The Playboy of Harley Street / Doctor on the Red Carpet

by Anne Fraser

  ‘She doesn’t want us to treat her as if she’s a patient,’ he continued. ‘She prefers to think of us as being friends of her parents, people who are here because they want to be, rather than because she’s ill. I like to think of all my patients in terms of the family and not in isolation.’

  That explained Fabio’s informal and apparently casual attitude. Katie found herself revising her opinion of him once again.

  ‘She’s a brave girl,’ Katie said. She looked around the marina, taking in the wealth all around. ‘My guess is that her parents would give every penny they have to have her well.’

  ‘And you’d be right. But they can’t.’ His expression relaxed. ‘They’re really glad to have you here, you know. They wouldn’t have risked bringing Lucy out here unless they knew she could have professional physio on hand whenever she needs it. A lot of parents do the therapy themselves, but Amelia hates doing it. She’s scared she hurts Lucy.’

  ‘I can appreciate that, but I think we should encourage her to give it a go. I won’t always be around to do Lucy’s physio—at least, not as often as she needs it. Besides, once they learn how to do it and get confident, many parents become really good at it.’

  He studied her as if he were truly seeing her for the first time and she shifted uncomfortably under the intensity of his gaze. ‘You’re a surprise, Katie Simpson, do you know that? I get the feeling that if anyone can persuade Amelia, it’ll be you.’ He looked as if he was about to add something but then he turned to leave. ‘We’ll be up on deck if you’re looking for us,’ he said.

  By the time Katie had finished unpacking her few belongings and taken a shower, Lucy was awake again. Realising that her suit was totally inappropriate, Katie changed into a skirt and cotton blouse. They went back on deck to find Mark had returned and Fabio was chatting to both him and Amelia.

  As soon as Amelia saw them, she rushed over to her daughter and hugged her tightly.

  ‘Did you have a good sleep, sweetie?’

  Lucy nodded. ‘Katie let me use her bed.’

  ‘Daddy is going back to the track to practise. Do you want to come and watch? Or would you rather stay here and wait to see him in the race?’

  ‘Mummy, I said before, I’m coming and you’re not to fuss,’ Lucy said. ‘I’m okay.’ She softened her tone and smiled at her father. ‘I can’t wait to see Daddy practise.’

  Mark scooped his daughter into his arms. ‘And so you will. C’mon, then. Let’s get going.’

  The race track was only a short drive from the yacht, so close they could have walked, although it didn’t seem to occur to anyone to do so. No doubt they were scared of tiring their daughter unnecessarily. As soon as Katie was out of the air-conditioned car, she smelled oil and rubber.

  ‘Hey, Fabio. If you fancy a spin around the track, I’m sure I could arrange it.’ Mark said.

  Mark had to be kidding.

  But Fabio didn’t seem think so. A broad smile spread across his face. ‘Fancy it? That’s putting it mildly. I’d give my right arm for a go in one of those monsters you race.’

  Mark laughed. ‘I knew you’d be up for it. Okay, then, let’s go and get you suited up.’

  The two men left them to go and change.

  ‘Can Mark do that?’ Katie asked. ‘I mean, let Fabio have a shot at driving the car? Surely there are rules?’

  Amelia smiled. ‘You’ll soon learn that one thing neither Fabio nor my husband care about are rules. They’re both adrenaline junkies.’

  ‘So I heard on the plane,’ Katie said. ‘Lucy said that they met BASE jumping?’

  ‘God, yes. I made Mark give it up as soon as I watched a video of him and Fabio doing it. It’s a crazy sport. They throw themselves off these huge cliffs and wait until they’re almost halfway down before they open their parachutes. So many people die, it’s practically outlawed in some places.’

  God, it sounded even more dangerous than Fabio had made out.

  Lucy was skipping ahead of them, but to be on the safe side Katie lowered her voice.

  ‘Aren’t you scared something will happen to Mark when he’s racing?’

  Amelia’s expression darkened. ‘I’m terrified every time he goes out on that track, believe me, but he wouldn’t be the man I love if he didn’t do what he does. I couldn’t stop him anyway. All I can do is pray that he’ll stay safe.’ She smiled briefly. ‘But it’s not as dangerous as people think. At least all the cars are going in the same direction and there are ambulances and people with fire extinguishers on standby the whole time. On the whole, I’m happier with Mark racing than BASE jumping.’ She shuddered. ‘Now, that terrified me.’

  It wasn’t exactly reassuring. Having a husband who was a racing driver must be close to having a brother in the army in Afghanistan. Why was it that some men needed to face danger to feel alive? Didn’t they realise the agony they put their loved ones through? But people didn’t choose who they fell in love with. Amelia had still fallen for Mark despite his chosen career, and Suzy had never tried to stop Richard from doing the job he loved either.

  Katie vowed that when she fell in love it would be with someone she knew she had a good chance of growing old with.

  At the race track, they were made welcome. They were offered a seat in the viewing area and a cool drink, but Lucy was keen to visit the pits, so that was where they headed.

  The area was crowded with mechanics fiddling with engines and chatting. Fabio and Mark were already there, suited up in similar overalls. Fabio looked in his element.

  ‘I’d rather race,’ he was saying to Mark. ‘I know you’ll beat me hands down but, hey, I’ll never get another chance to race you again.’

  ‘You wouldn’t see me for dust, mate.’ Mark’s expression turned serious. ‘These babies are worth a small fortune, Fabio, and with your track record you have to promise me you’ll stay under a hundred and twenty. Keep behind me, but not too close. I don’t want you taking me out by accident. And we’re only doing two laps. Okay? Use the first to get used to how the car handles.’

  A hundred and twenty! Were the pair of them out of their minds?

  Fabio’s eyes glittered. ‘I’m not crazy, you know. I’ll take it easy, I swear.’

  The men were helped into the narrow cockpits of their separate cars. With his helmet on, only Fabio’s eyes were visible. There was no mistaking the excitement in them. Katie seriously doubted he’d be able to keep himself or his car under control.

  She was almost tempted to excuse herself—she really had no interest in watching her colleague fulfil a boyhood fantasy but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to leave.

  The noise of the cars revving up would have been deafening had the staff not handed out ear defenders to everyone. With one final roar of the engines and the screech of burning rubber, the two men were off and within seconds had disappeared from view, already travelling at speed.

  Less than two minutes later the cars came back into view, hurtling down the track towards them. Even with the sound muffled, Katie could still hear the tremendous whine of the engines, and she could feel the ground vibrating beneath her feet. The smell of burning fuel filled the air, adding to the sense of drama and excitement. Despite herself, Katie leant forward, hands clutched with tension as she tried to make out who was in front. As they roared past, Lucy was jumping up and down with excitement.

  ‘Go, Daddy, go!’

  Before Katie knew it, they were back and Fabio was climbing out of his car.

  ‘Thanks, mate,’ he said to Mark. ‘‘That was some adrenaline rush. I wish I’d tried it sooner. Maybe I should take up rally driving instead.’

  Fabio obviously had nerves of steel. He looked as unruffled as if he’d just been for a Sunday drive. Totally at ease in his black and red jumpsuit, the helmet casually tucked under an arm, he oozed sex appeal. He caught her looking at him and dropped his lid in a wink. Her heart gave another awkward thump and she looked away quickly.

  At least she had a colleague
for a little while longer. But what was he thinking? They were here to work, not have fun.

  Another roar of an engine and Mark was off again. Fabio turned to Amelia, Lucy and Katie.

  ‘Your dad is some driver, isn’t he, Luce?’

  ‘He’s the best,’ Lucy agreed. ‘I just know he’s going to win the race.’

  ‘Of course he will,’ Fabio said. ‘If you’ll all excuse me, I’ll go and get changed.’

  ‘Why don’t we get some lunch upstairs, Lucy?’ Amelia suggested. ‘We’ll be able to see Dad better from up there.’ She turned to Katie. ‘You’ll join us? Mark’ll be at least another couple of hours out on the track. They have to be sure the car is handling just right before the race.’

  ‘When is it?’ Katie asked.

  ‘Tomorrow. Then he’s off to Istanbul for the next one in a couple of weeks. Depending on how Lucy is, we might go to that one too. If you and Fabio are free to come too, that is?’ Amelia watched her daughter who had skipped on ahead. ‘You don’t know how good it feels for us to be able to spend time as a family.’ She paused and bit her lip. ‘We don’t know for sure how long Lucy might be with us, so we want to spend as much time together as possible.’

  Katie touched her on the shoulder. ‘Hopefully she’ll be with you long enough to give you grey hairs. Children with CF are doing so much better now.’ And she was being truthful. These days, around half of children with CF could expect to live to their late thirties and improvements in treatment meant that babies born today with the condition could expect to live much longer. In the 1960s a child was lucky to survive much beyond his or her fifth birthday. Of course, Amelia would know all that. Not that it was likely to be of much comfort. No parent would want to dwell on the fact that it was possible they would outlive their child.

  After lunch, they all returned to the yacht. Lucy was due another round of physio.

  Before Katie started, Fabio checked his small patient over.

  ‘Chest sounds good, Luce,’ he said, returning his stethoscope to his leather medical bag.

  ‘Does that mean I can skip my physio?’ Lucy asked hopefully.

  ‘Nice try, kiddo. But you know it doesn’t.’

  ‘S’pose so. I need to use the bathroom first.’

  While they waited for Lucy, Fabio turned to Katie. ‘There’s a drinks party this evening. I don’t know if Amelia remembered to tell you.’

  The thought of spending an evening with strangers panicked Katie. Especially as it would no doubt be crowded with the outrageously rich and famous glitterati of Monaco.

  ‘I won’t be expected to go, surely? If you don’t mind, I’d much rather have something to eat in my room and an early night.’ It wasn’t just the thought of spending an evening with stars—she just didn’t feel up to a party. Not that she wanted to share the real reason for her reluctance with Fabio.

  ‘You don’t have to stay long.’ Fabio replied, leaning against her dressing table. ‘You never know, you might even enjoy yourself.’

  ‘I doubt it. It’s just not my … scene.’ Damn! That made her sound even more gauche and unsophisticated than she already felt.

  ‘If you’re worried about meeting some of the guests, believe me, they’re all just ordinary people under their confident facades.’

  ‘It’s easy for you to say. You’re used to this world. I’m not.’ Oh, God, was he never going to give up? ‘Anyway I didn’t think to bring anything appropriate to wear.’

  His look was appreciative. ‘I think you could wear anything and still look good.’

  Katie flushed. As soon as she found herself warming to him, he resorted to the playboy charm. It must come as natural to him as breathing.

  ‘I’m sure Amelia will lend you a dress if need be.’ He looked at his watch and turned to go. ‘I’ll let Amelia and Mark know that Lucy will be along after she’s rested.’ Then, whistling, he left Katie standing in her room, unable to think of anything to say.

  CHAPTER THREE

  FABIO stood on the deck with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in his hand and looked around the crowd of partygoers. There was the usual mix of sports stars, singers and actors. He knew a lot of them from other occasions. Although he’d told Katie she would find the other guests interesting, in many ways he found it boring. It was the same old crowd, the same old parties, the same chat about who was dating who, who had clinched the bigger deal, whose career was on the up, and more salaciously whose was heading down.

  He had thought about phoning the co-pilot and inviting her, but had decided against it. He was at work and didn’t like to mix business with pleasure. He’d wait until he got back to the UK before he called her.

  Then he saw Katie step onto the deck. Her blonde hair, unleashed from the plait, was gleaming gold in the moonlight. Her eyes were wide with excitement, or anxiety—he couldn’t tell which, although he suspected the latter. As she stood on her own, separate from the crowd, twisting a lock of hair between her fingers, Fabio felt an unexpected rush of protectiveness.

  A simple sundress exposed her delicate collarbones and revealed shapely, lightly tanned legs. Although she wore none of the ostentatiously expensive diamond jewellery the other women did and he knew enough about women’s clothes to know that her dress was no designer one-off, she outshone every other female on the yacht. Next to her the others looked overdressed and unnatural. He was stunned. Was this the same woman he had travelled with? As if sensing his eyes on her, she found his gaze and in that split second it was as if everyone else disappeared.

  He pushed his way through the crowd until he was by her side.

  ‘So you decided to make an appearance after all?’ he asked.

  She smiled up at him, relief at having a familiar face to talk to evident in her grey eyes.

  ‘Lucy made me. She said if I stayed in my room she wouldn’t come to the party either, so I promised I would come for a short while.’

  Grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, Fabio passed it to Katie. She took it with a grateful smile. ‘I still feel as if I don’t belong.’

  ‘Trust me, you’re already attracting attention. From the women as much as the men. They’re all wondering who you are. The men because they’re planning how to move in on you and the women because they want to know who the competition is.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ She smiled at him and he felt the strangest feeling—one he didn’t recognise—in the pit of his stomach.

  ‘But I don’t care if I do look like Cinderella. I’m here to do a job and if I have to join in, that’s what I’ll do.’ Her smile grew wider and her eyes sparkled mischievously. ‘I doubt I’ll ever be as close to the rich and famous again, so I’m going to enjoy it. Now, won’t you tell me who is who? I don’t want to embarrass myself or offend anyone by not recognising people I perhaps should. Later, I’m going to write it all down in my diary so I can tell my grandchildren about it.’

  Fabio’s pulse was still behaving oddly. All of a sudden he wanted nothing better than to be alone with Katie and find a corner where he could keep bringing that mischievous glint to her eyes. But he couldn’t. They were both on duty. And … he groaned inwardly … she was a colleague. Hadn’t he told himself earlier that an affair was out of the question? That it would only lead to trouble sooner or later? But that had been before, when he’d been sure she wasn’t his type. Seeing her now was like a punch to his solar plexus.

  He had to ignore the feeling in his gut, or at least he should ignore the feeling his gut. He wasn’t at all sure he was going to be able to do so.

  ‘Okay. See that couple over there?’ He indicated a man and a woman who were surrounded by fawning admirers. ‘You must recognise them. Every one in the world knows who they are.’

  ‘Oh, my God, yes! They’re on the front page of most newspapers. The golden husband and wife of the film world.’ Katie replied. ‘I just find it hard to believe that it’s truly them and not a couple of look-alikes.’

  ‘Come on, then,
I’ll introduce you.’ He liked the way she wasn’t scared to show her wonder.

  Panic flared in her eyes and she shook her head. ‘I’d rather not,’ she protested. ‘What on earth will I say to them?’

  ‘I think you’ll find that they are more than happy to have an audience,’ Fabio said dryly, and taking her by the elbow guided her across to the couple.

  As it turned out, Fabio was right. The couple were charming and did most of the talking. All Katie had to do was nod and smile in the right places. She’d been terrified when she’d first come up on deck. The yacht was packed with glamorous men and women: the women in designer gowns that shimmered as they moved, diamonds sparkling at throats and hands, or in shorter, figure-hugging dresses, exposing long golden limbs; the men in tuxedos, with crisp white shirts and bow-ties. Everywhere Katie looked she thought she recognised someone from the movies or television or the modelling world. Next to the expertly made-up women in their impossibly high designer heels, Katie felt completely underdressed in her last season’s sundress, her face made up with only the merest slick of lipstick and mascara.

  When she’d arrived, she had spotted Fabio immediately. Even next to the recognisable faces of well-known heartthrobs from the sporting and film world he’d stood out. Looking relaxed and assured in his dinner suit, his dark head bent to listen to something a flame-haired woman was whispering in his ear, he was the best-looking man on board. He must have felt her eyes on him because he looked up. Their eyes locked and her heart crashed against her ribs. Despite what she’d promised Lucy, she had been on the verge of hot footing it back to her cabin.

  But before she could retreat, Fabio made a beeline towards her. Fleeing then would have made her look even more gauche than she already felt, and she was damned if she was going to let him see how unnerved she was, not only by the overwhelming number of beautiful people but the way the sight of him had stopped her breath. It had taken every ounce of her resolve to summon the smile she gave him.