Pulling in a deep breath, she took a step back, and said, ‘You had better come in.’
A hint of amusement flared in his grey eyes. ‘Thank you, I will.’
He was enjoying her confusion and that sent a spark of irritation racing along her spine. Why was she forever on the wrong foot with him?
Megan showed him the way into the living room, and then stood and stared at Sam. ‘I had no idea that you were the owner of this place,’ she said awkwardly. Then, regaining a little confidence, she added with a flash of her blue eyes, ‘When you mentioned this accomodation, you didn’t say that it was your flat that I would be renting. I would have thought you’d let me know.’
Sam shrugged. ‘Would it have made a difference? It didn’t seem to me to be all that important at the time. You told me that you were looking for somewhere to stay and I simply pointed you in this direction. I wanted to make sure that things went smoothly at work, and that nothing could interfere with the day-to-day running of the unit.’ He grimaced. ‘It doesn’t do to have colleagues overloaded with problems in their everyday lives. There’s enough for them to concentrate on at the hospital, without their home life intruding.’
‘I think you should trust me to do my job properly,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’m perfectly able to decide for myself what needs to be done to make my private life run smoothly. Perhaps you should concentrate on your responsibilities as a landlord?’
Something flared in his grey eyes as her barb struck home. ‘You could be right about that.’ He went on briskly, ‘Let’s sort the problem out, shall we? You rang Mrs Carter to complain about the work that has been going on here, and she said that there had been some kind of accident. Would you like to tell me about it?’
‘I wasn’t objecting to the work,’ she pointed out in a cool tone. ‘After all, I took this place on knowing full well that it was still being refurbished.’
He nodded. ‘Yes. That was how I understood the situation. That’s why I was rather surprised that you needed to get in touch with me so soon. So, tell me, what went wrong?’
‘One of my neighbour’s little boys fell over a ladder that had been left out.’ The fact that the child had been hurt made her angry, just thinking about it. Even if Sam was her boss as well as her landlord, it was only right that he should have the truth spelt out to him. ‘It should never have been there in the first place. I really think you should tell your workmen that they need to make sure that they put their equipment away at the end of each day.’
He frowned. ‘They’re supposed to do that. There’s a brick-built store to one side of the balcony where they can put away their ladders and tools at the end of the day.’ His expression became serious. ‘So, tell me—what happened to the boy? How badly was he hurt? Mrs Carter wasn’t specific about what has been going on.’
‘Jamie, the little boy from the flat next door, hurt his ankle. He was in a lot of pain.’
‘And is he all right now?’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Does he need to go to the hospital for an X-ray?’
Megan threw him a sharp glance. ‘No—if that had been called for, I would have seen to it, wouldn’t I? As it was, I had a look at him and I’m sure nothing was broken. I bound the ankle up for him so that he would feel more comfortable. I’ve also advised his mother what she should do for him to make him feel better.’
‘Lucky for Jamie, then, that you were around.’
‘That’s as maybe,’ she remarked tautly. ‘The point is, it could have turned out to be a far more serious incident, with an altogether more devastating outcome. It isn’t right that the children were allowed to get themselves into that kind of situation. I think you should deal with it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.’
He sent her a sharp glance. ‘And you should know that it goes without saying that I will look into this. That’s why I’m here.’
She frowned at him in return. ‘Well, I’m glad to hear it. Although I must say that I hadn’t really expected you to come along today—after all, it’s out of working hours now and you can hardly get in touch with the workmen until Monday. Still, I suppose the fact that you’ve been able to decide that something needs doing is a start.’
His mouth twisted. ‘You have a very sharp tongue, Dr Llewellyn,’ he said with a bite. ‘Perhaps you should be careful that it doesn’t get you into trouble one of these days.’
His rebuke made her think twice about what she had said. Had she gone too far? She winced inwardly. Probably. This kind of thing was always happening to her. She often said what she thought when sometimes it would have been better to hold back and dial her brain first.
‘It’s been a long day,’ she murmured, backpedalling. ‘I’ve only just moved in here, and I’ve had a lot to do to get things straight. I expect we should both take time to calm down. Besides,’ she added on a defensive note, ‘you have me at a disadvantage. I’m not used to talking to people when I’m half-dressed. It doesn’t do much for my powers of concentration.’
Unexpectedly, he laughed at that, his eyes crinkling attractively. ‘I can’t say that it does an awful lot for mine either.’ He tossed her a flame-filled glance. ‘Perhaps I should leave you for a while so that you can get yourself together.’
He turned towards the door. ‘I think I’ll go and look in on young Jamie and see for myself how he’s doing.’
Megan watched him go, annoyed with herself for getting into this situation. And it wasn’t over yet, was it? He had said he was leaving her for a while—didn’t that mean that he would be back?
Knowing him, he wouldn’t leave things as they were. He would deal with everything, down to the smallest detail, just as he did at work. And that being the case, she would have to get a move on and get herself organised.
Hurrying into her bedroom, Megan riffled through the clothes in her wardrobe and grabbed the first item that came to hand, a pale blue shift dress. She quickly slid it over her head and then smoothed it carefully down over her hips. Viewing the result in the mirror, she decided it didn’t look too bad. The material was a soft wool and the colour brought out the highlights in her hair.
Belatedly, she wondered whether it was wise to draw attention to those vibrant, wayward curls. Dragging a comb through them seemed to make little difference. Still, it was too late to change things now. She had the feeling that he would be back at any moment, and she was determined that this time she would be properly dressed.
Sam’s knock on the door came as she was brewing up a fresh pot of coffee. Hurrying to answer the summons, she remembered to pull the door wide open and invite him in this time.
‘I thought you might come back,’ she said, leading the way into the small kitchen. ‘I’ve just made coffee. Would you like some?’
‘Thanks, yes, I would.’ His glance travelled over her, making her suddenly conscious of the way the dress clung to her curves.
‘You didn’t need to get changed on my account,’ he murmured, and she wondered whether she detected a note of amusement in his tone.
Her head went up, and she said evenly, ‘I thought it was for the best.’
‘As you please.’
Megan cleared her throat. ‘Is Jamie OK?’
‘He appears to be.’ He pulled up a barstool and leaned negligently by the breakfast bar, one foot hooked around the leg of the stool. His legs were disturbingly long, Megan thought, distracted. He seemed to fill the small kitchen.
She took a couple of mugs down from the shelf, and tried to concentrate on what he was saying.
‘When I arrived there, he was making the most of the attention, sitting on the settee with his