‘Is that a challenge?’ His took her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers again. ‘Do you know how long I’ve waited to do this? I was about a day away from just throwing you onto a trolley in the emergency department.’ This second frank confession of need made her stomach flip and she laughed against his lips.
‘That bad?’
‘Worse.’ Reluctantly, he lifted his head. ‘Much as I’m appreciating the solitude of this place, we have to go. Otherwise our fellow team members will be making another trip up the mountain, this time to rescue us.’
‘And that would be almost as embarrassing as being caught in an avalanche in the Lake District.’
Dino helped her slide her arms into her backpack. ‘Rambo didn’t bark at us. Two bodies in the snow, and he didn’t bark. Do you think he knew he was supposed to be discreet?’
‘No. He knew we weren’t lost.’ Meg started to trudge through the snow but it was deep and heavy and the going was exhausting. ‘That guy recognised you. Said you used to risk your neck on downhill runs. Why did you stop competitive skiing?’ Rambo ran ahead, light on the snow, nosing the ground. She envied his ability to move so easily in the unfriendly terrain.
‘I had a couple of injuries. Shoulder…’ He flexed his shoulder under his pack. ‘That was a nasty one. Concussion. But in the end I just had to make a choice between skiing and medicine. I couldn’t compete at high level and study. So instead I combined my mountain knowledge and my medical knowledge.’
‘So you must have seen some real avalanches.’
‘That was a real avalanche, Meg. And there could be more.’ Glancing back over his shoulder to where they’d come from, Dino frowned. ‘We ought to talk to Sean about getting some sort of warning issued. Local radio. Hotels. That sort of thing. The snowpack is too unstable for people to be taking risks. In some ways it’s even more dangerous than the Alps because people underestimate what they’re dealing with here. That man was lucky. It could easily have ended differently and Rambo would have been barking at a dead body.’
Meg shuddered. ‘The weather is closing in. Are we going to make it home before dark?’
‘Yes. Why? Don’t you fancy a night up here in the wilderness with me?’
Struggling with the deep snow, she smiled. ‘You take up too much room in the tent. And anyway, I have to pick Jamie up from my mum’s. Tonight is her bridge night or something. I don’t want to ruin her social life. Talking of which…’ She kept her voice casual. ‘I’m afraid I can’t make the ball—Ellie needs me to work that shift so I had to swap.’
‘Yes, she told me. I swapped it back.’ He caught her arm as she stumbled in the deep snow.
‘You swapped my shifts?’
‘I simply explained to Ellie that you were going to the ball. She was most surprised that you’d offered to switch given that you have a date.’
Trapped, outmanoeuvred, Meg ground her teeth. ‘She won’t be able to spare me. It’s a nightmare trying to staff that shift.’
‘On the contrary, she said that given the number of times you’ve covered for other people over the years, the least she can do is give you the evening off. You’re working a late shift. We agreed that you’d work until eight o’clock. The night staff are going to come on early as a favour. It will mean you’ll have to get ready at the hospital, but I don’t suppose that matters.’
‘Now, wait just a minute—’
‘Meg.’ He locked his hand in the front of her jacket and pulled her against him, leaving her in no doubt about who was in charge of the decision-making on this particular point. ‘Changing your shift isn’t going to work. Talking to Ellie isn’t going to work. Contracting some mysterious illness isn’t going to work. I’m taking you to the ball.’
‘What if I tell you I just don’t like you enough to go to the ball with you?’
‘Then we’ll both know you’re lying.’ Without giving her the opportunity to argue, he leaned in and kissed her. As his lips brushed over hers, her blood heated and for a moment she forgot what they were talking about. Everything important slid out of her mind, leaving a vacant space occupied only by the most intense, sizzling heat she’d ever experienced.
Terrified, Meg shoved at his chest. ‘Does that confidence of yours ever get you into trouble?’
‘Not
so far.’
‘You can’t run my life.’
‘What is it that frightens you? The ball, or me?’
‘Both.’ Angry with him and suddenly furious with herself too, Meg pulled away from him but he hauled her back against him, his hands firm on her body.
‘It’s just one evening.’ He murmured the words against her lips. ‘One evening. If you hate it, I’ll take you home after an hour and that’s a promise.’
She was about to tell him that an hour was going to seem like a lifetime when she remembered the way she’d felt when he’d tumbled her into the snow. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe she should stop being stupid. He was right, wasn’t he? It was just a ball and it had been years since she’d been to anything like that. Maybe she’d feel differently about the whole thing now that she was older. It wasn’t as if she was going to be standing against the wall, waiting for someone to ask her to dance. She had a partner. And not just any partner—she had Dr Hot.
‘All right, I’ll go on Saturday,’ she said finally. ‘If that’s really how you want to spend an evening. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when you come back with bruised feet. You’re going to regret this.’