Three Amazing Things About You(14)

‘How does it feel to know you’ve saved someone?’

‘Honestly? Pretty fantastic.’

‘Must be amazing. I’d love to have the chance to do that.’ Leaning over, Hallie opened her bedside drawer, reached inside and pulled out a bag of liquorice allsorts. ‘If you swallowed one of these and got it stuck in your throat, I could do the Heimlich manoeuvre on you and make it shoot out of your mouth. Want to give it a go?’

‘So you can save my life?’

‘Yes!’

‘How do I know it isn’t all part of your evil master plan to bump me off so you can harvest my organs?’

‘Honestly, you’re so suspicious. Ooh, nearly midnight, here we go. Open the window a bit so we can hear everything . . .’

The crowd outside the pub had grown to a couple of hundred. On the TV, Trafalgar Square was jammed with many thousands of revellers. The countdown began and the noise levels increased.

Eight.

‘Oh nooo.’ Hallie was struggling to release the wire around the cork of her mini bottle of champagne. ‘I can’t get it undone . . .’

Seven.

‘Here, give it to me.’ Luke took the bottle from her.

Six.

‘You’re twisting the wire the wrong way!’

Five.

‘The foil won’t tear, I can’t see which way to – ah, got it!’

Four.

‘Good job you’re not a surgeon. Ooh, glasses . . .’

Three.

‘The cork won’t come out!’

Two.

‘Let me do it!’ Hallie grabbed the bottle back and twisted the cork with all her might.

One.

Pop went the cork as the new year began and the cheers outside rose to a crescendo. Hallie gave a whoop of delight as champagne foam fountained out of the bottle and the cork, having ricocheted off the ceiling, landed on the bed. On the TV, everyone was yelling and laughing and kissing each other. Through the open window they could see and hear the inhabitants of Carranford carousing in similar fashion. In her bedroom, since exchanging a celebratory kiss with your doctor clearly wasn’t the done thing – even if you did have a crush on him – Hallie splashed the remainder of the Moët into two glasses and said, ‘Cheers. Happy new year!’

‘Happy new year.’ Luke clinked his glass against hers as, on the TV and below them on the bridge, the firework displays punctuated the energetic singing of ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

‘To the best year possible.’ Hallie clinked again, the side of her hand brushing against his fingers.

‘Definitely,’ said Luke.

‘Their fireworks might be bigger,’ she pointed to the TV, alive with the spectacular display lighting up London, ‘but I like ours better.’

There were oohs and aahs from the onlookers outside as rockets shot into the darkness, rising high above the trees and illuminating the inky Gloucestershire sky. Squiggly white serpents mingled with fizzing red and yellow Roman candles, machine-gun bursts of green light rat-tat-tatted like gunfire and – boom – a fabulous blue and orange chrysanthemum exploded overhead, causing the onlookers to cheer and applaud.

The display on TV was still in full flow, but fireworks were expensive and the one in Carranford was now over.

‘Ours were best,’ said Luke.

‘Goes without saying.’ Hallie took another sip of champagne. ‘Well, thanks for keeping me company.’

He smiled. ‘No problem. Where’s your mum this evening?’

‘Friends invited her to a party in Tetbury. I told her I’d be over at the pub, otherwise she’d never have agreed to go.’

‘Is the smoke bothering you? Shall I close the window now?’

Hallie shook her head. ‘I love the smell of fireworks. Makes me feel young again.’

‘You’re still young,’ said Luke.

‘I know. I just act like an old person. Look at us, sat here now like a couple of geriatrics.’ Except she was never going to be an actual geriatric, was she? Would never get to have a face mapped with saggy skin, wrinkles and unexpected whiskers. Ha, not that anyone looked forward to that.

‘Don’t worry about it.’ Luke was watching her again, evidently reading her mind. His voice softening, he said, ‘One day at a time.’

What would it be like to kiss him? How would his mouth feel against hers? The thought had crossed her mind before, but the longing to discover the answer was growing stronger.

Not that she would ever find out, of course. This was strictly a fantasy and there was no way in the world she’d ever act upon it. Feeling a bit hot, Hallie reminded herself that Luke was her doctor and, as such, was completely and utterly off-limits . . .

No, it was never going to happen. Before he’d come to Carranford and joined the practice, she’d been stuck with Jennifer West as her GP, and that was a situation she definitely didn’t want to return to. Besides, her little crush was a secret for another very good reason: basically, she was hardly what you’d call a catch. It wasn’t as if Luke would be even remotely interested in any kind of involvement.