One Thursday there were no visits for either Cameron or Meagan. Cameron surprised her by suggesting that conditions were perfect for the sail he had promised her.
‘There’s still a good couple of hours of decent light and you promised to show off your sailing skills,’ he teased her. ‘When you live here, at the mercy of the elements, you need to make the most of any opportunity.’
Looking out the window, Meagan had to agree. The conditions would be challenging for the average sailor, but for her they were a delight. But could she really spend time alone with Cameron? Although they were getting on as colleagues, spending time together out of work was another matter.
‘Another time perhaps?’ she said coolly. ‘We don’t want any gossip.’
‘Gossip?’ Cameron said quietly. He looked grim for a moment. ‘I can’t always live my life here worried about gossip. In any case, what would be so strange about two colleagues going sailing? Colin and I go all the time. But if it worries you…’
Meagan returned the challenge in Cameron’s eyes.
‘You’ll get wet. Very wet, if I have my way,’ she warned him
‘You should know by now an islander is never worried about getting wet.’ He grinned. ‘Anyway, the last time we were out, it was you who got wet, I seem to recall.’
The memory reminded Meagan that she had been planning to get her revenge. She was curious to see how the macho Dr Stuart coped. When a boat was set to the wind Meagan could make it soar across the water. However, travelling at speed often meant a dip in the ocean. Mostly there would be rescue boats to help in case of a capsize, but out here they would be on their own. It was essential that her sailing partner knew not to panic. She had seen enough to know that Cameron fell into this category.
‘OK. You’re on,’ she said. ‘Meet me at the boat in thirty minutes.’
Meagan hurried home and quickly changed into the dry suit she had brought with her. She’d had enough of being wet through, and once the boat was going at speed another drenching was inevitable. It took her slightly longer than usual to squeeze herself into her suit—the effect of all those scones and sandwiches the patients and Jessie kept offering her, she mused ruefully.
She pulled on a waterproof on top of her dry suit and tied her hair back. She was ready.
She was checking over the boat when Cameron arrived. He was in the waterproofs he had worn for the rescue and looked fit and tanned.
‘I’ll take her out,’ Meagan suggested. ‘I think I can remember the channel to follow.’
As soon as they were out in clear water, Meagan set the sails. ‘OK, this time I’m helmsman and you’re crew. Are you ready for this?’
Within seconds the boat was travelling at speed. The wind caught the sails and Meagan hooked her feet under the toe strap and eased herself over the side, counterbalancing the cant of the boat with her weight. She revelled in the speed. Oh, how she had missed this.
‘Er, don’t you think we should slow down a little?’ Cameron said nervously.
Meagan pulled the sails in tighter and the boat picked up more speed. For once there was something she could show Cameron.
‘Stay in the middle of the boat if you’re worried,’ she shouted. ‘You’ll be perfectly safe there.’
Without saying anything, Cameron joined her, copying her position. ‘If you can do it, so can I,’ he yelled. Then gave a whoop of excitement.
They tacked upwind for the next forty minutes, working as if they had sailed together for years. Eventually, however, Meagan knew that her underused muscles were getting tired. She allowed the boat to bear away from the wind, letting it slow to a more sedate pace.
‘That was fantastic,’ Cameron said as the decrease in speed allowed them to talk without shouting. ‘I’ve been around boats all my life but I have never sailed like that.’ He looked at her appraisingly. ‘When did you learn to sail?’
‘My father took me out on his boat from the age of four. I always loved it. I was in the sailing team at university— If you remember, I was with them when we met. There was a chance of being selected for the pre-Olympic training squad, but I turned it down. I chose to study for my finals instead.’
‘Do you regret it?’ Cameron asked.
Meagan thought for a moment. ‘I suppose life is full of choices. We make the best decisions we can at the time. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t.’
She thought about the decisions she had made. Marrying Charlie, putting off having children, becoming a doctor. Did she regret marrying Charlie? Maybe and maybe not. They’d had some good times, and as the pain was receding she could remember more of the happier times and fewer of the bad ones. And her decision to come here? She allowed her gaze to linger on the open sea, the small uninhabited islands and the man in front of her, with his laughing brown eyes, sexy body and love of life. If she hadn’t come, she might never have seen him again, and the thought scared her. The realisation made her look away in confusion. The way she felt about this man, the way she had felt about him from the first moment she had seen him had never changed. He still made her heart pound and her knees go weak, in a way no other man had before or since. She loved being with him. When she wasn’t with him, she missed him. The truth was, she loved him. He was her soul mate and she had known it from the moment they had met. But how did he feel about her? Did he feel anything for her except friendship?
‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘Do you have regrets?’
‘I find its pointless thinking that way. We take the hand we are dealt and make the most of it.’
What did that mean? Meagan wondered. Was he thinking of Rachel? Did he regret marrying her, or the divorce?
As if he’d read her thoughts, he went on, ‘One thing I’ll never regret is my son. But I am sorry that he doesn’t see his mother as often as he should. A child needs his mother.’
‘And his father,’ Meagan added. She paused, feeling the familiar stab of pain. She shook it off. As Cameron had said, you took the hand you were dealt.
The wind had driven the last of the clouds from the sky. The breeze had dropped suddenly and the boat was barely moving. Without the wind and the clouds the sun was hot. Meagan removed her waterproof then, as the sun continued to toast her shoulders, unzipped her dry suit and peeled the top down over her hips. She was glad she’d thought to put her bikini on underneath.
Cameron watched her through lidded eyes before he too removed his waterproofs. He carried on stripping down to his jeans and T-shirt, then with a last look at Meagan removed his T-shirt. Meagan held her breath. Surely he was going to stop there. She averted her eyes from his muscular bronzed chest, but was unable to stop herself remembering the feel of his skin on hers, the strength of his arms as he had held her all these years ago. She wondered what it would be like to find herself in his arms again. She forced her thoughts away from the image. It was too dangerous—and pointless—to let her mind go in that direction.
‘Do you fancy a swim?’ Cameron said. ‘See that island to your left? It’s not too far. The wind is unlikely to pick up for a couple of hours yet. We could anchor here and swim across.’
Thinking that a dip was exactly what she needed to cool her overheated imagination, Meagan grinned as he dropped the anchor. Removing her dry suit completely, she stood on the side of the boat poised to dive. ‘Race you,’ she said as she plunged into the water.
She gasped as the cold water enveloped her. Without waiting to see if Cameron was following, she struck out for shore. She was almost there when she felt a hand on her ankle. She trod water.
‘Do