Читать книгу St Piran’s: Italian Surgeon, Forbidden Bride - Margaret McDonagh - Страница 10

SHE didn’t look any different.

Jess peered at her reflection in the mirror above the basin in the tiny bathroom next to her office. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected to see, but she felt different. Changed somehow. And scared. Because of Giovanni Corezzi. Thinking about him made her pulse race and raised her temperature to an uncomfortable level?one she couldn’t blame on the scorching August weather.

After splashing cool water on her overheated cheeks, she buried her face in the softness of her towel. Even with her eyes closed, images of St Piran’s new Italian surgeon filled her mind. Unsettled by her reaction to him, she had endeavoured to keep things on a professional footing, determined to banish the disturbing feelings he roused within her.

She hadn’t wanted to like him, but it had proved impossible not to. Ignoring the inexplicable and overwhelming blaze of attraction would have been easier had he been arrogant and horrible to work with, but nothing was further from the truth. He’d been compassionate and patient. As his initial suspicion had evaporated once he had witnessed her with the Rowlands, the likelihood was that she would be called to work with him again.

What was she going to do?

Jess sighed, discarding the towel and glancing at her reflection again. Less than an hour in his company had left her shaken and anxious. Megan had been right to describe him as hands on and caring. It was something Jess admired, yet it made him even more dangerous to her.

She had to find a way to limit his impact on her. He had reawakened things long forgotten, things she would sooner remained buried. She had to fight the desire he roused in her… because nothing could come of it. Ever. And she was leaving herself open to heartache if, even for a moment, she allowed herself to imagine anything else.

For the last four years, since the bombshell had hit her, changing her life for ever, she had turned in on herself, keeping focused on her new career and keeping people at bay. She hadn’t worked so hard to reinvent herself to allow the first man to stir her long-dormant hormones into action to undo everything she had achieved. In the unlikely event she could ever trust a man again, there was no way she could allow any kind of relationship to develop. Not beyond friendship. To do so would be too great a risk. Besides, once Giovanni learned the truth she had kept secret for so long, he wouldn’t want her anyway.

Quashing disobedient feelings of disappointment and regret—and, worse, a flash of self-pity—Jess hardened her battered heart. She had to keep Giovanni Corezzi at a distance and ensure any meetings with him were kept as professional and brief as possible.

Shocked how late it was, she returned to her office. She’d had to rearrange her schedule for the Rowlands, which meant she had much to catch up on and now she would have to rush if she was not to be late for an important appointment.

Five days ago, and less than three weeks after moving into the run-down cottage she had bought near Penhally village, an unseasonal storm had caused serious damage. Today the insurance company’s assessor was carrying out an inspection, after which Jess hoped permission would be given for the repairs. The sooner the better… before anyone discovered the unconventional lengths she was going to to keep a roof over her head.

Smothering her guilt, she took care of a few urgent tasks before shutting down her computer. She just had time to dash across the grounds to see hospital handyman Sid Evans and collect the precious cargo he was watching for her.

‘Hello, Jess, love,’ the kindly man greeted her as she hurried through his open workshop door. ‘Everything is ready for you.’

‘Thanks, Sid.’

‘Here we are, all present and correct,’ he told her in his lilting Welsh accent as he handed her a basket.

‘I’m sorry to rush, Sid. Thanks for your help.’

‘No worries.’ He smiled, but Jess could see the sadness that lurked in his eyes. Following the recent death of Winnie, Sid’s beloved wife of forty years, Jess had taken time to visit with him. ‘And I’m the one who’s grateful. You’ve been wonderful, love, letting me talk about my Winnie. I’ll not forget it.’

‘It’s been my privilege,’ she replied, a lump in her throat.

Jess hurried back to the psychology unit, glad everyone had left for the day, allowing her to sneak the basket into her odd little annexe at the back of the building. Dubbed the ‘cubby hole’, it had been assigned to her as the only spare room available, but she couldn’t have been more pleased. Apart from the office and next-door bathroom, it had an adjoining anteroom and a basic kitchen. Away from the main offices, it gave her privacy, which suited her just fine. Especially with circumstances as they were… circumstances no one else knew about and which brought another surge of guilt.

Setting down the basket, Jess checked the contents then picked up her bag and keys. The sooner she went home, the sooner she could return to St Piran’s. Hopefully she would be too busy in the coming hours to think about Giovanni Corezzi.

Opening her office door, she hurried out, only to collide with something solid and warm and smelling divinely of clean male with a hint of citrus and musk. Her ‘Oh’ of surprise was muffled against a broad chest as she lost her balance.

‘Easy there,’ Giovanni’s voice soothed.

His hands steadied her, closing on her bare arms above the elbows. She felt the impact of his touch in every particle of her being, the brush of his fingers on sensitive skin making her tingle. She felt as if she’d been branded. A bolt of awareness and long-suppressed need blazed through her, scaring her.

The urge to lean into him and savour the moment was very strong. It seemed for ever since she had been touched and held, even in a platonic way. Not that there was anything platonic about the way Giovanni made her feel! But that knowledge acted like a bucket of icy water. Panic gripped her, both at the physical contact and her overwhelming reaction to this man. The need to break the spell overrode everything else and she struggled free, her desperation causing her to push away from him with more force than she had intended.

‘What are you doing here?’ she challenged brusquely.

Intense blue eyes regarded her with curiosity. ‘Forgive me, I didn’t know this part of the hospital was out of bounds.’ His tone was gently teasing, but a blush stained her cheeks in acknowledgement of her uncharacteristic rudeness.

‘It’s not, of course, Mr Corezzi, but—’ Jess broke off. Everything about him threw her into confusion.

‘Please, call me Gio. I came to update you on Cody,’ he explained, his throaty voice and sexy accent sending a shiver down her spine. ‘And to thank you for your help.’

Her breath locked in her lungs as he rewarded her with a full-wattage smile. ‘I was just doing my job.’

‘I also wish to discuss another patient soon to be admitted whom I feel will benefit from your involvement,’ he continued.

‘That’s fine. But is it urgent? I’m in a hurry.’

Although she had softened her tone, his dark eyebrows drew together in a frown. ‘It’s not urgent, but I hoped you’d have a minute…’

‘I’m afraid I don’t.’ Jess cursed her stiltedness. She seemed unable to behave normally around him. ‘I’m sorry, I have to rush home. I’ll talk with you later.’

Eager to make her escape without him seeing inside her office and discovering the secret she had kept hidden so far, Jess fumbled behind her for the handle and pulled the door closed with a determined snap. She turned round, removing herself from his inspection, locked her office and pocketed the key. Then, carefully skirting him, she walked briskly to the main entrance, conscious of him following her.

‘Jessica…’

The way he said her name tied her insides into knots. It wasn’t just his voice or pronunciation but that he alone used her full name and made it sound like a caress. Thankful she had a genuine excuse to escape, she opened the front door and stepped aside for him to exit ahead of her.

‘I have to run,’ she said, concerned at his reluctance to leave.

A muscle pulsed along the masculine line of his jaw, indicating his dissatisfaction. When he stepped outside, allowing her to do the same, the door swinging closed and the lock clicking into place, Jess released the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.

He looked down at her, a brooding expression on his far-too-handsome face. ‘Later.’

It was more demand than question and it filled Jess with alarm… and a dangerous sense of excited anticipation that was the most scary of all.

‘Later,’ she allowed reluctantly.

As she hurried towards her car, she sensed him watching her. So much for her earlier resolution. He was going to be more difficult to avoid than she’d anticipated. And this second encounter had confirmed what a risk he posed to the carefully constructed world she had manufactured for herself. Now a sexy Italian neurosurgeon had bulldozed his way into her life and was in danger of unravelling everything she had worked so hard for.

Heavy-hearted at the way his first day at St Piran’s was ending, Gio washed, disposed of his scrubs and dressed in the jeans and short-sleeved shirt he had pulled on after arriving home. He’d not long left the hospital after making a final check of his patients when the emergency call had come for him to return.

A multidisciplinary team had assembled in Theatre, but despite their best efforts their nineteen-year-old casualty had succumbed to severe chest trauma and brain damage after an alcohol-induced accident.

Gio sighed at the waste of a life. Pain stabbed inside him as his thoughts strayed to another young life that had been cut cruelly short and he closed his eyes, determined to control his emotions and push the destructive memories away. Instead, he found himself thinking of Jessica Carmichael.

His impulsive visit to her office in the psychology unit—situated in one of the buildings adjacent to the main hospital and abutting the consultants’ car park—had not gone to plan. He usually got on well with people. ‘You could sell sand in the desert, Cori!’ Remembering the teasing words brought both amusement and an ache to his heart. Friendliness, politeness and a touch of flattery soothed troubled waters, but it wasn’t working with Jessica, who remained tense and reserved.

Their unsatisfactory encounter had disappointed and confused him. He lived for his job, trying each day to make up for the failings that had haunted him for the last five years. Which was why his immediate and intense response to Jessica had shocked him. She had affected him on a deeply personal level. And he didn’t do personal. Not any more. His reaction—and the attraction he wished he could deny—left him disconcerted and off balance.

When she had rushed out of her office and cannoned into him, instinct had taken over and he’d caught her as she’d stumbled. He’d felt the incredible softness of her skin under his fingers, the press of her femininely curved body against him, and he’d breathed in the teasing aroma of chocolate that lingered on her hair and skin. His attraction and body’s response to her had been instant and undeniable.

But it was Jessica’s reactions that had left him puzzled and unsettled. Her alarm had been real, and he had not imagined the panic in her beautiful green eyes as she’d wrenched herself free. For some reason Jessica didn’t like to touch or be touched and he was determined to find out what lay behind it. There were several possibilities and each one caused him concern.

Gio stepped out of the surgeons’ wash room, unsure what to do next. Why had Jessica been so dismissive of him and in such a rush to leave? He was positive she had felt the same bolt of awareness that had slammed into him when they’d first met. And that it had scared her. So could it be, he wondered, heading to the paediatric intensive care unit to check on Cody, that Jessica’s cool professionalism and anxiety were flight responses? Was she trying to ignore the feelings and make them go away? If so, he could tell her it didn’t work.

Using his swipe card, he let himself into PICU. Aside from the noise of the various monitoring machines and ventilators, the unit was quiet and dimly lit. He nodded to the charge nurse on duty and made his way to the bay that held Cody’s bed. As he approached, he heard voices, one of which was Jessica’s. He halted, surprised. What was she doing back here at this time of night? Curious, he listened before making his presence known.

‘And when I think what could have happened,’ Elsa Rowland commented, fear and guilt lacing her voice.

‘You mustn’t blame yourself, Elsa,’ he heard Jessica respond softly, the gentle burr of her Scottish accent so attractive to him. ‘A chronic subdural haematoma builds gradually. It can be weeks, even months, before the symptoms show. You did the right thing bringing Cody to A and E as soon as you realised something was wrong.’

‘Thank you.’ The woman’s relief was tangible. ‘I know Mr Corezzi explained it all to us but I didn’t take anything in. And someone told me he’s new. The thought of Cody’s head being cut open is frightening.’

‘Of course it is. But you can trust Mr Corezzi. He might be new to St Piran’s but he’s a very skilled and highly respected consultant neurosurgeon and he’s come to us from London with a tremendous reputation,’ Jessica explained to the anxious woman, her glowing endorsement of him taking Gio by surprise.

‘Cody looks so still and small. Are you sure everything is all right?’ the tearful mother asked, and although Gio wanted to reassure her, he was keen to hear what Jessica would say.

‘He’s doing very well,’ she replied, her tone conveying sympathy and authority. ‘It’s standard procedure for him to be in Intensive Care following the operation.’

Gio was impressed. He was also intrigued by the depth of Jessica’s knowledge. She seemed too assured and informed for someone with no medical training.

‘Ally’s gone to get something to eat. The nurses want us to go home, but I can’t bear to be away from Cody,’ Elsa fretted.

‘There’s a cot in a room nearby for parents to use, and I’d advise you both to get what sleep you can there. But after tonight it would be best to get back into a normal routine. You and Ally need to keep strong so you are fit and ready to take Cody home,’ Jessica urged, her common-sense approach pleasing him. ‘I’ll see you again tomorrow, but you can ring me if you need anything.’

There was a pause in the conversation and Gio waited a moment before making a sound and entering the bay. Elsa Rowland gave him a weary smile as he greeted her, but his attention immediately strayed to Jessica. She tensed, her gaze skittering to his and away again, a delicate flush of colour staining her cheeks.

As he checked Cody, who was sleeping peacefully, and looked over his chart, Gio was attuned to Jessica. What was she doing back at the hospital? Had she misled him when she’d said she was leaving for the day? He hoped to find answers as soon as Cody’s father returned and, after a few pleasantries, Gio was able to escort Jessica out.

‘I was surprised to see you,’ he told her once they had left the unit and were in no danger of being overheard. ‘I thought you had left for the day.’

Once more a tinge of colour warmed her smooth cheeks. ‘I had to rush home to meet the insurance company’s assessor. I said I’d be back,’ she added defensively, refusing to meet his gaze.

She had said that but he’d assumed she had meant the next day. Apparently unsure what to do with her hands now that she was no longer carrying the assorted paraphernalia he’d seen her with before, she pushed them into her skirt pockets.

‘What about you? Why are you still here?’

Her questions cut across the electrically charged atmosphere that hummed between them.

‘I was called in after a young woman was knocked down by a coach.’ He gave her a brief summary of the events and the unsuccessful struggle in the operating theatre. ‘Her injuries were too severe… there was nothing we could do.’

Jessica’s expression softened, understanding and sympathy visible in her olive-green eyes, and in her voice when she spoke. ‘What a rotten end to your first day.’

‘It could have finished on a better note,’ Gio admitted with a rueful shrug, running the fingers of one hand through his hair.

Leaning back against the wall, Jessica met his gaze, and he witnessed her first real smile for him. Dio, but she was beautiful! The heavy weight settled back on his chest, making it difficult to breathe, and he felt each rapid thud of his heart.

‘If it’s not too late and you still want to talk about your patient…’Jessica’s words trailed off and she bit her lip, looking hesitant and unsure.

‘That would be good, thank you.’ He’d take any opportunity to spend time with this elusive and most puzzling woman. ‘Shall we go to the canteen? I’ve not eaten and the now congealed ready meal waiting in my microwave holds no appeal.’

Gio thought she was going to refuse and he found himself holding his breath as he waited for her answer. That it meant so much to him and he wanted so badly to be in her company should have worried him—would have worried him even one day ago. But in the short hours since he had met Jessica he felt changed somehow. Where this inexplicable but intense attraction was heading he had no idea, but he was keen to find out.

‘All right.’

However reluctantly given, her agreement cheered him, and as he walked by her side down the deserted hospital corridor he felt as if he was setting out on one of the most important journeys of his life… with no map to help guide him and no clue as to the final destination.