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‘Then you’d better behave yourself,’ Gio suggested silkily, casting a glance towards his new partner to check she was all right. Her pallor was worrying him. He hoped she wasn’t about to pass out. ‘Leave now and come back in an hour for your friend.’
‘You’re not English.’ The boy hiccoughed. ‘What are you, then? Italian?’
‘I’m Sicilian.’ Gio’s eyes were cold. ‘Never call me Italian.’
‘Sicilian?’ A nervous respect entered the teenager’s eyes and he licked his lips and eyed the door. ‘OK.’ He gave a casual shrug. ‘So maybe we’ll come back later, like you suggested.’
Gio nodded. ‘Good decision.’
The boy backed away, still rubbing his arm. ‘We’re going. C’mon, Rick.’ He loped over to the door and left without a backward glance.
‘Dios, did he hurt you?’ Gio walked over to the girl and lifted a hand to her neck. The skin was slightly reddened and he stroked a finger carefully over the bruising with a frown. ‘We should call the police now.’
She shook her head and backed away. ‘No need. He didn’t hurt me.’ She glanced towards the teenager who was still sprawled over the seats of her waiting room and gave a wry shake of her head. ‘If you’re Dr Moretti, we’d better see to him before he’s sick on the floor or bleeds to death over my chairs.’
‘It won’t hurt him to wait for two minutes. You should call the police.’ Gio’s tone was firm. He didn’t want to be too graphic about what might have happened, but it was important that she acknowledge the danger. It hadn’t escaped him that if he hadn’t decided to arrive at the surgery early, she would have been on her own with them. ‘You should call them.’
She rubbed her neck. ‘I suppose you’re right. All right, I’ll do it when I get a minute.’
‘Does this happen often? I imagined I was coming to a quiet seaside village. Not some hotbed of violence.’
‘There’s nothing quiet about this place, at least not in the middle of summer,’ she said wearily. ‘We’re the only doctors’ surgery in this part of the town and the nearest A and E is twenty miles down the coast so, yes, we get our fair share of drama. David probably didn’t tell you that when he was persuading you to take the job. You can leave now, if you like.’
His eyes rested on her soft mouth. ‘I’m not leaving.’
There was a brief silence. A silence during which she stared back at him. Then she licked her lips. ‘Well, that’s good news for my patients. And good news for me. I’m glad you arrived when you did.’
‘You didn’t look glad.’
‘Well, a girl can’t be too careful and you don’t exactly look like a doctor.’ A hint of a smile touched that perfect mouth. ‘Did you see his face when you said you were Sicilian? I think they were expecting you to put a hand in your jacket and shoot them dead any moment.’
‘I considered it.’ Gio’s eyes gleamed with humour. ‘But I’ve only had one cup of coffee so far today. Generally I need at least two before I shoot people dead. And you don’t need to apologise for the mistake. I confess that I thought you were the receptionist. If you’re Alice Anderson, you’re nothing like David’s description.’
‘I can imagine.’ She spoke in a tone of weary acceptance. ‘David is seeing the world through a romantic haze at the moment. Be patient with him. It will pass, given time.’
He laughed. ‘You think so?’
‘Love always does, Dr Moretti. Like many viruses, it’s a self-limiting condition. Left alone, the body can cure itself.’
Gio searched her face to see if she was joking and decided that she wasn’t. Filing the information away in his brain for later use, he walked over to retrieve the coffee from the window-sill. ‘If you’re truly Dr Anderson, this is for you. An ice breaker, from me.’
She stared at the coffee with sudden hunger in her eyes and then at him. ‘You brought coffee?’ Judging from the expression on her face, he might have offered her an expensive bauble from Tiffany’s. She lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. Tired eyes. ‘For me? Is it black?’
‘Si.’ He smiled easily and handed her the coffee, amused by her response. ‘You have fans in the bakery who know every detail of your dietary preferences. I was told “just coffee” so I passed on the croissant.’
‘There’s no such thing as “just coffee”. Coffee is wonderful. It’s my only vice and currently I’m in desperate need of a caffeine hit.’ She prised the lid off the coffee, sniffed and gave a whimper of pleasure. ‘Large Americano. Oh, that’s just the best smell…’
He watched as she sipped, closed her eyes and savoured the taste. She gave a tiny moan of appreciation that sent a flicker of awareness through his body. He gave a slight frown at the strength of his reaction.
‘So…’ She studied him for a moment and then took another sip of coffee. Some of the colour returned to her cheeks. ‘I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow. Not that I’m complaining, you understand. I’m glad you’re early. You were just in time to save me from a nasty situation.’
‘I prefer to drive when the roads are clear. I thought you might appreciate the help, given that David has already been gone two days. We haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Gio Moretti.’ He wanted to hold her until she stopped shaking but he sensed that she wouldn’t appreciate the gesture so he kept his distance. ‘I’m your new partner.’
She hesitated and then put her free hand in his. ‘Alice Anderson.’
‘I gathered that. You’re really not what I expected.’
She tilted her head to one side. ‘You’re standing in my surgery having frightened off two teenage thugs by your appearance and you’re telling me I’m not what you expected?’ There was a hint of humour in her blue eyes and his attention was caught by the length of her lashes.
