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‘You do this a lot?’
‘Every evening, I try to find some time to just...relax. Get a bit of balance.’
The Ayurveda. Jaye didn’t practise Ayurvedic medicine, but it was everywhere here. And its principles had filtered into his life almost by osmosis.
‘I don’t think I’m very good at this. I’m still thinking...’
‘Try this, then.’ She felt his arm curl around her shoulders, and she melted into his warmth.
‘Is this cheating?’
‘No. I’m not teaching you to meditate, just trying to get you to relax. I think anything goes in these circumstances.’
She snuggled against him. ‘Okay. In that case, I think it’s working.’
Chapter Sixteen
IT WAS STILL dark when she woke, but the sound of birdsong told Megan that dawn wasn’t very far away. For a moment she thought she was in her own bed, but then she heard Jaye moving quietly around in the next room.
Last night...
He’d held her and finally she’d gone to sleep in his arms. Megan had woken when he’d carried her into the bedroom, slipping off her shoes and laying her down. Then she’d felt him curl his body around hers, holding her. Nothing could touch her, not even Harry.
She was still wearing the loose shirt she’d had on last night, along with her underwear, but her chinos were folded neatly beside the bed. She sat up, listening for the sounds of Jaye’s movements.
There was something odd about this. It took Megan a moment to gather her thoughts and realise what it was. She was always the first out of bed. Showering or making breakfast before a partner got the chance to get up. Being left behind was something that happened to her mother, not her.
She hadn’t slept with Jaye. Or strictly speaking she had slept with him, but that was all they’d done. But the principle still held, didn’t it?
Not this time, apparently. Megan didn’t feel the usual panic at finding herself alone in bed when the morning after dawned. She didn’t need that element of control with Jaye because she trusted him.
The do
or opened quietly and then he appeared, showered and dressed in a loose white shirt and pair of well-worn jeans. Bearing coffee.
‘You’re awake?’
‘Yes. And you’re a marvel.’ Megan pulled the mosquito net aside, reaching for the coffee.
* * *
Jaye watched the flickering light of the small torch he’d given Megan weave its way past the puddles on the gravel path that led to her bungalow. He missed her already. The feel of her body against his. The soft sound of her breathing in the darkness. He’d hardly slept at all, just lain awake, not questioning the feeling of complete happiness that had enveloped him.
He saw her briefly at breakfast, and then again as she and Harry walked through the trees at the far end of the compound, deep in conversation. He shouldn’t interrupt. Megan needed to do this alone.
All the same, time dragged heavily on his hands. The clinic was operating smoothly now, and Ranjini and Dr Stone had built an easy working relationship based on mutual respect. No one needed him, as either a doctor or a peacemaker, and he retreated to his bungalow to sprawl on the sofa and watch the clock ticking.
A tap on the door roused him from the uneasy doze he’d fallen into. When he opened the door, Megan was standing outside, her cheeks flushed. Jaye stepped back from the doorway.
‘Sit. Tell me how it all went.’
She plumped herself down on the sofa and Jaye sat next to her. For a moment she was silent, as if she was still working out how things had gone, and then she flashed him a smile.
‘I told him that I wanted to help him but that I wasn’t going to just drop everything and follow him. We talked about getting regular medical advice, and I suggested that he at least try and build some bridges with his wife and sons.’
‘And how did he take that?’
‘He said I didn’t understand the complexities of the situation.’ She shrugged. ‘I seldom do, according to Harry.’
