by Lucy Clark
It was a scary shame that his physical nearness created such an opposite effect because being too close to him only brought more tension and stress. Even now she was all too aware of his tall frame as he stood and pulled his own car keys from his pocket. He really was the whole package.
‘Aye.’
His one word helped to snap her mind back to attention and as she quickly pondered the scenario, decided it seemed pointless to argue. He was providing an answer to the questions she’d just been asking herself and this way if the car did break down, help would be readily available…sexy, Scottish help. ‘OK.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Just like that?’
‘It’s a logical solution. Your housing, I’m guessing, has been provided with the job—as was my housing—which would no doubt make us near neighbours so it’s not as though I’m taking you out of your way. Also, I now know that you’re not an axe-wielding homicidal maniac and that I’ll be perfectly safe with you.’
He grinned at her words. ‘Axe-wielding what?’
‘Never mind. Are you ready?’
‘Uh…sure. It’s just that I was going to convince you of my brilliant plan, that’s all.’
‘I’m convinced. Your brilliant plan is brilliant.’ Her words were spoken matter-of-factly as she unlocked the driver’s door, putting her briefcase and handbag into the back seat of the car. She needed to keep things businesslike with Loughlin if she was going to succeed in keeping her distance. She’d been hurt so badly before and although over a year had passed, she was still extremely wary of any involvement with her colleagues beyond the guidelines she’d already set for herself.
‘Right, then.’ He quickly spun on his heel and walked to his ute, climbing behind the wheel. A few other staff members had exited the hospital and were calling brief goodbyes as they headed to their own cars. ‘After you, Director Edwards,’ Loughlin said.
Megan turned the key in the ignition and was both stunned and pleased when her little car started the first time without the need of either coaxing or threatening. She reversed and headed out of the hospital grounds, checking her rear-view mirror to see if Loughlin was indeed following her. Sure enough, there he was and she couldn’t deny a feeling of relief to know she would at least get home safely this evening. Perhaps he could follow her home from the restaurant, too. Certainly, there wouldn’t be any harm in asking him.
As she drove to her place, passing the spot where she’d broken down that morning and where she’d first met the man who seemed to have invaded her life, she began to realise she was actually leading him to her house. That in itself felt strange. She’d not had any male visitors, except for old Alf who came to fix different things around the eco-friendly cottage she lived in.
Of course, her father and brother had insisted on going through the place when she’d first moved in, making sure it was safe for her, but as far as male ‘friends’ went, she hadn’t had any inside her house. Then again, perhaps Loughlin wouldn’t come in. Perhaps he would just follow her up her driveway, wave, toot and drive off to his place. If they were going to make the seven-thirty reservation he’d made that afternoon, they’d need to hustle.
Unfortunately, as she turned to go up the last little hill that led to her house, the car started to splutter a bit. ‘Oh, no. You were doing so well,’ she encouraged. ‘Nearly there. Nearly there. Come on. You can do it.’ Her words were more pleading than anything else and finally, after literally crawling up the hill, she turned into her fairly long driveway. Once the car had its wheels safely on the driveway, it spluttered again and as though it just couldn’t give any more, it conked out. Stopping dead.
‘No.’ Megan closed her eyes and leaned her head forward onto the steering wheel. She tried the ignition again but this time her efforts were only met with a simple click rather than any sort of whirring, indicating that the electrics had indeed died.
When Loughlin knocked on the driver’s window, Megan jumped but knew instantly that it was him. She opened the door. ‘Put it in neutral and I’ll push you up the rest of the way,’ he ordered.
‘I was thinking of leaving it here.’
‘You cannae do that to the car,’ he protested. ‘At least let it have a good night’s rest in the garage.’
Megan gave him a concerned look. ‘It’s a car, Loughlin.’
‘Yes, and as such should be looked after by its owner. Come on. Hop in and do the steering. These things are light and, if nothing else, it’ll bring back memories of when I used to have to push mine around the hills of Scotland as a laddie.’
She couldn’t help but smile at his words and in that one instant started to feel better. Doing as he had suggested, it didn’t take that long for them to get the car to her garage, where she pulled on the handbrake and climbed from the vehicle.
‘Right, then, Megan. I’ll scamper back to my place, get changed and be back to pick you up in ten minutes.’ He pointed a finger at her. ‘No more than that so be ready for my return,’ he called as he started to jog down her driveway towards his own car, waving as he went.
Megan was left with nothing to do except what he had suggested. No time to overreact, over-think or over-analyse. The last thing she wanted was to have him standing in her living room, waiting for her to finish getting dressed. She managed to have a very quick shower, needing to be refreshed after the day she’d managed to survive, and then stood a whole two minutes in front of her wardrobe, deciding what on earth she should wear.
Usually, she threw on whatever was closest or cleanest but it had been quite some time since she’d had dinner with a man—date or not—and she found the feminine side of her starting to rear its head, demanding she at least look different from how she dressed when she went to work every day.
A dress? A skirt and shirt? High heels? Flat shoes? Make-up? Jewellery? Hairstyle? Too many decisions and not enough time. If she didn’t move soon, Loughlin would be on her doorstep in a moment and would find her still standing in her underwear in front of her wardrobe.
That was enough to spur her on and, telling herself she didn’t care what he thought, she pulled on a pair of black jeans and a maroon knit top which had decorative beading on the front. She’d bought it on a whim when shopping with her sister-in-law. Jennifer had talked her into it but still Megan wasn’t sure if it was really her style. Tonight seemed as good a night to try it out and, besides, she was running out of time. As it was cool, she picked up her dark denim jacket and slipped her feet into a pair of flat and comfortable black shoes.
Thankfully, her blonde hair was cut short, which generally meant she didn’t need to style it for work. Now, though, she toyed with it for a whole thirty seconds, trying to decide whether she should clip it back on one side. Or perhaps both? She turned her head from side to side, studying her reflection as she held the strands back. Too dressy? Too much?
Hearing the sound of Loughlin’s car coming up her driveway, she stopped dithering and clipped it back, quickly applying some mascara and lip gloss. Her cheeks needed no rouge on them because the simple fact that she was dressing up to go out on a date—no, not a date, dressing to go out for an evening with a colleague, simply to say thank you for his help—was enough to give her cheeks a natural glow all their own.
She heard the driver’s door open and close and realised he was on his way to her door. The engine of his car still running, which meant he wasn’t going to be waiting around for her to finish primping in front of the mirror.
She grabbed her handbag and headed to the front door, opening it at the same time he raised his hand to knock.
‘And we meet again,’ he murmured, then stepped back to admire the woman before him. His eyes widened in delight and appreciation. ‘Wow!’
CHAPTER THREE
LOUGHLIN stopped still where he was and simply stared at the woman before him. In one day he’d seen quite a few different sides to Megan Edwards and this was one he instantly decided he wouldn’t mind seeing more of. ‘Director Edwards,’ he drawl
ed. ‘You scrub up nicely. Love the top. Very nice.’
Megan wasn’t at all sure what to do or say. Loughlin had changed his jeans and now wore a light blue shirt with a dark black T-shirt beneath. The shirt, as that morning, wasn’t tucked in and the effect, with his crazy, uncontrollable hair, was quite intoxicating. And now he was standing there paying her lovely compliments.
‘Ready to go?’ he added when it appeared Megan wasn’t about to move.
‘Huh? Oh. Yes. Sorry.’ She turned around and pulled the door closed behind her, giving herself a bit of a mental shake and feeling a little embarrassed that she’d just been standing there staring at him, not saying a word.
‘We’ll end up being about five minutes late,’ he continued conversationally as they walked to his car, Loughlin holding the door for her.
‘Er…thank you.’ He was quite the gentleman and in a world where equal opportunity ruled, it was nice to see that chivalry was not dead.
‘Now, you don’t think we ought to call and let the restaurant know we’ll be late? I wouldn’t want them to give away our reservation,’ he added as he climbed into the driver’s side and started the engine.
‘This isn’t Sydney—or Glasgow for that matter, Loughlin. This is Kiama. Sea-change town. People come here from Sydney to kick back, relax and spend time at the beach on the weekends so they can cope with the Monday to Friday daily rut their lives have become.’
Loughlin raised his eyebrows at her words. ‘Interesting statements you’re making there, lassie.’
‘Just observations.’ Megan shrugged, wanting to change the subject. She liked it way too much when he called her lassie.
‘How long have you been here in this sleepy little sea-change town?’
‘Almost a year.’
‘And you don’t like it?’
‘Oh, no. I do like it.’
‘But you don’t want to stay here. Right?’
Megan tugged her jacket around her as he spoke. For some reason, his words made her feel vulnerable and she hated feeling that way. ‘I’m not sure what I want. I just know I need change. Whatever that is.’ She had murmured the last part more to herself but Loughlin nodded, indicating he’d heard her.
‘Life can sometimes get to the point where it…stagnates.’ He nodded.
‘You feel the same way?’
‘I’m in Australia, Megsy.’ He glanced over at her as he spoke but due to the lack of lighting she couldn’t make out his features.
‘Please don’t call me that,’ she said softly.
‘Why not? It suits you. Makes you seem less…oh, I don’t know…prickly?’
Megan merely shrugged at his words, not wanting to get into a debate about it. Although she was classified as having a brilliant mind, it was more to do with work and academic matters. Social interaction was something she’d struggled with all her life which was why she wasn’t all that good at making friends, making small talk or having a casual dinner with her colleagues. People needed to persist with her, to dig a little deeper beneath the surface, and then, usually after quite a while, she could let them in. She’d done that with Calvin. She’d let him into her inner sanctum and look how that had turned out. All the barriers she’d spent years learning how to deconstruct had been reerected when he’d jilted her at the altar.
They were almost in town and within a few more minutes Loughlin had parked the car in the restaurant car park and was coming around to open the door for her. Megan didn’t want to wait for him. She needed to become immune to his charm, to show him that she was an independent woman and that she could open her own door. She didn’t need a man in her life.
Loughlin merely raised an eyebrow. ‘An independent woman.’ There was a polite smile on his face and she somehow got the feeling that he didn’t approve. Surely a man in this day and age would want a woman who wasn’t a leech or a lemming. Surely a man would want a woman who could think for herself, who went after what she wanted, who knew her own mind.
Even though it seemed he was trying to size her up, she had plans to do the same thing to him. Loughlin McCloud intrigued her and she wanted to know more about him. Information such as what had brought him here to Australia in the first place and how long he planned to stay. Those two questions were top of her list. She also knew that being seen together away from the hospital might give the town gossips something new to discuss but she was willing to put up with that if it meant she could start to figure out exactly what Loughlin McCloud wanted from the community, the hospital and from her. Because everyone wanted something. Calvin had taught her that.
‘Something wrong?’ Loughlin asked after they’d been warmly greeted by Paula, their hostess, and seated.
‘No.’
‘Then why are you still frowning?’
‘I’m frowning?’ Megan automatically put her hand up to her forehead in surprise. ‘Sorry. Was just thinking about something else.’
‘What?’
The question was simple and as such, instead of shrugging away the answer and telling him it was nothing, she decided on the truth. ‘Just the fact that we’re going to be a hot topic of conversation.’
‘Because we’ve come out to a meal together?’
‘Yes.’
‘And that bothers you?’
‘Not the actual fact that we’re having dinner. This place has the best Italian food this side of…well, in the Illawarra district,’ she added with a small smile. ‘No, I mean because we’re together. I mean, out together. Eating together.’ It didn’t matter which way she said it, even to her own ears it sounded as though they were a hot item. Kiama’s latest and greatest. Megan shook her head and saw Loughlin’s lips begin to twitch. A real smile. The sort that made him more handsome than he’d first appeared.
‘Think this is funny?’ she asked.
‘I think it’s funny listening to you trying to dig yourself out of a hole.’ He put his elbows on the table and leaned forward, his chin resting on his hands, his spicy scent encompassing her once more. ‘I take it you’re uncomfortable with the thought of being talked about, yes?’
‘Yes.’
‘Let me guess. It’s because you’ve been talked about before?’
Megan visibly bristled at his words and he realised he might be hitting a little too close to the bone. ‘Yes.’
‘And it wasn’t good?’
‘No.’ The word was said between clenched teeth.
An awkward silence surrounded them for a moment, Loughlin realising he needed to say something to change the subject but at the same time wanting to satisfy his curiosity by asking her more probing questions.
Then again, that wasn’t what he was here for. He hadn’t suggested dinner so that he could grill the poor woman. No, he’d suggested it so he could not only eat out for a change but also enjoy her company. When you were used to being surrounded by over ten people almost every evening at tea time, it could make a person feel quite sombre and lonely when faced with peace and quiet.
‘Do you have any siblings?’ The question came rocketing out of Megan’s mouth before she could stop it.
Loughlin raised an eyebrow at the question and he could hear in her voice that she was ready to move on with the conversation, to move the focus onto him. He didn’t want to disappoint. He, too, had his own skeletons in the closet but wasn’t sure if he was ready to confess all to his colleague just yet. ‘Four, and they’re all sisters.’
‘Wow.’
‘Yeah. And to add insult to serious injury, they’re all older than me.’
Megan toyed with her water glass. ‘That probably helps to explain why you feel so at home around women.’ Today she had thought he’d flirted with all the women he’d met—herself included—but perhaps it was simply that he knew how to talk to a woman.
‘Probably. That, and the fact that my ma was a successful career woman who not only ran her own business but juggled raising five children pretty much on her own.’ His eyes turned sad but with acceptance, not regret. ‘My
father passed away when I was a mere twelve years of age.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Megan’s words were heartfelt. ‘That must have been such a difficult time for you, especially at that age. It’s when a boy needs his father most of all.’
‘Aye.’ He nodded and was solemn for a moment before his ever-present grin was back. ‘And then I was alone in a house full of women—all older than me and all as bossy as each other. After my dad died, my mother did her best to fill in a lot of gaps that appeared in my life. My sisters were intent on playing football with me and when I was fourteen years old, my oldest sister gave me the best present of all. She got married.’
Megan smiled at the gleam of excitement in his eyes. ‘So she moved out and you finally got a room to yourself?’
‘No. Well, yes, there was that, but the real reason I loved it was because she gave me a brother-in-law. That’s been one of the bonuses of having four sisters. I now have four brilliant brothers-in-law, which is good because all of my sisters were really bad at football.’
She couldn’t help but laugh. Oh, yes. He was all ease and friendliness and she was starting to relax. ‘Finding the silver lining, eh?’
‘You’ve got to do it, Megan, or else we’ll all end up insane.’
Megan smiled. ‘True. My brother’s wife died when his twin girls were only one but now not only do the girls have a new mother but I have a fantastic sister-in-law.’
‘And I think your brother benefits from this arrangement, too,’ Loughlin felt compelled to point out.
Megan nodded. ‘Oh, yes. Jasper is the happiest I’ve seen him in a very long time. Jennifer is perfect for him. My parents love her and it’s as though she’s the missing piece of the family puzzle. We’re all very close.’
‘That’s great to hear. Family is so important. So many people don’t realise how important it is. Parenting is the hardest job in the world and it doesn’t matter how old your children get, you still need to be there for them.’ There was a thread of vehemence in his words and Megan was a little surprised by it. He was talking as though he were a parent. Or was it more of the case that he’d been a parent in the past but that something tragic had happened?
