The Italian's New-Year Marriage Wish

by Sarah Morgan

  ‘Surgery was interesting.’ Talking about work was good. ‘Along with the usual coughs, colds and sore throats, I saw my first ever case of erysipelas and a case of ophthalmic shingles.’

  ‘I suppose the erysipelas was one of the trawlermen; it usually is. Ophthalmic shingles?’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Who was that?’

  ‘A Mrs Duncan?’

  ‘Paula? She’s a writer. Detective novels, I think. Lives in that white house on the cliffs. You’re sure it was shingles?’

  Astonished that he knew so much about his patients, Amy nodded. ‘Yes, she had all the symptoms and skin lesions on the side of her nose.’

  ‘Did you refer her to the hospital?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Poor Paula. That’s the last thing she needs over the Christmas holidays. Did you give her oral aciclovir? Eight hundred milligrams?’

  Amy sighed. ‘Marco, if you’re so worried about my skills, don’t ask me to take your surgery.’

  ‘Sorry.’ He gave a faint smile, the first smile that had touched his mouth since she’d walked back into his life that morning. ‘I’m not used to delegating. And especially not to my wife.’ He studied her for a moment, his dark eyes narrowed and his long legs stretched out in front of him. He looked impossibly sexy and Amy’s mouth dried and she turned away from him, her heart thudding hard against her chest.

  ‘Well—it was just the one surgery,’ she muttered, feeling his gaze burning a hole between her shoulder blades.

  ‘So what are your plans once you finally catch that train? Are you returning to Africa or are they sending you somewhere else?’

  ‘I don’t know. They’ve asked me to go to Pakistan.’

  ‘But you haven’t accepted?’

  ‘Not yet.’ She turned, wondering where the conversation was going. ‘I wanted to get things sorted out here first.’

  Marco held her gaze. ‘So you’re out of a job. You, who love work above everything else.’ It was impossible to miss the sarcasm in his voice and Amy’s tongue tied itself in a knot.

  ‘I’m not exactly out of work.’ She tried to retrace her steps. ‘I’ll go where I’m needed.’

  ‘Is that right? In that case I have a proposition for you. You stay in Penhally for a month. Work in the practice. You’ve probably noticed that we’re struggling. Nick, Dragan and I can’t keep it going on our own.’

  Amy stared at him for a moment, wondering if she’d misheard. ‘That’s out of the question.’

  ‘Why? You’ve just said that you’ll go where you’re needed. You’re needed here, Amy.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You keep telling me how important it is for you to work. We need another doctor in Penhally. Urgently. You’re good at what you do and you’re capable of just stepping in and getting on with things. You proved that this morning. If you hadn’t been here, surgery would have ground to a halt.’

  ‘You don’t want your ex-wife working in your practice.’

  ‘My wife.’ He emphasised the word gently. ‘Actually, you’re my wife, Amy, not my ex-wife. And why is that a problem? If you don’t love me then there are no emotions involved, so working together should be easy. It’s a good solution.’

  Not for her.

  Amy stood there in a blind panic, once again trapped by her own words. ‘That’s a ridiculous suggestion. We can’t work together.’

  ‘Why not?’

  Because it would be too painful. Because she wouldn’t be able to hide her true feelings. ‘Marco, don’t do this.’

  ‘Don’t do what? Don’t talk sense? We need a doctor, you need a job. You don’t love me—fine, we work together as friends and colleagues and at the end of a month I give you that divorce you want. One month, working side by side as we’ve done today.’

  So basically she had to allow herself to be tortured for a month in order to achieve something that she didn’t really want anyway.

  She almost laughed.

  ‘It would be too…awkward. Marco, how can you even suggest it?’

  ‘We are both mature, professional people. Why would it be awkward? The only possible reason for it to be awkward would be if you still felt something for me. Is that the case, Amy? Do you feel something?’

  It was like being in court in front of a deceptively gentle prosecutor determined to dig up the truth. ‘I don’t— That isn’t what I mean.’ She stumbled over the words. ‘I don’t feel anything for you, Marco. I’m sorry if that’s hurtful but it’s better that I tell the truth.’

  ‘Are you telling the truth?’ He was watching her closely, his gaze disturbingly intense. ‘There’s something going on here, Amy. Something that isn’t right.’

  ‘You’re putting me in an impossible position, that’s what isn’t right! I can’t stay, Marco.’

  ‘Why not?’ There was a hard edge to his tone. ‘You’ve said that you never loved me and that our relationship was just a fling. Since when did a bit of hot sex need to get in the way of a sensible business arrangement? Work is all-important to you and I’m offering you work. If emotions aren’t involved, there can’t be a problem, can there?’

  Her emotions were involved. But to admit that would be to admit that she was still in love with him and that would lead to complications that she couldn’t handle.

  Amy waded through her options and found them depressingly limited. It was obvious that if she refused he would take her refusal as an indication that she was in love with him and she just didn’t want him knowing that.

  Desperate now, she searched for another excuse—anything—that might help her extricate herself from the situation. ‘I only planned to come for the day. I don’t have clothes or anything.’

  ‘All your clothes are still here. Upstairs in the wardrobe where you left them.’ His tone was even. ‘In case you’ve forgotten, you didn’t take much with you.’

  She’d been too upset to even bother with packing.

  Amy turned away and walked over the window, her mind racing. Unlike him, she wasn’t thinking clearly.

  She could walk away, but then she’d just have to come back and go through all this again another time. Or she could stay and work in Penhally and prove that their relationship was truly over.

  All she had to do was keep up the act for a month and then he’d give her a divorce.

  She stared out to sea, watching the waves rise and fall. It wasn’t as if they’d see that much of each other, she reasoned. She’d already seen how much of his life was tied up with the practice. They’d both be working. She wouldn’t be spending a lot of time in his company.

  How hard would it be?

  ‘You’re joining us?’ Nick Tremayne stared at Amy across the desk, a serious expression on his face. ‘You’re going to work as a locum?’

  ‘Just until Dr Donnelly arrives. Kate has confirmed that he can start in a month.’ Exhausted after a sleepless night in Marco’s spare room, Amy summoned up a smile that she hoped reflected the correct amount of enthusiasm for the situation. ‘I took Marco’s surgery for a while yesterday morning and I enjoyed it. I’m between jobs at the moment and you’re stuck so it seemed a sensible solution.’ Did she sound convincing?

  Probably not, given that she wasn’t entirely convinced herself.

  But Marco had pushed so relentlessly that she’d found herself trapped between all the lies she’d told.

  Nick looked at her, his gaze just a little too probing for her liking. ‘I hate to point out the obvious…’ he glanced towards Marco ‘…but you guys haven’t seen each other for two years. Much as we need the help professionally, I can’t risk the problems of your personal life invading practice business.’

  ‘We’re very civilised,’ Marco said easily. ‘Working together won’t be a problem.’

  Wouldn’t it? Unconvinced, Amy glanced at him, trying to read his mind, but his face gave nothing away. Was he really as relaxed about the whole thing as he seemed?

  Perhaps Nick was asking himself the same question because he studied his frien
d and colleague for a moment before turning back to Amy. ‘Where are you going to live?’

  Amy opened her mouth to reply but Marco was there first. ‘In the house, with me. Where else? I’m rattling around with five bedrooms.’ His emphasis on the word ‘five’ could have been a linguistic slip or else a gentle reminder that they’d chosen the house with the intention of filling it with their children. ‘Amy missed her train so she stayed last night. We managed to get through the night without killing each other so I don’t anticipate a problem.’

  He was expecting her to live in the same house as him? No! That hadn’t been part of the original plan. She’d been banking on the fact that, apart from the odd bit of professional communication at work, she’d be able to avoid him. Yes, she’d stayed the previous night—shivering in the spare room like an interloper—but she’d assumed that she’d be finding herself alternative accommodation at some point. Already her eyes were gritty and her head ached as a result of a night in his spare bedroom. She’d spent the entire night awake, imagining Marco just next door, probably sprawled naked in the enormous bed that they’d chosen for the main bedroom, and now she discovered that she was going to be staying there every night.

  Amy opened her mouth to argue and then caught Nick’s searching look and instead smiled weakly. Thanks to Marco’s confident announcement she now had no choice but to stay with him. ‘That’s right,’ she said hoarsely. ‘I’m staying with him. No problem.’

  Nick shrugged. ‘Well, if you both think you can handle it. God knows, we need another doctor badly so I’m not likely to put up much of an argument. Welcome back, Amy, and welcome on board.’ His tone was brisk. ‘Well, this is a good start to the New Year. I was starting to think we might have a nervous break down before we found anyone to cover Lucy’s maternity leave.’

  ‘How is Lucy?’ Amy tried to ignore the heavy feeling of dread that sat in her stomach. ‘Is she doing all right?’

  ‘Very well, considering the baby was premature. Annabel is still in Special Care but they’re hoping to be back home for New Year.’ Nick tapped his fingers on the desk, his expression thoughtful. It was clear that he was already planning, his mind on the practice and the needs of the local population. ‘So, Amy, it’s pretty obvious that you should just take on Lucy’s patients and the antenatal clinic. I seem to remember that obstetrics was always your big love so it makes sense.’

  Amy’s mouth dried. ‘No!’ Forgetting all about the sleeping arrangements, she shook her head. ‘No. I mean…could I do one of the other clinics?’ Not antenatal. Please, God, not that. Not now. ‘It would be great to do something different. Don’t you do the antenatal clinic? I’d hate to take it away from you.’ Aware that Marco was looking at her in astonishment, she tried to recover herself but Nick was frowning, too.

  ‘Since Lucy left I’ve had to cover the minor surgery and I can’t do it all. Marco does child health, of course, and Alison Myers, our practice nurse, does a fair few clinics on her own with no help. Dragan has other responsibilities that take him further afield, so he can’t take on obstetrics.’ Nick narrowed his eyes, studying her face carefully. ‘You love obstetrics. Pregnant women were always your special interest. What’s the problem? Is it something to do with your stint in Africa? I mean, it’s not as if you’re going to be expected to deliver the babies or anything. Just deliver the antenatal care. Have you had a drama that we ought to know about?’

  ‘No. Nothing like that.’ Her heart was galloping and her palms were damp. ‘There’s no problem, really,’ she lied, her voice barely working. ‘I just thought maybe it would be better to have a more permanent doctor doing that particular clinic. For continuity. Women like continuity, don’t they?’

  She wished Marco would stop looking at her. And now Nick was looking at her, too. And she had a feeling that the older doctor would be asking her questions sooner rather than later.

  ‘Ideally, yes,’ Nick said slowly, his gaze intent on her face. ‘But in this case I think they’ll just be delighted to have a female doctor with expertise in obstetrics. I can’t imagine that anyone is going to protest.’

  She was protesting. But now they were both staring at her and she knew that she’d already betrayed far too much.

  ‘Well, if you’re sure they won’t mind—I’ll do the clinic, of course.’ She gave what she hoped was a casual smile. ‘It will be fine.’ Fine. Fine. Fine. She was a trained professional. She could deliver whatever medical care was required of her.

  She could do antenatal.

  She could switch off. Shut down her feelings. Wasn’t that what she’d done for the past two years?

  ‘Good.’ Nick’s eyes lingered on her face for a moment longer and then he turned back to Marco. ‘So that’s decided, then. I’ll tell Kate and she can inform the patients. Good news. Thanks, Amy. A timely arrival on your part if ever there was one. Lucky for us.’

  Not lucky, Amy thought miserably, biting her lip so hard that she tasted blood. Not lucky at all.

  ‘All right, so what the hell is happening between you and Amy? Is this happy ever after?’ Nick hooked his hands behind his head and rocked back on his chair. ‘Are the two of you back together?’

  Marco lounged in the chair opposite, his expression guarded. ‘Are you asking as my friend or my colleague?’

  ‘What difference does it make? It’s a simple yes or no answer.’

  ‘We’re not back together again…’ Marco paused. ‘Yet.’

  ‘But you’re working on it. It’s what you want, obviously.’ Nick made an impatient sound. ‘What about Amy? The two of you were good together. What the hell is going on? I never really under stood why she left in the first place.’

  Marco kept his response factual. ‘Apparently she wanted a career instead of children.’

  ‘Amy?’ Nick looked at him in disbelief. ‘That doesn’t sound right. She was very excited about starting a family. I remember catching her staring at a baby outfit in a shop window one day. She went a deep shade of scarlet but she had that look in her eyes. That look that warns you to go out and buy a people carrier.’

  Marco didn’t laugh. ‘Well, the look has disappeared. It isn’t what she wants any more. She doesn’t want babies and she doesn’t want me.’

  ‘I wonder why not.’

  ‘She doesn’t love me enough.’ Marco gave what he hoped passed as a casual shrug. ‘It happens.’

  Nick laughed with genuine amusement. ‘But not to you. Women always love you. It’s the accent and the dark, brooding eyes. Come on, Marco! What’s the matter with you? Amy loves you! Anyone can see that. She isn’t a woman who is fickle in her affections! She’s a one-man woman and you’re that man. You always have been.’

  ‘Apparently not.’ Feeling suddenly irritable, Marco rose to his feet. ‘Was there anything else we needed to talk about? Because my love life has run its course as a topic of conversation.’

  ‘How’s the car? Did you get the Maserati fixed?’

  ‘Yesterday. Kate arranged it.’

  The change in Nick’s expression was barely perceptible. ‘She’s a wonderfully efficient practice manager.’

  And she was willing to be a great deal more if Nick would only give her some encouragement, Marco thought, wondering if his colleague was truly as obtuse about Kate’s feelings as he pretended to be. Or was it much more complicated than that? Was he still churned up and guilty about the death of his wife? Unable to commit to anyone else?

  Marco gave a mental shrug and decided not to pursue the subject. He had enough problems of his own in that department and he certainly wasn’t in a position to lecture other people on how to run their love lives. ‘I’ve put Amy in Lucy’s consulting room. I assume that’s all right with you.’

  ‘As long as she’s seeing patients I don’t care if she’s doing it from the toilet,’ Nick drawled. Then he leaned forward. ‘Any idea why she was so reluctant to run the antenatal clinic?’

  ‘She doesn’t really want to be here at all.’ Marco gav
e a grim smile. ‘I used some psychological leverage to get us a doctor for a few weeks. She’s here under duress, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Well, I guessed that.’ Nick frowned and tapped his pen on the desk. ‘But I had a feeling that there might be something more going on. She looked…distraught at the thought of doing that clinic. Pale. Ill. Maybe she’s just tired.’

  Marco felt a flicker of unease. ‘Yes, I think something is wrong, too. That’s why I want her to stay. Once I find out what it is and help her solve it, I’ll let her go. Perhaps the problem is just that she wants to be as far away from me as is humanly possible.’

  ‘It could be that. But she’s a woman…’ Nick flicked the switch on his computer ‘…which also means that it’s likely to be something a million times more complicated than that. Watch her, Marco. There’s something going on. Just don’t let your personal life affect the practice.’

  Marco tensed and his voice was a low growl. ‘I don’t need that lecture from you.’

  ‘Good.’ Nick gave a cool smile. ‘Then I won’t give it.’

  ‘He’s getting these headaches,’ the woman said, pulling the little boy onto her lap. ‘Always behind the left eye and he says it’s like a drilling pain.’

  Amy glanced at the child’s notes, checking that there was nothing in his history that she should know about. ‘And what’s he like when he gets the headache, Sue? Can he still play or does he have to go and lie down?’

  ‘I give him paracetamol syrup and he lies down. Then he’s generally up and playing within about an hour and a half. The syrup works really well.’

  Amy turned to the child. ‘And when you have your bad headache, Harry, do you feel sick?’

  ‘Sometimes I feel a bit churny in my stomach.’

  ‘A bit churny.’ Smiling at the description, Amy gave a sympathetic nod. ‘Are you actually sick?’