do?’
‘Yes.’ His smile was genuine as he realised she truly had no idea just how lovely she was. He wanted to ask her if she wore the baggy clothes because she was self-conscious about her body. He wanted to know if she’d had an eating disorder as a child. She didn’t seem to be suffering from it now but what would he know? Apart from having lunch with her the other day, he hadn’t seen her eat much. He brushed the thoughts aside for now. ‘OK, you head over to the res wing and I’ll meet you there.’
It didn’t take him long to move his car from one car park to the next and he headed inside the residential wing’s lobby, sitting down in the cool air-conditioning and taking the opportunity to read the latest hospital news circular. No sooner had he started reading the lead article than he realised Jane was standing in front of him. He put the circular down and slowly stood up, his gaze travelling over the woman before him.
Dressed in jeans, flat shoes and a long-sleeved T-shirt that was still a little big for her, there was no doubting that she had a beautiful feminine shape. Add to that the fact that she’d plaited her long luscious locks into pigtails, making her look more like the seventeen-year-old he remembered, and Sean’s previous warnings to himself to take things slowly seemed to disappear.
When she shoved her glasses onto her nose, a move he was coming to realise indicated she was nervous, he belatedly realised he’d been staring at her.
‘Er...sorry.’ Sean cleared his throat and thrust his hands into his pockets.
‘Is this OK? Not too casual? I wasn’t sure how formal or informal I should be.’
Sean smiled. ‘Just be yourself and, if I might say so, you look lovely.’
‘Lovely?’
‘Yes, Jane.’
She lowered her head again but not before he’d seen the disbelief reflected in her eyes. ‘How can you not know how beautiful you are?’ he asked softly, stepping a little closer to her so others in the lobby didn’t overhear what he was saying. ‘Your hair is...glorious. When it’s loose, I want to touch it, to watch as the silky strands slide through my fingers. And your eyes...’ He exhaled slowly as he looked deeply into her eyes. ‘So sad and intense. A man could lose himself in your eyes.’
‘Uh...’ Jane stumbled, breaking her gaze from his and looking down at the floor, feeling completely out of her depth. No one had ever spoken to her like this before, not even Eamon. Why was he saying these things to her?
‘You’re caring, intelligent and have the voice of an angel.’ Sean reached out, placing his fingers gently beneath her chin, lifting her head so their eyes could meet once more. ‘You’re a person of worth, Jane Diamond. Far too many people have told you otherwise and it’s time for that to change. You are a person of worth,’ he repeated. ‘And I for one am proud to call you my friend.’
‘Friend,’ she whispered, as though she were just learning to speak a new language. ‘You’re right, Sean.’ She swallowed over the dryness in her throat. ‘No one’s ever told me that. Thank you.’
As she stared up at him, he knew what he’d said was completely true as her green eyes seemed to be inviting him to stare into them for ever. Such an odd sensation and one he was all too tempted by. However, the last thing either of them needed right now was any sort of romantic attachment. Logically, he accepted that. Emotionally, he didn’t seem able to stop thinking about her.
Tonight he should be focused on keeping her calm, helping her through the apprehension he could already see was buzzing through her. He dropped his hand and took a step back, before forcing a smile. He held his hand out towards the door. ‘We don’t want to keep Spencer waiting. Shall we?’
Jane nodded, as though she were no longer capable of speech. Thankfully, his car wasn’t too far from the entrance to the res wing so they were effectively going from one cooled place to
‘Yes.’ His smile was genuine as he realised she truly had no idea just how lovely she was. He wanted to ask her if she wore the baggy clothes because she was self-conscious about her body. He wanted to know if she’d had an eating disorder as a child. She didn’t seem to be suffering from it now but what would he know? Apart from having lunch with her the other day, he hadn’t seen her eat much. He brushed the thoughts aside for now. ‘OK, you head over to the res wing and I’ll meet you there.’
It didn’t take him long to move his car from one car park to the next and he headed inside the residential wing’s lobby, sitting down in the cool air-conditioning and taking the opportunity to read the latest hospital news circular. No sooner had he started reading the lead article than he realised Jane was standing in front of him. He put the circular down and slowly stood up, his gaze travelling over the woman before him.
Dressed in jeans, flat shoes and a long-sleeved T-shirt that was still a little big for her, there was no doubting that she had a beautiful feminine shape. Add to that the fact that she’d plaited her long luscious locks into pigtails, making her look more like the seventeen-year-old he remembered, and Sean’s previous warnings to himself to take things slowly seemed to disappear.
When she shoved her glasses onto her nose, a move he was coming to realise indicated she was nervous, he belatedly realised he’d been staring at her.
‘Er...sorry.’ Sean cleared his throat and thrust his hands into his pockets.
‘Is this OK? Not too casual? I wasn’t sure how formal or informal I should be.’
Sean smiled. ‘Just be yourself and, if I might say so, you look lovely.’
‘Lovely?’
‘Yes, Jane.’
She lowered her head again but not before he’d seen the disbelief reflected in her eyes. ‘How can you not know how beautiful you are?’ he asked softly, stepping a little closer to her so others in the lobby didn’t overhear what he was saying. ‘Your hair is...glorious. When it’s loose, I want to touch it, to watch as the silky strands slide through my fingers. And your eyes...’ He exhaled slowly as he looked deeply into her eyes. ‘So sad and intense. A man could lose himself in your eyes.’
‘Uh...’ Jane stumbled, breaking her gaze from his and looking down at the floor, feeling completely out of her depth. No one had ever spoken to her like this before, not even Eamon. Why was he saying these things to her?
‘You’re caring, intelligent and have the voice of an angel.’ Sean reached out, placing his fingers gently beneath her chin, lifting her head so their eyes could meet once more. ‘You’re a person of worth, Jane Diamond. Far too many people have told you otherwise and it’s time for that to change. You are a person of worth,’ he repeated. ‘And I for one am proud to call you my friend.’
‘Friend,’ she whispered, as though she were just learning to speak a new language. ‘You’re right, Sean.’ She swallowed over the dryness in her throat. ‘No one’s ever told me that. Thank you.’
As she stared up at him, he knew what he’d said was completely true as her green eyes seemed to be inviting him to stare into them for ever. Such an odd sensation and one he was all too tempted by. However, the last thing either of them needed right now was any sort of romantic attachment. Logically, he accepted that. Emotionally, he didn’t seem able to stop thinking about her.
Tonight he should be focused on keeping her calm, helping her through the apprehension he could already see was buzzing through her. He dropped his hand and took a step back, before forcing a smile. He held his hand out towards the door. ‘We don’t want to keep Spencer waiting. Shall we?’
Jane nodded, as though she were no longer capable of speech. Thankfully, his car wasn’t too far from the entrance to the res wing so they were effectively going from one cooled place to
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