ship, staring out to sea with a wistful, almost sad expression on her face. But then she would catch sight of him and her face would be transformed by the smile he’d grown to love. It felt as if their coming together had been inevitable. Which was strange—very strange. He wasn’t a man who believed in fate.
However, it felt good. It felt right.
But he still knew little more about her than he’d known at the start. Normally that would be good but with Cassie he wanted to know it all. In the past he’d always kept his relationships light-hearted and stayed away from the heavy stuff, but no one had made him feel the way he had since the first moment he’d spotted her lugging her suitcase along the quay.
However, he wasn’t going to think about what might or might not be. He was going to make the most of being with Cassie while he could.
He was smiling as he opened the email he’d received that morning.
He read it through and clicked on the attachment. It was a photograph of a boy of around four with large green eyes. He stared disbelievingly at an image that could have been him as a child.
An hour later, Leith was still trying to come to terms with what he’d learned. He had a son. He was a father. It just didn’t compute. Okay, so he’d always thought that he might, one day, have children, but ‘one day’ were the two key words. One day in the future. So far in the future he couldn’t even really imagine it.
But he’d better start imagining it.
He had a child.
He wasn’t ready to be a father. Not yet. He liked his life just the way it was. No ties, no obligations. Doing what he wanted. Work, women and travel—that’s what he liked. A child would put a stop to that. He’d have to be responsible, for God’s sake. Cut down on his working hours, reduce his travel commitments, be selective about the women he dated.
He examined the picture for the umpteenth time. The child was clearly bright—anyone could see that. And he had the same set to his jaw that Leith recognised from his own childhood pictures, which his mother brought out every time he was at home; hundreds of him as a baby naked on a blanket, as a toddler standing proudly next to his father with his own child-sized fishing rod, on his mother’s lap as she read him a story, all depicting the years until his graduation photograph and beyond. As his racing mind conjured up an image of him taking his son fishing or out on the boat, just as his father had taken him, something shifted inside his chest.
He studied the photograph again. In his childhood photographs he was always smiling—he might look the worse for wear, with patches on his knees and a dirt-smeared face, but he always looked blissfully happy.
He drew closer to the screen and his skin chilled. His son didn’t look happy—he didn’t look happy at all.
No child of his should look like that.
Cassie was happier than she could ever remember being. After the night she’d spent with Leith, they took every moment they could to be together. As soon as their medical duties were over they’d slip away, either to walk into the African veld or sometimes take a blanket down to the beach where they’d sit and talk about their day as the waves lapped against the shore.
Her heart cracked a little every time she thought about it ending. Leaving wasn’t supposed to be this hard. Wasn’t this the reason she’d always promised herself never to care too much?
Tonight they were sitting on their favourite spot by the shore. Leith was behind her with his legs and arms wrapped around her as she rested against his chest.
‘Do you have to go to Sudan?’ he asked suddenly.
The question caught her unawares and silence hung heavily before she answered. ‘Why? What else would you have me do?’ she asked lightly.
‘Come to London. You could get a job with the practice or in one of the teaching hospitals. Someone with your credentials should find it easy to get a job anywhere.’
She doodled a picture in the sand, stalling for time. ‘Now, why should I do that?’
His arms tightened around her. ‘I’m not ready to let you go.’
Her breath stopped in her throat. For a moment her carefully constructed future held no allure, her need and want of him overriding every rational thought. Perhaps it needn’t end? The thought shook her. Was she really thinking that this could last? What he was asking was impossible—she couldn’t let her employers down at this late stage. Especially not for a dream that might not come to anything. ‘I can’t not go to Sudan, Leith. I’ve made a commitment.’
She felt his sigh. ‘Damn it.’
Wriggling out of his arms, she turned to face him.
‘You could come with me. They’re always looking for people.’
‘I can’t.’ His voice was flat, his expression unreadable.
The light inside her flickered and died. She had read too much into his words. He wanted her to come to him but he wasn’t prepared to do the same for her.
‘But we could meet again when you to return to London,’ he added. ‘Until then, we could write, email, phone even. I’m sure they have phones in Sudan.’ His eyes glittered in the moonlight as he searched her face. She could almost hear the thudding of her own heart.
Why not? Perhaps it was time she trusted her heart to someone. To Leith. Take a chance. The thought was hammering around inside her head. Go on, take a chance. This man could love you—really love you.
But would he love her for ever? Could love ever be for ever? Could fairy-tales come true?
She leaned towards him and pulled his head towards hers. ‘Enough of the talking,’ she said lightly. ‘Do you know it’s been at least twenty minutes since you last kissed me?’
All too soon it was their last night together. The boat was setting sail at dawn to go further up the coast and it would be leaving her behind to catch her flight to Sudan. Leith still had a few days left before he too would be returning to his job in London.
Sometimes Cassie fantasised about the life they could have together but deep down she knew it was only that—a fantasy. Despite the passion they had for one another’s bodies, they hardly knew each other. She had her life to lead, one that didn’t include children—or a permanent relationship.
But there were still a few hours left for them to be together and she was determined to make the most of every second.
She was lying in the crook of Leith’s arm as one of his hands brushed lazily along her shoulder. Over the last couple of days he’d seemed preoccupied. She’d often catch him looking into the distance as if he were miles away, but she didn’t ask. If he had something to tell her, let it be in his own time. She hated people’s questions too much to ever pry.
But tonight he seemed particularly distracted. Normally when they were together he focussed his full attention on her. She’d noticed that he did the same whatever he was doing, working, eating—or making love. At the memory of just how thoroughly he’d made love to her only moments before, her whole body tingled. She stretched languorously.
‘Penny for them,’ she said, wondering if he was thinking about a patient.
‘I’m not sure you’d want to hear them.’
A shiver ran down her spine. There was something ominous about the tone of his voice.
‘As long as you’re not going to tell me you’re married after all.’ She laughed nervously.
His hand stilled on her shoulder. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Of course it’s not that.’ He paused for a moment. ‘I had an email a couple of days ago.’
She propped herself onto her elbow and looked down at him. Anxiety fluttered when she saw he was frowning. ‘Bad news?’
‘No. Yes. Damn it. I don’t know. A bit of both.’ He swung his legs