The Secret Doctor. Joanna Neil

learned to take no for an answer.’

      He nodded. ‘You’re absolutely right.’ He halted at the foot of the stairs, leaning negligently against the newel post. ‘So what’s it to be? Am I staying the night?’ He paused, reflecting on that for a while. ‘Actually, come to think of it, it seems to me that’s much the better option.’ Flame darted wickedly in his eyes.

      ‘Oh, you’re impossible.’ She turned away from him and started up the stairs, but then she swivelled around and held out a forbidding hand as he made to follow her. ‘You stay there,’ she told him.

      ‘Are you sure?’ He gave her an innocent, wide-eyed look. ‘I thought you might need some help deciding what to wear.’

      ‘I’m quite sure.’ Her blue eyes sparked a warning, and this time he paid heed, holding up his hands in mock submission.

      ‘Okay, okay. I get the message.’

      ‘That’s good.’

      Lacey started to climb the stairs once more, but in the background she heard his plaintive voice muttering, ‘She doesn’t like me a bit…She doesn’t trust me…yet here I am, innocent as the day…’

      ‘Innocent as an alligator on the prowl,’ she retorted without looking back, and was rewarded with a soft splutter of laughter.

      She dressed quickly in a simple, pencil-line dress made of a soft jersey fabric that clung to her figure like a second skin. She felt good in this dress. In delicate shades of blue, it enhanced the colour of her eyes, and lent her confidence. It had a V neckline and was waist cinching, and the bodice was embellished with a smattering of sparkling diamanté.

      When she went back downstairs just a few minutes later, she found Jake was waiting for her in the hall. As she approached, he simply stared at her, an arrested look in his eyes, as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He gave a soft gasp of appreciation.

      ‘You look fantastic,’ he said, his gaze drifting over her. ‘Like the girl of my dreams…I want to scoop you up and keep you all to myself.’

      ‘Sorry. That’s not an option.’ She smiled. ‘Besides, you said yourself that your guests will be wondering what’s happened to you.’

      ‘Maybe…but I left the caterers in charge. They’ll see to it that no one goes hungry or without a drink.’ He was still gazing at her in an enthralled fashion. ‘Perhaps the party was a bad idea. It would be so much easier to get to know you better if we were to stay here.’

      ‘On your way, neighbour,’ she told him in a firm voice. ‘You railroaded me into this, and you promised me food and drink…Besides, I have to confess I’m dying to see what your house is like inside. What I’ve seen from a distance looks magnificent, like a millionaire’s retreat…all those different elevations and those landscaped acres. Even the pale sunshine colouring looks good, with the white deck rails and tiled roofs and awnings. I’m intrigued to know what the rest of it looks like.’

      ‘Then it will be my pleasure to show it to you,’ he said. ‘Though I don’t think you need to feel envious in any way. The place you have here is just lovely—a lot smaller than mine, I grant you, but perfect for a couple, maybe, with a small family.’

      He sent her a glance as they left the house and started out along the dock. ‘Have you thought about selling up and finding yourself another place nearer to the hospital, or closer to your sister? I mean, you have no real reason to stay on here, do you? And Rob said you were hoping to meet up with your sister again soon.’

      Her brow knotted. ‘No, I hadn’t thought about it at all. I’m still coming to terms with the move out here, and this was the natural choice of where to stay.’

      He nodded. ‘I can see how you would need time to acclimatise yourself. But if you ever do decide you want to sell up, I would give you a good price for the property.’

      She looked at him in astonishment. ‘Why on earth would you want to buy the place? Don’t you have enough room to rattle about in already?’

      He smiled. ‘It’s more about the land…I’d like to extend the dock, and build a marine basin…And then there’s the orange grove at the back of the property. I already grow oranges, limes and grapefruit, but with your land added to mine I could do it on a commercial basis. There’s always a market for fresh fruit or fruit juices.’