A soft flush touched Katy's perfect complexion. 'I'm just a bit off coffee at the moment.'
Libby sat back in her chair and stared at her sister. 'You're pregnant.'
Katy sank her teeth into her lower lip and adjusted her glasses. 'Libby, I don't-'
'I'm your sister,' Libby reminded her softly, leaning forward in her chair. 'Why can't you tell me?'
Katy sighed and removed her glasses, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her fingers. 'Because it's very early days and I'm scared,' she admitted finally. 'I lost the other baby … '
'And you're afraid that you might lose this one too,' Libby finished, suddenly understanding why Katy had been reluctant to confide in her. 'Have you told Jago yet?'
'Last night.'
Libby grinned. 'I bet he was over the moon.'
Katy rolled her eyes and blushed slightly. 'You know Jago-macho Spaniard to the last. You'd think it was his achievement alone. A public declaration of his manhood and virility.'
Libby laughed. 'How many weeks gone are you?'
'Only six.' Katy let out a long breath. 'Ridiculous, isn't it? Getting excited so early. Something will probably go wrong.'
Detecting a hint of tears in her sister's eyes, Libby leaned forward and squeezed her hand. 'Nothing will go wrong, angel. It will be fine.'
'But the last one-'
'You fell, Katy,' Libby reminded her softly. 'You had a really bad fall. And it was more than eleven years ago. That's a long time.'
'Do you think so?' Katy looked at her, desperate for reassurance, and Libby grinned.
'You're the doctor, honey. You should be telling yourself these things. Have you spoken to Alex? He's convinced he's God's gift to pregnant women at the moment.'
Katy shook her head. 'Not yet, but Jago and I are meeting him for supper on Friday. Any chance of you coming?'
Libby shook her head. 'I'm working. And, anyway, Alex isn't my favourite person at the moment. We've had a sort of falling-out. I don't think I could spend an evening in his company without physically abusing him.'
Katy sighed. 'I knew that it was a mistake for him to move into the flat when I moved out. The two of you are always arguing about something. What is it this time?'
'He didn't buy me at the auction,' Libby said darkly, and Katy's eyes widened.
'Was he supposed to?'
'Yes.' Libby scowled at the memory. 'I didn't want to be forced to go on a date.'
'And he forgot?'
'Of course he didn't forget.' Libby's mouth tightened. 'You know Alex. Why miss an excuse to wind me up? Don't worry. I'm going to the ball so we can all get together then and I'll tread on his toes.'
Katy stopped with her cup in mid-air. 'You're going to the ball? But I thought-'
'I know, I know.' Libby pulled a face. 'I sort of trapped myself into it.'
Katy put her cup back down on the table so hard that the tea slopped into the saucer. 'You're not going with Philip?'
'No!' Libby gave a shudder. 'I most certainly am not going with Philip. I wasn't going at all but then he implied that I was obviously too broken-hearted to go out so I was forced into a corner. If I stay at home he'll think I'm pining for him and there's no way I want him thinking that. Arrogant rat.'
'So are you going with the gorgeous Greek who bid a fortune for you at the auction?'
Libby stiffened. 'How do you know about that? Who's been talking?'
'The whole hospital,' Katy told her, her eyes amused. 'And can you blame them? He paid one thousand pounds for you, Lib! Everyone else was bidding tiny amounts.'
Libby shrugged carelessly. 'So the guy is rich. It doesn't mean anything.'
'In my experience, rich people don't throw it away,' Katy said mildly. 'It's the reason they're rich.'
'Well, I don't know why he spent a thousand pounds on me,' Libby said testily, picking up a spoon and teasing the froth on top of her coffee. 'Who am I to understand the workings of a man's mind?'
Katy gave a warm smile. 'He must have been pretty keen on you.'
'If he is, it's only because I keep saying no.'
'And why on earth do you keep saying no? Rumour has it that he's gorgeous.'
Libby thought of Andreas, remembering his luxuriant black hair and his incredibly sexy eyes.
'He is gorgeous.'
Katy looked baffled. 'So what's wrong?'
'He's a man,' Libby said flatly, putting her spoon down and staring at the patterns she'd made on the surface of her coffee. 'That's what's wrong.'
'So?' Katy finished her tea. 'You're twenty-nine, Lib. You can't carry on being this defensive. Eventually you've got to trust someone.'
'Why would I want to do a silly thing like that? It's asking for trouble.'
'I can tell you like him,' Katy said softly, and Libby gave a short laugh and picked up her coffee-cup.
'Oh, I like him. I like him a lot.' She felt things for Andreas that she'd never felt for a man before, and that worried her. It made her vulnerable. 'It doesn't change the fact he's a man.'
'Libby, not all men behave badly,' Katy said gently. 'You have to get out there and give it a go.'
'I've given it a go,' Libby said flatly. 'And I found him in bed with his wife.'
Katy frowned. 'But were you in love with Philip?'
Libby sipped her cappuccino. 'No,' she said finally, 'I wasn't. Which just makes me doubly determined not to get involved again. Imagine how much harder it would have been if I'd really cared. I'd be humiliated and broken-hearted, instead of just humiliated.'
Katy looked confused. 'So you're going to go through life picking men you know you can't fall in love with? How is that ever going to work?'
'It isn't,' Libby agreed, 'but, then, I don't actually want it to work. I just can't deal with the pain that goes with relationships.'
'But maybe if you chose someone you really liked, the relationship might stand a chance of working,' Katy suggested logically. 'At the moment you're so afraid of being hurt that you pick people who you can't possibly fall in love with. You'll never meet Mr Right that way.'
'I don't believe in Mr Right,' Libby reminded her. 'He's a myth invented for children by the same person that thought up Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny. Personally I'd rather believe in the Easter Bunny. At least he comes armed with chocolate.'
But, despite her light-hearted words, she found herself thinking about what her sister had said. It was certainly true that she'd never really felt anything for Philip. Did she really pick men that she knew she couldn't fall in love with?
'You're so busy protecting yourself from hurt that you never go out with anyone remotely suitable. You're afraid of falling in love, Libby.'
Libby glared at her. 'I thought you were an A and E doctor, not a psychiatrist.'
'Today I'm your sister,' Katy said softly, 'and I love you. I want to see you settled with babies because I know that's what you want, too. I want to see you in love. And so does Alex, which was why he didn't buy you, I expect. He hoped you might meet someone, and you have.'
Libby stared at the river, watching the way the sunlight glittered on the surface. 'I don't want to be vulnerable and being in love just makes you vulnerable.'
Katy gave a humourless laugh. 'I know that. I know that better than anyone. I had such a dilemma when I met up with Jago again. He hurt me so badly the first time.'
'That was different. That was because our father meddled.'
'He still hurt me. Believe me, Lib, trusting him again was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.'
'And Alex and I had to manipulate the two of you back together,' Libby reminded her dryly. 'You were going to marry Lord Frederick Hamilton.'
'I was marrying Freddie because I was scared of what I felt when I was with Jago,' Katy admitted. 'I was doing what you're doing. Running from being hurt. But there comes a point you have to take a risk with your heart, Libby. Otherwise you'll miss out on love. I shiver when I think what might have happened if Jago and I hadn't got back together. I love him so much. Without him, my life would have been so different. Empty.'
Libby sighed, acknowledging that she was envious of her sister's relationship.
'It's different for you,' she said gruffly. 'You and Jago are crazy about each other and you always were.'
She knew how powerfully Jago had affected Katy.
Having loved him, Katy had never been able to feel anything for another man.
But she herself never felt that strongly for a man …
Until Andreas.
Libby arrived on the ward for the late shift to find that Rachel had had her drip removed.
'She's doing so much better,' Bev told her. 'Andreas gave instructions for it to be removed this morning and she's having the antibiotics orally now.'
'Did the results of her urine tests come back?'
'Positive. It was a UTI.'
So Andreas had been right. Libby gave a reluctant smile. He might be good-looking and too pushy by half, but he was clearly a good doctor. Better than good. Hopefully, by treating the child so early he would have managed to prevent any damage to her kidneys.
'And how's Melanie this morning?'