Read Too Charming for Free Online Page B

about her welfare, with me?’
    Once more he was giving her that lazy, amused look. The one that said quite clearly he knew exactly how worried she’d been. ‘Well, okay, yes, maybe I was a bit, but …’ She shook her head. ‘Look, Scott, for once can’t you just take what I’m saying in the spirit it’s intended?’
    He nodded. ‘I can do that.’ He started to walk to his car, but then stopped and turned back. ‘And there’s no need to be grateful. Your daughter was a joy. It’s me who should be thanking you.’
    She was still staring long after he’d walked away. Scott the arrogant charmer was easy to resist because frankly, for all his good looks, she didn’t like him. This other Scott  – the one who had helped her out today, the one who hadn’t just watched her daughter, but had bothered to spend time engaging with her – he wasn’t quite so easy to ignore.
     
    When Megan caught sight of her mother sat up in the hospital bed later that day, her heart lurched in her chest. She looked so fragile, her face pale against the white sheets. Since when had her mum grown old? It just wasn’t possible. But then the elderly lady in the bed caught sight of Sally. As her mouth turned up in a huge beam that lit up her face, Megan felt a surge of pure relief. Her mother’s smile was still as strong as ever.
    ‘What a lovely surprise,’ she exclaimed, stretching out her hand, ready to give her granddaughter a hug. ‘Two of my favourite people.’
    Sally looked around. ‘What about Granddad?’
    The lady in the bed laughed. ‘Don’t worry, he’s also one of my favourites. He’s just gone to get himself a drink.’
    Megan bent over and kissed her mother on her cheek. ‘How are you, Mum?’ she asked softly.
    ‘I’ll be a lot better tomorrow when they let me go home.’ She glanced at her daughter and patted her hand. ‘I’m fine, darling, really. Silly old fool that I am, I managed to twist my ankle when I fell. They’re keeping me in as a precaution, that’s all.’ She looked over to her granddaughter. ‘So who looked after you this afternoon, Sally?’
    ‘Scott did,’ Sally replied proudly, snuggling up to her grandmother on the bed. ‘He took me to the park, bought me ice cream and taught me how to draw a dog like Dizzy.’
    Megan didn’t miss the quick, all-too-knowing look that her mother darted at her. ‘Scott is just someone I know from work, Mum,’ she replied quickly. ‘Don’t start to read anything more into it than that.’
    ‘He’s a lawyer,’ Sally announced. ‘I told him I might want to be one when I grow up, but he said my mum wouldn’t be very happy about that.’ She looked over at Megan. ‘Why not?’
    Sitting on the end of the bed, with two pairs of eyes fixed firmly on hers, Megan silently cursed Scott. It seemed that even from a distance he was capable of making her life difficult. ‘Scott is a defence lawyer,’ she tried to explain, knowing full well that her mother was taking in her every word and gesture. ‘There are some lawyers who work with the police to try and help put away the bad guys. Some, like Scott, are there to defend the person the police charge, making sure they aren’t put in jail unless there is proof they took part in the crime.’
    ‘So you and Scott aren’t on the same side?’
    Exactly, she wanted to reply, but stopped herself because, while it was how she felt, it wasn’t entirely fair, or true, for that matter. ‘Well, we don’t work together, but we do both want to make sure that justice is done and that the only people who are put in jail are the ones who deserve to be there. So I guess you could say we both have the same aim.’ She could almost see Scott grinning at that carefully worded reply.
    ‘Sally, sweetie, can you see Granddad?’ Her mother was pointing towards the entrance of the ward. ‘Why don’t you go and say hello?’
    Megan watched her daughter skip towards her father and turned to the lady sitting up in bed.