The One Man to Heal Her

‘I bet she’s fine with that,’ Alex told him, and touched the hand that still held the photo, just gently …

‘She says so and it will be easier when Charlotte goes to kindy next year, then school—’

‘And then, whoosh—they’re gone from your life.’

His smile wasn’t the worst one she’d ever seen, but it was close, yet even the weak effort affected Alex.

Jet-lag—it had to be!

Jet-lag and seeing a familiar face, that’s all that was going on.

She let go of his hand and concentrated on her drink.

‘So, tell me about you,’ he said, and she knew her own smile would be even weaker than his had been.

In so many ways it was a success story, yet—

‘Perhaps we should eat,’ she suggested, hoping a move from this table—any kind of movement—might …

What? Make him forget he’d asked?

Or break the sense of intimacy—it had to be a false intimacy because of the past—that seemed to be enclosing them.

‘We can talk over food,’ she added, because she knew she’d been far too abrupt.

Will stood up with such alacrity she had to believe he’d felt it too. He led her into another part of the room where most of the diners already finishing their meals, lingering over dessert or last drinks.

‘Tell me about Charlotte—favourite games, toys, books,’ she said, when a waiter had ushered them to a table and slid serviettes onto their laps.

Will grinned at her, which kind of undid a lot of what the move had accomplished, in that a different kind of tension had appeared, tightening her skin and skidding along her nerves.

‘You’re supposed to be telling me about you,’ he reminded her.

Alex waved away his objection but he ignored the gesture.

‘No way, you tell first,’ he ordered, waggling his finger at her, like a teacher with a reluctant pupil.

‘Here’s the short version,’ Alex said. ‘You’d gone south to finish your degree before I left the Armitages’, but I got that scholarship Isobel made me work so hard for, went to Brisbane, got my degree, got engaged—church upbringing still strong, so marriage seemed a logical step. I’d wanted to specialise in cardiology, Dave’s influence, I suppose, although I couldn’t handle the surgery. I was offered a terrific training job in London, qualified, got unengaged, moved from London to Glasgow, and now I’m home.’

Given that Will was still smiling at her, she thought she’d done rather well.

‘That’s it?’ he asked. ‘What happened to the fiancé? And you’re a beautiful woman, why only one?’

She’d been pretending to study the menu while she’d talked but now she looked directly at Will.

‘I was so sure I’d recovered from the rape—been to counsellors, talked and talked,’ she said, pleased to hear how calmly she could say the word, even back here where it had happened.

She paused then admitted something she’d never before put into words.

‘But relationships—they just don’t seem to work. Not that I’ve had that many, but I’ve tried, Will, I really have, but when it comes to taking the next step—the intimacy thing—I pull back. It’s unfair to the men, apart from anything else, so in the end I stopped dating and, really, my life is simpler and I’m happy with it. There’s something missing in me, Will, and that’s all I can put it down to.’

Had she sounded depressed that Will reached out and covered her hand with his?

Nothing more than a sympathetic touch, but it fired Alex’s slowly settling nerves again. She removed her hand to close her menu.

‘I think I’ll have the rack of lamb,’ she said, far too brightly.

Will waved the waiter over, gave their order, talked to him about a good red wine to have with the lamb. They would sell it by the glass, which was all he wanted.

The waiter returned with a bottle of red, showed it to Will, offered him a taste, then poured them both a glass.

Will lifted his to toast Alex, who clinked her glass with his and kind of smiled. Maybe it would have worked if sadness hadn’t still been lingering in her eyes …

Not that he’d meant to notice her eyes—

‘So, Glasgow? What on earth were you doing there?’

This time Alex’s smile was better, and he heard an echo of laughter in her voice.

‘It’s actually a very lively city, and I had a dream job. Then Dad got in touch and—well, here I am. As I said, I’m a cardiologist and although I hope I won’t get a lot of intensive-care patients, I imagine we’ll see a bit of each other around the hospital. I’ve joined a practice here.’

‘Brian Lane’s?’

Alex nodded.

‘But that’s great, he’s a good friend of mine,’ Will said, smiling enthusiastically. ‘I have a room in the same building—we’ll be running into each other all the time.’

Before Alex could reply—well, what was there to reply—the smile faded from Will’s face and he asked, rather uncertainly, ‘It is good, isn’t it?’

His sudden uncertainty told Alex that he was as unpractised in the relationship game as she was. Not that this was a relationship. Will was still obviously getting over Elise, while she, Alex, could make an epic disaster of even a casual date.

‘I think it’s good,’ she said quietly. ‘You’ve already made my homecoming so much easier, Will, so having you around as I learn my way around the hospital will be fantastic.’

His face lit up as his luminous smile returned, and Alex was swamped by a shivery sensation of …

What?

Happiness?

No, that would be ridiculous.

Fortunately, the waiter returned with their dinners, and operating on her rack of lamb, separating out the cutlets, gave Alex time to recover from whatever it might have been.

Will was talking about Charlotte now, apparently answering the questions Alex had asked earlier in the conversation.

And in every word Alex heard the love this grown-up Will had for his little daughter, while the happiness she’d brought him shone in his eyes.

‘She sounds great,’ Alex said, and to her surprise Will blushed, much as he had as a young man when she’d caught him hanging on the fence.