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‘I am,’ she retorted. Think you can charm me? Think again, buster. So why the flutter in her tummy? Why the sense of something she couldn’t quite fathom slipping past her fingertips? Her reaction had nothing to do with that sexy voice with a hint of an accent that made her melt inside. No, it had to be the fear of them losing Tommy. There was so much she needed to find out about.
After they’d saved the boy. According to the notes Tommy was fourteen years old. Too young to be in this situation. He hadn’t even begun to experience life, and if his heart didn’t start soon he’d never get the chance.
Squashing the distress flaring within her she focused on the monitors and pleaded for Tommy’s weary heart to start pumping, itching to take over the compressions, feeling ridiculously useless as everyone worked well together.
The room went quiet as everyone concentrated on bringing Tommy back to life. More compressions, drugs and oxygen. Finally, Forelli sucked a lungful and commanded, ‘Stop.’ Everyone held their breath and watched the monitor’s screen.
At last a rhythm appeared. A collective sigh of relief and a thankful ‘Yes’ resounded around the small room.
Alex fought to keep her shoulders from slumping. That had been too close. ‘Is Tommy’s mother in the hospital?’ she asked Kay after she’d administered another dose of adrenaline.
‘No. She usually comes in about nine and spends an hour or two with Tommy before going back home to work. She’s still got her old job, working online. A tax lawyer for the government, I think. I’ll phone her to come in early.’
‘Thanks, Kay. I’ll talk to Mrs Jenkins when she gets in. In the meantime I’d like to be brought up to date on everyone else on the ward.’ Her eyes clashed with Forelli’s pewter-coloured gaze. ‘That includes you.’
He shrugged eloquently. ‘No problem.’
‘We’ll talk after I’ve spoken to whoever’s in charge of Tommy’s case.’
Those eyes twinkled at her. ‘That would be me. I’ve been taking care of this young man since he was admitted for the first time a month ago.’ Before she knew what was happening Forelli put out his right hand to engulf hers in a warm, firm grip. ‘We haven’t had a chance to meet properly. Mario Forelli. Your new paediatrician.’ He shook her hand, but didn’t immediately let her go, holding her hand in an almost caress.
‘Excuse me?’ She tugged free, trying to ignore the spear of warmth zooming up her arm. ‘Do you mind telling me how you fit in here?’ Talk about being on the back foot in her own department.
‘Certainly. Shall we each grab a coffee and go to your office, maybe after I’ve talked to Carla Jenkins?’
Her eyes locked on to Mario Forelli. Another charmer. The world seemed full of them. And yet his return gaze showed understanding and commiseration at her situation. Which rattled her further, cranking her stress levels dangerously high. Breathe deep, one, two, three. ‘Thank you. I’d appreciate it.’
She headed for the nurses’ station. Mr Forelli strode alongside her, towering above her, making her feel even shorter than usual. Strangely, that didn’t bother her the way it usually did. Who was this guy? How did he so easily get under her skin? She spun around to get a better look at him and tripped over her own feet. She would’ve fallen flat on her face if he hadn’t caught her elbow.
‘Careful.’
‘Thanks.’ Again. Alex glared up at this disturbing man, and stretched onto the toes of her new Italian shoes from Los Angeles. Still way too short for level eye contact. For that she’d need a small ladder. Grr.
‘Mario, can I get your signature on this letter?’ Averill, Alex’s secretary, stood in front of them, a dazzling smile on her face as she peered up at Mario.
‘Sure.’ He reached for the pad and pen being held out to him.
‘Ah, hum. Excuse me.’ Alex looked from Averill to Mario.
Her secretary finally dragged her eyes sideways and recognised Alex. ‘Hi, Alex, you’re back.’
‘Yes, I’m back.’ Since when did Averill come in so early? The starstruck look on the older woman’s face held the answer. Since Mr Forelli had started working here. Alex continued watching the pair of them but had to admit the new doctor wasn’t encouraging Averill in any way whatsoever.
Mario handed the pen and memo back, his signature scrawled across the bottom. ‘There you go.’
As her secretary scuttled away Alex damped down the sudden fear brought on by her own stupid insecurities and rounded on Mr Forelli to demand some answers. The words dried on her tongue when her eyes clashed with his.
‘Averill wasn’t going over your head to get me to sign that. It was a letter from me to the board about my tenure.’ When she again tried to speak he held his hand up. ‘We’ll talk as soon as we get our patients sorted. Okay?’
‘Oh, fine, thanks.’ What was she thanking him for? Flustered she looked away. If she went home and started her day again would it get any better? Another glance in his direction didn’t clear anything up. Instead his open face and friendly eyes beguiled her. And his practical approach undermined her concerns, told her she had nothing to worry about.
‘One hour.’ He waved at her as he headed down the ward. ‘Hopefully.’
Did she mention how he stole her breath away?
Kay stopped on her way past and joined her in watching Forelli’s progress down the ward. ‘Delectable, don’t you think?’
‘No, I don’t.’ He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever met. Just standing in front of him makes me feel tiny and delicate.
‘You’re the only woman on the ward to think so. He’s charmed every female within miles.’ Kay chuckled. ‘He’s got the staff falling over one another to help him out.’
Why am I not surprised? Those smiles alone would get him anything he wanted. But not from her. No, she was here to work, not play. Disappointment flared. Playing with Mr Forelli after hours might be fun, exciting even. ‘How long’s he been working here?’
When her head nurse didn’t answer Alex turned around to see Kay quickly disappearing behind the nurses’ station, her gaze intent on the file in her hand. Right. Alex followed, wondering how she could wait a whole hour to learn more about Mr Forelli.
Suddenly it dawned on her she was letting everything get out of control. She still hadn’t caught up on the patients. Mr Forelli’s presence had knocked her sideways. Since when did she let these things faze her? Come on. You worry too much. There were bound to be some changes made during your absence. Hospitals don’t stand still.
Little more than one hour back on the ward and she was shattered. And she’d thought touring was hard work.
‘Welcome home, Alex,’ she muttered. Would anyone notice if she walked away, grabbed a flight to anywhere and buried her head in the clouds for another day? Probably not if what she’d seen of Mr Forelli was anything to go by. He was definitely in charge—of her department.
CHAPTER TWO
‘SO THAT’S THE wonderful Miss Prendergast.’ Mario’s hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Imperious despite being as confused as all be it. Did she honestly think the whole ward had been waiting, going nowhere, achieving nothing, until she returned to the helm?
She hadn’t exactly rushed him with her enthusiasm at his presence. What she had done was disturb him deep inside where he hid his emotions. Right now that pool of feelings was swirling, putting him on high alert. If she could do this to him in such a short time she was dangerous to his equilibrium. Very dangerous. He needed to exercise caution. But how when just being near all that loveliness tied up in a mouth-watering package made him feel drunk. She was a neat package that reminded him of what he’d been missing out on for nearly a year, and what he did not have the time for now—a sex life.
His teeth ground hard as he cursed under his breath. He really enjoyed this job, but today it was shaping up to be a pain in the butt. Or a tickle in his hormone department.
Worse, like an ungainly teen, he’d struggled to stop ogling at her exquisite features: high cheekbones, pert nose, flawless skin. Not to mention that gleaming auburn hair locked up in a knot so tight not one strand could escape. ‘She’s so tiny. Yet her reputation is huge.’ A powerhouse on heels.
As he continued to study her it dawned on him that he’d been expecting an Amazon woman to match the stories he’d heard about her—a demanding, punishing doctor who expected unsurpassed devotion towards the patients from each and every member of her staff, who accepted nothing but the finest care and treatment for every child entering this ward, and would do whatever it took to get it. Including, so he’d been told, reading stories to wee tots at all hours of the night and day. So he had that much in common with her. He’d also heard she cared a lot for her staff.
Those amazing green eyes, filled with angry questions, had sizzled at him, bursting with frustration because she didn’t know what was going on in her domain. Never mind she’d been away a third of the year. Admittedly he fully understood her feelings. He’d be the same in a similar situation. Scema.
He’d expected it. Even in Italy he’d heard of Alexandra Prendergast and her groundbreaking theories on dealing with premature infants. He’d read the paper she’d written and had been keen to meet her, to work with her. Who hadn’t?
Why hadn’t she taken up a grand position in a large hospital overseas? Mistakes in her past? Something had rattled her in Tommy’s room. There’d been a fear lurking in her eyes until the boy’s heart restarted. Whatever caused it had tugged at his heartstrings, had made him want to wrap her up in a hug and protect her. As if she’d let him even try. As if he had time for another female, another broken soul, to look out for.
Because right now his focus had to be totally on Sophia. Which left no room in his life for anything, anyone, else. Sophia ruled everything including his heart. Getting his wee daughter’s life back on track, making her happy and, hopefully, finally winning spontaneous smiles from her sweet cupid’s mouth was paramount. Everything else was on hold for as long as it took and beyond.
He shrugged. Enough conjecturing. His first move would be to explain his presence without going into any personal details. Was it too much to hope she wouldn’t notice the six-month gap in his CV? The CV the board’s chairman insisted he show Alexandra, even though the job was his. Maybe he could forestall too many questions by talking about the reason for Liz’s abrupt departure from the department.
Sighing, Mario finally managed to stop staring and instead called to her. ‘Do you want to join me when I talk to Carla Jenkins?’
Her eyes lightened and that tautness in her shoulders relaxed. ‘Yes. I should meet her.’
Just then a distressed woman in her thirties burst out of the lift and shot straight towards him, tears streaming down her cheeks. ‘Mario, what’s happened? Is Tommy all right?’ Carla rushed at him. ‘Kay told me to come in immediately. What’s wrong?’
Mario looked into Carla’s imploring eyes and had one of those moments when he hated his job. He understood her fears. Really understood them. He’d be absolutely terrified if Sophia’s heart had stopped. ‘Tommy’s fine now but his heart stopped for a while.’ He paused to let his words sink in. When Carla’s eyes widened and her bottom lip trembled, he pressed her shoulder gently, and repeated, ‘He’s all right now.’
‘I have to see him.’ Fear and despair laced Carla’s voice. ‘I shouldn’t have moved here, but it was so hard dealing with this on my own after everything else.’
‘Tommy’s no worse off being here. His heart would’ve stopped if he’d been in Auckland.’ Taking Carla’s elbow Mario gently led her into a visitors’ room. ‘The nurses are staying with him and you can see him once I’ve explained what happened.’
Alexandra followed and shut the door firmly. Then she reiterated his first statement. ‘Tommy’s heart is beating fine now.’
‘Who are you? Why did it stop? Are you sure he’s all right?’ Carla stopped the torrent of words and swallowed hard. Tears gleamed at the corners of her eyes as she stared at the door as though wishing Tommy would walk through and hug her. Her fingers were tightly interlaced against her stomach, her elbows taut and awkward at her sides. ‘Sorry. I freaked when Kay phoned.’
‘Take a seat, Carla.’ Mario parked his backside on the edge of the small table. ‘This is Miss Prendergast. You’ve heard about her and she’ll be part of Tommy’s medical team from now on. She’s very experienced and Tommy couldn’t be in better hands.’ Hell, Tommy was getting excellent care in his hands.
Glancing around, he found Alexandra’s eyebrows lifting ever so slightly as she listened to him, amusement blinking back at him from those emerald eyes. Had he gone overboard with his compliment? With a shrug, he got back to the main reason they were all shut in this airless room. ‘Do you recall the conversation you and I had when Tommy was first admitted? About what to expect at this stage of Tommy’s disease?’
‘Yes, but I hoped you were wrong. No, I prayed you didn’t know what you were talking about. They didn’t put it so bluntly in Auckland. I’m sorry.’ Carla sagged further.
Mario winced. There was nothing to be gained by keeping a patient’s family in the dark. But then Carla and her son had been dealing with another tragedy, and anything else might’ve overwhelmed them at the time.
Alexandra took the empty seat beside the woman and reached for Carla’s hands. So here was Miss Prendergast’s softer side. ‘It’s very understandable for you to hope for better. I’d probably do the same thing if I was in your situation.’ She shook Carla’s hands gently. ‘But as doctors we don’t have that luxury. We have to be prepared for anything to happen so that we can do our very best for Tommy.’
Carla lifted her pain-filled eyes to Alexandra’s face. ‘Thank you.’
Mario watched as Alexandra talked softly, explaining the situation once again, having gone from confused to kind and compassionate in a flash. Amazing how her own priorities had been put aside for a suffering parent. He was impressed. This was the soft caramel specialist he’d heard about.
Alexandra said to Carla, ‘What you can keep believing is that we’re doing everything possible for Tommy.’
Carla’s bottom lip trembled but she blinked hard and held herself very straight. ‘I do, but I’m afraid of losing him.’
Mario murmured, ‘S?. It is very hard for you. But Tommy’s fighting hard. He won’t give in. I’ve seen it in his eyes.’
He noted Alexandra listening as carefully as Carla. Sussing him out? Making sure he was up to speed on the job? That rankled. He’d worked in some of the best hospitals in England and Italy. He had an excellent reputation as a surgeon for the little ones. This hospital board had been more than happy to accept his qualifications. Miss Prendergast had to accept him, like it or not. Starting now.
He stood abruptly. The desperate need in Carla’s eyes to see her son gave him the perfect excuse to cut this conversation short. Carla probably couldn’t take in any more right now anyway. Taking her elbow he said, ‘Come. We’ll visit your son.’
He accompanied the woman to Tommy’s room where he spent time checking the boy over again. Finally he stepped back and left Carla gripping Tommy’s hand and talking soothing mother things while watching her precious son as though he was about to vaporise into thin air.
His heart stuttered. Sophia’s mother had never been there for her child. Too busy having a good time to want to be tied down by her daughter. How the hell had she not loved sweet, lovable Sophia? What he wouldn’t do to tell Lucy exactly what he thought of her.
As a father he connected with Carla’s emotions. The two times Sophia had been severely ill he’d taken her hands in his and hung on for dear life, willing his own life source into her, urging her to come back to him. It had drained him completely, taken days to recover from, but he was her father and fathers gave their all to their bambinos. So should all mothers.
‘Have you got time to join me on the ward round?’ Alexandra spoke quietly from beside him. ‘Or do you want to stay with those two a while longer? I don’t mind waiting if you do.’
When he turned his head and looked down he met the direct but empathetic gaze of this enigmatic woman. ‘They don’t need me at the moment. Probably better off having time alone. Let’s go over patient notes in Kay’s cubbyhole she proudly calls her office. I’ll bring you up to speed.’
‘Right.’
Right. That’s it? Did that mean she was accepting his presence? Did she realise he’d been doing her job while she was away? Not to mention filling in for Liz. ‘Right,’ he snapped back, suddenly tired of this, wanting to clear the air between them now, not after they’d completed their round. But the interns were waiting, grouped around the nurses’ station, reading notes, and pestering the nurses. His teeth ground on a curse. He’d have to wait.
At Kay’s door he stood back to allow Alexandra to enter first, and as she passed he drew a lungful of sweet spring air that reminded him of freesias. On a freezing winter’s day? What was wrong with him? It was as though his brain had gone to hell in a wheelbarrow, leaving him delusional. It certainly wasn’t because he was attracted to this woman. Absolutely not. He liked his women pliable and fun, not to mention tall and blonde. Fun especially didn’t seem to fit Alexandra. Maybe he could show her some? Bah! Dumb idea. Perturbed at the direction his thoughts were heading he studied Alexandra from behind.
The shapeless white coat did not enhance her figure, but neither did it detract from her attributes. Her slim neck and cute ears poking from above the crinkled white collar appeared delicate. Nothing like the real Miss Prendergast at all.
‘Hi, Mario. How’s Sophia this morning?’ Kay grinned at him.
‘As quiet and good as ever.’ Sadness struck as he thought of his daughter and her fear of doing something naughty. At times he almost wished she’d throw a tantrum or refuse to do what he asked of her, instead of her quiet sobs in the night and her need to behave perfectly so no one would growl at her. It wasn’t normal to be so good. He’d probably never know everything that had happened to her before he’d come into her life. And for now it was more important to help her overcome the past, not make an issue of it. The only way he knew how to do that was to provide stability and loads of unconditional love, things she’d never experienced in her short and sad life.
‘I found some of my boys’ books and brought them in for Sophia. I hope they’re not too young for her but I was thinking that as she’s learning to read they’d be a good place to start.’
‘I’m sure Sophia will enjoy them. She loves all sorts of books. Just like her dad.’ His chest swelled, while at the same time he squashed a pang of annoyance. It was his place to provide everything Sophia needed. If he just had the time to go shopping.
Alexandra’s eyes were flicking back and forth between him and Kay, puzzlement darkening the green to the colour of pine needles. ‘Sophia’s my daughter,’ he informed her. Maybe telling her something personal would soften her attitude towards him. ‘She’s four years old.’
‘She’s gorgeous,’ added Kay, making his heart swell more.
‘Of course she’s gorgeous.’ She’s mine.
Alexandra’s eyes widened but she only said, ‘Let’s take a look at the patient files, shall we?’
‘S?.’ Antagonising this woman wouldn’t help anyone, least of all him. He had no intention of finding another specialist position in another city. Nelson was where he belonged, where Sophia now belonged. They were here to stay—forever.
So buying a ticket to Mars was not an option, even if, at this very moment with Alexandra eyeing him up like something the cat had dragged in, all that isolation seemed like bliss.
As Kay handed Alexandra the first file she said in an aside to him, ‘I also brought in a chicken casserole for you to take home tonight. I made far too much for us to get through.’
‘You’re as transparent as glass.’ Mario smiled. ‘Thank you, but I really wish you wouldn’t. I do cook for Sophia every day.’ No need to admit that more often than not he heated up something from the freezer, or that often by the time he did have food ready Sophia had fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the TV.
‘Just helping you out.’ Kay winked, totally unperturbed by his annoyed tone. ‘Don’t forget to take the dinner home this time.’
Oops. So she’d noticed that the last meal sat in the staff fridge for days before he remembered it was there. Contrite, he smiled. ‘I promise I won’t.’ Quickly scrawling a word on the palm of his hand he shoved his pen back into his pocket and looked up, straight into the amused look on Alexandra’s face.
‘You don’t write memos on your hand?’ he asked.
‘No, I don’t. I have an excellent memory.’
‘Unfortunately.’ Kay grinned. ‘There are times when we all wish you could forget what you’ve told us to do.’
Startled, Alexandra looked away from this annoying man to gawp at Kay. ‘Am I that much of a taskmaster?’
The nurse rolled her eyes and widened her grin. ‘The only thing missing is the whip.’
Kay was teasing. Right? A little? What if the staff did think she went too far with her demands of them? ‘I can be difficult at times, yes, but I’m only thinking of my patients. I’m not a tyrant. Am I?’ She’d been away too long. This was where she faced the world from, wrapping the ward and its inhabitants around her like a security blanket. Now worry gnawed at her. Because she’d found everyone falling over backwards to please Mr Forelli?
Kay chuckled. ‘Your little patients adore you, their parents trust you and we all like working here. There, satisfied?’
Mario cleared his throat. ‘The patient files?’
The files. Her head jerked up, turning in the direction of that voice that reminded her of red wine and crackers by the fire. Mario Forelli. To be going off on a self-pity tangent was so unlike her. She was tired, and the dregs of her headache still knocked at her skull, but they weren’t good enough reasons for this ridiculous behaviour.
Kay tapped her shoulder. ‘You’re doing it again, going all pale on me.’
