Lara thought of her own family and how close they were and didn’t bother trying to hide her shock. ‘Well, the whole thing must have been pretty traumatic for someone of Chloe’s age. It’s very unusual for a woman to leave her children. Does she visit them?’
‘She’s in Hong Kong, so visiting isn’t easy. She dropped in once when she had a stopover at Heathrow but she hasn’t spent much time in the UK since she left last Christmas. She’s an accountant and she was transferred to the Hong Kong office. Very prestigious job.’
Lara looked at him. ‘I don’t know what to say,’ she murmured. ‘You must have been devastated.’
He was silent for such a long time that she thought he wasn’t going to respond to her statement but then he lifted his head and looked at her. ‘I was devastated for the girls.’
She frowned. What was that supposed to mean? That he hadn’t loved his wife?
‘Christian—’
‘Move on, Lara,’ he said softly. ‘My ex-wife isn’t my favourite topic of conversation.Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I will go and tuck Chloe in.’
‘Perhaps she might chat to me if we’re decorating at the weekend.’ Lara smiled. ‘There’s nothing quite so effective as the boredom of painting a room to induce an intimate conversation.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE rest of the week was a whirl of work and unpacking.
When she was at home, Lara finished emptying boxes and found homes for all the children’s possessions, and, when she was at work, she tried to concentrate on patients and not think about being attracted to Christian.
But it was hard.
Especially once Jane discovered her new living arrangements. ‘Christian mentioned that you’ve moved in to help him with the kids.’
Lara frowned. ‘He told you that?’
‘Yes. We were chatting.’
‘Christian doesn’t chat.’
‘He does if you force the issue. I don’t know which piece of information shocked me most. The fact that he’s divorced or the news that you’ve moved in with him. Why didn’t you tell me?!’
‘Because I was worried that you might ring my mother.’ Lara glanced towards the ambulance bay, waiting for the arrival of an overdose patient. ‘She’d jump to the wrong conclusions.’
‘You’re not involved, then?’
‘No.’ Lara checked her watch. Ambulance Control had said five minutes but there was no sign of the patient. ‘My love life is as depressingly stagnant as ever.’
‘Well, that might change now you’re actually living in the same house. You might bump into him naked in the bathroom.’ Jane gave her a wicked smile. ‘Do me a favour and carry a camera with you, just in case.’
‘You’re perverted.’Lara stared out of the window. ‘And it’s a big house. I could walk around naked for a week and not bump into him and, anyway, neither of us is interested in a relationship.’
Jane looked at her. ‘I wasn’t really talking about a relationship. I was thinking more of passionate sex with a guy who looks like a Greek god. It seems like too perfect an opportunity to waste.’
‘Well, I’m going to waste it. He has two children and I’m going to Australia next month.’
‘Which gives you plenty of time to have a steamy, no-strings affair. Sounds just about perfect to me. You need some light relief. You work much too hard.’ Jane stared thoughtfully through the window. ‘Where are they? Do you think the ambulance has crashed?’
‘I hope not because we’ve only just restocked Resus after the last black ice disaster. It’s freezing out there.’
‘Snow is forecast at the weekend. Can you imagine that?’
‘Brilliant. It will make everything really Christmassy.’ Lara’s mood lifted and Jane gave an irritated frown.
‘Do you have to be so relentlessly positive? It’s really exhausting for the rest of us. Could you occasionally try and look on the black side, like normal people?’
‘I don’t see a black side to snow.’