Read the book: «Dr Ferrero's Baby Secret»

Dr. Ferrero’s Baby Secret

Jennifer Taylor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

CONTENTS

COVER

LETTER TO READER

TITLE PAGE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

EPILOGUE

COPYRIGHT

CHAPTER ONE

SHE had made her decision. She would hand in her notice and leave at the end of the week. She had spent the night thinking about it and realised it was the only rational solution. Getting this job might have been the fulfilment of all her dreams, but no job was worth this amount of heartache.

Kelly Carlyon felt her heart start to pound whan she heard the office door open. She knew what she should do, yet the irrational part of her couldn’t bear to think that Luca might believe she was too scared to work with him. She had got over him a long time ago, as soon as she had found out that he was going to marry another woman, in fact.

Admittedly, it had been a shock when she had arrived at the hospital to take up the post of junior registrar and discovered that he was her new boss, but she had made up her mind that she would deal with the situation professionally. However, after the argument they’d had yesterday, she was less confident of that. Could she really work with Luca Ferrero when there was so much history between them?

‘Buongiorno, Kelly.’

Luca swept into the office and closed the door. Kelly felt a wave of resentment rise up inside her as she watched him walk over to his desk. There was no sign of discomfort on his handsome face, no hint at all that he found the situation as stressful as she did. Luca didn’t give a damn that he had turned her world upside down again. If he had cared then he would never have treated her the way he’d done two years ago.

Kelly’s mouth compressed as she recalled what had happened. Luca had spent six months as visiting consultant on the paediatric unit where she’d been working as a senior house officer and that was how they had met. The intensity of her feelings for him had taken her completely by surprise. She’d been too busy establishing her career to get romantically involved with anyone, yet within a week of them meeting she and Luca had been lovers.

She’d been devastated when he’d returned to Rome at the end of his tenure. Even though he had sworn that they would always be together, she’d been so afraid of losing him. When he had telephoned her a week later to say that he was back in England and needed to see her, she had been elated. She had rushed home after work, sure in her own mind that he was going to ask her to go back to Italy with him, but she’d been wrong.

When Luca had arrived, he had refused her invitation to sit down. He had stood in the middle of her living room and had told her simply that he was getting married. Oh, he had tried to break it to her gently, said that he had never meant to hurt her, but she had stopped listening. The truth was that she had served her purpose and he’d had no further use for her.

She had ordered him to leave and that had been the last she’d seen of him until she’d arrived in Sardinia. Now, as the newly appointed head of clinical care at the Santa Margherita Ospedale, a hospital devoted to the care of sick children on Sardinia’s northern coast, Luca must be more determined than ever that she wasn’t going to stand in his way.

‘So, Kelly, have you decided what you intend to do?’

Luca pulled out a chair and sat down. Kelly took a deep breath as she blanked out the unhappy memories. Luca had given her twenty-four hours to decide if she wanted to continue working at the hospital and he wouldn’t allow her a second more. She opened her mouth to tell him that she had decided to leave when he interrupted her.

‘Before you say anything, I believe I owe you an apology.’

‘An apology?’ she repeated uncertainly.

‘Si.’ He leant back in his chair and studied her across the width of the desk. ‘It was wrong of me to speak to you that way in front of the team. I apologise for it.’

‘Oh! I see.’

Kelly bit her lip, hoping he couldn’t tell how emotional she felt. She’d been bitterly upset by what had happened yesterday. Luca had been extremely abrupt with her when she had suggested a change of treatment for one of the children. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had taken the time to consider her idea, but he had dismissed it out of hand. She had been furious about the way he had spoken to her and had told him so in no uncertain terms. If he hadn’t been called away, she knew that a full-scale row would have erupted and that would have been reprehensible. It was bad enough that Luca had felt it necessary to advise her to consider her position at the hospital before he had left. Maybe Luca wasn’t the only one who needed to apologise?

‘I think I owe you an apology too. I should have accepted what you said and not argued with you.’

‘Then we were both at fault, it seems.’

He shrugged, his broad shoulders moving lightly beneath his suit jacket. He was always impeccably dressed and the black suit he was wearing fitted him like a glove, moulding itself to the lean lines of his body. He had chosen a plain white shirt to go with it and the colour was the perfect foil for the olive tan of his skin. With those deep grey eyes and that lustrous black hair, he looked more like a film star than a doctor, yet it hadn’t just been his looks that had attracted her when they had met. It had been everything about him: his vitality; his commitment; his intelligence. Luca Ferrero had seemed like the embodiment of all her dreams and it was little wonder that she had fallen in love with him. The hardest thing of all had been discovering that her idol had clay feet.

It was painful to recall again what had happened so she pushed the memory to the back of her mind. It wasn’t relevant now, anyway. The days when she and Luca had been lovers were long gone and a lot had happened since, her move to Sardinia to work at the Santa Margherita hospital being one of the major events.

Moving abroad had been a big step for her and her twin sister, Katie. When she had moved to Sardinia, Katie had gone to live in Cyprus. Kelly had been worried in case things didn’t work out for her twin but, after speaking to Katie the previous night, and discovering that she was getting married, Kelly was confident the move had been a success for one of them at least. It was one less thing to worry about if she had to give up her job here.

Kelly frowned when she realised that an element of doubt had crept into her mind. She had decided that she must leave and that should have been the end of it. However, part of her was still reluctant to give up the job and life she had dreamed about for so long.

‘So, Kelly, you were about to tell me what you have decided to do.’

Kelly felt panic well up inside her again as Luca prompted her for an answer. All of a sudden she wasn’t sure what she was going to tell him. Should she hand in her notice, or should she stay? But if she stayed, she was going to have to work with him on a daily basis. Could she treat him as just another colleague, or would the memory of the past always affect her judgement, as it had done yesterday? She had never argued with someone senior to her before, yet she’d had no compunction when it had come to squaring up to Luca.

‘I know how difficult this is for you, Kelly. It’s not easy for me, either.’

Luca’s tone had softened, stroking along her raw nerves like a velvet-gloved hand, and she shivered. She had always been highly responsive to him. Just a word or a touch and she’d been like putty in his hands. That was another reason why she should leave—she didn’t want to feel like that again. Luca was a married man now and he was strictly off limits. However, even though she knew that, she couldn’t help the feelings that were trickling through her, hot little shivers which she hated yet couldn’t control.

‘I can’t see why it should upset you, Luca,’ she said sharply, trying to quell the treacherous response of her body. ‘You forgot all about me the moment you left England. After all, you had other things on your mind, didn’t you?’

‘If you mean that my life changed dramatically after I returned to Italy, I won’t deny it,’ he said quietly. ‘However, it doesn’t mean that I forgot what we shared while I was in England. You played a very important role in my life during the time I was there, Kelly, so this situation is just as difficult for me as it is for you. However, we’re both adults and I honestly believe that we can find a way to work together if we put our minds to it.’

‘Does that mean you want me to stay on here?’ she asked in surprise because she had never expected him to make such an admission. Luca had been cool to the point of indifference since she’d arrived. He’d given no hint that he remembered the time they had spent together. Although it shouldn’t have made a scrap of difference to discover that he considered her an important part of his past, she knew that it did.

‘Yes. But only if it’s what you want, too.’ He leant forward and his eyes were very intent all of a sudden. ‘I won’t try to persuade you to do something you don’t feel is right for you, Kelly. I have too much respect for you both as a person and as a doctor.’

‘Thank you.’ Kelly took a quick breath when she felt her emotions see-saw once more. ‘I would like to stay. It’s always been my dream to work in a children’s hospital. I couldn’t believe it when I was told that I had the job.’

‘Me, too.’ A sudden smile curled his sensual mouth as he leant back in his chair. ‘I knew there were dozens of candidates for the post and that they came from all over the world, too. I could scarcely believe my good fortune when the board offered me the job of clinical director.’

‘Stop being so modest.’ Kelly smiled back, feeling some of her tension ease when she saw the laughter on his face. This was the Luca she remembered best, the warm, caring man who took such delight in even the smallest success. No wonder everyone had adored him when he’d worked in Manchester. He could have had his pick of all the single women in the hospital, but he’d chosen her.

The thought sent a frisson scudding through her but she ignored it. She laughed, wanting to keep the mood light because it was safer. ‘You know very well there are few paediatricians who can match you, Luca.’

‘Hmm, I think I should hire you to do my PR. You are very good for my ego, Kelly.’

He returned her smile before he abruptly sobered. She had the impression that he was deliberately drawing back and couldn’t help feeling disappointed before she realised how stupid it was. She should be glad that he was keen to keep their relationship on a strictly platonic footing.

‘You are an excellent doctor, Kelly. The proof of that is the fact that the board offered you this job. Whilst I hadn’t taken up my own post when you were interviewed, I wouldn’t have had any hesitation about endorsing your application if I’d been consulted.’

‘Thank you. That means a lot to me. I thought…Well, you can probably guess what I thought.’

‘That if I’d had the chance I would have found a way to stop you working here?’ He sighed. ‘It’s speculation at this stage, but I’d like to think that I would have considered your application on its own merits. You have a very promising career ahead of you, Kelly. That was obvious when we worked together in Manchester. I know how committed you are and I wouldn’t want to do anything that would prevent you achieving your potential.’

There was something about the way he said it that bothered her. Kelly had a feeling that her career really mattered to him and that he wasn’t just saying so for appearances’ sake. However, before she could reply, the phone rang. She waited while Luca took the call. It was obviously bad news because he looked grim when he hung up.

‘Alessandro Alessi—the boy we saw yesterday during ward rounds—has suffered a convulsion. I’ll make my way straight to the ward. Can you tell the rest of the team to meet me there, please?’

‘Of course.’

Kelly stood up as he came around the desk. She followed him out of the office but soon got left behind. She headed for the staff lounge and relayed the message, trying to ignore the speculation on everyone’s faces as they made their way to the ward. They were obviously wondering if she was going to stay after what had happened yesterday so should she tell them that she had decided to leave, or should she wait until she was sure it was what she really wanted to do?

She pushed open the ward door and felt her heart scrunch up inside her when she saw Luca talking to the sister. Whether she stayed or went, it was going to hurt and there was no point pretending otherwise.

‘Grazie.’

Luca handed the chart to the sister and walked over to the bed. Ten-year-old Alessandro had been admitted with a severe headache and fever ten days earlier. Luca had immediately suspected bacterial meningitis and had had him rushed to the intensive care unit without waiting to do a lumbar puncture to confirm his diagnosis first. By the time the characteristic rash had appeared a short time later, Alessandro had been receiving intravenous antibiotics, and they had undoubtedly saved his life. That the child should have suffered this setback now was a blow.

‘How long did the convulsion last?’ he asked, his gaze centred on the boy. He knew that his team was gathering around him but he didn’t look up because he didn’t want anything to distract him…

His pulse leapt when someone brushed past him. He didn’t need to look to know it was Kelly. His internal radar had been working overtime since she had arrived. He could pinpoint her position in a room with complete accuracy, and the thought troubled him deeply.

He couldn’t afford to feel like this—it wasn’t fair to Kelly or to himself. He had promised Sophia that he would love and care for Matteo for the rest of his life, and that’s what he was going to do. There was no room in his life for anyone except his son, and he certainly didn’t intend to jeopardise Kelly’s career prospects by involving her in his affairs.

‘How long did the seizure last?’ he reiterated, clearing his mind of everything else.

‘Only a few minutes,’ Sister replied. ‘One of the junior nurses alerted me. By the time I got here, Alessandro was fine, but I thought I should let you know immediately, dottore.’

‘You did exactly the right thing. I want to know about any changes that occur as soon as they happen,’ Luca said firmly, wondering how long it would take him to drum that into his staff. Some of the nurses in particular were loath to call him in case it appeared they couldn’t cope. However, he didn’t care how many false alarms he was called to if it meant a tragedy could be averted.

He smiled at the boy. ‘So how do you feel now, Alessandro?’

‘All right, I guess,’ Alessandro muttered.

‘Bene.’ Luca nodded, although he could tell that the child wasn’t as alert as he’d been the last time he’d seen him. Taking a pen torch out of his pocket, he checked the boy’s response to light. If he wasn’t mistaken, the right eye hadn’t reacted as quickly as it should have done. The delay was infinitesimal but enough to make him decide that he would value a second opinion.

He glanced around the group, pleased to see that everyone was present. He’d made it clear when he had taken over that he expected them to turn up on time for ward rounds. The team had grown a little lax after his predecessor had left but Luca wasn’t prepared to accept less than one hundred per cent commitment from every single one of them. His gaze skimmed over his senior registrar, Carlo Baldovini, an earnest young man in his thirties. Next to Carlo was Letizia Sentini, one of the two junior registrars on the team. Letizia smiled at him, although he didn’t respond. He wasn’t interested in Letizia’s less than subtle attempts to flirt with him.

His gaze came to rest on Kelly and he felt a sudden tightening in his chest. He knew how difficult it was going to be to keep their relationship on a professional footing if she stayed at the hospital. Of all the women he had known, Kelly was the one who had touched him most. When he’d met Kelly, he’d found his soul mate, but once Sophia had told him about the baby she was expecting, he had realised that he would have to let Kelly go.

He knew that if he had to make the decision again, he would do exactly the same thing. However, as he looked at Kelly’s face, he couldn’t help wishing that circumstances had been different. If he’d not had to care for Sophia and her unborn child, he and Kelly might still be together.

CHAPTER TWO

‘THERE’S a hint of sluggishness about the way the right eye reacts.’

Kelly carefully erased all expression from her face as she turned to Luca. She hadn’t expected him to solicit her opinion after what had happened yesterday, although she wasn’t going to let him know that.

‘Si. That is what I thought as well.’

He took the light from her and bent over the child once more. Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. At least it appeared they agreed on something and that had to be a step in the right direction. If they could carry on this way then she might be able to stay on here.

Her heart gave a little flutter at the thought but she damped it down. She wasn’t going to rush into making a decision now it appeared that Luca had given her a stay of execution. She glanced round in surprise when Letizia suddenly stepped forward and rudely elbowed her aside.

‘Perhaps there is a blockage,’ the registrar suggested as she took Kelly’s place. ‘If an excess of cerebrospinal fluid has been collecting inside the skull, it could have caused the child to have a seizure. We shall need to operate to relieve the pressure.’

‘It is one option,’ Luca agreed calmly. He looked at Kelly and raised his brows. ‘Do you agree with Letizia, Kelly? Should we opt for surgery?’

‘I don’t think it’s possible to say for certain at this stage,’ Kelly replied, ignoring the venomous look the other woman gave her. She directed her answer to Luca, refusing to be deterred from making her point. ‘It will need a CT scan to prove if there is a blockage or not.’

‘Indeed it will, which is why we should not be too hasty.’ Luca glanced at Letizia. ‘If you could arrange for Alessandro to have a CT scan we shall decide how to proceed once we have seen the results.’ He shrugged. ‘It could be that there is infection still present so we need to check on that, too.’

‘You wish to do a lumbar puncture?’ Letizia suggested immediately.

‘No. A lumbar puncture should never be performed if there is a chance that intracranial pressure has been raised,’ he said reprovingly. ‘Blood tests will suffice for now.’

He moved away from the bed, indicating that he needed a word with the ward sister. Kelly followed the group as they all trooped to the next bed. Letizia gave her a look of loathing as she swept past her and went to the phone. Kelly sighed. She had a nasty feeling that she had made herself an enemy even though she had never intended to do so. Still, she could hardly have gone along with Letizia’s suggestion when she hadn’t agreed with her.

The rest of the round passed smoothly, although Kelly took care to keep out of Letizia’s way. There was a morning clinic after it was over so she made her way to the outpatients department on the ground floor. Aldo, one of the cleaners, was mopping up some orange juice which had been spilled on the floor and he paused to speak to her. He was learning English and loved to practise whenever he had the chance.

‘It is a beautiful day, dottoressa,’ he said, smiling shyly at her.

‘Si, Aldo, molto bello,’ Kelly replied. She knew from her own experience of learning Italian how important it was to practice and was more than happy to help. She left him to get on with his work and carried on to the office. Serafina, one of the reception staff, smiled when Kelly went in.

‘Buongiorno, Kelly. You have a long list today, I’m afraid. There are several children whom Dr Ferrero asked specifically to see as well so do you know if he will be along soon?’

‘He shouldn’t be long now,’ Kelly assured her, picking up the list. As Serafina had said, it was a long list and she doubted if she would be finished in time for lunch, not that it worried her if she had to work through her break. Her patients came first and they always would.

She put the list back on the desk and picked up the stack of files the receptionist had prepared for her. ‘I’ll make a start,’ she began, then glanced round when the door opened as Luca arrived. He reached past her and picked up the list, and Kelly felt her breath lock in her throat when his arm brushed her shoulder. She couldn’t seem to breathe so that it was left to him to speak.

‘There is a case I would like to discuss with you, Kelly.’ He glanced at her and she realised that he had no inkling what was happening to her. His tone was perfectly level when he continued and contrarily she couldn’t help the feeling of disappointment that swept through her. ‘It will be easier if we do it after clinic is over so come to my office when you have finished your list.’

He didn’t wait for her to reply before he left—didn’t need to, either. He was in charge and she was there to carry out his instructions. However, as the door closed behind him, Kelly knew that their working relationship had nothing to do with the way she was feeling right then.

She hurriedly left the office and went to the consulting room the registrars used. A plastic strip bearing her name had been slotted into place on the door and she stopped to look at it, needing to remind herself who she was: Dr Kelly Carlyon. Junior Registrar. Clinical Care.

She was a member of Luca’s team now and nothing more. She had to forget that he was the man she had loved with all her heart if she intended to stay here. There must be no more looking back at the past, and definitely no repeat of what had happened just now.

Heat suffused her as she recalled the way his arm had brushed against her. It had been the most fleeting contact yet she could feel her skin tingling as it had always done whenever Luca had touched her. Luca had been the most wonderful lover. She’d had little experience when they had met, but he had taught her to how to give love and how to receive it as well. She had come alive in his arms, but she mustn’t make the mistake of thinking it could happen again. Luca was a married man now and even if she stayed, he could never make her feel like that again.

A sob rose in her throat as she hurriedly entered the office but she forced it down. Dropping the files onto the desk, she took off her jacket and put on a clean white coat. She smoothed down the collar then checked her appearance in the mirror over the handbasin, wanting to be sure that everything was in order before her patients arrived.

Her dark red hair was neatly coiled at the nape of her neck in the style she favoured for work. She’d decided to wear a touch of make-up that morning to bolster her courage and the slick of lip gloss and coat of mascara added to the overall picture of a woman in control of her life. On the outside, at least, she looked much the same as she always did. It was only her eyes that betrayed her inner turbulence.

Pain lanced through her as she studied the shadows that clouded their sea-green depths. The fact that Luca had been completely unmoved when they’d touched just now hurt unbearably. Once, she would have confidently claimed that he’d loved her as much as she had loved him, but she’d been wrong. Luca hadn’t loved her then and he most certainly didn’t love her now.

‘Come in.’

Luca steeled himself as the door opened but it was only Serafina with some messages for him. He thanked her, shaking his head when she asked him if he wanted a cup of coffee. ‘No. Grazie.’

He managed to hold his smile until she left but the tension was starting to tell on him. All morning long he had tried to forget how it had felt when he had brushed against Kelly but he’d failed. He could still feel it deep inside him—her softly yielding flesh, her smooth firm skin, her heat.

He swore softly, fluently, using the language he had learned as a child growing up in one of the poorest parts of Italy. The people in charge of the children’s home where he had been sent to live had called it gutter language and had washed out his mouth with soap and water, but even that hadn’t stopped him. It had been the only way he had been able to release the pain and anger that burned inside him.

It hadn’t been until he had finished his degree that he had taught himself not to say the ugly words out loud. The anger had still been there, of course, along with the painful memories of his childhood. It had only been when he had met Kelly that they had started to fade. She’d made him see that he was no longer that ragged, unkempt urchin but a man whom a woman could love. The man Kelly had loved.

How it hurt to know that he could have had a lifetime of her love if things had been different. It wasn’t that he had thrown it heedlessly away—he’d had no choice. Sophia had needed him and he couldn’t have lived with himself if he had abandoned her and her unborn child. He had traded one kind of love for another and he didn’t regret his decision. He had loved Kelly with all his heart, but she hadn’t needed him like Sophia had done.

Luca jumped when there was a second knock on the door. ‘Come in,’ he called, picking up the bundle of messages so it would appear as though he had been doing something useful instead of sitting there, daydreaming.

He heard the door open and footsteps cross the room but he didn’t look up. He didn’t need to. He knew it was Kelly, he could smell her scent, hear her breathing, feel her presence in every fibre of his being. He allowed himself a single, glorious second to savour the sensations that washed through him then banished them to where those memories resided. He had indulged himself enough for one day.

‘How was clinic?’ His tone was cool, distant, polite, the voice he used with all his staff. Luca Ferrero, the physician, gave away nothing about himself, neither the man he was today nor the child he had been. He didn’t fraternise with his colleagues because he didn’t have the time. Every second of every day was devoted either to his work or his son and that’s how he intended it to continue, especially now that Kelly was here. Kelly was the one person who could make him question the path he had chosen, the only one who could make him want more than he had.