The Honourable Army Doc by Emily Forbes Page B

out. She didn’t need to know right now. Time would tell.
    She flicked through the pages of a magazine as she waited for Quinn to shower but she wasn’t reading the articles, she wasn’t even aware of the pictures as her mind wandered. She sipped her wine, which was smooth and fruity, but she barely tasted it.
    She wished she could be the person to make it better for Quinn. She wanted to tell him everything would be all right but, of course, they both knew it wouldn’t be.
    Quinn had showered and changed into a pair of soft, brushed cotton pants that sat low on his hips and an old blue T-shirt. On anyone else the look would have been untidy but the T-shirt hugged his chest and arms like a second skin and the contours of his muscled upper body were clearly defined. He looked divine and Ali felt a flutter of desire as she ran her gaze over him.
    He poured himself a glass of Scotch and refilledher wine glass before joining her on the couch. He sat close enough so their thighs were touching and pulled her in against his side, his arm around her shoulders. He played with her hair, weaving the strands around his fingers and then letting the weight of it fall to her shoulders.
    Ali’s heart was racing as his fingers grazed her skin, his touch sending her nerves into overdrive. She wondered what he wanted. Did he want conversation? Silent company? Physical comfort?
    He sighed. She knew Quinn’s feelings for Julieanne were just ones of affection, not love. He’d told her that was the case and she believed him but, of course, he would still worry. And not just for Julieanne but for the girls too. She wanted to eliminate his worry.
    ‘Did the specialist give you any idea about what he might be able to do for Julieanne?’ she asked, deciding against silent company, knowing he’d tell her soon enough if he didn’t want to talk.
    ‘He’ll do more tests tomorrow. We’ll know more then. She’s tried everything along with the radiotherapy. Vitamin D3, fresh fruit and vegetables, increasing her seafood intake, green tea. Everything. There’s not much left.’
    ‘What about Avastin?’ she asked. Cancer treatments were not her forte, her experience was limited to the few individual experiences of some of her patients, but she’d done some research. She’d wanted to understand what Julieanne, and by association Quinn, was dealing with.
    Quinn nodded and Ali felt relieved. He had obviously heard of this drug; perhaps her research had been correct.‘I’ll speak to him about that tomorrow but I have a feeling it’s going to be too late,’ he said. ‘But right now I don’t want to talk about Julieanne. I just want to be here with you and pretend that my life is under control. I will worry about everything else tomorrow,’ he added as he drained his Scotch and put the glass down on the coffee table.
    Ali waited to see if he got up to refill his glass but instead of standing he repositioned himself so he was lying on his back with his head in her lap. His posture evoked a strange sense of intimacy and familiarity. His T-shirt had ridden up to reveal a narrow band of skin above his waist. A thin line of blond hair ran vertically from his navel to disappear beneath the waistband of his cotton trousers and Ali was amazed at how distracting that tiny glimpse was.
    She dropped her hand to his hip, which allowed her fingers to rest on his naked flesh. His skin was still warm from the shower and Ali traced lazy circles with her thumb over the ridge of his abdominals.
    His eyelids closed, shielding her from view, and with the sense of anonymity she grew braver. She slid her hand under his T-shirt and ran it higher, resisting the temptation to slide it lower. She wanted to feel his skin under her touch. She longed to feel the firmness of his muscles.
    Julieanne, Beth and Eliza were all forgotten as Ali focussed on Quinn. Her fingers ran across his stomach, up and over the ridge of his abdominal muscles to where they merged into his