by Joanna Neil
‘Alyssa…’
‘I know,’ she said softly, on a breathy sigh. ‘I want you too, but I need to get my feelings straight. I can’t let you sweep me off my feet.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ His lips gently nuzzled the curve of her neck, and slid down along the bare slope of her shoulder. ‘It’s a very tempting idea. You know there’s nothing I’d like more. Ever since the accident, I’ve been thinking about you and me…how we might be together…’
But before he could kiss her again they heard the sound of voices in the distance, coming ever closer, and Connor sighed and rested his cheek against hers for a second or two. Then he straightened and reluctantly eased himself away from her, still holding onto her hands and looking around to see who was coming along the path towards them.
Alyssa’s mind was in a whirl. What did he mean, how they might be together?
‘I might have known,’ he said, under his breath. ‘Ross’s timing has always been atrocious.’
‘I suppose they decided it was about time to set off for home,’ Alyssa murmured, watching his brother and Carys coming closer. ‘The music has stopped. It must be very late.’
He laid an arm around her shoulder. ‘You’re right. I guess we should be thinking about what we can do to entertain Carys tomorrow…unless you want to keep her to yourself?’
She shook her head. ‘I think she’d enjoy the four of us being together.’ She felt the loss of his arms around her intensely, and she was churned up inside at the interruption, but Carys had come over here especially to see her, and now she felt guilty because of her own dismay at seeing her turn up on the footpath with Ross. She wanted to be alone with Connor right now…but maybe that was not the most sensible idea around.
They went back to the house with Ross and Carys, and since it was so late Ross decided to stay in his brother’s apartment overnight.
In the morning, they all had breakfast together on the deck outside Connor’s apartment.
‘I thought you might like to take a trip around the islands,’ Connor suggested, looking first at Carys and then at Alyssa. ‘My yacht’s moored not far from here—we could spend the day seeing the sights from on board, take a picnic lunch with us. What do you think?’
‘That sounds wonderful.’ Carys glanced at Alyssa and she nodded in agreement.
‘I think so, too. Perhaps we’d better start getting some food together…and maybe a bottle or two or three…’
Connor shook his head. ‘There’s no need for you to do that. I’ll organise things. You two can just relax and spend some time together while Ross and I see to everything.’
‘Well, I’m all for that,’ Carys murmured, smiling. ‘I’ll go and put on some sun cream in readiness.’
‘Me, too.’ Alyssa turned to go downstairs with Carys, picking up her phone as its ringtone sounded.
She was startled to hear her mother’s voice on the other end of the line.
‘Hi, Mum, how are you doing?’ She signalled to Carys that she was going to take the call out in the garden, and Carys gave her a cheery wave in return.
‘I just heard all about the accident you were caught up in,’ her mother said, sounding vexed. ‘Why on earth didn’t you tell me about it?’
‘The accident?’ Alyssa was puzzled. How would her mother come to know anything about what had happened? Which accident was she talking about?
‘On the night of the storm. The car was a write-off, but you didn’t say a word. Heavens, Lyssa, you could have been hurt…but you didn’t tell me. I’m your mother, and I knew nothing at all about it.’
‘I’m sorry. I was fine and I thought it best not to worry you.’ She frowned. ‘How did you get to hear about it?’
‘Well, you know how it is. Your Aunt Jenny heard it from Carys…and Jenny is my sister, after all, so she phoned me and asked, did I know? Of course I didn’t. You never tell me anything.’
‘That’s not true,’ Alyssa protested. ‘I email you lots of times and tell you all the gossip—I just don’t mention anything that might worry you unnecessarily, that’s all.’
‘Well, you should have told me about that.’ Her mother was indignant. ‘I need to know that you’re safe.’
‘I am. Honestly. I’m fine. You’ve no need to worry about me. It was poor Ross who came out of it with concussion, but he’s okay now.’ Alyssa was touched that her mother had taken the trouble to phone her. ‘I miss you, Mum. It’s great to hear from you.’
‘We miss you, too, Lyssa. Maybe your dad and I could have a video chat with you when it’s your birthday next week? We must arrange a time that’s good for the three of us.’
They talked for a few more minutes and Alyssa promised she would let her mother know straight away if anything out of the ordinary happened. In turn, her mother said she would try to keep in touch more often.
‘We’ll choose a time each week when we can be sure we’re both able to get to the phone,’ she said. There was a wistful note in her voice as she added, ‘Though it would be good if we were able to see you again properly. I couldn’t quite take it in when you suddenly upped and left, but your father and I didn’t want to stand in your way.’
It was strange, hearing things from her parents’ point of view, and when she cut the call a short time later, Alyssa was deep in thought.
‘Is everything all right?’ Connor asked, on his way from the house to the car with a large wicker hamper. ‘Did I hear you say it was your mother on the phone?’
‘Yes, it was…and everything’s fine. She heard about Ross’s car being written off and wanted to know what happened. She said they miss me. She and Dad are going to call me on my birthday—they want to do a video call that morning.’
His mouth curved. ‘That sounds good. Perhaps it won’t seem so bad being far away from them if you can hook up by video and actually get to see one another.’
She nodded. ‘I suppose so. Though with my contract coming to an end soon I’ll have to decide what I’m going to do…whether to stay on here and look for work or maybe go back home. I think my parents would like that.’
He set the hamper down on the ground. He appeared to be stunned. His body became rigid, his shoulders stiff and his whole frame was tense. ‘You’re not really thinking of going back home, are you?’ he said in a shocked voice. ‘I thought you said you loved the island?’
Her eyes were troubled. ‘I do. But I have to be practical and think about the future. When I came here I needed a break, time to sort myself out. I was trying to decide whether I should give up on medicine altogether. I’m still not entirely sure, but I don’t think I can go on straddling the fence for much longer. And if I choose medicine…Well, the fact is I did my training in the UK, so it would seem sensible to go back there to work.’
She didn’t tell him the one true factor that would underline her decision-making. She wanted to be near to Connor, to spend her days—and nights—with him. But his track record wasn’t encouraging where women were concerned and she’d already seen for herself that things could go badly wrong. Maybe she would feel differently if he gave her some idea that he wanted more than a fleeting affair, but why would he change the habit of a lifetime?
‘I can’t imagine how it would be without you here,’ he said huskily. ‘I’ve grown so used to having you around. You can’t mean it…’
‘I have to consider it as a real possibility,’ she said. She was surprised by how much her words seemed to have affected him. The colour had drained from his face. ‘But I still have a week or so before I need to make my decision.’
He nodded, and she said quietly, ‘I suppose I should go and get ready for this boat trip. I’m already running late, from the looks of things.’ She gestured towards the hamper. ‘Have you filled that up already? Surely, you haven’t had time?’
‘No. That’s true, we haven’t.’ He seemed to make a conscious effort to relax his stance. ‘I phoned the catering service in the town and they’re going to fill the basket for me. I
t’s only a ten-minute run in the car, so I’ll be back before you know it.’ His gaze wandered over her. ‘You look as though you’re ready for the day ahead, anyway. You’re perfect as you are.’
‘Well, thanks for the vote of confidence.’ She smiled. She had chosen to wear white jeans and a lightly patterned blouse that was gently nipped in at the waist. ‘I’ll just put on some more lipstick and pin back my hair, and then I’ll be ready to go. We won’t keep you waiting.’
‘That’s all right. Don’t worry about it…but your hair looks great as it is. It always looks good, whether you leave it loose or pin it up, or whatever. I’ve always thought it was beautiful…that glossy, deep chestnut colour and those gorgeous curls. You look fantastic.’
She felt warm colour run along her cheekbones. ‘I’m glad you feel that way. Somehow, with Carys around, looking so lovely, I sometimes feel as though I fade into the background. She’s truly beautiful.’
He reached for her, his hands lightly clasping her bare arms. ‘So are you. You could never fade into the background. Don’t even think it.’ He frowned, looking her over. ‘You don’t have much self-confidence, do you? And yet you have so much to be proud of. All that nonsense about leaving…Maybe I can help you to change your mind.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t think that will work,’ she said.
‘No?’ A challenging glint came into his eyes. ‘I can see I’m going to have to take you in hand.’
She glanced at the fingers curled around her arms. ‘Did you mean that literally?’
‘Oh, yes. Definitely.’ He had started to pull her towards him when Ross shouted down from the upper veranda.
‘Are you going to get that hamper filled,’ he said with an amused twist to his mouth, ‘or are we going to hang about all morning? Stop fooling around, bro, and get a move on.’
Connor’s mouth quirked in mock annoyance. ‘I knew I should have sent him back to his own place last night.’
Alyssa chuckled, faintly relieved by the diversion. After all, she couldn’t be certain she would be able to withstand Connor’s gentle coaxing. ‘There are times when I think I must be lucky not to have any siblings. People talk about rivalry, and you expect it when they’re young, but when you grow up…?’
‘Yeah, well, a lot of testosterone gets thrown about where men are involved.’ He let her go and went to load the hamper in the car. ‘I won’t be long,’ he promised.
He was as good as his word, and it was around mid-morning when they set sail from the marina where Connor’s yacht was moored. They climbed into the boat and within a very short time they were cruising the crystal clear waters around the island, with Connor at the helm. Ross mixed rum punch and offered the girls the chance to look through his binoculars at the startling white cliffs in the distance.
After a while, Alyssa went to join Connor at the helm. She handed him an ice-cold lager and he swallowed the drink gratefully.
‘Thanks, I was ready for that.’
‘I thought you might be.’ She pointed to the island in the distance. ‘Is that where we’re headed?’
‘Yes, Ross and I thought it would be a good place to stop for lunch. There’s a lovely stretch of beach in a sheltered bay—it’s fringed by coral reefs, so it’s really one of the most beautiful places around.’
‘From what I’ve seen, the coral is spectacular,’ she murmured. ‘I didn’t think we’d be able to get so close to it, but in these calm waters you can see everything.’ She’d seen swaying purple sea fans, pink sea anemones and myriad brightly coloured tropical fish.
‘I hoped you would like it,’ he said, smiling.
‘I do.’ She sighed contentedly. ‘I’m so glad we came out here today. I wanted to see as much as I could of the reefs and the fish that swim around them. Carys said she was keen on doing that as well.’
‘You should have a good chance of that this afternoon.’
They moved slowly through the sparkling turquoise water for an hour or so, and then dropped anchor in the bay of the island they had seen some time ago through the binoculars.
From the deck of the yacht Alyssa looked out at the pristine white sand that bordered the cliffs. Long-billed pelicans made their nesting ground near rocky outcrops, and overhead they could hear gulls calling to one another.
Connor opened up the hamper and produced a wonderful selection of food. There were spiced meats and rock lobster, along with pâté and savoury biscuits, salad and a variety of mouth-watering dips. For dessert they ate fruit tarts with fresh cream—everything had been kept chilled in a cooler and had then been transferred to the fridge on board the yacht.
‘Mmm…I could get used to this life,’ Alyssa murmured, leaning back in her seat and sipping the highball Ross had handed her.
‘Me, too.’ Carys stretched out her long, slender legs. ‘I’ve eaten way too much.’ She gave Connor a mock glare. ‘You’re using this weekend to ply me with food—I shall soon be totally fat.’
He laughed. He was sitting by the deck rail and now he cast a glance over her lithe body. ‘Oh, I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘You’ve had that same figure for the last several years—I doubt you’re going to start piling on the pounds now.’
‘Huh. So you say. How am I supposed to do any work tomorrow? I shall still be stuffed by morning, and it’s all your fault for providing such luscious food.’
‘Ah, well, I dare say the events management team can do without your input for a few hours…if the local sports club doesn’t get their programme for the charity fete for another day or so, it’s hardly going to matter, is it? And if Ross’s film schedule’s held up for half a day because he can’t get out of his chair, no one will worry too much.’
‘Don’t you believe it,’ Ross interjected drily. ‘The finance department will be on my tail for a week or more.’ He made a wry smile. ‘Still, I don’t suppose it’s quite the same as you and Alyssa not turning up for work, is it?’
‘I’m not so sure about that,’ Alyssa murmured. ‘We’re not indispensable. There will always be someone skilled and capable who can look after the patients for us.’ She looked at Connor. ‘Not that I’m suggesting we leave them to it,’ she added.
‘I don’t know,’ Ross said. ‘If you hadn’t been there when those two cars crashed, I doubt Raeni would still be with us. How is she? Do you know?’
‘She’s still sedated and recovering from the loss of blood,’ Connor said, ‘and from the fact that her heart actually stopped beating at one point. They haven’t managed to restore her heart to a normal rhythm yet, so that’s a worry, but she’s in Intensive Care, so everything’s being done that can be done.’
Alyssa swirled the colourful juice in her glass. ‘Did you get to hear anything more about Malik? I rang up yesterday to try and find out, but the consultant was still deciding on the best course of action.’
‘There was a tear in his diaphragm,’ Connor told her. ‘They’ve decided to operate tomorrow, so we should know a bit more by late afternoon.’
Carys frowned. ‘I could never do that job,’ she said quietly. ‘It would worry me way too much.’
Alyssa nodded. ‘That’s how I felt when I came over here. I didn’t know if I would be able to go on working as a doctor—I thought these last few months would give me the break I needed to help me recharge my batteries.’ She frowned. ‘But then we had to deal with some real emergencies—something I never expected to happen—and I began to think my career was over. I didn’t think I could cope.’
‘Do you still feel that way?’ Connor was standing by the deck rail, watching her closely.
She shook her head. ‘I think I’ve discovered that I would far rather try to save lives than not to try at all.’ She was thoughtful for a moment. ‘Things don’t always work out the way we want them to in this job, but at least we have the satisfaction of doing everything we possibly can.’
He came over to her and reached for her hand. ‘I’m really glad you feel that way,’ he said, going down
on his haunches beside her. ‘I think you’ve made the right decision.’
She made a faint smile. ‘I wasn’t so keen when Alex fell from the lorry,’ she said quietly. ‘But he’s beginning to make good progress with his walking, so I guess things are looking up for him at last.’
Lewis hadn’t been quite so lucky, though. She’d looked in on him a couple of days ago and the consultant in charge of his case was still searching for a strong antibiotic that would knock the septicaemia on its head. The ones they’d tried so far weren’t bringing about the response the team had hoped for.
‘Alex should come out of this without any lasting effects,’ Connor said. ‘He looked really cheerful when I last saw him.’ He stood up, glancing out over the side of the yacht and began to tug on her hand, urging her up from her seat. ‘Come and see this…I think a shoal of fish must be heading our way. You, too, Carys. You might want to see this.’
They all went with him to the deck rail, Ross coming to stand beside Alyssa, while Connor pointed out the shoal to Carys.
‘They don’t usually come this close to the surface,’ he said softly.
‘What are they?’ Carys asked. ‘Do you know?’
‘They’re parrotfish—they call them that because of their parrot-like beaks.’
‘Oh, I’ve heard about them,’ Carys said, intrigued. ‘They use the beak to scrape off coral so that they can feed on algae. They’re beautifully coloured, aren’t they?’ They were blue, yellow and red, flashing brightly as they swam through the water in search of coral. ‘I heard they can change sex,’ she added in an awed voice. ‘That must cause some confusion among the ranks.’
They all laughed and went to sit back on deck. They sipped cocktails and chatted for some time, until Carys reluctantly mentioned that she had a plane to catch in a couple of hours.
‘Okay, we’ll up anchor,’ Connor said. ‘I’ll drive you to the airport, if you like.’
‘Okay, thanks.’
Ross frowned, and Alyssa wondered if he was troubled by his brother’s offer. He didn’t say anything, though, and when they arrived back at the house some time later, Ross went into the study in Connor’s apartment and left Connor to make the arrangements for the journey to the airport. ‘I have to make a phone call,’ he told Carys. ‘You won’t leave without saying goodbye, will you?’
