indifferent as he obviously was.
Hurt and confused, she turned as she heard a tap on the door.
Mary Hillier walked in with Shelley, and Ethan immediately waved a hand at the two chairs he’d placed next to the desk. ‘Sit down. I can see you’re worried so let’s get straight to the point.’ He outlined the results of the blood tests, explaining in simple, precise language.
Mary was looking relieved. ‘So tell me more about this ITP thing. What exactly does it mean?’
‘It means that there aren’t enough platelets in the blood. If you cast your mind back to biology, you’ll remember that platelets are responsible for helping the blood to clot.’
‘So if she doesn’t have enough platelets, she could bleed?’
‘That’s right. That’s why she has more bruising than usual.’
‘And what’s caused it?’
‘It’s an autoimmune disease. In other words, your body attacks itself—in this case it attacks the platelets. As to what causes it—most of the experts think that in children it’s caused by a viral infection.’
‘But there’s no treatment? You’re not going to do anything?’
‘Treatment isn’t always necessary, particularly in children. They tend to recover completely in a couple of months without any intervention.’
‘But what if she has problems?’
Ethan reached for a pen and scribbled something on a pad. ‘This is my number.’ He handed the paper to Mary. ‘If you can’t get me in surgery, feel free to call me on that number if you have any worries. We will be checking Shelley’s blood regularly to see if the platelet count is recovering.’
Kyla nodded her approval. He may be dressed in a suit and look unapproachable, but he was making himself accessible to worried patients and they didn’t seem to find him intimidating.
Mary folded the paper and put it carefully in her handbag. ‘And does she need to stop doing sport or anything? She loves her netball and they’re playing loads of matches at school at the moment.’
‘The way her platelet count is at the moment, it’s fine for her to play.’ Ethan scribbled something else on the pad. ‘We’ll monitor it and if it drops to a certain level then we may need to advise you to avoid contact sports, but at the moment it’s fine just to carry on as normal.’
A relieved Mary left the room and Kyla managed a smile.
‘You’re very good at explaining.’
‘Despite the suit?’ There was humour in his eyes but she was too confused by her own feelings to respond.
‘Thanks for spending so much time with them,’ she said quickly, making for the door. She needed to escape. The effect he had on her was profoundly unsettling, but it was clear that he didn’t feel the same way and the sooner she came to terms with that, the better for both of them. ‘I need to get on.’
‘Kyla, wait.’
She didn’t turn but her grip tightened on the doorhandle. ‘Not now, Ethan,’ she said quietly, keeping her eyes forward. Looking ahead. ‘As you said yourself, this isn’t the right time.’
Ethan stared after her, feeling the frustration rise inside him.
Why now?
Why her and why now?
He lifted a hand to the knot of his tie and loosened it with a vicious jerk as he cursed softly.
He’d hurt her feelings. She thought he’d rejected her, and in a way he had, but only because he wasn’t in a position to do anything else.
He turned and stared out of the window, watching the first threatening clouds appear in the sky.
He could tell her the truth, of course. He could tell her who he was and why he was there.
But he wasn’t able to do that yet.
He wasn’t ready.
There were still so many things that he didn’t understand and he needed time to work out the answers to all the questions he had. Then, maybe then, he could do something about Kyla MacNeil.
Soon.
She felt such a fool.
Kyla slipped into the driver’s seat of her car, stealing a glance at the low black sports car parked next to her. It was sleek,
Hurt and confused, she turned as she heard a tap on the door.
Mary Hillier walked in with Shelley, and Ethan immediately waved a hand at the two chairs he’d placed next to the desk. ‘Sit down. I can see you’re worried so let’s get straight to the point.’ He outlined the results of the blood tests, explaining in simple, precise language.
Mary was looking relieved. ‘So tell me more about this ITP thing. What exactly does it mean?’
‘It means that there aren’t enough platelets in the blood. If you cast your mind back to biology, you’ll remember that platelets are responsible for helping the blood to clot.’
‘So if she doesn’t have enough platelets, she could bleed?’
‘That’s right. That’s why she has more bruising than usual.’
‘And what’s caused it?’
‘It’s an autoimmune disease. In other words, your body attacks itself—in this case it attacks the platelets. As to what causes it—most of the experts think that in children it’s caused by a viral infection.’
‘But there’s no treatment? You’re not going to do anything?’
‘Treatment isn’t always necessary, particularly in children. They tend to recover completely in a couple of months without any intervention.’
‘But what if she has problems?’
Ethan reached for a pen and scribbled something on a pad. ‘This is my number.’ He handed the paper to Mary. ‘If you can’t get me in surgery, feel free to call me on that number if you have any worries. We will be checking Shelley’s blood regularly to see if the platelet count is recovering.’
Kyla nodded her approval. He may be dressed in a suit and look unapproachable, but he was making himself accessible to worried patients and they didn’t seem to find him intimidating.
Mary folded the paper and put it carefully in her handbag. ‘And does she need to stop doing sport or anything? She loves her netball and they’re playing loads of matches at school at the moment.’
‘The way her platelet count is at the moment, it’s fine for her to play.’ Ethan scribbled something else on the pad. ‘We’ll monitor it and if it drops to a certain level then we may need to advise you to avoid contact sports, but at the moment it’s fine just to carry on as normal.’
A relieved Mary left the room and Kyla managed a smile.
‘You’re very good at explaining.’
‘Despite the suit?’ There was humour in his eyes but she was too confused by her own feelings to respond.
‘Thanks for spending so much time with them,’ she said quickly, making for the door. She needed to escape. The effect he had on her was profoundly unsettling, but it was clear that he didn’t feel the same way and the sooner she came to terms with that, the better for both of them. ‘I need to get on.’
‘Kyla, wait.’
She didn’t turn but her grip tightened on the doorhandle. ‘Not now, Ethan,’ she said quietly, keeping her eyes forward. Looking ahead. ‘As you said yourself, this isn’t the right time.’
Ethan stared after her, feeling the frustration rise inside him.
Why now?
Why her and why now?
He lifted a hand to the knot of his tie and loosened it with a vicious jerk as he cursed softly.
He’d hurt her feelings. She thought he’d rejected her, and in a way he had, but only because he wasn’t in a position to do anything else.
He turned and stared out of the window, watching the first threatening clouds appear in the sky.
He could tell her the truth, of course. He could tell her who he was and why he was there.
But he wasn’t able to do that yet.
He wasn’t ready.
There were still so many things that he didn’t understand and he needed time to work out the answers to all the questions he had. Then, maybe then, he could do something about Kyla MacNeil.
Soon.
She felt such a fool.
Kyla slipped into the driver’s seat of her car, stealing a glance at the low black sports car parked next to her. It was sleek,
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