A Doctor To Heal Her Heart. Annie Claydon

good team.’

      ‘But you sold up?’ The look in his eyes told Sam that he wasn’t falling for the sugar and spice version of the story.

      ‘Yeah. Things change.’

      He didn’t ask. Maybe he was thinking about it, and maybe he realised that she wouldn’t answer if he did ask. He paused, as if to allow her to reconsider her decision, but she couldn’t.

      A tone sounded and he pulled his phone out of his pocket, giving her a mouthed apology before answering it. ‘Yeah, Mel. What’s up?’ His face darkened as the relief doctor at the clinic spoke at the other end of the line.

      ‘Okay. Yeah, that’s all right. Leave it with me.’ He cut the line, shoving his phone back into his pocket. ‘I’m sorry, Sam.’

      ‘That’s okay. We have to go?’

      ‘I have to go.’ He stood, pulling some notes from his wallet and beckoning to the waitress. ‘You have coffee. Call this number...’ he put a card from a cab company in front of her ‘...and tell them to put the fare back to the flat on the Driftwood account.’

      ‘I’m coming with you.’ Where the hell had that come from?

      ‘This is not part of your job...’

      ‘It’s what you’re all about, though, isn’t it? Give me a chance to at least see that.’ Sam was overstepping the mark, and she knew it. But here, at last, was the whole point of the infrastructure, the policies and the software. She’d found her way down to the heart of what made Euan tick.

      He paused, clearly grudging even the two seconds that it took to think about it.

      ‘Give me a chance, Euan. I won’t get in the way, and I’ll do as you say. I promise.’

      ‘Okay.’ He pushed the notes into the waitress’s hand and she took them, clearly used to Euan leaving abruptly. ‘We need to hurry.’