Joanna Neil - The Secret Doctor

‘I know.’ The words came out in a muffled tone. She was conscious of the heat from his arm gently seeping into her, and as he moved closer, she felt the brush of his long body next to hers. It was a good feeling, that warmth of human contact, and it occurred to her that it had been a long time since she had known such tenderness. She had a strange yearning to lean against him, to have him hold her and comfort her, but that would never do, would it?

This was Jake, a man she had known for barely two weeks, and instinct told her that she ought to be keeping him at arm’s length. It was a pity her heart wasn’t listening. Instead, it was beating out its own erratic rhythm, and seemed to be recklessly bent on overriding common sense.

A soft breeze stirred the air, and she looked out over the water. Moonlight glittered on its surface, beautiful in its serenity.

‘Are you cold?’ Jake asked, and she was suddenly reminded that they were standing out here on the dock, with her wearing little more than a cotton shift.

She shook her head. ‘No, but I should go and put something on—a robe, or something.’

His mouth curved. ‘You don’t need to do that on my account. I’m perfectly happy for you to stay as you are…You feel very soft and cuddlesome to me, and you look like an angel, a dazzling, white angel who makes the moonbeams dance on the water.’ His eyes gleamed in the darkness. ‘Which reminds me…I came here to ask if you would come and join the party…There’s dancing, friendly people, and lots of good food and drink to warm your soul.’ He looked at her intently. ‘What do you say? Will you come?’

She shook her head. ‘I can’t. It’s late…I’m not dressed.’

‘Late doesn’t matter, does it? After all, you don’t have to be at work till lunchtime tomorrow, do you? You said you were on the late shift all week. And as to being dressed, much as it goes against the grain to suggest altering what’s perfect already, we could soon rectify that, couldn’t we?’

He started to turn her around, and began to walk her towards the house. ‘It really doesn’t matter what you wear. You’ll look gorgeous in anything, so choose whatever takes your fancy—maybe something cool and partyish.’

‘I haven’t said I’ll come to your party,’ she objected huskily as he urged her into the house, his arm still draped around her shoulders.

‘Then I’ll stay here with you and abandon my guests for even longer than I have done already. It will be all your fault when they say I’m a bad host.’

She gave him a look from under her lashes. ‘Am I supposed to worry about that? Your problem is, you haven’t learned to take no for an answer.’

He nodded. ‘You’re absolutely right.’ He halted at the foot of the stairs, leaning negligently against the newel post. ‘So what’s it to be? Am I staying the night?’ He paused, reflecting on that for a while. ‘Actually, come to think of it, it seems to me that’s much the better option.’ Flame darted wickedly in his eyes.

‘Oh, you’re impossible.’ She turned away from him and started up the stairs, but then she swivelled around and held out a forbidding hand as he made to follow her. ‘You stay there,’ she told him.

‘Are you sure?’ He gave her an innocent, wide-eyed look. ‘I thought you might need some help deciding what to wear.’

‘I’m quite sure.’ Her blue eyes sparked a warning, and this time he paid heed, holding up his hands in mock submission.

‘Okay, okay. I get the message.’

‘That’s good.’

Lacey started to climb the stairs once more, but in the background she heard his plaintive voice muttering, ‘She doesn’t like me a bit…She doesn’t trust me…yet here I am, innocent as the day…’

‘Innocent as an alligator on the prowl,’ she retorted without looking back, and was rewarded with a soft splutter of laughter.

She dressed quickly in a simple, pencil-line dress made of a soft jersey fabric that clung to her figure like a second skin. She felt good in this dress. In delicate shades of blue, it enhanced the colour of her eyes, and lent her confidence. It had a V neckline and was waist cinching, and the bodice was embellished with a smattering of sparkling diamanté.

When she went back downstairs just a few minutes later, she found Jake was waiting for her in the hall. As she approached, he simply stared at her, an arrested look in his eyes, as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He gave a soft gasp of appreciation.

‘You look fantastic,’ he said, his gaze drifting over her. ‘Like the girl of my dreams…I want to scoop you up and keep you all to myself.’

‘Sorry. That’s not an option.’ She smiled. ‘Besides, you said yourself that your guests will be wondering what’s happened to you.’

‘Maybe…but I left the caterers in charge. They’ll see to it that no one goes hungry or without a drink.’ He was still gazing at her in an enthralled fashion. ‘Perhaps the party was a bad idea. It would be so much easier to get to know you better if we were to stay here.’

‘On your way, neighbour,’ she told him in a firm voice. ‘You railroaded me into this, and you promised me food and drink…Besides, I have to confess I’m dying to see what your house is like inside. What I’ve seen from a distance looks magnificent, like a millionaire’s retreat…all those different elevations and those landscaped acres. Even the pale sunshine colouring looks good, with the white deck rails and tiled roofs and awnings. I’m intrigued to know what the rest of it looks like.’

‘Then it will be my pleasure to show it to you,’ he said. ‘Though I don’t think you need to feel envious in any way. The place you have here is just lovely—a lot smaller than mine, I grant you, but perfect for a couple, maybe, with a small family.’

He sent her a glance as they left the house and started out along the dock. ‘Have you thought about selling up and finding yourself another place nearer to the hospital, or closer to your sister? I mean, you have no real reason to stay on here, do you? And Rob said you were hoping to meet up with your sister again soon.’

Her brow knotted. ‘No, I hadn’t thought about it at all. I’m still coming to terms with the move out here, and this was the natural choice of where to stay.’

He nodded. ‘I can see how you would need time to acclimatise yourself. But if you ever do decide you want to sell up, I would give you a good price for the property.’

She looked at him in astonishment. ‘Why on earth would you want to buy the place? Don’t you have enough room to rattle about in already?’

He smiled. ‘It’s more about the land…I’d like to extend the dock, and build a marine basin…And then there’s the orange grove at the back of the property. I already grow oranges, limes and grapefruit, but with your land added to mine I could do it on a commercial basis. There’s always a market for fresh fruit or fruit juices.’

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