Their Baby Surprise. Jennifer Taylor

as what Ross and Gemma, their practice nurse, had been doing before they had arrived—they marked with an asterisk so they could check it later. By eight o’clock they had the bare bones of the report prepared and Matt was delighted they had accomplished so much.

      ‘Excellent!’ he said, leaning back in his chair and easing the crick out of his neck. ‘I thought it would take a lot longer than that.’

      ‘Two heads, et cetera,’ Rachel replied with a grin, and he laughed.

      ‘Too right, especially when the two heads are in tune with one another.’ Matt smiled back, feeling more relaxed than he had felt in days. Ever since Heather had told him that she was leaving Dalverston, it had felt as though his nerves had been strung out on a rack. However, after just an hour of working with Rachel he felt much better, so much better, in fact, that he was reluctant to let the evening end there.

      ‘How do you fancy going out for dinner?’ he suggested impulsively. ‘I don’t know about you but all this extra work has given me an appetite. I could eat a horse!’

      ‘I’m not sure if you’ll find horse on the menu anywhere in Dalverston,’ she replied lightly, although he saw a hint of colour run up her cheeks.

      Did she think he was being presumptuous by asking her out? he wondered, then immediately dismissed the idea. Of course Rachel didn’t think that. They were colleagues and having dinner together wasn’t anything to get worked up about.

      ‘Hmm, good point. I’ll have to settle for a steak instead.’ He pushed back his chair, not wanting it to appear as though he was pressurising her to go out with him. It was her decision and he would abide by whatever she decided to do, although he really hoped she would say yes.

      It was unsettling to realise just how much he wanted her to agree and he hurried on. ‘So long as it comes with all the trimmings, I’ll be more than happy.’

      ‘I have to confess that I’m hungry too,’ she admitted, standing up. ‘I can’t remember when I last had a decent meal—it must have been last week. I definitely didn’t cook anything for myself over the weekend.’

      ‘Me neither,’ Matt agreed, sliding the notes they had made into a folder. ‘The most I’ve managed is tea and toast for the past couple of days. My poor stomach must think my throat’s been cut.’

      She laughed as she headed for the door. ‘It sounds as though we’re both in desperate need of some proper sustenance. How about that new place on the bypass? I believe they do excellent steaks there.’

      ‘Sounds good to me.’

      Matt managed to hide his delight as he switched off the light and followed her along the corridor. It was just dinner with a colleague, he reminded himself, although he had to admit that it felt somewhat different to the usual staff outings he had attended in the past. For one thing, he and Rachel would be by themselves tonight and that was something that didn’t usually happen. Even when they had spent all that time planning the wedding, they hadn’t been on their own—Ross and Heather had been with them. This would be a whole new experience for them.

      He took a steadying breath as he stopped beside the reception desk, determined that he wasn’t going to let himself get carried away by the thought. ‘I’ll set the alarm and follow you out. We can go in my car, if you like. That way you can have a glass of wine with your meal without worrying about driving home.’

      ‘Thanks, but it’s easier if we take both our cars. It will save all the hassle in the morning of getting here.’

      It was on the tip of Matt’s tongue to tell her that he would give her a lift, but he sensed that would be overstepping the mark. ‘Fine. I’ll see you there, then.’

      He waited until she had left then switched the phone through to their on-call service and set the alarm. There was only his car left in the car park when he went outside and he hurried over to it, shivering as a blast of icy wind blew down from the hills. The temperature had dropped over the weekend and it looked as though they were in for a really cold spell. Still, it wouldn’t be long before he got to the restaurant and warmed up, he consoled himself.

      He started the engine, smiling at the thought of meeting Rachel there. Maybe it was only dinner with a colleague but it was good to know that he wouldn’t be spending the rest of the evening on his own. Was that her main attraction? he wondered suddenly. Was he so eager for her company because he was lonely?

      He tested out the theory and discovered that it did fit. However, deep down he knew it was more than that. Loneliness didn’t explain the way he had responded to her recently, did it?