A Proposal to Remember Read online

  Out of breath, and shaken by the whole experience of kissing Zan, he rolled onto his back, taking her with him, trying to make sense of the way he felt.

  She burrowed into his chest and then finally she lifted her head and looked at him, shyness and question mingling in her green eyes.

  ‘Why did you stop?’

  Was she really that innocent?

  Carlo gave a wry smile. ‘Why do you think?’

  Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed pink. ‘You wanted me?’

  ‘You could say that.’

  But it would have been an understatement.

  ‘You’re an amazing kisser.’

  He was tempted to suggest that she sample the rest of his skills, but he didn’t want to hear her say no a second time that night.

  ‘You’re incredibly good to kiss.’

  ‘Do you know that you talk in Italian when you kiss? You sort of murmur against my mouth and it’s so sexy.’

  She was all tousled and warm from his kiss and he wondered if his erection was ever going to subside.

  ‘It’s my first language,’ he reminded her, grateful that she didn’t speak it. He’d said some things that would have probably have made her run a mile.

  ‘I love your accent,’ she said dreamily, putting her chin on her palm and staring at him with those huge green eyes. ‘Say something to me in Italian now. Go on—anything.’

  He kept his face serious. ‘Cappuccino.’

  ‘Oh, very funny.’ She rested a hand on his chest and he reached for her and pulled her on top of him.

  ‘Io voglio te,’ he said softly, and she looked at him curiously.

  ‘What does that mean?’

  I want you.

  But he shouldn’t be telling her that. He wasn’t in a position to offer her anything except trouble and hurt.

  Suddenly feeling hideously guilty for taking advantage of her, Carlo pulled her close, his voice gruff as he spoke. ‘It means you’re a pretty sexy chick.’

  ‘Does it?’ She chuckled and leaned forward to kiss him. ‘I’m obviously going to have to learn Italian. Will you teach me?’

  ‘I can think of other things I’d rather teach you.’ He smiled at her, thinking that she was the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen.

  Flushed and sparkly-eyed and full of humour and warmth.

  He never, ever wanted to give her up.

  He frowned at his own thoughts. Of course he’d want to give her up eventually. Commitment was the very last thing on his agenda. Circumstances meant that he’d ceased to trust women long ago and he was incredibly wary of relationships.

  But this was different because she didn’t know who he was.

  ‘You look serious all of a sudden.’ Zan looked up at him, her eyes concerned.

  He forced a smile. ‘I was just thinking that I start a new job in six hours.’

  And his security people would be out there combing the streets for him.

  She gasped and glanced at the clock. ‘I’d forgotten about work. You’d better go!’

  He bent his head and kissed her gently. ‘Maybe I don’t want to go.’

  ‘Well, you can’t turn up at the hospital wearing my clothes,’ she teased, her eyes slightly shy as she looked at him. ‘Even if you don’t sleep, surely you need to go home and get changed. Where is home, by the way?’

  He hesitated and then rolled away from her. ‘I’m staying somewhere temporary at the moment—nowhere special.’

  His brother’s three-million-pound penthouse apartment overlooking Hyde Park.

  ‘Right.’ She gave him a sympathetic look. ‘Well, that’s not very nice over Christmas. You need a home, not somewhere temporary.’

  He pulled his jumper over his head and stared at her. ‘What are you suggesting?’

  She gave a nervous shrug. ‘You could stay here.’ The minute the words had left her mouth she wrapped her arms around herself and bit her lip. ‘Forget I said that.’

  ‘What if I don’t want to forget it?’

  She covered her face with her hands and shook her head. ‘I don’t know myself when I’m with you. I’m doing really strange things. Like inviting you up to my flat when you’re a total stranger and inviting you for Christmas. I’ve gone crazy.’

  He couldn’t think of a better way to spend Christmas than moving in with Zan and being surrounded by her warmth and laughter and her incredible body.

  But he couldn’t do it.

  His life was just too complicated at the moment. Complicated and dangerous and he wouldn’t put her at risk.

  And he could see that she was really confused about the strength of her own feelings.

  Carlo stepped forward and gently pulled her hands away from her face. ‘As you said earlier, we probably need to slow the pace a little. Let’s see how it goes, shall we?’

  She hesitated, and then gave a smile that was just a little too bright. ‘Good idea.’

  He sighed and covered her soft lips with a finger. ‘I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong. You’re thinking that when I walk out of this door that’s going to be it.’

  Colour touched her cheekbones. ‘I’ve got four brothers,’ she muttered. ‘I know all the lines they use.’

  Zan was incredibly brave and dignified, but he had enough experience with women to know that she was as attracted to him as he was to her.

  ‘I’m not using any of those lines,’ Carlo said firmly, ignoring the flash of guilt that exploded inside him.

  He was deceiving her.

  And he probably ought to walk away from her and never see her again because he wasn’t in a position to give this woman anything but grief.

  But he wasn’t going to do that.

  He had to see her again.

  * * *

  ‘Where the hell have you been?’

  Carlo glanced at Matteo Parini, his long-time friend and his father’s chief of security. ‘I went for a walk.’

  He shrugged his shoulders out of his coat.

  ‘For five hours?’

  ‘Calm down, Matt, or you’ll have a stroke,’ Carlo said mildly. ‘I left a message on your mobile.’

  ‘Five hours ago!!’

  ‘So?’ Carlo gave a shrug. ‘I met a girl.’

  A girl who had no idea who he was.

  For possibly the first time in his life Carlo was sure that a woman was interested in him for himself alone, and he found the knowledge oddly satisfying. Zan didn’t know anything about his money.

  There was an ominous silence and Matt stiffened with disbelief. ‘A girl? You’ve been in London for one evening and already you’ve met someone? That’s fast, even for you.’

  Not just someone.

  The one.

  Carlo frowned at his own thoughts. Women had been trying to trap him into a serious relationship for years but he’d never been remotely tempted.

  Until tonight.

  ‘Do you believe in love at first sight?’

  Matt stared at him with naked incredulity. ‘I can’t believe you just asked me that.’

  Carlo grinned. He couldn’t believe it either. ‘Well?’

  ‘Only when I’ve had several drinks,’ Matt responded wryly, shaking his head as he scrutinised Carlo’s face. ‘Tell me you’re not serious. You’ve only just met her.’

  ‘I know that.’

  But she’d affected him in a way that no other woman had before.

  Matt let out a long breath and tried to reason with him. ‘You can’t do this. Not now. You’re supposed to be keeping a low profile. What if she goes to the press? The whole idea of the false name was to fool the press.’

  ‘She won’t go to the press,’ Carlo said easily. ‘She doesn’t know who I am.’

  ‘Yet.’ Matt lifted an eyebrow meaningfully but Carlo refused to lose his cool.

  ‘Relax. This isn’t Italy. And I don’t think she’s the type to read glitzy magazines.’

  Matt sighed. ‘Well, at least take me with you next time.’

  I
t was Carlo’s turn to lift an eyebrow. ‘I never thought you were kinky.’

  ‘I’ll wait outside,’ Matt growled, and Carlo gave a grudging smile.

  ‘You’re a good friend, but I don’t need a watchdog.’

  ‘Really?’ Matt looked at his cheek. ‘So how did you get that?’

  Carlo lifted a hand and touched the bruise with the tips of his fingers, a soft smile touching his mouth. ‘I was attacked.’

  ‘Attacked?’ Matt stared at him in growing dismay and Carlo’s grin widened.

  ‘By the woman. I tried to rescue her—’

  ‘And she hit you?’ Matt looked stunned and Carlo started to laugh.

  ‘We had a misunderstanding. She didn’t realise I was rescuing her.’

  Matt laughed too. ‘No wonder you think you’re in love with her. There’s something very sexy about a confident woman.’

  Carlo gave a half-smile, knowing that only part of Zan was confident and feisty. The other part was feminine and shy, and the combination was mind-blowing.

  Matt’s smile faded. ‘Look, you feel this way because she doesn’t know who you are. It’s just the novelty.’

  Carlo thought about it. ‘It isn’t that.’

  Matt shot him a frustrated look. ‘This is a really, really bad time for you to get involved with someone, Carlo. You don’t know anything about her.’

  Carlo’s expression darkened. ‘And she doesn’t know anything about me. There is no way she’d be involved in all this, if that’s what you’re suggesting. She’s totally innocent.’

  Completely innocent.

  The thought made his insides tighten and he gave a smile of pure male possession.

  He was going to make her his.

  All his.

  Matt wasn’t so easily distracted. ‘Let’s be honest about this for a moment. You left Italy to draw those lunatics away from your family—to tempt them into following you. I still think it was a bad idea, especially as you’re so careless about security.’

  ‘Careless?’ Carlo’s eyes gleamed. ‘Oh, believe me, I’m not careless.’

  He was totally alert and more than ready to face the threat.

  ‘Well, even if she doesn’t shop you to the press, associating with this girl could put her at risk. They could use her to get to you,’ Matt growled, obviously totally frustrated by Carlo’s lack of co-operation. ‘Don’t think the false name is going to fool them. We did that to lose the press as much as anything. The men behind the threats are pros. I’m willing to bet they already know who you are and where you are.’

  Carlo’s smiled. ‘Of course they do.’

  He was under no illusions about his current position.

  Matt frowned. ‘You can’t see her again. At least, not until this mess is sorted out.’

  ‘I know that, too.’ Carlo’s smile faded and he rubbed long fingers over his forehead.

  Everything Matt said was true. He had left Italy to draw the men who were threatening him away from his family.

  To see Zan again could be risky for her. But he knew he couldn’t give her up.

  Maybe he could stall her and hope that the guys who were threatening him came out into the open quickly.

  On the other hand, if he was honest, he was enjoying living his life as someone else for the time being. He liked the fact that Zan didn’t know about his true circumstances.

  For the first time in his life he was able to have a normal relationship with a woman without his money getting in the way. There was no way he was letting that go.

  ‘There’s another thing to consider.’ Matt’s tone was cautious. ‘Even if she doesn’t know who you are now, it’s bound to come out soon. And she’ll be hurt that you didn’t tell her. And a hurt woman—’

  ‘Is dangerous,’ Carlo finished flatly, pacing across the apartment and staring down at the snow-covered trees.

  ‘She could go to the papers.’

  Carlo frowned, knowing that it was true. His family had been hurt on numerous occasions when girls he and his brother had dated had later sold their stories to the newspapers. It was one of the reasons he was extremely careful in his relationships with the opposite sex.

  He couldn’t believe that Zan would do a thing like that.

  But he’d been burned before. Badly.

  He stirred and looked at his friend. ‘She isn’t the type. She’s special.’

  ‘Special enough to forgive you when she discovers that you’ve lied?’

  Carlo let out a long breath. ‘I certainly hope so.’

  If she wasn’t, then his life had just become even more complicated.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ‘ALL right, what’s going on?’ Kim, Zan’s best friend and the sister in charge of the antenatal clinic, glanced up curiously as they prepared for the morning clinic. ‘I’ve just told you we’ve got a full clinic, a locum doctor who doesn’t know the ropes and two off sick. Why are you grinning? Did I miss the joke?’

  Zan picked up a stack of notes and hugged them to her chest. Her insides were so churned up with excitement that she hadn’t even managed breakfast. All she could think about was Carlo.

  ‘I’m just happy.’

  ‘That’s what worries me,’ Kim said dryly. ‘Why would you be happy, given that by the end of the day you’ll have blisters on both feet and a headache bigger than Africa?’

  ‘I don’t care about blisters. I met someone.’ She tried to sound nonchalant and then wondered why she was even bothering. Kim was her best friend and they told each other everything.

  ‘You met someone? When? We worked together yesterday and your smile was normal-sized then.’ Kim looked at her, stunned, and Zan laughed.

  ‘I met him last night.’

  ‘Last night? So it wasn’t quick or anything?’ Kim shook her head in disbelief. ‘Zan, I hate to be the one to point this out, but falling for men in one night isn’t your style. In fact, correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve never fallen for anyone, no matter how many nights were involved. You invented the word “cautious”. I’m the reckless one in this friendship.’

  Zan shrugged. ‘So maybe it’s time I changed.’

  Kim glanced around to check that no one was within earshot and lowered her voice. ‘So did you…you know?’

  ‘Kim!’ Zan pretended to look shocked and then grinned. ‘No. We didn’t. But I’ve made up my mind I’m going to. He’s going to be my Christmas present to myself. I’m fed up with being cautious and he’s gorgeous.’

  ‘Obviously.’ Kim sounded faint. ‘He’s managed to achieve in one night what the whole male race has been struggling with for years. I can’t wait to meet him.’

  Zan dipped her head, deciding not to mention that the locum and her new man were one and the same. Her relationship was too new to expose it to one of Kim’s indiscreet comments.

  ‘Anyway, if you could pull yourself down off the cloud you’re sitting on, we need to get this clinic started,’ Kim said brightly. ‘And when we’ve finished that, we’ve got a tree to decorate.’

  ‘That’s OK.’ Zan smiled. She loved decorating Christmas trees and she wasn’t afraid of hard work. ‘So where do you want me to start?’

  ‘Here in clinic, keeping an eye on my locum, who’s in Room 1,’ Kim told her, and Zan fought to control her expression. If the new locum was the person she thought he was then she intended to keep much more than an eye on him.

  Her heart banging against her ribcage and her hands suddenly shaking, she picked up a pile of notes and walked towards her room.

  It connected with the room next door, and through the open door she could see Carlo sitting at the desk, stethoscope looped around his neck, reading through a set of notes.

  It was the first time she’d seen him in daylight and her heart missed a beat.

  Her first thought was that he was stunningly good-looking. Dressed in a dark suit, he had an air of strength and authority that made her catch her breath.

  Her second thought was that he didn’t look English.r />
  Her eyes slid over his short, cropped hair, rested for a moment on his olive skin and dark jaw and then dropped down to those powerful shoulders.

  He looked completely and thoroughly Italian.

  She knew she was staring but she couldn’t help herself, and when he glanced up and saw her standing there his face broke into a smile that made her remember why she’d ended up semi-naked in the shower with him after only a few hours’ acquaintance.

  He was the sexiest man she’d ever met.

  He rose to his feet in a fluid movement and strolled across to her, his gaze heating as he looked at her.

  ‘Buongiorno—good morning.’

  ‘Good morning.’ Suddenly she felt ridiculously shy and lifted a hand to smooth her dark hair behind her ear.

  He gave a low groan and glanced over his shoulder to make sure that no one was listening. ‘Don’t do that or I’ll never get any work done this morning.’

  Before she could answer, Kim walked into the room, clutching a pile of notes.

  ‘Mr Bennett?’

  At first Carlo didn’t react, but he must have seen something in Zan’s eyes because he suddenly shook himself and turned to the other woman.

  ‘Yes. Sorry, sister.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I was miles away.’

  Zan frowned, puzzled. It was as if he hadn’t heard his own name. Was she really that distracting?

  Kim beamed at him. ‘I just came to say that you’re very welcome, and if there’s anything at all you need while you’re working here, you can ask one of us. We’re very informal here. Do call me Kim. And this is Suzannah Wilde, but we call her Zan. She’ll be working in the room next door so that you can see patients together when the need arises.’

  ‘Well, that’s good to know.’ Carlo’s eyes gleamed slightly and Zan turned away so that Kim wouldn’t see her blushing.

  Kim was chattering away to both of them, oblivious to the tension between the two of them. ‘We’ve got Mrs Hughes in the waiting room; she’s expecting twins. We try not to keep her waiting too long for obvious reasons.’ Kim handed Carlo the notes. ‘Have you had much experience with multiple pregnancies, Mr Bennett?’

  ‘Call me Carlo, and the answer to your question is, yes, plenty.’ Carlo stretched out a lean brown hand and took the notes from her. ‘One of my special interests is infertility, and I’m afraid one of the consequences of infertility treatment is an increase in multiple pregnancies, even though we do try to avoid that happening. I delivered several sets of twins and two sets of triplets last year.’