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‘You know this house?’
‘I stayed here for a few nights before I completed the sale on the lighthouse.’
‘Oh.’ Jenna had a disturbing image of him walking around the kitchen—showering in the bathroom. Naked.
Oh, God, she was losing it.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Absolutely. How long should it take Lexi to get to the top and back? When do I start worrying?’
‘You don’t.’ Ryan looked at the grassy ridge. ‘She’s on her way down now. I’ll leave you to it. Surgery isn’t until four. You can have a few hours to settle in. Spend some time together.’
‘Yes.’ Conscious that Lexi was approaching, Jenna lost her sense of calm. ‘Thanks for the lift. And thanks for listening.’
He gave a brief nod and strolled out of her gate towards the sleek sports car that had transported her and her luggage from the surgery to the cottage. Without pausing in his stride, he exchanged a few words with Lexi as she sauntered past.
Watching anxiously from the garden, Jenna couldn’t hear what he said, but whatever it was had Lexi smiling and that was an achievement in itself. Bracing herself for more complaints about her new home, she smiled at her daughter. ‘Did you get a signal?’
‘Yes, but everyone was out. Or maybe they’re all still asleep after a night clubbing. Lucky them.’ Lexi glanced over her shoulder as the sports car growled its way up the road away from them. ‘What was he doing here, Mum?’
‘He gave us a lift, remember?’
‘An hour and a half ago.’
An hour and a half? Was that how much time had passed? Startled, Jenna glanced at her watch. ‘Well—we were talking.’
‘About what?’ Lexi stared at her suspiciously and Jenna felt herself blush.
‘About work,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m new to this practice, remember?’
‘Oh. Right. I thought for one awful minute you—’ She broke off and Jenna stared at her, heart thumping.
‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ The girl gave a careless shrug, but Jenna knew exactly what she’d been thinking—That her mother had been showing interest in a man.
Jenna walked back into the cottage, feeling the burden of responsibility settle on her like a heavy weight. Whatever happened, she mustn’t do anything to make her daughter feel more insecure than she already did.
‘Dr McKinley was telling me that he lives in a lighthouse.’
‘Dr McKinley is really hot.’
‘Lexi! You’re fifteen years old.’ Appalled, Jenna cast a look at her daughter, but Lexi had her head in the fridge.
‘Nearly sixteen. Old enough to know when a man is hot. Don’t worry—I don’t expect you to understand. You wouldn’t know a good-looking man if you fell over him.’ She pulled some cheese out of the fridge and then noticed the empty mugs on the kitchen table. Suddenly the tension was back. ‘You invited him in for coffee?’
No, he’d invited himself in for coffee. ‘He was up all night with patients.’ Jenna adopted a casual tone. ‘He was tired. It was the least I could do after he’d helped us.’
‘Oh, Mum—’ Lexi rolled her eyes, visibly cringing. ‘Poor guy, being trapped by someone desperate divorcee. I suppose he was too polite to refuse.’
Wondering if Ryan saw her as old and desperate, Jenna picked up the empty mugs and washed them by hand. ‘Of course he was being polite.’ She didn’t need her daughter to tell her that. ‘I’m going to spend a few hours unpacking before I do the clinic this afternoon. Come and see your bedroom.’
They wandered upstairs and Lexi stared into the pretty bedroom. It had been decorated in keeping with the beach setting, with white New England furniture. A rug with bold blue and white stripes sat in the centre of the white floorboards. ‘This is mine?’
‘Y
es. We can put your duvet cover on the bed and—’
