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Liv glanced at the cake tin again, before letting her eyes wander back to Callum. A smile played around her lips as she realised she might be starting to feel the same. There was a lot in the village that made her feel happier than she had in a long time.

* * *

Callum ran his hands through his hair as he hung up the phone. Yet another night where he’d had to ask Mrs Turner to stay late, and give his daughter the dinner he should be sharing with her. It had taken him until past closing time to complete his case notes for the day, and he still had to handle all the administrative tasks, vital to running the surgery. Not a good omen for the weekend.

He leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling as he stretched and twisted to try and relieve the stiffness in his back. He groaned as a particularly stubborn crick in his neck popped loudly.

‘That sounded painful,’ Liv sympathised from his open door.

‘Just a bit stiff after a long day. A lot of long days.’ Callum still stared at the ceiling, reluctant to resume his original position at his desk and the seemingly endless list of admin tasks. He didn’t know how his mother made it seem so easy.

‘Is it anything I can help with? I don’t mind pitching in with paperwork.’

‘You know, I might just take you up on that.’ He gave into gravity and let the chair swing back down as he span to look at Liv. All thoughts of administration and funding issues vanished as his brain temporarily short-circuited. Instead of the prim skirts and smart jackets Liv usually wore, she was dressed in close-fitting jeans that cupped every curve and a green jumper that brought out flecks of the same colour in her hazel eyes. The jumper looked so soft that Callum found himself wanting to stroke it, and let his fingers wander to where it dipped enticingly below her neckline and feel the creamy softness of her skin.

‘Well?’ Her glossy red lips formed the word, and Callum wondered if they’d taste as good as they looked. Like sweet cherries.

He started guiltily, realising that while he’d been staring, Liv had asked him something. ‘Sorry, what was that?’

‘I asked if you thought I looked OK.’ Liv adjusted the jumper and Callum had to force himself to focus as her tugging pulled the torturous jumper a little tighter. ‘Millie’s invited me out tonight. Dinner at a pub and a few drinks. To celebrate the end of my first week. She said casual, but I wasn’t really sure if this would be too casual. What do you think?’

Beautiful. Delicious. Desirable. ‘Fine.’ He choked the word out.

‘Just fine?’ Liv fiddled with a necklace that sparkled at her throat, catching Callum’s eyes. He tried, and failed, not to glance lower, down the creamy expanse of her neck and back to where the soft jumper curved low enough to give a tantalising glimpse of something black and lacy. ‘I was hoping for something a bit better than fine.’ She lifted her uninjured hand behind her head where she started doing something to her hair. The movement made the soft jumper ride higher, drawing Callum’s attention lower. It could have been a trick of the light, but for a moment he thought the skin that appeared at the jumper’s edge had the puckered and shiny look of new scarring, but he was distracted when Liv’s blonde hair cascaded down and haloed around her shoulders.

‘There, any better?’ She ran her fingers through her hair, making it shimmer as it moved.

‘Perfect.’ The word escaped before Callum realised he’d even thought it.

‘From “fine” to “perfect” in ten seconds.’ Liv blushed prettily as she twirled a golden strand around her finger. ‘Shame I can’t wear my hair down when I’m working.’

Their eyes locked, and for a long moment Callum could have sworn he felt the same heat in her gaze that pounded through his veins. He shoved his chair back, wanting to walk towards her, to take hold of her, feel the softness of that jumper and . . .

‘You coming, Liv?’ Millie’s voice echoed in the corridor.

‘Yeah. Be right there.’ Liv slowly, and Callum hoped reluctantly, looked away. ‘I’ve got to go.’

He nodded. ‘Have fun.’ He collapsed into his chair the second she closed the door. It was going to be an interesting few months.

* * *

A couple of weeks later, Liv bumped her car door closed with her hip, and zapped the locks shut over her shoulder as she sauntered back into the surgery. Her afternoon rounds had gone really well. She’d checked in with a few of the clinic’s patients who couldn’t easily make it out of their homes, and accompanied Millie on two mother-and-baby visits. Even taking extra time to reassure a panicking parent that their toddling daughter would recover perfectly well from her bout of croup, Liv had still finished earlier than planned.

She felt like everything was falling into place — better than she could have hoped. She jumped out of bed each morning, excited to get to work and start making her patients better. She surprised herself by thinking of the villagers as her patients — but she was already feeling like Broclington was somewhere she could belong.

The only challenge was Callum. As much as she tried to ignore her growing attraction to him and remain the consummate professional, her body kept betraying her. It was as though all her senses had become highly tuned to his presence. Whether it was his musky scent, the sound of his footsteps in the corridor, or the way his eyes would catch hers — her body would snap into high alert and become intently focussed on him. When he innocently brushed past her in the corridor or kitchen — or leaned closer when discussing a case or showing her how to work the computer system — she seemed to burn with heat.

Her reaction was exciting and terrifying. She wasn’t interested in a relationship. Not when she was still trying to come to terms with the way her ex had treated her. He’d abandoned her when she was hurting and afraid. The man who had made so many promises had vanished like smoke in a storm.

But that still didn’t stop her heart from soaring when the computer glitched, or she found an issue to discuss with Callum — whether strictly necessary or not. And if she was completely honest, there were more than a few times when she called him to fix “problems” that she could probably have figured out for herself, though she rationalised it by telling herself she was just being a good team player and ensuring she worked to the surgery’s existing systems and protocols. And if she told herself that often enough, she might even start to believe it.

Shaking her head resolutely, she logged onto the computer and started updating records and reading up on the patients already booked in for tomorrow. She became so engrossed in her work that she jumped when a knock sounded at her open door.

‘Sorry . . .’ Millie grinned as she peered in. ‘Got a bit of an issue I’m hoping you can help with.’

‘Of course. Come on in.’

‘I’ve just had a call from Sarah’s school. She’s throwing up and has a fever. Callum’s had meetings at the hospital, and I can’t get hold of him.’