ in it that gave its name to the area. Sam stood with his arms wrapped round her waist. Up here where the wind was keen and the air was clear, she felt almost as if she were on top of the world.
‘So what are those rocks jutting up over there?’
‘Basalt stacks,’ he said. ‘The Reynisdrangar. Local legend says they were trolls who were trying to drag a ship from the sea onto land—but then the sun rose and the light turned them to stone.’
A land of legends, ice and fire.
A land that was going to start to heal her heart.
‘Bucket list time,’ he said. ‘We’re going to Solheimajökull—you can actually get up close to the glacier and touch it.’
When they parked, she could see a lake, and immediately behind it was the glacier.
‘But it’s dark grey,’ she said. ‘Aren’t glaciers white or blue?’
‘The grey’s from sediment,’ he said, ‘and the white bits are snow and fresh ice.’
She peered up at the glacier. ‘And are they people over there, walking on top of the glacier?’
He nodded. ‘That’s the kind of thing my brother Martin’s company offers—though it’s not safe to walk on a glacier without a guide who knows the area and can tell if there are sinkholes.’
‘And you’re qualified to do the guided walks?’
‘Yes. I was part of the mountain rescue team when I worked in Manchester—we’re not far from the Peak District or the Lakes. Actually, I was part of the team well before I qualified as a doctor, because I grew up in the Peak District. I’m also a qualified diver,’ he said.
Mountain rescue and diving. Both of which were really dangerous. Both of which meant putting your life on the line. A chill went down Hayley’s spine. It was just as well they’d agreed this would be only a holiday romance. She didn’t want to be in another situation where she fell in love with someone who put himself in danger on a regular basis. She really couldn’t bear to lose someone else the same way she’d lost Evan.
‘Do you want to walk on the glacier?’ he asked. ‘I brought some kit with me, just in case.’
Under the rules of her agreement with Danielle, Hayley knew she ought to say yes. Instead, still thinking of the danger of his work on the mountain rescue team, she asked, ‘Are you sure it’s safe?’
He smiled. ‘I know the area so, yes, it’s safe. I wasn’t sure of your shoe size, so I brought a few different pairs in case your hiking shoes weren’t sturdy enough.’ He glanced at her feet. ‘Actually, if we do it, I’d really prefer you to wear the boots I brought with me. Not that there’s anything wrong with your hiking boots,’ he hastened to add, ‘but ice walking needs a little bit extra.’
‘If you’re sure it’s safe,’ she said, ‘then OK.’ Walking on a glacier would be even better than touching one.
She put the shoes on and he fitted the crampons for her. ‘These are to make it safer for you to walk on the ice,’ he explained. He also gave her a helmet, ice axe and a walking pole. ‘This will help to stabilise you and help you get a grip when you need to,’ he said, ‘as well as help you test the ice to make sure it’s solid before you set foot on it.’
After a safety briefing, he showed her how to walk on the ice. ‘You need to stamp down to get a good grip,’ he said.
‘I’m glad now that I didn’t go for a run this morning before breakfast,’ she said.
‘As part of your training for the charity race, you mean?’ He smiled. ‘You’ll definitely get a good workout here. It won’t do much for your speed, but it’ll be good for stamina.’
They went along the path that led to the glacier, and then they were walking across the ice. Hayley could hear crunching sounds with every step. Part of her was terrified, part of her was thrilled and part of her was awed at the sheer beauty of the ice landscape. ‘The way the snow lies on the dark ice, all rippled—it’s a bit like the way a sandy beach looks when the tide goes out,’ she said. ‘I thought glaciers would be just white or blue, nothing like this. With all that dark veining going through it, in places it looks like marble.’
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