She led him towards what seemed to be the back door of the house, but when she opened it, it revealed a bright, warm conservatory overlooking the sea and protected from the wind by triple glazing.
The magazine-cover neatness of the rest of the house suddenly made sense. This was Caro’s home—the rest was just
a collection of things that might come in useful from time to time. The large space had been cleared of furniture and boasted a row of benches, some at sitting height and others standing. The standing ones were piled up with various electrical and mechanical components, in various states of assembly. There were two large computer screens, piles of books and papers, and the small lobby that led out to a path that ran behind the house contained a large 3D printer. The overall impression was of a mad scientist’s lair.
At the far end was a sofa, with cushions piled at one end and a throw tumbled at the other. If Caro had had any sleep last night, it had probably been right here.
‘Sit.’ She marched over to the sofa, quickly clearing the throw and spreading the cushions. Drew sat down, and Caro pulled up one of the office chairs. He caught a faint thrill of her scent as she leaned across to put a thick, spiral-bound booklet on the sofa beside him. Initial Design Specification for Animal Prosthetics.
‘You can take it home to read. As long as you don’t show it to anyone...’
‘Of course not. I signed an agreement, remember?’
She nodded, obviously pleased that he remembered. Caro jumped to her feet, gathering up a selection of components from one of the workbenches and setting them out on the small table in front of him. Then she reached for a laptop, opening it and tapping on the keys.
‘Before you start reading, I’d like to show you these...’
At first, it seemed like a jumble of concepts. Models of human and animal limbs, wire-frame computer rendering, and explanations that seemed to defy limitations that Drew had taken for granted. Then, slowly, he began to get it...
‘You’re saying that you want to make a prosthetic that can respond to the movements of an animal.’ Drew hadn’t seen anything like this even attempted before. ‘It sounds almost impossible.’
‘The possible is only something that’s already been done.’
There was a light in her honey-brown eyes that made Drew shiver. Walking past the realms of the possible and making the impossible work seemed suddenly as if it was the only thing he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it very much with Caro.
CHAPTER THREE
WHAT WAS IT with vets? Ellie was gorgeous, in a way that Caro had never even hoped to be. Lucas was handsome, good at his job, and it didn’t take him as long as most to get his head around extreme possibilities. She’d imagined that Drew would probably be a counterbalance to their dazzling attractiveness, since every extreme implied that another extreme should restore the sum of its parts to the average.
But Drew didn’t do anything to confirm that theory. He wasn’t merely handsome, or gorgeous, he was amazing. His voice was softened by a Cornish burr, and those blue eyes seemed to take in everything. Dark curls gave him a slightly windblown look even when he was inside, and he had a body to die for, even if it was a little stiff and battered at the moment. Even that was thrillingly attractive, and Caro wondered how he’d feel about playing the patient while she played the nurse.
That would lead to consequences. Inevitable ones that Caro wasn’t prepared to face. Leaving America, and what had become the only home she’d ever really had, and coming back here had been her way of saying an irrevocable goodbye to matters of the heart. Her work was the only thing that mattered.
He was turning the prosthetic that Lucas had used at the clinic over in his hands, examining it carefully. He seemed to get it. The work that had gone into it, and where it could be improved. His obvious approval sent a throb of desire through her whole body.
‘So...where do we start?’ He looked up at her.
With the eyes. She could start by staring into his eyes. Or with his hands. So gentle in such a strong man...
‘Work’s already been done on how dogs and other animals move. I want to take those findings and add to them to give me an idea of how the natural movement of a dog might control a prosthetic.’
He nodded, frowning. Obviously applying his mind to the problem. Caro wondered if his mind was as beautiful as the rest of him.
‘So the joint will have the ability to flex, in response to the animal’s movements, rather than being rigid like this one.’
He got it. A warm swell of gratification filled Caro’s chest, before she’d had a chance to remind herself that someone who appeared to get it had still been capable of betraying her.
‘Yes, that’s right.’ Her voice sounded a little squeaky and she cleared her throat.
‘And the first thing you need to do is capture the movements of real dogs and quantify that, using the software you showed me.’ He nodded towards her laptop, and the camera that lay beside it on the table.
He definitely got it. Maybe Caro was hallucinating, and she’d find something wrong with this guy when she’d had a good night’s sleep and something more to eat than just three chocolate biscuits.
‘Yes. I’m hoping to film real dogs and then use the software to quantify their movements.’
Drew nodded. ‘How do your robot dogs move? Can you show me?’
Oh, yes. She could show him.