Sexy in the City
Page 97
He didn’t say anything, just sat there in silence all through Phoebe’s tirade.
“You are a cold, hard man, Alex Scavoni.” Phoebe shot the last barb and stormed out of the office, slamming the door as she went.
Was it possible? Had he made a stupid mistake? Why had he let that one insidious line of Neil’s take over his sensibilities?
Because you didn’t want to get hurt and latched onto the first thing that came to your mind.
You’re a coward, Alex Scavoni. Open your heart and take a risk, otherwise you will be a lonely old man just like Phoebe said.
Oh, shut up, he told the voice in his head.
You don’t want to listen because you know I’m right.
Alex swiveled the chair so he was facing the plain, boring, beige wall of the office. He closed his eyes and let the images he’d been denying himself for the last few days play like a movie through his mind.
A future where he and Sophie walked hand in hand along the beach while their children ran ahead splashing in the shallows, flicking water, laughing. Then the movie changed, to him sitting alone, old and with nothing but an apartment full of possessions he never used or shared.
Which future did he want?
The door burst open. “If you’ve come to say more, Phoebe, I’m not interested.”
“It’s not Phoebe, Dr. Scavoni, but we need you. Sophie’s in danger.” A young nursed delivered the message.
Alex shot out of the chair as if a rocket had just gone off.
“What’s happening?” he asked as he rushed past the girl.
“That drugged-out guy who was in here a few days ago has come back. He just stormed in and grabbed Sophie. H-he’s got a syringe full of meth and a knife. He says he’ll use both on her.”
Alex raced toward the main treatment area, his heart pounding at the thought of Sophie being in danger. He knew he should have done something about that guy when he’d first been treated. Hadn’t he threatened Sophie when she’d left for the day?
The scene that greeted him when he skidded to a halt dried his mouth and all rational thought left his mind.
“I said get out, or she buys it.” Phil waved the syringe around while holding the point of the knife at Sophie’s throat.
Alex could see he was flying high again. His eyes were all over the show, sweat streamed down his forehead.
The terror Alex was feeling was mirrored in Sophie’s eyes as she locked onto him.
If anything should happen to her, he didn’t think he could go on. He’d only just survived the last few days because of the knowledge that they would be thrown together with work. Even though they were currently avoiding each other.
He had to save her.
He loved her.
Oh God, he loved her and he hadn’t told her.
His very last words to her would be words of anger. They weren’t the last things he wanted to say to Sophie. All the times they had spent together flashed in vivid color and high speed through his mind.
He needed to tell her he loved her and … and their child.
In a blinding blaze of insight, he knew Sophie had too much integrity to try to palm off another man’s child as his own. He didn’t need to have heard that from Phoebe. He should’ve trusted Sophie.
He had been so stupid, just as Phoebe had said he was.
They had to live, both of them, and he would do anything to make that happen and to make it up to Sophie for all his inexcusable actions over the past few days.
He went to make a move, but out of the corner of his eye he saw security creeping up behind Phil. Alex only hoped Phil was so far gone he wouldn’t notice the shift in movement behind him.
• • •
Adrenaline and terror were vying for top spot within Sophie. The moment Phil had stormed into the ER she knew he was trouble. He had taken one look at her and sent her a sinister smile.
She had tried to move, tried to get out of his line of vision, but she hadn’t been able to. Now here she was, in danger of losing her life and the life of her unborn child.
She placed her hand protectively over her stomach and locked gazes with Alex, pleading with him to do something, anything, to save them both. She’d almost cried when he stormed into the room. Her heart leaped out toward him and everything he’d said those days ago was forgotten and forgiven. But now it looked like she wouldn’t be able to let him know she’d forgiven him.
Maybe if she talked to Phil, he might calm down. “Phil, you don’t need to do this. We can help you get better.”
“Shut up, bitch, there’s nothing wrong with me.” Sophie tensed as the point of the knife dug a little deeper and the syringe got ever closer to her arm.
She was going to die and she’d never told Alex that she loved him. She wouldn’t get the chance now to say it. She wouldn’t get the chance to prove to him the baby she was carrying was his. She wouldn’t get the chance to have a future with the one man who completed her.
A sob threatened to explode from her throat; she swallowed hard to keep it down. She couldn’t show fear to Phil.
She saw Alex nod his head slightly and then all hell broke loose.
Trays crashed, people rushed her, and then she was free, toppling backwards to crash on the floor before a pair of arms closed around her, protecting her, cushioning her as they both fell to the ground.
“Sophie, Sophia, bella, amore.” Alex broke out into a litany of Italian she couldn’t possibly understand. All she knew was that she and her baby were safe.
“I thought I’d lost you, Sophie, and I couldn’t bear that, I couldn’t bear that at all,” he muttered and then, in front of all the staff, he sought out her lips in a frantic kiss. There was no finesse, no style, all there was was desperation, desperation to confirm she was alive and well.
When he finally released her she looked up at him, confused and embarrassed.
“Alex,” she hissed. “What are you doing?” Her mind was in a whirl. His kiss had scrambled her senses. Her body was on fire and she wanted more of his kisses. But they were at work — it wasn’t the place for it. And now everyone knew that there was something between them.
Alex gathered her close and she reveled in the feeling of strength and safety he projected toward her. When he placed a hand on her stomach, caressing softly, she had to bite her lip against the hope that was springing to life within her.
“Alex?”
“I love you, Sophie, and I love our child.”
Sophie was sure her heart had stopped, or it had stuttered before kicking back into life. “You believe me?”
He bent again and kissed her softly — both were totally oblivious to the crowd surrounding them. All their concentration was on each other and each other alone.
“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you, Sophie. The best way to explain it is, I’m a stupid coward who was too scared to risk his heart on the best thing that has ever happened to him.” He grabbed her hand and entwined his fingers around hers. “Please, can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”
Sophie searched his face. There, plain for her to see, was love pouring out toward her, begging her to accept his gift. She recalled the look of stark terror and anguish on his face when he’d come around the corner and seen her, trapped like a rabbit in a snare. Only a man who cared would feel such pain. Plus, when she thought her life was over, forgiving him was a given.
“Yes, Alex, I forgive you.” She raised their combined hands to her lips and kissed his fingers gently. “I … I thought I was going to die and all I could think was I never had a chance to make you believe I carried your child. That I loved you.”
The tears she had held back before came leaking out of her eyes and when Alex gathered her close, it destroyed the dam of strength she had been holding up.
“Sss
hh, it’s all over, Sophia, you and our baby are safe. I will never, ever let anything happen to either one of you again. You are my life, my love, my future.”
He pulled back and lifted her chin until her eyes met his. She could see wetness sparkling in his eyes. “Marry me, Sophie. Make me the happiest man by marrying me and giving me everything I’ve ever wanted. A family.”
It was everything she had ever wanted, too, to be loved and cherished for who she was and not just for being the daughter of a wealthy man.
Money didn’t concern Alex and neither did social standing. To him, she was the most important thing, and the fact he had declared his love in front of all the emergency staff was all the proof she needed.
“Yes, Alex, yes. I’ll marry you.”
His face broke out into a huge smile that chased away all the shadows and terror of all she had experienced at the hands of Phil.
She was swept away by his kiss.
Somehow, amidst the chaos of emergency medicine and a masquerade ball, she’d found her heart’s desire.
They both had.
About the Author
On her very first school report, her teacher said “Nicole likes to tell her own stories.”
It wasn’t until after the birth of her first child and after having fun on a romance community forum that she finally decided to take the plunge and write a book.
The stories she writes are contemporary romances with either a medical setting or in the boardrooms of high-powered businesses. She enjoys taking two characters and creating unique situations for them.
Apart from writing, Nicole is busy looking after her very own hero — her wonderfully supportive husband, and two fabulous kids. She also enjoys watching sports and, of course, reading.
You can visit Nicole at her website www.nicoleflockton.com or follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NicoleFlockton and Facebook at www.facebook.com/NicoleFlockton.
More from This Author
Rescuing Dawn by Nicole Flockton
Looking for Prince Charming
Iris Leach
Avon, Massachusetts
This edition published by
Crimson Romance
an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.
10151 Carver Road, Suite 200
Blue Ash, Ohio 45242
www.crimsonromance.com
Copyright © 2012 by Iris Leach
ISBN 10: 1-4405-5191-X
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-5191-8
eISBN 10: 1-4405-5188-X
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-5188-8
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.
Cover art © 123rf.com/© Christopher Meder, Konrad Bak
For my kids
and Michael, our lost angel
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
About the Author
More From This Author
CHAPTER ONE
“Coffee?” Edoardo Pisani asked the tall, lean man spread out in a large chair opposite him.
“Yes, nice,” George Bellows answered.
Edoardo poured coffee, placed a mug in front of George and took his seat behind his desk. “Okay, I’ll bite. Why the urgency of this meeting and so early in the morning? Not like you to be up and about before eleven.” He chuckled. “Politicians like the night, or so I’m told.”
George guffawed. “And lawyers bill their clients for irrelevant information, or so I’m told.”
The men laughed in pleasant solidarity. “What’s up, George?”
George placed his coffee mug on the desk, leaned forward, and said earnestly, “I want you to campaign for mayor.”
Edoardo spluttered his coffee. “What? Lord Mayor of Melbourne? Me?” He knew George, Local Member of Parliament and ex-officio of Melbourne Council, carried weight with the council; it was his pet project.
“Don’t play the innocent. I know you want this, Edoardo, and I believe you’d make the perfect mayor,” he said. “You’re honest, you play fair, and you’re the best at what you do. Heck, how many times have we talked about what you’d do for Melbourne if you had the chance? I know you’d campaign on the issues of city safety, youth homelessness, economic development …”
“And traffic management issues,” Edoardo finished, pleased that George considered him the right material for Lord Mayor of Melbourne. “I can’t deny that the job doesn’t interest me. Do you think the City of Melbourne would elect me?”
“By popular mandate,” George said. “There’s one little problem.”
Edoardo sighed. “Isn’t there always. Okay. ’Fess up. What’s the problem?”
“Your personal life. You’re like Jekyll and Hyde. You’re split in the sense that your professional life is above censure but your personal life is, well, questionable.”
Edoardo pulled back. George had never before reproached him about how he conducted his private life. And no matter what, Edoardo had no intention of changing a thing. He liked his life the way it was. He was in control and he meant to keep in control.
“That’s got nothing to do with how I’d run the mayor’s office.”
“It’s got everything to do with it.”
Edoardo frowned. “Hell, George, next you’ll be telling me what to wear.”
George held up one hand. “Hear me out. You’re a man of the night, Edoardo. You have a different girl on your arm every time I see you. The press would play it to the hilt, they’d murder you, and it wouldn’t help the Melbourne Council. Since that fiasco about restricting car-parking in the CBD and the land tax rise, they’re struggling to regain their good image.” He studied Edoardo. “You’ve got to settle down.”
Settle down? Was George joking? Sophia leaped into his mind. Don’t go down that path. He pushed back the painful memories.
“I couldn’t handle marriage, it gives me the chills just thinking about it.”
Get married? How about swan diving off Uluru without feet straps? He was safe in his myriad of women and never, ever got involved. If things got out of his control and the girl had wedding bells sounding off in her ears, he’d send flowers and an expensive gift. Wish her the best for her future and cross her out of his little black book. Figuratively speaking.
He did what he did best — work. Work he understood and he could control.
“Marriage can be nice and love quietens down over the years into something really special.”
“Is that a fact, George?” He shook his head. “I like my freedom. I like to pick and choose the women I go out with. No hassles, no promises, just a kiss hello and a kiss goodbye.”
“And when you grow old, what then, Edoardo?”
Edoardo frowned. One woman in his life, telling him what colour tie to wear with what suit, how green vegetables grow hair on his chest and alcohol hardened arteries? No way.
Lonely old age? He’d get a dog.
“I’ll worry about that in thirty years or so,” he said. “No, George, marriage is not for me.”
“And yet,” George said, “marriage is the only thing that suits you.” He sighed. “Look, Edoardo, I’ve known you since you first came to Australia as a kid. I’m a good friend of your parents and you.”
The first tug of uneasiness niggled Edoardo. “Something bad’s coming, I can feel it.”
Hands on hi
s knees, his expression serious, George said, “You won’t make it as mayor without a steady relationship, and that’s a fact. The only people you’ll please are women under thirty. The rest will think you frivolous and too carefree for such a responsible position.”
Edoardo pulled himself erect, his blood chilling, his mind freezing over. “My God, George, you’re telling me to find a wife?” He tugged his tie, now as tight as a hangman’s noose.
“What I’m saying is for you to get into a stable relationship. Find a nice girl who’ll be by your side at all official functions. A girl that represents marriage, kids, and stability,” he said. “Show Melbourne and the council that you’re a steady type of bloke, ready to face and resolve any challenge the role of mayor might throw your way.”
Edoardo slumped back against his chair. His perfect life quavered before his eyes before it flew out the office window and committed hara-kiri. “I don’t have to marry her, do I, George? You know how I feel about marriage. I couldn’t hack it.”
George ignored his outburst. “Find a suitable girl from your list of women. Put things right,” he paused. “We start campaigning in a month.” George stood and held out his hand. “I want you as mayor, Edoardo, don’t let me down.”
Edoardo stood and shook George’s hand. He owed this man so much. It’d been difficult for his parents when they first arrived from Italy. After buying the land in Yarra Valley and, starting the vineyard, they didn’t have much time for their young son. So George had been there for him, encouraging him to study hard at school, cheering when he went to law school, patting him on the back when he opened his practice and the major success that followed.
And he honestly wanted to be mayor. He had a yearning towards politics he hadn’t quite touched upon and this was his big chance. He folded his hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair staring at the ceiling. Did he know any nice girls?