The Christmas Marriage Rescue

by Sarah Morgan

  He didn’t love her but he didn’t want any other man to have her.

  And she couldn’t see a future for their marriage.

  * * *

  Simmering with barely contained frustration, and cursing the inconsistencies of the female sex, Alessandro strode out of the maze after Christy, only to see her long, gorgeous legs folding into the back of a taxi, which promptly disappeared down the snowy drive.

  He cursed in Spanish and then turned to find Jake watching him. His eyes narrowed with accusation. ‘Did you put her in a cab?’

  ‘Why?’ Jake’s tone was cool. ‘Are you going to punch me again?’

  ‘No.’ Alessandro ran a hand over the back of his neck. ‘Providing you don’t kiss her again. Ever.’

  ‘I thought it might wake you up.’ Jake rubbed a hand over his bruised jaw. ‘I think it worked.’

  Alessandro shot him an incredulous look. ‘I think you like to live dangerously. I wanted to kill you with my bare hands.’

  ‘I hoped it would be enough to galvanise you into action and show her what you felt about her, but, judging from the tears on her face when I got her the taxi, you didn’t succeed.’

  ‘Tears?’ Alessandro digested that unwelcome piece of news and inhaled sharply. ‘Christy never cries.’

  ‘Well, she was crying just now,’ Jake said flatly, his gaze steady as he looked at his friend. ‘What did you do to her?’

  A tinge of colour touched Alessandro’s hard cheekbones. ‘I made love to her,’ he growled finally, ‘which seemed like the right thing to do at the time.’

  Jake studied him. ‘Judging from the mark on your cheek, I’m guessing it wasn’t.’

  ‘Women are totally incomprehensible.’

  ‘Are they?’ Jake met his gaze head on, ignoring the snow settling on his white shirt. ‘Christy doesn’t believe you love her any more, Al.’

  ‘She doesn’t think I love her?’ Alessandro’s voice rang with exasperation. ‘She’s the one who left the family home, taking the children with her.’

  ‘She expected you to follow her.’

  Alessandro stared at him blankly. ‘You’re wrong. If she’d wanted me to follow her, why did she leave in the first place? And if that was true, why didn’t she just come back straight away? It doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘That’s because you’re looking at it from a man’s point of view. She was waiting for a sign that you still cared. She didn’t think you loved her any more.’

  Alessandro gritted his teeth. ‘If that’s true, making love to her should have proved otherwise. But she’s just hit me and left in a taxi.’

  Jake sighed. ‘I think your timing might have been a bit out. If you’d made your move at any point before I’d kissed her, you’d probably be snuggled up together now, with this whole nightmarish episode behind you.’

  Alessandro’s eyes darkened ominously. ‘I do not want to be reminded that you kissed my wife, Blackwell.’

  ‘You’re the one she wants,’ Jake said calmly, ‘but you’re making such a mess of it you’re going to lose her if you’re not careful.’

  Lose her?

  Lose Christy?

  Faced with that unthinkable possibility, Alessandro felt helpless for the first time in his life. ‘What do I do?’ His voice was hoarse. ‘What do I do to convince her that I love her?’

  ‘Try telling her.’

  ‘She won’t believe me after tonight.’

  ‘Then show her,’ Jake said quietly. ‘Show her that you love her, Al, but do it fast.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  INSUFFERABLE, arrogant, miserable, vile, arrogant rat. Christy flung clothes into the suitcase, her face streaked with tears as she lengthened her list of possible adjectives to apply to Alessandro.

  And as for herself—she gave a growl of exasperation and flung a skirt violently into the case. Then she sat on the edge of the bed and buried her face in her hands with a groan of humiliation and self-disgust.

  Did she have no self-control?

  When she thought about the way she’d behaved she just wanted to curl up and die on the spot.

  He didn’t love her at all and yet she’d thrown herself at him like a desperate, sex-starved groupie. She’d virtually begged, for goodness’ sake, and all in a place where anyone could have come past and seen them at any point.

  How embarrassing was that?

  What had possessed her to behave like that?

  It was true that she and Alessandro had always been very physically compatible, but they’d always kept their passion for each other behind closed doors.

  Tonight she’d thought about nothing except the desperate need to have him make love to her. And for her it had all been about love.

  Whereas he’d thought about nothing but possession.

  With a sniff and a determined lift of her chin, she stood up and turned back to the case and then froze when she saw Alessandro standing in the doorway.

  His glossy hair was dusted with snow and his dark jaw shadowed by stubble. At some point—had it been before or after they’d had sex?—he’d undone his bow-tie and it was now draped carelessly around his neck, the open collar of his shirt revealing a tantalising hint of bronzed skin and curling dark body hair. ‘You’re not leaving.’

  She closed her eyes to block out the vision of perfect masculinity. ‘This is never going to work, Alessandro. I’m going to sleep at my mother’s tonight.’

  She didn’t trust herself to behave normally in front of the children.

  He didn’t love her. He saw her as a possession and the mother of his children. Not as a woman.

  ‘It’s worked for the past twelve years.’ He kicked the door shut behind him and she opened her eyes, startled by the raw pain she saw in his dark eyes.

  ‘Alessandro—’

  ‘I told myself that if you loved Jake then I’d let you go, but now I find that I can’t do that.’

  She gaped at him. ‘I don’t love Jake.’

  ‘You were kissing him. You’re always confiding in him.’

  ‘He was kissing me,’ she corrected swiftly, ‘and I confide in him because he listens.’

  Alessandro’s eyes darkened. ‘And I don’t?’

  ‘Well, no.’ She refused to be intimidated by the black expression on his face. ‘No, you don’t. You never show any interest in me as a woman any more.’

  He sucked in a long breath. ‘I admit that I may have made mistakes in our relationship.’ He jerked his bow-tie from his neck and flung it onto the bed. ‘But I think I at least deserve another chance.’

  She stared at him. ‘Was that an apology?’ In twelve years she’d never known Alessandro apologise for anything. ‘Are you actually admitting that you might be in the wrong?’

  He took a deep breath. ‘You should not have left and taken the children,’ he growled, ‘but, yes, I’m willing to admit that my behaviour may have fallen short of perfect.’

  She wanted to laugh. As far as apologies went it was pretty pathetic, but for Alessandro it was a major step forward.

  She dropped the suitcase on the floor of the bedroom. ‘So what are you suggesting?’

  His jacket joined the bow tie on the bed. ‘Christmas is a week away. I want us to try again—we owe it to the children.’

  Was that why he was doing this? Was it all about the children?

  ‘All right.’ Her heart was thudding. ‘But there are rules.’

  ‘Rules?’

  ‘I carry on working in A and E and I go out with the mountain rescue team and you stop frowning and glaring at me—’

  ‘I don’t frown and glare.’

  ‘You frown and glare.’

  ‘All right.’ His voice was rough. ‘I’ll try not to. You’re an excellent A and E nurse. I don’t know how I could have forgotten that. This last week has been easier for everyone because you’ve been in the department. I’m certainly not going to suggest that you give it up.’

  ‘Oh.’ A delicious warmth spread through her and she stared
at him, stunned by the praise.

  He lifted a dark eyebrow in question. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Yes. If I’m staying, then we’re going to spend time together, Alessandro. No more ships in the night. No more living at the hospital while I live my own life here. And a few romantic gestures would be nice.’

  ‘Romantic gestures?’ He stared at her blankly for a moment and she resisted the temptation to roll her eyes.

  ‘Never mind. Let’s just settle for spending time together,’ she said wearily, lacking the motivation to explain. Romantic gestures just weren’t in his nature, she reminded herself. She’d known that when she’d married him and it hadn’t bothered her. She’d been in love with the man and she was still in love with him. If they could just rediscover what they’d once shared, she could live without romantic gestures.

  There was a brief silence while he studied her and then he gave a brief nod. ‘All right. Agreed. I have only one rule.’

  Christy looked at him, her eyes wide. ‘You do?’

  ‘No more kissing,’ Alessandro delivered softly, strolling towards her with a strange gleam in his eyes. ‘Unless it’s me.’

  He was close to her now, so close that she could almost feel the heat of his powerful body, and the breath was suddenly trapped in her throat. ‘I didn’t kiss him.’

  ‘Good.’ Alessandro’s voice was a low, lethal purr. ‘Because I don’t share. Ever.’

  The sexual tension between them was stifling. ‘You’re behaving like a caveman again.’

  ‘A very restrained caveman,’ Alessandro pointed out in silky tones, his mouth hovering dangerously close to hers. ‘So far I haven’t locked the door, thrown you on the bed or done any of the things I’m burning to do. In fact, gatita, I’m showing remarkable self-control.’

  She waited for him to kiss her but instead he studied her for a long, lingering moment, the expression in his eyes partially screened by thick, dark lashes. Then he stepped back and walked towards the shower.

  ‘Don’t wait up for me,’ he drawled as he ripped off the white shirt and dropped it in the vague vicinity of the laundry basket. ‘I’m sure you’re tired.’

  Don’t wait up for him?

  Christy stared at him in disbelief and mounting frustration as he strolled into the en suite bathroom and casually pushed the door shut behind him.

  He’d had wild, abandoned sex with her just because another man had kissed her but now, when he’d declared his intention of making their marriage work, he strolled into the bathroom without laying a single finger on her.

  What was the matter with the man?

  * * *

  Romantic gestures?

  What did she mean, he never made romantic gestures?

  Alessandro hit the buttons on the shower and brooded on the mysteries of the female sex. He’d just made love to her. How much more romantic than that could a man get? And yet she’d accused him of being possessive.

  Only a desire to avoid similar confrontation had prevented him from stripping her naked and taking her to bed to finish what they’d started at the Snow Ball.

  But he wasn’t going to touch her, he reminded himself, turning the shower to cold to help his resolve.

  She’d said that they didn’t spend enough time together so he’d correct that. And he’d make so many romantic gestures that she wouldn’t be able to turn around without falling over one.

  Once he found out what they were…

  * * *

  The following day Christy found herself working alongside Jake, who had been called down to look at a young woman who was bleeding.

  ‘Ouch.’ Her voice was soft as her eyes rested on his bruised mouth. ‘That looks sore.’

  ‘It’s more embarrassing than sore,’ Jake drawled, touching his fingers to his lips with a wry smile. ‘The entire hospital seem to be laying bets on whose wife I seduced last night.’

  Christy blushed. ‘Did you tell them the truth?’

  Jake lifted an eyebrow. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I think you’re much too good a friend to gossip,’ she said quietly, ‘and I’m really grateful for that. And for lots of other things.’

  He studied her for a moment and then smiled and held out his hand for the notes she was holding. ‘So—where’s this woman you want me to see?’

  ‘In cubicle one. I’ll act as chaperone.’

  The day passed swiftly and Christy was just wondering how she’d managed to miss yet another lunch-break when the ambulance hotline rang.

  She picked up the phone just as Alessandro strolled up to her. ‘Tonight,’ he said in a decisive tone. ‘We’re going out to dinner. I’ve booked a table for eight o’clock.’

  In no position to argue, Christy spoke into the phone and listened while the ambulance gave the details of a casualty they were bringing in.

  She scribbled a few notes, replaced the phone and discovered that he was still standing there. ‘They’re bringing in a fifty-five-year-old man with an upper GI bleed. Apparently he vomited up fresh blood about half an hour ago.’

  Alessandro’s gaze lingered on her face. ‘Then we’d better call the physicians and warn them. You’re thinking that I won’t make that date of ours tonight, aren’t you?’

  ‘Well, I…’ The words died in her mouth as she caught his slow, sexy smile.

  ‘Be ready, Christy,’ he said softly, ‘because I’m going to be there.’

  Her stomach turned over and she cursed herself for being so weak-willed. It was going to take more than one evening where he happened to show up to fix their marriage.

  The patient arrived accompanied by sirens and clutching a vomit bowl filled with frank blood.

  Christy snapped on a pair of gloves and an apron and helped the paramedics transfer him to the trolley.

  ‘This is Duncan Finn.’ The paramedic removed the red blanket covering his patient and Christy substituted one of the department’s own. ‘Suddenly started vomiting and noticed the blood.’

  Katya slid into the room just as Alessandro moved round the trolley to talk to his patient.

  ‘Any history of abdominal pain, Mr Finn?’ he asked smoothly, as he swiftly examined the contents of the bowl and then picked up the patient’s wrist to check his pulse and capillary refill.

  The patient shook his head and Alessandro methodically ran through a list of questions as he continued his examination.

  ‘Shall I put a line in?’ Katya asked, and Alessandro gave a nod.

  ‘Two. Christy will show you which cannula.’

  Christy pushed forward the trolley that she’d already prepared and handed the other doctor a tourniquet.

  ‘I want a full blood count, a clotting screen, U and Es, blood glucose and group and cross-match. Christy…’ he lifted his head from his examination ‘… what are his sats?’

  ‘Ninety-six per cent,’ she said immediately, and he gave a nod.

  ‘Did you bleep the physicians?’

  ‘As the ambulance arrived.’ Seeing that Katya had successfully cannulated the patient, Christy handed her the right bottles for the various tests and labelled the necessary forms. ‘They said that they were on their way.’

  ‘I want him to have 50 grams ranitidine, diluted in saline.’ Alessandro’s eyes rested on the monitor. ‘Let’s give him some oxygen, Christy.’

  Murmuring words of reassurance to her patient, Christy slipped a mask over his face and adjusted the flow.

  ‘I’m so thirsty,’ he mumbled. ‘Can I have a drink?’

  ‘Nothing at the moment,’ Christy said, and at that moment the physicians arrived.

  Having made their examination and listened to Alessandro’s handover, they decided that the patient needed an endoscopy and made arrangements to take him to Theatre.

  Christy arranged the transfer, accompanied the patient and then returned to Resus to tidy up the mess she’d left.

  Pushing open the door, she was surprised to find Alessandro and Katya still in there, talking.

 
Katya was standing quite close to him, closer than was strictly necessary, her eyes fixed on Alessandro’s face.

  ‘So you’re saying that the differential diagnosis could have been a Mallory-Weiss tear, oesophageal varices, some sort of mucosal inflammation, gastric carcinoma or a coagulation disorder.’

  ‘It could also have been a simple peptic ulcer,’ Alessandro said dryly, dropping his gloves into the nearest bin. ‘Not everything we see in this department is rare or out of the ordinary. Remember that.’

  ‘Of course,’ Katya breathed. ‘I hope you don’t mind me taking the opportunity to ask questions.’

  ‘Not at all.’ Watching Alessandro’s encouraging smile, Christy ground her teeth.

  He was so patient with her. Why was that? Patience wasn’t one of his virtues.

  ‘Do you fancy a drink tonight, Alessandro? I could really do with your help on a few issues,’ Katya murmured, and Christy watched as her husband gave the younger girl a thoughtful look.

  ‘Unfortunately tonight isn’t possible,’ he said, his Spanish accent very pronounced as he reached for a pen to sign a request form that one of the nurses was holding out to him. ‘Some other time maybe.’

  Some other time?

  The hairs on the back of Christy’s neck prickled with outrage. What did he mean by that? Why some other time? And exactly what sort of help was Katya looking for?

  Ready to hit him for the second time in twenty-four hours, Christy cleared the trolley noisily and slammed her foot on the bar that opened the bin. It gaped open and she stuffed in the rubbish and let it slam shut with a crash.

  Not very mature, she thought to herself, but at least it made her feel better and it reminded the pair of them that she was in the room.

  He had such a nerve!

  First he had hit Jake for kissing her and now he was flirting with Katya.

  Aware that Alessandro was looking at her with astonishment, she gave him an innocent smile. ‘Well, that’s just about finished with the clearing up. I’ll be off, then, and leave you to it.’

  His eyes narrowed. ‘Leave us to what?’

  Despite her clenched jaw, she managed to beam at him. ‘To whatever it is you have to do, Alessandro,’ she replied in perfect Spanish, and then turned and left the room.