Jaye stared at the crackling logs in the fireplace. When Megan had believed him, it had felt as if a little piece of his heart had been repaired. Here, sitting in his apartment, with only the sound of the fire to keep him company, he knew that one piece would never be enough.
He should get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a full day, and he needed to focus. Preferably on something other than Megan’s smile.
* * *
The conference was under way, and already it felt to Megan that she’d entered a self-sufficient bubble. One that brought people who’d worked in many different parts of the world together with those who were just starting out on their careers. It was almost impossible to find the time to meet and talk to everyone.
But the one person she never seemed to talk to was Jaye. Although he was always there, he was always at the opposite end of the room from her. The coincidences were beginning to form a pattern.
At least she could watch him, and that had its very definite pleasures. Tall, graceful and always impeccably dressed, he was the stuff that daydreams were made of. And if he caught her watching him, then that could surely only be because he was watching her.
* * *
Jaye had retreated to his apartment in the west wing of the building, and sat in his study with John Ferris. It had been an exhausting two days.
‘You’re pleased with how things are going?’
‘On the whole.’ John sank into the leather chair on the other side of the fireplace. ‘I was a bit disappointed about Steven.’
Jaye and John had spent over two hours last night with the young doctor, talking through all of his reasons for leaving. ‘But you did say that was the point of this. That we shouldn’t assume any particular outcome for any particular candidate but find out what the best way forward was.’
John nodded. ‘Yeah. Steven’s not in the right place to take up a job with us at the moment. He’s got a lot of potential, though, and I want to keep in touch with him.’
‘You think that in twenty years’ time he’ll be Head of Surgery somewhere. Consulting for us, and mentoring our young surgeons?’
‘Who knows? We have to look towards the long term, and funnier things have happened.’
This was exactly why Jaye had recruited John. Four years ago, Jaye had returned from Sri Lanka with a new commitment for a future that had seemed empty without a wife and the prospect of children. It was time to take a step back from his private practice in London and concentrate on the charity that he and his father had built together. And he had needed an organiser, someone who could work side by side with him and run the charity, while Jaye concentrated on its medical activities. John had been that person.
‘What about Megan?’ John’s question interrupted his reverie.
‘What...about her?’ Megan had occupied his thoughts for much of the last two days, and that was a very good reason to take a step back. John’s decisions would be far less clouded by the urgent need to look into her eyes and see her smile.
‘It looked as if she was intent on leaving the other day, before you threw yourself in front of her car in the driveway. I asked her if everything was all right.’
‘What did she say?’
John laughed. ‘She played her cards as close to her chest as you are now. Told me that it was a misunderstanding, and that you’d come to her rescue. She made it very clear that it was all her fault and that you’d addressed her concerns very fully.’
Jaye resisted the impulse to smile. Since he hadn’t spoken with Megan himself in the course of the last two days, he’d relied on her demeanour and the few shy smiles that she’d given, when his gaze had met hers. It felt good to hear that Megan was moving forward on the basis that she really did believe him.
‘It wasn’t all her fault. Mostly it was mine.’
‘Yeah. Takes two to tango.’ John was looking at him steadily. ‘Is there anything else I should know? You and her?’
The question knocked Jaye off balance for a moment. Maybe because he’d wondered more than once how it might have been had he met Megan before Sonia. But the truth of it was that the only moments of intimacy between them had been in his head.
‘No. Megan and I met before, years ago and in the course of our jobs. But that’s all, there’s never been anything between us.’
‘In that case... I wonder how you feel about offering her a posting in Sri Lanka. They’re short-staffed there and, with the new doctor in residence still settling in, they could do with the help.’ John flashed Jaye a questioning look.
‘Staffing’s your province, John. I trust your judgement.’
‘And I appreciate that. But considering your close ties with the clinic in Sri Lanka, I thought I’d get your opinion before I mentioned the idea to Megan.’
‘I think it’s a great idea. I’d like to see what Megan makes of Sri Lanka.’
* * *
Megan trudged across the well-manicured lawn, sliding down the steep slope to the edge of the woodlands beyond, where Jaye’s father was shovelling clumps of sticky earth into a wheelbarrow.
‘Megan...’ Raj Perera straightened up, leaning on his spade as she approached. ‘You’ve decided on a walk?’
‘No.’ Megan pulled the piece of paper from her coat pocket. ‘I was wondering if you could help me with something.’
‘Of course. That’s my role as your group leader this weekend. And I could do with a break.’
Megan handed over the paper, and Raj looked at it. ‘John’s set us all a challenge. We all have to give a five-minute talk about one of our charity’s programmes. I’ve been given the Western Province Free Clinic in Sri Lanka.’
‘That’s a place very close to my heart.’ Raj’s way of making an observation, then watching and waiting to see what you’d do with it, was a lot like Jaye’s. A little less disturbing maybe, because Megan didn’t have to contend with her own quickening heartbeat, which happened whenever Jaye was around.
‘I heard that you and your wife were the ones who started it.’
‘Yes, we did.’
‘Well... I asked John if there were any restrictions on how we could get the information we needed and he said there weren’t. And since you were there, right at the start...’
Raj thought for a moment, and then nodded. ‘What do you have in mind?’
‘I thought maybe a short interview, if you could spare the time.’ Megan gestured towards the spade. ‘I can do some digging in return...’
Raj’s smile reminded her of Jaye’s too, but it was a lot more freely given. ‘Very well. What would you like to know?’
‘Why you founded the clinic.’ Megan took the spade and started to dig.
‘Caroline and I were in Sri Lanka, visiting relatives, when the tsunami hit in 2005. Many people needed medical aid, and we immediately gave what help we could. I set up a clinic in a tent, under a tree.’
‘And people came...?’ The earth was sticky and unyielding and Megan heaved her weight onto the spade to sink it into the ground.
‘Yes, they came. There were so many, and sometimes they only had the clothes they stood up in. Caroline helped organise the effort to feed and clothe them and give them some kind of roof over their heads.’
‘It must have been...heartbreaking.’ Megan had worked in areas of great need, but never in a disaster zone.
‘It was. And yet it warmed my heart too. Jaye is my oldest son, I have three more. All four of them came,