Peace had broken out as they headed south through Devon and down into Cornwall. Slowly they’d wound their way round the creeks and inlets, beaches and fishing villages of the South West, ending up almost at Land’s End. They’d taken it in turns to drive and to choose the next day’s destination. Now they were lying on the beach in the late afternoon sun, drinking beer, when Matt’s phone went off. Carrie was pretending to be interested in one of Matt’s journals, but out of the corner of her eye she caught his mouth twitch into a smile.
‘Your nurse friends?’ she said casually as he texted back a message.
He laughed softly.
‘Brushing off their sexy outfits, are they?’ she said.
‘Unfortunately no. We all wear scrubs now. The short skirts and black stockings went out with Carry On, most unfortunately in my opinion.’
‘You’re just a pervert,’ teased Carrie.
‘Believe me, Stewart and Bryan would look crap in skirts.’
She sat up. ‘You didn’t say they were guys.’
‘You didn’t ask. You just assumed they were girls.’
Carrie couldn’t resist it. ‘Your eyes are twinkling…’
‘Twinkling?’
‘They do when you’re pleased about something.’
‘Carrie, I do not twinkle. Nobody twinkles.’
‘No. You definitely go all twinkly eyed when you’re pleased. Now you’re blushing too.’
‘And you’re bullshitting me,’ he said, annoyed at last.
‘Are you pissed off with me?’
‘I’m not pissed off, no. That’s not the word I’d use at all.’
‘Then what word would you use? Are you cross with me? Am I in trouble again?’ she teased.
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Are you saying you want to be in trouble with me? If so, I can arrange it quite easily.’
Carrie swallowed. Just in time she realized they were almost flirting. Just in time she caught herself imagining Matt in scrubs and nothing underneath. She bit her lip. Having a doctor fantasy was understandable if you were thinking about Luka from ER, but Matt? Yet she was prepared to admit that to some women, like Natasha for instance, he probably came across as broodingly sexy. Or maybe just moody. Turning onto her stomach, she idly flicked the pages of his journal, wrinkling her nose at some of the graphic photos of some bloke’s bunion surgery. Yuck.
‘This is truly disgusting. Do you really find all this crap useful?’
‘Some of it,’ he said slowly. ‘Do you find all this crap useful?’
‘Hey…’
He’d got her copy of Cosmo in his hand and was reading from it.
‘How to give any guy mind-blowing oral. If you want to know how to drive your man wild, we’ll tell you how. The tips, the techniques, the surefire ways of making him your slave forever. In your hands, he won’t be putty, he’ll be rock hard…’
‘Matt. Pack it in. Someone will hear.’
‘Let them. This is vital sexual health information. Everyone should hear it. Bloody hell, I didn’t know that actually worked.’
She snatched at the magazine but he’d whipped it away. ‘Give it back, please!’ she pleaded, as a middle-aged couple a few yards away stopped arguing and stared at them. On his feet now, Matt held the page aloft. ‘She did what to him? My God, I’ve been deprived all my life.’
Carrie leapt to reach it but he was too fast, and she started to giggle.
‘Oh… but no way. How disappointing. That one’s medically impossible. The anatomy’s all wrong.’
Carrie was laughing and squirming at the same time. ‘You’re making fun of me.’
‘And now you’re blushing.’
‘I am not!’
Finally he held out the magazine. ‘Really, I’m shocked at you, Caroline. This is truly obscene. Do you fancy going out tonight?’ he added suddenly.
Carrie was totally taken aback. ‘Where? To the pub? Clubbing?’
‘Not quite.’
‘Where then?’
‘Wait and see.’
***
‘Well, aren’t you going to say something?’
The truth was, she couldn’t take in the scene in front of her. It was beautiful, weird, surreal…
‘It’s a theatre,’ he offered helpfully.
‘Yes. I can see that.’
They were standing on a small stone platform at the top of a cliff above the sea, looking down on a theatre that had been literally carved out of the granite rock face. Steep staircases plunged down between the aisles and benches, where grass served for cushions. The seating, the stage, even a little Juliet balcony, had all been hewn from the solid rock. The backdrop was the Atlantic Ocean, wild breakers crashing on the rocks below the stage as gulls screamed overhead.
‘It’s incredible,’ she said at last.
‘Incredible good or incredible weird?’
‘Hard to believe that there’s a theatre at all. This place is just so wild.’
Matt was amused. ‘I can’t believe you’re an actress and you’ve never been here before.’
‘I had enough trouble persuading Huw to come to my performances, let alone go to a theatre for pleasure.’
‘Yes. I can imagine that. I can’t see my old mate here either, but it’s a shame you’ve never been. On a fine night, when the sun’s going down, it’s a pretty good place to be.’
‘I wouldn’t have thought it was your kind of thing either. I thought the only entertainment you were interested in was who could pee farthest up the rugby club wall.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong. Mum used to bring us here when we were on holiday in Cornwall. We pretended we hated it—which we did, of course—but when I got older, I came back a couple of times without having my arm twisted.’
Carrie had to admit that the round stage, bare and inviting, was almost making her drool. ‘Do you think we can take a look?’ she asked.
He glanced at his watch. ‘I think they’re closed to visitors. There’s a show tonight, but maybe we can sneak in. Come on.’
They’d managed to duck under a rope barrier and get halfway down the steps when a loud voice behind them boomed, ‘Excuse me, can I help you?’ A woman in a voluminous velvet kaftan cast a stern eye over them. ‘You can’t go down there. The theatre is closed.’
‘We only wanted a quick look. We’ve come all this way, you see, and we’re going home tomorrow,’ pleaded Carrie.
The woman’s face was as stony as the cliff face. ‘It’s out of the question. Sorry.’
Carrie didn’t think the woman looked at all sorry, but Matt climbed back up the steps and started talking to her in a low voice. After a few nods, the woman pursed her lips and said grudgingly, ‘You have five minutes, and believe me, I shall be counting every second.’
Matt grabbed Carrie’s arm. ‘Quick. Come on.’
‘What did you tell her?’ she asked as they trotted down the steps to the stage.
‘That I was going abroad on a dangerous mercy mission but first I needed to propose to you on the stage of the Minack Theatre.’
‘You said what!’
He shrugged. ‘It was the only thing I could think of at the spur of the moment. Just make sure you look happy on the way back up.’
She forgave him when she stood on the stage. The atmosphere was sending actual shivers up her spine. She imagined the stone seats packed with people, felt the heat of the lights on her skin, heard the gasps and laughter and applause, the stamping and shouting of the audience. Matt was standing behind her, his breath warm against her neck.
‘Carrie, I need to tell you something,’ he murmured behind her.
She tensed instinctively as his arms encircled her body, then forced herself to relax. Watching them intently from her perch, the kaftan woman would be expecting a performance. She and Matt had better make this convincing. ‘I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you this for ages,’ he whispered in her ear.
‘Is it something I’ll like?’ she breathed, getting into character and enjoying herself more than she wanted to admit.
‘It’s something important… but it’s awkward.’
‘What do you mean, awkward?’
‘Well, it’s not an easy thing for a man to have to say to a woman.’
He was overdoing it now and she hoped he wasn’t going to take too long. His arms were helpfully warm against her bare skin, but the hairs were tickling her.
‘Matt, can you get on with it, please?’ she said briskly.
‘But, darling, I’d hate to hurry this special moment.’
She tried not to laugh. ‘I think you’re just hamming it up now.’
He spun her round to face him, his face stricken with anguish. ‘Hamming it up? Caroline, this is serious. Don’t you know how I feel about you? How I’ve longed for this day?’ He pulled her against his chest, banging her nose against his breast bone.
‘Ow!’
He thrust her backwards, gripping her arms. ‘Oh Caroline, sweetest, don’t tell me I’ve hurt you.’
‘You bashed my nose, you twerp,’ she said, rubbing the tip.
‘I got carried away. It’s just that… I haven’t told you what I need to say yet.’
Reaching up, she broke his grip. ‘I think I can guess.’
He winked theatrically. ‘Perhaps not, Caroline.’
She grinned cheerfully. ‘Goodbye, Matt. I hate to hurt you, but I’ve decided to leave you. And by the way, don’t give up the day job.’
‘Okay. But I only wanted to tell you that you snore.’
‘I do not snore!’ she said indignantly.
‘I’m afraid you do. Just a tiny bit. Nothing that can’t be solved by a spot of ENT surgery. It’s not my forte but I can have a go with the vegetable knife if you want.’
She threw up her hands in disgust. ‘Matt, thanks for showing me the theatre. It was a nice thing to do but you are still a git.’
As she stomped up the steps, the woman was looming, her kaftan billowing in the breeze.
‘So that’s a no, then?’ called Matt.
‘Sod off!’ shouted Carrie.
‘Don’t leave me, Caroline, I can’t live without you!’
Kaftan woman gave an outraged gasp as Carrie passed. ‘Are you completely off your head, young lady? You don’t deserve a good man like that. He’s as fit as a butcher’s dog, and if I were you, I’d have him up the aisle and into bed before you could say Jack Robinson.’