by Sarah Morgan
Tia found Dawn back on her bed.
‘How are you this morning?’ She settled herself in the chair opposite and glanced into the cot. ‘Fast asleep?’
Dawn rolled her eyes. ‘At last. She’s been awake virtually all night. If anyone wakes her up I’ll strangle them with my bare hands.’
Tia grinned. ‘That bad, huh?’
‘How do mothers ever recover?’ Dawn lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes. ‘I’m shattered.’
Tia’s smile faded. The woman did look tired. ‘Tonight, why not ask the night staff to put her in the nursery for a few hours? They’ll bring her to you when she needs feeding, but it just means that they’ll settle her for you after the feed and you won’t be woken by every snuffle.’
Dawn gave a wan smile. ‘The trouble is, I’ll be woken by everyone else’s babies’ snuffles. I’ve discovered that hospitals are not restful places.’
‘That’s true, but we can certainly give it a go.’ Tia glanced up and felt her heart turn over as Luca strode down the ward with the rest of the team. ‘I think the doctors want to take a look at you.’
Dawn struggled to sit up but Luca stopped her with a wave of his hand. ‘Don’t move. Just tell me how you feel.’
‘All right, I suppose.’ Dawn blushed slightly. ‘A bit sore.’
Luca nodded and then questioned her quietly about her blood loss and asked if she’d had any pain.
Just as Dawn finished answering the baby woke and started to bawl.
‘Oh, I don’t believe it.’ Dawn gave a horrified groan. ‘I’d only just got her off. She can’t be hungry.’
‘Perhaps she just needs a hug?’ Luca lifted an eyebrow towards Dawn, seeking permission to pick the baby up, and she nodded.
‘Be my guest. I think my arms are too tired to hold her.’
Luca scooped the bawling bundle up carefully and tucked her expertly on his shoulder.
‘Did you hear your mama?’ His voice was deep and gentle as he spoke to the baby. ‘She says that you cannot possibly be hungry, so maybe you just had a bad dream, hmm?’
Ignoring the rest of his colleagues, who were looking at him in amazement, he switched to Italian and talked quietly to the baby, his voice softening as the baby’s eyes started to close again.
Within moments the baby was asleep again, lulled by his deep voice and the soothing touch of his hands.
Carefully he laid her back in the cot and smiled at the mother. ‘Hopefully you can now have five minutes’ peace.’
Dawn was wide eyed with amazement. ‘How did you do that? Thank you.’
‘Prego.’ Luca inclined his head and then issued some instructions to Dr Ford who was looking as elegant as ever.
Tia watched them move on to the next patient and held back a sigh.
‘He is truly gorgeous,’ Dawn muttered, shifting herself into a more comfortable position. ‘I tell you, I would have swapped places with my daughter if I could! I wonder what it would be like to have a man like that run his hands over you and speak to you in Italian.’
Tia stared after Luca’s broad shoulders and felt her insides twist.
She knew exactly what it felt like.
Incredible.
‘Tia?’ Julie walked up, stethoscope looped around her neck. ‘I’ve checked baby Adams and she’s fine. As far as I’m concerned, they can go home.’
‘Thanks.’ Tia pulled herself together and went to check that Fiona was all set for her discharge.
She was, and she and Mike gazed proudly at their daughter, safely strapped in her new car seat.
‘She looks so tiny in that.’ Fiona’s voice wobbled slightly and Mike gave her shoulder a squeeze.
‘Yeah, and in no time she’s going to be nagging you for make-up and trendy clothes, so make the most of it. At least at this age they don’t run up a phone bill.’
Tia walked down the corridor with them and waited while they climbed into the lift.
‘Are you off, Fiona?’ Sharon bustled up and said her goodbyes and then grabbed Tia by the arm. ‘Kettle’s boiled.’
‘What am I going to do?’ Tia stared at her friend helplessly. ‘He wants us to spend time together and get to know each other.’
Sharon spooned sugar into her coffee and stirred it thoughtfully. ‘I’d say that’s a good idea.’ She dropped the spoon into an empty mug and picked up her coffee. ‘Tia, you’re crazy about the man. Stop looking for problems. Whatever did—or didn’t—happen with Luisa, he’s clearly chosen you. Accept that and move on.’
‘But I don’t know whether he’s just chosen me because of the baby.’
‘So ask him,’ Sharon suggested. ‘Maybe it’s time you were honest. Tell him what you heard about Luisa and see what he says.’
‘No,’ Tia said flatly. ‘If I have to ask him, I’ll never be able to trust him again. He has to tell me himself.’
Sharon sighed. ‘Tia, not everyone is a rat like your father.’
‘No?’ Tia’s eyes were suddenly overly bright. ‘But how do I know for sure? I don’t find it easy to trust men.’
‘I know that.’ Sharon gave a wry smile. ‘I didn’t think that you’d ever get married—’ She broke off and flushed, suddenly realising what she’d said. ‘Not that you did, of course, but you nearly did—’
‘Before I realised what a complete fool I was being.’
‘You weren’t being a fool,’ Sharon said firmly. ‘You love Luca, Tia.’
‘Do I?’ Tia closed her eyes for a second. ‘Do you know, I’m not even sure of that any more.’
Sharon looked perplexed. ‘Well, how does he make you feel when you’re with him?’
‘I don’t know.’ Tia shook her head. ‘Breathless. Confused. Dizzy. Sick. Excited.’
Desperate.
Desperate for him to drag her into his arms and make love to her.
‘To be honest, he has such a powerful effect on me physically that I can’t work out how I feel about him,’ Tia admitted finally. ‘It’s like being a teenager again. If he’s even in the same room as me I feel weak.’
Sharon gave a smug, self-satisfied grin. ‘You see? I always said it would happen like that for you. I always said that you’d be swept off your feet if you found the right man.’
The right man.
Was that Luca?
She’d certainly thought that he was but now, after everything that had happened, she wasn’t so sure.
‘How do you tell the difference between lust and love?’
Sharon pursed her lips thoughtfully and stared into her drink. ‘Well, I suppose the answer to that is that you take lust out of the equation.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You do what he says. Literally.’ Sharon gave a little shrug. ‘You get to know each other properly. You know, talking, long walks, laughter, dinner. But no bed.’
‘No bed?’ Tia looked at her stupidly and Sharon grinned.
‘Tough one, huh? Personally I can’t imagine living with a man like Luca and having no bed, but I suppose it does make sense in a sort of twisted way. It seems to me that all you’ve shared so far is passion and none of the other things that you share when you’re developing a relationship with someone. Maybe if you knew him better you’d know whether he was the sort of person likely to have an affair.’
‘It isn’t always stamped on a man’s forehead, you know,’ Tia mumbled. ‘My poor mother thought my father loved her, was faithful, and then—’
‘Yes,’ Sharon interrupted her quickly, ‘but let’s not think about that now. You’re not throwing away the chance of a relationship with a man like Luca just because your father was less than perfect.’
‘But—’
‘Just give it a go, Tia,’ Sharon advised. ‘What have you got to lose? If you decide that it isn’t going to work, that you really can’t trust him, then go your separate ways. You won’t be any worse off for giving it a try.’
Tia stared at her. Wouldn’t she?
Maybe Sharon was ri
ght. On the other hand, she had an uncomfortable feeling that the more time she spent with Luca, the harder it would be to let him go.
‘But we’re so different, Shaz,’ she said simply. ‘Even forgetting about the Luisa thing, we’re different. For a start, he hates me working and you know that I need to work.’
‘I think once he gets to know you, he’ll understand why you need to work.’ Sharon’s face was suddenly serious. ‘You say that you don’t really know him, but how much does he really know about you?’
Tia felt her heart flutter in her chest. ‘Probably not very much.’
Sharon nodded slowly. ‘It strikes me that the pair of you have got too many secrets. Have you told him that you’ve always been scared of having children?’
‘Hardly.’ Tia gripped her mug tightly. ‘He’s Italian, Shaz,’ she croaked. ‘Italian men love children. How can I possibly tell him that I’m terrified of being a mother?’
‘I think what’s important is that you’re honest with each other, and I really think that you need to tell him what you heard his mother and Luisa saying the day of your wedding.’
‘No.’ Tia shook her head stubbornly. ‘Definitely not that. That is something that he needs to tell me himself.’
But would he?
CHAPTER FOUR
‘YOU’RE very quiet,’ Luca observed as he drove them both home. ‘Are you upset?’
Upset and confused.
Tia glanced sideways at him and then wished she hadn’t. Every time she looked at his mouth her stomach swooped in the direction of her shoes and she felt an almost desperate need for him to kiss her as only he could.
‘This whole situation is such a mess,’ she muttered, rubbing slim fingers over her forehead to ease the tension. ‘We don’t know each other, Luca.’
Luca’s gaze didn’t leave the road. ‘And there is a simple solution to that, as we have already agreed. We get to know each other.’ He turned into the lane that led to the cottage, pulled up and switched the engine off. ‘Have you considered what I proposed earlier?’
The smooth Italian accent was enough to melt a polar icecap and she felt her heart start to beat faster. It had always been like that with Luca. One look, one word had been all it took to set her on fire. He hadn’t actually needed to touch her to get a reaction, but when he had…
But could there really be more between them than a breathtakingly powerful attraction?
Or was Luisa the woman he really wanted?
‘I—I don’t know, Luca,’ she said finally, her head starting to throb with the stress of the situation.
He nodded slowly. ‘You are treating this like a major life decision, but perhaps you should look at it another way,’ he suggested, his voice calm and level. ‘Already you are expecting our baby. You owe it to our family to take some time to make this relationship work.’
Our family.
Tia felt a lump building in her throat. He made it sound simple and straightforward but, of course, it wasn’t.
Living together as a family meant living with Luca—having him close to her all the time.
It would be torture.
‘Why are you hesitating?’ His voice was velvety smooth and she closed her eyes and gave a wry smile.
‘Because the one word we haven’t mentioned is love, that’s why.’ What he was describing sounded more like a business arrangement.
‘Love…’ Something flickered briefly in his dark eyes and then it was gone. ‘Just because our feelings for each other aren’t what they might be, it doesn’t mean we can’t live together amicably and create a stable family for our child.’
A stable family.
For a brief moment Tia’s mind flitted back to her own childhood and in that instant she made her decision.
‘All right.’ She turned to face him, her mind made up. ‘We’ll do as you suggest and get to know each other better, but there are two conditions on my part.’
Luca’s smooth brows twitched into a frown. He clearly hadn’t been expecting conditions. ‘Which are?’
She felt her heart thumping madly. ‘Firstly, that you accept the fact that I want to work. No disapproving looks, no arguments, no atmosphere when I leave the house in the morning and end up working extra hours.’
His jaw tightened and his stunning eyes narrowed. ‘And second?’
‘Second.’ She swallowed hard and looked away from him, bracing herself for his reaction. ‘Second is no touching.’
A long silence stretched between them and eventually he spoke, his voice lethally soft. ‘Excuse me?’
Her eyes slid to his incredulous dark gaze and she took a deep breath.
‘No touching. I can’t think straight when you touch me, Luca,’ she said, the words tumbling out in a rush as she tried to explain herself. He was well aware of the effect he had on her physically so there was no point in being anything but honest. ‘It’s the reason we’re in this mess right now. We need to find out whether we truly like each other and we can’t do that if we’re physically close. You can live in the same house as me but you sleep in the spare room.’
There was an ominous silence which stretched on and on. When he finally spoke his voice was raw.
‘You are seriously suggesting that we live together but don’t make love?’
Her heart was now thumping so hard she thought it might explode through her chest.
‘Yes.’ Considering the state of her insides, her voice was surprisingly steady. ‘It makes sense, Luca.’
There was another long silence and she grew steadily more uncomfortable under his incredulous gaze. She realised now that she’d been ridiculously naïve to even think that a man as physical as Luca would agree to such a condition.
‘All right.’
She gaped at him, wondering if she’d misheard. ‘Luca…’
‘If that is what you want, then we’ll do it.’
Tia swallowed.
What she wanted…
She’d thought it was what she wanted but looking at his powerful shoulders and smouldering dark gaze she was beginning to think she must be slightly mad. What woman would ask a man like Luca not to touch her?
And she couldn’t believe that he’d agreed to it. She shot him a suspicious look but his expression was unreadable. If he had another agenda then he was keeping it well hidden.
‘And you won’t make a fuss about me working?’
His mouth compressed. ‘As long as you agree to restrict the hours you do and to let me buy you a car.’
She frowned. ‘I don’t need a car.’
‘A car,’ he interrupted her, his gaze steely, ‘or you don’t work.’
She could see that he wasn’t going to give an inch and she gave a sigh. ‘All right. Thank you. A car. But a small car.’
‘A small car?’ The tension seemed to leave him and his eyes shimmered with amusement. ‘You are the first woman I have ever met who would choose to have a small car. The rest of your sex would be handing me brochures of glamorous sports cars at this point.’
His smile made her heart flip over. ‘I don’t want a glamorous sports car,’ she told him. ‘It’s a waste of money.’
‘Indeed.’ His tone was dry and a smile flickered across his handsome face. ‘Now, onto your second condition. No touching.’
The car suddenly seemed a very confined space and he suddenly seemed very, very male.
‘It’s true that the physical attraction between us is unusually strong.’ His eyes dropped to her mouth and then lifted again to her wide green eyes. ‘I can see how it has possibly overwhelmed other aspects of our relationship, so I agree to your second condition. No touching.’ The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. ‘Although I have a feeling it may not be easy.’
Tia gave a weak smile. She had a feeling that it wouldn’t be easy either. Heavens, even now she was dying for the man to kiss her. It wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t already know just what he could make her feel. But she did…
Luca touched her cheek
gently and pulled the key out of the ignition. ‘But any time you want to change that rule, let me know.’
He opened his door and she watched him unfold his six-foot-plus frame, her heart beating a steady tattoo against her chest.
Change the rule?
His straightforward admission that he still wanted her made her limbs tremble.
Not that wanting her physically meant anything, of course. Luca had already proved that he didn’t need to be in love with her to enjoy an intense physical relationship.
But that wasn’t enough for her.
She was going to get to know him, and then decide what the future held for them.
The following morning Luca took her to work without comment, although she could see from the stiff line of his jaw that he wasn’t pleased with the idea.
‘I’ll be OK, Luca,’ she said quietly as she undid her seat belt and fumbled for her bag. ‘I wasn’t sick this morning.’
He turned to her, his eyes serious. ‘Tia, I’m not happy about you working, you know that. There is no financial reason for you to work and I don’t really understand why you feel the need, but I gave you my word and I won’t try and stop you. But if you are unwell, I want you to call me. Do you understand?’
She hesitated and then gave a nod. ‘All right, but I think you’re overreacting.’
‘I’m Italian and an expectant father,’ he pointed out, a smile touching his firm mouth. ‘I’m allowed to overreact.’
Unable to resist the lazy warmth in his eyes she returned the smile, remembering that it had been his sense of humour that had first attracted her to him. That and his aura of strength.
‘We still haven’t really talked about this baby, Tia,’ he pointed out softly as he parked and switched off the engine. ‘Tonight I’ll make us some dinner and we can discuss it properly. You wanted us to get to know each other better, so our feelings about the baby are a good place to start.’
Her heart gave a lurch. She wasn’t at all sure that she was ready to discuss how she felt about the baby.
She had little chance to think about it, however, because Sharon grabbed her the minute she arrived on the unit.
‘I need you on Antenatal. We’ve had an emergency admission from A and E.’ She matched her pace to Tia’s as they walked quickly along the corridor, talking as they went. ‘They thought she had some sort of viral illness to start with, but now they think it’s severe pre-eclampsia.’
