His Summer Bride

‘It isn’t Katie’s fault,’ Jack said, after he had swallowed the tablets. ‘The old ticker isn’t what it used to be. There isn’t much more that you doctors can do for me—you know it, and I know it.’

‘I never give up on a patient,’ Nick said, his tone firm. ‘You’ll be fine if you take things easy. Lie back and give the medicine time to take effect.’

They sat with her father for several more minutes, watching as his breathing slowly became easier.

‘I feel much better now,’ he said, after a while. ‘I’ll be okay.’

‘Maybe, but you can stay where you are for a bit longer,’ Nick told him. ‘The specialist will be stopping by as soon as he’s finished dealing with a patient. He’ll sort out your medication and make sure that you’re in a good enough condition to go home.’

His pager went off and he turned to Katie. ‘I have to go and deal with an emergency that’s coming in,’ he said. ‘Maybe we could meet up some time soon for coffee or dinner? I feel there are things we need to talk about.’

He was probably thinking of her father’s illness, and she acknowledged that with a slight inclination of her head. ‘Actually, I have the test results on Mrs. Wyatt, back in my office—the lady who fell and injured herself at your hotel. She gave me permission to share them with you, although I haven’t had time to look at them properly yet. I suppose we should arrange a time to get together to talk about them.’

He nodded. ‘Would it be too much of an imposition for you to come over to my beach house with them, say, later this afternoon? I have to be there because I have some people coming to do some work in the courtyard. Just say if it’s a problem for you.’

She thought about it and then shook her head. ‘It’s not a problem. I’m off duty, and you don’t live too far from my place.’

‘That’s great. I’ll see you then.’ He glanced towards her father. ‘I’m glad you’re feeling better, Jack. Take care. I’ll see you again before too long, I expect.’

He left the room, and Jack sent Katie a questioning look. ‘There was a problem at the hotel?’

She nodded and explained what had happened. ‘I think he’s worried in case the woman or her relatives decide to take it to court. They might try to say her fall was the fault of the hotel proprietor.’

He frowned. ‘I can see how he would be worried. It won’t simply be the effect this might have on trade at the hotel—the Bellinis have always taken pride in doing the right thing. Nick’s father is ultra-traditional in that respect. Everything has to be done the proper way. He’s a very private man, and he deplores any negative publicity.’

‘I can imagine. But so far they’ve managed to keep things quiet, and anyway there’s a lot riding on the results of various tests that were carried out at the lab.’

‘And now he wants you to take the results over to the house?’ Jack sent her a thoughtful glance. ‘Do I detect more than just a professional collaboration going on here?’

Katie’s eyes widened at the question, and she gave a faint shrug of her shoulders. ‘You heard what he said. It’s just easier this way.’

She wasn’t going to say any more on that score. Her father hadn’t earned the right to intervene in her private life, had he? Besides, how could she possibly answer him when she didn’t know for sure herself what had prompted the invitation? The deed had been accomplished before she’d had time to give it much thought.

Jack was frowning. ‘I could see that he was interested in you from the outset… but you should be careful how you go, with him, Katie. I know you’re still recovering from what went on back in the UK, and I wouldn’t want to see you hurt all over again.’

He halted for a second or two to allow his lungs to recover. ‘Nick Bellini’s a law unto himself where women are concerned. They seem to fall for him readily enough, but he’s never yet settled down with any of them. Don’t go getting your heart broken over the likes of him. He’s a fine doctor—he’s kept an eye on me over the last few years, just because he was concerned for me—and he’s a great businessman, a wonderful friend and associate, but he’s lethal to the fairer sex.’

Katie frowned. He was only telling her what she’d already guessed. That newspaper headline that had been bugging her for the last few days suddenly swam into her head once more, and this time she could see it with perfect clarity. ‘Tearful heiress Shannon Draycott leaves hotel under cover of darkness. Bellini tycoon declines to comment.’ There had been more. The article had said something about a broken engagement, and there had been a lot of conjecture, along with several interviews with friends of the young woman. They all painted a picture of a tragic heiress who had been left in the lurch.

‘Well, thanks for warning me. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind.’

Was Nick a man who was afraid of commitment, flitting from one woman to another? Katie was determined not to get involved with anyone like that ever again. She had been devastated when her relationship with James had ended. She had trusted him and believed they might have had a future together, but it had all gone terribly wrong, and now she would do everything she could to steer clear of any man who might cause her pain.

She studied her father. He was an enigma. He looked gaunt, with prominent cheekbones and dark shadows under his eyes, and something in her made her want to reach out to him and wrap her arms around him. It was confusing.

All those years he had stayed away, removing himself from her life, and yet now he was acting like a protective father, as though her well-being was suddenly important to him. She couldn’t quite work him out. For so long she had tried not to think about him at all. He had walked out on her and her mother and she couldn’t forgive him for that… and yet now her emotions were torn.

Little by little, as she came to know him better, he was beginning to tug at her heartstrings. She didn’t know how it had happened, but she felt sorry for him and in spite of herself she was worried about him. He looked so thin and wasted, and it occurred to her that he probably wasn’t eating as well as he should.

As for Nick Bellini, she’d already learned to be wary of him, and she had to be grateful that her father had let her know what she was up against. Anyway, surely her fears were groundless? Her relationship with Nick was going to be strictly professional, wasn’t it?

It didn’t surprise her one bit to discover that he had the reputation of a compulsive heartbreaker.

A couple of hours later, Katie dropped her father off at his house and left him in the care of Libby, his housekeeper. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t you worry,’ the woman said, and Katie immediately felt reassured. Libby was kindly and capable looking, and Katie knew she was leaving him in good hands.

Then she set off for Nick’s beach house. The scenery was breathtaking as she drove along, with the sun glinting on the blue Pacific Ocean and the rugged length of the coastline stretching out ahead of her.

Living here was like being dropped into a secluded corner of paradise, she reflected as she parked her car in Nick’s driveway a few minutes later. She slid out of the car and looked around, gazing out over the bay and watching the surf form lacy white ribbons on the sand. Black oystercatchers moved busily amongst the rocks, seeking out mussels and molluscs with their long orange beaks.

‘Katie, I’m glad you could make it,’ Nick said, coming out of the house to greet her. ‘I was on the upper deck when I saw you arrive.’ His arms closed around her in a welcoming hug, and in spite of herself her senses immediately responded in a flurry of excitement. ‘How’s your father?’ he asked.

‘Much better.’

‘I’m glad.’

His arms were warm and strong, folding her to him, and for a wild moment or two she was tempted to nestle against him and accept the shelter he offered. She could feel the reassuring, steady beat of his heart through the thin cotton of her top.

‘It’s good to see you,’ he murmured, stepping back a little to look at her. ‘I hope you didn’t mind coming out here to visit me—it’s just that I have to be at the house to oversee some work I’m having done out back, as I told you. The workmen are installing a hot tub in the courtyard.’

‘That sounds like fun,’ she said, easing herself away from him. She ran a hand over her jeans in a defensive gesture, smoothing the denim. This closeness was doing strange things to her heart rate, and it wouldn’t do to have him see what effect he was having on her. ‘You certainly have the climate for it out here.’

He smiled, his hand slipping to her waist as he gently led her towards the house. ‘I’m looking forward to trying it out. All those jets of water are supposed to make you feel really good, like a soothing massage.’ He grinned. ‘Perhaps you might like to try it with me some time?’

‘I…uh…’ She gave a soft intake of breath. ‘I’d have to think about that.’ She blinked. The prospect of sharing a hot tub with him was much more than she could handle right then. In fact, she’d have to know him a whole lot better before anything like that ever happened.

He laughed softly. ‘I’ll take that as a definite maybe,’ he said. ‘Let me show you around the house.’

‘Thank you. I’d like that.’ She gazed at the beautiful building as they walked along the path. It was multi-storeyed, with sloping roofs at varying levels, the tiles a soft sandstone colour that contrasted perfectly with the white-painted walls. There were arched windows and glass doors, and there were steps leading from a balconied terrace on the upper floor, providing external access to the ground below. Behind the whole edifice was a backdrop of green Monterey pines, and in the far distance she could see lush, forested mountain slopes. ‘This is fantastic,’ she murmured. ‘It’s a spectacular house.’

She turned to look back at the Pacific. ‘I really envy you, living out here by the ocean. It must be lovely to look out over the water every day and gaze at the cliffs that form the bay.’

‘It’s very relaxing. I know I’m fortunate to be able to enjoy it.’ He showed her into the house, and they stepped into a wide entrance hall whose pale-coloured walls reflected the light. The oak floor gleamed faintly.

He led the way into a room just off the hall. ‘This is the lounge, as you can see. I tend to sit in here to read the paper or watch TV of an evening. It’s a very peaceful room, and it looks out over the patio garden. And, of course, with the French doors it’s handy for the courtyard… and, from now on, the hot tub, too,’ he added with a grin.

She peered out through the open doors at the courtyard that was closed in on three sides by different wings of the building. The remaining side was made up of a decorative screen wall, providing a glimpse into the garden beyond. ‘I can see the men are still working on it. It looks as though you have everything you need out there—a place to relax and enjoy the sunshine, a barbecue area, and all those lovely flowers and shrubs to enjoy. It looks like a little piece of heaven.’

She turned to gaze around the room. ‘I like the pale-coloured furnishings in here, too. It just adds to the feeling of light.’ Her glance took in glass shelves and a low table, before trailing over the sumptuous sofa and chairs. Pastel-coloured cushions added a delicate touch.

‘I’m glad you like it,’ he said, claiming her hand and leading her through an open doorway. ‘Let me show you the kitchen, and I’ll make us a drink. What would you like—coffee, tea? You could have iced tea, if you prefer. Or maybe you’d like something stronger?’

‘Iced tea sounds fine, thanks.’ She stopped to look around. ‘Oh, this is lovely,’ she said with a soft gasp. ‘And it’s such a large room, too.’ The cupboards and wall units were all finished in the palest green, verging on white, and marble worktops gleamed palely in the sunlight that poured in through the windows. There were shelves filled with bright copper pans, and corner wall units with attractive ceramics on display.

‘Well, it serves as a breakfast kitchen,’ Nick explained, going over to the fridge. ‘There’s a separate dining room through the archway, but I tend to eat in here, mostly… or upstairs on the upper deck. I can look out over the ocean from there.’

‘That sounds like bliss.’

He nodded, putting ice into two glasses and adding tea from a jug. ‘It is. Would you like lemon and mint with this?’ he asked, indicating the iced tea.

‘Please. That would be good.’

He placed the two glasses on a tray, along with the jug of tea and a plate of mixed hors d’oeuvres. ‘We’ll take these upstairs and I’ll show you the upper deck.’It’s great up there at this time of day, and you can see over the whole of the bay from the terrace.’

She followed him up the stairs, walking through a second sitting room and out through beautifully embellished glass doors onto the balcony terrace.

He was right. The view from the deck was fantastic, and Katie could even see the wildflowers that grew on the craggy slopes in the distance. He pulled out a chair for her by a wrought-iron table, and she sat down and began to relax.

Out here, there were tubs of yellow and orange California poppies, their silky petals moving gently in the faint breeze, and against the far wall, standing tall alongside a trellis, were spiky blue delphiniums. Hanging baskets provided even more colour, with exuberant displays of petunias.

‘Help yourself to food,’ he said, sliding a plate across the table towards her. ‘I wasn’t sure whether you would have eaten or not before you came.’

‘Thanks.’ She glanced at the food on display. There was pâté with crackers, honey-glazed chicken and a spicy tomato dip with tortilla chips. ‘It looks delicious.’

He smiled. ‘Not my doing, I’m afraid. I have food sent over from the hotel quite often. I don’t always have time to cook.’

‘I’m not surprised. You must spend the bulk of your time at the hospital, and even if you don’t work on a day-to-day basis at the vineyard or the hotel, there must be a fair amount of organisational work to deal with. I expect you’re the one who has to make the most important decisions, aren’t you?’

He nodded. ‘That’s true. Things tend to crop up from time to time that need my attention—like this unfortunate episode with Mrs Wyatt.’ He frowned. ‘I went to see her, and I’m really pleased that she’s looking a lot better than she was a few days ago.’

Katie smiled. ‘Yes. I couldn’t help noticing that you arranged for her to have a private room—the basket of fruit and the flowers you sent were a lovely touch. I know she appreciated them.’

‘It was the least I could do.’ He spread pâté onto a cracker and bit into it. ‘People come to the hotel expecting to have a good time and live for a while in the lap of luxury. They don’t want to find themselves being taken out of there by ambulance.’

‘But you weren’t obliged to pay anything towards her hospital care, were you?’

He shrugged. ‘No, that’s true. Her insurance company will pay for that… but I wanted to be certain she had the upgrade to make sure that she’s comfortable, and, anyway, I count it as good customer relations.’

‘Hmm. I can see that you take your role as hotelier seriously.’ She dipped a tortilla chip into the fiery salsa sauce. ‘You must be anxious to know what caused Mrs Wyatt to fall and break her shoulder. Would you like to hear the results of the tests?’

‘Yes, definitely… I’m glad she said it would be all right for you to discuss them with me. Is it what we thought—a TIA?’

She nodded. ‘It looks that way. The doctors monitored her heart and discovered that she has atrial fibrillation—as you know, that kind of abnormal heart rhythm can sometimes cause clots to form in the blood vessels. They did a CT scan, along with blood tests, and found a narrowing of the arteries. The general feeling is that she probably developed a blood clot that temporarily disturbed the flow of blood to the brain. This most likely dissolved of its own accord, but it’s possible that more will form as time progresses if she doesn’t have treatment.’

‘So presumably they have her on anti-thrombotic therapy? And they’ll give her medication to counteract the abnormal heart rhythm?’

‘That’s right.’ She took a sip of iced tea. ‘It looks as though you’re in the clear—or, should I say, the hotel’s in the clear?’ She smiled at him. ‘That must be a huge relief to you.’

‘Yes, it is. I can’t tell you how badly I needed to hear that. It’s great news. Lucky, too, for Mrs Wyatt, because now she gets to have the treatment she needs to put her back on the road to health.’ He rested back in his seat, taking a swallow of iced tea and looking the picture of contentment. ‘Thanks for telling me that, Katie. I’m really obliged to you for finding out all this information.’

He set down his glass and looked her over, leaning towards her. ‘In fact, if I didn’t think you’d take it amiss, I could kiss you for it.’ He came closer, as though, having hit on the idea, he was ready to carry it through into immediate action, regardless of the consequences.

Katie flattened herself against the back of her chair, deftly foiling his attempt. ‘I think you’d better give that one a miss,’ she said, her green gaze meshing with his. ‘It wouldn’t do if every male doctor tried to kiss me whenever I presented them with good results, would it?’

His eyes narrowed. ‘Have any tried?’

‘Oh, yes. From time to time.’

‘And succeeded?’ He was frowning now, his blue eyes darkening.

‘Maybe. Once or twice.’ His expression crystallised into one of seething frustration, and she laughed softly. ‘Sorry about that. I couldn’t resist. You looked so put out.’

He gazed at her, totally nonplussed. ‘You certainly got me going there,’ he said, his mouth twisting. ‘My fault. I should have known any number of men would want to try their luck with you. That goes for me, too. Somehow, ever since we first met, I’ve been hung up on getting to know you better… much better.’

She pulled a face. ‘Well, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea—not in the way you mean, at least.’

He studied her thoughtfully for a moment or two, his expression serious. ‘He hurt you badly, didn’t he—this man from back home? You must have been very much in love with him.’

‘I thought I was,’ she said awkwardly. ‘I thought I knew him, but perhaps I was blind to his faults. He had a lot of charisma, and I believed he was saving it all for me. It turned out I was wrong.’

And wasn’t Nick so very much like James? He had that scintillating charm that could sweep a woman off her feet, and Katie was no exception. She had to be on her guard. No matter how hard he tried, she wasn’t going to succumb to Nick’s winning ways. Hadn’t her father warned her about him?

‘But let’s not dwell on any of that,’ she murmured. ‘I’m here with you now, and we do have two things in common… our work and my father. Maybe it would be safer all round if we simply kept things between us on that level.’

‘Hmm…maybe.’ He sounded doubtful. His eyes were still dark, and there was a brooding quality to his expression.

Katie decided to plough on with her new diversionary tactic. She helped herself to some food and said quietly, ‘Perhaps we should talk about what happened this morning—about your efforts to persuade my father to sell his land, and the effect it’s having on him. Maybe we need to clear the air on that score. You know I’d sooner you put an end to any attempt at making a deal. Anyway, I have the feeling he’s not at all sure about going ahead with it.’

Nick frowned. ‘He hasn’t said as much to me. and while there’s a chance he’ll concede to us, we’re bound to keep trying. It would mean a lot to my father to bring the vineyard back into our keeping. My great-great-grandfather bought the land at the turn of the century, but a parcel of it was sold off some years back when the family fell on hard times. It’s a matter of pride to my father to restore the vineyards into family ownership once more. He sees it as our inheritance. It’s very important to him.’

‘That may be so, but I can’t say it any clearer—I think you should hold off on those negotiations.’

Nick’s steady gaze met hers. ‘Jack doesn’t need you to hold his hand where business is concerned.’

A glint of steel came into Katie’s eyes. ‘I have to disagree with you on that one,’ she said. ‘And this is definitely not the right time to be pursuing it with him.’

Nick frowned. ‘That’s another matter, of course. We both saw how ill he was today.’ He poured more iced tea into her glass. ‘You think your father needs to be cosseted but he takes it on himself to take care of business matters, and then it becomes a matter of pride for him to see things through.’

So, no matter what she said, he wasn’t giving up on his plan to secure her father’s land. She drank her iced tea and studied him over the rim of her glass. Clearly, his family was not going to be satisfied with the empire they had built up. They would go after whatever they wanted. Forewarned was forearmed.

Nick’s phone bleeped, and he glanced down at the screen briefly. ‘It looks as though the workmen have finished installing the hot tub,’ he said. ‘Shall we go down and take a look?’

‘Yes, of course.’

She followed him down the stairs and out to the courtyard, where the workmen waited, standing by their handiwork.

‘We’re all done here,’ the spokesman said. ‘I think you’ll find everything’s in order. Just turn these controls here to adjust the jets.’ He began to point out the various buttons and fittings. ‘This is your filter… and here’s where you change the heat settings. We’ve left it set to around midway. Neither too hot nor too cold, but of course it’s all a matter of personal preference.’

‘That’s great,’ Nick murmured. ‘It looks perfect. Thanks for all your hard work.’ He turned to Katie. ‘Stay and enjoy the courtyard for a minute or two, will you, while I go and see the men off? There’s an ornamental fishpond that you might like to look at, over there in the corner. I’ll be back in a few minutes.’

‘Okay.’ She watched him go, then turned and walked towards the far side of the courtyard, an attractive area, laid out with a trellised arbour and rockery. A gentle waterfall splashed into the pond where koi carp swam amongst the plants and hid beneath white waterlilies.

She gazed down at the green fronds of water plants drifting with the ripple of water from a small fountain and lost herself for a while in a reverie of a past life.

‘Sorry to have left you,’ Nick said, coming back to her a short time later. ‘I think the men did a good job. They sited the tub perfectly and left the place looking neat and tidy. Didn’t take them too long either.’

She nodded. ‘I expect you’ll appreciate your new tub for a good many years to come.’ Turning back to the pond, she added, ‘This is beautifully set out.

The water’s so clear, and the plants are perfect.’ Her voice became wistful. ‘I remember having one in our garden when I was a child… but it was never as good as this. I suppose you have to keep on top of things—make sure the filter is kept clear, and so on.’

‘That’s true. I tend to check it every so often. The pond is a hobby of mine. I find it totally relaxing, something you need so that you can wind down after a day in Emergency.’ He sent her an oblique glance. ‘Did your father set up your pond… or was it something that came with the house, so to speak?’

‘It came with the house. My father was interested in it, but he wasn’t around for long enough to take care of it, and the work fell to my mother.’

‘And she wasn’t that keen?’

‘She was keen enough when my father was with us, but after he left to go and live here in California she fell apart. She lost interest in everything.’

He frowned. ‘I’m sorry. That must have been hard.’ He scanned her face thoughtfully. ‘I’ve known Jack for some eighteen years, ever since he pipped us to the post and bought the vineyard from its previous owner. In all that time I had no idea he had a daughter back in the UK.’

‘No. It seems he kept it quiet.’