‘OK.’ She struggled to keep her smile hidden. ‘If that’s the condition, I’ll have to accept it.’
He looked less than happy, and she felt guilty for teasing him. ‘You want the job that badly?’
‘No. This isn’t about the job. I want you that badly, Rico,’ she told him, laughing as her meaning sank in and relief and pure joy radiated from him. ‘I love you so much.’
Then she was back in his arms. She met and matched the passion of his kiss, tears of happiness spilling down her cheeks.
‘You are in big trouble now,’ he warned her, mischief in his eyes as he yet again lifted her up and headed for the steps at the corner of the pool. ‘You nearly gave me heart failure, tormenting me like that.’
The first streams of light were touching the eastern horizon as Rico carried her back towards his bedroom, but Ruth was too distracted to notice anything going on in the wider world. All that mattered was Rico—and them, here, together, sealing their bond.
‘We’re dripping water everywhere. The sheets will get wet,’ she pointed out.
‘I don’t care.’ She giggled as he dropped her on the bed, then followed her down and into her open arms. ‘The steam we generate will soon dry things out,’ he teased, then grew serious. ‘I only care about you.’
Fresh tears beaded her lashes. ‘I can’t believe you love me,’ she whispered, her voice throaty with emotion.
‘I loved you from the first moment I saw you, sirena mia, and I have loved you more every day since. As I will for the rest of our lives. The men in our family are blessed that way—when we meet our one special woman, we know. As Papà did with Mamma, and Seb did with Gina. Now it is my turn…with you.’
The tears she had held in check, now spilled free. ‘I love you, too.’
‘I know there are things we have to work out,’ he said, gently wiping the tracks of moisture from her cheeks. ‘You will have to work out your notice?’
‘Yes. It’s three months,’ she told him with a grimace.
He dropped a kiss on her nose. ‘Do not worry. I have been thinking. I will change my schedule to leave Monday mornings and Friday afternoons free. Then I can fly over and spend the weekends with you—or you can come here when you are not on duty—and the time will soon pass.’
‘You have been planning.’
‘I had to believe my dreams might come true,’ he told her, choking her up once more. ‘I know you will miss Gina and Holly, but we will visit, and they can come to us any time. Do you think you will be happy here? As soon as I saw your house, I had hope you would like mine.’
She rested a palm against his face, needing to touch, loving the caress of his roguish stubble against her skin. ‘I love it. Just today I told your mother and Emanuela how comfortable I was here and that I could never see all I want to in a lifetime. But what is important is being with you. I will be happy wherever you are,’ she reassured him, meaning every word.
His own eyes looked suspiciously damp and his voice was rough with emotion. ‘Thank you for making my world a better place. I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love and respect and cherish you, sirena mia.’
Ruth didn’t think there was any way she could force words past the restriction in her throat, but Rico obligingly kissed her and prevented her from the need to try. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back with everything in her, re-igniting the fire of their passion, a passion she hoped would never be extinguished.
It was as if she had been reborn when she had met Rico. As if her life had only truly begun when fate had brought him to her, giving her meaning, fulfilling her not only on a professional level but making her whole as a woman. Adam’s words no longer had the power to hurt. Rico had helped her to see them for what they were…lies. And with Rico she had blossomed into a sensual woman, confident in her power to satisfy and arouse and please her man, secure in his love for her and hers for him.
She had been scared to venture out of her comfort zone but Rico had led her from the darkness into the light and had taught her how special love was when you met the person with whom you bonded in your heart, soul and body. His belief in her was absolute, as was hers in him. Their bond was strong and theirs was a love to last a lifetime.
Her sexy Italian doctor had answered her call when she had emailed for help. He had more than delivered. He had changed her life. And now he offered her a future, one they would walk together, side by side—a future in which she was fulfilled and enriched, loved and cherished. His was a proposal that made her dreams come true and she was more than happy to accept.
WANTED: A FATHER
FOR HER TWINS
BY
EMILY FORBES
Emily Forbes is the pseudonym of two sisters who share both a passion for writing and a life-long love of reading. Beyond books and their families, their interests include cooking (food is a recurring theme in their books!), learning languages, playing the piano and netball, as well as an addiction to travel—armchair travel is fine, but anything involving a plane ticket is better. Home for both is South Australia, where they live three minutes apart with their husbands and four young children. With backgrounds in business administration, law, arts, clinical psychology and physiotherapy they have worked in many areas. This past professional experience adds to their writing in many ways: legal dilemmas, psychological ordeals and business scandals are all intermeshed with the medical settings of their stories. And, since nothing could ever be as delicious as spending their days telling the stories of gorgeous heroes and spirited heroines, they are eternally grateful their mutual dream of writing for a living came true.
They would love you to visit and keep up to date with current news and future releases at the Medical™ Romance authors’ website at: http://www.medicalromance.com/
Recent titles by the same author:
THE PLAYBOY FIREFIGHTER’S PROPOSAL
EMERGENCY: WIFE WANTED
WEDDING AT PELICAN BEACH
THE SURGEON’S LONGED-FOR BRIDE
There are lots of essentials in a girl’s life.
No doubt love scores top position on most women’s
lists, but I suspect friendship is right up there for
most of us, too. And there’s no friendship quite like
the relationship shared with girlfriends. Sorrows that
require chocolate, successes that demand champagne,
laughter and tears all combine to create a tapestry of
‘Do you remember?’ moments that, woven together,
make the bond with our female friends so remarkable.
And so, to my beautiful, wonderful, kaleidoscope-tapestry
of girlfriends, thank you for your friendship.
It means more than you know. And to Helen, Ali,
Manda and Anne, a special thank you for your
unwavering support and encouragement.
And while I hope sorrows are few and far between,
there’s always chocolate in my cupboard
and a place on my couch for each of you.
This one’s for the girls!
CHAPTER ONE
THIS is a perfect moment.
The thought surprised Rosie as she sat on the sparkling gold sands of Bondi Beach, looking out over the clear blue water.
It surprised her because, only a moment before, she’d been reflecting on the one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn her life had pivoted through two months ago, and every day since: the loss of her beloved brother and sister-in-law; her instant transformation from aunt to the guardian of her twin eight-year-old nephew and niece; the break-up with Philip; the consequent move from Canberra back to Sydney. Since then, she’d been in shock, grief-stricken and feeling like she’d never get on top of her new life.
Yet, sitting here, with the morning sun warming her face, in her first quiet moment that week, she had a brief glimmer of hope that things might somehow work out okay. She picked up a handful of sand and let it trickle slowly through her f
ingers. The top inch of sand was warm. A little deeper, where the sun’s rays hadn’t yet penetrated, the sand was cool and damp against her skin.
Another glorious summer day lay ahead. Later on, the beach would be crowded. Right now, it was relatively empty and it didn’t take long to scan the beach to check her niece’s whereabouts. The junior surf lifesavers had come out of the water and were packing equipment away, Lucy among them. Rosie stood, shaking the sand off her sundress, and walked along the beach towards the group.
‘How did you go this morning, Luce?’ Her niece had bounded up to her, still full of her usual energy.
‘I got a personal best time for the sand sprint. Did you see me?’
‘I was watching but you were going so fast you were just a blur!’ Rosie hugged the little girl, pulling her into her side. Lucy chatted non-stop as they climbed the path leading from the beach to the esplanade, only pausing for breath once she had her usual post-training Sunday milkshake in hand.
Coming out of Marie’s Milk Bar, Rosie nearly tripped over a small dog that dashed past the entrance. She stopped suddenly and felt Lucy bump into her back. A young boy ran past, calling out to the dog. The dog had no intention of obeying and dashed out into the road.
She could see disaster unfolding in front of her.
‘Stop!’ she yelled, but the boy neither paused nor looked as he chased the animal. Rosie watched with horror as a car swerved sharply to the left to miss the dog, colliding instead with the child.
The car wasn’t travelling quickly, the esplanade was too narrow and too busy for that, but it still struck the boy with enough force to send him spinning up into the air before he crashed to the bitumen.
Traffic came to a stop and the hum of dozens of conversations ceased as people processed what had just happened. For a brief moment there was silence before voices began again and witnesses and bystanders swarmed onto the road.
‘Wait here,’ Rosie said to Lucy, handing over her takeaway latte before joining the gathering crowd.
‘I’m a doctor.’ Rosie raised her voice as she pushed her way through the throng. ‘Let me through.’
The driver, a young female, emerged from the car, shaky and pale. ‘I didn’t see him, I didn’t have time to stop.’
‘Someone call an ambulance and get this woman to sit down.’ The woman would be in shock. Rosie doubted she was injured but, if she was, her injuries would need to wait. The priority was the boy.
He was lying in a crumpled heap on the road, blood spilling from a gash on his head. The car that had hit him was protecting them both from the traffic and Rosie didn’t think they were in any immediate danger from that angle. She knelt down beside the child. He was breathing but his eyes were closed. Was he conscious? She gently shook his shoulder, asking him if he could hear her. There was no response.
‘Can I help?’ Rosie felt, rather than saw, a man crouch down beside her. She didn’t look up from her examination of the little boy, but she didn’t need to look up to know the man was from New Zealand. The inflection on his vowels told her that. ‘I’m a doctor.’
‘Thanks.’ She also didn’t have to look up to know he was tall, and together with the quiet, calm confidence in his voice, it made his presence even more reassuring. ‘He’s breathing but unconscious.’
‘Was there anyone with him? Does anyone know his name?’
Lucy appeared by Rosie’s side, cradling the runaway dog in her arms. ‘Rosie, it’s Matt. From school. Do you want me to get his mum?’
Rosie didn’t want to think about how, or where, Lucy had cornered the dog, but she would like to see Matt’s mum. She glanced up at her skinny-legged niece, her knees covered in bits of grass and sand. ‘Is she here?’
‘I don’t think so but I know where they live.’
Sending Lucy off on her own wasn’t an option. ‘Maybe we can ring her?’
‘I’ll do it.’ Marie from the milk bar was standing behind Lucy.
‘Thanks.’ Rosie nodded at the woman. ‘Go with Marie, Luce, and see if you can reach Matt’s mum.’
‘The ambulance is on its way.’ Someone from the crowd passed this information on.
‘Matt, can you hear me? Matt?’ The other doctor was talking and Rosie turned back to the boy, relieved to find his eyes were now open. ‘Hi, there, mate. Lie still, you’ve had a tussle with a car. My name’s Nick, I’m a doctor, and I’m just going to check a few things out. This is…’
He paused and Rosie knew he was waiting for her response. She looked at him properly for the first time and, as their eyes met, she felt a bolt of attraction so strong it made her catch her breath. What an incongruous reaction, she thought as she managed to answer, ‘Rosie.’ Her voice came out as a whisper.
‘She’s a doctor too.’
Rosie had to force herself to concentrate as they both turned their attention back to Matt. She applied pressure to the gash in Matt’s head, using a clean beach towel from her bag, and took his pulse with her other hand.
‘Where does it hurt?’ Nick asked.
‘My arm and my leg.’ His right leg was bloodied and there was already significant swelling around his knee.
‘Can you wriggle your toes?’
Matt could move his toes but moving his foot seemed to cause him pain. Rosie watched as Nick ran his large hands gently over Matt’s leg, feeling for any major trauma. Matt had probably sustained a fractured fibula and possibly even tibia but, as his leg was still straight, Rosie suspected it wasn’t too bad. As she listened to Nick’s examination she couldn’t help but catch glimpses of him whilst checking her watch and timing Matt’s pulse.
His jaw was strong, slightly square in shape without being heavy, and darkened by a shadow of a beard, as if he hadn’t shaved for a day or two. He had fabulous cheekbones, a narrow nose, not too big and not too small, and the fullest lips she’d ever seen on a man, a perfect cupid’s bow. The masculine strength of his facial bone structure saved his nose and mouth from looking almost too perfect. His dark hair was thick and wavy with a cowlick at the front.
He squatted beside Rosie, his shoulders higher than hers, and she guessed he was taller than she was by several inches, no mean feat when she was five feet ten inches. His limbs were long and lean and he looked in good physical shape. She was glad she was the one applying pressure to the wound, leaving her free to soak in his image. Not that she was interested in him, of course. She didn’t even have time to put the washing away, so how would she ever have time to meet another man? But a girl would have to be comatose not to appreciate pure aesthetic male beauty when she was staring right at it.
‘How about your fingers?’ Nick asked the boy.
Matt was clutching his right arm, trying to keep it immobile, but managed to wriggle his fingers.
‘Can you tell me what day it is?’
‘Friday?’
The uncertainty in Matt’s reply told them what they needed to know. There was no need to tell him it was Sunday but he obviously had concussion.
‘Matt, you’ve broken your arm and your leg, I’ll need you to keep lying as still as you can for a little bit longer,’ Nick instructed.
Rosie heard the wail of an ambulance siren in the distance and as she tilted her head to listen to make sure it was coming closer, she saw Marie and Lucy returning. Marie gave her a thumbs-up signal.
Rosie deliberately trained her eyes on Matt as she spoke, not willing to risk losing her breath again if she accidentally sneaked a glance at her temporary colleague. ‘Your mum is on her way and I’ll wait with you until the ambulance gets here. It will take you and your mum to the hospital.’ Rosie kept hold of Matt’s good hand while she kept the pressure on his head wound with her other hand. A single tear rolled down his cheek. ‘It’ll be okay, Matt. You’re being very brave.’
Nick stood up, stretching his legs and distracting Rosie. He was wearing a T-shirt and boardshorts that showed off tanned, muscular calves. Where had he been when the accident happened? Had he just been for a
swim? She looked up further. His hair was clean and dry so perhaps he was just on his way to the beach. As she watched, he ran his hand through the front of his hair, pushing it off his face from where it fell from the cowlick. He really was striking.
A siren’s ‘whoop, whoop’ pierced the air as the ambulance manoeuvred the final distance through the traffic. In the next moment Matt’s mother arrived and Rosie went to comfort her and explain the situation while Nick filled the paramedics in.
The paramedics did their checks, popped a cervical brace around Matt’s neck as a precaution, stabilised his arm and splinted his leg before rolling him onto the stretcher. In a few minutes Matt and his mother were being whisked off to hospital.
Just like that, everything was back to normal, the crowd was dispersing, Marie had returned to her shop and the traffic was flowing freely again. The car that had hit Matt had been moved to the side of the road and the driver was giving her statement to a policeman. There was a sense of anticlimax. Only she, Lucy and Nick stood on the edge of the pavement. Despite being a doctor, she’d never been at the scene of an accident before. What happened next? Should she thank Nick for his help or simply say goodbye? As she stood there, pondering the dilemma, Lucy started asking questions, breaking the silence.
She expected Nick to head straight off but he stayed put, seemingly content to listen to her confident, chatty niece, so different from her twin. There didn’t seem to be anybody waiting for him. Maybe he was as uncertain of the etiquette of beachside medical emergencies as she was? She smiled at the idea; uncertainty was not a quality that fitted this man.
‘Thanks for your help, Nick.’ She met his gaze, still smiling. ‘Don’t let us hold you up.’
‘You’re not.’ He returned her smile and his was handsdown the most adorable, warming grin she’d ever been treated to. If he’d been good-looking before, he was drop-dead gorgeous now, his whole face lit up, his blue-grey eyes sparkling. ‘I’ve only got a half-drunk cup of coffee to get back to and it’ll be cold by now. Join me for a fresh cup.’ He spread his hands wide to include them both and Lucy immediately took a step closer to him. His was clearly a charm with crossgenerational power.
Italian Doctor, Dream Proposal / Wanted: A Father for her Twins Page 18
