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PROLOGUE

‘ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I’ it’ Kristie Nelson shook her head and folded her arms across her chest

Louie, her boss, arched one eyebrow at her ‘Do you want to pay your e or not?’

She shifted unco with the news tea me nuts, and if you send rab that ceremonial sword from behind your head and stick it somewhere nasty’

Louie let out a hearty laugh They’d been working together far too long to be anything but straight with each other

He sighed and leaned his head on one hand ‘Kristie, your last two projects have boht add—with the producer on the TV series you were scheduled for I’ve had to search around for work that ations’

She sed, her throat instantly dry Louie knew her well—better than h she didn’t tell him so, she did appreciate it

She stared down at the file he’d handed her ‘A Year in the Life of the Hot Highland Doc? Really?’ Her voice arched upwards, along with her eyebrows She tried to ignore the involuntary shudder that went down her spine She straightened her shoulders ‘Sounds like another puff piece to me’

Louie looked her in the eye ‘A puff piece that involves fil three days a month on the island—paid travel to and from the island, all expenses covered, and a salary better than any news channel would pay you’

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair When he put it like that

Louie continued ‘These streaets these days They’reall the best new TV shows, and they’re not afraid to take chances Don’t you think it ood impression?’

Her brain hirring She knew it all made sense She kneas an opportunity How many people really made it onto the terrestrial TV channels? She didn’t even want to ad service too Some of the shoere addictive

Louie shrugged ‘Fil place all around the world There’s a volcanologist in Hawaii A museum curator in Cairo A quarterback fro for the space station’

‘And I get the Scottish doc?’ She held up her file, not even trying to hide the disappointment on her face

Louie didn’t speak and the silence told her everything she needed to know She’d got as left Louie had probably had to ca

She flicked through the files sitting on Louie’s desk

There was also a vet A firefighter A teacher A policewoman

If she’d had to rank each of the possibilities, she knew the ith the doc would have been last on her list The thought of being around ain a hospital environment—made her feel sick

Six years ago as ato take the world by stor with only a few glihout Part of her resented this job already It wasn’t exactly her career goal But as?

Things had shifted in the last few years Real life events had left her jaded and knocked her confidence in the world around her So for any more

‘Isn’t describing sohland Doc considered sexist these days?’

Louie shrugged ‘Who cares? That’s the title we liked It should draers in Who wouldn’t want to see a Hot Highland Doc?’

Her brain was still ticking She wrinkled her nose ‘Geography isn’tpoint Hold on’ She pulled out her phone and stuck in the name of the island ‘Arran? That’s on the southwest coast of Scotland That’s not even in the Highlands’

Louie laughed ‘Like I said—who cares? At least it is an island It’s the UK, so trade descriptions can’t get us on that one’

Kristie closed her eyes for a second and thought about the pile of bills currently sitting on her dresser This was uaranteed for one year She would be a fool to turn this down

‘Sht even like it You just need to go there three days a e for forty-one minutes of screen ti to mix it up’

This time it was Kristie that raised her eyebrows ‘Mix it up? What exactly does that mean?’

Louis shrugged ‘IIf you work on another show that gets cancelled midway, people will start to think you have the kiss of death’ He aze ‘People won’t want to ith you’ He left the words hanging

She gulped She kneas right TV and media were ruthless One minute you were the belle of the ball, the next you were lucky to pick up the leftovers—just like she was now

She gave a slow nod of her head then frowned as she couy? There’s no photo’

‘Isn’t there?’ Louie had moved over to his appointment diary, obviously ready to move onto his next task

‘And how do you even say his name?’

Louie moved back around the desk and leaned over her shoulder ‘“Roo-ah-ree”, I think’ He winked ‘At least try and get the guy’s naht’

She stared at the scribbled notes in the folder Rhuaridh Gillespie General Practitioner Also provides cover to Arran Community Hospital and A and E department

How did that even work?

She sed and took a deep breath How bad could this be?

‘How much preparation time do I have?’

There was a glint in Louie’s eyes as he threw soht details

‘A day,’ he answered

‘A day?’ She stood up as she said the words ‘What do you mean, a day?’