She’d thought it both pretty and feminine when she’d bought it but now she couldn’t help thinking that it looked rather, well, ordinary. Was it really the sort of dress a woman would wear to introduce the man in her life to her family?
She hesitated, not sure whether she should change into something else. The problem was what? She had never been in this situation before and wasn’t sure what would be suitable for the occasion. What did a woman in love wear?
A light knock on her door made her jump. She hurried to answer it and was surprised to find Luke outside.
‘One of your neighbours let me in as he was leaving,’ he explained as he stepped inside. ‘I didn’t know if you’d heard me blowing the horn.’
‘I did. I was on my way down when I had second thoughts about what I’m wearing.’ She cast an uncertain glance down. ‘I’m not sure if this fits the bill or not.’
He frowned as his eyes swept over her. ‘What’s wrong with it?’ He suddenly laughed. ‘If you’re fishing for compliments then I can honestly and truly say that you look lovely, Maggie.’
She flushed. ‘I wasn’t! It’s just that I want to make the right impression.’ She shrugged when she realised that he didn’t understand. ‘This is supposed to be a big occasion, isn’t it? And I want to look the part. If my parents are to believe this story we’ve concocted then I need to look like…like…’
The words seemed to clog in her throat. Luke’s smile was unusually gentle as he looked at her. ‘Like a woman in love looks? Is that what you mean?’
She nodded because it was impossible to actually speak. It was the way he was looking at her, with eyes that looked as dark and fathomless as the ocean. If she weren’t careful she could find herself starting to believe this fantasy they were creating…
‘Exactly!’ She took a deep breath to rid herself of that foolish notion. ‘Seeing as I have absolutely no experience of a situation like this, I wasn’t sure if I had got the clothes and everything just right to fit the occasion.’
‘Well, I’m no expert but I’d say the dress is perfect.’ Once again his eyes skimmed over her and she felt a ripple race down her spine. She was so intent on not letting him see the effect he’d had that she didn’t anticipate his next move. Her heart skipped a beat when he suddenly stepped closer.
‘But your hair…? No, your hair needs to be different, I’d say.’
Maggie froze when she felt his fingers burrowing into her hair. She had twisted it into a coil on the crown of her head and secured it in place with hair pins which he was now in the process of removing.
‘What are you doing?’ she squeaked, lifting a restraining hand as he plucked out another pin. ‘Don’t! It’s taken me ages to get it like this!’
‘But you want to look the part, don’t you?’ He grinned at her, not at all abashed by the damage he was causing to her immaculate styling. Neatly evading her hands, he removed the last few pins so that the silky tangle of curls fell around her shoulders. ‘A woman in love should look touchable, not all neat and tidy. Turn round and I’ll show you what I mean.’
Before she could utter a word, he had spun her round to face the mirror. She watched in shocked silence as he eased his fingers through her hair to separate the strands. Her hair was very thick and the dark brown curls twined around his fingers so that it took him some time to achieve the effect he wanted.
She felt a slow pulsing begin in her temples as she watched what he was doing in the mirror. He was standing so close behind her that she felt his thigh brush her bottom when he moved and the pulsing seemed to spread through her whole body until it felt as though every nerve was throbbing.
Luke must have felt the shiver she gave because his hands suddenly stilled. His questioning eyes met hers in the glass and her breath caught when she saw the moment when puzzlement turned to comprehension. This time there was a new deliberation about the way his fingers moved over her scalp, an awareness that hadn’t been there before which both shocked and excited her. There was something deeply erotic about standing there, watching what was happening in the mirror.
‘That’s better.’ His voice grated and the rawness it held simply added to the tension that had been building while he’d been teasing her hair into place. Maggie knew in her heart that she should stop what was happening but some deep, inner need drove her on.
‘Better?’ she repeated, her own voice sounding unnaturally husky.
‘Uh-huh.’ His hands fell to her shoulders and she trembled when she felt their warmth on her skin. ‘Better, but not quite perfect…not yet…’
He turned her round to face him and she knew that he was going to kiss her even before his head dipped. There was a moment, one tiny, fragile particle of time, when she almost resisted, and then his mouth found hers…
She gave a small murmur of pleasure as his lips settled over hers. There was nothing harsh about the kiss, nothing to scare her, but everything to please her. She had been kissed before but she couldn’t recall ever feeling the way she did at that moment, her whole being caught up in what was happening. Luke’s mouth seemed to draw a response from some place deep inside her so that she was trembling when he raised his head at last.
‘Now that’s perfect.’ He turned her back to face the mirror, his hands firm on her shoulders as he held her there. ‘See what I mean?’
Maggie barely recognised the face staring back at her. Was that really her? she thought wonderingly, studying the passion-drugged eyes, the pouting lips, the tumbling curls of the woman in the mirror. It looked like her and yet it didn’t because she’d never imagined that she could look like that.
‘Your mother will take one look at you, Maggie, and she’ll be convinced. You look exactly how a woman who has just been kissed should look, so we won’t need to tell any lies. Your mother will believe what she sees with her own eyes.’
He let her go and went to the door. Maggie took a deep breath but it did little to ease the pain she felt. Luke had kissed her purely as a means to an end. He’d wanted to make sure that she looked the part and she did, she most certainly did!
She cast one last look at her reflection then turned away, not needing or wanting to see anything more. She certainly didn’t need to look at herself to know what a fool she’d been. Just for a moment she’d forgotten that this was all an act but she wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Luke wasn’t the marrying kind and she had to remember that. She must never—ever—let herself forget it!
CHAPTER SIX
‘HE IS so charming, so handsome, so…so perfect! I couldn’t be happier for you, cara.’
Maggie summoned a smile as Sofia Carr wiped away a tear of joy. Lunch was over and, at her mother’s request, she was in the kitchen, making coffee. However, she suspected that it had been an excuse to get her on her own so she steeled herself for the forthcoming interrogation.
‘Nonna said that you two had got on well when she introduced you, but I had no idea that Luke had followed you back to England!’
‘He didn’t!’ Maggie heard the snap in her voice and quickly moderated her tone. ‘Luke didn’t know that I worked at Dalverston General because I never told him. It was pure coincidence that he happened to be offered a place there on the exchange scheme.’
‘Si?’ Sofia frowned before her face suddenly cleared. She was an older, plumper version of her daughter, her dark hair only lightly threaded with grey even though she’d recently celebrated her fiftieth birthday.
‘Ah, but Nonna probably told him. I shall ask her but I am sure that is what must have happened. Luke found out where you were working and that is why he decided to come here. It is just so…so romantico!’
Maggie only just managed not to grind her teeth. Picking up the coffee-pot, she plonked it on the tray. Romantic wasn’t the word she’d use to describe what had happened that day. When she thought about how Luke had kissed her—or rather why he had done so—she could have spit!
She took the tray out to the garden before her
mother noticed there was anything wrong. However, it didn’t help to calm her temper when she saw Luke comfortably ensconced in one of the garden chairs. That he’d been an instant hit with her family wasn’t in any doubt. He’d charmed her mother, impressed her father and made friends with her brothers. Maybe she should have been pleased that the day had gone so well but she was too angry about what had happened earlier to appreciate it. How could she have been such a fool as to let him kiss her like that?
She dumped the tray onto a wrought-iron table and went to pick up the coffee-pot, only to stop as a large hand covered hers. ‘Let me do that, darling. You sit down and relax.’
Luke’s smile was warm when she looked up. Maggie knew that to her watching family it must have looked like a tender exchange between lovers. However, she could see the amusement in his eyes even if they couldn’t, and her temper soared another few degrees up the scale.
‘Oh, no, I wouldn’t hear of it!’ She fixed a sickly smile to her mouth as she turned to their audience. ‘Luke would spoil me dreadfully if I let him. He’s so considerate and always puts me first whatever he does.’
‘I enjoy spoiling you, darling. I’d do it more often if I got the chance.’ He deftly removed the pot from her hands and put it on the tray. Taking hold of her shoulders, he steered her towards the chair he had vacated. ‘So no arguing otherwise I’ll be really angry with you!’
Everyone laughed when he pulled a wry face to show that he hadn’t meant it. However, Maggie saw his mouth tighten as he turned away and hid a grim little smile. It was obvious that her comment had struck home. Good! It was about time he realised that he couldn’t have everything his own way.
She deliberately ignored him as she turned to her father and asked what he’d been doing in the garden. Robert Carr had become an enthusiastic gardener since his retirement and he immediately launched into an account of a new type of rose that he’d been cultivating. Maggie listened with genuine interest, although she couldn’t help being aware of Luke as he poured the coffee and handed round the cups.
He set one on the ground beside her and she murmured her thanks without looking at him. Her mother had come outside now and there was a bit of shuffling around as everyone made room for her. They were one chair short so Luke opted to sit on the grass, refusing her mother’s offer to fetch one of the dining-room chairs.
‘No, it’s fine, really,’ he assured Sofia, settling himself on the grass beside Maggie. He picked up his cup then leant against her chair while he drank his coffee. ‘I’m perfectly comfortable here.’
Maggie felt a tingling dance across her skin as his head brushed her arm. It was a warm day and his hair felt cool against her hot skin. She bent down to retrieve her own cup, grateful for the excuse to break the contact because she found it so disturbing, only once again he forestalled her.
‘Let me get that for you.’ He passed her the cup, frowning when she jerked her hand back so sharply as their fingers brushed that coffee slopped into the saucer. ‘You’d better let me wash that,’ he offered, taking the cup off her again. ‘I wouldn’t want you dripping coffee all over your dress.’
‘It’s all right…’ she began, but he didn’t appear to have heard her as he got up and went into the house. She tried to concentrate as her parents started to tell her about the holiday they’d booked for later that year, but her nerves were so tightly strung that it was an effort to follow what they were saying.
If Luke had this effect on her after just one afternoon in his company then how would she feel after six months? she wondered sickly. Suddenly, she knew that she couldn’t continue the charade. It simply wasn’t worth trying to solve one problem by creating another!
She shot to her feet, wanting to tell him straight away that she’d changed her mind. Her mother looked at her in surprise and Maggie flushed. She was so overwhelmed by guilt about the way she’d set out to deceive her family that she couldn’t meet Sofia’s eyes.
‘I’d better go and see if Luke needs any help,’ she muttered, using the first excuse she could think of to make her escape.
‘Of course, cara.’ Sofia exchanged an indulgent look with her husband and Maggie groaned as she hurried towards the house. Did her mother think that she couldn’t bear to be away from Luke even for a few minutes?
Probably! In fact, she’d bet her last pound that Sofia was already making plans about their future, and the thought made her feel guiltier than ever. They must have been mad to have dreamt up this crazy scheme!
Luke had just finished rinsing the cup and saucer when she went into the kitchen. He turned off the tap then glanced round. ‘I could have managed…’ he began, then stopped when he saw her face. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘What’s right, you mean,’ she shot back. ‘We must have been crazy to think we could get away with this. It’s obvious it isn’t going to work!’
‘Obvious to whom?’ he asked evenly. ‘Your parents seem happy enough with the idea. I’d say it was working out perfectly.’
‘Would you indeed? Well, that’s just fine, then, isn’t it?’ It was difficult to keep a rein on her temper as all the pain she’d felt earlier on realising how she’d been duped came rushing back. ‘It doesn’t matter that I think we’ve made a mistake so long as you are happy about it!’
‘This has all to do with what happened earlier, hasn’t it?’ His tone was sharp all of a sudden. Maggie felt a tremor run through her when she heard the edge it held. Suddenly, the last thing she wanted was to raise the thorny subject of that kiss, but she couldn’t think of a way to avoid it.
He laughed hollowly when she didn’t answer. ‘I can see that I’m right.’ He turned to take a teatowel off the rack so that it was impossible to see his expression. ‘I apologise for what happened, Maggie. I should never have kissed you. I was out of order.’
‘Why did you do it? Was it just…just to make sure that I looked the part?’ She hadn’t meant to say that. However, it was impossible to take the words back now that she’d uttered them.
‘Yes… No… Hell, I’m not sure why I did it!’
He tossed the teatowel onto the draining-board with barely concealed impatience, but when he turned round she realised that he wasn’t impatient with her but with himself. Her heart started to flutter wildly inside her when she saw a rueful smile cross his face.
‘Great answer, eh? A take-your-pick kind of answer. It’s no wonder you’re confused. I obviously am!’
She laughed but she was surprised that he should be having such difficulty answering her. Had there been more to that kiss than she’d imagined, perhaps? Her heart began to thump as she considered the idea.
‘Let me try again. I kissed you this morning because it seemed like a good idea at the time. You’re a very beautiful woman, Maggie, and I’d need to be blind not to be aware of that.’ His voice was flat this time, giving her no real hint of his feelings. Nevertheless, Maggie sensed that it was a cover for how he really felt and her heart raced that bit faster. ‘However, I promise on my honour that it won’t happen again. The last thing I want is for either of us to end up getting hurt.’
‘I see.’ She cleared her throat when she heard the husky note in her voice. Whether or not Luke found her attractive really wasn’t the issue and she mustn’t allow herself to be sidetracked. ‘But it doesn’t change how I feel. I think we were wrong to dream up this scheme. It’s just going to cause more problems at the end of the day.’
‘I understand that you’re worried about hurting your parents, Maggie. I feel guilty about deceiving them, too, because they’ve made me very welcome. But answer me one question, will you—what would you have done today if I hadn’t agreed to come here with you?’
She frowned, not sure where the question was leading. ‘I’d have come for lunch, I suppose.’
‘Only suppose?’ His tone was wry. ‘That sounds as though you’d have had reservations about coming. Why, Maggie?’
‘Because Mum would probably have had another prospective suitor
lined up for my inspection.’ She sighed as she realised what he was getting at. ‘Forget probably. Make that definitely! And you’re right, of course. In the past few months I’ve been avoiding coming home because of the constant pressure. I love my family dearly but I hate being pushed into doing something I don’t want to do!’
‘Exactly. I know how you feel because it’s the same for me. I love my parents but I find myself making excuses to avoid going to see them.’
His smile was gentle. ‘That can’t be the best way to handle this, can it? Cutting ourselves off from our families isn’t the answer. We’ll end up hurting them more by doing that than by continuing this charade. At least for the next six months we’ll be free to see or speak to them whenever we want to.’
‘Ye-es…’ She sighed. ‘You’re right, of course. I can see that now. It’s just that—’
‘You started having misgivings after what happened this morning.’ His tone was wry. ‘I don’t blame you. It was a crazy thing to do. I realised that almost immediately, which is why I tried to pass it off by pretending I had been preparing you for the role you were about to play!’
He rolled his eyes so that she found herself laughing despite herself. ‘Well, you had me fooled. I honestly and truly believed that it had been a cunning ploy on your behalf!’
‘Method acting?’ he suggested with a twinkle in his eyes. ‘I believe a lot of actors immerse themselves in the parts they’re playing.’
‘Is that a fact? But let’s not get too carried away,’ she retorted dryly. ‘We aren’t aiming for an Oscar for our performances. So long as I drop your name into the conversation the appropriate number of times and drag you along for lunch occasionally, I’m sure my family will be convinced.’
‘I’m sure you’re right. We don’t want to run the risk of going for overkill, do we? In fact, I shall phone my mother tonight and just casually mention that I had lunch with your parents today and leave it at that.’
The Italian Doctor Page 9