She looked, and then gave him a smile. ‘I’m so glad you knew that. It smacks of a little healthy misbehaviour. You’re beginning to seem quite human to me.’
‘Thanks!’ He feigned outrage. ‘I didn’t seem human before?’
‘You’re right a little too often for my liking.’
‘I can be wrong...’ He wanted so badly to be wrong. Wrong about everything, his sure knowledge that taking things further with Laurie would end in catastrophe.
And then there were those eyes. Dark and knowing. The hand that caressed the side of his face sending shivers down his spine. Ross leaned forward, planting a kiss on her cheek.
‘What was it you said? A little of the best is enough?’ She murmured the words. So close now that they were almost touching, and he could feel her breath on his cheek.
His fingertips grazed her arm. Her leg pressed against his. Each moment, each touch was precious and exquisite. And then one rush of emotion as he put his arms around her and kissed her. Her response matched his. Audacious and hungry, as if the past didn’t exist and the future hadn’t happened yet. Taking each moment, without fear or regret.
‘That was undoubtedly the best thing that didn’t happen to me today.’ He held her close, knowing he’d have to let her go soon.
She reached up, running her thumb across his lips. ‘I suppose if it never happened, then we could do it again...’
* * *
Laurie had asked for the day off today. That wasn’t unexpected, she’d worked far more hours than she was being paid for over the last couple of weeks, and maybe she had other things to do. But Ross missed seeing her around the clinic.
When he’d popped into Adam’s room, on his daily round of patients and staff, the boy had said that Laurie wouldn’t be coming to play computer games with him today, even though she’d amassed enough points to give her avatar a complete change of wardrobe. She wasn’t in the lounge, or walking by the side of the lake. And unless Ross was very much mistaken, she wouldn’t be out in a boat somewhere.
Or would she? It had been almost three weeks since he’d seen her rowing past his window, and he knew that she missed it. Maybe that wayward spirit of hers had just had enough of the clinic’s calm, ordered existence and she’d decided she needed to get back into a boat. He’d made it clear that he was no longer responsible for her treatment, but the thought still bothered him.
She hadn’t taken one of the clinic’s electric cars into town, and when Ross found an excuse to pop back to his flat for something, he noticed that the long curtains in the living room of the small apartment downstairs were drawn, even though it was nearly lunchtime. It was odd, because Laurie was such a creature of the light. She loved it and it loved her.
He’d told her that he trusted her, and he’d made a promise. He should keep it. She just wanted a day to herself and he shouldn’t interrupt...
* * *
Ross arrived home late after an evening spent at the clinic, and opened the French doors that led out onto the balcony. As he stared out over the dark water of the lake, he saw a figure sitting on the bench at the water’s edge. Laurie.
What was she doing down there? It was a warm evening, and the calm of the lake often drew him to that spot, but there was something about the way she was sitting, her shoulders hunched and her head bowed. Without even thinking about whether it was a good idea or not, he took the steps down from the balcony two at a time and walked down to the lake.
She must have heard his footsteps on the uneven ground because she turned her head towards him. He could see her face now, pale and impassive in the twilight, and she was nursing something on her lap.
‘Hey...’ Some instinct stopped him from remarking on the warmth of the evening. This didn’t seem the right time for pleasantries.
‘Hi, Ross.’
‘May I join you?’
She nodded, as if she didn’t much care either way, and Ross sat down on the bench. He could see now what she was holding—a small wooden model of a boat.
‘What’s going on?’
Laurie puffed out a breath. ‘Nothing... Nothing. This seemed like a good idea but...’ She shrugged. ‘I’m not really feeling it.’
She looked as if she wasn’t feeling anything, but Ross knew better. She’d learned to work through any pain by just pretending she didn’t feel anything, and the more impassive her face, the more she was struggling.
‘What’s this for?’ He reached out and brushed the model boat with his fingertips. As he did so, he saw that it was full of kindling, and that a box of matches lay on the bench beside her. Laurie was saying goodbye to something...someone.
‘He’s been gone a long time. Fifteen years ago today.’ She turned, looking at him solemnly. ‘I’ve spent almost as much time without him as I had with him.’
‘And you thought you might send the boat out onto the water? As a remembrance for someone you’ve lost?’
‘Yes, it’s a model I had at home and... I put it into my case when we went down to London. I don’t know whether it’s the right thing now.’