me later?’ Leith asked quietly.
Cassie’s heart thumped. She already knew she wasn’t going to say no. Last night she’d tossed and turned, thinking about Leith and wondering what she would do if he sought her out. She’d managed to convince herself that it could do no harm to spend time with him. She was tired of her own company and Leith was, well, interesting to say the least. It wasn’t as if there was any danger of them having more than a short while together. Pretty soon they’d be going their separate ways.
‘Why not? Let’s meet at the harbour wall. Say, around seven-thirty?’
Leith grinned and her heart did a little somersault. Good God, it was like being a teenager again, except no one had ever made her feel like this. Not as a teenager, not as an adult, not ever. Determined to ignore the warning bells in her head, she gave him one last smile and headed to the changing rooms.
Over the next week they spent almost all their off-duty hours together and Cassie found herself constantly looking out for him as she worked. She was happy—yet terrified. In the past, whenever she had found herself getting too close to a man, she’d simply backed away before the relationship had got too serious, and every day she told herself to walk away from Leith while she could.
But her resolve melted away as soon as she saw him. Why not enjoy what they had while she could? It wasn’t as if Leith made demands on her, simply seeming to enjoy her company, although she suspected, from the way he looked at her, that he wasn’t immune either.
Was it possible that finally she’d met someone she could love and, even more importantly, who could love her in return? She groaned inwardly. What was the use in even thinking like that? She had her future all mapped out and it didn’t—couldn’t—include long-term relationships.
‘Where will you go when you’re finished here?’ Leith asked one evening as they walked along the beach.
‘I have a job with the United Nations—in their International Medical Corps.’
He whistled. ‘The United Nations! A high-flyer, then?’
She smiled up at him. ‘That’s one way of putting it.’ She had certainly worked hard enough to achieve her dreams. Always refusing to go out with her fellow medical students, although that hadn’t simply been down to work, being the first on the wards and last off as a trainee, doing anything and everything that had been asked of her. After all, she of all people knew how to please.
But she didn’t want to think about that. It was the present she cared about right now. ‘My first posting is to Sudan. I go straight there from here.’
He frowned. ‘Why Sudan?’
‘I can’t think of a more worthwhile use of my skills. I like the feeling I’m helping children in real need.’ She breathed in the scent of sea and spice that she’d come to associate with Africa. ‘And I’ve always wanted to travel,’ she added. Because no place felt like home. ‘I think it will be a real test of my skills. What about you?’
‘I worked as a consultant in Glasgow for years and spent a long time abroad—mainly Africa but other countries too. I moved to London a couple of years ago. I work in Harley Street now.’
‘Harley Street?’ Cassie said, surprised. ‘Bit of a shift from Africa to Harley Street, isn’t it?’
‘Hey, don’t mock what you don’t know. The practice I work for only employs the best—its patients won’t tolerate anything else.’ He grinned at her. ‘If you’re ever looking for a job, I know they’d like to have a top-class doctor on the team.’
Warmth spread through her at the compliment. Although she knew she was a good doctor, she wasn’t used to praise. It felt good, especially so, she had to admit, coming from Leith. But of course what he was suggesting was impossible.
‘Thanks, but, no, thanks. London in the rain? The crowds? Battling the Underground? Give me blue skies and sun any time,’ she responded, knowing it was only a version of the truth. ‘I’ve had my career all mapped out ever since I went into medicine. That’s the way I like my life. It keeps me focussed.’
‘What about the personal one?’
The look in his eyes made her bones melt and once again she found herself wondering if there could be room in her life for spontaneity. Did everything have to be planned down to the last hour? On the other hand, that was how she liked it. It was far safer.
‘My work gives me everything I need—or want.’
He raised his eyebrow. ‘Everything? You don’t intend to get married? Have children?’
She stiffened. ‘Not every woman is born to be a mother.’
‘No,’ he replied, looking surprised, ‘but I’ve seen the way you are with the children. You’re a natural.’
‘Why does everyone think that every woman should want to have a child? In my experience, some women should be positively banned from having kids. After all, no one seems to think it unnatural if a man doesn’t want to have children. What about you, for example? Are they in your future?’
‘One day perhaps.’ His eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘In a few years’ time. In the meantime, I plan to have as much fun as I can.’
Her heart sank. His reply wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear.
‘And your parents? Are they in London?’ he continued after a moment’s silence.
Suddenly chilled, despite the muggy evening, she wrapped her arms around herself. ‘Some of the time. They spend a lot of time abroad now. One way or another, I don’t see much of them. What about yours?’ She wasn’t about to tell him that a bonus of going to work in Sudan was its distance from her adoptive parents.
He studied her for a moment as if he was about to press her further but then he seemed to change his mind. ‘They live on Skye. They’ve been married for forty years and still crazily in love with each other. That’s the way I want it to be if ever I get married.’
A familiar ache in her chest made her catch her breath. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to believe love could last? They halted under an acacia tree. In the distance, small fishing boats lit by glowing lanterns bobbed about the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the smell of jasmine hung on the heavy night air.
Leith tipped her chin so she was looking up at him. ‘God, you’re beautiful.’ The world stopped turning as he brought his mouth down on hers. For a moment she felt as if she could hardly breathe. His kiss was gentle at first, his lips warm and questioning. But as she melted into him, his kiss became deeper, more demanding, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting more of him.
She could feel his desire for her against her pelvis and an answering warmth flooded through her. She wanted him. She wanted to feel his naked skin on hers, to have his hands all over her body and hers on his. She didn’t even care that after she’d left here she would never see him again—all she needed right now was this.
When they pulled away they were both breathing deeply.
‘Come back to the ship with me,’ he said simply.
When she nodded, he took her hand.
Cassie woke to bright sunshine streaming in through the porthole. At first she didn’t know where she was, but as the fog of sleep lifted she remembered. She smiled and stretched as a warm peace filled her. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this good.
She propped herself up on her elbow and studied Leith. Even in his sleep his mouth turned up at the corners. She trailed her fingertips over the hard contours of his chest and as she did so his eyes snapped open and he caught her hand in his.
‘Morning,’ he said with a smile.
‘Morning,’ she whispered back.
He ran his hand along her shoulder and down the curve of her waist and every nerve in her body