It was early the next morning and Martin slowly opened his eyes, looking down to see what the heavy weight pressing against his chest was. The corners of his mouth turned up in a small smile when he saw that the weight was Louisa, and that sometime during the night they had shifted and she was currently using his chest as her pillow.

This must be the feeling people talk about when they say they are happy and content. Martin thought. And he was happy. In that moment everything seemed perfect to him. It didn't matter that he wasn't a surgeon in London. It didn't matter that his mother wished that he was never born. It didn't matter that the whole town thought he was a tosser. All that mattered was that the woman of his dreams was currently in his arms, snoring softly against his chest.

Looking across to the bedside table to check the time, Martin could see it was just past 6.30am. Wishing he didn't have to, but knowing that if he didn't get up and get back to the surgery, he wouldn't have time to get ready and have breakfast before his patients arrived.

Gently, he tried to manoeuvre himself from the bed without waking up Louisa, but as he shifted her head back to the pillow, she roused from her sleep and opened her eyes to look at him.

His breath caught in his throat. She is so beautiful. What if she regrets this? God I don't think I could take it if she regretted last night.

Oblivious to his internal battle, a slow lazy smile graced her lips and she murmured "Morning" before rolling towards him to capture his lips in a sweet kiss.

XxxxxxxxX

A lot later than originally planned, Martin pulled his car into the parking bay by the surgery. Looking at his watch, he could see it was almost 8.20am. Hopefully, Pauline wouldn't be arriving for another ten minutes, giving him time for a quick change before surgery started.

Opening the door to the surgery, Martin was immediately stopped short by the sight of Pauline and a room full of patients.

"Mornin' Doc. Have a good time last night? Never thought I'd see you doin' the walk of shame!"

Martin scowled at this, and at the snickering from the patients that had clearly arrived early to make fun of him.

This is what he hated about this town. Nothing was ever private. Why they all couldn't mind their own business, Martin would never understand. He took off at a brisk pace upstairs, his scowl deepening at the knowledge that he'd be fending off the curious crowd all day.