Page 17 of Welcome to the Cornish Country Hospital

Danni looked at the floor. She was starting to think that Connie might have been right when she’d said it was Lucas pushing the boundaries between them. And he didn’t seem to care if that was obvious to other people too. Amy or one of the others could easily repeat what he’d said about Danni to Esther. Would his words just sound like friendly concern to her? Because it didn’t feel that way to Danni. There was a proprietorial tone to Lucas’s voice, and he’d adopted it before, when one of the registrars at their old hospital had made it obvious he was interested in Danni.

She hadn’t wanted to date Ben, but she’d liked him as a friend, and they’d been to see a couple of films together. Lucas had acted like a jealous boyfriend, and she hated the fact that part of her had liked it, at least at first. But then it had started to become awkward when Lucas had taken to joining them every time he saw them together, commencing a game of one-upmanship Ben didn’t even seem interested in playing. Lucas had made it clear he considered his role and skills far superior to Ben’s. He’d doubled down on telling Danni – whenever Ben was in earshot – about the latest lifesaving surgery he’d been involved with. She’d been flattered that he seemed desperate for her opinion of him to exceed her opinion of Ben. But what Connie had said had touched a nerve, and she was starting to wonder how much of that had been about her, and how much of it had been about Lucas ‘winning’ the competition for her attention. She didn’t belong to him, and he certainly didn’t belong to her. She had to start making that clear.

‘We can’t make any promises, I’m afraid.’ Aidan was stuffing bars of chocolate into his pockets as he spoke. ‘I first met my husband at the bar we’re going to, and we were on a plane to Ibiza less than twenty-four hours later.’

‘We’d better say goodbye now then, just in case you’re jetting off somewhere by this time tomorrow.’ Lucas turned to face Danni and, before she knew it, he’d closed the gap between them. Kissing her just far enough away from her mouth to pass it off as just being a friendly peck to anyone watching, but close enough for every nerve ending in her body to go on high alert. The worst part was she had a horrible feeling he knew exactly what it was doing to her. She’d never suspected that he might enjoy the danger of the tension between them, until Connie had mentioned it, but now she couldn’t get that idea out of her head. When Danni had first started to think Lucas might have strong feelings for her, she’d assumed that – like her – it was his love for Esther that stopped him acting on them. The thought that it might all just be a game to him made her stomach turn. It couldn’t be true.

Danni barely said another word in the midst of the flurry of activity that followed, with Lucas getting the coffee he’d come for and the others paying for the snacks they’d chosen. It was only when it was just her and Gwen left in the shop again that she finally felt less on edge.

‘So, are you really going to go on that night out with Aidan and the others?’ Gwen narrowed her eyes as she took the Star Bar from Danni’s outstretched hand to scan the barcode.

‘I think I’ll just go home and snuggle up with Brenda.’ The truth was, Danni had never really had any intention of going. She’d just wanted to say something to stop Lucas asking her to hang out with him and it had worked. But the thought of going out to a bar, with Amy determined to find someone to help her get over her boyfriend and Aidan and the others cheering her on, did not appeal to Danni one little bit. Especially as someone was bound to suggest that she should be following Amy’s lead and looking to ‘have a bit of fun’. As sad as it might seem, these days her idea of fun really did involve curling up with Brenda on the sofa, and getting lost in a good book. Staying home and letting life pass her by was a habit she’d got into over the years, long before she could use the dog as an excuse. There’d been no danger of her dating Ben, even before Lucas had wedged himself between them, because she was waiting for a fantasy that was never going to happen. Lucas wasn’t going to suddenly turn up at her door and tell her that Esther didn’t want him any more, and that he was glad because it had been Danni he’d loved all along. She’d wasted so much time wishing for that, but suddenly she wasn’t even sure if she wanted it. Either way, Connie’s words were ringing in her ears; she’d spent forty years longing for someone who could never be hers. And the thought of that turning out to be the story of Danni’s life too made her shiver. So, even before Gwen fixed her with a look that clearly said she meant business, Danni was starting to wonder if she should take Amy and Aidan up on their offer after all.

‘You should go.’ Gwen’s words sounded more like an order than a suggestion. ‘Don’t waste your time loving someone who’ll only ever really love themselves.’

‘I’m not in love with anyone.’ This was exactly what she’d been afraid of when Lucas had told the others to take care of her. And Danni shook her head vigorously enough to make it ache, but she could tell from the expression on Gwen’s face that she wasn’t convinced.

‘Whether you are, or whether you just think you are doesn’t matter, because it’s holding you back from the life you could be living. Either way, you should go on the night out, my love, and keeping going to new places and trying new things until you don’t have to force yourself to do it any more. It’s the only way.’ Gwen handed her the chocolate bar. ‘And this is on me; you get one free chocolate bar with all my best advice.’

The weird thing was that Gwen’s advice had almost echoed what Joe had said, except he’d been talking about getting settled in her new life in Cornwall. But suddenly it was obvious just how linked those two things were. Moving on from Lucas and finally being able to call Cornwall home – and really meaning it – weren’t two separate things, and she had to do whatever she could to make both of them happen. ‘Thank you for the advice and the offer of free chocolate, but I need to pay for it.’

‘It’s my treat, God knows you deserve it with the hours you put in, and we’ll say no more about it. Just promise me you’ll think about what I’ve said.’

‘I will and thanks again.’ Putting the chocolate bar into her pocket, Danni looked at her watch. There was plenty of time to walk Brenda, have a cuddle on the sofa and still get changed in time to meet the others after work. There was no excuse not to. After all, no harm could possibly come from taking Gwen’s advice.

10

Bar None was more of a club than a bar, and it had evidently become much harder to get into since Aidan had met his husband, Jase, there. Over the past ten years, Port Kara had become something of a celebrity hotspot, with the stretch of sand at the end of the main beach belonging exclusively to the properties in that part of the bay, just beyond the original lifeboat station. The Dunes, as the area was known, had come to rival Sandbanks in Dorset, because of the rich and famous who owned properties there. Not that Danni ever expected to see any of them arrive in A&E at St Piran’s. No doubt a helicopter would whisk them off to the nearest private hospital, should a medical emergency ever arise.

Luckily, despite the town going up in the world, almost everyone seemed to know who Aidan was and he could access places that the rest of them would almost certainly have been turned away from.

‘Thanks, Shane.’ Aidan gave the burly bouncer on the door a peck on the cheek as he waved the group in.

‘Is there anyone you don’t know?’ Danni smiled as Aidan turned back towards her, once they were inside.

‘I’m Shane’s coming-out story. Before he met me, he was so used to hiding in the closet, he could see better in the dark.’ Aidan grinned. ‘Thank God for me!’

‘That’s what we all say.’ Amy linked an arm through Danni’s. ‘Come on, we’ve just got to trust in Aidan and follow his lead to guarantee that a good time is had by all.’

‘I can’t stay too long; I need to get back for the dog.’ Danni had no idea if Amy or any of the others even heard her as she was dragged onto the dance floor. The drinks kept coming thick and fast, and there was no sign of Aidan having paid for any of them. There was probably a story behind that, too, but there’d have been no chance of Danni hearing it, even if Aidan had been in the mood to explain.

This sort of thing had never really been Danni’s scene. Even at university, she’d been too self-conscious to let herself just relax and dance. She’d always felt at five feet ten like she stood out too much, when all she’d longed to do was to blend in. The drinks helped a bit, but watching Gary was probably the thing that made her most willing to dance, not caring so much what anyone else might think, because he clearly didn’t give a damn. Gary was a fifty-something grandfather of one, who looked perfectly at home standing in the centre of the dance floor in a lively bar, twirling his arms around like two out-of-control windmills and doing what looked like a very slow-motion version of the Riverdance with his feet. It was hilarious, but the fact Gary was obviously loving it meant it was the most fun Danni had had in ages.

Amy turned out to be a fast worker too, and her plan to move on from Zach didn’t take long. She’d persuaded a guy at the bar to start buying her drinks about half an hour after they’d arrived and when Danni glanced over at them twenty minutes later, they were kissing in a way that suggested they were now oblivious of everyone else. Despite Amy achieving her aim to meet someone new, Danni had been relieved to discover that Bar None wasn’t the sort of place where everyone seemed to be there with that intention. Despite telling herself that meeting someone else might well be the best way of finally getting over her feelings for Lucas, trying to get to know someone in a bar, where the only possible way of having a conversation was to speak at an unnatural volume, wasn’t for her. Dancing was good for the soul, though, and Aidan seemed determined not to let her off the dance floor until he was good and ready. It took three attempts before he finally agreed to let her have a break for a drink and even then he put a time limit on it. Probably aware that there was a good chance she’d forget how much fun she’d been having and make a bolt for the door, otherwise.

‘Come on, we can’t let these youngsters show us up, especially not when Gary hasn’t sat down since we got here.’ Aidan grabbed hold of her wrist when she tried to order another drink from the bar, in the hope he might get sidetracked and let her rest until her feet stopped aching quite so much.

‘I should probably be offended that you’re calling Chloe and the others “youngsters” and not including me in that, but I’m too tired to care that you’re implying I’m old.’ Danni shrugged. She really was exhausted, and if anyone had said earlier in the day that she’d spend two hours dancing non-stop that night, she’d have told them they were mad. She’d have to break it to Aidan that she was leaving at eleven thirty, no matter how much he might try to protest. It would be easier to get a cab if she left then. Her cottage was only about a mile and a half from the bar, but she had far too much imagination to walk home alone. She tried not to think about the fact that there’d be no one at home to even miss her if she didn’t show up.

‘Listen, Dan, I’m not saying you don’t look great and if I was that way inclined I’d be showing you all my moves, to try and make sure you came home with me tonight.’ Aidan pursed his lips and gave her a look that dared her to even try and resist. ‘But as unacceptable as it is to me, I’m forty-three on my next birthday and you’re almost closer to forty than thirty, so we’ve got to face facts.’

‘Not until I pass the thirty-five mark I’m not, but I’m starting to wish I was your type. At least that way I could witness your best moves, instead of having you confront me with home truths I don’t need to hear.’ Danni laughed, but the fact the years were creeping by wasn’t lost on her. In many ways thirty-four was still young, but having a family of her own was a journey she’d expected to have started on by now. Ever since her father had died, and her mother had begun a new life with Paul, Danni had felt rootless. She longed to have that sense of belonging again, and build the sort of family that Esther’s parents and grandparents had. As it stood, it was just her and Brenda, and if she didn’t find a way to move past her feelings for Lucas once and for all that wasn’t likely to change.

‘I thought there was someone else whose type you wanted to be.’ It was almost as if Aidan could read her mind, but she furrowed her brow as if she had no idea who he was talking about.

‘Like who?’

‘Like a certain surgeon who’s followed you to Cornwall. But he’s not good enough for you, Danni; he’s already in love with someone else.’ Aidan pulled a face.

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