Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
He pressed a kiss onto my forehead. “You’re amazingly normal, considering . . . Matilda.” The door creaked as it opened and revealed a huge office. In the middle stood an old, dark library desk with heavy, antique chairs on either side.
The low ceiling was a crisscross of beams, and the deep, red carpet made it feel almost womblike. The walls were covered bookcases stuffed with texts and papers.
“Wow, I could imagine King Arthur in this place.”
Jacob chuckled. “No knights around here. They’re pretty much completely retired, but every now and then Dad will give a speech or they’ll give Mum some kind of award or name a building after her or something.”
I wandered over to the bookshelves and traced my finger over the spines of familiar and not-so-familiar medical texts. On one shelf were a stack of what looked like photo frames, but when I moved closer, it was clear they were framed certificates.
“They’re my mum’s. She should put them on the wall, but there’s no space. Even her OBE is there somewhere, dumped like it’s a rock she pulled from the beach.”
“Your father got an OBE as well, right?”
“CBE actually. Rumor has it, he’s up for a knighthood.”
“CBE? What’s the difference?”
“One’s Commander of the British Empire and one’s Order. I think Commander is meant to be more prestigious. From what they’ve said, both involve a trip to the palace and a handshake with the Queen.”
What a pedigree Jacob had. It was a far cry from my family’s medical credentials, which consisted of my dad’s infected ingrown toenail and my mother’s kidney stone.
“You must be so proud.”
“Absolutely,” he replied. “But . . .”
How could there be a but?
I slid my hand around his waist, not rushing him to finish his thought.
“But sometimes, I wish they both ran a greengrocer’s on the high street, you know?”
I frowned. “I think that would be a terrible idea, what with the way the big supermarkets dominate the field.”
He laughed. “I just mean, growing up, there was . . . We have plenty of fun together now. Growing up . . . there was less of that.”
I snaked my other arm around his waist and gazed up at him. “I can’t imagine growing up in this family was anything but fun.”
He shrugged. “I imagine that’s how it looks, but now they’re both at home. It was a lot to live up to.”
I frowned. “Everyone thinks you’re an excellent doctor.”
He shifted his jaw, clearly uncomfortable. “Not good enough. I’m ambitious. If I progress in the hospital, I never want to be in a position where I can’t be promoted because there’s conflict of interest.” He slid his hands around my back. “It’s why being with you is such a risk. I really want to head up running the foundation program within the hospital. If I’m sleeping with one of the foundation doctors, it’s going to be hard to give me that job.”
Even though I knew he never did relationships at work, and even though I felt the same way, there was still a sliver of disappointment that buried into my gut at his words. I didn’t want to be something he had to feel bad about. Something he had to hide. “Right,” I said. “That makes total sense.”
“But we’re keeping this just between us which makes it . . . you know, better.”
I nodded. There was no other way. I needed to get through this year and not sully my reputation because I banged my boss.
“Shall we go for a walk?” he asked. “I want to show you the Norfolk Coast path along Blakeney. It’s beautiful.”
Jacob and I walked hand in hand along the footpath beside the narrow road toward the start of the path he wanted to show me. On one side, there were buildings built right up to the single lane road and on the other, the water and boats moored on the quayside. We dodged the children and their parents set up on the wall with buckets and nets.
“They’re crabbing,” he said. “There are loads down here.”
The breeze was warm but enthusiastic, and my hair whipped around my face.
“Did you come here as a child?”
He nodded. “We lived in London but Mum comes from the area. They had a holiday house—tiny compared to the place they live now. We used to come for holidays and weekends every now and then. Got the best of both worlds—the opportunities and resources of the city and the peace and freedom of the country.”
“And this was one of the walks you’d do to clear your head when you were first starting out in medicine?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s a cliché, but the fresh air and exercise really did help. It’s difficult to carve that into your timetable at your stage, but it’s important.” He nodded to the left. “Down here. We’re heading past those boats.”