Читать книгу Italian Doctor, Sleigh-Bell Bride - Sarah Morgan - Страница 7

CHAPTER THREE

HER heart thudding frantically in her chest, Liv finished strapping Bella’s finger and gave the mother a set of instructions.

It had proved really, really hard to work shoulder to shoulder with Stefano Lucarelli without once looking at him, but somehow she’d managed it.

Not that her display of willpower had done anything to reduce the effect he had on her. Whenever he was in the room, her body felt oddly lethargic, her skin tingled and there was a tiny thrill in her stomach that took her breath away.

Chemistry.

No, not chemistry. That implied something shared and there was no way he would feel the same way about her. Which meant that what she was feeling was…lust. Good old-fashioned lust.

Well, whatever it was called it was extremely irritating and inconvenient, she thought to herself crossly, as she directed mother and child back towards the exit. It had been the same the previous day in Resus. One glance was all it had taken. The look itself had probably lasted for less than a second, but the aftershocks had been with her all day and the depth of her reaction shocked her because she’d had no idea she was even capable of experiencing that sudden fiery burn of sexual awareness.

It was all Anna’s fault. If they hadn’t had that ridiculous conversation about sex, Liv wouldn’t have noticed Stefano Lucarelli.

Or maybe she would.

With an exasperated sigh, Liv dried her hands and forced herself to think about Jack, something she usually avoided at all costs. But desperate times called for desperate measures. If she thought about Jack, she’d remember why she was single.

Having thoroughly depressed herself, she was just about to call her next patient when Anna slid into the room, her eyes gleaming wickedly.

‘You’ll never guess what.’

Liv slipped her scissors back into her pocket. ‘No, I probably wouldn’t but I’m glad you’re here, because I need to ask a favour.’

‘Anything.’ Anna waved her hand airily. ‘Since our irascible consultant has taken a shine to you, you’re my best asset. But if it’s a pay rise, forget it.’

‘Can I work a split shift on Friday? Max has been picked for the football team.’

‘Really?’ Anna’s face brightened. ‘That’s fantastic. Yes, work a split. I’ll juggle the rota if I have to. Why don’t you let me pick him up from school afterwards and he can do a sleepover with Sam.’

‘I can’t ask you to do that—’

‘You’d be doing me a favour. If the boys are playing, I can write my Christmas cards. They’ve been glaring at me from inside their packaging for the past two weeks.’

Liv smiled. ‘All right. Thanks so much.’ It would save her having to beg yet another favour, this time from the childminder.

‘It’s the least I can do for Super-Nurse. Our cool, hard-to-please consultant is sending shivers of terror throughout the department but apparently you make the grade.’ Anna’s smile was wicked. ‘He strode up to me this morning and said in his most commanding voice, “When I am in Resus, I want Leev with me.” The way he says your name is incredibly sexy.’

Liv tried to ignore the bump of her heart. ‘You need to work on your Italian accent. That was a terrible imitation.’

‘What exactly did you do to him in Resus to make him love you so much? I really want to know. I’m trying not to be offended by the fact he clearly thinks the rest of us are rubbish.’

‘We just worked well together.’

Anna gave a slow smile. ‘Obviously you make a lovely couple. Have you invited him to the Snowflake Ball yet?’

‘No, I haven’t invited him to the Snowflake Ball, because I’m not going.’

‘You should invite him. At least then you’ll have something to tell your grandchildren.’ Anna glanced over her shoulder to check they were alone and then whipped a piece of paper out of her pocket. ‘One of the nurses in fracture clinic looked Sexy Stefano up on the internet and came across an interview with his ex—some gorgeous blonde Italian actress.’ She unfolded the paper. ‘Listen to this—“One of the drawbacks of Italian men is that they’re extremely macho and dominating.”’ Anna glanced up. ‘Is that a drawback? I’d give anything for David to ignore the fact that I’m loading the dishwasher and just throw me down onto the sofa for a bit of wild sex.’

‘Anna, for goodness’ sake—’

‘You haven’t heard anything yet.’ Anna cleared her throat. ‘“Stefano was so hot tempered and passionate that our entire