Twin Surprise for the Italian Doc

by Alison Roberts

  Okay... Maybe he’d scared her by that impulsive offer of marriage. He could understand that. He’d been carried away in the moment. If she’d said ‘yes’, he would have put his heart and soul into making it work, but he was quite prepared to take this more slowly and win her heart.

  But he’d never come across a barrier quite like this.

  He had been left with the impression that Georgia was actually afraid of him and that was deeply disturbing.

  Had it been his anger when he’d thought she was cheating on someone else by being with him that night? It wasn’t as if he’d threatened her in any way. He hadn’t even raised his voice. He’d simply walked away and then ignored her from that point on.

  Maybe the anger had been enough.

  Had Georgia been abused at some point in her life by an angry man? A boyfriend, perhaps. Or...her father?

  The thought made him sick.

  Whatever the reason, however, he could feel proud of the courage Georgia was showing, being faced with a situation she had made very clear was something she didn’t want.

  She had done her job, working so closely with him, with professionalism and skill. After that initial shock, there hadn’t been any hint that she was distracted by anything personal. Even when he’d held her body to help her to her feet. She hadn’t flinched. He would have felt the slightest tremor beneath his hands and, if anything, she’d let him take more weight than strictly necessary.

  As if she’d welcomed his assistance. Trusted him to deliver it.

  But the fact that the assistance had been welcome bothered him as well. Why was she still working on the front line like this when she was at such an advanced stage of her pregnancy? Surely there was a cut-off point when it wasn’t allowed to happen?

  She needed protection, even if she didn’t think she did. Matteo took a long swallow of his beer. He might have a chat to Dougal tomorrow and just ask. Carefully. He didn’t want to antagonise Georgia. She’d been clearly taken aback by finding out that her friend hadn’t warned her he was arriving.

  It had been a rather disappointing conversation all round, actually, when they’d finally left Toby in the hands of the operating theatre’s team.

  ‘Why Scotland? Why here?’ Georgia had demanded, keeping her gaze on the long corridor ahead of them.

  ‘Why not? I was ready for a new adventure and I happened to be offered a job when I was here for the wedding.’

  ‘And Luke knew you were coming?’

  ‘Of course. He offered me his apartment to live in.’

  ‘But they’re coming back. Next week. You’re planning to live with a newly wed couple?’

  ‘No. But they’ll only be here for a brief time. To pack everything up and go to their new life in New Zealand. Kate said it wouldn’t be a problem. She knew a place I could use.’

  ‘So Kate knew, too?’ Georgia had looked wounded. ‘She didn’t tell me.’

  ‘I asked them not to. I wanted it to be a surprise.’

  ‘Oh...’ She made a hollow sound that wasn’t quite laughter. ‘I’m surprised...’

  ‘Kate thought it was a good idea.’

  ‘What? You coming to work in Edinburgh?’

  ‘That I would be here for you, cara. That you would have a friend.’ Yes, he had seen a flash of alarm in her eyes. He couldn’t risk pushing her. ‘If you need one, that is.’

  ‘We’re not going to be friends, Matteo.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because...’ She was avoiding his gaze. ‘Just because...’

  He didn’t sigh audibly. But if he was prepared to try getting past the fact that she’d lied to him, surely Georgia could get past whatever it was that was making her keep him at arm’s length? No, it was more than arm’s length. She would prefer the length of a whole country.

  ‘We could be.’ He’d given her his most persuasive smile when they’d parted company at the elevators. He was heading for the helipad on the roof and Georgia was going to catch a ride back to base with the next available ambulance crew. ‘It might even be nice.’

  * * *

  A few days later, Georgia was at the airport late in the evening to collect Kate and Luke as they returned from their honeymoon. The anticipation of how good it was going to be to see her best friend for the first time in weeks was lifting her spirits for the first time in what seemed ages.

  The last few days had been tough.

  Her heart wanted to fill her thoughts with memories of Matteo Martini but her head drowned them with worry about the implications of him having anything to do with her life. Of him somehow finding out the truth.

  Of wanting him to know the truth?

  Yes. That was part of it. It wasn’t just that her body and heart kept reminding her of the connection she felt with Matteo. This was making her feel guilty.

  Telling her that she’d done something very wrong. No. That she was still doing something very wrong and it didn’t sit well at all. It had been far easier to bury the guilt when the father of her children had been in another country and the chance of seeing him again had been remote.

  Her heart also wanted to grieve a little for stepping away from her work on the road and her head was determined to find something good about being given a desk job. The research task of a retrograde data collection to identify the most effective airway adjunct to use in a cardiac arrest could potentially change protocols. It should be exciting. It was certainly a lot better than doing some kind of massive stocktake, except that if her hands had been busy at the same time, perhaps her brain wouldn’t stray quite so often.

  Back to the unexpected bombshell in her life. At least she had anticipated the change of lowering her workload.

  She had never expected Matteo to reappear in her life.

  And she hadn’t expected to see him now but that tall back beneath the electronic flight arrivals board was unmistakeable.

  ‘For God’s sake, Matteo,’ she snapped, when she was right behind him, a little gratified that it made him jump. ‘What are you doing here? Kate arranged for me to collect them before they even left.’

  ‘And Luke texted me before they took off from Dubai.’ A dark eyebrow rose. ‘Perhaps they have a great deal of luggage?’

  Georgia glanced at the board. The plane had landed on time so they should be coming through Customs any minute now.

  ‘Or perhaps you missed a call about a change of arrangements,’ Matteo suggested mildly. ‘You don’t seem to like answering your telephone.’

  Georgia could feel a blush of colour creeping into her cheeks. She had deliberately ignored the call from Matteo the day after they’d worked together. She had actually deleted the voicemail before listening to it, because she hadn’t wanted to listen to his voice. That sexy, deep rumble. That accent...

  It was inexcusably rude, given that Matteo was Luke’s best friend. And Luke was now her best friend’s husband. It wasn’t just that connection either. Matteo was now part of her own branch of the emergency services and it was a close-knit community.

  One way and another, she was going to have to spend time with Matteo, at least in the near future.

  She really needed to get a grip on how she was going to manage that.

  An apology for her rudeness might be a good first step?

  ‘Sorry,’ she mumbled. ‘I’ve been really busy. What was it that you wanted to talk about?’

  ‘Just that case we shared on my first day. Toby. You remember him?’

  ‘Of course. An impalement injury like that is a once-in-a-lifetime type of job.’ Curiosity got the better of her. ‘Did you follow up on him? How is he?’

  ‘Probably ready to go home. He was one very lucky little boy. That stick had actually penetrated his left ventricle but because it wasn’t removed until he was in Theatre, the bleeding was easily controlled and the damage repaired. Antibiotic trea
tment prevented an infection and he only needed a short time in Intensive Care for monitoring after the surgery.’

  ‘Oh...that’s fantastic news.’ Georgia’s smile was genuine. ‘What a great job to have done on your first day. You handled it brilliantly.’

  ‘We handled it brilliantly,’ Matteo corrected.

  The corner of his mouth tilted in a crooked grin and, for a moment, it was like the first time she’d ever spoken to him. When she was completely captured. Flustered enough, even, to say something pretty stupid.

  ‘Hey... Good to see you two getting along so well.’

  ‘Luke...’ Georgia and Matteo both spoke at the same time as they turned away from each other.

  ‘And Katy,’ Georgia added, throwing her arms around her friend with relief, both to see her again but also to have her attention so thoroughly diverted from Matteo. ‘Oh...it’s so good to see you.’

  ‘We’re going to have lots of time to catch up in the next couple of weeks while I work out my notice. I can’t wait to tell you about New Zealand. And show you photos. You won’t believe how beautiful it is. You should think about emigrating, too, Georgie.’

  Matteo was walking ahead of them beside Luke, who was pushing the luggage trolley.

  ‘Maybe I will,’ Georgia murmured. ‘Hey, do you want to go home in my car? Matteo could take Luke, seeing as we’ve doubled up on chauffeurs.’

  Kate’s eyes widened with something that looked a lot like guilt.

  ‘What?’ Georgia demanded. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Um... I told Matteo I’d found a place for him to stay while we were back in town. I was hoping you’d give him a lift.’

  It was something to do with that hopeful little smile on Kate’s face that planted the seeds of a suspicion that rapidly grew into disbelief.

  ‘You didn’t...’

  ‘It seemed logical. A place to stay and he can use my car until I sell it. And you two are getting on better now, aren’t you? You might even like him, Georgie, if you gave him a chance. Luke’s told me all about Matt and he’s a great guy...’

  Her friend was matchmaking.

  Worse than that, this was like an intervention. Kate and Luke had come up with a plan that would force their best friends to spend a whole lot of time together.

  To live together...

  ‘No.’ Georgia was struggling to find words. ‘You can’t do this, Kate. Matteo wouldn’t want it any more than I do.’

  Kate ducked her head. ‘Sorry...’ She offered a tentative smile. ‘It doesn’t have to be for the whole time but it’s a bit late to find something else tonight and a bit rude to stick him in some hotel. He could sleep on our sofa, I guess.’

  Luke was putting the bags into the boot of his car now. Matteo was pulling a bag from the back seat. He smiled at Georgia, eyebrows lifted.

  The smile was an echo of the one they had shared so recently when they’d been talking about Toby. When, for a heartbeat, she’d forgotten the barrier between them.

  ‘You don’t mind, do you? Dropping me at my new place?’

  So he didn’t know he’d been offered Kate’s old room in the cottage.

  How would he react when he found out?

  Oh...this was playing with fire if anything was.

  And some wicked part of Georgia wanted to poke the embers. Like the first time she’d spoken to him, unexpected words that she could well regret later simply slid past her lips.

  ‘No problem. It’s not out of my way at all...’

  CHAPTER NINE

  ‘I’M SORRY, GEORGIA. I had no idea.’

  Matteo had looked surprised when Georgia opened the door of the cottage with her own keys. And then he’d looked stricken as the penny had dropped.

  ‘I know.’ She shrugged. ‘I think Kate and Luke have got this idea that we could...that we might...’

  Matteo pushed his fingers through his hair. ‘Take me back to town. I can find a hotel.’

  The fact that it was Matteo who didn’t want to be here perversely made Georgia more inclined to let him stay.

  It was a battle between her head and her heart that was being played out in real life instead of in her imagination. And right now her heart was winning.

  ‘It’s okay. As Kate said, it’s logical. You need a place to stay for a little while. There’s an empty room here. For tonight anyway.’

  ‘I would never force myself on you like this. You know that, don’t you?’

  Oddly, Kate did know that. Instinctively, she knew that this man’s moral code would prevent him from ever hurting anyone—especially a woman—with no consideration taken for any personal injury that could be the result.

  This situation should have been making her more afraid than ever.

  But, weirdly, it was making her feel safer.

  This was her turf and she was in control. And it was an intervention in a way that Kate knew nothing about.

  Georgia didn’t want to live with unresolved guilt for the rest of her life. Being under the same roof as Matteo was going to force her to find the solution, wasn’t it?

  Not that she had any idea what that solution might be, mind you.

  Emigrating to New Zealand was starting to seem like less of a crazy idea...

  * * *

  By the time Georgia got up the next morning, Matteo was already gone. There wasn’t even a dirty cup in the sink to suggest that he’d been in the kitchen but she could sense that he had been.

  It felt different...

  As if the emptiness of her house over the last few weeks had been smudged around the edges.

  How had he managed to be so tidy? And so quiet? Had Matteo actually slipped out of the house at some point during the night and gone off to find a hotel?

  The notion should have been a relief but it was curiously alarming at the same time. So much so that Georgia climbed the stairs again, which was getting to be quite an effort, in order to peep around the partially open door of Kate’s old room.

  Matteo’s leather satchel lay on floor in front of the wooden chair in the corner of the room. The clothes he’d been wearing last night were carelessly draped over the back of the chair.

  Georgia’s breath came out in a sigh that felt like relief.

  He was coming back, then...

  Her gaze drifted sideways to the bed. The patchwork quilt had been pulled up but it wasn’t as smooth as Kate would have left it. She could almost see the indent of where Matteo’s body had been.

  Her breath got stuck. Maybe that was why she was feeling a bit weird. Dizzy even...

  There was definitely an edge of confusion.

  Her hours of work were far more relaxed now, so Georgia had time to sit in the sun with her cup of tea and toast. Time to explore what it was that was nagging at the back of her mind and causing her confusion.

  She missed Kate. This was the best thing about having a bestie. You got to think aloud and the supportive audience could help pinpoint not only what the real issue was but what you wanted to do about it.

  But she couldn’t bat this around with Kate. She was on her own.

  And it wasn’t that hard to mentally tiptoe closer to what she was afraid to look at so closely.

  All it took was to allow an image of Matteo Martini to fill her mind. Those dark eyes that could see too much. That layer of genuine interest and concern in combination with a smile that was undeniably sinful.

  He just oozed charm, didn’t he?

  But he also made her feel safe.

  I would never force myself on you like this. You know that, don’t you?

  Of course he wouldn’t. He had a moral code that was so iron clad, he would never dream of lying. Or cheating on someone. He would simply walk away from someone who didn’t share those values.

  But he’d come back...

  Becaus
e of her? Because the significance of what they’d found with each other was enough to be making him reconsider those iron-clad rules?

  Because he really did want to be her friend?

  No. He wanted to be more than that. He’d offered to marry her, for heaven’s sake. To be a father to her child.

  And now he was here but he’d taken a huge step back. He was leaving it up to her to choose whether she closed the respectful gap he was keeping.

  No wonder she was confused.

  Matteo was nothing like any man she had ever known.

  Certainly nothing like her father...

  And there it was. The real issue.

  What if her father had used charm instead of violence? If he’d simply been there in her life and let her make a choice of whether she wanted him closer or not? If a genuine concern for her welfare and happiness had been there in his eyes and he’d had a smile that suggested she was the only person in the world who mattered at that moment?

  Life would have been very different, wouldn’t it?

  She could have lived her early life without the fear of that pain—both emotional and physical.

  She could have been like the kids she’d envied so much. The ones who’d had a daddy at home to tease them sometimes but protect them always.

  Oh, boy...this was huge. Georgia tried to stop the thought that was coming at her as relentlessly as a tsunami but she couldn’t.

  Did she really want her children to grow up without a father?

  It was almost as if she had Kate sitting here with her. Understanding at least part of her new dilemma. Asking her what she wanted to do about it.

  Suggesting that the only the thing to do might be to tell Matteo the truth.

  The shock of allowing that possibility any head room at all was enough to push Georgia to her feet.

  She needed to get to work. To work so hard, in fact, that she could close the lid of this ‘too hard’ basket very firmly indeed.

  * * *

  ‘Oh, my God...what is that smell?’

  ‘Lasagne. A secret recipe that’s been handed down in my family for generations.’