by Sarah Morgan
His eyes held hers. ‘That’s right. So we are.’
It was impossible to look away. Impossible not to feel the powerful spark of chemistry that drew them together. She saw his mouth tighten and sensed his growing tension. ‘We should order.’
‘Yes.’ He dragged his eyes away from hers and glanced over to the bar. ‘I presume I have to fight my way through the crowd for that pleasure?’
‘Actually, you don’t.’ Ben, the landlord, was standing next to them, a grin on his face as he looked at them. ‘After what you did for Doug this morning, you’re right at the front of our queue.’
‘We’ll both have the beef,’ Kyla said quickly, ‘and the treacle tart. Thanks, Ben.’
He scribbled on the pad in his hand. ‘How’s young Shelley?’
‘Fine.’
‘Mary’s worrying herself sick.’
‘I know that.’ Kyla’s voice was quiet. ‘We’re dealing with it as quickly as we can, Ben. As soon as we know anything, we’ll be in touch with Mary.’
He nodded. ‘Call me when you hear anything.’ He walked off and Ethan stared after him in amazement.
‘How did he know about Shelley? And how does he know so much about Doug? And how do you ever honour patient confidentiality in a place like this?’
‘Doug works for him and Ben is Mary’s cousin, but you’re right that most people find out who’s ill with what about five seconds after you’ve found out yourself. Anyway, Ben is on the crew of Glenmore lifeboat so he’s an important part of this community.’
‘The island has a lifeboat?’
‘Yes. It has a berth by the quay. Haven’t you seen it?’
‘I haven’t been down here since the day I arrived. Do they have a lot of callouts?’
‘Unfortunately, yes. Especially in the summer. Usually walkers on the cliffs who drop down to pretty bays and then get stuck when the tide comes in. And if it’s a medical emergency, they call on Logan. So, you see, we all work together and, yes, people are interested in one another, but we don’t betray a confidence. There’s a way of responding without giving anything away. But I can assure you that the moment you’ve spoken to Mary about the results, she’ll be on the phone to at least five other people and they’ll be on the phone to another five. But that’s their business.’
Ethan shook his head. ‘It’s so different to London.’
‘Of course. That’s why we live here.’ She tilted her head to one side, challenging him. ‘You’re missing all the positives. Like the fact that almost everyone on this island is part of an informal support network and that counts for a lot. When Fraser was in hospital with pneumonia when he was younger, everyone rallied round to help Aisla, even though she’d only just arrived on the island and knew no one.’
He sat back in his chair, his expression watchful. ‘Go on.’
She shrugged. ‘When Mrs Linton tripped down her stairs someone phoned us within the hour because they’d noticed that her bin hadn’t been taken in. In London she probably would have been on the floor for a week before it occurred to anyone that something might be wrong.’
‘Probably even longer than that,’ Ethan said dryly, finishing his drink and sitting back as their food arrived. ‘All right, you’ve convinced me. I can see that it has its advantages.’
‘But it isn’t somewhere that you could ever settle for good.’ The words left her mouth before she could stop them and she froze, appalled at herself for being so indiscreet.
Why had she asked that question? What was the matter with her? It wasn’t even as if she wanted him to be there for ever. She just wanted—she wanted—
A fling, she acknowledged finally, looking away from his searching gaze so that she didn’t reveal any more. She wanted a wild, abandoned fling with an incredible-looking, intelligent man, and Ethan Walker fitted that description.
‘What about you?’ His voice was even as he handed her a knife and fork and reached for his own. ‘You’re obviously an extremely skilled nurse. Have you ever considered leaving here?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean? That the people on the island deserve less than mainlanders?’
‘That wasn’t what I meant.’ His tone was wry. ‘You’re very touchy. Stop jumping down my throat. I just wondered whether you might be bored.’
‘I trained on the mainland and that was enough for me. Here I have a great deal more autonomy than I would have on the mainland. I happen to think that anonymity is vastly overrated.’ She poked the food on her plate for a moment and then looked up. ‘I like people, Ethan. I like knowing what they’re up to. I don’t even mind the fact that they know everything that I’m doing before I even do it. I like the feeling of belonging. I like the knowledge that there is a whole community out there, pulling together, trying to improve each other’s lives. In cities all you read about is stabbings and muggings, whereas here—’ She broke off and gave an embarrassed shrug.
‘I sense that we’re back to caring again.’
‘They probably care in the city, too, it’s just that life is so fast and busy that no one has the opportunity to show it, and before you know it you don’t even recognise your neighbours.’
‘Is that really an excuse?’ Ethan gave a short laugh. ‘You’re not exactly kicking your heels here and you manage to know everyone.’
‘But we have a pretty static population except for the tourist season. Live in a city and people come and go. Here, everyone we see here is known to us. It’s different. And I love the challenge of having to work with limited back-up. It makes you more resourceful.’
They’d both finished eating and Kyla suddenly realised that she’d been too absorbed in their conversation to even notice the food. ‘Did you enjoy it?’
His surprised glance at his empty plate told her that he’d been similarly distracted.
‘Very much. The treacle tart was delicious.’
‘Shall I order some coffee?’
Ethan looked at her. ‘Let’s have coffee at home. That way we can drink it without everyone watching.’
She smiled. ‘Good plan.’
What had possessed him to suggest coffee when what he really needed was to keep as far away from her as possible?
Frustrated with himself, Ethan walked briskly back towards the cottages and resolved to make the coffee quick and businesslike. If he kept the conversation fairly formal, that would help.
And he wouldn’t look at her.
‘Ethan? Are you OK?’ Kyla’s voice had a soft, breathy quality and he suddenly realised that not looking at her wasn’t going to make any difference at all. He could have had his eyes shut in a dark room and she still would have had the same effect on him.
‘I’m fine.’ He could feel her looking at him and lengthened his stride. ‘How is Doug doing anyway? Did Logan get any feedback from the hospital?’
‘Oh. Better, I think. Seems a bit more relaxed. It’s Leslie who’s the problem. She’s hanging over him every minute of the day, just waiting for him to collapse. I’m going round there tomorrow to see if I can help her get her head around the whole thing.’
This was fine, Ethan told himself as they reached the cottages. This was good. Talking about work kept everything on a safe level. He could handle this. Quick coffee. Small talk. And he wasn’t going to touch her.
His resolve lasted as long as it took to follow her into her kitchen.
She was still wearing the jeans but she’d added a pair of sexy heels and a pretty cardigan in a shade of blue that matched her eyes.
‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ she said cheerfully, reaching for mugs and coffee, ‘and we can take it down to the beach if you like. It’s lovely to sit on the sand in the dark and watch the stars.’
He felt a sudden rush of heat through his body. ‘Here is fine,’ he said hoarsely, running a hand over the back of his neck. He didn’t need the darkness or stars. ‘The kitchen is fine.’ There was nothing romantic about fluorescent light.
‘All right. If that’s what you pre
fer.’ She shot him a curious look and spooned fresh coffee into a cafetière. ‘Do you realise that you’ve been here for two weeks and I still know hardly anything about you? We’ve been so busy we’ve hardly exchanged more than two words.’
And that was the way he’d wanted it. ‘There’s not much to know about me.’
‘You mean there’s not much you want to tell.’ She poured water into the pot. ‘Where did you work last?’
Hell? ‘Abroad.’
She gave a soft laugh and turned to face him. ‘You don’t give anything away, do you, Ethan? Did anyone ever tell you that one-word answers don’t make a conversation?’
‘I’m not that great at conversation. You should have worked that out by now.’ She had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen and her legs looked impossibly long. ‘I ought to go …’
She hesitated and then walked towards him, narrowing the distance that he’d carefully placed between them. ‘You haven’t drunk your coffee.’
He wasn’t even sure who touched who first.
He just knew that one moment he was standing there full of good intentions and then next she had her arms wrapped round his neck and his mouth was hard on hers.
His good intentions dissolved, as did his conscience and all the other better parts of his nature that had been holding him back.
His hands traced the soft curves that his eyes had already admired. His mouth devouring hers, he slid his hands over her hips, then over her bottom, anchoring her against him. The taste and the scent of her threatened to overwhelm him and he dragged his mouth away from hers and pressed his lips against her neck.
‘Ethan …’ She murmured his name and pressed closer and that movement alone was enough to snap the last of his self-control.
His mouth found hers again and his hands moved to the hem of her top, sliding underneath, finding the smooth, tanned skin that he’d admired earlier.
Her breasts pressed into his hands and he almost lost control as he felt her nipples peak under the brush of his fingers and heard her soft gasp of pleasure.
He lifted his head and their mouths met again in a fierce kiss, each demanding of the other, each hungry and possessive and increasingly desperate. His entire body was consumed by a ferocious heat and he felt her hands shaking as they struggled with the buttons on his shirt.
It was the touch of her fingers against his bare chest that brought him to his senses.
Another minute more and neither of them would have stopped.
‘Kyla …’ With difficulty he broke his mouth from hers and forced his hands to release her smooth, golden flesh ‘… we have to stop. This isn’t a good idea.’
She gave a whimper of protest and leaned in towards him again, but he stepped backwards, breathing heavily.
‘Kyla, no.’
She blinked, her eyes dazed and disorientated. ‘Why—? What?’ Her mouth was soft and bruised from his kiss and he gritted his teeth and reminded himself that she knew nothing about him.
She didn’t know who he was or why he was there. But when she did. ‘Trust me. This is a mistake.’
She took a step back and when she spoke, her voice was soft. ‘Did it feel like a mistake, Ethan?’
Physically, no. But he had more sense than to take that route given the present set of circumstance. ‘We need to forget this happened.’
‘Why?’ Her blue eyes studied his face, searching for answers to the questions bubbling up inside her. ‘This wasn’t just me, it was you, too.’
‘I know that.’
‘Then—’
‘I can’t explain, but it isn’t you, it’s me,’ he growled, reaching for the door like a drowning man would have grasped anything that happened to float. ‘And now I need to go home.’
‘But—’
‘Goodnight, Kyla. Thanks for dinner.’
He didn’t wait to hear her reply, just strode out of her cottage and kept his eyes on his own front door.
Once there he switched on the kitchen light and pulled out the letter.
If nothing else, at least it would remind him of the reason he was there.
CHAPTER SIX
HE STRODE into her consulting room next morning with a piece of paper in his hand.
‘I’ve had the blood results on Shelley.’
Kyla stared at him. That was it?
They’d shared a kiss that had probably shaken the foundations of the island and that was all he had to say?
Her heart thundering at a dangerous pace, she waited for him to make some reference to the previous evening, but he was remote and businesslike. Cold. Unapproachable. It was as if the kiss had never happened.
Clearly he hadn’t suffered the same restless night that she had.
Kyla sighed inwardly, still unable to believe that he’d stopped so abruptly. The question was why? Evanna was obviously right. He had issues. It was just frustrating that he was unwilling to share them. Deciding that this wasn’t the time or the place to try and fight him, she looked at him expectantly. ‘And what do her results say?’
‘It’s definitely ITP. But her platelet levels are reasonable so hopefully it will resolve by itself in a few months. I’ve had a chat with the haematologist and his advice is to do nothing for the time being. We’ll check her blood again regularly and see how she goes.’
‘That’s good news.’ Kyla’s relief was genuine. ‘Mary will be delighted to hear all that.’
‘I’ve called them and asked them to come to surgery this afternoon. Five o’clock. I thought you might like to be there.’
‘I would. Thanks.’ Was he ever going to mention the kiss they’d shared or was it just going to be consigned to the archives without further reference? Was that the usual end to an evening out for him? Did he kiss women like that all the time?
As if reading her thoughts, his eyes moved to hers and her heart started to beat faster. His mouth tightened and he cleared his throat. ‘I need to get on.’
‘Yes. Of course you do.’ Her voice was a croak and he sucked in a breath and turned away from her, yanking open the door and leaving the room with a purposeful stride.
He was always walking away from her.
Kyla stared after him in mounting frustration. She wanted to run after him and ask the questions that were hovering on her lips.
What are you playing at?
Aren’t you going to say anything about the kiss?
Are you going to ignore what’s happening between the two of us?
Or maybe she’d imagined the whole thing and he just didn’t find her attractive. ‘Men,’ she muttered to herself, cleaning the dressing trolley ready for her next patient. ‘How can they accuse us women of being confusing?’
She tried to keep her mind focussed on the job all day and then at five o’clock she joined Ethan in his consulting room.
‘Mary and Shelley are just coming.’ She looked at him, trying not to be intimidated by his cool, formal appearance. ‘You’re wearing a suit again.’
He gave a faint smile. ‘I’m at work.’
‘And does the suit help you keep the distance you need from people?’ She asked the question without thinking and then immediately wished she’d kept her mouth shut when he looked at her steadily.
‘This isn’t the right time, Kyla.’ His voice was soft and she felt the colour rush into her cheeks because she knew it wasn’t the right time and she was furious with herself for even showing that she cared.
She wished she had the ability to be as indifferent as he obviously was.
Hurt and confused, she turned as she heard a tap on the door.
Mary Hillier walked in with Shelley, and Ethan immediately waved a hand at the two chairs he’d placed next to the desk. ‘Sit down. I can see you’re worried so let’s get straight to the point.’ He outlined the results of the blood tests, explaining in simple, precise language.
Mary was looking relieved. ‘So tell me more about this ITP thing. What exactly does it mean?’
‘It means that ther
e aren’t enough platelets in the blood. If you cast your mind back to biology, you’ll remember that platelets are responsible for helping the blood to clot.’
‘So if she doesn’t have enough platelets, she could bleed?’
‘That’s right. That’s why she has more bruising than usual.’
‘And what’s caused it?’
‘It’s an autoimmune disease. In other words, your body attacks itself—in this case it attacks the platelets. As to what causes it—most of the experts think that in children it’s caused by a viral infection.’
‘But there’s no treatment? You’re not going to do anything?’
‘Treatment isn’t always necessary, particularly in children. They tend to recover completely in a couple of months without any intervention.’
‘But what if she has problems?’
Ethan reached for a pen and scribbled something on a pad. ‘This is my number.’ He handed the paper to Mary. ‘If you can’t get me in surgery, feel free to call me on that number if you have any worries. We will be checking Shelley’s blood regularly to see if the platelet count is recovering.’
Kyla nodded her approval. He may be dressed in a suit and look unapproachable, but he was making himself accessible to worried patients and they didn’t seem to find him intimidating.
Mary folded the paper and put it carefully in her handbag. ‘And does she need to stop doing sport or anything? She loves her netball and they’re playing loads of matches at school at the moment.’
‘The way her platelet count is at the moment, it’s fine for her to play.’ Ethan scribbled something else on the pad. ‘We’ll monitor it and if it drops to a certain level then we may need to advise you to avoid contact sports, but at the moment it’s fine just to carry on as normal.’
A relieved Mary left the room and Kyla managed a smile.
‘You’re very good at explaining.’
‘Despite the suit?’ There was humour in his eyes but she was too confused by her own feelings to respond.