Hot Single Docs: Waiting For You: St Piran's: Prince on the Children's Ward

CHAPTER SIX

‘THIS is all your fault! I told you not to kiss me.’ Tasha yanked her top back over her head and freed her hair. ‘Stay there. You’re not safe to be around. I was in doctor mode. How the hell did we end up naked?’

‘Because the chemistry doesn’t go away just because you’re clutching a stethoscope. I want you, Tasha. Make no mistake about that.’ His smooth, possessive declaration stopped her breathing. For an injured man he was far too threatening.

‘I...’ confused, she tumbled off the bed, grabbing her clothes. Glancing briefly at him, she collided with dark, burning eyes and felt her insides melt. ‘No.’ It was both a plea and a protest. ‘Just—no.’

She’d promised herself that she wasn’t going to do this. That she wasn’t going to fall under his spell again.

She was a career-woman. She had a five-year plan and it didn’t include falling for a wicked, sexy prince. She’d had herself under control. She’d been doing really well.

Until he’d kissed her...

‘Damn you, Sandro. I need to get dressed before he comes looking for us.’ Her face burning, Tasha grabbed the rest of her clothes, desperately conscious of those coal-black eyes following her every move. The heat was still in the room, simmering between them like a blast from the sun.

If he was bothered by the fact that her brother was in his house, he didn’t show it. But Alessandro wasn’t the sort to run from anything, she knew that. In fact, that was part of the problem. He had too much of the devil in him.

And that devil had drawn her just as it had when she was a teenager.

In her haste to drag on her clothes, Tasha couldn’t untangle her jeans and they were halfway up her legs when her brother tapped on the door and opened it.

Tasha gave a whimper of horror. She didn’t know which was worse—her brother seeing her semi-naked, or her brother seeing her semi-naked with Alessandro.

‘Hey, you guys—I thought I’d drop by and see if you’ve killed each other yet...’ His voice faded as he saw them and for a moment Tasha stared like a rabbit at oncoming headlights.

Oh, dear...

‘Hi, Josh.’ Hands shaking, she finally managed to zip her jeans. She felt as mortified as she had when Josh had caught her kissing the captain of the football team when she was sixteen. ‘We weren’t expecting you.’ She tried to sound casual, as if dressing in Alessandro’s room was an everyday occurrence. With any luck Josh would decide to turn a blind eye.

But one look at the flat, disapproving line of her brother’s mouth told her this wasn’t going to be her lucky day.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ Josh’s voice was tight and the shock in his eyes turned dark as approaching storm clouds as he turned his gaze on Alessandro, who stared right back at him.

‘Seducing your sister. If you have a problem with that, take it out on me, not her.’

‘You—’ Josh was across the room in a flash and Tasha hastily planted herself in front of Alessandro.

‘No!’ Her legs were shaking and she was mortified at being caught kissing, but most of all she was mortified that she’d been kissing Alessandro in the first place.

That definitely hadn’t been part of the master plan.

‘Josh, calm down! It’s nothing to get into a sweat over.’ Actually, it was, but the sweating was going to have to wait for another time because at the moment her brother looked dangerous and she felt a twinge of real fear.

‘Calm down? Calm down?’ Josh closed his hands over her arms and moved her bodily to one side, his voice thick with anger as he confronted his friend. ‘I arrange for my sister to nurse you and this is how you repay me?’

Tasha bristled. ‘Excuse me! I do have a mind of my own, you know. You might have been the one who suggested it, but—’

‘Shut up, Tasha.’ Josh growled the words. ‘This isn’t your business.’

Alessandro shifted his leg. ‘It certainly isn’t yours, my friend.’

He should have looked vulnerable, but he didn’t. In fact, somehow he managed to look physically intimidating, even with broken bones and bruised ribs, Tasha thought absently. She wondered whether his natural air of command was something to do with being royalty or whether it was just the man.

Warrior Prince.

Josh was red in the face. ‘It has everything to do with me. She’s my sister!’

Tasha opened her mouth to protest again and realised that neither man was taking any notice of her.

Their eyes were fixed on each other in full combat mode. Alessandro stared Josh straight in the eye, the challenge blatant. ‘And this time she’s way above the age of consent. I repeat—it has nothing to do with you.’

This time? Tasha frowned at that remark but she didn’t have time to dwell on it because the two men were squaring up for a fight.

Josh stepped forward, his expression ugly, his hands clenched. ‘And that’s all it takes for you, is it? She’s old enough so that makes it OK? Well, I’ve got news for you, Alessandro, it doesn’t make it OK. And she’s leaving here right now.’ Without turning his head, Josh pointed his finger at the door. ‘Pack your bags, Tasha.’

Tasha raised her eyebrows, assuming he was joking. When she realised he wasn’t, she put her hands on her hips and threw her head back. ‘I will not pack my bags! Are you deranged? Listen to you!’ Her own temper spilled over. ‘I’m not six years old, Josh. I’m a grown woman, and if I want to kiss a man, I’ll kiss him and I don’t have to ask your permission first.’ She vented her anger on Josh, even though she knew deep down that most of it should be directed at herself.

She’d been stupid, stupid, stupid...

‘You’re my sister.’ His tone was raw and angry. ‘Don’t argue with me. Go and pack. This is between Allesandro and I.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake, will you listen to yourself? “This is between Allessandro and I,”’ Tasha mimicked his tone. ‘What are you going to do, Josh? Challenge him to a duel? Pistols at dawn? This is the twenty-first century. Get over yourself.’

‘This isn’t your business, Natasha.’

‘Well, excuse me—’ she emphasised each word ‘—but I was the one naked with him, not you. I think that makes it my business, not yours.’

Josh gave a low growl. ‘You were naked with him?’

Yes, and she had no idea how it had happened. Clearly at some point during the burn of chemistry, her brain had disconnected itself from her body. But she didn’t want to think about that right now. ‘So what if I was? What is your problem? You do not just barge in here and tell me what to do. Do I ask you what’s happening in your love life? Do I lecture you or ask you who you got naked with last night? When I saw you coming out of that on-call room a couple of weeks ago, having had a night of hot sex, did I demand to know who was in the room with you?’

Alessandro raised an eyebrow. ‘Hey, Josh, you had a night of hot sex? Good man.’

‘Shut up!’ Brother and sister spoke simultaneously and Tasha stabbed Josh in the chest with her finger.

‘I wanted to ask who she was, but I didn’t because I respect your privacy and your ability to make your own decisions. I understand that you’re an adult. If you want to have a one-night stand in the on-call room, that’s up to you.’

There was a tense, frozen silence.

Josh’s face had turned from scarlet to grey. ‘It wasn’t a one-night stand. And this isn’t about me, it’s about you.’

‘Precisely.’ Tasha folded her arms and pursed her lips. ‘Which makes it my business, not yours. If I want to sleep with a man, I’ll sleep with him. I don’t need your permission.’

Josh’s shoulders sagged and suddenly he looked exhausted. ‘Fine.’ His voice was brittle. ‘You’re right, of course. I apologise.’

Startled by the sudden change in him, Tasha frowned. One minute he was yelling at her and the next he looked as though his brain was on another planet. ‘So—when I need a knight in shining armour, I’ll text you.’

Alessandro started to laugh. ‘I hate to break it to you, Josh, but I think your baby sister is all grown up and slaying her own dragons.’

Josh was still looking at Tasha. A tiny muscle flickered in his cheek and he shook his head slightly, as if trying to focus. ‘Just as long as you know he will break your heart,’ he said shakily. ‘You’ll fall in love, because that’s what you do, and he’ll smash you to pieces. I don’t want that for you. I don’t want you loving someone you can’t be with. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.’ There was an anguished note to his tone that killed Tasha’s anger like water on flame.

Instinct told her there was more to her brother’s words than a throw-away comment.

I don’t want you loving someone you can’t be with.

Suddenly she knew that his explosion of emotion was driven by something deeper than her own indiscretion. Something much more personal.

‘Josh...’ Her voice faltered. ‘I—’

‘I’m just telling you to be careful, that’s all.’ Cutting her dead, he blanked the emotion and walked to the door. ‘I’ll leave the two of you alone. I’m sorry I interrupted. And who am I to give advice on relationships? It’s a subject I know nothing about.’

His departure was more painful than his arrival.

Tasha felt her heart clench. Her brother was suffering and she sensed that his anguish went much deeper than concern about her.

Was this about the woman in the on-call room?

‘Wait!’ Tasha sprinted after him. ‘Don’t just walk off—for crying out loud, Josh, will you wait?’

He kept walking, talking over his shoulder as he strode through Alessandro’s double-height living room. ‘I need breakfast. I’ve been working all night. I have to get back to the hospital.’

‘I’ll make you breakfast.’ Catching up with him, she caught his arm. ‘The kitchen here is like a spaceship and I can do amazing things with eggs. Please.’

‘I need to be on my own.’ He shook her off and she saw the emptiness in his eyes as he detached from her. ‘I’m sorry I disturbed you.’

Tasha felt a flash of exasperation but this time it was fuelled by real concern for her brother. ‘It wasn’t like that, Josh—honestly, it was nothing.’ She didn’t know what it was and she hadn’t had time to work it out, but at the moment her priority was Josh. ‘I want you to stay. I haven’t seen you properly since I arrived. Let’s chat. Catch up.’

‘Sit down, Josh.’ Alessandro’s slightly accented drawl came from behind them. Tasha realised that while she and Josh had been arguing Alessandro had hauled himself from the bed and was now gripping the doorframe. His shirt—the shirt she’d ripped—hung loose around his body, exposing his bronzed muscled chest. ‘I’m going mad trapped in this place. I need male conversation.’

Tasha gave a faint smile. ‘Men don’t have conversations. They just exchange sporting results.’ But she was relieved that Alessandro had added his voice to hers.

Josh looked undecided and the look he gave Alessandro was cold. ‘I should go—’

‘There’s a wealth of difference between what one should do and what one chooses to do,’ Alessandro drawled. ‘Sit down. Your sister isn’t a bad cook, providing you keep her away from chilli.’

Tasha opened her mouth and closed it again. This wasn’t the time to give him a lecture on the emancipation of women.

Josh relaxed slightly. ‘Are you going to promise not to touch my sister again?’

‘No.’ Alessandro’s tone was calm and he lifted his hand as Josh’s eyes flared. ‘But I promise to stop if she asks me to. Fair enough?’

Josh’s mouth was a tight line. ‘I don’t think—’

‘Hello? I’m over here!’ Exasperated, Tasha waved at both of them. ‘You don’t need to talk about me as if I don’t exist. In fact, you don’t need to talk about me at all. Let’s just drop the whole subject.’ She was relieved to see her brother sprawl on the deep leather sofa.

As he ran his hand over his face she realised that he hadn’t slept in a long time.

The sunlight pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows simply accentuated the shadows under his eyes and the pallor of his skin. Why had it taken her so long to notice how awful he looked?

Because she’d been too busy getting her clothes on.

‘So...’ She sank down on the sofa next to him and curled her legs underneath her. ‘You look wrecked.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Have you been working nights or something?’ Even as she asked the question, she dismissed it. Josh never had any trouble coping with work volume, so it couldn’t be that. Which meant it must be a woman. But the split with Rebecca had been mutual...

Using a process of elimination, she mentally ticked off the options and decided that it had to be something to do with the woman he’d had in the on-call room.

She’d thought at the time that he was behaving oddly.

Suddenly she wished she could send Alessandro into the kitchen so that she could question her brother in private.

‘So how’s the leg?’ His expression slightly less black, Josh looked at his oldest friend. ‘Are you healing?’

‘Yes, but not fast enough.’ Alessandro limped over to the other sofa and sat down. He’d mastered the art of keeping his movements as smooth as possible to reduce jarring. ‘I’m hoping this cast will be off soon, then I can get back to normal duties.’

‘Palace giving you a hard time?’

‘They are not amused,’ Alessandro said lightly, a sardonic smile on his face. ‘I’m supposed to be earning my keep, not “lounging” around here.’

‘You can’t do much with your leg like that.’ Josh’s gaze flickered to Tasha. ‘Except mess with my sister.’

‘Let’s not go there again.’ Alessandro leaned back against the sofa. His shirt flopped open, revealing smooth bronzed skin and well-defined muscle. Feeling suddenly dizzy, Tasha was about to tell him to button it up when she realised that he couldn’t because she’d ripped the buttons.

Concern for her brother mingled with the realisation that the chemistry between her and Alessandro was as powerful as ever.

So much for the childish crush theory. So much for proving to him that she was indifferent.

Satisfied that they weren’t going to kill each other, Tasha used the excuse of breakfast to escape to the kitchen.

Behind the safety of the closed door, she took refuge in mindless cooking to keep her mind off Alessandro. She didn’t want to think about Alessandro. She wanted to know what was wrong with Josh.

People said women were complicated, but at least women usually talked about their problems. Frustrated and grumpy, she chopped fruit into a bowl and then remembered she was feeding men and fried a stack of bacon.

Walking back into the living room with a heaped tray, she found the two men deep in conversation about sport. The earlier argument might never have happened.

They were lifelong friends, of course, and the bond showed as they talked easily, barely acknowledging Tasha as she deposited the tray on the table.

‘Hello? Earth to Neanderthals,’ she said cheerfully. ‘I’ve cooked it, but I draw the line at actually forking the food into your mouths. That bit you can manage yourselves if you really concentrate.’

‘Thanks, Tasha.’ Josh sat forward and helped himself to bacon. ‘I can’t be long. They’re holding a prince-and-princess party on the children’s ward this afternoon and I promised to dress up as a prince. Which means I have a pile of work to get finished this morning.’

Tasha felt her insides tighten at the mention of the children’s ward. She missed it dreadfully.

Being with Alessandro had distracted her slightly from her life, but now reality was back with full force. What if she couldn’t find another job? What if she’d messed everything up for good?

Oblivious to her anxieties, Alessandro was laughing at Josh. ‘You trained for all those years to pretend to be a prince?’

‘It isn’t funny. I should have said no.’

‘So why didn’t you?’

He hesitated. ‘Because a friend asked me. There are some kids who have been on the unit for ages—they’re bored and need some distraction.’ Josh bit into his sandwich. ‘Someone came up with the idea of having a prince-and-princess tea party so that they can dress up. Tiaras—that sort of thing. Because I’m not officially working today, I’m supposed to arrive halfway through dressed as Prince Charming.’

Tasha slid her hands round her mug of tea. ‘You’re kidding.’

‘I did Father Christmas last year.’ Josh wiped his fingers on a napkin. ‘What’s the difference?’

‘Is that a serious question?’ Alessandro was still laughing. ‘One is fat and wears a red coat. The other is suave and capable of slaying dragons.’

Tasha sat with the mug halfway to her mouth, watching the way Alessandro’s eyes shone and his cheeks creased when he laughed.

He was the sexiest man she’d ever met.

It was just as well Josh couldn’t read her mind.

‘No dragons at our tea party. This bacon is good, Tasha. I can’t remember when you last cooked for me. Usually you glare at me and tell me it’s not women’s work. Are you all right?’ Josh frowned at his sister. ‘Why are you staring at Alessandro?’

‘I’m keeping an eye on his colour,’ she said smoothly. ‘If he does too much, he gets tired.’

‘He didn’t look that tired when I arrived.’ His tone dry, Josh helped himself to more bacon. ‘He looked as though he had all his faculties. He won’t need you for much longer.’

Tasha wondered if her brother was having another dig. ‘I’ll stay until he’s able to cope without help.’

‘Have you applied for any jobs?’

Tasha leaned forward and stacked the plates. ‘Not yet.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because I don’t know what I’d say in the interview about why I left my last job. I’m worried everyone is going to think I’m a troublemaker.’ Tasha rescued the ketchup before it could tumble onto the floor. ‘I miss medicine. I miss the kids. I miss being part of a unit. I miss—all of it. I’m a doctor. I want patients.’ Aware that Alessandro was no longer smiling, she suddenly wished she hadn’t said anything. ‘Sorry, it’s just that I had this great career plan and then—poof—I managed to blow the whole thing. Well done, Tasha.’ She knew that her light tone hadn’t fooled them. ‘Anyway, I don’t know why we’re talking about me. I already have a job for the time being. Preventing Alessandro from trying to run before he can walk.’

‘I can tell you’re a paediatric doctor. You’re treating me like a kid.’

He wasn’t a kid at all. He was a grown man and she was horribly aware of every bronzed, handsome inch of him. She’d thought her anger would keep her safe, but her anger had vanished. She’d thought her feelings were all from the past. But the explosion of passion that had erupted between them had nothing to do with the past and everything to do with the present.

Fear flashed through her. If she let him, he’d hurt her again. Just as he had the first time. And she wasn’t going to let a man do that to her...

The sooner she found herself a paediatric job, the better.

‘You shouldn’t feel insecure. You’re a good doctor, Tasha.’ Josh stole the last piece of bacon. ‘Remember that little girl you saw on the unit that day you came to my office to tell me you’d resigned? Turned out you were right. It wasn’t hay fever. She had a congenital heart defect.’

Alessandro looked bemused. ‘I didn’t think Tasha worked on your unit.’

‘She doesn’t. But she walked past this girl and saw something that none of my doctors had seen.’ Josh gave a smile. ‘She’s very intuitive, my baby sister.’

Snapping out of her dream, Tasha stared at him. ‘The girl had a congenital heart defect? You’re sure?’

‘She’s already seen the cardiologist. You probably saved her life.’

‘Oh.’ She felt an ache of sympathy for the child and the mother. ‘I wish it had just been hay fever. Poor little thing.’ Suddenly she missed her job even more. She wanted to be the one looking after the child, supporting her and helping her through a difficult time. She could make a difference, she knew she could.

‘This prince-and-princess party...’ Alessandro eased his leg into a more comfortable position. ‘That must be something I can help with.’

Josh glanced at him with a frown. ‘You?’

‘You should be saving lives, not dressing up as a prince. I don’t have your medical skills, but I can do the prince bit.’ His tone was loaded with irony. ‘I’ve never dressed up in a cloak or worn a crown, but if it would help the kids I can do it. Provided someone keeps the paparazzi at a distance. I’m doing it for the children, not the press.’

‘Why keep them at a distance?’ Tasha jumped to her feet. ‘It’s a brilliant idea. Your mother wants some good publicity—what better than the prince visiting the children’s ward? You can autograph stuff for them. They can have pictures taken with you. They’d love that. I’ll come with you.’ Better to be on the children’s ward as a visitor than not be there at all, she reasoned.

‘How far from the car to the ward? I can’t walk that far on this damn leg of mine.’

Tasha opened her mouth to suggest a wheelchair but took one look at the set of his jaw and closed her mouth again. Alessandro would drag himself across the ground by his fingernails before he’d agree to use a wheelchair.

‘It’s a great idea. We can drop you right outside. And Tasha can come with you.’ Josh nodded. ‘I’ll have a word with the staff and let them know you’re coming.’

‘I’ve been thinking about a job in NICU. Is there someone there I could talk to?’

Alessandro frowned. ‘What’s NICU?’

‘Neonatal intensive care unit.’ Josh shifted in his chair. ‘Talk to Megan Phillips.’

Tasha noticed that her brother’s tone had altered and wondered if it had anything to do with Megan. Glancing up, she met Alessandro’s steady dark gaze. Clearly he was thinking the same thing. He smiled and that slow, sexy smile connected straight to her insides. Her stomach swooped and plunged, the chemistry between them as electrifying and terrifying as ever. Staring into his mahogany eyes, she opened her mouth to speak but he spoke first.

‘You’ve got me through the worst bit. Thanks to you, they let me out of that hospital. I can manage now. If you want to leave, leave.’

He was giving her a choice. And she knew it wasn’t just about caring for him.

He was making her decide whether to leave or not.

Both men were looking at her expectantly and Tasha swallowed. She didn’t know how she was going to answer until the words left her mouth.

‘I’m not in the habit of letting people down. I’ll stay until you’re fully mobile, just as I promised.’ It was easy to convince herself that that was the reason she was staying. ‘But I do need to be looking for a full-time job. I thought I’d explore NICU—except that I’m not sure I’ll get a reference.’

‘You will. I made a few phone calls this week.’ Josh leaned back against the sofa. ‘Turns out you had a lot of support at the unit. Questions are being asked. People are enraged that you were allowed to resign.’

‘Really? Why didn’t you say so before?’ Tasha brightened. ‘Enraged? Oh, I’m so pleased.’

Alessandro lifted an eyebrow. ‘You want people to be enraged?’

‘I want them to care that I’ve gone, yes. I’m human enough to want that. And I’m human enough to need to be told I did the right thing—that others would have done the same. I would love an apology from him,’ she sniffed, ‘but I doubt I’ll get that.’

‘You won’t. They guy’s an idiot. Forget about him.’ Josh leaned forward. ‘So, about the prince-and-princess party...’

Energised by the knowledge that people were supporting her, Tasha reached for her handbag. ‘Leave that to me. I’m going to pay a visit to the dressing-up shop in St Piran. Alessandro and I will see you back at the hospital.’

* * *

He’d given her the opportunity to leave and yet she’d chosen to stay.