The man in him saw soft curves, creamy skin and green eyes that sparked and teased. He saw temptation and seduction in every graceful movement of those long limbs. Dr. Finn McBride saw guts mingled with a vulnerability that could cut a man off at the knees.
The doctor in him wondered whether Dr. Juliet Adams had enough body fat to make the strenuous assault on the worldâs highest mountain. He knew that about fifteen percent of body weight was lost after three months at high altitude. He had a better than fair experience with womenâs bodies and he was willing to bet money that Dr. Adams couldnât afford to lose fifteen percent.
Would she make it to the top of Everest?
With a soft curse, Finn reminded himself that her fitness wasnât his problem.
The fact that she was trekking to one of the most inhospitable places on earth, wasnât his problem.
So why did he have a powerful urge to bundle her straight back on that terrifying flight and return her safely to Kathmandu?
Dear Reader,
Iâm always happiest in the mountains. I like to walk in the Lake District and ski in the Alps, but the one place Iâve always yearned to visit is the Himalayas. Iâm fascinated by the growing interest in high-altitude medicine and also by the drive that makes climbers risk their lives to tackle summits over eight thousand meters high.
As remote areas of the world become more accessible, more people are exposed to the effects of altitude, and I decided that this would make a different and interesting setting for a medical romance.
The research was extensive but stimulating, and I wrote this book during the period of time that the various teams were tackling Everest. Tracking their progress on a daily basis helped to bring the book to life for me.
My heroine, Juliet, has her own demons to beat. She knows that mountains are dangerous and she wonât give her heart to a man who risks his life. But love cannot always be easily set aside, and Finn McEwan isnât a man to take no for an answer.
This is a book about bravery and determination, about grit and courage when life seems to demand the impossible.
If you have your own personal Everest to climb, then I wish you the strength and courage to make it to the top.
Love,
Sarah
Kathmandu, Nepal, 1300 metres above sea level
SHE was going to die.
The flight from Kathmandu to the tiny village of Lukla in the foothills of the Himalayas took only forty minutes and it was the longest, most terrifying forty minutes of her life. If thereâd been any other practical way of travelling across this part of Nepal, she would have taken it.
Juliet closed her eyes tightly and tried to focus on something, anything, other than the clouds, the mountains hidden behind them and the ground that taunted her as it flashed beneath the aircraft.
âHey, docâ¦â The bearded man in the next seat leaned towards her. âYouâre looking green. You OK?â
âI will be when we land.â
âThat bad, huh?â He laughed in surprise. âAnd I was told you were gutsy.â
Juliet kept her eyes closed. âMy guts are back in Kathmandu. If you want to fly back and get them, Neil, thatâs up to you, but Iâm only taking this flight once.â
The twin-engined Cessna only had sixteen seats and at that precise moment Juliet sincerely wished that there hadnât been room for her. At Kathmandu Airport hordes of people had jostled for a place on the flight but the exchange of rupees had been sufficient to ensure that all the climbers and trekkers had gained seats. Including her.
She wished sheâd left a month earlier and walked.
She heard Neil give a sympathetic chuckle. âWeâll be landing soon.â
âAnd thatâs supposed to make me feel better?â Juliet opened one eye and shot him a baleful look. âWe both know what the runway is like at Lukla.â
She liked Neil Kennedy a lot. Theyâd climbed together in the Alps and the Himalayas and he had proved himself to be a skilful and reliable team member. He was calm, level-headed and able to smooth over the trickiest situationsâa general, all-round good guy.
âTheyâve actually built a runway?â Neil pretended to look surprised. âThatâs the best news Iâve had all day.â
Maybe not such a good guy.
âVery funny, Iâm sure.â
âWell, runway is a generous description for a bit of dirt with a cliff at the end.â
âThanks for reminding me what itâs like.â
âYou were here last year. You know exactly what itâs like.â
âWhich is why I prefer to close my eyes.â She did so, but carried on talking. âAre the trekkers doing OK? Anyone lost their breakfast yet?â
Four trekkers had opted to join them on the trek up to Everest base camp and Juliet knew that none of them had had any experience of high altitude before.
Neil swivelled in his seat. âThe two guys are trying to look tough and macho, one of the girls looks white and the other one is gawking out of the window at the view. She obviously doesnât know about the runway. Ten more minutes to landing and then sheâll be as green as you. But so far their insides seem to still be inside.â