The duke and the single mom!

Nurse Rosie Hobbes knows charming men cannot be trusted. Visiting pediatrician and sexy Italian duke Dr. Leo Marchetti is surely no exception! Her toddler twins are now the center of her life, and she expects Leo to run a mile when he meets them. Instead his warmth leaves her breathless!

Leo never expected to find joy as part of a family after his cold, aristocratic upbringing, but Rosie and her twins bring him to life. Can he prove to her he would make them the best husband and father—ever!

Paddington Children’s Hospital

Caring for children—and captivating hearts!

The doctors and nurses of Paddington Children’s Hospital are renowned for their expert care of their young patients, no matter the cost. And now, facing both a heart-wrenching emergency and a dramatic fight to save their hospital, the stakes are higher than ever!

Devoted to their jobs, these talented professionals are about to discover that saving lives can often mean risking your heart...

Available now in the thrilling Paddington Children’s Hospital miniseries:

Their One Night Baby by Carol Marinelli

Forbidden to the Playboy Surgeon by Fiona Lowe

Mummy, Nurse...Duchess? by Kate Hardy

Falling for the Foster Mom by Karin Baine

And coming soon...

Healing the Sheikh’s Heart by Annie O’Neil

A Life-Saving Reunion by Alison Roberts

Dear Reader,

I was thrilled when my editor asked me to be part of the Paddington Children’s Hospital series. I love working with other authors to build a world, and I was even happier to find that part of my book was going to be set in Italy,—which is one of my favourite parts of the world.

It was also great fun to write about small children again—I loved reliving the days when mine enjoyed going to the park and the aquarium. And one of my best friends had twins a couple of months after I had my eldest, so that brought back memories too.

But Leo and Rosie have a lot of obstacles to overcome from their pasts before they can find happiness—and they’re surprised to discover that being with each other is just the way to do it. So when Leo sweeps Rosie off to a glamorous ball he discovers that the castle where he grew up is much better filled with the laughter of children—and Rosie discovers that... Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out!

I’m always delighted to hear from readers, so do come and visit me at katehardy.com or chat to me on Facebook.

With love,

Kate Hardy

Mummy, Nurse...Duchess?

Kate Hardy

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KATE HARDY has always loved books, and could read before she went to school. She discovered Mills & Boon books when she was twelve and decided this was what she wanted to do. When she isn’t writing Kate enjoys reading, cinema, ballroom dancing and the gym. You can contact her via her website: katehardy.com.

Books by Kate Hardy

Mills & Boon Medical Romance

Christmas Miracles in Maternity

The Midwife’s Pregnancy Miracle

Her Playboy’s Proposal

Capturing the Single Dad’s Heart

Mills & Boon Cherish

Holiday with the Best Man

Falling for the Secret Millionaire

Her Festive Doorstep Baby

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

To my fellow PCH authors,

who made writing this such an enjoyable experience.

Praise for Kate Hardy

“With great story build-up and engaging dialogue, A Baby to Heal Their Hearts by Kate Hardy is a sure winner!”

—Harlequin Junkie

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Booklist

Dedication

Praise

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

Paddington Children’s Hospital

THE REDBRICK BUILDING loomed before Leo in the street; the turret, with its green dome, reminded him so much of Florence that it was almost enough to make him miss Tuscany. Then again, London had felt more like home than Florence, ever since he’d first come to study medicine here as a teenager.

As the car pulled to a halt, Leo could see Robyn Kelly waiting outside the hospital gates for him, her curly blonde hair gleaming brightly in the sun. When the Head of Surgery had asked him to come to Paddington to help out in the aftermath of the fire that had ripped through a local children’s school, of course he’d said yes. Robyn had taken him under her wing when he’d been on his first rotation and had been feeling just a little bit lost; back then, he’d appreciated her kindness. And he’d also appreciated the fact that she’d seen him as a doctor first and a duke second, treating him as part of the team rather than as a special case.

This was his chance to pay just a little of that back.

There was a small group of protestors standing outside the gate, holding placards: ‘Save Our Hospital’ and ‘Kids’ Health Not Wealth’.

Which was one of the reasons why his contract was temporary: Paddington Children’s Hospital was under threat of closure, with a plan to merge the staff and patients with Riverside Hospital. Not because the one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old hospital wasn’t needed any more—the fact that the place was full to overflowing after the recent fire at Westbourne Grove Primary School proved just how much the hospital was needed—but because the Board of Governors had had a lucrative offer for the site. So, instead of keeping the hospital as an important part of the community, they planned to sell it so it could be turned into a block of posh apartments. The Board of Governors had already run staff numbers down in anticipation of the merger, to the point where everyone was struggling to cope.

Leo’s lip curled. He’d grown up in a world where money didn’t just talk, it shouted, and that disgusted him. It was the main reason why he was drawn to philanthropic medicine now: so he could give some of that privilege back. So when Robyn had explained the situation at Paddington’s to him and said they needed someone with a high profile to come and work with them and get the hospital’s plight into international news, Leo had had no hesitation in agreeing. It was a chance to use the heritage he loathed for a good cause.

Even though he knew the waiting photographers weren’t there to take pictures of the protestors, Leo intended to make quite sure that the protestors and the placards were in every single shot. The more publicity for this cause, the better. So, right at this moment, he was here in his role as the Duke of Calvanera rather than being plain Dr Marchetti. And that was why he was meeting Robyn outside the hospital gates in the middle of the morning, instead of being two hours into his shift. This was all about getting maximum publicity.

He took a deep breath and opened the door of the sleek, black car.

‘Your Highness!’ one of the photographers called as Leo emerged from the car. ‘Over here!’

Years of practice meant that it was easy enough for him to deflect the photographers with an awkward posture, until he reached Robyn and the protestors. Robyn had clearly primed the picket line, because they crowded behind him with their placards fully visible; there was no way that any photograph of his face wouldn’t contain at least a word or two from a placard. And then he shook Robyn’s hand, looked straight at the cameras and smiled as the bulbs flashed.

‘Is it true you’re coming to work here?’ one of the journalists called.

‘Yes,’ he said.

‘Why Paddington?’ another called.

‘Because it’s important. The hospital has been here for a hundred and fifty years, looking after the children in the city. And it needs to stay here, instead of being merged with Riverside Hospital, outside the city,’ he answered.

‘Moving the patients to Riverside means the kids will have better facilities than at this old place,’ one of the journalists pointed out.

‘State of the art, you mean?’ Leo asked. ‘But when it comes to medicine, time’s the most important thing. You can have the most cutting edge equipment in the world—but if your patient doesn’t reach those facilities in time, all that fancy stuff isn’t going to be able to save a life. It’ll be too late.’

The journalist went red and shuffled his feet.

‘You don’t need flashy equipment and modern buildings to be a good hospital,’ Leo said. ‘You need to be accessible. What would’ve happened to the children of Westbourne Grove Primary School if Paddington had been closed? How many of them wouldn’t have made it to those lovely new buildings and all the state-of-the-art equipment at Riverside in time to be treated?’

He was met with silence as the press clearly worked out the answer for themselves.

‘Exactly. And I’m very happy for you all to quote me saying that,’ he said softly. ‘Talk to these guys.’ He gestured to the protestors, knowing from Robyn that several of them had been treated here years ago and others had recently had their own children treated here. ‘Find out their stories. They’re much more interesting and much more important than I am.’

‘I think you made your point,’ Robyn said as they walked into the hospital together.

‘Good,’ Leo said as she led him in to the department where he was going to be working, ready to introduce him to everyone. ‘Paddington’s is an important facility. An outstanding facility. And I’ll do everything I can to help you publicise that.’

* * *

Rosie Hobbes stifled a cynical snort as she overheard the Duke of Calvanera’s comment. Who was he trying to kid? More like, he was trying to raise his own profile. Why would someone like him—a rich, powerful playboy—care about the fate of an old London hospital?

She knew he’d agreed to come and help at Paddington’s because he’d trained with Robyn, years ago; but it was still pretty hard to believe that an actual duke would want to do a job like this. Who would want to work in a hospital that was currently full to the brim with patients but badly understaffed because the Board of Directors hadn’t replaced anyone who’d left, in line with their plan to move everyone out and sell the place?

Especially a man who was so good-looking and seemed so charming.

Rosie knew all about how charm and good looks could hide a rotten heart. Been there, done that, and her three-year-old twins were the ones who’d nearly paid the price.

Thinking of the twins made her heart skip a beat, and she caught her breath. It had been just over a year now, and she still found panic coursing through her when she remembered that night. The threats. The dead look behind that man’s eyes. The way he’d looked at her children as if they were merely a means to getting what he wanted instead of seeing them as the precious lives they were.

She dug her nails into her palms. Focus, Rosie, she told herself. Freddie and Lexi were absolutely fine. If there was any kind of problem with either of the twins, the hospital nursery school would’ve called her straight away. The place was completely secure; only the staff inside could open the door, and nobody could take a child without either being on the list as someone with permission to collect a child, or giving the emergency code word for any particular child. Michael was dead, so his associates couldn’t threaten the twins—or Rosie—any more. And right now she had a job to do.

‘Everything all right, Rosie?’ Robyn asked.

‘Sure,’ Rosie said. Her past was not going to interfere with her new life here. She was a survivor, not a victim.

‘I just wanted to introduce you to Leo,’ Robyn continued. ‘He’ll be working with us for the next couple of months.’

Or until something even more high profile came along, Rosie thought. Maybe she was judging him unfairly but, in her experience, handsome playboys couldn’t be trusted.

‘Leo, this is Rosie Hobbes, one of our paediatric nurses. Rosie, this is Leo Marchetti,’ Robyn said.

‘Hello,’ Rosie said, and gave him a cool nod.

He gave her the sexiest smile she’d ever seen, and his dark eyes glittered with interest. ‘Delighted to meet you, signora,’ he said.

Rosie would just bet he’d practised that smile in front of the mirror. And he’d hammed up that Italian accent to make himself sound super-sexy; she was sure he hadn’t had an accent at all when he’d walked onto the ward with Robyn. She should just think herself lucky he hadn’t bowed and kissed her hand. Or was that going to be next?

‘Welcome to Paddington’s, Your Highness,’ she said.

He gave her another of those super-charming smiles. ‘Here, I’m a doctor, not a duke. “Leo” will do just fine.’

‘Dr Marchetti,’ she said firmly, hoping she’d made it clear that she preferred to keep her work relationships very professional indeed. ‘Excuse me—I really need to review these charts following the ward round. Enjoy your first day at the Castle.’

* * *

The Castle? Was she making a pointed comment about where he came from? Leo wondered. But women weren’t usually sharp with him. They usually smiled back, responding to his warmth. He liked women—a lot—and they liked him. Why had Rosie Hobbes cut him dead? Had he done something to upset her?

But he definitely hadn’t met her before. He would’ve remembered her—and not just because she was tall, curvy and pretty, with that striking copper hair in a tousled bob, and those vivid blue eyes. There was something challenging about Rosie. Something that made him want to get up close and personal with her and find out exactly what made her tick.

She hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring. Not that that meant anything, nowadays. Was she single?

And why was he wondering that in any case? He was here to do a job. Relationships weren’t on the agenda, especially with someone he worked with. He was supposed to be finding someone suited to his position: another European noble, or perhaps the heir to a business empire. And together they would continue the Marchetti dynasty by producing a son.

Right now, he still couldn’t face that. He wasn’t ready to trap someone else in the castle where he’d grown up, lonely and miserable and desperate for his father’s approval—approval that his father had been quick to withhold if Leo did or said anything wrong. Though what was wrong one day was right on another. Leo had never been able to work out what his father actually wanted. All he’d known for sure was that he was a disappointment to the Duke.

He shook himself. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. ‘Thank you,’ he said, giving Rosie his warmest smile just for the hell of it, and followed Robyn to be introduced to the rest of the staff on the ward.

* * *

Once Rosie had finished reviewing the charts and typing notes into the computer, she headed on to the ward. Hopefully Dr Marchetti would be on the next ward by now, meeting and greeting, and she could just get on with her job.

Why had he rattled her so much? She wasn’t one to be bowled over and breathless just because a man was good-looking. Not any more. Leo had classic movie-star looks: tall, with dark eyes and short, neat dark hair. He was also charming and confident, and Rosie had learned the hard way that charm couldn’t be trusted. Her whirlwind marriage had turned into an emotional rollercoaster, and she’d promised herself never to make that mistake again. So, even if Leo Marchetti was good friends with their Head of Surgery, Rosie intended to keep him at a very professional distance.

She dropped into one of the bays to check on Penelope Craig. Penny was one of their long-term patients, and the little girl had been admitted to try and get her heart failure under control after an infection had caused her condition to worsen.

‘How are you doing, Penny?’ Rosie asked.

The little girl looked up from her drawing and gave her the sweetest, sweetest smile. ‘Nurse Rosie! I’m fine, thank you.’

Rosie exchanged a glance with Julia, Penny’s mother. They both knew it wasn’t true, but Penny wasn’t a whiner. She’d become a firm favourite on the ward, always drawing special pictures and chattering about kittens and ballet. ‘That’s good,’ she said. ‘I just need to do—’

‘—my obs,’ Penny finished. ‘I know.’

Rosie checked Penny’s pulse, temperature and oxygen sats. ‘That’s my girl. Oh, and I’ve got something for you.’ She reached into her pocket and brought out a sheet of stickers.

‘Kittens! I love kittens,’ Penny said with a beaming smile. ‘Thank you so much. Look, Mummy.’

‘They’re lovely,’ Julia said, but Rosie could see the strain and weariness behind her smile. She understood only too well how it felt to worry about your children; being helpless to do anything to fix the problems must be sheer hell.

‘Thank you, Rosie,’ Julia added.

‘Pleasure.’ Rosie winked at Penny. ‘Hopefully these new drugs will have you back on your feet soon.’ The little girl was desperate to be a ballerina, and wore a pink tutu even when she was bed-bound. And Rosie really, really hoped that the little girl would have time for her dreams to come true. ‘Call me if you need anything,’ Rosie added to Julia.

‘I will. Thanks.’

Rosie checked on the rest of the children in her bay, and was writing up the notes when her colleague Kathleen came over to the desk.

‘So have you met the Duke, yet?’ Kathleen fanned herself. ‘Talk about film-star good looks.’

Rosie rolled her eyes. ‘Handsome is as handsome does.’ And never again would she let a handsome, charming man treat her as a second-class citizen.

‘Give the guy a break,’ Kathleen said. ‘He seems a real sweetie. And his picture is already all over the Internet, with the “Save Our Hospital” placards in full view. I think Robyn’s right and he’s really going to help.’

Rosie forced herself to smile. ‘Good.’

Kathleen gave her a curious look. ‘Are you all right, Rosie?’

‘Sure. I had a bit of a broken night,’ Rosie fibbed. ‘Lexi had a bad dream and it was a while before I got back to sleep again.’

‘I really don’t know how you do it,’ Kathleen said. ‘It’s tough enough, being a single mum—but having twins must make it twice as hard.’

‘I get double the joy and double the love,’ Rosie said. ‘I wouldn’t miss a single minute. And my parents and my sister are great—I know I can call on them if I get stuck.’

‘Even so. You must miss your husband so much.’

Rosie had found that it was much easier to let people think that she was a grieving widow than to tell them the truth—that she’d been planning to divorce Michael Duncan before his death, and after his death she’d reverted back to her maiden name, changing the children’s names along with hers. ‘Yes,’ Rosie agreed. And it wasn’t a total lie. She missed the man she’d thought she’d married—not the one behind the mask, the one who put money before his babies and his wife.

* * *

She was busy on the ward for the rest of the morning and didn’t see Leo again until lunchtime.

‘I believe we’ll be working closely together,’ the Duke said.

She rather hoped he was wrong.

‘So I thought maybe we could have lunch together and get to know each other a bit better,’ he added.

‘Sorry,’ Rosie said. ‘I’m afraid I have a previous engagement.’ Just as she did every Monday, Wednesday and Friday when Penny was in the hospital.

He looked as if he hoped she’d be polite and invite him to join her in whatever she was doing. Well, tough. This wasn’t about him. It was about her patient. ‘I’m sure Kathleen or one of the others would be very happy for you to join them in the canteen,’ she said.

‘Thank you. Then I’ll go and find them,’ he said, with that same charming smile.

And Rosie felt thoroughly in the wrong.

But Leo had already turned away and it was too late to call him back and explain.

* * *

Why was Rosie Hobbes so prickly with him? Leo wondered. Everyone else at Paddington Children’s Hospital had seemed pleased that he’d joined the team and had welcomed him warmly. Everyone except Rosie.

Did she hate all men?

Possibly not, because earlier he’d seen her talking to Thomas Wolfe, the cardiology specialist, and she’d seemed perfectly relaxed.

And why was he so bothered when she was just one member of the team? Wherever you worked, there was always a spectrum: people you got on really well with, people you liked and people you had to grit your teeth and put up with. He was obviously one of the latter, where Rosie was concerned, even though today was the first time they’d met. He knew he ought to just treat her with the calm professionalism he reserved for people who rubbed him up the wrong way. But he couldn’t help asking about her when he was sitting in the canteen with a couple of the junior doctors and two of the nurses.

‘So Rosie doesn’t usually join you?’ he asked.

‘Not when Penny’s in,’ Kathleen said.

‘Penny?’

‘You must’ve seen her when Robyn took you round,’ Kathleen said. ‘One of our patients. Six years old, brown hair in plaits and the most amazing eyes—grey, with this really distinctive rim?’

Leo shook his head. ‘Sorry. It doesn’t ring a bell.’

‘Well, you’ll definitely get to know her while you’re here. She has heart failure, and she’s been in and out of here for months,’ Kathleen explained. ‘She’s a total sweetheart. Rosie’s one of the nurses who always looks after her. When she’s in on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, Rosie spends her lunch break reading her ballet stories.’

‘Because the little girl likes ballet, I presume?’ Leo asked.

‘Lives and breathes it. And also it gives her mum or dad a break, depending on who’s taken the time off to be with her,’ Kathleen explained.

‘So Penny’s special to Rosie?’

‘She’s special to all of us,’ Kathleen said. ‘If you’ve seen any drawings pinned up in the staff room or the office, nine times out of ten it’ll be one of Penny’s.’

‘Right.’ Leo wondered why Rosie hadn’t told him that herself. Or maybe she’d thought he’d have a go at her for being unprofessional and showing too much favouritism to a patient.

He chatted easily with the others until the end of their lunch break, then headed back to the ward. The first person he saw was Rosie, who he guessed had just left her little patient.

‘So did Penny enjoy her story?’ he asked.

Colour flooded into her cheeks. ‘How do you know about that?’

‘Kathleen said you have a regular lunch date with her when you’re in.’

‘It gives Julia and Peter—her parents—a chance to get out of here for a few minutes to get some fresh air,’ she said. ‘And it isn’t a problem with Robyn.’

So she had thought he’d disapprove of the way she spent her lunch break. ‘It’s very kind of you,’ he said. Was it just because Penny was a favourite with the staff, or did Rosie maybe have a sister who’d gone through something similar? It was too intrusive to ask. He needed to tread carefully with Rosie or she’d back away from him again.

‘She’s a lovely girl.’

‘Maybe you can tell me about her after work,’ he said. ‘I hear there’s a nice pub across the road. The Frog and...?’ He paused, not remembering the name.

‘Peach,’ she supplied. ‘Sorry. I can’t.’

Can’t or won’t? he wondered. ‘Another previous engagement?’

‘Actually, yes.’

Another patient? He didn’t think she’d tell him. ‘That’s a shame. Some other time.’

But she didn’t suggest a different day or time.

He really ought to just give up.

A couple of his new colleagues had already made it clear that they’d be happy to keep him company if he was lonely. It could be fun to take them up on their offers, as long as they understood that he didn’t do permanent relationships.

Except there was something about Rosie Hobbes that drew him. It wasn’t just that she was one of the few women who didn’t respond to him; his ego could stand the odd rejection. But she intrigued him, and he couldn’t work out why. Was it that she was so different from the women he was used to, women who swooned over him or flattered him because he was a duke? Or was it something deeper?

It had been a long time since someone had intrigued him like this. Something more than just brief sexual attraction. And that in himself made him want to explore it further—to understand what made Rosie tick, and also why he felt this weird pull towards her.

Tomorrow, he thought. He’d try talking to her again tomorrow.

* * *

Rosie was five minutes late from her shift, and the twins were already waiting for her with their backpacks on. They were singing something with Nina, one of the nursery school assistants, who was clearly teaching them actions to go with the song. Rosie felt a rush of love for them. Her twins were so different: Lexi, bouncy and confident, with a mop of blonde curls that reminded Rosie a little too much of Michael, and yet other than that she was the double of Rosie at that age. And Freddie, quieter and a little shy, with the same curls as his sister except mid-brown instead of golden, and her own bright blue eyes; thankfully he hadn’t turned out to be Michael’s double. Rosie was determined that her children were going to know nothing but love and happiness for the rest of their lives—and she really hoped that they wouldn’t remember what life had been like when their father was around.

‘Mummy!’ The second they saw her, Lexi and Freddie rushed over to her and flung their arms round her.

‘My lovely Lexi and Freddie.’ Rosie felt as if she could breathe properly again, now she was back with her babies. Even though she loved her job and she knew the twins were well looked after in the nursery school attached to the hospital, she was much happier with them than she was away from them.

‘So what have you been doing today?’ she asked, holding one hand each as they walked out of the hospital.

‘We singed.’ Lexi demonstrated the first verse of ‘The Wheels on the Bus,’ completely out of tune and at full volume.

‘That’s lovely, darling,’ Rosie said.

‘And we had Play-Doh,’ Freddie added. ‘I maked a doggie. A plurple one.’

Rosie hid a smile at his adorable mispronunciation. ‘Beautiful,’ she said. She knew how badly her son wanted a dog of their own, but it just wasn’t possible with their current lifestyle. It wouldn’t be fair to leave a dog alone all day; and she couldn’t leave the twins alone while she took the dog for the kind of long walk it would need after being cooped up all day, and which the twins would be too tired to do after a day at nursery school.

‘We had cookies,’ Lexie said.

‘Chocolate ones. Nina maked them. They were crum—crum—’ Freddie added, frowning when he couldn’t quite remember the new word.

Crumbly? Or maybe a longer word. ‘Nina made them,’ Rosie corrected gently, ‘and they were scrumptious, yes?’ she guessed.

‘Crumshus!’ Lexie crowed. ‘That’s right.’

The twins chattered all the way on the short Tube journey and then the ten-minute walk home. They were still chattering when Rosie cooked their tea, and gave them a bath. Although Freddie was a little on the shy side with strangers, he strove to match his more confident sister at home.

And Rosie was happy to let them chatter and laugh. She’d worried every day for the last year that their experience with Michael’s associate had scarred them; but hopefully they’d been too young to realise quite what was going on and how terrified their mother had been.

Once the twins were in bed, she curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a puzzle magazine. A year ago, she would never have believed she could be this relaxed again. Some things hadn’t changed; she was still the one who did everything for the twins and did all the cooking and cleaning. But she no longer had to deal with Michael’s mercurial mood swings, his scorn and his contempt, and that made all the difference. Being a single parent was hard, but she had the best family and good friends to support her. And she didn’t have Michael to undermine her confidence all the time.

Various friends had hinted that she ought to start dating again. Part of Rosie missed the closeness of having a partner, someone to cuddle into at stupid o’clock in the morning when she woke from a bad dream. But she’d lost her trust in relationships. Good ones existed, she knew; she’d seen it with her parents and with friends. But Rosie herself had got it so badly wrong with Michael that she didn’t trust her judgement any more. Trusting another man, after the mess of her marriage, would be hard. Too hard. Plus, she had the twins to consider. So she’d become good at turning the conversation to a different subject rather than disappointing her well-meaning friends and family, and any direct suggestions of a date were firmly met with ‘Sorry, no.’

Just as she’d rebuffed Leo Marchetti this evening, when he’d suggested that they went for a drink in the pub over the road after work.

Had she been too hard on him?

OK, so the guy was a charmer, something that set all her inner alarm bells clanging. On the other hand, today had been Leo’s first day at Paddington’s. The only person he knew at the hospital was Robyn, so he was probably feeling a bit lost. Guilt nagged at her. She’d been pretty abrupt with him, and it wasn’t his fault he’d been born with a Y chromosome and was full of charm. She needed to lighten up. Maybe she’d suggest having lunch with him tomorrow.

But she’d make it clear that lunch meant lunch only. She wasn’t in a position to offer anything more. And, if she was honest with herself, it’d be a long time before she was ready to trust anyone with anything more. If ever.

CHAPTER TWO

‘YOU’RE IN CLINIC with Rosie, this morning,’ Kathleen said to Leo with a smile when he walked onto the ward. ‘It’s the allergy and immunology clinic.’

‘Great. Just point me in the right direction,’ he said, smiling back.

Hopefully Rosie would be less prickly with him today. And if they could establish a decent working relationship, then he might be able to work out why she drew him so much, and he could deal with it the way he always dealt with things. With a charming smile and a little extra distance.

He looked through the files while he waited for Rosie to turn up.

‘Sorry, sorry,’ she said, rushing in. ‘I was held up this morning.’

‘You’re not late,’ he pointed out, though he was pleased that she didn’t seem quite so defensive with him today.

‘No, but...’ She flapped a dismissive hand. ‘Has anyone told you about today’s clinic?’

‘Kathleen said it was the allergy and immunology clinic, so I’m assuming some of these patients have been coming here for a while.’

‘They have,’ she confirmed.

‘Then at least they have some continuity with you,’ he said with a smile. ‘Are you happy to call our first patient in?’

Their first patient was an eighteen-month-old girl, Gemma Chandler. ‘The doctor asked me last time to keep a food diary with a symptom chart,’ her mother said.

‘May I see them, please?’ Leo asked.

She took it out of her bag and handed it to him; he read the document carefully. ‘So she tends to get tummy pain, wind and diarrhoea, and sometimes her tummy feels bloated to you.’

Mrs Chandler nodded. ‘And sometimes she’s come out in a rash on her face and it’s been itchy. It’s really hard to stop her scratching it.’

‘There are some lotions that help with the itch and last a bit longer than calamine lotion,’ Leo said. ‘I can write you a prescription for that. And you’ve done a really good job on the diary—I can see a very clear link between what she’s eating and her symptoms.’

‘It’s dairy, isn’t it?’ Mrs Chandler bit her lip. ‘I looked it up on the Internet.’

‘The Internet’s useful,’ Leo said, ‘but there are also a lot of scare stories out there and a lot of wrong information, so I’m glad you came to see us as well. Yes, I think it’s an allergy to dairy—more specifically lactose intolerance. What that means is that Gemma’s body doesn’t have enough of the enzyme lactase to deal with any lactose in the body—that’s the sugar in milk. What I think we need to do is try an exclusion diet for the next fortnight to confirm it. So that means I’d like you to check the labels for everything and make sure there’s no milk in anything she eats or drinks. If you can keep doing the food diary and symptom chart, we can review everything in a fortnight.’

‘We can give you some information leaflets about substitutes and vitamin supplements,’ Rosie said. ‘You can give Gemma rice milk instead of cow’s milk, and sunflower margarine instead of butter.’

‘Gemma’s meant to be going to her cousin’s birthday party, next week.’ Mrs Chandler sighed. ‘So that’s going to be difficult—she won’t be able to have any of the sandwiches or any of the cake, will she?’

‘You could do a special packed lunch for her,’ Rosie suggested. ‘And I’m sure if you tell your family and friends, they’ll help you work things out.’ She handed Mrs Chandler a leaflet. ‘Eating out with a toddler can be tricky enough, but having to take a food allergy into account can make it seem overwhelming.’

Was she talking from personal experience? Leo wondered. Or was it because she’d worked with so many patients in the allergy clinic? Not that he could ask without being intrusive, and he didn’t want to give Rosie any excuse to back away from him.

‘There are some good websites on the back of the leaflet for helping you to find places where they offer dairy-free options,’ Rosie said.

‘Thank you,’ Mrs Chandler said.

‘And we’ll see you and Gemma again in a fortnight to see how things are. If her symptoms are better,’ Leo said, ‘I’ll refer you to a dietitian so you can get proper support with a long-term exclusion diet. And in the meantime, if you have any questions or you’re worried about anything, give us a call.’

Mrs Chandler nodded. ‘Will she ever grow out of it? I’ve heard that some children do.’

‘We really can’t tell, right now,’ Leo admitted. ‘I think this is something we’ll need to take one step at a time.’

Once the Chandlers had gone, while Leo was writing up the case notes, Rosie got out the next patient’s notes. ‘Sammy Kennedy. He’s a sweetheart.’

‘What’s he seeing us about?’ Leo asked.

‘He has CAPS.’

Cryopyrin-Associate Periodic Syndrome. Leo knew it was an auto-inflammation disorder where the immune system was overactive and caused prolonged periods of inflammation, rather than the body producing antibodies against itself. ‘That’s rare,’ he said. ‘About one in a million. Actually, I’ve only seen one case before.’

‘Sammy’s my only case, too,’ she said. ‘Most patients with CAPS in the UK have Muckle-Wells Syndrome, and that’s the variant Sammy has.’

‘Tell me about him,’ Leo invited. Sure, he could read the file, but this way he got the chance to interact with Rosie. And he liked how quick her mind was.

‘He’s eight years old and he’s been coming here for nearly a year. He comes to clinic with his mum roughly every eight weeks. We check his knees and ankles and do bloods to measure the inflammation levels, and then we give him an injection of the drug that keeps his MWS under control,’ she explained.

‘That’s the drug that blocks interleukin 1β, yes?’ he checked.

‘Yes,’ she confirmed. ‘The treatment’s still new enough that we don’t know the long-term effects, but we’re hoping that it will stop more severe problems developing as he grows older.’

‘Such as deafness?’

‘Exactly,’ she said. ‘Are you ready to see him now?’

He nodded. ‘Absolutely.’

Rosie went out into the reception area and came back with Sammy and his mother.

Leo smiled at them. ‘Hello. I’m Dr Marchetti—you can call me Dr Leo, if you prefer. And you’re Sammy?’

The little boy nodded.

‘Tell me how you’re doing, Sammy,’ Leo invited.

‘Sometimes I have good days, and sometimes I get bad days,’ Sammy said, shrugging.

‘OK. What happens when you have a bad day?’

‘Mum says it’s a flare-up. It affects my tummy, my knees and my head. I get a rash, and it’s always at night.’ Sammy grimaced. ‘Show him, Mum.’

Mrs Kennedy took out her phone and showed them a picture of the nettle rash on Sammy’s stomach.

‘How often do you get flare-ups?’ Leo asked.

‘Every couple of weeks. But it’s not been so bad, lately.’

‘Are you happy for us to examine you?’ Leo asked.

Sammy gave him a rueful smile. ‘I know the drill. You ask me questions, look me over, take blood and then give me the injections.’

‘That’s a pretty good summary,’ Leo said, smiling back.

‘I don’t like the injections,’ Sammy said. ‘They sting and they make my skin sore. But I guess it’s better than the rash.’

‘A lot of people don’t like injections, so you’re not alone there,’ Leo said. ‘Is there anything you’d like to add or ask, Mrs Kennedy?’

‘We’re getting to be old hands at this, now,’ she said. ‘It’s fine.’

Between them, Rosie and Leo examined Sammy, and she took a blood sample. Then Leo administered the drug.

Sammy flinched.

‘I’m sorry it stings,’ Leo said.

‘It’s all right,’ Sammy said, clearly trying to be brave.

‘I have something for you,’ Rosie said. ‘That is... Unless you’re too old to have a lolly for being brave?’

Sammy grinned when he saw the red and white lolly. ‘As if I’m going to turn down a lolly. Especially when it’s in my team’s colours!’

‘You’re a football fan?’ Leo asked.

Sammy nodded. ‘I’d like to be a footballer, but my CAPS is going to get in the way a bit, and I don’t want to let my team down. But I guess I could be a scientist when I grow up and invent a needle that doesn’t hurt when you give someone an injection.’

‘That,’ Leo said, ‘is a brilliant idea, and I think it deserves something extra.’ He produced another red and white lolly. ‘Don’t tell Rosie I raided her lolly jar,’ he said in a stage whisper.

Sammy laughed. ‘See you in a couple of months, Dr Leo.’

‘See you,’ Leo returned with a smile.

When the Kennedys had left, he looked at Rosie. ‘Sammy’s a nice kid.’

‘He is,’ she agreed. Then she paused. ‘I was a bit abrupt with you yesterday. Sorry. So, um, I was wondering, would you like to have lunch with me today? Just as colleagues,’ she added hastily.

Again he glanced at her left hand and saw no sign of a wedding ring. Did she really mean having lunch together just as colleagues, or did she feel the same pull of attraction towards him that he felt towards her?

It might explain why she’d been so prickly yesterday; she might be just as spooked by her reaction to him as he was by his reaction to her. Though quite where they went from here, he had no idea. What he’d seen of Rosie so far told him that she was very professional—straight-talking, yet deeply caring towards her patients. He liked that. A lot.

But he also had the strongest impression that Rosie Hobbes wasn’t the sort to have a casual fling. Which meant she was off limits, because he wasn’t looking for something serious and long-term.

‘Just as colleagues,’ he agreed.

Once they’d seen the last patient at the clinic, they headed for the canteen. Leo noted that she chose a healthy salad and a mug of green tea—not that his own sandwich and coffee were that unhealthy. But Rosie clearly looked after her health.

‘So how are you settling in?’ she asked when they’d found a table.

‘To the hospital or to London?’

‘Both, I guess.’

‘Fine,’ he said. ‘The staff all seem really nice here, and I trained in London so I feel pretty much at home in the city.’

‘That’s good.’

There was a slightly awkward silence, as if she didn’t really know what to say to him next. It might be easier to keep the conversation going, Leo thought, if he asked her to tell him more about Paddington Children’s Hospital and its predicament.

‘Obviously Robyn told me about the Board of Directors and their plans, when she asked me to come and work here,’ he said, ‘so I understand why we’re so short-staffed at the moment. But I gather there was a fire at a local school which made things a bit trickier?’

She nodded. ‘It was about a month ago. The fire started in the art department, apparently. I’m not sure if it was a broken heater or something that caused the initial fire, but some of the paper caught light.’

‘And everything else in an art department tends to be on the flammable side,’ he said.

‘Exactly. It was pretty scary. The school did what they could to get the kids out, but we were overflowing with patients suffering from everything from smoke inhalation to burns. Simon Bennett had severe facial burns; he’s due for some reconstruction surgery, so he’s in and out for check-ups at the moment, poor lamb.’ She winced. ‘And then there’s little Ryan.’

‘Ryan?’ he asked.

‘Ryan Walker. He was one of the last to be rescued. The poor little lad was hiding in a cupboard. He heard the firemen when they’d put the fire out in his classroom and came out of the cupboard, but then a beam snapped and hit him on the head.’

‘He’s lucky to be alive, then,’ Leo said.

She nodded. ‘But the poor little mite was very badly hurt. He had a craniectomy the other day. Right now he’s under sedation and has a helmet on to protect him until the surgical team can replace the skull flap.’

‘Poor kid,’ Leo said.

‘I know. But just think—if we’d been moved to Riverside,’ she said softly, ‘he wouldn’t have made it. And the same’s true for Simon.’

‘So you’re fighting for the hospital to be saved.’

‘Victoria’s set up a committee—actually, Quinn, Simon’s foster mum, is on the committee. We’ve got protestors outside the gates twenty-four-seven. Though you already know that,’ she said. ‘You were photographed with them yesterday.’

And the photographs had since been used all round the globe. ‘Might as well make the press do something useful,’ he said dryly.

‘Do the press hound you all the time?’ she asked.

‘Off and on. It depends if it’s a slow news day—but they’re rather more interested in the Duke than in the doctor.’ He paused. ‘Is that why you said about a castle yesterday?’

‘Castle?’ She frowned for a moment, and then her expression cleared. ‘It’s what all the staff call the hospital, because of the turrets.’

‘Oh.’

She stared at him, looking slightly shocked. ‘Hang on. You thought I was having a dig about you being a duke?’

‘We didn’t exactly get off on the right foot together yesterday,’ he pointed out.

‘No—and I guess I was a bit rude to you. Sorry.’

He appreciated the apology, though he noticed she didn’t give him any explanation about why she’d been so abrupt with him.

‘For the record,’ he said, ‘I did grow up in a castle. And I can tell you it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. For starters, castles tend to be draughty and full of damp.’

‘And full of suits of armour?’

He smiled. ‘We do have an armoury, yes. And I have been thinking about opening the place to the public.’ Which might give his mother something more immediate to concentrate on, instead of when her son was going to make a suitable marriage and produce an heir to the dukedom.

‘But I really don’t understand,’ she said, ‘why a duke would want to be a doctor. I mean, don’t you have to do loads of stuff for the dukedom?’

‘I delegate a fair bit of it,’ he said, ‘and I have good staff.’

‘Which again makes you different from any other doctor I’ve met.’

He wondered: was that different good, or different bad?

‘I don’t know anyone who has staff,’ she said. ‘Anyone at all. In fact, I don’t even know anyone who hires a cleaner.’

‘Guilty there, too,’ he said. ‘Obviously I know how to use a vacuum cleaner, but there are a lot of other things I’d much rather do with my free time.’

She said nothing.

‘I want to be a doctor,’ he said softly, ‘because I want to make a real difference in the world.’

‘Can’t you do that as a duke?’

‘Not in the same way. I don’t want to just throw money at things. It’s not enough. I want to make the difference myself.’

‘From the way you talk,’ she said, ‘anyone would think you don’t actually like being a duke.’

He didn’t.

‘Let’s just say it’s not what everyone thinks it would be like—and plenty of people see the title first and not the man.’

She reached out and squeezed his hand in a gesture of sympathy. His hand tingled where her skin touched his, shocking him; he was used to being attracted to women, but he wasn’t used to having such a strong reaction to someone and he wasn’t quite sure how to deal with it.

She looked as shocked as he felt, as if she’d experienced the same unexpected pull. ‘Sorry. I didn’t...’ Her words trailed off.

Didn’t what? Didn’t mean to touch him? Or didn’t expect to feel that strong a physical reaction?

He had the feeling that she’d find an excuse to run if he called her on it. ‘No need to apologise. It’s nice that you understand,’ he said. ‘So have you been working at this castle very long?’

‘For nearly a year,’ she said.

‘Where were you before?’

‘The other side of London, where I trained.’

He noticed that she hadn’t actually said where. Why was so she cagey about her past?

He’d back off, for now. Until he’d got his head round this weird reaction to her and had made sense of it. And then maybe he’d be able to work out what he wanted to do about it. About her.

* * *

On Wednesday lunchtime, Rosie disappeared, and Leo remembered what Kathleen had said to him: Rosie read to Penny every other day, when she was in. Not quite able to keep himself away, he found himself in the corridor outside Penny’s room. Rosie’s voice was clear and measured as she read the story, and every so often he could hear a soft giggle of delight from Penny.

‘Rosie’s so lovely with her,’ a voice said beside him.

He looked round; the woman standing next to him looked so much like Penny that there was only one person she could be. ‘You’re Penny’s mum, yes?’

‘Julia.’

‘Dr Marchetti,’ he said, holding out his hand to shake hers. ‘Although your daughter isn’t one of my patients because I’m not a heart specialist, I work with Rosie, and Rosie told me all about Penny.’

‘Rosie’s such a lovely woman. So patient. And it’s so kind of her to read to Penny in her lunch break.’

‘I think you’d probably have a queue of staff there, if you asked,’ Leo said. ‘From what I hear, Penny’s a firm favourite. And her kitten pictures are pinned up in the staff room—they’re adorable.’

‘Aren’t they just?’ But behind her smile Julia’s eyes were sad. ‘I’m sorry, I’m probably keeping you from a patient.’

‘It’s fine,’ Leo reassured her. ‘But if there’s anything you need?’

‘Rosie’s there,’ Julia said. ‘But thank you.’

‘I’ll let you get on.’ He smiled at her, and headed back to his office to prepare for his next clinic. But all the same he couldn’t get Rosie out of his head.

* * *

Thomas propped himself against the desk where Rosie was sitting. ‘Obviously I’ve read the file, but you’ve seen Penny more than anyone else this week. How do you feel she’s doing?’

Rosie grimaced. ‘There doesn’t seem to be any change in her condition this week, even though we’ve been juggling her meds as you asked us to do.’

‘So it’s not working. I’m beginning to think that the only way forward for her now is a transplant.’ He sighed. ‘Julia’s in today, isn’t she? I’ll ask her to get Peter to come in as well, so I can talk to them together.’

It wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, Rosie knew. ‘Do you want me to be there when you talk to them?’

He shook his head. ‘Thanks for the offer. I know you’ve been brilliant with them, but this is my responsibility. It’s going to come as a shock to them.’

‘You know where I am if you change your mind,’ she said gently.

‘Thanks, Rosie. I appreciate it.’

Thomas looked almost bruised by this, Rosie thought, but he clearly wasn’t going to let anyone close enough to support him. She remembered how it had felt when things with Michael had gone so badly wrong, so she wasn’t going to push him to confide in her. But it was always good to know that someone could be there for you if you needed that little bit of support. ‘Thomas, I’m probably speaking out of turn, but are you OK?’

‘Sure.’ He gave her an over-bright smile which clearly underlined the fact that he wasn’t OK, but he wanted her to back off.

‘Uh-huh,’ she said. She didn’t quite have the nerve to suggest that maybe he could talk to her if he needed a friend. ‘I guess I’ll see you later, then.’

He nodded, and left the nurses’ station.

Rosie hated this situation. Whatever way you looked at it, someone would lose. She really hoped that Penny would get the heart she needed; though that would also mean that a family would be bereaved, so it kind of felt wrong to wish for a heart. The best of all outcomes would’ve been if Penny had responded to the drug treatment, but it wasn’t to be.

And poor Julia. Rosie could imagine how she’d feel if she was in Julia’s place, worried sick about Freddie or Lexi and knowing that they might not be able to get the treatment they needed so badly. Despite the misery of her life with Michael, he had given her the sheer joy of the twins. She had a lot to be thankful for.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. She had a clinic to do.

* * *

Leo happened to be checking some files at the nurses’ station when Rosie walked over. He could see that she looked upset, and the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. ‘Do you want to go for a drink after work and tell me about it?’

She shook her head.

‘Don’t tell me—a previous engagement?’ he asked wryly.

‘I’m afraid so.’

‘A chat in the ward kitchen, then.’

‘Thanks, but I have obs to do.’

‘Thirty minutes,’ he said, ‘and you can take a five-minute break—and I’m not pulling rank, before you start thinking that. You look upset and I’m trying to be supportive, just as I would with any other colleague who looked upset.’

She looked surprised, and then rueful. ‘All right. Thirty minutes,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

While she was doing her patients’ observations, he finished his paperwork and then nipped out briefly to Tony’s Trattoria, the place across the street that he’d been told sold decent coffee, to buy two cappuccinos.

He’d half expected Rosie to make some excuse not to see him, but she arrived in the staff kitchen at the same time as he did.

‘Thank you.’ She smiled as he handed her one of the distinctive paper cups. ‘Someone told you about Tony’s, then?’

‘Decent Italian coffee? Of course—and it’s much better than the coffee in the hospital.’

‘We have instant cappuccino here in the ward kitchen,’ she reminded him, gesturing to the box of powdered sachets.

‘That stuff isn’t coffee, it’s an abomination.’ He smiled back at her. ‘So are you going to tell me what’s wrong?’

Her beautiful blue eyes filled with sadness. ‘I was talking to Thomas earlier. It’s Penny.’

He frowned. ‘What about Penny?’

‘We’ve been juggling her meds all week and it’s just not working.’ She shook her head in seeming frustration. ‘Thomas says we’re probably going to have to look at a transplant, so he’s going to do an assessment. But even if she’s on the list there’s no guarantee she’ll get a heart. It could be anything from days, to months, or even more than a year before a suitable heart is available, and it feels horrible to wish for a heart for her because it means that another family’s lost someone they love.’

‘But at least they have the comfort that their loved one has saved a life by donating their organs after death,’ he said softly. ‘And you’re thinking a heart might not arrive in time?’

‘You know that one in five cases don’t. Those are really big odds, Leo. And she’s such a lovely little girl.’

‘Hey.’ He gave her a hug. Then he wished he hadn’t, because holding her made him want to do more than that. Right at that moment, he wanted to kiss her tears away—and then kiss her again and again, until he’d made her forget her worries.

When he pulled back slightly and looked her in the eye, her pupils were so huge that her vivid blue irises seemed more like a narrow rim. So she felt it, too. He looked at her mouth, and ached to find out for himself how soft and sweet it tasted. He shifted his gaze and caught her looking at his mouth, too. Could they? Should they?

He was about to give in to the impulse and dip his head to hers when she pulled away. ‘Sorry. It’s not appropriate to lean on you like that.’

Leo knew she was right. Except he was the one who’d behaved inappropriately. ‘The fault’s all mine,’ he said. ‘I guess it’s being Italian that makes me—well...’

‘Hug people?’ she finished.

‘Something like that.’ But he wasn’t ready to let things go. ‘Are you sure I can’t take you to dinner tonight?’

‘I’m sure. Thank you for the offer, but no.’

And yet there was a hint of wistfulness in her face. He was sure he wasn’t just being a delusional, self-absorbed male; but why did she keep turning him down whenever he asked her out? If she’d said that she was married, or in a relationship, fair enough. He’d back off straight away. But she hadn’t said that, which made him think that it was some other reason why she kept saying no. But he could hardly ask anyone else on the ward without the risk of becoming the centre of hospital gossip, and he loathed gossip.

Maybe he’d just keep trying and eventually he’d manage to wear her down. Because he really liked what he’d seen so far of Rosie Hobbes, and he wanted to get to know her better. And he wanted to work out why she attracted him so strongly, what made her different from the usual women he dated.

* * *

‘Thanks for the coffee and sympathy,’ Rosie said. ‘I’d better get on.’

‘See you later,’ he said.

The problem was, Rosie thought, Leo Marchetti was actually nice. She’d been on ward rounds with him a couple of times now and she’d seen that he was lovely with both the kids and their parents. A couple of the mums had tried to flirt with him, but he’d stayed totally professional and focused on the children. And he’d been especially good with the more worried parents, explaining things in a way that stopped them panicking.

She was tempted to take him up on his offer of dinner out. Really tempted.

Except she wasn’t in the market for a relationship, and it wouldn’t be fair to date anyone until she was ready to trust her heart again. And nothing could really happen between her and Leo. He was a duke and moved in the kind of social circles that would never see her as his equal; and, after her experiences with Michael, she refused to put herself in a position where anyone would treat her as second class. It couldn’t work, so there was no point in thinking about it. Besides, she already had the perfect life: two gorgeous children, a brilliantly supportive family and a job she adored. Wanting more—wanting a partner to share that with—was just being greedy.

Plus, her judgement was rubbish when it came to men. She’d fallen hook, line and sinker for every lie that Michael had told her.

So she needed to keep thinking of Leo as just another colleague. Yes, he was attractive; and she was beginning to like him a lot. But that was as far as it could go.

CHAPTER THREE

ON FRIDAY MORNING, Leo was talking to Rebecca Scott, the transplant surgeon, on the ward. ‘Rosie tells me that Thomas is putting Penny on the transplant list.’

Was it his imagination, or did Rebecca freeze for a second when he mentioned Thomas’s name? Rebecca and Thomas were always very professional with patients, but he’d noticed that they never shared a smile or any personal comments with each other, the way they did with other staff members. He had a feeling that something was definitely going on—or maybe something had happened in the past.

He knew all about complicated relationships. He was careful to keep his own as simple as possible, so the women he dated didn’t have any expectations that he wouldn’t be able to live up to. But, whatever the differences were between Rebecca and Thomas, it was none of his business. As long as everyone on the team was kept informed about any issues with their patients, nothing else mattered. He needed to keep out of this.

‘Yes.’ There was a flicker of sadness in her eyes, quickly masked. ‘Are you settling in to the hospital OK?’

‘Yes, thanks.’ Clearly Rebecca wanted to change the subject. Well, that was fine by him. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally trample over a sore spot. ‘Everyone’s been very welcoming and I haven’t had to sit in a corner on my own at lunchtime.’

She smiled. ‘That’s good. Well, I’m due in Theatre, so I’ll let you get on. But give me a yell if there’s anything you need.’

‘Thanks. I will.’

* * *

Rosie spent her usual Friday lunchtime reading to Penny and talking about kittens and ballet. She knew Thomas had talked to Peter and Julia about putting their daughter on the transplant list, and gave Julia an extra hug at the door. ‘We’re all rooting for her, you know. We’re not supposed to have favourites but our Penny’s special.’

A tear trickled down Julia’s cheek and she clearly couldn’t speak.

‘It’s OK,’ Rosie said softly. ‘I’m a mum, too, so I know exactly how I’d feel in your shoes.’

‘We really appreciate you reading to her,’ Julia said.

Rosie smiled back. ‘No problem. My two are more into dinosaurs than anything else at the moment, but when Lexi’s older I’m sure she’d enjoy the kind of stories I’ve been reading to Penny.’

In the middle of the afternoon, she was at the nurses’ station, writing up notes, when Leo came over and handed her a paper cup of cappuccino. ‘Good afternoon. I brought you something to help you write up your notes,’ he said.

‘That’s really nice of you, Leo, and I love the coffee from Tony’s,’ she said, ‘but that’s the second time you’ve bought me coffee this week and now I feel in your debt. Which makes me feel uncomfortable.’

‘There’s no debt.’ He paused. ‘Or maybe you could buy me a coffee after work, if that would make you feel better.’

Buying him a coffee to make them even would make her feel better, but she absolutely couldn’t do anything after work. ‘Sorry. I can’t.’

‘Or come out with me for a pizza at the weekend,’ he suggested. ‘We can go halves and you can buy me a coffee then.’

How easy it would be to agree to have dinner with him.

And it worried Rosie just how much she was starting to like Leo Marchetti. He was kind, he was great with patients and parents and staff alike, and he was beautiful to look at with those dark, expressive eyes and a mouth that promised sin.

It would be so, so easy to say yes.

But how did she know that she wasn’t going to be repeating her past mistake and fall for someone who made her heart beat faster but would let her down when she needed him? Leo seemed a nice guy on the ward—but would he be different in a relationship that wasn’t strictly professional? Would he turn out to have feet of clay?

There was one way to find out. She could agree to one date. Then, if Leo took one look at the twins and ran for the hills, she’d know she’d been right about him all along. And she was pretty sure that he would leave her alone once he knew she was a single mum of three-year-old twins.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘But, as you’ve been buying me coffee, I’ll take you out for a pizza.’

He blinked, looking slightly shocked that she’d actually said yes. ‘When?’

‘Tomorrow night.’ Before her nerve broke.

‘OK. That’s good. I’ll pick you up,’ he said. ‘What time?’

She frowned. ‘Hang on. I thought I was taking you out for pizza? Shouldn’t I be the one picking you up?’

‘Change of plan. I’m taking you out for dinner,’ he said.

So once she’d agreed to something, then he changed the goalposts? Well, Leo would find out the hard way that her goalposts weren’t changeable. Her children came first. And that wasn’t negotiable.

‘Six o’clock, then,’ she said, and wrote down her address for him.

‘And your phone number? In case of emergencies and change of plans?’

She wrote that down, too.

‘Thanks. I’ll text you later so you have my number.’

‘OK.’

‘I’ll let you get on,’ he said. But before he walked away, he touched the back of his fingers briefly against her cheek—and every nerve-end sizzled at his touch. Just like Wednesday afternoon, when he’d hugged her and then he’d been at the point of actually kissing her. Worse still, she’d been thinking along the same lines.

This really wasn’t good.

Rosie had to force herself to concentrate on the paperwork until the end of her shift, and then she headed down to the hospital nursery school to pick up the twins. Right at that moment, she wasn’t sure if she’d just made a huge mistake in suggesting going out to dinner with Leo.

But it would settle things once and for all: she was pretty sure he’d look at the twins, make some charming excuse and scuttle off. And then he’d never ask her for another date. She’d be off the hook.

* * *

Leo could hardly believe that Rosie had actually agreed to a date.

Six o’clock seemed a little early for him to pick her up, but maybe they could go for a drink before they went out to dinner. He caught Robyn at the end of his shift. ‘Just the person I wanted to see.’

‘Something you need at work?’ she asked.

He smiled. ‘No—everything’s fine and I’m really enjoying working here. This is personal. I was wondering if you could recommend a nice restaurant locally.’

‘Oh, is your mother coming over to stay?’

He shook his head. ‘Right now Mamma’s a little frail, so I’d rather she stayed in Tuscany where she can be looked after properly.’ He squished the faint feeling of guilt that really he ought to be the one keeping an eye on his mother, as her only child and a qualified doctor. But he specialised in paediatrics, not geriatrics, so she was getting better care than he could give her. And he called her every day when he wasn’t in Tuscany; he wasn’t neglecting her completely.

‘So do you mean somewhere romantic?’ Robyn teased.

He actually felt himself blush. ‘Yes.’

She mentioned a couple of places and he made a note of them on his phone.

‘Dare I ask who the lucky woman is?’

He smiled at her. ‘Now, now. A gentleman doesn’t tell tales.’

She laughed. ‘Leo, you might be a gentleman, but you’ll date her twice and be utterly charming, and then you’ll end it before she has a chance to get close to you.’

‘I date women more than twice,’ he said. He knew she was teasing, but he also knew that she had a point. He never had let a woman close to him, since Emilia. Maybe he ought to leave Rosie well alone.

The problem was, he didn’t want to. She drew him, with that odd mixture of warmth and wariness. He wanted to get to know her better and understand why she drew him like this. And, if he was honest with himself, she was the first woman since Emilia who’d made him feel this way. Which was another reason why he should just drop this: the last time he’d felt that incredible pull towards someone, it had gone badly wrong.

When he got home, he booked the table at one of the restaurants Robyn had suggested. But, the next day, he couldn’t settle to much; he was too filled with anticipation. It made him feel a bit like a teenager again, though the teenage Leo Marchetti had ended up with a heart so broken that he’d had to escape from Rome to London before he could mend himself. He’d never want to go through his teens again, with all that uncertainty and that desperation to please someone who constantly changed the goalposts and made the young Leo feel that he’d never be able to match up to expectations. And he didn’t have to ask anyone’s permission to date someone.

He shook himself. His father was dead and Leo was comfortable in his own skin now. He knew who he was and what he was good at—and he didn’t have to please anyone but himself.

Late that afternoon, he drove to Rosie’s and parked his low-slung two-seater convertible on the road outside her house.

She answered the door wearing understated make-up and a little black dress: very different from how she usually was at work, with no make-up and a uniform.

‘You look lovely,’ he said, and then felt like a fool when she raised one eyebrow.

‘Not that you don’t usually look lovely,’ he said, feeling even more gauche. Which was weird, because normally he was relaxed with women. He liked their company. Why was he so awkward with Rosie?

She smiled. ‘Thank you for the compliment. Come in.’

He stopped dead in the doorway when she ushered him into the living room and he saw two small children playing with a train set on the floor. The brown-haired boy and golden-haired girl were clearly Rosie’s children, as they had her bright blue eyes and her smile. And they looked to be around the same age, so he guessed that they were twins.

He couldn’t see a babysitter anywhere, unless maybe someone was in the kitchen or something.

And the penny dropped when he looked at Rosie’s face.

She’d invited him to pick her up here, expecting him to take one look at the children and make a run for it.

That really smarted. Had his reputation already spread through the hospital, if she thought he was that shallow?

Then again, maybe she’d been badly hurt by the twins’ father. Until he knew the full story, he shouldn’t judge her the way she’d obviously misjudged him.

‘So that’s dinner for four?’ he asked.

She shrugged, and lowered her voice so the children couldn’t hear. ‘I come as a package, Leo.’

‘It would’ve been useful to know that.’

‘So you could back off earlier?’

She was really that sure he was so unreliable? Or had someone made her believe that about all men? ‘No,’ he said. ‘So I could’ve brought a four-seater car with me instead of a two-seater.’

Colour flooded into her face. ‘Oh.’

‘I would be delighted to take you all out,’ he said, keeping his voice as low as hers, ‘but either we need to use a taxi or—if you have appropriate seats—your car. Is there any particular place the children like eating out?’

* * *

Leo wasn’t running away.

And he’d asked where the twins liked eating out, not where she liked eating out.

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