Edward got to his feet quickly, facing Charlotte with a slightly abashed air. ‘So you’re Isaac’s mother?’
‘Yes.’ She ducked around Edward. She could deal with him later. ‘Isaac, come here, please.’
‘But, Mum, I haven’t shown you. Look...’
‘We mustn’t bother Mr North any more, sweetie. Where did you get that from?’ She looked at the molecule model kit in front of him on the floor. It looked like a great toy and she wished she could afford something like it for Isaac, even if he was a bit young for it at the moment.
‘It’s Edward’s.’ Isaac shot a pleading look up at his new friend, who ignored him completely and sat down in his chair, remembering just in time to pull the blue bunny out from under him before it got squashed. He proffered it to Isaac and when he didn’t show any inclination to take it propped it up against the phone.
It had been a long week, and Charlotte had just about had enough. You could only take so many small crises, each one popping up hard on the heels of the last, before life became one big crisis.
‘Then put everything back in the box and say thank you to Edward. We’ve got to get home.’ Hopefully she could get out of here before the temptation to tear Edward off a strip became too great. Didn’t he realise that someone would be looking for the stray five-year-old who had wandered into his office?
Isaac shot her a look which left her in no doubt that he wasn’t in agreement with that decision, but complied anyway. One down, one to go. Charlotte turned to Edward, who was arranging the blue bunny into a crossed-legs, hands-behind-the-head posture which gave the impression that he was leaning back against the phone, sunbathing.
‘I’m sorry he...interrupted you. We’ll be going home...’
The sheer force of his gaze stopped her. Thoughtful. Intensely blue. And at this moment tainted with an uncertainty that was unlike Edward.
‘Were you looking for him?’
‘Yes. But it’s all right, he’s here...’ Charlotte just wanted to hug Isaac. As soon as she got out of Edward’s office that was the first thing she planned to do.
‘I should have let you know he was here.’
He’d recovered himself now. Whatever emotion he did or didn’t feel was locked away somewhere, no one’s business but his own.
‘That’s okay. I’ve found him now...’ She was shaking. So tired that she was almost in tears. All she wanted to do was get home. ‘Isaac, will you give Edward the box back, please?’
Isaac seemed to have got over his disappointment and carefully collected up the box and laid it on Edward’s desk. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Edward gave Isaac a guarded half-smile and a little formal nod and her son copied the expression in return. ‘Don’t forget... What’s his name?’
‘Stinky.’
Edward raised one eyebrow. ‘Well, don’t forget Stinky, then.’
He looked up at Charlotte and she tried for a smile.
‘Will you stay a moment, please, Charlotte?’
This was the last thing she needed right now. She knew that Isaac shouldn’t have been running around the clinic on his own. Edward didn’t need to tell her that, and it went without saying that it wouldn’t happen again. ‘Isaac, will you go and sit with Lucy, please? Just for a minute.’ She pointed to the patients’ seating area outside.
‘Here.’ Edward leaned forward, towards the boy, proffering a handful of change. ‘Get something for yourself and Lucy from the vending machine. D’you think Stinky wants anything?’
‘No, he doesn’t. He’s not a real rabbit, you know.’
‘Of course not. Well, something for you and Lucy then...’
Charlotte was about to stop Isaac from taking the money, but Edward had already put a selection of coins into his hand and Isaac was halfway towards the door. At least he remembered to thank Edward. She straightened herself and prepared for the dressing down that was coming.
‘I’m sorry, Charlotte.’
‘Eh...?’
‘You must have been worried when you couldn’t find Isaac.’
Worried? Frantic, more like. ‘I...I’m sorry he bothered you.’
‘He was no trouble. He seems to like molecules...’ Edward almost smiled and then thought better of it. Too bad. In that brief moment his eyes had seemed bluer, and his dark good looks less brooding.
‘He’s only five. He likes putting things together and taking them apart again...’ The rush of relief at finding Isaac had left her feeling like a limp dishcloth. And now this. Instinctively Charlotte put one hand to her brow, as if to shade herself from the intensity of those blue eyes which seemed to hold so much that was unsaid.
‘Hey. What’s this?’
He was on his feet, his hands on her shoulders. Edward had the worst timing of any man she’d ever known, bar none. Of all the times to choose to be kind, this was the one most likely to reduce her to tears.
‘Nothing. It’s nothing. I’m okay.’ She tried to avoid his gaze.
‘Clearly you’re not.’
There was a note of tenderness in his voice that she hadn’t heard before. Something warm about the arm which wound around her shoulder. Something about his scent that made her instinctively sink into him, even though she knew that this was probably one of the worst ideas she’d ever had in her life.
Under the crisp white shirt there was some serious musculature. Strong arms, and a flat, hard stomach. For the second time in the last few minutes the swimming pool flashed into Charlotte’s head, but this time the image was considerably more inviting.
‘I’m okay...’ Charlotte thought about pushing him away and then decided that putting her hands anywhere near him would be far too much of a temptation. ‘Really. I’m fine.’
He seemed to feel it, too. He stepped back quickly, almost as if she’d burnt him, and turned towards his desk. ‘If there’s anything that’s bothering you, you should let someone know.’ He thought for a moment, obviously considering himself an unlikely candidate for any kind of emotional disclosure. ‘Lizzie, perhaps...I’m sure she’d be able to do...whatever’s needed.’
Edward had switched back into professional mode and the relief was almost palpable. ‘No. There’s nothing. I just had a bit of a scare when I couldn’t find Isaac...’ She bit her words back. Nothing like blaming the very person who had just tried to help her.
‘I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.’
That was supposed to be her line. She smiled up at him, wishing that she could smooth some of the creases on his brow. ‘It’s okay. He’s safe, and that’s all that matters. I’m sorry he disturbed you. He knows he mustn’t wander around here.’
