‘I THINK WE’RE LOST.’
Georgia Bennett had been enjoying the view of this pretty forest road as they wound their way through the Alps that bordered this part of the Czech Republic. It was her companion Kate’s turn to drive and it was obvious she was a little out of her comfort zone, which was hardly surprising. Georgia was the crazy one in this friendship—the one that took risks and chased adventures.
And she had every intention of making this one of her most significant adventures ever.
‘Whose bright idea was it to enter this international medical rescue competition?’ Kate continued. ‘Oh, yeah...yours...’
‘It’s an adventure.’ Georgia threw a reassuring smile in Kate’s direction but reached for the folder that had the maps so she could double check what the satellite navigation device was telling them. ‘Admit it—you’re loving it already.’
Kate still didn’t sound happy. ‘Road trips always sound more fun than they actually are. It’s a hell of a long way from Scotland to the back of beyond in the Czech Republic. I’ve never even heard of the town we’re trying to find.’
‘Rakovi. It’s a ski resort. And this is the biggest competition of its kind in the world. I’ve been hearing about it for years—ever since I became a paramedic.’
Georgia had tried to get a whole team together from her colleagues and persuade the manager of her rescue base to let them take an ambulance on an epic road trip but, despite her best efforts, it hadn’t panned out. Then she’d heard about the doctor/paramedic combinations that were allowed and that you could compete using a car. All she’d had to do was persuade Kate. Presenting the whole package as a birthday gift—along with a bottle of really good champagne—had done the trick.
‘Well, I’ve never heard of it.’
‘That’s because you’re a doctor and your lot aren’t as adventurous.’
‘Hmm...’ It sounded like Kate had changed her mind. ‘Have we even got out of Poland yet?’
‘Ages ago.’ Georgia made her tone as soothing as possible. ‘It’s not far now.’
‘We don’t want to be late for registration.’
‘Don’t stress. They’ve got a couple of hundred teams from about twenty different countries to process. If we’re a bit late it’ll just mean we don’t have to queue for so long.’
Kate slowed again to cross a narrow bridge over a tumbling mountain stream. ‘I can’t believe we’re competing in such a huge field.’
‘It’s broken up into categories, remember. There’ll be paramedic teams with their ambulances from all over Europe. I can’t wait till the end where everybody drives in convoy around all the local villages with their lights and sirens on. I’ve heard it’s a memorable experience.’ Georgia had come prepared. She had bags of sweets and Scottish-themed toys to throw from the windows for the children that would be lining the edges of the road. It would be such fun to see their faces light up...
Oh, boy...she had small humans on her mind far too much at the moment. She needed to focus.
‘Then there are the doctors and medical student teams and other combinations,’ she added quickly. ‘I just hope there’s enough like us to give us our own category, otherwise we’ll be competing against teams that have up to four members.’
‘I just hope I don’t make an idiot of myself. I’m a paediatrician, Georgie. I work in a nice, safe hospital with any amount of resources and backup. You would have been better to pick an emergency specialist.’
‘You do plenty of emergency work. And you’ve lived with me long enough to qualify as an honorary paramedic. You’ve even been out on the road with me a few times. You’ll be brilliant and who cares if we don’t win? We’re here to have fun, remember? To have an adventure and meet lots of new people and...’ Georgia’s grin was decidedly mischievous now. ‘We’re both single and gorgeous. Have you thought about how many men there are going to be at this thing?’
Men who were presumably reasonably intelligent because they were doctors or medical students or paramedics. Successful enough to want to be competitive. Adventurous enough to take on this kind of challenge.
Just the kind of man she would choose to be the father of her child.
Best of all, they would be strangers. From foreign countries. They would never have to know and they would never interfere with her life in the future.
‘Georgie...’ Kate sounded shocked. ‘You never give up, do you? You’ve only just got over the last disaster and you’re ready to do it again?’
The reminder of how gutting the last relationship mess had been was the last thing Georgia wanted to think about. Or maybe it was a good thing because she could feel her resolve strengthening. She was thirty-six now—a year older than Kate—and she didn’t have the time or inclination to jump through any more messy relationship hoops.
She wanted a baby.
Not that she was about to confess her master plan, even to her very best friend who’d been her housemate for years. Kate was too proper. She had set ideas about the way things should be in life and wasn’t likely to approve of Georgia’s intentions. A one-off, throw-away comment she had made a while back about a man only being essential for as long as it might take to conceive had been enough to tell her that. Kate had been appalled.
So she made her tone as offhand as she could. ‘Oh, I have no intention of falling for someone.’ And wasn’t that the truth?
Inspiration struck. ‘What’s that saying? The best way to get over a man is to get under another one?’
At least she’d made Kate laugh. That wouldn’t be the case if she’d guessed the truth.
‘Casual sex has never appealed to me.’
‘Yeah...you’re so old school, Kate. An ultimate romantic.’ This was good. She could divert the attention to Kate’s love life—or lack of it—instead of her own. ‘You really believe that you’re going to see ‘the one’ across a crowded room and it’ll be love at first sight and a happy-ever-after with a few bluebirds fluttering over the carpet of rose petals and—’
‘Oh, stop it...’ Kate growled. But she didn’t sound cross. Her tone was more concerned than anything. ‘Just be careful, hon. Okay?’
‘Of course.’ Georgia breathed a sigh of relief but that seemed to earn a sharp glance from Kate.
‘You have given up on that hare-brained scheme you came up with after that bastard, Rick, walked out, haven’t you?’
Uh-oh... ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Oh, yes, you do. The one where you gave up on men completely and were going to have a baby all by yourself?’
Georgia pretended to be distracted by the map in her hands. She couldn’t afford to allow Kate to get suspicious. She had the lid firmly in place over her own doubts about what she was planning and it would be too easy to get talked out of it if that lid got lifted.
She could almost feel that biological clock ticking more loudly than ever. Or was it her heart thumping? Excitement...or trepidation?
She cleared her throat. ‘Well, obviously I haven’t given up on men completely. And I’m over Rick. He’s ancient history—like all the others.’ Oh, man...she had to change the subject of conversation. Nerves were kicking in and the feeling was not pleasant.
She told herself to calm down. It was just an option—she didn’t have to follow through with her plan if she wasn’t sure. Maybe she wouldn’t meet anyone suitable. And, even if she did, what were the odds of getting pregnant with a single encounter anyway? She wasn’t even sure that it was the best time of the month, given that her cycle wasn’t that regular.
There were other reasons to be here. Exciting reasons. And there was no need to continue with any hazardous chatting either. Georgia had seen the perfect distraction.
‘Ooh, look...a signpost. We’re only fifteen kilometres away.’
‘Halleluiah. The end is in sight.’
‘Nah...the beginning is in sight.’ Georgia stretched her arms above her head and gave a whoop. ‘Bring it on.’