Mummy, Nurse...Duchess?

* * *

Thomas propped himself against the desk where Rosie was sitting. ‘Obviously I’ve read the file, but you’ve seen Penny more than anyone else this week. How do you feel she’s doing?’

Rosie grimaced. ‘There doesn’t seem to be any change in her condition this week, even though we’ve been juggling her meds as you asked us to do.’

‘So it’s not working. I’m beginning to think that the only way forward for her now is a transplant.’ He sighed. ‘Julia’s in today, isn’t she? I’ll ask her to get Peter to come in as well, so I can talk to them together.’

It wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, Rosie knew. ‘Do you want me to be there when you talk to them?’

He shook his head. ‘Thanks for the offer. I know you’ve been brilliant with them, but this is my responsibility. It’s going to come as a shock to them.’

‘You know where I am if you change your mind,’ she said gently.

‘Thanks, Rosie. I appreciate it.’

Thomas looked almost bruised by this, Rosie thought, but he clearly wasn’t going to let anyone close enough to support him. She remembered how it had felt when things with Michael had gone so badly wrong, so she wasn’t going to push him to confide in her. But it was always good to know that someone could be there for you if you needed that little bit of support. ‘Thomas, I’m probably speaking out of turn, but are you OK?’

‘Sure.’ He gave her an over-bright smile which clearly underlined the fact that he wasn’t OK, but he wanted her to back off.

‘Uh-huh,’ she said. She didn’t quite have the nerve to suggest that maybe he could talk to her if he needed a friend. ‘I guess I’ll see you later, then.’

He nodded, and left the nurses’ station.

Rosie hated this situation. Whatever way you looked at it, someone would lose. She really hoped that Penny would get the heart she needed; though that would also mean that a family would be bereaved, so it kind of felt wrong to wish for a heart. The best of all outcomes would’ve been if Penny had responded to the drug treatment, but it wasn’t to be.

And poor Julia. Rosie could imagine how she’d feel if she was in Julia’s place, worried sick about Freddie or Lexi and knowing that they might not be able to get the treatment they needed so badly. Despite the misery of her life with Michael, he had given her the sheer joy of the twins. She had a lot to be thankful for.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. She had a clinic to do.

* * *

Leo happened to be checking some files at the nurses’ station when Rosie walked over. He could see that she looked upset, and the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. ‘Do you want to go for a drink after work and tell me about it?’

She shook her head.

‘Don’t tell me—a previous engagement?’ he asked wryly.

‘I’m afraid so.’

‘A chat in the ward kitchen, then.’

‘Thanks, but I have obs to do.’

‘Thirty minutes,’ he said, ‘and you can take a five-minute break—and I’m not pulling rank, before you start thinking that. You look upset and I’m trying to be supportive, just as I would with any other colleague who looked upset.’

She looked surprised, and then rueful. ‘All right. Thirty minutes,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

While she was doing her patients’ observations, he finished his paperwork and then nipped out briefly to Tony’s Trattoria, the place across the street that he’d been told sold decent coffee, to buy two cappuccinos.

He’d half expected Rosie to make some excuse not to see him, but she arrived in the staff kitchen at the same time as he did.

‘Thank you.’ She smiled as he handed her one of the distinctive paper cups. ‘Someone told you about Tony’s, then?’

‘Decent Italian coffee? Of course—and it’s much better than the coffee in the hospital.’

‘We have instant cappuccino here in the ward kitchen,’ she reminded him, gesturing to the box of powdered sachets.

‘That stuff isn’t coffee, it’s an abomination.’ He smiled back at her. ‘So are you going to tell me what’s wrong?’

Her beautiful blue eyes filled with sadness. ‘I was talking to Thomas earlier. It’s Penny.’

He frowned. ‘What about Penny?’

‘We’ve been juggling her meds all week and it’s just not working.’ She shook her head in seeming frustration. ‘Thomas says we’re probably going to have to look at a transplant, so he’s going to do an assessment. But even if she’s on the list there’s no guarantee she’ll get a heart. It could be anything from days, to months, or even more than a year before a suitable heart is available, and it feels horrible to wish for a heart for her because it means that another family’s lost someone they love.’

‘But at least they have the comfort that their loved one has saved a life by donating their organs after death,’ he said softly. ‘And you’re thinking a heart might not arrive in time?’

‘You know that one in five cases don’t. Those are really big odds, Leo. And she’s such a lovely little girl.’

‘Hey.’ He gave her a hug. Then he wished he hadn’t, because holding her made him want to do more than that. Right at that moment, he wanted to kiss her tears away—and then kiss her again and again, until he’d made her forget her worries.

When he pulled back slightly and looked her in the eye, her pupils were so huge that her vivid blue irises seemed more like a narrow rim. So she felt it, too. He looked at her mouth, and ached to find out for himself how soft and sweet it tasted. He shifted his gaze and caught her looking at his mouth, too. Could they? Should they?

He was about to give in to the impulse and dip his head to hers when she pulled away. ‘Sorry. It’s not appropriate to lean on you like that.’

Leo knew she was right. Except he was the one who’d behaved inappropriately. ‘The fault’s all mine,’ he said. ‘I guess it’s being Italian that makes me—well...’

‘Hug people?’ she finished.

‘Something like that.’ But he wasn’t ready to let things go. ‘Are you sure I can’t take you to dinner tonight?’

‘I’m sure. Thank you for the offer, but no.’

And yet there was a hint of wistfulness in her face. He was sure he wasn’t just being a delusional, self-absorbed male; but why did she keep turning him down whenever he asked her out? If she’d said that she was married, or in a relationship, fair enough. He’d back off straight away. But she hadn’t said that, which made him think that it was some other reason why she kept saying no. But he could hardly ask anyone else on the ward without the risk of becoming the centre of hospital gossip, and he loathed gossip.

Maybe he’d just keep trying and eventually he’d manage to wear her down. Because he really liked what he’d seen so far of Rosie Hobbes, and he wanted to get to know her better. And he wanted to work out why she attracted him so strongly, what made her different from the usual women he dated.

* * *

‘Thanks for the coffee and sympathy,’ Rosie said. ‘I’d better get on.’

‘See you later,’ he said.

The problem was, Rosie thought, Leo Marchetti was actually nice. She’d been on ward rounds with him a couple of times now and she’d seen that he was lovely with both the kids and their parents. A couple of the mums had tried to flirt with him, but he’d stayed totally professional and focused on the children. And he’d been especially good with the more worried parents, explaining things in a way that stopped them panicking.

She was tempted to take him up on his offer of dinner out. Really tempted.

Except she wasn’t in the market for a relationship, and it wouldn’t be fair to date anyone until she was ready to trust her heart again. And nothing could really happen between her and Leo. He was a duke and moved in the kind of social circles that would never see her as his equal; and, after her experiences with Michael, she refused to put herself in a position where anyone would treat her as second class. It couldn’t work, so there was no point in thinking about it. Besides, she already had the perfect life: two gorgeous children, a brilliantly supportive family and a job she adored. Wanting more—wanting a partner to share that with—was just being greedy.

Plus, her judgement was rubbish when it came to men. She’d fallen hook, line and sinker for every lie that Michael had told her.

So she needed to keep thinking of Leo as just another colleague. Yes, he was attractive; and she was beginning to like him a lot. But that was as far as it could go.

CHAPTER THREE

ON FRIDAY MORNING, Leo was talking to Rebecca Scott, the transplant surgeon, on the ward. ‘Rosie tells me that Thomas is putting Penny on the transplant list.’

Was it his imagination, or did Rebecca freeze for a second when he mentioned Thomas’s name? Rebecca and Thomas were always very professional with patients, but he’d noticed that they never shared a smile or any personal comments with each other, the way they did with other staff members. He had a feeling that something was definitely going on—or maybe something had happened in the past.

He knew all about complicated relationships. He was careful to keep his own as simple as possible, so the women he dated didn’t have any expectations that he wouldn’t be able to live up to. But, whatever the differences were between Rebecca and Thomas, it was none of his business. As long as everyone on the team was kept informed about any issues with their patients, nothing else mattered. He needed to keep out of this.

‘Yes.’ There was a flicker of sadness in her eyes, quickly masked. ‘Are you settling in to the hospital OK?’

‘Yes, thanks.’ Clearly Rebecca wanted to change the subject. Well, that was fine by him. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally trample over a sore spot. ‘Everyone’s been very welcoming and I haven’t had to sit in a corner on my own at lunchtime.’

She smiled. ‘That’s good. Well, I’m due in Theatre, so I’ll let you get on. But give me a yell if there’s anything you need.’

‘Thanks. I will.’

* * *

Rosie spent her usual Friday lunchtime reading to Penny and talking about kittens and ballet. She knew Thomas had talked to Peter and Julia about putting their daughter on the transplant list, and gave Julia an extra hug at the door. ‘We’re all rooting for her, you know. We’re not supposed to have favourites but our Penny’s special.’

A tear trickled down Julia’s cheek and she clearly couldn’t speak.

‘It’s OK,’ Rosie said softly. ‘I’m a mum, too, so I know exactly how I’d feel in your shoes.’

‘We really appreciate you reading to her,’ Julia said.

Rosie smiled back. ‘No problem. My two are more into dinosaurs than anything else at the moment, but when Lexi’s older I’m sure she’d enjoy the kind of stories I’ve been reading to Penny.’

In the middle of the afternoon, she was at the nurses’ station, writing up notes, when Leo came over and handed her a paper cup of cappuccino. ‘Good afternoon. I brought you something to help you write up your notes,’ he said.

‘That’s really nice of you, Leo, and I love the coffee from Tony’s,’ she said, ‘but that’s the second time you’ve bought me coffee this week and now I feel in your debt. Which makes me feel uncomfortable.’

‘There’s no debt.’ He paused. ‘Or maybe you could buy me a coffee after work, if that would make you feel better.’

Buying him a coffee to make them even would make her feel better, but she absolutely couldn’t do anything after work. ‘Sorry. I can’t.’

‘Or come out with me for a pizza at the weekend,’ he suggested. ‘We can go halves and you can buy me a coffee then.’

How easy it would be to agree to have dinner with him.

And it worried Rosie just how much she was starting to like Leo Marchetti. He was kind, he was great with patients and parents and staff alike, and he was beautiful to look at with those dark, expressive eyes and a mouth that promised sin.

It would be so, so easy to say yes.

But how did she know that she wasn’t going to be repeating her past mistake and fall for someone who made her heart beat faster but would let her down when she needed him? Leo seemed a nice guy on the ward—but would he be different in a relationship that wasn’t strictly professional? Would he turn out to have feet of clay?

There was one way to find out. She could agree to one date. Then, if Leo took one look at the twins and ran for the hills, she’d know she’d been right about him all along. And she was pretty sure that he would leave her alone once he knew she was a single mum of three-year-old twins.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘But, as you’ve been buying me coffee, I’ll take you out for a pizza.’

He blinked, looking slightly shocked that she’d actually said yes. ‘When?’

‘Tomorrow night.’ Before her nerve broke.

‘OK. That’s good. I’ll pick you up,’ he said. ‘What time?’

She frowned. ‘Hang on. I thought I was taking you out for pizza? Shouldn’t I be the one picking you up?’

‘Change of plan. I’m taking you out for dinner,’ he said.

So once she’d agreed to something, then he changed the goalposts? Well, Leo would find out the hard way that her goalposts weren’t changeable. Her children came first. And that wasn’t negotiable.

‘Six o’clock, then,’ she said, and wrote down her address for him.

‘And your phone number? In case of emergencies and change of plans?’

She wrote that down, too.

‘Thanks. I’ll text you later so you have my number.’

‘OK.’

‘I’ll let you get on,’ he said. But before he walked away, he touched the back of his fingers briefly against her cheek—and every nerve-end sizzled at his touch. Just like Wednesday afternoon, when he’d hugged her and then he’d been at the point of actually kissing her. Worse still, she’d been thinking along the same lines.

This really wasn’t good.

Rosie had to force herself to concentrate on the paperwork until the end of her shift, and then she headed down to the hospital nursery school to pick up the twins. Right at that moment, she wasn’t sure if she’d just made a huge mistake in suggesting going out to dinner with Leo.

But it would settle things once and for all: she was pretty sure he’d look at the twins, make some charming excuse and scuttle off. And then he’d never ask her for another date. She’d be off the hook.

* * *

Leo could hardly believe that Rosie had actually agreed to a date.

Six o’clock seemed a little early for him to pick her up, but maybe they could go for a drink before they went out to dinner. He caught Robyn at the end of his shift. ‘Just the person I wanted to see.’

‘Something you need at work?’ she asked.

He smiled. ‘No—everything’s fine and I’m really enjoying working here. This is personal. I was wondering if you could recommend a nice restaurant locally.’

‘Oh, is your mother coming over to stay?’

He shook his head. ‘Right now Mamma’s a little frail, so I’d rather she stayed in Tuscany where she can be looked after properly.’ He squished the faint feeling of guilt that really he ought to be the one keeping an eye on his mother, as her only child and a qualified doctor. But he specialised in paediatrics, not geriatrics, so she was getting better care than he could give her. And he called her every day when he wasn’t in Tuscany; he wasn’t neglecting her completely.

‘So do you mean somewhere romantic?’ Robyn teased.

He actually felt himself blush. ‘Yes.’

She mentioned a couple of places and he made a note of them on his phone.

‘Dare I ask who the lucky woman is?’

He smiled at her. ‘Now, now. A gentleman doesn’t tell tales.’

She laughed. ‘Leo, you might be a gentleman, but you’ll date her twice and be utterly charming, and then you’ll end it before she has a chance to get close to you.’

‘I date women more than twice,’ he said. He knew she was teasing, but he also knew that she had a point. He never had let a woman close to him, since Emilia. Maybe he ought to leave Rosie well alone.

The problem was, he didn’t want to. She drew him, with that odd mixture of warmth and wariness. He wanted to get to know her better and understand why she drew him like this. And, if he was honest with himself, she was the first woman since Emilia who’d made him feel this way. Which was another reason why he should just drop this: the last time he’d felt that incredible pull towards someone, it had gone badly wrong.

When he got home, he booked the table at one of the restaurants Robyn had suggested. But, the next day, he couldn’t settle to much; he was too filled with anticipation. It made him feel a bit like a teenager again, though the teenage Leo Marchetti had ended up with a heart so broken that he’d had to escape from Rome to London before he could mend himself. He’d never want to go through his teens again, with all that uncertainty and that desperation to please someone who constantly changed the goalposts and made the young Leo feel that he’d never be able to match up to expectations. And he didn’t have to ask anyone’s permission to date someone.

He shook himself. His father was dead and Leo was comfortable in his own skin now. He knew who he was and what he was good at—and he didn’t have to please anyone but himself.

Late that afternoon, he drove to Rosie’s and parked his low-slung two-seater convertible on the road outside her house.

She answered the door wearing understated make-up and a little black dress: very different from how she usually was at work, with no make-up and a uniform.

‘You look lovely,’ he said, and then felt like a fool when she raised one eyebrow.

‘Not that you don’t usually look lovely,’ he said, feeling even more gauche. Which was weird, because normally he was relaxed with women. He liked their company. Why was he so awkward with Rosie?

She smiled. ‘Thank you for the compliment. Come in.’

He stopped dead in the doorway when she ushered him into the living room and he saw two small children playing with a train set on the floor. The brown-haired boy and golden-haired girl were clearly Rosie’s children, as they had her bright blue eyes and her smile. And they looked to be around the same age, so he guessed that they were twins.

He couldn’t see a babysitter anywhere, unless maybe someone was in the kitchen or something.

And the penny dropped when he looked at Rosie’s face.

She’d invited him to pick her up here, expecting him to take one look at the children and make a run for it.

That really smarted. Had his reputation already spread through the hospital, if she thought he was that shallow?

Then again, maybe she’d been badly hurt by the twins’ father. Until he knew the full story, he shouldn’t judge her the way she’d obviously misjudged him.

‘So that’s dinner for four?’ he asked.

She shrugged, and lowered her voice so the children couldn’t hear. ‘I come as a package, Leo.’

‘It would’ve been useful to know that.’

‘So you could back off earlier?’

She was really that sure he was so unreliable? Or had someone made her believe that about all men? ‘No,’ he said. ‘So I could’ve brought a four-seater car with me instead of a two-seater.’

Colour flooded into her face. ‘Oh.’

‘I would be delighted to take you all out,’ he said, keeping his voice as low as hers, ‘but either we need to use a taxi or—if you have appropriate seats—your car. Is there any particular place the children like eating out?’

* * *

Leo wasn’t running away.

And he’d asked where the twins liked eating out, not where she liked eating out.

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