Читать книгу Dr Ferrero's Baby Secret - Jennifer Taylor - Страница 9

‘CIAO.’

Kelly waved goodbye to a couple of nurses who worked on her ward and headed along the path to the staff quarters. It had been a busy day and she was glad it was over. Once she had finished in the clinic, she’d had notes to write up and that had taken the best part of the afternoon. She’d barely finished in time for the afternoon ward round, in fact.

Letizia had made a point of drawing everyone’s attention to her when she’d rushed into the ward with just a couple of minutes to spare, but Luca hadn’t said a word. In fact, he had ignored her for the next hour and that had been far worse than any reprimand. Even a cutting remark about her tardiness would have been better than the indifference he’d shown her.

She groaned when she realised how stupid she was being. Keying in the security code, she let herself into the building. The air-conditioning was switched on full and she groaned with pleasure when she felt the cool air playing over her skin. The weather had been extremely hot ever since she’d arrived in Sardinia. The temperature regularly hit the mid-thirties and she would have found it very uncomfortable in her apartment without air-conditioning. As she made her way up the stairs, Kelly couldn’t help thinking how lucky she was to have been offered an apartment here. From what she could gather, there was a waiting list for staff accommodation, and she had no idea how she’d managed to jump the queue. Unless Luca had arranged it for her?

Her heart lurched at the thought of him going to so much trouble on her behalf before she battened it down. She doubted if he even knew where she lived let alone had played any part in getting her a flat here. She let herself in and went straight to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of mineral water then took it into the sitting room and sat down.

All the apartments were decorated in the same neutral shades of grey and cream. The furniture was standard too, light beech built-in cupboards and cabinets, a small sofa plus an armchair. She’d added a few personal touches—some photos of her and Katie with their parents, a couple of ornaments—but the place still didn’t feel like home. It was just somewhere she came to sleep after a busy day. Until she found a place of her own, she would continue to feel like a visitor, although it might be wiser to forget about setting down roots until she decided if she was going to stay.

Kelly sighed when she realised that she was going round in circles. She would have to make up her mind soon about what she intended to do but she was too tired to think about it right now. One of the nurses was celebrating her birthday that night and she had invited Kelly along. They were meeting at a restaurant near the harbour so once she had showered, she changed into white cotton jeans and a black vest top. Her hair always took ages to blow-dry so she scooped it into a ponytail and left it to dry on its own rather than waste time toiling with the hairdryer. Half an hour later she was on her way out again.

She left the hospital and headed towards the harbour, taking the road that overlooked the bay. It was a beautiful evening and the sun was glinting off the azure blue sea. There was a cruise liner anchored in the bay and she could see a flotilla of tenders scurrying back and forth as they ferried the passengers ashore. The air was redolent with the scent of the pine trees which lined one side of the narrow, twisting road. There were a number of luxurious villas built into the hillside, although they were well hidden behind the trees.

It was wonderfully peaceful after living in the centre of busy Manchester and she hated the thought of going back there, but she might have to if she couldn’t find a way to work with Luca. Although the day had gone better than she’d feared, she’d felt extremely tense whenever he’d been around and that was hardly conducive to a healthy working relationship. All she could do was wait and see if it got any easier.

Kelly was halfway down the hill when she heard a motorbike roaring along the road behind her. There was a bend coming up so she decided to let the motorbike pass her. A lot of the young men in the area rode motorbikes and they usually rode them at a breakneck speed, so it was safer to keep out of their way.

She’d just stepped onto the grass verge when a movement suddenly caught her eye. A little boy had appeared from the drive of one of the villas and was riding his tricycle down the middle of the road. He was oblivious to the danger he was in and Kelly realised that she would have to do something if she was to avert an accident.

Hurrying forward, she swept the child into her arms just a moment before the motorbike came careering down the road. There was a squeal of brakes as the driver tried to stop, but she didn’t wait to see if he succeeded as she hurled herself and the child onto the verge. Pain shot through her when her elbow struck a lump of rock but she barely registered it because she was more concerned about the child. Her legs were trembling as she scrambled to her feet and hurriedly checked him over.

‘Good boy,’ she said as she ran her hands over his chubby little limbs. Apart from a small graze on his cheek, he appeared unscathed so that was something to be grateful for, although she dreaded to think how the driver had fared.

Picking the child up, she ran over to the young man. He was lying at the side of the road, moaning. Crouching down beside him, Kelly could tell immediately that his right arm was broken. It was an open fracture, too, and she could see a section of bone sticking through the flesh. Setting the little boy on the grass beside her, she took a clean handkerchief out of her bag and placed it over the wound to prevent any infection getting into the tissue. Once that was done, she quickly examined the young man, but he didn’t appear to have broken anything else. However, the fact that he wasn’t wearing a safety helmet meant that she couldn’t rule out the possibility of him having suffered a head injury.

‘I’m going to fetch help,’ she told him, knowing there was very little else she could do for him. The most important thing now was to get him to hospital as quickly as possible.

He broke into a torrent of rapid Italian and she shook her head. Although her grasp of the language was more than sufficient to deal with the patients she saw at the hospital, he had a thick local accent which made it difficult to follow what he was saying. ‘I don’t understand.’ She pointed towards the villa. ‘I’m going for help—aiuto.’

Thankfully, he understood what she meant and nodded. Picking up the little boy, Kelly ran back up the road. Hopefully, there would be someone at the villa who would allow her to use their phone to ring for an ambulance.

‘Matteo!’

Kelly ground to a halt when a man suddenly appeared from the driveway leading to the villa. She gasped when she recognised Luca because he was the last person she’d expected to see. He came racing towards her and swept the child into his arms.

‘What happened?’

‘There’s been an accident,’ she explained as she watched the little boy cling to him. The child obviously knew him, although she had no idea what their relationship was.

‘An accident,’ Luca repeated, staring at the child in concern.

‘Yes, but he’s fine. There’s just a graze on his cheek—see.’ She brushed a dark curl off the little boy’s face so that Luca could see what she meant then hurried on. Determining Luca’s relationship to the child really wasn’t important at the moment. ‘This little chap was riding his trike down the road when a motorbike came along. The driver managed to avoid him but he’s broken his arm. I was on my way to fetch help when you appeared.’

‘I see.’ Luca’s mouth thinned as he digested what she had told him. Kelly could tell that he was angry and didn’t blame him. The child couldn’t have been more than two years old, far too young to be out on his own.

‘Go up to the house and ask them to phone for an ambulance,’ he instructed tersely. ‘I’ll take a look at the driver while you do that.’

‘Right.’

He started to hurry away but Kelly stopped him. ‘Do you want me to take the child with me? I expect his mother is wondering where’s he’s got to.’

Something crossed his face, an expression she found impossible to decipher. ‘Thank you but no. I’ll keep him here with me.’

He didn’t waste time debating the issue as he strode over to the injured motorcyclist. Kelly watched him kneel down beside the man then turned away. She had a feeling that she was missing something but there was no time to worry about it at the moment.

She hurriedly made her way up the drive to the villa. It was a beautiful house, built all on one level, with a small turret at one side and a low-pitched terracotta tiled roof, characteristic of the houses in the area. Crimson bougainvillea spilled down the walls and surrounded the huge oak door with its gleaming brass knocker. At any other time, she would have loved to explore the house and its grounds but it was more important that she sought help for the injured motorcyclist.

She knocked on the door and waited. She could hear footsteps inside and a moment later an elderly woman appeared.

‘Si?’

‘I’m sorry to bother you,’ Kelly began, ‘but there’s been an accident outside in the road. Can you phone for an ambulance, please?’

‘An accident?’ The woman pressed a hand to her mouth. ‘Is it Matteo? Has he been hurt?’

‘No, no, he’s fine,’ Kelly assured her. ‘It’s the driver of the motorcycle who’s been injured. Dr Ferrero is with him and he said that you would phone for an ambulance.’

‘Si, si. Immediatamente, signorina.’

‘Grazie.’ Kelly smiled her thanks then hurried back down the drive. Luca was examining the motorcyclist’s left ankle when she went back to them.

‘I think he’s damaged his ankle as well, possibly sprained it or even torn a ligament,’ he told her, glancing up.

‘I must have missed that,’ she admitted, crouching down beside him. ‘I was more concerned about his arm, I’m afraid. Sorry.’

‘There is no need to apologise. From what he has told me, the accident could have been a lot more serious if it weren’t for you.’ He looked over at the little boy, who was happily playing with some pebbles, and she could hear the emotion in his voice when he continued. ‘Matteo could have been killed if you hadn’t got him out of the way in time, Kelly. I don’t know how I can ever thank you.’

‘I’m sure the driver would have managed to avoid him,’ she said lightly, because she didn’t want Luca to think that he was beholden to her in any way.

‘Perhaps.’

He didn’t say anything else. Maybe he was relieved to have been let off the hook, she thought. She understood if he felt that way because she felt the same. If she was to work with him then she had to maintain her distance—if it was possible to do that, of course.

Fortunately, there was no time to dwell on that thought as the ambulance arrived just then. Luca told the crew what had happened and politely asked Kelly if she wanted to add anything but she shook her head. There was no need, he was too much of a professional to allow anything to get in the way of him doing his job, even his obvious concern for the child.

A frown pleated her brows when she saw the tenderness on his face as he picked up the little boy. Just who was Matteo? And why was he so important to Luca?

Luca could feel his heart thundering as he watched the crew load the injured man into the ambulance. The terror he’d felt when he’d realised that Matteo was missing was impossible to describe. It had felt as though his guts had turned to liquid when he’d seen the open gates and heard the squeal of brakes.

His stomach lurched as he cuddled the child to him, drawing comfort from the feel of his solid little body. Matteo immediately began to squirm in protest at being held so tightly and Luca forced himself to relax his grip. He smiled at him. ‘Shall we go home and have a drink?’

‘Si, si.’

Matteo clapped his hands in delight. He seemed oblivious to the danger he’d been in and Luca was grateful for that. No child should have to suffer the way he and Sophia had suffered when they’d been children. A child’s life should be filled with happiness and love, and certainly not with the terror he had known when he’d been little older than Matteo was now. Cruelty had been a daily part of life at the children’s home. There’d been physical beatings and, worse still, mental torture. Being told repeatedly that you were worthless had caused far more damage than the physical abuse had done. Luca knew that he would happily forfeit his life to protect this precious child from that kind of harm.

The thought unlocked a door in his mind usually kept securely locked and he swung round. He wasn’t in a fit state to handle the memories at the moment. He had a final word with the paramedics then turned to Kelly, hoping she couldn’t tell how emotional he felt. He needed to be in control when he was with her, keep his feelings locked away as securely as those memories of his childhood. It was the only way he was going to cope.

‘Would you like to come back to the villa for a cup of coffee?’ he offered, hoping she would refuse. Having Kelly in his home would be a mistake. Once she’d been there, he would never be able to rid himself of the memory. He couldn’t bear to imagine how hard it would be to sit in the house each night on his own and recall her visit.

‘No, thank you,’ she said quickly. ‘I don’t want to be a nuisance.’

‘You aren’t being a nuisance,’ he countered curtly, stung by the speed of her refusal. Did she have to make it quite so obvious that she didn’t want anything to do with him?

‘I’d still prefer not to come in.’ She shrugged, drawing his attention to the fact that the vest top she was wearing had left her shoulders bare apart from two thin little straps.

Luca felt the emotions suddenly gush up inside him again like the bubbles in a champagne bottle once the cork was drawn. He couldn’t seem to drag his gaze away from her. Soft evening light was filtering through the trees, painting her milky skin with a golden lustre. She looked like a gilded statue as she stood there, yet he knew that if he touched her it would be flesh and blood he felt, not stone.

His hand half lifted before he realised what he was doing. He couldn’t touch her, couldn’t smooth his palms over her skin and feel its warmth, and he certainly couldn’t dip his head, open his mouth and taste it.

Desire rushed through him, heated his blood, pooled in his loins, and he groaned. He wanted her so badly but it would be wrong to give in to his urges. Even if she felt the same way, it made no difference. He had nothing to offer her now but sex and it wasn’t enough, not for him and definitely not for her. Kelly deserved to be loved, wholly and completely and for all eternity. She deserved a man who could give her his heart, his mind and his soul, and he was no longer that man, although he had been once.

‘I’m supposed to be meeting some of the staff down at the harbour. It’s Catarina’s birthday and we’re going for a meal. I’d better get off otherwise I’m going to be late.’ She lifted her arm to check her watch and Luca frowned when he heard her gasp.

‘What’s the matter?’ he said sharply, because it felt as though he’d been knifed straight through his heart. He could never be the man that Kelly needed and he couldn’t begin to describe how wretched that made him feel.

‘Nothing. I banged my elbow and it’s a bit sore, that’s all.’

‘Let me see.’ Luca put Matteo on the ground and took hold of her arm, frowning when he saw the bruise on her left elbow. ‘You need a cold compress on that to reduce the swelling.’

‘I’m sure it will be fine,’ she said, quickly removing her arm.

‘If you want to run the risk of not being able to move your arm for the next week, that’s up to you,’ he said harshly, even though he knew it wasn’t fair to speak to her like that. It wasn’t her fault that he felt this way, neither was it her fault that she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. After all, he’d been the one who had ended their affair.

The thought set light to his temper and he glowered at her. ‘However, I should warn you that I shall take a dim view if you are unable to do your job because you were too stubborn to accept my advice.’

Her face flushed with angry colour. ‘Then it appears I don’t have a choice, do I?’ She shot a derisory glance at the villa. ‘I only hope your friends don’t mind having a stranger foisted on them so you can play the big tough boss, Luca. It’s probably a side of you they haven’t seen before. Aren’t you afraid it will spoil your image?’

‘Not at all. I have never allowed anything to get in the way of doing what I know is right.’

It was nothing less than the truth, but it didn’t help him to know that. He could tell that Kelly was furious with him as he led her back to the villa but he didn’t care, couldn’t allow himself to care. Matteo was chattering away, but for once in his life he was barely listening to what the child was saying. He was too keyed up, too angry, too upset, too…too everything.

‘Papà.’

Matteo’s voice cut through the maelstrom of emotions whirling around inside him and Luca jumped. ‘What is it, caro?’ he asked, ashamed of his selfishness.

He listened carefully while Matteo solemnly told him about the big motorbike that had come down the road and how the lady had picked him up. It was only when he had finished his tale that Luca realised Kelly was standing, stock-still, in the middle of the driveway. There was an expression of shock on her face that scared him when he saw it.

Instinctively, he stepped towards her, but she backed away. Her face was the colour of parchment now that the angry colour had faded and for a moment he wondered if she was going to faint. What if she’d done more than merely bruised her elbow? he thought sickly. What if she’d banged her head and injured herself badly?

‘Whose house is this?’ Her voice was so low that it sounded as though all the life had seeped out of it, and his fear intensified. Something was seriously wrong and he had no idea what it was.

‘I asked you who this villa belongs to,’ she repeated in a tone that made him wince.

‘Me,’ he said simply. ‘This is where I live.’

Her eyes closed for a moment before she opened them again and stared at him. ‘If this is your house then who is Matteo? Where are his parents?’

Luca felt a wave of sadness wash over him. He knew that his answer was going to hurt her and that there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He had promised Sophia that he would never tell anyone the truth about Matteo’s birth and he never had. In the eyes of the law, Matteo was his son and that was what everyone must continue to believe, including Kelly…especially Kelly.

She’d never made any secret of how important her career was to her. She had told him two years ago that she intended to get to the very top and he had believed her. He’d understood her need to succeed because he’d felt the same way. Proving that the people at the home had been wrong to say that he would never amount to anything had spurred him on. It had been a long, hard struggle to reach his present position and he wouldn’t have got there if he hadn’t remained completely focused.

If Kelly was to achieve her ambitions, she needed to be equally committed. However, if he told her the truth about Matteo then he knew that she would want to help and that was the last thing he could allow to happen. Juggling the demands of parenthood with a career was extremely hard as he knew from experience; some days he wondered how he coped. He certainly wasn’t going to put that kind of a burden on her at this stage. The next few years were crucial; she needed to concentrate on learning all she could and couldn’t allow anything to distract her. Even though he knew that what he was about to tell her would destroy any good memories she had of their time together, he refused to jeopardise her career.

‘Matteo is my son, Kelly. Mine and Sophia’s.’