Kitabı oku: «The Doctor's Runaway Bride»

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

Copyright

PROLOGUE

‘I CAN’T marry him.’

Pale and shaking, Tia Franklin struggled with the zip of her sleek white wedding dress, sobbing with frustration when it stubbornly refused to budge.

‘Tia, wait—you’ll tear it—’ Sharon, her best friend and bridesmaid, tried frantically to calm her down but Tia wasn’t taking any notice.

‘I don’t care.’ As if to prove her point, Tia jerked at the zip again, her sobs increasing as it jammed and the material ripped. ‘What does it matter? I’m not getting married now, so I certainly don’t need a dress.’

Sharon stood still, frozen with horror. ‘Tia, the wedding starts in half an hour and there are one hundred and forty guests waiting in the church—’

‘I don’t care about that, either.’ Tia finally managed to wriggle out of the dress and stumbled across the hotel room to her suitcase, which was already packed for her honeymoon.

She released the catch and grabbed the first outfit that came to hand, tears falling steadily down her cheeks as she struggled into a pair of silk trousers and matching jacket.

Sharon was still staring at her, open-mouthed with disbelief. ‘What’s happened? You were so happy—and no wonder. Luca Zattoni is every woman’s fantasy. Rich, cool-headed, Italian, body to die for…’

Despite her tears, Tia lifted an eyebrow. ‘I thought you were a happily married woman?’

‘I am.’ Sharon looked unrepentant. ‘But there isn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t look twice at Luca. He’s sex on legs, Tia.’

Sex on legs.

Tia felt her heart beat faster. And that was the reason for the current mess. She hadn’t been able to resist the man.

Sharon sighed. ‘Tia, the entire female population is green with envy. You’re the one that he’s marrying.’

Tia lifted her chin. ‘Not any more.’

Thoroughly alarmed, Sharon bustled across to her friend and took her by the shoulders. ‘OK, calm down. Take a deep breath. Copy me…’ She breathed slowly, trying to set an example. ‘Right. That’s better. Now, then, tell me slowly, has something happened or is this just bridal nerves? I was nervous before I married Richard, you know. It’s normal to be nervous. Especially for someone with your background.’

‘It’s not nerves.’ Tia pulled away from her friend and rammed her feet into the first pair of shoes that came to hand.

Totally at a loss, Sharon backed away and turned towards the door. ‘I’ll fetch Luca.’

Dear God, no! That was the last thing she wanted.

‘I don’t want to see Luca!’ Tia’s head jerked up and the desperation in her voice stopped Sharon in her tracks. ‘I can’t. I just want to get out of here as fast as possible.’

‘Tia…’ Sharon let go of the doorhandle and tried to reason with her, her voice soothing. ‘Just because things didn’t work out for your parents, it doesn’t mean—’

‘What?’ Tia slammed the suitcase shut and stared at her, tendrils of blonde hair escaping from what had once been an elegant chignon. ‘What doesn’t it mean? That it will all go wrong for me, too? My mother drank herself into the grave because she discovered that the man she loved—the man she trusted—had betrayed her. Kept secrets from her. Do you really think I intend to put myself in the same position?’

Clamping her teeth onto her lower lip, Tia walked back across the room and swept her make-up off the dressing-table into her handbag.

‘I don’t understand.’ Sharon looked blank. ‘I know that your father had affairs, but—’ She broke off, her eyes widening as she registered what Tia had just said. ‘Are you saying that you think Luca is having an affair?’

Tia felt the pain, hot and fluid, pour along her veins.

‘I don’t know,’ she said honestly. ‘I think so. Maybe. He’s certainly having a serious relationship with another woman.’

‘No.’ Sharon shook her head and gave an incredulous laugh. ‘No! I don’t believe it. I never saw a man more in love with a woman than Luca is with you. He’s crazy about you.’

Tia closed her eyes and took steadying breaths.

If only…

‘Trust me on this one, Sharon,’ she said finally. ‘Luca is not in love with me.’

‘So, if he doesn’t love you, why are there one hundred and forty people waiting for you to marry him, and why am I dressed like a green blancmange?’

There was a long silence and when Tia finally spoke her voice was little more than a hoarse croak.

‘Because I’m pregnant.’

The room was suddenly deadly quiet. ‘Tia?’

‘That’s the reason he’s marrying me.’ Tia gave a wobbly smile and blushed deeply. ‘And before you say it, yes, I’m a midwife and I should know the facts of life, but somehow I forgot them when I met Luca.’

In fact, she’d forgotten pretty much everything the moment she’d set eyes on Luca.

Fundamental things like how to walk away from a man before things became serious.

The truth was that Luca Zattoni was the most overwhelmingly attractive male she’d ever met. Cool and confident and stunningly good-looking, the chemistry between them had stopped her brain from functioning from the moment they’d met.

And that moment was etched in her memory for ever.

She’d been backpacking around Europe and she’d arrived in Venice late at night. As she’d left the bus station, a group of young lads had started to bother her and she’d felt a rush of relief when a car had suddenly pulled up.

Luca had stepped out of the driver’s seat, broad-shouldered and menacing as he’d strode towards the youths who had surrounded her, his glossy hair shining blue-black under the streetlamps. He was clearly a man who could handle himself in any situation and her tormenters had melted rapidly into the darkness, leaving the two of them alone.

So she’d been left standing next to an empty bus station, awkwardly muttering her thanks to this handsome Italian stranger whose dark-eyed scrutiny had made her feel decidedly light headed.

‘It’s late to be wandering the streets of Venice,’ he observed, his gaze flickering over her backpack and resting on her sturdy walking boots. ‘Can I give you a lift somewhere?’

He spoke in English and he had the sexiest voice she’d ever heard. Smooth, masculine tones tinged with enough of an Italian accent to make the blood heat in her veins.

Tia’s heart was thumping so hard she thought it might burst through her ribcage. ‘H-how did you guess that I’m English?’

‘Not difficult.’ His eyes rested briefly on her silver blonde hair and he gave her a smile that made her breathing stop. ‘Hair the colour of yours is very unusual in Italy. As you will discover if you continue to walk the streets at this time of night.’

She was still staring at him like an idiot. ‘I haven’t found anywhere to stay yet…’

‘Venice is generally a very safe city,’ he told her, ‘but a woman like you shouldn’t be walking around on her own this late.’

A woman like her…

Her eyes locked with his and something passed between them. A feeling so powerful that her knees weakened alarmingly.

His eyes held hers captive, drawing her in. ‘I would be happy to show you around and help you find somewhere to stay…’

She knew that getting into a car with a stranger was foolish in the extreme, but this man didn’t seem like a stranger and their relationship progressed so fast she barely had time to reason.

And then Tia discovered that she was pregnant.

She dragged herself back to the present, aware that Sharon was still staring at her, clearly taken aback by her announcement.

‘And you think that’s why he’s marrying you?’

‘I didn’t at first.’ Tia’s voice shook as she told Sharon what had happened. ‘I believed what I wanted to believe—that he loved me and that was why he was marrying me.’

Sharon bit her lip. ‘So…’

Tia took a deep breath. ‘But I’ve found out that he was just using me as therapy. It seems he was getting over another relationship.’ She shook her head slowly as she thought back over the past few weeks. ‘He only proposed because I told him I was pregnant.’

Sharon looked horrified. ‘How—? What makes you think he’s involved with someone else?’

‘Because I just met her.’ Tia dropped the bag and stared into the mirror. Her reflection stared back, her skin pale and streaked with tears. ‘I nipped along the corridor to talk to Luca’s mother half an hour ago, when you were in the bathroom. She was deep in conversation with a very stunning woman. Someone I’d never seen before.’

Sharon sank onto the nearest chair and stared at her with trepidation. ‘And?’

Tia fiddled with the silk of her jacket. ‘His mother was saying what a sad day it was. That he should have been marrying Luisa—that’s her name, by the way.’ She sniffed slightly. ‘And that he was marrying totally the wrong woman for totally the wrong reasons and it would never last.’

Sharon gave a soft gasp and lifted a hand to her throat. ‘And what did this Luisa woman say?’

‘That she and Luca had been so close for so long that things had just become confused. And that she’d seen him and spoken to him and he’d said he would always love her…’

‘No!’ Sharon groaned and shook her head. ‘I don’t believe it. Not Luca.’

Tia gave her a watery smile. ‘Why not Luca? Let’s be honest for a moment. This has been one of the fastest romances on record. I met him ten weeks ago. We barely know him, Shaz.’ Tia’s voice cracked and Sharon squeezed her arm.

‘Luca’s not a teenager, Tia. He’s an adult male who knows exactly what he wants out of life. I can’t see him marrying someone unless he wanted to. Maybe he finished it—’

‘No.’ Tia rummaged in her bag for a tissue and blew her nose hard. ‘No way would any red-blooded male finish with a woman like this one. You didn’t see her. She was seriously gorgeous. And elegant. Nothing like me. When Luca met me I was backpacking, for goodness’ sake! I’m so far removed from his usual style of woman that it’s laughable. I’m a homeless, rootless waif who’s terrified of commitment. Believe me, there’s no contest.’

Sharon frowned. ‘You forgot to add that you’re also warm, funny and irresistibly pretty. Tia, men have been falling over themselves to get to you for years and you don’t even see it. Trust me, Luca is crazy about you—’

‘Novelty value.’ Tia blew her nose again and tucked the tissue up her sleeve. ‘There’s obviously a shortage of blonde women in Italy. But I’ve come to my senses now, and I’m relieving him of his responsibilities. He can go back to the woman he loves. Come to think of it, he’s probably never been away from her. Maybe that’s why he was spending all that time at the hospital.’

‘He’s an obstetrician.’ Sharon reasoned. ‘You know they work hideous hours.’

‘Do I?’

What evidence did she have that he’d been working? Only his word, and he seemed to be very selective about what he disclosed.

And she could never marry a man who wasn’t completely honest with her.

She stood up, slipped on her coat and picked up her bags.

‘Tia, wait!’ Sharon hastily followed her across the room and caught her arm. ‘At least talk to Luca about it before you leave. There might be a simple explanation.’

Tia shook her head. ‘For telling another woman that he would always love her? I don’t think so.’

‘But—’

‘He doesn’t love me, Shaz. He was just doing the honourable thing by offering to marry me and I was really stupid to believe otherwise.’

Luca had never once said he loved her. Not even when she’d told him about the baby and he’d proposed.

Sometimes, just sometimes, from the way he’d behaved, she’d thought that maybe—

But she’d just been kidding herself.

‘He doesn’t love me.’ Tia moved towards the door and Sharon grabbed her again.

‘He’s going to be furious, Tia.’

Tia shook her head slowly. ‘I don’t think so.’ She gave a painful smile. ‘I think he’ll be relieved that I’ve let him off the hook.’

Sharon looked at her anxiously. ‘So what are you going to do?’

Tia checked that her passport was in her handbag. ‘Take the first available flight back to England. With any luck you’ll give me my old job back and I’ll find somewhere to live…’

Sharon frowned. ‘Of course you can have your job back, and you can stay with Richard and me, but—’

‘No. I need to be on my own.’

Sharon bit her lip. ‘But, Tia, Luca is a very traditional Italian male. Do you really think he’s going to let you leave, knowing you’re pregnant? He’ll follow you—’

‘No.’ Tia gave a sad smile and shook her head. ‘If we were already married, then maybe, but Luca is still a single man and he’s free to lead his own life.’

Free to marry Luisa.

‘It’s over, Shaz, and I need to build a new life for myself.’

Without Luca.

CHAPTER ONE

SHE wasn’t going to cry.

Tia clamped her teeth firmly on her lower lip and wondered if the day would ever come when she no longer felt like sobbing the whole time.

A soft sigh from the newly delivered mother by her side brought her to her senses and she stared down at the tiny bundle in her arms.

The child was beautiful.

Barely two hours old, dark lashes feathered her cheeks which were still slightly blotched from the rigours of birth. Lying passively in Tia’s arms, she gazed placidly up at the world, her blue eyes slightly unfocused.

Tia felt her throat close.

‘Isn’t she perfect?’ The proud mother gave a wide, self-satisfied smile and waited to be handed her daughter. ‘I can’t believe how beautiful she is. I mean, I always thought babies were supposed to be ugly.’

Ugly?

Tia stared down at the sleeping cherub, marvelling at the way nature had managed to produce everything in miniature.

No—the baby definitely wasn’t ugly.

‘She’s beautiful, Mrs Adams.’ Tia’s heart beat faster as the baby made little snuffly noises and turned her head searchingly. ‘And she’s hungry.’

Work. Thank goodness for work. It was the only thing that distracted her from her own problems.

She tightened the blanket around the baby and looked quizzically at Fiona Adams. ‘Are you ready to give it a try?’

‘I suppose so, although I have to admit that I’m really nervous,’ the young woman admitted as she settled herself more comfortably on the chair. ‘Everyone says I’m mad, wanting to breastfeed.’

‘You’re not mad at all,’ Tia said calmly. ‘Breast milk is designed for babies and you’re giving her the very best start in life.’

Fiona looked worried. ‘I bet I won’t have enough milk.’

‘Well, your milk often doesn’t come in for a few days after delivery,’ Tia told her, ‘but what you do produce is something called colostrum.’

‘And that’s good for her?’

Tia nodded. ‘Very good for her. Packed full of protein and antibodies. Very high in calories, too. Are you comfortable like that?’

She’d settled Fiona in a chair with her back and her feet supported.

Fiona wriggled again and held out her arms. ‘Yes. I really wanted to put her straight on the breast after she was delivered, but she was totally out for the count.’

Tia nodded. ‘You had pethidine during your labour, and it can make the baby sleepy.’ She placed the baby in Fiona’s arms, positioning her carefully. ‘That’s right. We want her mouth to be opposite the nipple, just like that—perfect.’

Fiona stared down at her baby daughter. ‘Does the position really matter?’

‘Oh, yes. It’s vital if you’re not going to get sore and disheartened by the whole thing. Everyone thinks that breastfeeding is instinctive, but it isn’t, you know.’ Her voice was soft as she tucked the baby into a good position, moving Fiona’s arm so that she supported the baby’s shoulders. ‘It’s a skill that has to be learned like any other. That’s great, Fiona. You can use your fingers to support her head—like that. Brilliant.’

She slipped a hand behind the baby’s downy head and gently moved the baby’s mouth against the nipple, encouraging her to suck. ‘Come on, sweetheart, take a nice big mouthful for me…’

‘Oh!’ Fiona breathed in sharply and then looked up, her eyes misty. ‘She’s doing it! I can feel it.’

‘That’s great.’ Tia watched the baby closely, checking that she was sucking properly. ‘You’re both doing really well.’

‘So is that it? I expected it to be more complicated than that.’

Tia smiled. ‘Well, sometimes it is. And for the first few days it’s a good idea to let someone help you put her on the breast so that we can check that she’s feeding properly.’

Fiona stared down at her daughter with an awed expression in her eyes. ‘I can’t believe that it doesn’t hurt. I always expected it to.’

Tia shook her head. ‘It shouldn’t hurt. Not if she’s latched on properly.’

‘And how do I know that?’

‘Well, for a start there shouldn’t be any pain,’ Tia said, ‘and also if you look down you can see that she’s taken the whole of the nipple and some of the breast into her mouth. That’s how it works, you see. The nipple goes right back as far as the soft palate and that’s what makes her suck. Her lower jaw closes on the actual breast tissue and she uses suction to strip the breast of milk. You’ll feel her feeding but it should never be painful.’

‘And what if I can’t make enough milk?’

Tia gave a lopsided smile. ‘Well, that’s where nature is very clever. It’s all about supply and demand. The more you put the baby to the breast, the more milk you produce.’

Fiona gave a contented sigh and settled down to enjoy feeding her daughter.

‘You have a very unusual name.’ She glanced up at Tia with a curious smile. ‘What’s its origin?’

Tia pulled a face. ‘It’s short for Portia.’

Fiona lifted her eyebrows. ‘As in The Merchant of Venice?’

Tia gave a nod and a rueful smile. ‘My parents were actors.’

‘It’s a pretty name,’ Fiona commented, breaking off as her husband walked into the room, a bag of coins and a sheet of paper clasped in his hand.

‘Mike, look!’ Fiona spoke softly so that she didn’t disturb the baby. ‘She’s feeding!’

Mike Adams flopped onto the bed and grinned soppily at his wife. ‘Clever girl. I knew you could do it.’

‘It’s her that’s doing it, not me.’ Fiona touched her daughter’s downy head with her fingers. ‘She’s brilliant.’

‘She knows what’s good for her,’ Mike said stoutly, and Fiona gave him a wry look.

‘And you, too, of course. You can’t get up in the night if I’m breastfeeding.’

‘Oops. Caught out!’ Mike smiled sheepishly. ‘I’ll do the nappies.’

Fiona smiled placidly. ‘Too right you will. And the winding.’ She frowned at her husband. ‘You look really rumpled. As if you slept in your clothes.’

Mike gave a short laugh. ‘Sleep? Just remind me what that is again. You may have been the one who had the baby, but I’m exhausted!’

‘Poor thing!’ Fiona laughed. ‘So, who did you phone?’

Mike gave a groan and ticked them off on his fingers. ‘Your mother, my mother, your sister, Pam and Rick, Sue and Simon and Nick Whiteshaw.’

‘Oh, great, well done.’ Fiona turned her attention back to the baby and then glanced at Tia. ‘How long do I keep going for?’

‘Until she stops feeding.’ Tia gazed down at the baby, noticing that she was still swallowing. ‘She’s still guzzling away at the moment.’

‘Do I have to give her both sides?’

‘Always offer both sides,’ Tia advised. ‘But let her take all that she wants to from the first breast. When your milk comes in it’s important that she stays on the breast for as long as she wants to because the milk changes during the feed.’

Fiona’s eyes widened. ‘Really?’

‘Really.’ Tia smiled. ‘What the baby gets first is what we call foremilk—it’s lower in calories and thirst-quenching. After that they drink hind milk which is much more filling. If you take them off the breast too soon then they miss out on the milk that fills them up.’

Mike blinked. ‘Clever.’

‘Very.’ Tia nodded and helped Fiona remove the sleepy baby from her breast and wind her carefully. ‘Have you decided on a name yet?’

‘We’ve narrowed it down to three,’ Fiona said with a chuckle. ‘Mike’s first choice is Georgia, mine is Isabelle and we both quite like Megan.’

‘Megan Adams.’ Tia tried it out, nodded her approval and took the baby from Fiona, snuggling her against her shoulder with an easy confidence that brought an envious sigh from the mother.

‘You’re so natural with her. Do you have children?’

‘No.’

Not yet…

Suddenly Tia needed some air. She placed the baby carefully in the cot and drew the curtains back round the bed. ‘Give me a shout next time she’s ready to feed and I’ll help you, Fiona.’

Forcing a smile, she hurried out of the four-bedded bay and back to the nurses’ station, taking a long, steadying breath as she tentatively touched her still flat stomach.

Her heart stumbled and panic swamped her.

This wasn’t the way things should have turned out.

She’d never wanted to bring a baby into the world on her own. After her own experiences it was the last thing she would have wished on a child.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to think rationally. She’d cope, of course she would. Plenty of people did. Not everyone was like her own mother and there was no reason why she should be, but still…

Dragging her mind back to her work, she settled herself at the computer and updated Fiona’s notes, glancing up as Sharon, in full professional mode as the unit sister, bustled up to the nurses’ station.

‘Are you still here, Tia?’ She frowned and checked the clock on the wall. ‘You should have gone home hours ago.’

Tia ignored her.

She didn’t want to go home. She liked being at work. It took her mind off her problems.

‘Baby Adams has taken her first feed nicely,’ she told Sharon, her smile overly bright. ‘I’m just updating the notes and then I’ll go and check on Mrs Dodd if you like.’

‘What I’d like is for you to stop pretending nothing is wrong.’ Sharon lowered her voice and glanced up the corridor to check that no one was within earshot. ‘Have you called him?’

‘No.’ Tia turned back to the computer, vaguely registering that Sharon looked slightly agitated about something. ‘And I don’t intend to.’

‘But if he comes to you, you’d talk to him?’

‘Sharon, I left the man standing at the altar,’ Tia reminded her patiently, wondering why her friend was looking so nervous, ‘and he’s in love with another woman. There’s no earthly reason why he would possibly want to see me ever again.’

‘Except, maybe, that you’re carrying his child,’ Sharon pointed out quietly, her eyes flickering briefly down to Tia’s flat stomach. ‘Talking of which, how are you?’

Tia pulled a face. ‘Oh, you know, sick, exhausted—apart from that, fine.’

Sharon didn’t smile. ‘You need to register with a doctor, Tia.’

Tia nodded and didn’t meet her eyes. ‘Plenty of time for that.’ Not wanting to pursue the topic, she stood up and tucked her notebook into her pocket. ‘Maybe you’re right about it being time to go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Sharon looked suddenly flustered. ‘Tia, wait, there’s something I—’

‘Not now, Sharon.’ Tia interrupted her with a weary smile. ‘I really don’t want to analyse my love life any more tonight.’

She just wanted to go home and be on her own.

She walked through to the staffroom, changed her clothes and made her way down the stairs to the car park. The battered old bicycle that she’d found in the garage of her rented cottage was exactly where she’d left it.

By the time she’d cycled home she was exhausted, but the minute she saw the red Italian sports car parked outside the cottage her exhaustion vanished.

No!

Surely he couldn’t be…

Opening the front door slowly, Tia walked through to the kitchen and pushed open the door, stopping dead as she saw the man lounging there, one powerful thigh resting on the kitchen table, his cool, dark eyes steady on her shocked face. ‘Luca…’ One hand reached out blindly for the wall as she sought support.

She really, truly hadn’t expected to see him again. Certainly not now. It had been two weeks.

Two weeks, and somehow she’d managed to diminish him in her mind. She’d blanked out just how much his physical presence affected her, forgotten how his blatant masculinity and unshakable self-confidence made her weak at the knees.

‘Tia.’ Thick, dark lashes swept down over his eyes, concealing his expression. He looked remote and unapproachable and she was suddenly totally unable to speak. Luca always did that to her. He was the only man in the world who rendered her completely tongue-tied.

She said the first thing that came into her head. ‘How did you know where to find me?’

‘I called Sharon.’ His eyes lingered on her pale face. ‘She gave me your address.’

Sharon?

‘No.’ Tia shook her head in disbelief but Luca’s expression didn’t change.

‘Don’t blame her. I didn’t give her much choice. Let’s just say I was…’ he paused and searched for the right word ‘…persuasive.’

And Tia knew only too well just how persuasive Luca Zattoni could be when he wanted to be.

That explained why Sharon had looked so uncomfortable and guilty.

She glanced back towards the front door, still feeling shell-shocked by his unexpected presence. ‘But presumably Sharon didn’t provide you with a key?’

Luca lifted one broad shoulder dismissively. ‘The sign was still outside and the letting agent was very helpful once I told him who I was. He seemed concerned about you living on your own here. This cottage is extremely isolated and you obviously aroused his protective instincts.’

It took a few moments for his words to sink in.

‘The letting agent gave you a key?’ She looked at him incredulously. ‘Is there anyone you can’t charm, Luca?’

‘Apparently.’ A ghost of a smile touched his firm mouth. ‘Or presumably you wouldn’t have left me standing at the altar two weeks ago,’ he drawled, resting one lean brown hand on his muscular thigh. ‘We have a great deal to talk about, cara mia.’

Her heart rate suddenly increased dramatically. ‘We have nothing to talk about, Luca.’

Certainly not now, after a long day at the hospital. Tia hadn’t been expecting this conversation and she had no idea how she was going to handle it. Was she going to confront him with what she’d discovered? Or was she going to wait for him to tell her the truth about his past, which he should have done right from the start? She needed to be prepared before she spoke to him. She needed to feel strong and in control.

As it was, all she felt was…vulnerable.

‘Nothing to talk about?’ He straightened in a fluid movement and strolled across the kitchen towards her. ‘First you take flight on our wedding day without the slightest explanation, and next you leave the country, go back to your old job and rent a cottage in the middle of nowhere. We could talk for a week and not cover even half of what we have to discuss.’

Tia’s throat was uncomfortably dry. ‘I left you a note.’

‘Ah, yes…’ Thick lashes lowered slightly to shield his stunning dark eyes. ‘The note that Sharon delivered, saying that you had changed your mind about marrying me.’