escaping from the rubber band to frame her pale face.
‘I ’ m so glad you ’ re here . ’ H is dark eyes were warm as he looked at her with the smile that had made her knees weak ever since she had discovered she couldn’t see him as just another friend. ‘Laura didn’t tell me anything, you know. ’
He turned to the doctor who stood at his side with a patient smile pasted on his face and shook his head in disapproval . ‘Luckily , M om is a terrible liar , and I can tell right away when something ’ s wrong . So I rushed ba ck and had a chat with Laura’s doctor . ’
‘I can’t tell you all the details without my patient’s approval, you must understand that.’ The doctor ’s eyes were cautious as he explained the procedure to both of them. ‘Once Laura gives me the green light , we can discuss all the details, but for now that’s pretty much all I can share with you, Liam.’
He excused himself and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the two of them standing face to face for the first time in over ten years.
‘I am really glad to see you . ’ His dark eyes were serious as he sighed deeply and pointed to the empty table at the window. ‘ Can we sit here for a while? I would go in there and talk to Laura right now, but I guess it ’ s important for her to find out as much as possible, and I think they would kick me out anyway, right?’
‘I think they might.’ She nodded as they walked over to the table , where she watched him pull out her chair in an old - fashioned gesture. He waited for her to sit down before he joined her, his long legs brushing her knees under the miniscule table.
‘How did you know that she would be here ?’ she asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. ‘ About the meeting , I mean ? ’
‘ Nothing stays secret in the Latimer family.’ His grin was charming , white teeth flashing in his tanned face. ‘I talked to M om yesterday , and she mentioned Laura telling her about this special meeting she had to attend today. The rest was very easy, really . ’
‘I ’ m sure Laura will be absolutely thrilled to see you.’ She smiled back, eager to wipe away the sadness that lurked in his eyes even while he tried to stay cheerful. ‘ She didn’t want to disturb your project and that’s why she kept quiet, but I ’ m positive that deep down she was hoping to see you.’
‘She’d better, because I ’ m not going anywhere . ’ H e watched her with a little smile, her skin heating as she felt his gaze linger on her face and go lower over her body. H e was n’t leering, but still she felt as if she w ere being stripped naked and exposed to his penetrating gaze.
‘ You ’ve grown up . ’ He smiled again, his jet black eyes enigmatic. ‘ But still, I would recognize you anywhere, Jade.’
‘ I ’ m twenty - eight, so I think that counts as being grown up.’ She knew she sounded petulant, but she couldn’t help it. She remembered him telling her how young she was the last time they were together and hated being reminded of that evening. Some things weren’t meant to be repeated, she thought as she gave him a challenging look .
‘ It certainly does . ’ H e nodded , and she watched his face darken with some emotion she couldn’t quite read. ‘ It is really wonderful of you to come see her like th is , Jade . ’ H is fingers absentmindedly trac ed the tablecloth pattern. ‘ You know Laura; she ’ ll never admit that she needs help. She ’ ll keep pretending everything is fine , just so we can go ahead with our lives, mom and me . Y our being here must have helped immensely, though . ’
‘I don’t know if it made such a big difference, Liam.’ She sighed, her cheek resting on her palm as she looked at him across the table. ‘I hope d I could keep her busy enough to stop thinking about the disease all the time ; I tried my best , but in the end how can you really help someone if you can’t walk in their shoes? I can’t imagine what she
‘I ’ m so glad you ’ re here . ’ H is dark eyes were warm as he looked at her with the smile that had made her knees weak ever since she had discovered she couldn’t see him as just another friend. ‘Laura didn’t tell me anything, you know. ’
He turned to the doctor who stood at his side with a patient smile pasted on his face and shook his head in disapproval . ‘Luckily , M om is a terrible liar , and I can tell right away when something ’ s wrong . So I rushed ba ck and had a chat with Laura’s doctor . ’
‘I can’t tell you all the details without my patient’s approval, you must understand that.’ The doctor ’s eyes were cautious as he explained the procedure to both of them. ‘Once Laura gives me the green light , we can discuss all the details, but for now that’s pretty much all I can share with you, Liam.’
He excused himself and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the two of them standing face to face for the first time in over ten years.
‘I am really glad to see you . ’ His dark eyes were serious as he sighed deeply and pointed to the empty table at the window. ‘ Can we sit here for a while? I would go in there and talk to Laura right now, but I guess it ’ s important for her to find out as much as possible, and I think they would kick me out anyway, right?’
‘I think they might.’ She nodded as they walked over to the table , where she watched him pull out her chair in an old - fashioned gesture. He waited for her to sit down before he joined her, his long legs brushing her knees under the miniscule table.
‘How did you know that she would be here ?’ she asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. ‘ About the meeting , I mean ? ’
‘ Nothing stays secret in the Latimer family.’ His grin was charming , white teeth flashing in his tanned face. ‘I talked to M om yesterday , and she mentioned Laura telling her about this special meeting she had to attend today. The rest was very easy, really . ’
‘I ’ m sure Laura will be absolutely thrilled to see you.’ She smiled back, eager to wipe away the sadness that lurked in his eyes even while he tried to stay cheerful. ‘ She didn’t want to disturb your project and that’s why she kept quiet, but I ’ m positive that deep down she was hoping to see you.’
‘She’d better, because I ’ m not going anywhere . ’ H e watched her with a little smile, her skin heating as she felt his gaze linger on her face and go lower over her body. H e was n’t leering, but still she felt as if she w ere being stripped naked and exposed to his penetrating gaze.
‘ You ’ve grown up . ’ He smiled again, his jet black eyes enigmatic. ‘ But still, I would recognize you anywhere, Jade.’
‘ I ’ m twenty - eight, so I think that counts as being grown up.’ She knew she sounded petulant, but she couldn’t help it. She remembered him telling her how young she was the last time they were together and hated being reminded of that evening. Some things weren’t meant to be repeated, she thought as she gave him a challenging look .
‘ It certainly does . ’ H e nodded , and she watched his face darken with some emotion she couldn’t quite read. ‘ It is really wonderful of you to come see her like th is , Jade . ’ H is fingers absentmindedly trac ed the tablecloth pattern. ‘ You know Laura; she ’ ll never admit that she needs help. She ’ ll keep pretending everything is fine , just so we can go ahead with our lives, mom and me . Y our being here must have helped immensely, though . ’
‘I don’t know if it made such a big difference, Liam.’ She sighed, her cheek resting on her palm as she looked at him across the table. ‘I hope d I could keep her busy enough to stop thinking about the disease all the time ; I tried my best , but in the end how can you really help someone if you can’t walk in their shoes? I can’t imagine what she
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