Absolute Zero (42 page)

“Yes.”

“Well, I’ll just bet you and Ian have some right boring conversations, eh?” She widened her sea-green eyes in amusement. “Eachann’s a doctor. He tries to tell me about his day and I just stare at him. No idea what he’s talking about…” she rambled jovially.

“Anne’s a doctor also,” Ian stated with a hint of pride in his voice.

“Really?” Eachann finally piped up.

Anne sat with a passive expression on her face.

“What’s your specialty?” The handsome younger man asked.

Nerves decided to flare up and her mouth just didn’t feel the need to open.

“She’s a neurosurgeon,” Ian answered for her yet again.

“Well, now! Isn’t that something. I’m just a general practioner. You must be hoora smart,” he added with a slight sense of awe.

“I…just. I don’t know. I was just drawn to it,” Anne finally muttered.

“Well, why on earth would you do this when you can do
that
?” Margaret asked the question that always seemed to follow.
Damn Ian and his damn mouth
. She shifted on her stool uncomfortably.

“I…wanted to try something different, I guess,” she answered.

Ian watched her closely, noting her discomfort. He placed his palm on her back before he could stop himself. Odd, but she seemed to have this reaction when Lena asked about it also. There was so much he
didn’t
know about the woman seated next to him and she certainly wasn’t willing to divulge information. She was a mystery to him but one he was very much determined to solve.

“So what do
you
do?” She asked and to Ian, he almost expected Anne to ask that. She was a master at the art of subject-changing.

“Me? Ah…” now it was Margaret’s turn to look uncomfortable, Ian noticed.

“Well, I do some charity work,” she stated. It was true. She
did
donate some of her ex-husband’s money to charity, Ian thought as he watched her.

Margaret’s eyes wandered to the hand Ian had placed on Anne’s back; a questioning look appeared on her face as she glanced back to his face.

Anne immediately straightened her back, dislodging his hand.

*****

“She seemed nice,” Anne stated as he held her tightly to him. He was playing with her hair again as they shared the same pillow later that night.

“She
is
nice. We’ve been friends since…hmm, I guess since we were bairns.”

“Really?” She couldn’t shake the feeling that they were more than friends. The looks and the familiarity between them seemed a bit more…intimate than that. She wouldn’t ask. She didn’t want to know. Jealousy was not an admirable trait in anyone.

“Really.” He leveled that serious look in her direction. “Go ahead and ask, Anne,” he stated softly.

“Ask what? I don’t…”

“Aye, you do,” he interrupted her. “You’ve been acting a bit…quiet tonight. More so than normal. If you want to know, just ask.”

“I don’t want to know. It’s none of my business,” she replied. They continued to stare at each other. “Fine,” she blurted after a few moments. “Tell me,” she added. It would only bother her not to know.

“Yes, I slept with her. No, it didn’t mean anything. We’ve always been just friends, I swear.”

Her stomach gave an unwelcome flip. Were they still…?

“And no, we don’t. Not anymore. I can’t look at another woman, let alone flang anyone else. Not when I can’t think about anyone else but you,” he added in a gentle tone.

“She’s very beautiful.” Her features scrunched up. That just sounded so…needy.

“She has nothing on you,” his hand immediately covered her mouth after a snort escaped from her lips.

“I’m serious, Annie. You could be the most unattractive woman and I still would be fascinated with you. Lucky for me, you just happen to be bonnie, but I find that I like this,” he tapped her forehead with his finger lightly, “and I especially like this,” he rubbed the same finger on her lips before leaning in and kissing them lightly.

“Go to sleep, darlin’.”

She watched his face in the moonlight. He looked so contented and peaceful and it truly seemed as if he was speaking the truth. If only he knew what she
used
to look like. She wondered if he would say the same thing. A feeling of disquiet washed through her suddenly. Her eyes flitted toward the opened bedroom door. She pushed away as he attempted to tighten his hold but she was more determined.

“Annie?”

She removed her body from the bed and walked toward the door.

“Annie? Darlin’ what…? Don’t you dare sleep somewhere else. I will grab you and haul you back to this bed,” he forced out behind her.

She simply closed the door, locked it, tried the knob twice and turned toward the bed again. He blew out a sigh of relief.

“Why do you do that?”

“Do what?” she asked as she settled her body next to his once again.

“I swear I’ll protect you. You don’t have to lock the door,” he laughed out.

“Goodnight, Ian.” She murmured as she tucked her head beneath his chin.

*****

“I thought it was odd that I would come here at the end of the week,” she stated as he drove.

“Well, I’ll admit, I usually work on the weekends but I wanted at least a day to have you to myself. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m sure. Your offer was tempting, but I at least have to do a
little
site seeing while I’m here. You can ravage me when we get home,” she added. His hand squeezed hers on the console. In fact, his hand had pretty much encapsulated hers from the moment they left the house earlier.

“Good. That’s a plan. I have a reservation for lunch,” he stated, his eyes watching the road ahead. “You know? You’ve seen one castle, you’ve seen ‘em all. Sort of like apes at the Zoo…” he quipped, causing a small laugh to escape her. His mouth was turned up in a smirk.

She
did
say that, didn’t she?
If she only knew back then…

*****

He rubbed her back almost rhythmically, her head tucked securely under his chin later that night as the light from the TV flickered in front of them.

“Do you like football?” he asked as highlights from games passed in quick succession on the screen.

“Soccer,” she corrected him.

“Whatever,” he breathed out before casting a lingering kiss on the top of her head. The chime from the doorbell interrupted the moment causing another “Aww, geez,” to spew from his mouth. He sat immobile even after the second set of tones sounded throughout the house.

“I guess it’s a good thing we’re clothed,” he breathed out on a frustrated sigh. “I’ll get rid of ‘em,” he stated as she straightened up on the couch.

She watched him walk with purpose toward the front of the house, already missing his warmth.

She couldn’t see the front door, but she could hear it click open very clearly. She could also hear the exchange that followed.

“Ian…” a woman’s voice.

“No.” His tone was hard. “Really? Right now? Are ya jokin’? Yer timing is perfect,” he seemed to grate out.

“Ian. Please…” the woman’s tone seemed desperate to Anne. She shifted on the couch, wondering if she should remove herself to another room.

“Please what? What do you
want
? Why are you here? I have nothing for you. And don’t even
think
about going to Lena. Do you hear me?”

“I just wanted…”

“Yes I know. You need money. Well, I’m sorry. Actually, I’m
not
sorry. Go back to rehab.
Maybe
I’ll talk to you then. Right now? You need to leave. We have nothing to say to each other.”

The door slammed, causing Anne’s body to jolt.

A moment later he reappeared in the doorway. His jaw was clenched but his look softened almost immediately as soon as their eyes met.

“Sorry, love,” he stated gently as he walked toward the couch. As soon as he seated himself, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her back to his side.

“Umm…” she wasn’t quite sure what to say.

“Someday? Yes. I’ll tell you all about it. Right now? No.” He let out a frustrated sounding sigh. “I don’t want to talk about that. I just want to be with you. You make me verra happy. Do you know that?” He tipped her chin up to look at him before kissing her.

He pulled back, still staring at her. Her expression was still somewhat stunned, somewhat questioning, causing another breath to blow out. “That was my Mum,” he stated before tucking her head under his chin once more.

“We don’t…get along,” he added.

She kept her mouth shut and let him resume stroking her back with his skilled fingers. She wouldn’t push it. Besides, if there was anyone on earth not willing to talk about their family? It would definitely be her.

*****

“Mrs. Craigh? Where are the reports on…Oh! Anne,” his voice went from loud and booming to subtle as he wandered from his office and took in the sight of her.

“We’re going to lunch,” the older woman informed him as she slung her purse over her shoulder.

“Oh? Well, what about…?”

“I’ll get them to you in an hour,” she cut him off before gently grabbing Anne’s arm and turning her toward the lobby.

“Well, bring me back a…”

“I know,” she interrupted him again.

Anne’s head turned to see him standing next to the desk. He blew her a quick kiss before she turned the corner.

*****

“Why does he insist on calling you Mrs. Craigh?” Anne asked after the waiter left with their orders.

“Force of habit,” she answered. “We’re verra good friends, you know. We spent an awful bit of time together when he was in secondary school.” At Anne’s obviously confused look, she quickly added, “I was the receptionist for the headteacher. He was so bad; we just got to know each other verra well. He spent many hours in the waiting room,” she laughed.

“Really? So he was in trouble often?”

“Hoh! Ye have no idea. Such a bully, that one. Of course, ye know he never fixed his lip until he made his money. When he was little they picked on him. Then it sort of turned around. It got so if ye looked at him strange, he’d beat ya to a pulp. I always understood that. I even felt sorry for him. Can you imagine having to go through life with a birth defect and never have it corrected? It makes me so upset. His Mum…well, she never did anything about it. Of course, I shouldn’t be telling you this,” she added.

“She came by last night. To his house,” Anne admitted.

“Oh, I’m sure
that
was pleasant. I’m sure he ranted all about her, eh? He keeps sticking her in rehab and she keeps letting herself out.”

Anne sat and absorbed her words. She found out more about him in the last few sentences than she did during the weeks she knew him. At least one thing was clear. She knew the reason why he thought he was ugly.

“Sure,” she responded, not letting on that she didn’t truly know this. “That’s a shame…about his lip,” she prompted. Maybe she would berate herself for being nosy later. At the moment, she was absolutely riveted to this conversation.

“Aye. I always thought if I had the money? I would have paid for the surgery myself. Doesn’t matter. I think it may have helped turn him into the man he is today. He’s verra determined, verra successful. He’s actually quite handsome now, eh?” She gave an almost probing look to Anne.

“Aaahh, well…I can’t really…”

“Oh! Come now, I know he’s smitten with ya. It’s all, ‘Anne this’ and ‘Anne that’. He even slipped up and called you ‘Annie’ the other day. I just gave him a look. He told me to shut up,” she laughed.

Anne could feel warmth infusing her cheeks at the older woman’s words.

“I’ve never seen that lad so happy. I think you do wonders for him, ya know,” she added.

I think he does wonders for me
, she thought as the fluttering in her stomach made a return.

*****

“Don’t go.”

“He speaks! It’s about damn time,” Anne quipped as they stood in front of the airport days later. “I thought you were pissed off at me,” she smiled.

“I just…dammit Anne, stay for another week.”
Stay forever
, he really wanted to say.

“No. In your own words, nothing gets done in America if I’m not around, right? I have projects…”

“I need you here. Besides, I’m the boss. What I say should go. No arguments,” he almost looked…pouty. It was so darn
cute
.

“Right. Well, I have this plane ticket. First Class, mind you. This sucker wasn’t cheap. I
have
to go.”

“Fuck the ticket. I’ll buy you a damn
plane
if I have to. Just…” his furrowed brows softened somewhat along with his words, “stay,” he finished softly. His hand was caressing her cheek, causing her body to want to melt into him.