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Clem met his eye although her expression was adorably flustered and she’d reddened. ‘I wanted to see how Lucy was doing so got Henri to drop me near here. I didn’t expect to be allowed in but I saw her mother outside getting some air. Her family seemed exhausted so I insisted that they went back to the hotel to get some food and a change of clothes and promised I’d keep an eye on her.’
Akil eyed the small girl keenly. ‘She seems to be doing pretty well, but she looks like she needs a bit of a rest. Do you want to try to get some sleep, Lucy? We will wait just outside until your parents get back so if you need anything or you get lonely just press that button.’
‘I am a little sleepy,’ the little girl admitted. ‘But can we read another chapter later, Clem?’
‘Of course.’ Clem brushed her fringe back and smiled down at the wan face. ‘I’d love to. Are you comfy? Those pillows okay?’ Akil watched as she expertly settled the child with soothing hands. Of course, she’d helped care for her mother and recently too. Being here must bring back some difficult memories. His admiration for her deepened.
Once Lucy was settled, Akil steered Clem out to the comfortable chairs in the adjacent waiting room. ‘You want a coffee or anything?’
‘No, I’m fine. How about you? What time did you get to bed?’
Akil grimaced. ‘Not so much bed, more the sofa, but I’ve had some sleep. It was kind of you to come and check on Lucy. Even kinder to offer to watch her.’
Clem brushed the compliment aside. ‘Not at all. I’ve spent a lot of time waiting in hospitals, I know how time takes a different element here. And her parents have another child who was definitely at the exhausted and fractious stage. I wasn’t sure how they’d feel about leaving Lucy with me, but I managed to persuade them that they would be much more use to her if they were rested, fed and changed. I don’t think her mother will be gone long, but a shower and time away from here will do her good.’
‘It was a clever idea to read to her. You definitely put her at her ease.’
‘It was no big deal. I actually really enjoyed doing it.’ She sounded surprised and he quirked an eyebrow at her.
‘You’re an actress, don’t you grab at any opportunity to perform?’
‘After my mum died, I didn’t think I’d ever want to set foot in a hospital again. But now I’m here, I’m remembering all the things that helped. All the volunteers as well as the nurses who made such unbearable times surprisingly bearable. The value of having people who would sit with Maman just to listen, to be there, allowing her to say all the things she couldn’t say to me. The same for me, people who would listen when I was angry or selfish or frustrated. That was invaluable, priceless. Reading to one small girl is a very, very small way of giving back.’
She looked so small, almost defenceless, and yet there was an indomitable spirit about her that he was drawn to. In two steps he was next to her, drawing her up into his arms. Akil looked down into the heart-shaped face, at the gold-flecked eyes shadowed with exhaustion, and knew that for once he didn’t care what the future held, he wanted her, he needed her, and by some miracle she wanted him too.
‘It wasn’t small to Lucy or her family. It was everything.’
‘Being here is helping me too. It might be a different hospital in a different country but the smell, the look, is pretty much universal. It’s making me realise how my life pretty much just stopped eighteen months ago. No wonder I don’t know what to do next, I’ve forgotten how to move forward. But I’m ready, Akil. I’m ready to live, not just exist at last.’
She cupped his face with her hands. They were warm against his skin, the gentle touch setting him on fire, and he closed his eyes briefly to allow the sensation to soak in.
‘Help me live again, Akil,’ she whispered, and he was helpless against her soft entreaty, against her touch.
Slowly, deliberately, not wanting to rush a single moment, he dipped his head and captured her full inviting mouth with his for a second time. But this was no mere brush, no promise, but an intent and she responded in kind, opening up to him, her hands moving to the nape of his neck as he moulded her body to his. He pulled back slightly to look down at her, eyes glazed, mouth parted.
‘Anything,’ he promised her. ‘Whatever you want, whatever you need, anything.’ And he kissed her again, the sounds of the hospital fading away, the feel of her, the taste of her all he wanted, all he knew.
CHAPTER NINE
CLEMTURNEDINto the pretty medieval square where Akil lived, aware of Henri standing watching her, making sure she was okay. It was funny how used to his discreet presence she’d got, no longer troubled by the knowledge that even when she couldn’t see him he was only a few seconds away. The only time he wasn’t close by was when she was with Akil. His secret service training meant that Henri usually didn’t accompany them, although he was always on call and, she suspected, never that far away.
They’d fallen into a routine over the last couple of weeks. Every morning Henri drove her out, ostensibly to the court but in reality facilitating the discreet change that allowed her to explore the country with Akil or head to the hospital, often both, then reversing the process late each evening. Her life couldn’t be more different from that first lonely week. Now her days were packed. She spent a lot of time at the hospital; Lucy had been discharged over a week ago to fly home, but news of Clem’s reading had spread throughout the children’s ward and she now did a group session for those in the big general ward. She enjoyed it far more than she had expected to. It wasn’t acting exactly, but she was transporting them into other worlds, creating magic, and that, for Clem, was as fulfilling as a big production, although if she had more time she would have liked to look into doing something bigger, maybe trying to stage some kind of small production. The volunteering was certainly opening up some possibilities and, although she was deliberately not worrying about the future just yet, ideas were percolating away.
And when she wasn’t at the hospital she was with Akil. He still volunteered two days a week, and spent most mornings buried in his inbox, but the afternoons and evenings were hers. They had finally made it to the opera and to the theatre—this time a comedy, much to her relief—and to several friendly neighbourhood restaurants, the kind where a prominent politician wouldn’t expect to be photographed. Any high-profile venues were out, any events where society people mingled too dangerous, but Akil was sure that if they stuck to the tourist trail no one would give them a second glance. So far that had been true, and it was getting easier and easier to forget that she was here under false pretences and not a tourist at all.
They’d hiked some of the mountain trails, pausing for cold beers and well-stuffed sandwiches at the cafes at the summit, and explored some of the picture-perfect villages and towns dotted throughout valleys and mountain shelves, cliff tops and riversides. One day they kayaked along a river, racing each other, another day they abseiled down a mountainside. She felt fitter and more resilient than she had for a long, long time.
And then there was Akil himself, his slow smile and intent gaze, his sure touch and sweet, sweet kisses. They were still at the courting phase, and although their kisses and caresses were getting increasingly heated—and increasingly intimate—neither had been in any rush to move to the next stage. It was as if they had all the time in the world.
Only of course they didn’t.
Checking her watch, Clem realised she was a little early so rather than head straight to Akil’s apartment she decided to have a little explore around the neighbourhood. He lived in a charming part of the old quarter, filled with cafes and local artisan shops. Just the kind of place she liked.
Fixing her sunglasses firmly on her nose, Clem headed along the nearest alley, emerging into a narrow cobbled street. Cafes and shops nestled next to each other, the old buildings four storeys high, their upper levels lurching drunkenly over the street. This part of the city was centuries old, the country’s history in every cobble, every plastered and timbered front, the butchers and tanners giving way to tourist-friendly jewellers and art galleries. Clem moved slowly along, enjoying examining all the enticing wares laid out in the shop windows, the sun warming her arms, the sounds of the city a lively soundtrack.
She paused in front of a jeweller and examined the tree-inspired bracelets in silver and gold. Her mother would have loved them. Everything she’d worn had had some kind of link to nature whether it was the floral prints she’d preferred or the delicate swallow earring she’d always worn. Maybe she should buy one. Not that she needed jewellery to remember her mother, but she couldn’t resist the impulse and headed in, emerging a few moments later clutching a bag, having bought a bracelet for herself and one for her sister, and a pair of cufflinks for Akil. They weren’t really at the present stage, but she wanted him to have something to remember her by when this was all over.
Finally she stopped to look at some delicious pastries, her mouth watering at the sight of the nut and honey confections; she’d developed a taste for the local delicacies over the last couple of weeks. She couldn’t resist popping in to buy some and they were still warm when she returned to the square and rang the buzzer to Akil’s apartment. She took the now familiar stairs up to his first-floor apartment two at a time and as she reached Akil’s front door he opened it.
