turned to the man who was causing her so much confusion.
‘Sorry, miles away.’
And thinking unhappy thoughts, Angus decided, seeing sadness in her eyes as she’d looked up at him.
‘Well, that’s okay, because it wasn’t very interesting chatter anyway,’ he said, but her distraction reminded him of the ‘loner’ tag she had at the hospital. Wasn’t that why he was hanging around Bondi? To see if he could find out what had changed her?
Not that it was any of his business, but he’d liked the Kate he’d met at the island, and maybe he could find her again beneath the shell she’d built around herself.
Oh, yes? a voice in his head taunted. You want to see more of her for purely altruistic reasons? To find out why she’s changed? Nothing to do with the attraction you feel towards her? The physical attraction you felt back then, that’s still there between you? The attraction you’d like to follow up on? Have a bit of a fling?
Except instinct told him that Kate wasn’t a ‘just a fling’ kind of woman. A woman he could enjoy and walk away from.
Yet, if he’d hurt her in some way? If his actions had somehow contributed to the change in her personality, shouldn’t he make an effort to sort things out?
And a fling would do that? that voice in his head said mockingly, and he pushed all the useless thoughts away and concentrated on his guest.
‘That rock pool looks fantastic. Someone was telling me there are people who swim here all year round.’
‘Not me!’ Kate assured him. ‘I rarely go into the ocean until November when it’s warmed up enough that I don’t turn blue with cold.’
And just like that, things were easy between them again.
They were shown to a table by a window, far enough from other diners that they could talk freely, Kate asking him about his last posting, which he glossed over with a shrug and as few details as he could get away with.
Ordering dinner made a natural break in the conversation, so when that was done, he diverted the conversation back to her.
‘And you?’ he asked. ‘Why surgery?’
For a moment, it seemed as if she might not answer, then she turned from the contemplation of the darkness beyond the window and looked directly at him, so he could see her face and read every expression on it.
‘I liked the surgical work we did during training and then thought I’d follow up, but general surgery isn’t as easy as it sounds and I’m determined to do well at it.’
‘Why?’ he asked again.
She frowned at him, although he was sure she knew full well what this question meant.
He leaned forward and touched one finger to her chin, a silent prompt.
‘I wanted to do it for myself, to prove to myself I can be the best—or the best I can be.’ She hesitated, then sighed as if she’d decided it was easier to get it all out than for him to keep prompting her. ‘My parents were both high-fliers—lawyers—disappointed when I chose to study medicine instead of law. They’d wanted me to join the family firm, take it over in time. So, I felt I’d let the family down—failed.’
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