GIADA’S HEART FRACTURED as she watched Lucas take a step back. Two steps.
In fact, if the door hadn’t been closed she imagined he’d have kept on retreating right out of the hospital, across the city, through Olympic National Park, over the water and as far away as Japan.
This was not the way she’d imagined telling him. So raw and brutal.
This was also not the reaction she’d wanted. Expected, yes. Wanted? Not so much. A smile, perhaps. A claim on their child. A hug. A promise that everything would be okay.
But, then, she’d known Lucas had been serious when he’d talked about not breaking the best friend code. Plus...okay, so she was a princess. Which made everything a million times more complicated. Pregnant and single. That would certainly attract more headlines. Although, given her reputation, it probably wouldn’t surprise her people. But her father would be singularly unimpressed.
Again.
She hid her head in her hands and sighed deeply.
‘I didn’t intend this to happen, Lucas. I’m...’ She was not going to be sad about the baby. ‘Actually, I’m not sorry. Sure, it’s a surprise and it took a bit of getting used to, not to mention the morning sickness. But I’m having a baby and that should be cause for celebration.’ And she was happy. Now she’d got over the shock.
When she looked up he was still standing there, rigid, looking at her as if trying to work out a very difficult and shocking puzzle. ‘Lucas. Please. Say something.’
He blinked and shook his head. ‘You’ll need a scan. Contracting seatbelts can cause damage to the abdomen and the uterus. I’ll get the radiographer to bring the portable machine in here.’
So they were going the emotionless route. Right. ‘Thank you. But I’d know, surely? If something was wrong. There’d be bleeding or pain and I don’t have either.’
‘We need to check.’
‘Yes. Yes, please.’ She’d thought he’d leave then to speak to the radiographer, but he made a quick call and stayed in the room. Silent.
After a few moments and just to say something to break the hideous impasse, she said, ‘You’re going to stay for the scan?’
‘Of course. I might be in shock but I’m not a monster, Giada.’ Not Gigi. Back to Giada. ‘You must be, what, twelve, thirteen weeks? Why didn’t you tell me before?’
‘I wanted to be sure. Risk of miscarriage is higher before twelve weeks so I figured that if I lost the baby I wouldn’t need to tell you anything. And then we wouldn’t have this awkward scenario going on. But this little one...’ she skimmed a hand across her abdomen ‘...is here to stay. As soon as everything was confirmed I arranged to come with Papa.’
He captured her gaze with dark, untrusting eyes. ‘You didn’t know I was going to be here.’
‘You’re always at work, Lucas. That’s what you told me. If you hadn’t been here I would have called, but I wanted to tell you face to face.’
The door swung open and an older woman walked in pushing a large trolley with a machine on it. ‘Ultrasound machine as requested, Dr Beaufort. You want me to do it?’
Lucas frowned. ‘Yes.’
‘Oh?’ So much for the privacy she’d been hoping for. ‘I thought you’d do it.’
‘Sure, for a heartbeat, but not the full antenatal scan you need to have, given the circumstances.’ One minute he’d been holding her, the next he was back-pedalling as fast and as far as his good manners would allow. Oh, Lucas Beaufort was good at cutting off his emotions.
Very interesting, and a smack in the face to her. That weekend had been the only time she’d felt seen for who she was as a person and not as the tabloid Princess. He’d wanted to explore her and not judge her. But now? Now she wasn’t sure how the man she’d spent the weekend with could be the same cold one standing here.
Sure, he was serious by nature, and he’d been bogged down with the bro code and her being a princess and everything, but once he’d got over that he’d been very hot indeed.
She looked at him now, at his darkened eyes and clenched jaw that told her he was struggling to stay in control. At his dark blond hair, remembering the way it had felt as she’d thrust her fingers into it in the throes of ecstasy. She shivered, surprised at the hot, sharp, tang of lust that rippled through her even now. Even when he was angry and confused and aloof.
He nodded towards the machine. ‘Obstetric scanning is a highly skilled process and, while I know enough to get by, I don’t want to miss anything.’
Or he didn’t want to touch her.
Stung by his reaction, Gigi climbed onto the examination couch and lifted her now ruined cashmere sweater to bare her belly, then wriggled her trousers down to her hips.
Lucas looked away.
She tried to read him but he’d simply closed off. Was he staying for the scan because he thought he should? Or because he wanted to? For her? For the baby?
But these weren’t the kinds of questions she could ask with an audience, especially in the hospital where Lucas and her brother worked.
‘Bit of jelly. Here we go.’ The sonographer smiled and squirted gel onto Gigi’s belly, which had grown just a tiny bit over the last few weeks. She was almost breathless at the pride she had in the teeniest bit of a bump. ‘What was the date of your last period, Giada?’
She didn’t need to look it up. ‘Tenth of August.’
She saw Lucas do the maths and nod.
‘Which makes you...?’ The sonographer took a cardboard wheel out and turned it, but before she could check Gigi jumped in.
‘Thirteen weeks.’
She’d counted every single day from the first day her period was late, wishing it would happen, praying for her usual cramping, hoping the painful breasts were PMT symptoms, trying to ignore the queasiness and the throwing up. Slowly getting used to the idea that she was very definitely pregnant and wondering how, seeing as they’d used condoms. But maybe...had they...every time...? Or had one failed?
Either way, she was having a baby. His baby.
She tried to look at Lucas to make eye contact to say, See, it is yours, in case he’d been in any doubt, but he was focused on the ultrasound screen. She knew without doubt because she hadn’t slept with anyone else for a very long time. Ever since the last ill-advised lover had tried to blackmail her. Just another cretino trying to gain celebrity from her royal status. Way to grow up pretty fast.
‘And your last scan was...?’
‘Last week.’ There’d been no way she was going to go to her newly opened hospital and advertise her pregnancy to everyone there, so she’d sneaked out to a private clinic and made them promise not to tell a living soul her news. ‘They said they couldn’t accurately tell the gender, but I didn’t want to know. Other than that, all was fine.’
More than fine. She’d seen their baby properly for the first time and hadn’t been able to tell a single person about it. Sure, she had friends, but she’d learnt a long time ago that entrusting people with a princess’s deeply personal information could backfire. Spectacularly.
Lucas’s back was taut, his whole body coiled tight as he growled, ‘Can we just get on with it?’
‘Sorry, Dr Beaufort. I know you’re busy.’ The sonographer nodded as if used to Lucas’s sharp manner.
Well, Gigi wasn’t. ‘Please, take your time. It’s better to be thorough, right? Make sure everything is okay.’
Lucas looked at his feet. ‘Absolutely. Yes. Take your time.’
The room was filled the with fast whoosh-um whoosh-um-whoosh-um of a heartbeat. Gigi turned to look at the screen and saw the grey blurry shapes the sonographer was pointing out. The four chambers of the heart. Four long limbs...like his or her father. A cute nub nose. Perfect.
She hadn’t realised she’d been holding her breath, but now she exhaled on a long sigh and, just like during her last scan, her own heart made more space for this child, and her chest filled with warmth and light. Whatever Lucas thought about it, whatever he decided to do was his choice, but she would love this baby with everything she had.
‘Is it okay?’ he asked, his voice catching a little.
She turned her head to watch as he peered at the screen. The stiffness of his limbs was gone. There was a softening in his eyes that made her heart squeeze. He wasn’t cold-hearted, he was just in shock.
‘Everything’s fine.’ The sonographer smiled. ‘You have a little wriggler here.’
‘I do—? I mean, she does?’ Lucas blinked. Coughed. ‘That’s good news. Right. Thank you.’
‘I can capture a photograph for you,’ the sonographer told Gigi. ‘A video too, if you like.’
‘That would be lovely, thank you.’ She’d brought a copy of the last scan with her to show Lucas, to give to him if he wanted it. Now he could have two. ‘If you email it to me, I can send it on to the father,’ she said with an eye on Lucas.
He nodded, his face unreadable; if he wanted the scan he didn’t indicate it in any way. But he asked in an unemotional tone as the sonographer set the printer in motion, ‘Could I borrow the ultrasound machine for a few minutes? Giada has a painful, swollen arm and, given the circumstances, I’d prefer to do an ultrasound rather than an X-ray.’ Lucas turned to Gigi. ‘The development of the baby’s central nervous system happens between ten and seventeen weeks, so being exposed to an X-ray during that time period is ill-advised. An ultrasound is not as accurate a diagnostic tool, but it can give us a good indication of whether there is a fracture. That I am more than happy to do by myself.’
Gigi nodded, trying to translate not just his words but his manner. Having been reassured that all was well with the baby, he’d snapped back from father to medic. ‘Lover’ had completely disappeared at the mention of pregnancy.
‘Great,’ the sonographer said. ‘I’m due a break now anyway, so I’ll collect the machine in fifteen minutes.’
Gigi’s heart clenched. Because, sure, there was a lot they needed to say to each other but the thought of being alone again with a very shocked Lucas filled her with dread.
This wasn’t going well.
Lucas concentrated on keeping his hand steady as he ran the probe over Gigi’s right wrist. Keeping it steady, because he was damned sure his whole body was about to shake and he didn’t know how he was going to stop it.
A baby. Damn. It was the last thing he’d ever wanted. And with a woman he’d spent only three days with, a woman who had a future all mapped out that was very different from what he’d been working towards his whole life. Family wasn’t something he did well. And he hadn’t ever wanted to get invested in something that could be so quickly erased from his life, the way he had been from his parents’ and siblings’ lives.
And with Gigi being settled in Isola Verde and his life here in Seattle, it was very likely that he would be erased. What if she fell in love and married someone else? Would he still be seen as the father then? Would he have access rights to a royal child? How would something long distance work out? Hours spent on aircraft for both him and the little one.
Perhaps marriage was the only way of tethering himself to his child.
But...marriage? To the Princess of Isola Verde? As if that would be allowed to happen.
He was getting way ahead of himself.
Trouble was, he worked hard to keep his distance from any kind of family trap but the minute he’d seen the baby on the screen he’d claimed it in his heart. It was a living thing, a part of him. He felt blindsided by panic, and hugely protective.
As for Gigi...there was so much they needed to talk about that he didn’t know where to start. Luckily, emotionless, reliable scientific logic was his go-to, so he started with that.
‘I can’t see any fractures. There’s a lot of tissue oedema...that is, swelling. I recommend rest, elevation and strapping. A sling will help remind you not to use it and give support that will help the pain. If you need pain relief then acetaminophen will be fine, under the—’
‘The circumstances, right?’ she snapped. ‘The circumstances being that I’m carrying your child and you’re not happy about it.’
Happy? It was the worst thing that could possibly happen...a Baresi baby. Their baby.
He couldn’t put how he was feeling into words. ‘I’ve only just found out, Giada. Give me a moment to adjust. We need to sit down and talk about it rationally, once you’re feeling up to it. But not right now, okay? You have enough to deal with.’
‘I know.’ She stared down at her bruised and misshapen hand, her eyes hollowed out, and sighed sadly. ‘A very sick father, a pregnancy and a damaged dominant hand. Could it get any worse?’
Try suddenly finding out you’re a father.
She needed support but he wasn’t sure he was the person to offer it. ‘Do you know anyone in Seattle?’
‘Other than Dom and you? No.’
‘Where are you staying?’
‘At... Wait, I can’t remember.’ Frowning, she plucked her phone from her bag and scrolled through. ‘The Four Seasons.’
‘On your own?’
‘Now, yes, I suppose so. I don’t know.’ Her eyes wandered around the room as if the answers were here somewhere. ‘Obviously Papa is here. We had rooms booked at the Four Seasons, but I don’t know what to do now. The car’s totalled so I’ll have to get a taxi to the hotel, I suppose. I don’t know.’ She ran the back of her hand across her forehead and her shoulders collapsed forward. ‘I don’t know what to do.’
He tried not to feel anything as he looked at her because feelings only hampered good sense but it was no use—every time his eyes met hers he was back in bed, tumbling with her in the sheets. ‘You look exhausted.’
Blinking fast, she straightened and seemed to snap herself back together. ‘I’m fine.’
This was the Giada who’d arrived at his house. The one who’d pretended not to be stung by his initial refusal to play with her. The one who’d become used to dealing with her problems on her own and hated being seen as weak for wanting basic human connection.
He couldn’t imagine how she was feeling given the stress she was under and the pain from the car crash. He wasn’t being fair by being so standoffish so he softened his tone. ‘Okay. You’ve been travelling for hours. The flight took how long?’
‘Twelve hours.’
‘Then the stress and adrenalin...none of that is good for the baby. You need to rest.’
At the mention of their child she looked directly at him. ‘I understand that stress isn’t good for our baby, Lucas, but unfortunately I’m dealing with a lot right now. I need to know what’s happening with Papa. I won’t leave here until I know he’s going to be okay. And someone has to run my country, work out how much, if anything, to say to the nation. I’m going to have to try to talk Dom into going back to Isola Verde. He won’t want to. But that’s why we came here in the first place. To talk to him about taking over some of Papa’s duties. I’m repeating myself, I think. I have such a bad headache.’
‘Okay.’ She was still in shock and panicked. The adrenalin would be whirring through her system, sending her thoughts scattering. He had to take control. He knelt in front of her. ‘Let’s make a plan. We’ll deal with your wrist then I’ll find out about your father, and I’ll take you to your hotel.’
She sat back and sighed. ‘Thank you.’
‘And we’ll stop off and get you something to eat. You need food.’ He was interrupted by his phone’s shrill tone. ‘It’s Dom.’
Her eyes grew wide and panicked. ‘Don’t tell him about the baby. Please. Please don’t say anything. We need to work things out, you and me, before we say anything to anyone.’
Lucas didn’t know how they were even going to begin that conversation. ‘Yes, but after you’ve had a rest.’
She touched the back of his hand as he went to answer the call. ‘Please don’t say—’
‘Giada, stop. Of course I won’t say anything. I’ve got to work all this out in my head before I say or do anything else.’ He pressed the call answer button. ‘Hey, bro. You okay?’
‘Holding up. Are you with Gigi? Kat said she was asking for you.’
‘Yes, Giada’s here.’ He stood up and walked to the window, more for space from Giada than privacy. The room was so small she’d hear everything anyway. ‘Just finished examining her wrist.’
‘Is there a break?’
‘No.’ If...no, when... Dom heard about the pregnancy there would be a million questions and no doubt the inevitable betrayal accusation slung at him. Lucas didn’t want to think about what this baby might do to his friendship with Dom, but for now he was going to be the best mate he could be. ‘I’m organising compression and support. She’s going to need to rest it for a few days.’
‘That’s not going to go down well with my dynamo sister. Is there anything else? Is she okay?’
She’s pregnant. So, no, things weren’t okay, at least not in Lucas’s world.
But Gigi was clearly happy about it, judging by the look of relief on her face the second they’d heard the heartbeat.
‘She’s holding up, a bit shocked but getting there.’ He turned and met her eyes and couldn’t read what was going through her head. She held his gaze and he remembered how she’d tried every which way to make him laugh.
Come on, Captain Sensible. Stop being so serious.
She’d tickled and poked him, made lame jokes, had had him playing tourist in his own city, and he had laughed, so much, for three delicious days, feeling the lightest he’d felt in years. But now the tables were turned and the only thing he wanted to see from her was a smile instead of the hollowed-out eyes and the bruises.
One weekend was all they’d wanted and expected from each other. Without question she’d accepted who he was and what he’d made of his life. In fact, she’d respected him, and had made him proud of what he’d achieved. She hadn’t made any demands on him, apart from lots of damned good sex. That was all, in reality. Nothing to hang a relationship on.
The baby changed everything.
He didn’t want to be a father. Didn’t want his messed-up genes passed on to anyone.
Tough luck. It was in her troubled gaze now, as if she could read his thoughts. We’re in this together, so deal with it.
Swallowing hard, he looked away. ‘She’s worried about your father and his bodyguard.’
‘Tell her Logan only had some cuts and bruises and is being cleaned up. Look, my pager is blaring, I’ve got go. I’ve a million other phone calls to make while Papa is in Theatre. Tell Gigi I love her, will you? That I’ll call the palace and let them know about the accident but to keep everything under wraps until we know what’s going to happen next. There’s royal protocol coming in to play, you see.’
‘I understand.’ He didn’t really. Couldn’t imagine the weight on his friend’s shoulders right now. He imagined that by ‘protocol’ Dom meant a succession plan could be initiated at any moment. ‘If there’s anything you need me to do, Dom, just ask.’
‘You know confidentiality is key here, I trust you on that. No one can know about the accident until we are sure about Papa’s prognosis.’ Dom breathed out heavily. ‘It’s enough to know Giada’s in safe hands and it’s one less thing for me to worry about—right now, anyway. Tell her I’ll talk to her as soon as I get a chance.’
Guilt shimmied down Lucas’s spine. Safe hands? Once upon a time maybe. Before that August weekend when his hands had been itching to touch Giada’s body. ‘Sure thing.’
‘Thanks, Lucas. I can breathe a bit easier knowing I can rely on you. It’s good she has someone she knows with her. Stay with her, if you can. Please. She needs a friend.’
Lucas grimaced internally—that was exactly how he’d got into this mess in the first place. But this was most certainly not the time to go there.
‘Of course. No problem.’ The trippy ultrasound heartbeat that had somehow connected with his own heart pushed, squeezed and wriggled its way uninvited into his chest.
You’ve got a little wriggler there.
He sure had. He swallowed. He pushed those thoughts away—well, banked them until later—because he wasn’t ever going to stop thinking about his child.
That suddenly made him wonder why it had been so easy for his family to cut off contact with him, save for the paltry annual Christmas email that was probably the same one they sent to their insurance broker. What was it about him that had made them decide he wasn’t good enough to stay in touch? To call once in a while?
Families. He just didn’t understand them. ‘Dom, listen, I hope your father’s okay.’
‘So do I. More than you could imagine.’ There was a beeping in the background. ‘Damn pager. Got to go. Sorry.’
God, it was awful enough to have your father in surgery not knowing if he was going to pull through, but also, Lucas guessed, Dom was praying for his father’s recovery because he was torn between his life here and succeeding to the throne in Isola Verde. He just needed time to get his head around the fact he was going to be King.
Lucas knew all about family expectations and how not abiding by them caused huge family rifts, but this was so much more than anything he’d had to go through. The freaking King of a Mediterranean nation?
He flicked his phone away and glanced up at Giada. Gigi. His heart tightened to see her looking so pale. It seemed that protectiveness he felt for his baby didn’t dim when he looked at its mother. Which was beyond crazy. He didn’t know what the future had in store but right now he would do anything to make sure nothing bad happened to either of them.
Somehow his involvement in this family had become so much more complicated than just being friends and he wasn’t sure how he felt about any of it.
He put his phone away and turned to her. ‘Right. Dom says your father’s still in Theatre and there’s no word on how it’s going, but the minute he hears anything he’ll let you know. Info on the others involved in the MVA is that someone called Logan—’
Her eyes grew wider. ‘Yes? His bodyguard.’
‘Has just minor cuts and bruises and is being cleaned up and—’
‘Actually, you should probably know that Logan isn’t just a bodyguard, he’s a trained army medic and he’s taking up a post here next week. Or, at least, he’s supposed to be, if he’s not too badly injured.’
‘Logan... Dr Logan Connors?’ Lucas had been briefed about the new doctor’s imminent arrival but hadn’t realised the guy stemming the blood flow on the King’s leg wound when they’d arrived was the same Dr Connors. That explained how he’d dealt with it all so expertly. ‘Dr Logan Connors is a bodyguard to the Isola Verde royal family?’
She nodded. ‘A good one too and we’re sad to see him go, but he has a little boy and he wants him to go to school here. Logan’s family is from Seattle and he wanted to bring his son and his parents home. Caring for a child on your own is hard.’
Gigi pierced him with a sharp look, as if poking him with the future she was facing.
He chose to ignore it. They needed to talk it all through when they were calmer. And definitely not here where people could barge in and hear. But she got in first, worry biting at her features. ‘Is...is Dom okay?’
‘He’s busy. He’s got to finish his shift and, knowing him, will probably stay here far beyond that.’
She shook her pretty head, her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders. ‘He works too hard.’
‘He’s the Head of ER, it comes with the territory. In the meantime we need to get you out of here. Hospitals are no place for people who are generally well.’
A royal eyebrow rose. ‘I spend a lot of time at my hospital. It hasn’t affected me.’
‘Yet. There are always bugs whizzing around. I’d prefer it if we can keep you as bug free as possible for the rest of your...’ He glanced at her belly. Yes. It was sinking in. ‘Pregnancy.’
‘Okay. But I was thinking maybe it’s not such a good idea for me to go to the hotel. I don’t want anything leaking out about the accident just yet, or the fact we’re even here in Seattle. Not until we get the say-so from Dom.’ She sat forward, cradling her swollen arm. ‘I’ll cancel the booking for me and Papa. And... I know this is a huge imposition, Lucas, but could I stay at your place?’
Lucas closed his eyes at that thought. Have her back in his home? Her perfume on his sheets? Torture. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea. I can drop you off at a different ho—’
But he broke off as he watched her try to pick up her handbag, wince and then sit back in the chair, ashen with pain. How could he be so selfish? Thinking only of how awkward it would be to have her in his home when she had so much more to deal with. ‘Of course you can stay with me, Giada. You’re going to need some help while you rest that arm.’
‘I’m fine. I can manage. I just need to remember that I can’t use it.’ She gave him a wobbly smile and his world tipped. The centre of his chest tightened.
‘I don’t want you to just manage. You need to rest; you need someone to help you. So, first, I’m going to apply some compression to help with the swelling.’ He dug through the drawers and cupboards and found a bandage. ‘Hold your hand out, please.’
She watched in silence as he wove the bandage between her thumb and forefinger and back over her wrist. She was so close he could smell not just her perfume but the scent that was uniquely Gigi. The one that he wasn’t sure he’d entirely erased from his bed even after numerous launderings. He felt the heat of her gaze as he wound the bandage, as gently as he could but with enough firmness to provide support. Was aware of the rise and fall of her chest, fast enough to show she was still buzzing from the adrenalin. Felt the soft whisper of her breath on his neck.
The rhythmic weaving of the bandaging gave his brain space to think and it went immediately to the way this hand and these delicate fingers had played him, teased him, touched him.
And wouldn’t he know it, heat wove through him, spiking a shot of desire sharp in his belly. So damned inappropriate.
He refused to look at her, knowing she’d see the desire in his eyes, and the memories. But they were of no use: he and Giada couldn’t go back or look back. They certainly couldn’t rekindle any of that madness that had kept them glued to each other for seventy-odd hours of sex-fuelled bliss. They had a mess to deal with and they needed to do it with level heads.
He stepped away and rummaged for a sling. ‘Now I’m going to put this arm in a sling.’
‘But then I won’t be able to do anything.’ She looked up at him.
‘That’s the plan. I don’t want you doing anything with this hand. Elevation helps with the swelling, which in turn helps with the pain.’ He opened the sling packet and tipped out the pre-shaped triangular bandage. Stepped behind her so he could drape the sling over her head and then over her arm, trying not to step too close or to breathe in her scent again. ‘Fair warning, though, I’m useless with these.’
He came back round to look at the way he’d draped it. ‘Okay, so it might be upside down.’
He shifted the bandage sideways. Had another look. Twisted it another ninety degrees. ‘I have two medical degrees and an advanced trauma qualification. I will not be defeated by a simple sling.’
‘Something you’re bad at? Surely not, Lucas Beaufort.’ The corners of her mouth twitched as he stood back and inspected it again. And then he made the fatal error of looking into her eyes.
Instead of looking away, she held his gaze.
His gut tightened. How could it be that something as simple as the organs of the human visual system were so mesmerising? So beautiful and deep? Their function was to detect light and convert it into impulses the brain interpreted as images, a purely physiological act, and yet, right now, also reflective of something as abstract as emotion. One look into those dark brown irises and he could see she was in pain, probably psychologically and emotionally as well as physically. That the joking was a cover for the fact she was desperate for something...he didn’t know what. Connection? Something as simple as a hug?
More?
He didn’t know if he could—or should—give her more.
He straightened the sling. ‘The nurses usually do it. I’m great with endotracheal tubing or complicated suturing. Fantastic with seizures, fractures and diabetic comas, but bandaging...? Not so much. But...ah, we got there in the end.’ He secured the ends under her elbow with a safety pin. ‘There. This will remind you not to use the arm. At all. Doctor’s orders.’
She grimaced. ‘How am I going to manage with this?’
‘I will help you.’ It appeared he had no choice. If only she didn’t smell so good. Or wasn’t—he swallowed at the thought of the baby growing inside her—pregnant.
He dug deep for a different subject. ‘Now I’m going to phone for pizza.’
‘I’m not sure if I’m hungry or not but you’re right, I need to eat.’ Finally a smile. Funny and a little sad that the only smile he could get from her was about food and not about the prospect of spending time in his home again. ‘From that deli on the corner of your road? Stone fired?’
From the deli that had made the takeout pizza they’d eaten in bed after a long afternoon of lovemaking. ‘The very one.’
He picked up her bag, making sure to avoid any physical contact with her. ‘I can phone ahead and it’ll be ready to collect as we pass by. Then we can relax and wait for updates from Dom.’
She stopped walking. ‘Relax? While my father is having surgery?’
‘Bad choice of words.’ Seemed he was good at saying the wrong thing. Too damned good. ‘But I hope you’ll be comfortable there at least.’
Because he wasn’t sure he would be. Not when he knew she was within touching distance. Things had felt a lot calmer—albeit far, far duller—when she’d been in Isola Verde.