Customs cleared quickly and she spotted her name on the hire-car driver's board as she went through the automatic doors.
'Dr Green?'
'That's right.' She handed over her case and followed the little man out to his Lexus. The Singapore heat hit her in the face and she revelled in it after the cold of Britain.
She should be resting and writing up her review of her secondment for the hospital board while she was here, not gallivanting around with the hunky Mr McVicker. He had warning signs written all over him.
Ailee barely saw the glorious red and purple bou- gainvillea that lined the road from the airport to the city. During their conversations she'd become glaringly aware that Fergus had avoided any mention of Sydney, their work, or meeting up when they got home. Maybe that was a good thing.
If she agreed to meet him today, afternoon tea would lead to drinks, and drinks to dinner, and dinner to goodness knew what! She needed to remember his lack of interest in their mutual vocation and realise there was no 'ever after' planned for the two of them—just a Singapore fling. Trouble was, she was way out of her depth as an old-fashioned girl.
His invitation hinted at a stopover seduction and, of course, she didn't want that. Or did she? Ailee couldn't believe how tempted she was.
Fergus had such kind eyes when you looked past the bedroom aspect. Of course, that was hard to look past when just the lift of his hand reminded her of his strength and agility in the plane. Even in the midst of a crisis, a part of her had been awed when he'd carried that man to the galley as if he were as light as a doll.
The phobia he'd admitted to only made him more intriguing because it called to the nurturing part of her that she'd only had the opportunity to practise on her patients or her brother.
The quandary lay in a subliminal connection between them and she was sure he felt it, too.
The way they flawlessly meshed during the resuscitation of that poor man.
The way she only had to half explain places she'd visited, and he'd never seen, and yet he'd understood what she'd described perfectly.
The way they could sit in silence and feel no need to fill the gaps and—she had to admit most of all—what the touch of his fingers had done to her senses!
Imagine if he touched more than her hand! She shivered and the driver caught her eye in the mirror.
'Air-conditioner too cold, Doctor?'
Ailee felt the warmth in her cheeks. Damn. Just thinking about Fergus had her blushing, and swearing, more than she had since her teens. 'No, thank you. I'm fine.'
She stared out the window at even more building construction as they came closer to the city. So what was she going to do?
The sensible thing would be to tell Fergus she had a review to write and stay safe in her room.
The risk was she would miss out on the most incredible time of her life. Of course, then he'd probably disappear at Sydney airport and she'd spend the rest of her days searching for someone to match him!
Her inner voice of caution suggested this was not a brilliant scenario.
But what if this was her one time to cross this man's path? What if this was the real thing and she'd been too timid to risk exploring the possibility?
Damn again. If he was her perfect match, his timing was atrocious.
The next three months weren't going to be much fun for her, although she didn't for one second regret her coming operation. She just wished she'd met Fergus at a different time in her life.
Check-in at the hotel was a blur as she wrestled with her dilemma. Clarity came as the plastic key was encased in its embossed cardboard folder. She was a fool.
'Can I leave a message for another guest, please?'
*
Ten minutes later the force of the water on her shoulders felt wonderful after the gentle spray of the showers she had experienced in Britain, and she could feel herself relax. This was more sensible. She'd decided not to meet Fergus, and she could finish her report. She flipped open her case and slipped into her pyjamas.
The trouble was now she was unsettled as the clock digits changed and the morning traffic increased outside her window.
The doorbell rang and she quietened the flutter of panic the sound ignited. 'This is too good a hotel to give him my room number,' she said out loud to calm the thudding in her chest as she moved towards the door.
The bellboy held up an exquisite basket of delicate Singapore orchids. A note nestled among the perfect blooms.
'Dr Green?' The boy checked.
'Yes, that's me.' She took the basket from him and sighed. She resisted the urge to tip as hotels in Singapore discouraged tipping. 'Thank you.'
The boy beamed and turned away. Ailee closed the door and carried the basket across to the table under the window.
'Thank you for your hand and your delightful company on the flight from London. My room number is 2001. High tea is at three, I'll be there anyway. F'
This hotel stood only twenty stories high, which meant he was in the penthouse. Typical. He had been in first class after all. The flowers were beautiful and it was only ten o'clock in the morning.
Ailee dialled his number and he picked it up on the first ring.
'The flowers are lovely, thank you.'
'I'm glad you like them, Ailee. I wasn't trying to change your mind.'
'Sure you were,' she drawled, and she heard him chuckle. 'Lucky for you I need to get out. Would you like me to show you Singapore?'
'Yes, please.'
She smiled into the phone at his simple answer.
When she met him downstairs she felt the warmth of his appraisal and she was glad she'd agreed to come. Heads turned as they walked across the foyer and Ailee felt a little like a groupie accompanying a rock star. He held her arm and showed her to the limousine he'd hired.
They rode across to Sentosa on the skyway and she didn't notice his slight hesitation when she suggested it.
He didn't complain when she recommended they take the elevator to the top of the giant stone lion's head or, as they called it, the Merlion.
From the platform Ailee gazed out over the lush greenery and away to the water and across the bay to point out landmarks. They discussed the British influence on Singapore and the fabulous growth of the new city.
Fergus, with laughter in his eyes, bought her a snowball with a miniature skyway as a memento.
On the way back they stopped at the Skyroom, which lay between the two ends of the aerial road over the lush greenery. They drank champagne on the edge of the open-air restaurant overlooking the unbroken view so high above the tropical gardens below.
Ailee felt as if she were flying again and not all of it was to do with their height from the ground.
She clapped her hand to her head. 'I can't believe I did this. I've taken you to so many high places and forgotten your fear of heights.'
'I wondered when you'd remember that.' Fergus shook his head and relaxed back into the lounge, thinking how beautiful she was. 'That's why I bought you the snowball. As a thank-you.'
Ailee looked incredible, Fergus thought, as she leaned against the red cushions in her Singapore-red sundress with her long legs bent at the knee and casually crossed at the ankle. He struggled to keep the conversation going as his libido rose.
What were they discussing? That's right—his aversion to heights.
'It's the actual plane, not heights, I don't like. I'm afraid the whole motorised flight concept makes me shudder. The cable car isn't my favourite vehicle either but...' his glance brushed over her and he smiled '...strangely, I'm much calmer about it now.'
She leant towards him as if he was the most fascinating person in the world and the cynical side of Fergus dreaded her finding out he was just a shell.
But he didn't feel a shell when he was with her. He felt buoyed up by her energy, intoxicated by her laugh, alive for the first time in two years, and the first thoughts of following the acquaintance up in Sydney crept past his caution.
The waiter
arrived with their seafood lunch and the conversation moved away from the personal as they discussed their plans for the rest of the day.
Their driver suggested a route to the rainforest and the promise of tranquillity attracted them. Once surrounded by the serenity of the trees and lush greenery they both heaved a sigh of relief to escape the crowds.
As they walked a leafy trail to a waterfall Fergus held Ailee's hand in his and even managed to comment sensibly on native birds and several dragon lizards, despite the fact that all he could think of was the feel of her skin against his.
They discussed environmental issues and wildlife protection, and by the time they were back in the city they were ready for afternoon tea at the magnificent white-columned Raffles under the rows of waving ceiling fans.
They started in Raffles famous bar and Ailee dragged him by the hand to a table between the magnificent staircase and the window overlooking the terrace. Tropical birds chattered outside the window and tourists laughed and cracked nuts as they sipped their umbrella'd drinks.
A bowl of peanuts, still in their shells, sat in the middle of the table and Fergus glanced down as his feet crunched over the discarded shells that covered the floor.
He raised his eyebrows at Ailee and she laughed.
'It's all part of the atmosphere,' she said.
A pretty waitress carried her order book over to their table. 'Gin slings?' she asked, branding them as tourists.
'Yes, please,' Ailee answered before Fergus could say anything, and as she turned to him and smiled he would have drunk dishwater if she'd asked at that moment.
'You have to drink a gin sling when you come here, it's part of the tradition.'
He cracked a nut and offered her the bean-shaped centre. 'And eat peanuts?'
'Absolutely.' She took the nut and lifted the shells from his palm to discard them wickedly on the floor, as others were doing.
'More customs?' he said lazily, and savoured the way she slid the nuts into her mouth. He closed his eyes and struggled to divert his thoughts. 'So you've been here before?' Inane, but at least he'd said something.
Ailee looked around and he enjoyed the pleasure on her face. 'I love it. The bar used to be much longer but I still adore the fans that are all joined together across the ceiling.'
His question came out sooner than he'd intended. 'So what are your plans when you get home?'
She looked away from him and disappointment clouded his euphoria. That wasn't a good sign.
'I'm tied up for a few months with a family thing so I'm off work until that's finalised,' she said.
Fergus tried to regain some of the closeness he could feel slipping away. Maybe she was homesick. 'Families are important, even when things aren't so smooth on the home front. I'm not a great parent, I'm afraid. There's just myself and my daughter.'
Ailee opened her mouth to ask a question but the moment was postponed as the waitress arrived with their drinks.
Why was he telling her this? He needed to shut up before he drove her away. He lifted his glass and his first sip was cautious. Thankfully the drink wasn't as bad as he'd feared it would be.
Ailee watched him and he tried to keep his face noncommittal. 'You thought you'd hate it, didn't you?' she accused him teasingly.
Fergus took another sip. 'I'm not a gin fan but this is very pleasant.'
'You can only have one because they are very expensive and I'm paying.' Ailee reached out and stole the bill before he could look.
That made him smile. 'Who said you were paying?'
'I did.' Ailee raised her chin. 'If I pay now I don't have to feel bad about you paying for lunch and afternoon tea.'
'It's a deal.' He held out his hand and she hesitated before she put her hand in his. Their eyes met and he remembered the sensation as soon as they touched. He had the feeling she did, too.
They sat there for a moment and then Ailee eased her fingers out of his hold and picked up her glass. She stared out the window and swallowed her cocktail as if it were medicine. 'I think we'd better go for afternoon tea. They have a strict timetable.'
Now what was going on in her head? Fergus finished his own drink and stood to pull out her chair. He watched her leave Singapore dollars on the bill and smile at the waitress as the girl approached. 'Thank you, that was lovely,' Ailee said.
'You are welcome.' The girl smiled and Fergus liked it that Ailee had made the effort. A lot of the women he knew wouldn't have bothered to show their appreciation and he stored that away as another reason to follow this woman up.
When they were seated in the more formal room for afternoon tea Ailee looked more at ease and he relaxed back into the chair. 'I've really enjoyed the day with you, Ailee. Thank you for your company.'
Ailee grinned. 'Wait until you taste the cakes.'
Fergus looked across where another couple were choosing from the cart. 'My daughter is the cake lover, not me.'
'You didn't think you'd like the gin sling.' She put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands to watch him. 'Will you tell me about your daughter?'
Fergus gazed out the window into the branches of the tree that brushed the side of the building, and in his mind's eye he saw his daughter. She was glowering at him. 'Sophie is twelve and very clever. Since her mother died we haven't had much common ground.' He hadn't meant to say the last sentence but that's what happened when you started to let people in. Conversation became a landslide.
Ailee's eyes widened and she looked away. Well, he'd blown that by being honest. He didn't want her to think he didn't care about Sophie. 'I've tried to be there for her but it hasn't worked that well. My wife died just before Sophie turned ten and it's been hard to talk to my daughter since then.'
Her gaze returned to his and he realized he'd been mistaken. She wasn't distancing herself, just giving him time to organise his thoughts.
'So, since then you've brought your daughter up on your own?' she asked.
'My housekeeper and her husband are surrogate grandparents.' Fergus knew how lucky he'd been. 'I don't know what I would have done without them.'
She stirred her tea. 'Why do you feel that you don't get on with your daughter?' Ailee chewed her lip and he appreciated she was wary of crossing boundaries.
A few women he knew weren't worried about boundaries and he'd never talked to anyone about Sophie before. Maybe he should have. A woman's perspective might help.
He hated the lost closeness with his daughter but despaired he'd ever regain that rapport.
'My wife, Stella, died after a routine operation. The shock of her mother's death destroyed Sophie's ability to trust me or my profession. After all, I'd said, "Mummy will be fine.'"
He shook his head at the waste. 'We all assumed it would be a simple operation and convalescence. The operation was minor but the consequences a disaster. She formed a clot post-operatively and died of a pulmonary embolus.'
'I'm sorry.' Ailee sipped and then put her teacup back in the saucer. He liked the way she took her time before rushing into gushes of sympathy. 'It would be terrible for a young girl to lose her mother at that age. It must be doubly hard for you.'
He didn't want her pity, just a suggestion to help with his daughter maybe. Or perhaps he should never have started this conversation. 'Sophie is in high school. I was doing such a poor job of keeping her happy I've enrolled her at a boarding school through the week until we sort it out.'
Her eyebrows went up. 'Does she like that?' Ailee sounded doubtful that any child would be impressed with that idea.
He thought about his answer. 'It's early days but Sophie is self-sufficient and likes company.'
'Or is good at pretending,' Ailee muttered.
He sighed. 'She can't be worse off than she was with me. We fought about everything.'
Ailee seemed determined to disapprove of Sophie in boarding school but she had no idea how hard it had been. The last time Sophie had run from the room crying he'd vowed he'd have to find a way to make her happie
r.
Fergus tried to see where she disagreed. 'I thought boarding school with other girls might help.'
Her look said she had reservations that boarding school was the answer. 'It's none of my business. It would probably work well for you if you work long hours.'
Relieved, Fergus nodded and ignored the way Ailee's comment had pricked his confidence about Sophie's schooling. He'd save those thoughts for later review.
They both stirred their tea. Fergus broke the silence. 'Tell me about your childhood.'
She smiled. 'I get boring.'
'Feel free to bore me.' He didn't think he would ever tire of listening to her voice.
Ailee shrugged and her gaze drifted around the room. 'My dad was a fun guy and we did lots of mad things. He had his pilot's licence and an old rag and tube aeroplane that was so noisy you had to wear earmuffs to protect your ears.'
'Where did he keep an aeroplane in the city?'
Ailee smiled at the memories. 'At the aerodrome near Camden, but it's a lot busier now than it was when I was a child. We'd drive down on Sundays and have a picnic and fly a few circuits and he'd let me steer through the clouds.'
He could imagine a little girl like Ailee bouncing up and down on a seat as they'd driven to the outlying airport to have fun with her dad. He wished he had memories like that with Sophie. Maybe he needed to make some happen—just not with a plane. 'It sounds great, except for the flying part.'
Ailee looked up at the humour in his voice and she grinned at him. 'But I like aeroplanes and you don't.'
'Did you do anything on the ground that was fun?'
She nodded and her eyes sparkled. 'Dad had a passion for boats for a while and we tried sailing.'
'Now, I can enjoy a day sailing.' Fergus was enjoying the way her face lit up at her memories.
Ailee shook her head. 'We had to sell the boat because if the sea rolled we all got seasick and there was no one left to steer while we fell around the deck, throwing up over the side.'
'Well, thanks for the graphic detail,' Fergus teased.
'No problem.' She sat back and her eyes crinkled, and he realised how fortunate he was to be here at this minute with this woman opposite him.
Fiona McArthur Page 2
