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‘I’m sure there should be.’ Steven narrowed his eyes. ‘But thank you, Miss Caulder.’
‘Anna, please. The important thing is that Joe makes his own decision about what he wants to do. When he’s done that, I can make a few calls to make sure he gets whatever he needs’
Jamie nodded. ‘We can help with that, if necessary.’
‘And in the meantime...’ Anna moved on smoothly ‘... I’d like to write a letter to you, outlining some of the things we’ve talked about today. It’s my view that Joe doesn’t have an issue with his birthmark, it’s the bullying. His headmistress needs to understand that and perhaps a surgeon’s letter will reinforce the point.’
‘Thank you, Anna. I think that’ll really help, don’t you, Steve?’ Josie turned to her husband and he nodded in agreement.
‘And Joe’s having counselling here?’ Anna’s gaze turned to Jamie.
‘Yes, that’s right. We’ll be seeing you again next week, won’t we, Joe?’ Jamie reckoned that the counsellor might be speaking to a different boy than the one she’d first met last week. Joe’s brief talk with Anna seemed to have set him firmly on the right track, and it was just a matter of following up now.
The chatter from the main hall was subsiding a little, and it was about time for the organisers to divide everyone into discussion groups. Anna reached for her laptop and closed it.
‘Is there anything else you’d like to ask? Joe?’
Joe shook his head, and Steven answered. ‘We’ve already kept you long enough. We really appreciate being able to talk to you.’
‘It’s been my pleasure. I enjoyed meeting you.’
Jamie guided her back to the community room, pointing out the group leaders so that Anna could visit each group and talk to them. She turned her smile up towards him. ‘I’m not enjoying this at all, you know.’
Jamie laughed. ‘No, I can see you aren’t. They don’t love having you here either.’
She gave a mock sigh. ‘I suppose it’s a boring old evening again afterwards.’
‘Yeah. Dry as dust.’ Even thinking about it sent shivers of pleasure down Jamie’s spine.
‘Oh, well. Better get on.’ Anna’s finger found his hand, her light touch giving him a first taste of the evening ahead. There was an undeniable joy in her step as she walked away from him, making for the first group and sitting down with them.
He didn’t need to tell her that she’d done wonders here today—she’d seen it on Joe’s face and in the faces of the other kids. She didn’t need to tell him that tonight would be anything but dull. It was all unspoken between him and Anna, and that was nice, but Jamie was beginning to want more.
CHAPTE
R FOURTEEN
EIGHT O’CLOCK ON a Friday evening. Another week had flown by, and the weekend was here again. Jamie heard Anna’s car draw up in the drive, and he greeted her at the door. He’d been cooking, and when she stepped into the hallway she wiggled her nose at him.
‘I know what you’ve been up to.’
‘Yes. Would you like me to pour you a drink?’
She chuckled, taking off her coat and hanging it on the stand. ‘I can pour my own beer, thank you very much.’
‘That’s not what I had in mind...’
Jamie had never felt as happy as he did now. In the month he and Anna had been together she’d spent every weekend here, with him. They’d come a long way. They’d explored trust, and found that came easily and naturally. Honesty had come naturally too, even if Anna was steadfastly honest about not wanting to talk about her marriage. They’d spent a great deal of time exploring wonderful, tumultuous, tender lovemaking and had shared a hundred everyday things, which felt special when he did them with Anna.
She’d changed him. In ways that he’d never thought possible. And although she was perfect already, there was just one thing that he wanted to change about her.
He led her into the sitting room, gesturing for her to sit down by the fire. He could feel her gaze following him as he walked over to the polished sideboard, from which he’d cleared the usual clutter of books, and switched on the lamp. The light reflected off a row of bottles, a silver ice bucket that he’d found in a junk shop and which had polished up nicely, and two slender glasses.
‘Cocktails. I have...um...well, tell me what you want, and I might have it.’
‘Mmm.’ Anna’s gaze ran along the bottles. ‘Surprise me.’
That was turning into one of his bounden duties in life. ‘Suppose we start with something...as near to virgin as it gets. We can work our way onto something a bit stronger later.’
