As soon as she walked into the room, she knew she'd made a mistake. The restaurant was full of couples gazing across the dimly lit tables as if food were a mere adjunct to the meeting of eyes and hands. Why had Jié chosen this place to meet?
She smoothed the black jersey fabric over her hips, hoping her clammy hands didn't leave marks. The dress was right for the restaurant, but so wrong for her. She wore scrubs all day and jeans or sweats at home. Even when attending one of Jié's interminable hospital fundraisers she'd always worn pants and tops rather than dresses. Another mistake?
There he was, shoulder length straight hair caught back in a band, the glossy blue-black a sharp contrast to the silvery grey of his tailored suit. It was the one thing that didn't fit with his image as consulting neurosurgeon to the most prestigious hospital in the city. It had intrigued her when she met him as a research fellow on her first day as a fully-fledged Registered Nurse. Nearly eighteen years ago.
He looked up from his smart phone as she paused by the table, thin lips curved into a tight smile, black eyes enigmatic. "Sarah. Good to see you."
Always the gentleman, he rose to greet her, placing her into her seat with those long golden hands. That was him, gallant to the last gasp. Polite to the edge of reason. Honourable in accordance with his Chinese heritage.
She looked thinner. But it suited her. Suited the sexy black number she was wearing. He'd almost forgotten she had legs it had been so long since she'd worn a skirt. He dragged his gaze away from the silky sheen of stockings over taut well shaped calves. It wasn't for him any more.
"Thank you for coming." Stupid meaningless words to be saying to your wife. Ex-wife? No. Not until after the divorce. Estranged. Another stupid word. They'd been estranged long before she moved out and went to live with Timothy Barrett.
The waiter hovered and they ordered the usual. She always ate fish at restaurants and he ordered steak. Had that been why the marriage failed? Both of them, working long hours, stuck in a rut. If they'd mixed it up, would it have changed the result?
Her short hair curled tightly over her head, the chestnut echoed in the hazel eyes and the smattering of freckles across the pert nose. The first time they made love he'd counted them. Thirteen. Had that been a sign? His mother would have said so.
"We need to make some kind of plan for Kathy's graduation."
She looked up from where her fingers drew circles on the starched white table cloth. "What kind of plan?"
"She wants us both there. Together. Photographs, the dinner, the whole bells and whistles."
"How do you feel about it?"
"I have no problem. You're the one who left, the one avoiding me as if I have some contagious disease."
Her head dropped. "You didn't object."
"Would it have made a difference?"
"I...don't know. Perhaps. It's too late now."
"It was too late the day you went to another man."
"Timothy? But we aren't together...like that. Who said...?"
Gut churning, Jié stared at her. Her mouth was parted, frozen in mid-sentence. Had Tory lied to him? "After you left, someone told me you'd been seen with him previously. When you told me you were working."
A flush bloomed at her throat, drawing his attention to the hollow between her breasts. She'd always had that effect on him. They'd fallen hard, into bed and he'd thought in love as well. It had taken seventeen years to find out she'd only married him because of Kathy. He'd insisted, even though it wasn't a good time for either of them, career wise. Three children later, at the top of his game, it had all fallen apart. Not even fallen, more gradually decayed. So gradual he hardly noticed until she said she was leaving.
She could feel the blush heating her whole face and he was just staring at her. How could she explain? "Tim didn't want anyone to know."
"About your affair?"
"About his diagnosis. He...he's terminal."
"Oh lord. I'm so sorry, Sarah."
"It's fine. That's why I moved in there when I left. He needed someone in the apartment."
"How long?"
"Not long now. He's moving into a palliative care place down south to be close to his brother and his family."
"What will you do?"
"Find somewhere else to live, I guess."
"I mean about Tim. Will you move to Sydney too?"
Catching her breath, she looked closer at Jié's face. A frown creased his forehead, a deep furrow between his brows. "We were never romantically involved. He gave me a place to stay in return for some light nursing."
"If you need a place, you could come home." He didn't look at her, eyes fixed on his phone.
Could he mean it? Memories raced through her mind. Had things gone wrong for him? "Kathy's graduation. Will you be bringing someone else?"
His dark eyes blinked as his head came up. "Who would I bring?"
"Tory?"
"My receptionist? She doesn't work for me anymore."
Mesmerised by his fixed stare, she scrabbled for words, questions bubbling. "Why not?"
"I felt uncomfortable with her expectations once you and I separated."
"But she told me..."
His hand reached across the table. "Is that why you left? Because she anticipated that result?"
"I knew you only married me because of the pregnancy. We seemed to be drifting apart. I wasn't surprised you found someone else."
"I married you because I loved you." His hand squeezed hers sending sparks pulsing through her veins. She couldn't look away from his face, his eyes gleaming with an unmistakable message.
"Who was the fish?" The waiter loomed with their meals.
Jié laughed, releasing her hand. "Fish for me."
His look challenged, daring her. She smiled back. "I'll have the steak."
The End
