A Proposal to Remember Page 10

  Yes. He wanted to check that her flat was safe.

  ‘I’ll just see you into your flat and then I’d better go home.’ He followed her into the lift and waited while she found her keys, his senses constantly alert to danger.

  ‘Why do you keep looking around you?’ She looked at him anxiously and this time he sensed her nerves. ‘I thought you said that man wasn’t following me.’

  Damn. She was amazingly observant.

  ‘He’s not,’ he said smoothly, cursing the fact that Matt hadn’t been more discreet. It was going to be harder to keep a careful watch on Zan from now on.

  Carlo took her keys and unlocked the door, hoping that she’d think he was chivalrous by nature. The truth was he wanted to enter her flat first.

  He wasn’t taking any chances.

  He flicked on the lights and glanced swiftly around the room. Everything was neat and ordered. No sign of problems.

  She tilted her head to one side and smiled. ‘Coffee?’

  ‘I shouldn’t.’ He walked towards her window and gazed down at the river below with a frown. The view was great but he wished she had curtains. From the outside this room would be lit up like a stage. ‘I’ve got to go home and practise being Father Christmas in front of my mirror.’

  And tighten the security arrangements so that she was kept safe.

  He wanted someone to check the opposite bank of the river to see just how visible her flat was.

  ‘I haven’t had a chance to thank you for this afternoon,’ Zan blurted out. ‘If it hadn’t been for you, I dread to think what would have happened to Kelly and the baby. It’s lucky Kim told you I was there.’

  Kim hadn’t told him, but he wasn’t in a position to correct her.

  ‘Resuscitating a baby in those surroundings was certainly a new experience,’ he admitted dryly, and she shook her head in admiration.

  ‘So you mostly dealt with infertility in your last job?’

  ‘Actually, we offered a total care package,’ he explained. ‘From conception to discharge home after delivery.’

  ‘Do you think the baby will be all right?’

  He pulled a face and shrugged. ‘Who can say? He’s in the right place now—all we can do is wait and see. I’m just glad they agreed to go to hospital in the end. It made life a lot easier.’

  She nodded agreement and smiled up at him. Suddenly the smile faltered and her green eyes locked with his, anticipation heating her gaze.

  She wanted him to kiss her.

  The silence thickened around them and he sucked in a breath.

  ‘I’d better go.’ His voice came out in a croak and he almost laughed at himself. He’d never been so clumsy around a woman before.

  But, then, he’d never known chemistry like this before either. The sexual tension between them was so powerful that it was a living force, drawing them together.

  She stepped closer to him, her eyes never leaving his.

  ‘Do you want to go?’ Her question was loaded with meaning and he closed his eyes briefly.

  How had he ever got himself in this mess?

  He couldn’t make love to her when she didn’t even know who he was. He just couldn’t do it.

  ‘Zan, I don’t think—’

  She reached up and touched a finger to his mouth, silencing him.

  ‘That first night, when you wanted to make love, it just felt a bit fast.’ Her slim fingers were locked on the front of his jumper, hanging onto him, her eyes incredibly shy. ‘But you’re not a stranger any more and I— I mean, if you still want to…’

  Her meaning was clear and he felt desire slam through his body.

  She wanted him to make love to her because she felt that she was beginning to know him.

  But she didn’t know him.

  He wasn’t who he said he was. In fact, she knew virtually nothing about him.

  Conscience ripped through him and he muttered a curse and stepped back from her.

  Having a secret identity had been great at the beginning, but it had gone from being the solution to the problem.

  Her hands fell to her sides and she wrapped her arms around her middle self-consciously. ‘You’ve changed your mind.’ She kept her tone light and her brave smile made him want to thump the wall.

  ‘I haven’t changed my mind.’ His voice was husky and he fought the urge to reach for her again. ‘I promised you I’d slow the pace.’

  ‘Oh.’ Zan’s eyes brightened and the smile that followed his confession was pure sexual invitation.

  Heat engulfed his body.

  For a woman with no experience she certainly knew how to make a man sweat.

  She licked her lips. ‘You need to learn the difference between slow and stop.’ Her eyes dropped to his mouth and then lifted to his eyes.

  Drawn in by the expression in her green eyes, Carlo forgot about going slow. In fact, he forgot about everything.

  He closed his fingers around her wrists and backed her against the wall, his mouth capturing her soft gasp of excitement. Her lips were soft and warm and she opened her mouth for him, tempting him inside.

  He accepted the invitation, tasting her sweetness, showing her with every intimate touch of his mouth and tongue just what he wanted to do to the rest of her body.

  Desire exploded inside him and he released her hands and cupped her face, sliding his hands through the silky mass of hair as he kissed her until the heat between them reached an intolerable level.

  He lifted his head briefly, their foreheads touching, his expression dazed as he stared down into her eyes.

  She looked as stunned as he felt, her green eyes cloudy, her soft lips bruised and damp from his kiss.

  ‘Carlo.’ She whispered his name with a reverence that made him groan and lower his mouth again.

  He knew he ought to stop now, before stopping ceased to be an option, but he couldn’t drag his mouth away from hers.

  Her tongue teased his and he wondered how on earth he was going to keep it slow and gentle when the time came to make love to her. She drove him so wild he didn’t know himself.

  He felt her small hand slide under his jumper and then rest on the warm muscle of his chest, finding his heartbeat.

  Muttering in Italian against her mouth, he dealt with the zip of her jeans and slid a hand inside, over the soft curve of her bottom.

  ‘You feel incredible.’ He moved his hand lower and found what he was looking for, his fingers touching her with a deliberate intimacy that brought a sob to her lips.

  She moved against his hand and dragged her mouth away from his, her eyes glazed with desire and her cheeks fevered.

  ‘Carlo, it feels so… I didn’t know…’

  ‘Shh—’ He moved his hand and hugged her against him, trying to lower the temperature a notch.

  He didn’t succeed.

  His whole body burned for this woman.

  And he wasn’t being honest with her.

  The thought was like a shower of cold water and he released her and stepped away, raking a hand through his dark hair as he struggled with his conscience.

  She leaned against the wall for support, looking at him in confusion.

  Her dark hair was tangled from his touch and her cheeks were flushed. She looked like a girl who’d been thoroughly kissed and he felt desire slam through his body with a force that left him breathless.

  ‘It’s getting late. I’d better go…’

  He worked on his will-power. If she asked him to stay he was in trouble.

  But she didn’t.

  In fact, she didn’t speak at all. She just stood there, supported by the wall, staring at him.

  He picked up his jacket from the floor and walked back to her. He locked their hands together and bent his head to give her a gentle kiss.

  ‘Goodnight, Zan—I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  And by then he would have worked out how to tell her the truth.

  CHAPTER SIX

  CARLO stared at the ultrasound scan and tried to for
get about Zan.

  She was dominating his every thought and it was starting to drive him mad.

  He’d already decided that the first opportunity that he had he was going to tell her the truth and risk the consequences.

  ‘Mr Bennett?’ A young student nurse cleared her throat nervously to attract his attention. ‘The labour ward has been calling. They need you up there urgently.’

  Despite the fact it was Christmas Eve, the day was frantically busy and they barely saw one another as they coped with the huge workload.

  Fortunately by five o’clock labour ward had calmed down and the clinic was empty.

  In the nurses’ locker room, Zan dragged on green tights and a figure-hugging tunic and pulled a face in the mirror. ‘Are you sure this is an elf costume? I look more like Peter Pan.’

  ‘Definitely elf,’ Kim murmured as she pushed her feet into a pair of black boots. ‘Next year I’m coming as something warm and furry, like a reindeer. There’s something to be said for being Father Christmas. At least you can wear a thick jumper underneath. Talking of which, what’s happening with that gorgeous man of yours?’

  Zan blushed and tucked her dark hair under a green hat. ‘He’s finished on Labour Ward and he’s gone to change.’

  ‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ Kim said dryly, and Zan smiled.

  ‘Nothing’s happening exactly…’ Not yet anyway. ‘But we get on well. And he’s such a brilliant doctor, Kim.’ Her eyes shone. ‘You should have seen him with Kelly. He was so calm and he just wouldn’t give up on that baby. And then he managed to talk Mike round and persuade him into going to the hospital, and he’d arranged heaters and an ambulance…’ She broke off, breathless, and Kim grinned.

  ‘So you’re not in love, or anything like that, then?’

  Zan sucked in a breath and her eyes widened.

  Love?

  It had been so fast she hadn’t even examined her feelings in any depth, but now she did and the result shocked her. She sat down with a thump on one of the hard chairs.

  ‘It’s only been a few days,’ she croaked. ‘How do I know if it’s love?’

  Kim shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Try and imagine him walking down the aisle with someone else. How do you feel?’

  Zan thought about it. ‘Sick?’

  ‘That could be love or too many mince pies,’ Kim said sagely. ‘Do you want to punch her on the nose?’

  ‘I think I’ve done enough punching in this relationship,’ Zan muttered, remembering Carlo’s bruised cheek. ‘And I’m not kidding myself it’s marriage he has in mind.’

  Carlo was a red-blooded Italian male who certainly didn’t need to get married to have an active sex life.

  Kim shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that. He must be early thirties. All Italian men want babies at some point. They’re very into the family thing. It’s got to be on his agenda.’

  Zan bit her lip. Did he want to get married? The thought of Carlo smiling at another woman, kissing another woman, making love to another woman, made her utterly miserable.

  ‘OK.’ She lifted her palms and gave a resigned smile. ‘To answer your original question—I’d definitely want to punch her on the nose. Hard.’

  Kim grinned. ‘I knew it. You’re in love.’

  ‘I think I might be.’ Zan’s expression was gloomy. ‘Bad news, huh?’

  ‘Why bad news?’ Kim straightened her costume and reached for her coat. ‘He seems pretty keen on you, too.’

  ‘Bed keen,’ Zan said wistfully. ‘Not marriage keen.’

  ‘You don’t know that.’

  ‘I’ve only known him for four days,’ Zan pointed out, and Kim shrugged.

  ‘Well, it’s been long enough for you.’

  Zan thought about everything Carlo had done since she’d met him. Waded in and rescued her from being mugged, made her laugh, intervened in a difficult delivery, kissed her breathless and saved the life of a baby. She’d learned a lot about him in four days.

  ‘He’d be a brilliant father. Oh, help!’ Zan sighed. ‘What’s happened to me? I used to be cautious and rational. Now I want to have his babies.’

  ‘Love is never rational,’ Kim said dryly. ‘When are you seeing him again?’

  ‘Tonight.’ Zan blushed slightly. ‘He’s staying the night so that we can open our presents together tomorrow morning. He’s on call tomorrow.’

  ‘So tonight’s the night.’ Kim looked at her curiously. ‘Spending Christmas together sounds pretty romantic to me.’

  ‘Well, his family is all in Italy and I can’t get home so it seemed like a good idea.’ Zan shrugged dismissively and Kim laughed.

  ‘Stop making it sound like a business arrangement. You’re not fooling me. What have you got planned?’

  Nothing she could share with her friend.

  Fortunately, before she could answer there was a knock on the door and one of the other elves stuck her head round, her eyes twinkling with fun.

  ‘Message from Father Christmas—the reindeer are playing up and he needs some elves desperately. He’s waiting for us by the main entrance.’

  ‘Reindeer?’ Kim and Zan exchanged baffled looks and made their way to the hospital entrance.

  Zan pushed open the revolving doors and then stopped with a gasp of amazement.

  Immediately in front of the hospital was a sleigh straight out of a fairy-tale, decorated with delicate silver chains and tiny lights and pulled by six brown reindeer with knobbly antlers and velvety noses, their breath producing clouds of steam in the frosty air.

  Carlo sat holding the reins, a huge sack bulging on the seat behind him.

  He was dressed as Father Christmas, most of his face concealed under a ridiculous white beard. ‘Hurry up, elves. I’m never going to get down all the chimneys at this rate.’

  Zan gave a laugh of delight and jumped into the sleigh next to him. ‘I can’t believe you found a sleigh. Did you arrange this?’

  ‘What use is Santa without his reindeer?’ His face was barely visible under the white beard that he was wearing. Then he smiled at her and bent his head for a kiss.

  A laughing Kim jumped up next to them. ‘Hey, this is a family show!’

  They broke apart reluctantly and Carlo ran a gentle finger down Zan’s flushed cheek.

  ‘What exactly are an elf’s duties?’ His voice was husky with passion and Zan smiled.

  ‘We’re here to service your every need, Father Christmas.’

  ‘Glad to hear it.’ He gave her a sexy wink.

  The other nurse jumped onto the sleigh and for the first time Zan noticed a girl standing next to the reindeer, holding their reins.

  Once everyone was settled on the sleigh, the girl led the first pair of reindeer forward and the others followed, pulling the sleigh down the path and onto the lawn behind the children’s ward.

  Despite the cold and the snow, the doors had been flung open and excited children gathered in the doorway, their faces pink with delight. Those who were confined to bed had been pushed as close as possible to the window so that everyone could have a look.

  Carlo said something to the girl who was helping him and she leaned forward and untied one of the reindeer, leading him carefully towards the children.

  Carlo followed, leaping down from the sleigh and grabbing the bag of presents.

  ‘Ho, ho, ho, children,’ he bellowed, and Zan burst into a fit of giggles. He was the most convincing Father Christmas she’d ever seen.

  He walked onto the ward and the children were soon clambering all over him, hugging him and trying to tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

  Carlo listened intently and nodded and then indicated to the elves that they should give out presents.

  Kim, Zan and the other nurse dipped into the enormous sack and pulled out boxes wrapped in blue and pink, passing them into eager little hands.

  Several of the children were stroking the reindeer, totally enraptured by the soft covering on its antlers. It was totally docile, stan
ding quietly while they swarmed all around it.

  ‘I have to confess that I never knew reindeer were so small,’ Kim muttered as she delved into the sack for another present.

  ‘Does size matter in a reindeer?’ Carlo’s eyes twinkled suggestively and Zan laughed.

  She couldn’t believe he’d arranged real reindeer. When she’d asked him to be Father Christmas she’d never thought for a moment that he’d enter into the spirit of things to quite this extent.

  But the children were loving every minute of it.

  And as they sat on the floor, ripping open their presents, the hospital choir arrived at the entrance of the ward and started to sing carols.

  The moment was so magical that Zan felt her eyes grow hot.

  ‘I feel really Christmassy,’ Kim said happily, and then she glanced across at Carlo and lowered her voice. ‘He’s fantastic, Zan. After tonight, I’d have his babies, too.’

  Zan watched as Carlo hugged a little girl who had her leg in plaster, his dark eyes warm and kind as he listened to her breathless requests for presents.

  Kim was right. He was fantastic.

  And then he looked up and caught her looking at him. The benign, fatherly look in his eyes vanished, to be replaced by a look of such sexual intensity that her insides burned with excitement.

  She could hardly breathe for wanting him, and she wondered how she was going to show him that she didn’t want him to slow the pace any more.

  It was obviously going to be up to her to take the initiative.

  * * *

  Finally the reindeer were loaded back into their trailer and the children were settled into bed.

  ‘Not that I expect them to sleep much,’ the ward sister admitted with a sigh as she tried to calm the excited children.

  Zan moved closer to Carlo. ‘How’s Kelly’s baby doing?’

  ‘I’ve been too busy to go up and check.’ He looked at her quizzically. ‘Shall we go up now?’

  ‘Dressed like this?’ Zan glanced down at herself doubtfully and he laughed.

  ‘Why not? It’s Christmas Eve after all.’

  So they took the lift to the labour ward and walked through to SCBU. The ward was warm and festive and the staff greeted them with amusement as they strolled onto the ward in their costumes.