Читать книгу The Italian Effect - Josie Metcalfe - Страница 8

MATTEO’S hand felt warm and strong, but the strength was carefully tempered…unlike some men Lissa knew who took a delight in grinding her bones together in a show of masculine power.

She’d only met the man a short while ago under the most stressful of conditions but she had a feeling that he would never need to resort to such petty tricks to prove his masculinity.

But it was his eyes that held her captivated, their dark brown depths almost black in the shadowed interior of the car as he gazed at her.

‘Today was a dreadful day after a dreadful night,’ he murmured, his words taking on a distracted air. ‘You might have heard that one of the local hotels has apparently had an outbreak of food poisoning. Some patients were coming to us so sick that they were already dehydrated, but as fast as we found beds for them and put fluids into them, more people arrived.’

He shook his head with a soft groan and dropped it back against the headrest but instead of releasing her hand, he tightened his fingers around hers, almost as if he needed the contact.

‘I was still trying to organise the last group and waiting for the victims of a car crash to arrive,’ he continued with the suspicion of a smile at the corner of his mouth, ‘when a bossy woman in a swimming costume carried my unconscious son into the hospital and started to tell me my job.’

‘I didn’t!’ she objected automatically, not sure that she liked the idea that he thought she was bossy.

The fact that he’d noticed what she’d been wearing was a different matter and his mention of it brought a swift wash of heat to her cheeks.

At least he couldn’t still see her costume. It was well hidden under the oversized white coat he’d found for her. For all that it was summer in Italy, by this time of night she could have been feeling rather chilly, not to say embarrassed, running around in beachwear.

‘Well…thank you for giving me a lift.’ She hurried into speech, suddenly realising that he was probably waiting for her to remember her manners. She tried to pull her hand away but he was apparently as reluctant to release her as she was to be released.

‘I would like to see you again,’ he said in a husky voice, and her heart gave a silly skip. Had he been affected by the same feeling of attraction, unwelcome though it was?

‘Of course, it will depend on the situation at the hospital,’ he continued apologetically. ‘We are really far too small to deal with large outbreaks of anything major. In spite of the holidaymakers, for half of the year this is just a quiet little town, but I would like the chance to thank you for taking care of Taddeo.’

She was still lecturing herself for her presumption as she let herself into her room.

‘Of course he was only suggesting taking you out as a thank you for helping his son,’ she scolded as she stripped off the baggy white coat and made her way to the shower. ‘Do you really think a man like that would be hard up for company? He’s hardly the type to be interested in short-term relationships with summer visitors—not like those lads on the beach.’

She’d tried to save face by telling him that thanks weren’t necessary but he’d been adamant. In the end, they’d left it that he would contact her when his work permitted.

Silently, she had decided that she would be ‘too busy’ to take him up on the invitation. He was an attractive and clearly very intelligent man and she would probably have thoroughly enjoyed spending an evening with him. Except…her reaction to the idea that he might be interested in her was ringing warning bells inside her head, reminding her that the last thing she wanted while she was in Italy was to get involved in a relationship…even a very short-term one.

She’d intended staying under the shower until she was utterly waterlogged but a few minutes later she was out and towelling her hair dry, too restless to unwind even under the steaming spray.

The evening was still relatively young by Italian standards, but she didn’t really know what she wanted to do.

The idea of going out to a restaurant by herself didn’t appeal somehow, and neither did dancing at the disco at the hotel at the other end of the parade. She’d stuck her head around the door last night and realised that she would probably be one of the oldest women in the room. Their average age seemed to be little more than eighteen, and as for the music…

Lissa sighed then grimaced, remembering the days when her parents used to complain about her own choice of music. Did this mean that she was rapidly becoming middle-aged at only twenty-eight years of age?

She pulled on some lightweight trousers and a cotton top then reached for the phone, resigned to the idea of room service and a book. It wouldn’t do her any harm to have an early night after all the excitement of the day. She could start her holiday afresh tomorrow and hopefully be in a better frame of mind for it.

‘Here we are again,’ Lissa muttered as she flopped back on her towel, her sunglasses firmly in position.

It was actually two days since Taddeo’s accident, but everything around her looked and sounded exactly the same…even the ice-cream van playing ‘Greensleeves’.

It wasn’t that the accident had put her off the idea of spending time on the beach; she hadn’t been particularly keen in the first place. In fact, she’d picked up some of the literature supplied in her room that detailed the various local attractions, and had spent the intervening time exploring a little.

The trouble was, finding the village where her grandmother had grown up wasn’t nearly as satisfying without someone to share it with. Nor was her enjoyment of a particularly stunning view or the series of ancient frescos she’d discovered in a tiny church.

If all had gone as she’d expected, there should have been two of them spending their days, and their nights, together.

‘Sightseeing on my own was a bit of a washout,’ she muttered under her breath as she put the bottle of sunscreen away in her bag. ‘Perhaps I’ll have a bit more luck getting into the holiday mood with all these happy people all around me.’

She rolled over onto her stomach and propped her chin on her folded arms while she gazed around.

‘It’s uncanny,’ she murmured as her eyes went from one group to another. ‘It’s almost as if the world has stood still since I was here the first time. Absolutely nothing has changed while I’ve been away.’

There were the same family groups, the same honeymooners still besotted with each other, the same group of predatory young men eyeing the scantily clad girls giggling their way across the beach.

‘No. Something has changed!’ she exclaimed under her breath in mock surprise when she heard the accents of the target of the young men’s comments. ‘They’re after new prey today—Scandinavian, perhaps?’

She wondered idly what had happened to the group of English girls being pursued last time she was here. Had they succumbed to the false smiles and well-practised lines, or had they seen through them in time?

‘Signorina?’ said a voice nearby. ‘Mi scusi. Sei medica?’

Lissa groaned silently as she rolled over and sat up. That was all she needed…another medical problem on a beach this far from proper hospital facilities. It must be someone who had recognised her from the other day.

She looked up at the young woman standing in front of her and suddenly realised that she recognised her.

‘Maddelena!’ she exclaimed, rising to her feet and finding herself wrapped in a fervent hug. ‘How is Taddeo? Is he well?’

‘Si. He is well. We have brought him back to the beach with the whole family so that he will have good memories. Come and see.’ She grabbed Lissa’s hand and gestured towards the other side of the beach. ‘He is over there with my mother. Come. You must join us.’

Lissa paused just long enough to grab her belongings then threaded her way through the various groups of holidaymakers towards an older woman waving a welcoming hand.

Introductions were made and Lissa found herself once more enveloped in an enthusiastic embrace.

‘What would we have done if you hadn’t been here to take care of our Taddeo?’ Maddelena’s mother exclaimed. ‘How can we thank you enough?’

Lissa tried to downplay her contribution, but she wasn’t having it.

‘No, no! We think you’re a heroine!’ she exclaimed, gesturing towards the rest of the family for confirmation. ‘Please…sit. Join us!’

It wasn’t long before they were also trying to bully her into joining them for some fast and furious games on the beach. Maddelena’s brothers and sisters and cousins were numerous enough to form two complete opposing teams.

With Taddeo only recently released from hospital, it was inadvisable for him to be involved in quite that much rough and tumble, so Lissa opted for keeping Taddeo occupied with Maddelena’s mother.

Soon enough the whole family rejoined them on the array of blankets and deck-chairs for the most sumptuous of picnics and a lazy hour of recuperation while she was regaled with numerous tales of family misdeeds and successes.

It was no hardship to listen when she realised just how often Matteo Aldarini’s name was included, in spite of the fact that he wasn’t actually a member of the family.

‘That’s my daddy,’ Taddeo had announced proudly the first time it had happened and she’d smiled at him. She’d been quite surprised to find out that although the youngster couldn’t remember much of the accident, he seemed to remember her quite clearly from her visit to his bedside in the paediatric ward.

‘He told me you carried me to his hospital on a surfboard when I hit my head,’ Taddeo continued, chattering so brightly that it was obvious that he’d suffered few after-effects from his mishap. ‘I fell on those rocks.’ He pointed at the wicked piles of broken limestone that could so easily have been the cause of his death.

Unfortunately, the sparkle in his eyes suggested that he was the sort of daredevil child whose accident wouldn’t put him off the next reckless challenge.

‘Who’s going swimming?’ demanded one of the cousins and there was a noisy response as everyone erupted from their lazy relaxation.

‘Will you swim with me?’ Taddeo demanded with a grin. ‘I’m good. I bet I can race you.’

A quick glance at Maddelena confirmed that he’d been cleared to swim.

‘I’ll look after him,’ Lissa promised and they were off across the beach at a run.

He launched himself into the waves with a shriek almost as soon as the water came up to his knees and it was soon obvious that his words hadn’t been an idle boast. He wouldn’t have to be able to swim much faster before he could beat her, legitimately. She’d only had to shorten her stroke slightly to allow him to pull ahead of her.

‘You swim like a fish!’ she exclaimed when they came up for air at the float anchored a little way out from shore. ‘How old were you when you learned?’

‘My daddy took me in the sea when I was just a baby. Only one year old. He said I was like a baby frog.’

‘Taddeo the tadpole,’ she said in English and chuckled, remembering that ‘Taddy’ was the nickname her mother had called her when she’d been learning to swim.

‘What is a tadpole?’ he demanded. She racked her brain for a moment but couldn’t remember the Italian word although she was sure her grandmother must have taught her once upon a time.

‘I’ll tell you when we go back on the beach,’ she promised, knowing that there was a dictionary in her bag. ‘Are you going to race me back? I need to practise.’

She could see that several of the younger members of the family had started to build an ambitious sand castle and thought that would probably be better for the youngster than too much swimming. At least he would be no more than a few steps from the blankets if he grew tired.

Not that he seemed lacking in energy as he ploughed his way through the water beside her.

Lissa was watching him so closely that she didn’t see another figure approaching so that when the water burst into a fountain beside her and Taddeo’s body was thrust right up into the air she gave a shriek and sank under the surface.

She’d swallowed several mouthfuls and was coughing and spluttering by the time she surfaced to find Taddeo suspended from his father’s hands and screeching with delight.

‘I am so sorry,’ his father said remorsefully as he reached out a hand to support her, Taddeo held against one broad shoulder with the other. ‘I wanted to surprise my son and I didn’t realise you hadn’t seen me coming.’

She couldn’t speak for a moment, having to concentrate all her energies on drawing her next breath without coughing.

‘Are you all right? Do you want me to help you to the beach?’ He must have put the child back in the water because now he had pulled her into his arms and was supporting her against his body.

Lissa shook her head as she heaved in another breath and realised with gratitude that it wasn’t going to trigger another bout.

‘I’ll be all right,’ she gasped and looked up into his face for the first time, straight into the dark intensity of deep brown eyes shot with unexpected streaks of gold.

Even in his car she hadn’t been this close to him and when she realised just how much contact there was between their nearly naked bodies she grew still.

As she was still out of her depth, he was supporting her in the water and she could feel the movement of every muscle in his powerful legs and lean torso as he controlled their combined weight. And he was so warm, his skin a deep bronze against her lighter gold with a dark swathe of wet hair spread right across the width of his chest.

‘I…I’m all right,’ she stammered and tried to lean away from the disturbing contact, but there was nothing to push against except him and her legs tangled between his, making the contact even more intimate. ‘If you let me go, I’ll swim back to shore.’

She glanced in that direction and saw that Taddeo had already reached the beach and joined the sandcastle construction crew.

‘But what if I don’t want to let you go?’ he murmured in a husky voice and tightened his arms fractionally.

Her eyes flew back to his in surprise. Not want to let her go? What was he saying?

‘Some of my ancestors were fishermen,’ he continued, the deep rumble of his voice reaching her through the contact between their bodies as much as through the air. She almost felt as if she was aware of him with every fibre of her body. ‘If a fisherman rescues a mermaid he would never just let her go without making sure she was all right. Then, if he’s lucky, she’ll reward him for taking care of her.’

‘You want a reward?’ she whispered, the words barely louder than the sound of the water around their bodies as she tried to come to terms with the idea that he might be flirting with her.

It took several seconds before she realised that her own question had sounded flirtatious, and that he’d taken it that way.

‘Of course I want a reward,’ he asserted warmly, his eyes flicking from her eyes to her mouth and back again.

Lissa’s tongue moistened lips gone suddenly dry and she realised that for the first time in several weeks the idea of kissing a man was appealing…this man.

‘Come out with me for a meal,’ he demanded suddenly and she blinked.

‘A meal?’ she repeated unsteadily, aghast at just how disappointed she was that he hadn’t kissed her. ‘But…’

‘I want to thank you properly for what you did for my son, so…may I collect you this evening?’

Gratitude.

Her spirits fell and drowned around her. Of course, the only reason why he was asking her out was out of gratitude for helping his son. How could she possibly have thought he was interested in her personally? He would have done the same if she’d been a man.

‘But won’t you be on duty?’ she asked, grabbing for the first excuse she could while she turned away from him and slid out of his arms. It was so easy this time that she knew he hadn’t tried to stop her.

‘The hospital has finally given me some time off for good behaviour,’ he said as he swam smoothly and silently beside her, easily keeping pace with her more nervous strokes. ‘So…will seven-thirty suit you? Taddeo will be going to bed early as he’s still officially recuperating.’

The part of her that had been so recently hurt wanted to turn him down with a pleasant excuse, but the rest of her, the part that had come to vibrant life when he’d wrapped her tightly against his body, was urging her to accept.

What else have you got to look forward to this evening? said an annoying little voice inside her head. Why turn down the invitation to share a meal with a handsome man, especially as you know in advance that he sees it merely as a way of repaying a debt? It isn’t as if there’s any danger of becoming involved in a relationship with him. You’re nothing more than chance acquaintances, after all.

‘Make it eight,’ she countered as her feet finally touched solid ground and she stood up to wade away from him through the shallows. ‘Taddeo told me he’s looking forward to his daddy reading a story to him tonight.’

She walked over to retrieve her towel, overwhelmingly conscious of his eyes following her, but her deliberate mention of his son had worked very effectively as a reminder.

For all the forbidden attraction she felt towards him, she was nothing more than a transient holidaymaker and he was the local doctor with a little son to consider. There was no way their two lives could ever do more than touch fleetingly.

‘There is a gentleman waiting for you in Reception,’ the voice had said over the phone and Lissa’s hands were shaking visibly as she smoothed them one last time over the dress she’d chosen.

It wasn’t that she was uncertain about the suitability of the style or its fit; the honey-coloured slip of silk was cut on fluid lines and was close to perfect. After all, her whole holiday wardrobe had been chosen with just such events in mind.

They just hadn’t been chosen for her to go out with this man.

It didn’t seem to matter that she kept reminding herself that she’d decided to steer clear of men for the foreseeable future, or that the offer of a meal was by way of showing his gratitude. For the last couple of hours her pulse and respiration had rocketed each time she’d thought about his invitation, and much though she felt she ought to cancel, she knew she had no intention of doing so.

‘He’s waiting,’ she muttered, conscious of time passing while she dithered, and a lifetime of punctuality wouldn’t allow her to delay any more.

‘You already know he’s totally out of bounds, so there’s absolutely no danger in spending an evening with him,’ she reminded herself, resorting to a pep talk in the descending lift. ‘He’s just a man.’

The doors slid open and her first sight of him gave the lie to her assertion. Her knees grew weak just at the sight of him waiting for her in the reception area and she had to admit that Matteo Aldarini wasn’t just anything.

It really wasn’t fair, she wailed silently as she gazed at him in something close to despair.

He was wearing dark formal trousers that accentuated the long lean length of his legs and his slim hips, and an open-necked white shirt that contrasted starkly with the bronze of his skin. The suit jacket was casually suspended over one shoulder by the loop, but there was nothing casual in the expression in his eyes as they travelled over her from head to toe and back again.

‘Che bella!’ he murmured finally as he took her hand and lifted it to his lips, then brought it through the crook of his arm. He turned to usher her towards the door without taking his eyes from her. ‘I will be the envy of every man tonight.’

There was a heat in his gaze that almost seemed to scorch where it touched and she was quite grateful for the shadows once they were outside. Perhaps he wouldn’t see the heat in her cheeks that betrayed just how much he was affecting her.

The meal was everything she could have wished, and more.

How could she fail to enjoy an evening spent in the company of such an attentive host? From the moment they were shown to their secluded table and he held her chair for her everything was so perfect it was almost a fantasy.

It didn’t matter that she’d sworn never to be swayed by externals again. She’d already had her trust broken that way once.

But somehow this was different. The surroundings, the food, the music…everything was wonderful, but it all paled into insignificance before the man beside her.

His conversation was witty and erudite and not only did he take the time to ask her questions about herself, he actually listened to her answers with obvious interest.

It had been so long since that had happened that she felt herself relaxing and opening up like some rare flower under the warmth of his regard.

All too soon their meal was over and he was ushering her out into the starry darkness.

He could have wrapped an arm around her shoulders, making the excuse that the evening air might seem chill after the warmth of the restaurant. To her disappointment he seemed perfectly content to walk beside her, their only contact her hand on his arm.

He paused as they neared her hotel, just a few minutes farther along the sea front.

‘Is it too late for you to take a walk with me?’ he asked quietly with a gesture towards the beach beside them, and she had to suppress the urge to shout her agreement. She certainly wasn’t ready for their evening to end just yet.

He must have taken her hesitation for uncertainty.

‘Of course, if you’d rather I took you straight back to your hotel…’

‘No!’ she exclaimed, then added hastily, ‘No, a walk would be nice after all that food. I wouldn’t be able to sleep yet.’

He turned towards the nearest path that led in a shallow zigzag down to the sand.

It was hard to believe that it was the same busy, noisy place that she’d visited earlier that day.

By night it was all but silent and deserted, only nature providing the sounds.

At the end of the zigzag he stopped to slip off his shoes and socks and roll up his trouser legs.

‘Shall I help you?’ He crouched in front of her and wrapped warm fingers around one ankle.

She braced a hand on his shoulder and slipped each sandal off in turn, glad that she’d decided to go barelegged tonight. It wouldn’t have fitted into the moonlit fantasy to have to struggle to remove tights or stockings in front of him.

‘We can leave our shoes here,’ he suggested, placing both pairs in a patch of dark shadow beside some rocks and folding his jacket on top of them before he straightened up again and held out a silent hand.

In unspoken agreement they turned towards the water and walked until their feet found the hard-packed sand before they changed direction to follow the edge of the waves.

The sea was calm tonight, far calmer than her turbulent thoughts. Inside her head an argument was raging, with one part of her longing to spend more time with this fascinating charismatic man, while the other urged her to keep her vow of caution and restraint.

There was no argument about the fact that she was regretting that their evening together was nearly over.

They’d walked all the way to the rocks at the far end of the beach before he paused beside her to stare out over the sea. Without a word being spoken they stood side by side, the breeze gently fluttering hair and clothing, and she was aware of a strange feeling of contentment.

‘I wasn’t ready for the evening to end,’ he said quietly, finally breaking the silence. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’

Lissa was so startled to hear him voice her own feelings that she wasn’t quick enough to keep a check on her tongue.

‘Neither was I,’ she admitted fervently, then could have kicked herself. What on earth was wrong with her? Over the last few weeks she thought she’d become adept at hiding her thoughts and feelings from others. Surely an evening in his company wasn’t enough for her to lose that hard-won control. She’d really hoped that she’d learned not to reveal her thoughts so impetuously.

How humiliating to lapse now, she groaned silently, turning her face away. And he was probably only being his usual polite self, telling her what he thought she wanted to hear…

‘Ah, Melissa, it’s more than that!’ he exclaimed, breaking into her scrambled thoughts as he turned her back to face him. ‘Tell me that you feel it, too—this crazy attraction between us.’

He captured each of her hands in his and pressed them against the soft cotton covering his chest.

She was so overwhelmed by his unexpected exclamation and so aware of the warmth of his body and the rhythmic beat of his heart that she almost missed his next words.

‘Do you not know that ever since I saw you standing there in the hospital, all long bare legs and big dark eyes, you have filled my mind…my thoughts.’ He brought her hands up to his lips and pressed a kiss to each.

Lissa was lost for words, her own heart beating so loudly that she was sure he must be able to hear it over the sound of the sea.

‘But this is so crazy,’ he continued, his tone almost one of exasperation. ‘We’re not teenagers to be overtaken by lust in the blink of an eye. We’re both responsible professional people. This can’t be real.’

‘You’re right. It is crazy,’ she said, trying to hang on to logic in the face of almost overwhelming temptation. How was she supposed to resist when he was looking at her like that?

‘Matt, we only met a few days ago and under the most fraught conditions.’ She tried to pull her hands free but he wouldn’t release her, forcing her to stay close enough to breathe in the musky warmth of his body. It certainly didn’t help as she tried to put her thoughts into words.

‘I’m just a visitor here,’ she continued, trying to be logical. ‘And I certainly didn’t come here looking for a holiday fling.’ Ah, but the thought of it was so beguiling. For the first time, she could almost identify with those groups of girls she’d been watching.

‘I never thought it for a moment,’ he agreed gently. ‘I’ve seen the young men lurking on the beach and in the square. It’s probably the same in the discos and nightclubs, although it’s years since I last bothered to go.’

It was almost uncanny how closely his thoughts had mirrored her own and when the silence grew between them she somehow knew that he was wondering where they went from here, too. He was still holding her hands against his chest and she drew comfort from the fact that he hadn’t released her.

‘Can we be friends?’ she suggested quietly, but without much hope that he would agree. He was such a strong, decisive sort of man, so vibrant, that she was afraid he wouldn’t be interested in half-measures like friendship.