by Sarah Morgan
‘Palace giving you a hard time?’
‘They are not amused,’ Alessandro said lightly, a sardonic smile on his face. ‘I’m supposed to be earning my keep, not “lounging” around here.’
‘You can’t do much with your leg like that.’ Josh’s gaze flickered to Tasha. ‘Except mess with my sister.’
‘Let’s not go there again.’ Alessandro leaned back against the sofa. His shirt flopped open, revealing smooth bronzed skin and well-defined muscle. Feeling suddenly dizzy, Tasha was about to tell him to button it up when she realised that he couldn’t because she’d ripped the buttons.
Concern for her brother mingled with the realisation that the chemistry between her and Alessandro was as powerful as ever.
So much for the childish crush theory. So much for proving to him that she was indifferent.
Satisfied that they weren’t going to kill each other, Tasha used the excuse of breakfast to escape to the kitchen.
Behind the safety of the closed door, she took refuge in mindless cooking to keep her mind off Alessandro. She didn’t want to think about Alessandro. She wanted to know what was wrong with Josh.
People said women were complicated, but at least women usually talked about their problems. Frustrated and grumpy, she chopped fruit into a bowl and then remembered she was feeding men and fried a stack of bacon.
Walking back into the living room with a heaped tray, she found the two men deep in conversation about sport. The earlier argument might never have happened.
They were lifelong friends, of course, and the bond showed as they talked easily, barely acknowledging Tasha as she deposited the tray on the table.
‘Hello? Earth to Neanderthals,’ she said cheerfully. ‘I’ve cooked it, but I draw the line at actually forking the food into your mouths. That bit you can manage yourselves if you really concentrate.’
‘Thanks, Tasha.’ Josh sat forward and helped himself to bacon. ‘I can’t be long. They’re holding a prince-and-princess party on the children’s ward this afternoon and I promised to dress up as a prince. Which means I have a pile of work to get finished this morning.’
Tasha felt her insides tighten at the mention of the children’s ward. She missed it dreadfully.
Being with Alessandro had distracted her slightly from her life, but now reality was back with full force. What if she couldn’t find another job? What if she’d messed everything up for good?
Oblivious to her anxieties, Alessandro was laughing at Josh. ‘You trained for all those years to pretend to be a prince?’
‘It isn’t funny. I should have said no.’
‘So why didn’t you?’
He hesitated. ‘Because a friend asked me. There are some kids who have been on the unit for ages—they’re bored and need some distraction.’ Josh bit into his sandwich. ‘Someone came up with the idea of having a prince-and-princess tea party so that they can dress up. Tiaras—that sort of thing. Because I’m not officially working today, I’m supposed to arrive halfway through dressed as Prince Charming.’
Tasha slid her hands round her mug of tea. ‘You’re kidding.’
‘I did Father Christmas last year.’ Josh wiped his fingers on a napkin. ‘What’s the difference?’
‘Is that a serious question?’ Alessandro was still laughing. ‘One is fat and wears a red coat. The other is suave and capable of slaying dragons.’
Tasha sat with the mug halfway to her mouth, watching the way Alessandro’s eyes shone and his cheeks creased when he laughed.
He was the sexiest man she’d ever met.
It was just as well Josh couldn’t read her mind.
‘No dragons at our tea party. This bacon is good, Tasha. I can’t remember when you last cooked for me. Usually you glare at me and tell me it’s not women’s work. Are you all right?’ Josh frowned at his sister. ‘Why are you staring at Alessandro?’
‘I’m keeping an eye on his colour,’ she said smoothly. ‘If he does too much, he gets tired.’
‘He didn’t look that tired when I arrived.’ His tone dry, Josh helped himself to more bacon. ‘He looked as though he had all his faculties. He won’t need you for much longer.’
Tasha wondered if her brother was having another dig. ‘I’ll stay until he’s able to cope without help.’
‘Have you applied for any jobs?’
Tasha leaned forward and stacked the plates. ‘Not yet.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I don’t know what I’d say in the interview about why I left my last job. I’m worried everyone is going to think I’m a troublemaker.’ Tasha rescued the ketchup before it could tumble onto the floor. ‘I miss medicine. I miss the kids. I miss being part of a unit. I miss—all of it. I’m a doctor. I want patients.’ Aware that Alessandro was no longer smiling, she suddenly wished she hadn’t said anything. ‘Sorry, it’s just that I had this great career plan and then—poof—I managed to blow the whole thing. Well done, Tasha.’ She knew that her light tone hadn’t fooled them. ‘Anyway, I don’t know why we’re talking about me. I already have a job for the time being. Preventing Alessandro from trying to run before he can walk.’
‘I can tell you’re a paediatric doctor. You’re treating me like a kid.’
He wasn’t a kid at all. He was a grown man and she was horribly aware of every bronzed, handsome inch of him. She’d thought her anger would keep her safe, but her anger had vanished. She’d thought her feelings were all from the past. But the explosion of passion that had erupted between them had nothing to do with the past and everything to do with the present.
Fear flashed through her. If she let him, he’d hurt her again. Just as he had the first time. And she wasn’t going to let a man do that to her …
The sooner she found herself a paediatric job, the better.
‘You shouldn’t feel insecure. You’re a good doctor, Tasha.’ Josh stole the last piece of bacon. ‘Remember that little girl you saw on the unit that day you came to my office to tell me you’d resigned? Turned out you were right. It wasn’t hay fever. She had a congenital heart defect.’
Alessandro looked bemused. ‘I didn’t think Tasha worked on your unit.’
‘She doesn’t. But she walked past this girl and saw something that none of my doctors had seen.’ Josh gave a smile. ‘She’s very intuitive, my baby sister.’
Snapping out of her dream, Tasha stared at him. ‘The girl had a congenital heart defect? You’re sure?’
‘She’s already seen the cardiologist. You probably saved her life.’
‘Oh.’ She felt an ache of sympathy for the child and the mother. ‘I wish it had just been hay fever. Poor little thing.’ Suddenly she missed her job even more. She wanted to be the one looking after the child, supporting her and helping her through a difficult time. She could make a difference, she knew she could.
‘This prince-and-princess party …’ Alessandro eased his leg into a more comfortable position. ‘That must be something I can help with.’
Josh glanced at him with a frown. ‘You?’
‘You should be saving lives, not dressing up as a prince. I don’t have your medical skills, but I can do the prince bit.’ His tone was loaded with irony. ‘I’ve never dressed up in a cloak or worn a crown, but if it would help the kids I can do it. Provided someone keeps the paparazzi at a distance. I’m doing it for the children, not the press.’
‘Why keep them at a distance?’ Tasha jumped to her feet. ‘It’s a brilliant idea. Your mother wants some good publicity—what better than the prince visiting the children’s ward? You can autograph stuff for them. They can have pictures taken with you. They’d love that. I’ll come with you.’ Better to be on the children’s ward as a visitor than not be there at all, she reasoned.
‘How far from the car to the ward? I can’t walk that far on this damn leg of mine.’
Tasha opened her mouth to suggest a wheelchair but took one look at the set of his jaw and closed her mouth again. Alessandro would drag himself acr
oss the ground by his fingernails before he’d agree to use a wheelchair.
‘It’s a great idea. We can drop you right outside. And Tasha can come with you.’ Josh nodded. ‘I’ll have a word with the staff and let them know you’re coming.’
‘I’ve been thinking about a job in NICU. Is there someone there I could talk to?’
Alessandro frowned. ‘What’s NICU?’
‘Neonatal intensive care unit.’ Josh shifted in his chair. ‘Talk to Megan Phillips.’
Tasha noticed that her brother’s tone had altered and wondered if it had anything to do with Megan. Glancing up, she met Alessandro’s steady dark gaze. Clearly he was thinking the same thing. He smiled and that slow, sexy smile connected straight to her insides. Her stomach swooped and plunged, the chemistry between them as electrifying and terrifying as ever. Staring into his mahogany eyes, she opened her mouth to speak but he spoke first.
‘You’ve got me through the worst bit. Thanks to you, they let me out of that hospital. I can manage now. If you want to leave, leave.’
He was giving her a choice. And she knew it wasn’t just about caring for him.
He was making her decide whether to leave or not.
Both men were looking at her expectantly and Tasha swallowed. She didn’t know how she was going to answer until the words left her mouth.
‘I’m not in the habit of letting people down. I’ll stay until you’re fully mobile, just as I promised.’ It was easy to convince herself that that was the reason she was staying. ‘But I do need to be looking for a full-time job. I thought I’d explore NICU—except that I’m not sure I’ll get a reference.’
‘You will. I made a few phone calls this week.’ Josh leaned back against the sofa. ‘Turns out you had a lot of support at the unit. Questions are being asked. People are enraged that you were allowed to resign.’
‘Really? Why didn’t you say so before?’ Tasha brightened. ‘Enraged? Oh, I’m so pleased.’
Alessandro lifted an eyebrow. ‘You want people to be enraged?’
‘I want them to care that I’ve gone, yes. I’m human enough to want that. And I’m human enough to need to be told I did the right thing—that others would have done the same. I would love an apology from him,’ she sniffed, ‘but I doubt I’ll get that.’
‘You won’t. They guy’s an idiot. Forget about him.’
Josh leaned forward. ‘So, about the prince-and-princess party …’
Energised by the knowledge that people were supporting her, Tasha reached for her handbag. ‘Leave that to me. I’m going to pay a visit to the dressing-up shop in St Piran. Alessandro and I will see you back at the hospital.’
He’d given her the opportunity to leave and yet she’d chosen to stay.
Alessandro watched Tasha as she gathered bags and put them in the car. Her coat was buttoned from neck to hem and he wondered why she was wearing a long coat when it wasn’t cold.
‘I’ve bought tiaras and all sorts of props that should be useful.’ She slid his crutches into the boot. ‘Be careful as you get in. Sit down, then I’ll move your legs.’
She gently moved his leg into the car and helped him with his seat belt. ‘Is that comfortable?’
It was agony, but even agony wasn’t enough to dampen his response to her.
‘Alessandro?’ She lifted her eyes to his face and chemistry immediately flickered between them. Flushing, she drew back sharply. ‘Right. Well, if you’re not too uncomfortable then we’ll get going.’
‘Tasha, listen—’
‘The kids are waiting.’ The car door slammed and Alessandro winced as pain rocked through his leg. Fine. So they’d go through the day pretending they hadn’t stripped each other half-naked.
‘Did you agree to stay with me just to annoy your brother?’ He watched her as she slid into the driver’s seat. ‘If you want to take a job at the hospital, you should take it. I can manage.’
‘I promised to look after you until you’re out of the cast and that’s what I’m going to do. And, anyway, I don’t really want to work in the same hospital as Josh. You’ve seen what he’s like. He’ll be banging on my door, questioning every decision I make. We’d drive each other crazy.’ She drove fast and Alessandro found himself clenching his teeth.
‘Do you know these roads well?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good, because if there are any surprises behind that blind bend, you’re about to smack into it head first.’
She shifted gears smoothly. ‘Do I make you nervous? Big, tough guy like you?’
An image of tangled metal lodged itself in his head. ‘I’m not a good passenger.’ He didn’t elaborate but she immediately trod on the brakes.
‘Sorry,’ she muttered. ‘I didn’t think.’
Her sensitivity surprised him, although it shouldn’t have. She’d always been sensitive, hadn’t she? Too sensitive.
He braced himself for her to question him about the accident that had killed his brother but instead she smoothly changed the subject.
‘Did you notice anything strange about Josh?’
‘Strange in what way?’
‘You didn’t think he was tense and on edge?’
‘He’d just caught his sister naked with a man.’ He watched as the colour bloomed in her cheeks. ‘That was reason enough for him to be tense.’
‘Yes, but it wasn’t that. It was something else. Something personal. Did you see his face when he made that little speech about loving someone you couldn’t be with?’
‘He’s worried about you.’
‘I’m not sixteen years old.’ This time her gear change was vicious. ‘Why do men always think a woman has to be in love? This is the twenty-first century. I don’t want love. The most important thing to me is my career. And, anyway, a woman can have sex without being in love.’ The words spilled out of her and he watched her steadily, wondering why he wasn’t convinced.
‘We didn’t have sex, Tasha.’
The gears crunched again. ‘I’m well aware of that. All I’m saying is that if we had had sex then it wouldn’t have had anything to do with being in love, and I can’t imagine why you’d even think that. Women can have sex like a man. Without emotional involvement. I don’t want emotional involvement.’
‘Right.’ Alessandro tried to imagine Tasha doing anything without emotional involvement, and failed. Her emotions were involved in everything, from cooking chilli to handling her stethoscope. ‘So, if that’s the case, why are you worried about what Josh said?’
‘There’s something wrong with him. He’s been acting really strangely since I caught him in the on-call room that day I came to see you …’ Without breaking the conversation she flicked the indicator and turned into the hospital car park. ‘And I know he had someone in the room with him, but he was hiding the fact. He didn’t want me to know. But when I saw him, he looked all lit up inside. As if something special had happened. There was an energy about him that I haven’t seen for years.’
‘So maybe he’s found someone. What’s wrong with that?’
‘Nothing. But today he didn’t look like that. He looked exhausted.’ She pulled into a parking space and gnawed at her lower lip with her teeth. ‘He looked awful, Sandro.’
‘He works hard.’
‘I know, but he always has. Josh has endless reserves when it comes to work. It’s something else. Something to do with a woman, I’m sure of it.’
Looking at her troubled expression, Alessandro wondered why it was that women had to analyse everything in such depth. ‘Maybe he’s met someone and she’s married.’
‘Josh would never have an affair with a married woman.’
‘He was married himself. Still is, isn’t he?’
‘His relationship with Rebecca has been dead for ages.’
Alessandro felt the cold trickle down his spine. ‘That’s what marriage does to people.’
‘Do you really believe that?’
‘How many happy marriages have you seen?’
She hesitated. ‘Just because we haven’t seen them, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.’
‘Does it matter? I thought you said you could have sex without emotional involvement.’
‘I can. But that doesn’t mean I don’t believe that happy marriages don’t exist.’ She snapped her seat belt and Alessandro watched her for a moment.
‘If you’re worried about Josh, why don’t you just ask him what’s wrong, instead of subjecting yourself to all this guesswork?’
‘I’ve tried—obliquely. But he dodges it. And then this morning …’ she retrieved her bag ‘… he just seemed really stressed about something.’
‘He’d just seen you naked with me,’ Alessandro drawled. He knew from past experience that was sufficient reason to stress Josh. ‘In case you hadn’t worked it out, your brothers are very possessive of you. Particularly Josh.’
‘Maybe we should invite him round for supper so that we can chat properly. I could cook something.’
‘Something with chilli?’
She grinned wickedly. ‘I don’t know how you ate that.’
‘The eating it was fine. It was putting out the fire afterwards that was the problem.’ Alessandro eased his leg out of the car, clenching his jaw against the pain as Tasha lifted the bags out of the boot.
As he straightened up she slung a cloak around his shoulders.
‘All hail, Prince Alessandro. Welcome to the Kingdom of Sick Child.’ She curtseyed deep and he stared down at the velvet cloak in wry amusement.
‘What on earth is this?’
‘’Tis your finest clothing, sire. Otherwise known as prince’s-cape-from-dressing-up-shop.’ She stood up. ‘Don’t you dare refuse to wear it—took me ages to track it down. There’s a cute crown to go with it. They threw it in free.’ As she rummaged in the bag, Alessandro glanced around the car park to check that there were no photographers.
‘There is no way am I wearing a velvet cloak and a plastic crown to walk across the car park.’