St Piran's: Italian Surgeon, Forbidden Bride (8 page)

‘Would talking to Josh be such a bad thing?’

Megan’s stomach churned in response to Jess’s softly voiced question. Her friend knew there was past history with Josh, but Megan hadn’t divulged any details. She had never told anyone what had happened. She felt too guilty, too confused, too stupid, too hurt.

‘What’s the point?’ Bitterness laced her voice but she was unable to soften it. ‘It’s over. Done. What good would be served stirring it up eight years on?’

‘Perhaps
you
need to talk as much as Josh thinks
he
does,’ Jess suggested, confusing her more.

Megan frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s clearly still causing you heartache. Things are unresolved in your own mind.’ Jess paused a moment, her dark green gaze direct. ‘Forget Josh and his reasons for wanting to talk. Think about yourself. Do
you
have questions that need answering before you can put things behind you once and for all?’

Too many to count, Megan allowed silently, one hand unconsciously moving to press against the flatness of her belly, a wave of pain rolling through her at all that was lost—all that Josh had taken from her. The thought of facing him after eight years was too scary to contemplate.

‘Maybe, but—’ Megan broke off, uncertain and indecisive.

‘But?’ Jess probed gently.

‘Seeing him again hurts so much and has brought back so many difficult memories.’ She bit her lip, ashamed that she had been so foolish over Josh—and that part of her remained drawn to him, despite everything that had happened. ‘I’m so angry with him, Jess. And with myself. Yes, there are things I want to know, but I’m not sure I can cope with what he has to say.’

‘Only you can decide if finding out what you need to know will help you find peace with the past.’

Megan nodded. Her friend’s words made sense. She just wasn’t sure what to do. The fact that Josh now had a picture-perfect wife, aside from causing her added pain
and distress, complicated things even more. Although the body language she had witnessed between him and his beautiful wife, Rebecca, suggested that things might not be right in Josh’s marriage, he
was
married, so having contact with him beyond the professional was inappropriate.

‘It scares me, Jess.’

Her words whispered from her as she faced the awful truth?underneath the pain, anger and betrayal, a spark of the elemental chemistry still burned. She was as vulnerable to him as she had always been.

‘Emotions are complicated and the dividing line between love and hate can be wafer thin.’ Jess’s pager sounded and she glanced at it, a faint blush colouring her cheeks. ‘Sorry, Megan, I have to go.’

‘Problems?’

Jess shook her head. ‘It’s time for the neurosurgery case meeting. Gordon Ainsworth and, um, Gio, asked me to attend,’ she explained, gathering up her things. Pausing, she smiled. ‘Think things over. If you need to talk, you know it will remain confidential between us.’

‘Thanks, Jess.’

‘Take care, Megan. And good luck.’

Megan watched the other woman walk away, her vibrant auburn hair restrained in a plait. Recalling her friend’s blush, and thinking about the electric atmosphere she had noticed whenever Jess and Gio were together, she wondered if something was brewing there. It would be wonderful to see Jess happy. She was so private, and always seemed so alone. Megan shook her head, realising how alike they were. She respected Jess,
and trusted her, and she knew how lucky she was to have her to talk to.

Unfortunately, her friend couldn’t tell her what to do. No one could. Decisions about Josh, and whether to face the past, were hers alone.

Gio stepped into the warmth of the August evening. Dusk was falling, and he glanced up at the darkening sky, expelling a sigh. He’d been called in earlier that Saturday evening after Josh O’Hara’s concern had grown about a man who had collapsed while on an outing to the beach with his wife. Further tests, including CT and MRI scans, had revealed that the man had a tumour growing in his brain, affecting his optic nerve and sensory centre. Surgery was scheduled for Monday.

The man and his wife would benefit from Jessica’s input. He’d speak with her on Monday. Which was nearly thirty-six hours away and too long to wait, especially as he hadn’t seen her since the previous afternoon, when she had attended what would become a regular Friday meeting for the neurological unit. Her presence had been beneficial to the team—but distracting for him on a personal level. He shook his head. Until a few days ago he hadn’t
had
a personal level.

Confused that his life had turned upside down, he walked towards the almost deserted consultants’ car park. The previous night had been the first when they’d not met up for an end-of-the-day chat. Jessica had been unable to come because she volunteered for the Samaritans and spent several hours there each Friday evening. He wasn’t surprised. Once more she was devoting her time to other people’s problems. Was it a way of avoiding her own?

In the car, he leaned back and rested his head, reflecting on how long and lonely the weekend was becoming without Jessica. He swore softly to himself. What a sorry state he was in. Part of him rebelled. He didn’t want any new woman in his life. Or so he had thought until Jessica. Now he couldn’t stop thinking about her or wanting to be with her. He wanted to learn her secrets and encourage the real Jessica out from behind her defensive wall. Was he the only one to notice the loneliness and hurt that lurked in the depths of her beautiful green eyes?

Starting the engine, he reversed out of his parking space, his gaze straying to the psychology building.

‘What the hell?’

He braked, letting the powerful engine idle as he observed the light that shone from Jessica’s office window. The rest of the building was in darkness. Had she forgotten to switch off the light the day before? He saw a flicker of movement inside and cursed. Jessica was here?
Now?
Returning his car to its parking space, he switched off the engine, climbed out and locked the door.

As he walked towards the building he reflected on Jessica’s odd behaviour and her reluctance to let him see inside her office. He’d brushed it off as a quirk, but her furtiveness made him certain that something more was going on and he couldn’t let this go.

Frowning, he remembered when he’d visited her office. She’d rushed home to meet her insurance company’s assessor and he’d forgotten to ask why. Was something seriously wrong?

The outer door of the psychology building was locked, but his swipe card and ID code gained him access. Relocking the door, he made his way through
the darkened foyer and down the corridor to Jessica’s room. It was uncharacteristic for him to be impolite but, not wanting to give her time to shut the door in his face, he checked to see if it was unlocked. It was. He gave a sharp rap and swung the door open, astonished at the scene that greeted him.

Jessica, bare-footed and dressed in a pair of cotton shorts and a sleeveless tank top, which emphasised her voluptuous curves and set his pulse racing, was sitting cross-legged on a blow-up mattress on the floor. A pillow and a few items of bed linen were folded at one end. For the first time, he saw her hair in all its heart-stopping glory as it fell around her shoulders, the curtain of copper-red and burnished chestnut curls enveloping her in a halo of fire.

But she was not alone. Her companions held him transfixed and momentarily speechless. Two small, playful kittens frolicked around her, Tabby balls of fluff on stubby legs and paws that looked too big for them. His gaze returned to Jessica. The smile had frozen on her face and panic was setting in.

Determined to discover what was going on, but not wanting to alarm her, he closed the door and crossed to her before she had time to get up. He dropped to his knees, sitting back on his heels, smiling as the kittens investigated him, sharp claws digging into his thighs as they used him as a climbing frame.

Gently, he slid a palm under each warm, rounded little body, lifting them close for a better view, seeing the similarities and differences in what were clearly siblings’ faces. He loved animals, and would have surrounded himself with them, but Sofia had been allergic to several kinds of animals, making pets impossible.
Thinking of his beloved wife, taken from him so dev-astatingly five years before, brought the familiar pain and he closed his eyes, rubbing his face against the two fluffy animals, feeling the dual purrs vibrating against his hands.

Gio opened his eyes and focused on Jessica, who sat little more than a foot away, shocked to silence, a whole mixture of emotions chasing themselves across her expressive green eyes. Turning the kittens so they were facing her, he held them against his chest, enjoying their softness and the feel of their heartbeats.

‘What are their names?’

His question apparently threw her because she stared at him for several moments as if expecting him to launch into an interrogation. She bit her lip, diverting his attention to the tempting swell of her mouth. As she sucked in a breath, his gaze rose to clash with hers once more.

‘Th-that’s Dickens,’ she finally informed him, her voice unsteady and her hand shaking as she pointed to the kitten in his left hand, which had a dark face, pink nose and round green eyes, not unlike her own in colour.

‘And this one?’ he asked of the kitten in his right hand, which had slanting, almond-shaped eyes in a darker shade than its sibling’s.

‘Kipling.’

She looked lost and alone so he handed Dickens to her, and she clutched him close as if needing the comfort.

‘They are favourite authors of yours?’

Jessica nodded, her curls swaying like dancing flames. ‘Partly. But also for their characters. They’re very mischievous and inquisitive. With him,’ she
continued, pointing to the kitten cradled in his hands, ‘I kept thinking he’s just so naughty, just so cute, just so everything, and so I thought of Kipling and his
Just So
stories.’ She was still tense, but a smile tugged her mouth as she looked at the kitten she held. ‘This one was into everything and I was always asking what the dickens he was up to. The names stuck.’

‘How long have you had them?’

‘About six weeks. Their mother was an unknown feral stray who had a litter in the barn on a farm near my cottage,’ she told him, relaxing a little. ‘Flora, who lives there, and who is a nurse at the doctors’ surgery in Penhally, isn’t sure what happened to the mother, but the kittens were abandoned and Flora took care of them. She couldn’t keep them all and was looking for homes for the others. I took these two.’

‘What happens to them during the day?’ he asked, intrigued how she had organised things.

‘They stay with Sid Evans?he’s the hospital handyman.’ Gio nodded, confirming he knew of the man. ‘He lost his wife recently and I’ve spent some time chatting to him,’ Jessica continued, although he was unsurprised to learn of her kindness. ‘He was very down and told me he wasn’t allowed pets at his flat. So I asked the hospital management if he could have the kittens in his work room during the day and they said yes.’ A warm smile curved her mouth. ‘Sid loves having them.’

‘I’m sure he does.’ He admired her even more for her thoughtfulness. He also suspected that Jessica had set things up so that Sid felt valued, believing he was doing her a good turn. He was sure the hospital management didn’t know where the kittens spent the night. ‘How long have you been camping here?’

His question, getting to the core of the issue, had her tensing up again and she ducked her head, her hair falling forward, hiding her face.

‘Talk to me,’ he encouraged softly. With one finger beneath her chin, he urged her to look up again. ‘What’s going on, Jessica?’

Very conscious of Gio’s touch, Jess trembled. The pad of one finger, that was all, and yet her whole body felt alive, charged and vitally aware of him. It was so long since she’d been touched… at least before this week when Gio had done so several times, stirring up desires she’d managed to banish for the last four years. But she had to quash the yearnings Gio had reawakened because he—like everyone else—was out of bounds. Steeling herself, she drew back enough to break the physical connection, concerned how much she missed the contact.

In shock from Gio’s sudden arrival, fear built now that one of her secrets, albeit the least monumental and important of them, had been discovered. She didn’t want to tell him anything but how could she bluff her way out? Even if she could excuse the kittens, the damning evidence of the makeshift bed was impossible to explain away.

‘Jessica?’

‘I, um, recently moved into my cottage,’ she began shakily, unsure how much to tell him. ‘The storm ten days ago destroyed the roof, causing water damage and the electricity being shut off. I tried to say there anyway…’

‘Dio!
With no power and no roof?’ he exclaimed, muttering something uncomplimentary in Italian.

Jess lowered her gaze. ‘It was only one night. I was
concerned for the kittens,’ she explained, failing to add that not only had it been miserable with no electricity or hot water but that she’d been spooked in the isolated cottage with no security.

‘So you’ve been staying here since then?’

‘Yes,’ she admitted with reluctance.

She couldn’t help but be mesmerised by the way Gio continued to stroke Dickens, his fingers sinking into the soft fur. The kitten was enjoying it if his purrs were anything to go by. It made her think dangerous and never-to-be-allowed things… like how it would feel to have Gio’s fingers caress
her
body from top to toe. She had no doubt she’d be purring, too.

Looking down lest he read anything in her eyes, Jess struggled to push her wayward thoughts away because no matter how much she may crave his touch, it wasn’t going to happen.

‘Why here, though?’ Gio’s voice reclaimed her attention. ‘Why not stay at a hotel… or with friends?’

She fudged an answer, mumbling about the need to keep the kittens with her and everywhere being fully booked at the height of the season, because no way was she going to tell him the truth about the sorry state of her finances or that she didn’t
have
any friends. Not the kind she could stay with, anyway. To explain either would involve the impossible?revealing what she could never reveal… why.