by Sarah Morgan
‘The ball is next Saturday,’ he said calmly, ‘at the Winter Hill Hotel and Spa.’
‘I know when it is and I’ve already told you I can’t make it.’ She stacked the dirty plates and took them over to the dishwasher. ‘But thanks for inviting me. That was kind.’
‘Kind?’ Dino put his glass down slowly. ‘Is that what you think? That I’m being kind?’
‘I’m not thinking at all.’ There was a note of panic in her voice as she clattered plates. ‘There’s no need to think and analyse because I’m not going. Take someone else. I’m sure there’s a whole queue of women just desperate to go with you.’ One of the plates slipped through her fingers and smashed on the floor. Muttering under her breath, she swept up the bits and disposed of them.
Dino stood up to help her but she glared at him. ‘I’m fine—I can sweep up my own mess, Dino.’
‘Do you always insist on doing everything by yourself, with no help?’
‘Yes. I’m a grown-up. That’s what happens when you’re a grown-up. It’s called independence.’
‘Doesn’t mean you can’t take help.’
‘I’m fine, Dino.’
He stood still, wondering what it was about him that had her so on edge. She wasn’t just uncomfortable around him—she was nervous. Jumpy. ‘If I’d asked you out to dinner, would you have said yes?’
‘Maybe… No…’ She shook her head. ‘No, I wouldn’t. I don’t date. It just isn’t…’
‘Isn’t what?’
‘Me. My life. Pick another woman, Dino.’
‘I just picked you.’
‘Well, unpick me!’ Her eyes were two huge pools of panic. ‘You’d have more fun with someone else. I’m not great at parties. I don’t dance, I hate small talk and…’ She flicked the wisps of hair out of her eyes with shaking fingers. ‘Dino, just forget it. I don’t even know why you’re asking me.’
‘Because you’re the one I want to take. We don’t have to dance if you don’t want to. But that doesn’t stop us going out. It’s Christmas, Meg. Let your hair down.’ He meant it in both a figurative and literal sense. He’d only seen her with her hair down once and that had been when she’d pulled her hat off her head the night they’d rescued Harry. The image of pale gold curls was still embedded in his brain. Using his powers of persuasion, he tried to think what might tempt her to go. ‘It’s a really smart evening. A good excuse to buy yourself a new dress.’
Another plate almost slipped to the floor but this time she caught it just in time. ‘I don’t need a new dress because I’m not going.’
Dino cursed himself for being tactless. She was a single mother, wasn’t she? She probably had to watch her finances really carefully and here was he suggesting she buy a new dress. He wanted to offer to treat her to something new but sensed that would offend her well-developed sense of independence. Instead, he tried to rescue the situation. ‘Just wear anything that’s in your wardrobe.’
‘Oh, right. I’ll wear my best weatherproof jacket, shall I?’ Her tone was light but her shoulders were rigid as she clattered around the kitchen, tidying surfaces that were already tidy. ‘As I said, it’s kind of you Dino, but, really, I don’t want to go. You’ll have loads more fun with someone else. I won’t offer you coffee because I expect you’re in a hurry to leave.’
And that was that.
The friendly atmosphere had shattered. The conversation had made her so uncomfortable that she wanted it to be over. She wanted him to leave.
Dino didn’t budge. ‘Coffee would be great. And I’m not in a hurry. So is it the issue of what to wear that’s putting you off going? Because if so, I—’
‘You don’t give up, do you?’ Her interruption was sharp. ‘I’ve told you—that sort of thing just isn’t me.’
‘So what is you?’
She spooned fresh coffee into a jug. ‘I play with my son and my dog. I work. I train Rambo. I walk in the mountains. That’s it. That’s my life. Maybe other people wouldn’t find it exciting, but I love it. I don’t need to dress up to enjoy myself. I’m happier in my walking boots than stilettos. Going to parties isn’t on the list of things I do.’
Dino stood up and walked across to her, removed the spoon from her hand and put his hands on her shoulders. Rambo lifted his head, tongue lolling. Then his tail brushed over the floor, as if he approved.
‘Why does it have to be one thing or another? You make it sound as though they’re two different lives, but they could fit alongside each other. We had a deal, remember?’ He cupped her face in his hands, stroking his thumb over her cheek, trying to read what was going on in her head. ‘You owe me a date. Time of my choosing. Place of my choosing. Time is going to be next Saturday. Place is going to be the Christmas ball. And you’re going to have a nice time. I promise you.’
‘Don’t you listen to “no”?’
‘I’m selective.’
Her eyes gleamed with exasperation. ‘Why are you asking me, anyway? Is Melissa busy?’
‘Melissa?’ Dino frowned. ‘You mean the blonde who works in the observation unit? I have no idea if she’s busy. I haven’t asked her.’
‘You should. Judging from the way she was flirting with you earlier in the week, I’m sure she’d say yes.’
‘That’s why you walked off so abruptly?’
‘I didn’t want to get in the way of a beautiful romance.’ She pushed at his chest and he thought it was interesting that this time Rambo didn’t growl a warning. Which was just as well because, dog or no dog, this time he wasn’t moving.
‘I’m not in a relationship with Melissa.’
‘I couldn’t care less if you are. It isn’t any of my business.’ The heat rushed into her cheeks and Dino found himself struggling to concentrate. The scent of her hair numbed his reactions and the soft curve of her mouth pulled him in.
‘You think I’d be asking you to the ball if I was seeing someone?’
‘You’re a popular guy. It’s like a hornets’ nest around your office on some days. The women are three deep.’
‘I’m not involved with anyone.’
‘So who did you take to dinner last Sunday?’
‘Her name is Anna Townsend. She’s a lawyer who has done some work for me in the past. And it was just lunch.’
‘You said the date ended exactly the way you wanted it to.’
‘It wasn’t a “date” in the sense that you mean,’ he said calmly, ‘and it did end exactly the way I wanted it to. She went home and I went for a walk in the mountains.’ Outside the snow might be falling but here, inside her kitchen, the heat was building between them.
Her breathing wasn’t quite steady. ‘It doesn’t make any difference. I still can’t go with you. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to arrange babysitting at this short notice.’
‘Your mum is babysitting. I already asked her.’
Meg’s mouth dropped open. ‘You asked her? You’ve already asked my mum? Is this a conspiracy to get me into a dress or something?’
‘Actually my long-term plan was to get you out of your dress.’ Dino slid one hand into her hair, amused to see her so flustered. Her soft curls wrapped themselves around his fingers. ‘Judging from your expression I gather flirting isn’t on the list of things you usually do either. How about kissing, Meg?’ He lowered his head so that his mouth almost touched hers. ‘Is kissing on the list of things you do?’ The tension hovered there between them, sharpened by the knowledge of what was to come. For a moment neither of them moved. Sexual chemistry arced through the stillness and he saw her lips part and her breathing grow shallow.
Losing his grip on control, Dino claimed her mouth in what was supposed to be a teasing, exploratory kiss, but the moment their lips touched it was like lighting a fuse. Heat ripped through his body and pulsed across nerve endings. It was scorching and wild and he heard her gasp. Her fingers clutched his shoulders and then she was kissing him back, her body yielding against his as he pressed her back against the cupboard.
<
br /> ‘Mum!’ Through the haze of passion, Jamie’s voice came from upstairs. ‘I’m ready for you to tuck me in!’
She jerked in his arms and Dino released her instantly. ‘Sorry.’ His voice came out rough and raw. ‘Bad timing.’
‘Yes…’ She rubbed her fingers over her scarlet cheeks. ‘You— How did you learn to—? Never mind.’ Deliciously flustered, she moved away from him. ‘I have to go and read to Jamie.’
‘Go.’ Dino thought about asking whether he could use her bathroom for a cold shower. ‘I’ll pour the coffee.’
‘No. Perhaps we’d better call it a night.’ She ran her tongue over her lower lip, her expression dazed. ‘By the time I’ve read to him and tucked him in, you’ll be bored. There’s no point in you waiting around…’ She looked confused, as if she wasn’t quite aware of her surroundings, and he understood that feeling. He’d thought about kissing her for a long time, of course; since the first day he’d started working in the emergency department and had seen her talking some drunk out of hitting her. He’d had plenty of fantasies about tasting her smart mouth, but all those fantasies had just been blown apart and replaced by hot, pulsing reality. If Jamie hadn’t called out when he had…
‘All right, I’ll go. This time.’ His voice sounded husky. ‘But next time, Meg, I won’t be leaving before coffee.’ Having delivered that warning, Dino grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. ‘Thanks for the pizza. I’ll pick you up at eight o’clock on Saturday. And I’m not taking no for an answer.’
Meg banged into the doorframe and tripped over Jamie’s schoolbag.
‘Look where you’re going, Mummy.’ Jamie’s voice was sleepy. ‘You took a long time. Were you talking to Dino?’
Focus, Meg, focus. One foot in front of the other.
‘Yes, we were talking. Just—talking.’ Her mind still on Dino, Meg stooped to pick his schoolbag up off the floor, wondering how a single kiss could have a negative effect on balance. The world was hazy and there was a strange buzzing in her head. Maybe it was the champagne.
She ran her tongue over her lower lip again, still tasting the warmth of his kiss. Erotic images exploded in her brain.
‘Mummy, why is your face all red?’
Because she was thinking of Dino. ‘Because I’ve been rushing around making supper, pulling pizza out of the oven and generally slaving away all evening.’ Turning her back to Jamie, she laid his clothes over the back of the chair, taking her time so that her face calmed down, telling herself that the only reason she felt this way was because she hadn’t been kissed by a man for such a long time.
But was that really true?
Since when had she had a burning urge to rip a man’s clothes off? When had she ever been so aware of a man, physically?
Cross with herself, she reminded herself about all the women who were interested in Dino. There were so many, she’d lost count. She wouldn’t be human if she didn’t notice how good looking he was. And as for kissing—well, no doubt Dino Zinetti had a PhD in kissing. Dr Hot indeed.
‘Jamie, it’s time for you to get some sleep.’
‘Can’t I have a story? You haven’t read to me.’
Meg grabbed the book from the bed and sat down next to him. But instead of seeing the words, she saw the sexy look in Dino’s eyes as he’d bent his head to kiss her.
It wasn’t the champagne. It was the man.
Jamie sighed, wriggled upright and turned the book the other way up. ‘You can’t read if it’s upside down, silly.’
Meg blinked. ‘Oh. Just testing to see if you were concentrating.’ She gave a weak smile and tried to focus on the page but her lips were tingling and her pulse was still racing. ‘Right—where were we? Dragons…’ She read the words aloud without digesting the meaning. What now? What was she supposed to say when she saw him at work? Was she going to behave as if nothing had happened? Would he? And what about the Christmas ball? She’d said no at least ten times, but Dino didn’t listen to ‘no’.
‘You’re not using the right voices. Normally you do a high voice for the baby dragon and a low voice for the big dragon.’ Jamie peered at her. ‘Are you sure you’re OK? You look sort of weird. Did you bang your head when you walked into my door?’
She felt sort of weird.
She felt…different.
It was just a kiss, for goodness’ sake. She rolled her eyes. That was like describing champagne as ‘just a drink’. Who was she kidding? As kisses went, this one had blown every circuit in her mind. Judging from the way he hadn’t argued about leaving, she guessed it had blown every circuit in his, too.
‘I’m fine,’ Meg said firmly, concentrating hard on the dragon story and trying desperately not to think about Dino. He shouldn’t have complicated everything by kissing her, but they could move on from this. She wouldn’t be going to the ball with him. The mere thought of it filled her with dread. It would show off all the worst parts of herself.
She knew that most of the girls working at the hospital looked forward to it all year. It was the highlight of the Christmas social calendar and there was always a fight for tickets and an argument over who was going to work and who was going to have the night off.
Meg didn’t feel that way, which was why she always ended up working.
She gave a slow smile as the answer flew into her head. Of course. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? She’d volunteer to work, as she always did every other year. If Dino wouldn’t take no for an answer, she’d simply make herself unavailable.
CHAPTER FOUR
MEG was dressing the leg of an old lady who had slipped on the snow and ice when her team pager went off. ‘Oh.’ She looked down at herself. ‘I’m bleeping, Agnes. That’s the mountain rescue pager.’
‘Someone in trouble on the mountains, dear? The snow was falling all night but I still see walkers trudging past my front door.’ The woman flexed her foot. ‘That feels very comfortable, thank you. You’d better see what they want, Meg. Don’t mind me. I can get my own shoe back on.’
‘Don’t move until I’ve talked to you about how you’re getting home, Agnes.’ Meg dragged the pager out of her pocket and read the message. ‘Avalanche? You have to be kidding me.’
‘Worst weather conditions for eighteen years. I had to wait three hours for a bus yesterday.’ Ignoring Meg’s instructions, Agnes stood up. ‘It isn’t safe to leave the house without crampons. And a young thing like you shouldn’t be going out in all weathers. I remember your dad was the same.’
Meg washed her hands quickly. ‘Agnes, if you come with me now, I can drop you off on my way to the mountain rescue base. I drive past your house. Then you won’t have to stand in the freezing cold waiting for a bus that might never turn up because of the snow. I just need to tell the sister in charge what’s happening. Wait there for me.’
She found Ellie, grabbed her coat and her car keys and minutes later she was dropping Agnes off outside her cottage. Having seen her safely inside the house, Meg drove to her mother’s house, collected Rambo and made her way through the falling snow to the rescue centre.
‘A party of three men were ski touring.’ Sean, the leader of the local mountain rescue team, was standing over a map, pointing out the search area. ‘They were traversing along the top of this gully when one of them was caught in an avalanche. Their last known position was here, but since then the battery on their cellphone has died, or else they’ve been caught by another avalanche.’
‘Who called you?’
‘One of the other three. They were higher than him. The slope broke below them and took him with it.’
Dino strode into the room, zipping up his jacket as he walked. ‘Were they carrying transceivers?’
Meg kept her eyes fixed on the map. ‘I doubt it.’
‘Phone went dead before they could tell me—I’m assuming not.’ Sean’s face was grim. ‘You know how people underestimate the Lake District. Don’t any of you do the same. The snowpack is unstable on the south and north-easterly
aspects so this is where we need to be careful. Remember that it’s loading—adding weight—that causes most avalanches and the fastest way to load a slope is by wind.’
Still not looking at Dino, Meg pushed her hair under her hat. ‘And we’ve had plenty of wind.’
‘Precisely. Wind erodes from the upwind side of an obstacle such as a ridge and it deposits on the downwind side, and wind can deposit snow ten times more rapidly than snow falling from the sky.’ Sean sketched a quick picture, showing what he meant. ‘Be wary of any slope with recent deposits of wind-drifted snow.’
‘So what’s the plan?’
‘It will take too long to reach them on foot and conditions are clear so, Meg, the air ambulance is going to airlift you, Rambo and Dino straight to the scene. I want you two to work together.’
Great. So much for avoiding him.
Knowing that if she made a fuss she’d just draw attention to herself, Meg gave a nod to acknowledge that she’d heard. Then she kept her head down, preparing herself and Rambo for the challenge ahead. She didn’t want to risk looking at Dino in case something showed on her face. If the team sensed that there was something going on between them, she’d never live it down. She was one of the boys. That was the way it was going to stay.
The helicopter dropped them at a safe distance from the base of the gully and Meg immediately put Rambo to work. Lives were at stake. This was no time to be thinking about kissing. Dino apparently felt the same way because he seemed equally focused. Either that or the kiss hadn’t affected him the same way it had affected her.
‘Can you believe they only have one working mobile phone between the three of them?’ Dino scanned the gully. ‘You can see where the avalanche started, above that section of wind slab. The others must have been higher up or they all would have been caught.’
‘People underestimate these mountains. That’s what makes them all the more dangerous.’ Meg heard Rambo bark and she pushed herself forward through the deep snow to the bottom of the gully where the dog was already digging.