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About the Author
JENNIFER TAYLOR lives in the north-west of England, in a small village surrounded by some really beautiful countryside. She has written for several different Mills & Boon® series in the past, but it wasn’t until she read her first Medical™ Romance that she truly found her niche. She was so captivated by these heartwarming stories that she set out to write them herself! When she’s not writing, or doing research for her latest book, Jennifer’s hobbies include reading, gardening, travel, and chatting to friends both on and off-line. She is always delighted to hear from readers, so do visit her website at www.jennifer-taylor.com
Recent titles by Jennifer Taylor:
SMALL TOWN MARRIAGE MIRACLE
THE MIDWIFE’S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
THE DOCTOR’S BABY BOMBSHELL*
THE GP’S MEANT-TO-BE BRIDE*
MARRYING THE RUNAWAY BRIDE*
THE SURGEON’S FATHERHOOD SURPRISE**
*Dalverston Weddings
**Brides of Penhally Bay
Recent titles by Lucy Clark:
THE BOSS SHE CAN’T RESIST
WEDDING ON THE BABY WARD
SPECIAL CARE BABY MIRACLE
DOCTOR DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
THE DOCTOR’S SOCIETY SWEETHEART
THE DOCTOR’S DOUBLE TROUBLE
These books are also available in ebook format
from www.millsandboon.co.uk
Gina’s
Little Secret
Jennifer Taylor
MILLS & BOON
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CHAPTER ONE
4 p.m. 11 December
‘THAT was ED on the phone. Bet you can’t guess what they wanted?’
Sister Georgina Lee groaned as she looked up from the computer. ‘Don’t tell me—they want us to find yet another bed for yet another patient.’
‘Got it in one!’ Rosie James, their young student nurse, grinned. ‘Give yourself a pat on the back.’
‘I would do if I had the time to spare.’ Gina’s expression was wry as she glanced at the computer screen. ‘It’s the third time I’ve tried to fill in this order form. At this rate, we’re going to run out of basic supplies.’
‘It has been busy,’ Rosie agreed. ‘I had no idea that life on the acute assessment unit would be so hectic. I thought it would be a doddle, to be honest. Patients would be sent here for a couple of hours and then they’d either be moved to a ward or sent home.’
‘That’s what most folk believe if they haven’t worked here.’ Gina laughed, her slate-grey eyes filled with amusement. ‘It’s what I thought happened here too when I took this job. I soon discovered how wrong I was!’
‘It must have been a shock,’ Rosie suggested.
Gina shrugged. ‘A bit, but I must admit that I enjoy the variety. If you work on a ward like Women’s Surgical, for instance, then you know that your patients will be either preparing for an operation or recovering from one. In here, you never know what you’re going to have to deal with. It certainly keeps you on your toes.’
‘I suppose so, although I’m not sure I’d be able to cope with the pressure, long term,’ Rosie admitted.
‘It’s not for everyone,’ Gina said firmly, not wanting the younger woman to feel discouraged. She shot another glance at the screen and stood up. ‘We’d better go and see if we can sort out a bed. Mr Walker in the end bay is supposed to be moving to Cardiology, so maybe we can sweet-talk them into taking him sooner than planned.’
Gina led the way, pausing en route to let the rest of the staff know that another admission was on the way. She smiled when her friend, Julie Grey, groaned. ‘I know how you feel, Jules. We’re bursting at the seams as it is. At this rate we’ll soon be having to use the staffroom!’
‘Either that or leave patients on trolleys in the corridor as used to happen in the past,’ Julie said ruefully.
‘Thank heavens those days are gone,’ Gina retorted. ‘The thought of any patient being abandoned like that makes my blood run cold.’
‘We all hated it,’ Julie assured her. ‘This new unit might get crowded but it’s a huge improvement on how things used to be.’
Gina left the staff to get on with their work and went to have a word with Frank Walker. He had been rushed in by ambulance at lunchtime complaining of chest pains. Subsequent tests had shown blockages to three of the main coronary arteries and the decision had been made to perform a bypass. Now Gina smiled as she stopped beside his bed.
‘So how are you feeling now, Mr Walker?’
‘So-so. The pain has eased off thanks to the medication, so that’s a blessing.’ He sighed. ‘I suppose I’ve only got myself to blame. My wife’s been nagging me for years to stop smoking and eat sensibly but I took no notice. I thought she was making a fuss about nothing.’
‘It’s hard to accept advice sometimes,’ Gina said tactfully. ‘Still, once you’ve had the bypass done, you’ll feel a lot better.’
‘Do you think so?’ Frank looked worried. ‘Oh, I know that young chap who came to see me was very dismissive, but you can’t help worrying, can you? I mean, they have to stop your heart and everything.’
‘Yes, they do, but they attach you to a special machine which takes over the jobs your heart and lungs would normally do,’ Gina explained, wishing, not for the first time, that Miles Humphreys had a better bedside manner. An operation such as this might be routine to him but it certainly wasn’t routine for the patient.
‘So you think it’s quite safe, do you, Sister?’ Frank said anxiously. ‘And that I should have it done?’
‘I do. Although it’s a major operation, it’s performed frequently. And I know for a fact that the cardio team here at St Saviour’s are highly skilled.’ She patted Frank’s hand. ‘You’ll be fine, I promise you.’
‘Thank you.’ Frank smiled at her. ‘I feel much happier now. Shame that young doctor didn’t take the time to reassure me like you’ve just done. You should give him a few tips on how to talk to his patients.’
Gina smiled although she didn’t say anything. Talking to Miles was something she was trying to avoid. Ever since he’d asked her out on a date and she’d refused, there’d been an atmosphere when he came into the ward. If only he would accept that there was nothing personal about her refusing his invitation.
She sighed as she went to phone the cardiology unit. The truth was she wasn’t interested in Miles or any other man. She’d had her heart broken once and there was no way that she was going to risk it happening again, especially when it could impact on Lily. Making sure that her two-year-old daughter was safe and happy was all that mattered. There was no room in her life for a relationship.
Frank Walker had just been transferred to the cardiology unit when the porters arrived with their latest admission. Gina was in the office, making yet another attempt to get to grips with the paperwork, but she went out to meet them. Julie had already directed them to the end bay and they were manoeuvring the bed into place when Gina got there.
‘So, who have we got?’ she asked, unclipping the notes from the foot rail. She glanced at the patient’s details. Name: Marco Andretti. Age: thirty-seven. Address: Villa Rosa, Florence, Italy. Just for a moment the full impact of what she was reading didn’t hit her and then all of a sudden her heart began to pound. It had to be a mistake! It couldn’t be her Marco….
Could it?
Gina took a deep breath as she forced herself to look at the man lying on the bed. His eyes were shut and the right side of his head was swathed in a thick white dressing but neither of those things mattered. As her eyes drank in the olive-tanned skin, the elegant nose, the chiselled jaw and sensuous curve of his mouth she felt panic assail her. It was Marco. There was no mistake about that!
‘Gina? Hey, are you OK?’
Gina jumped when Julie tapped her on the arm. She knew there was no point claiming that she was fine because her friend wouldn’t believe her. ‘I … urn … I feel a bit queasy, that’s all. I expect I’m hungry.’
‘Probably because you worked straight through your break.’ Julie made flapping movements with her hands. ‘Go on, scoot! You go and make yourself a cup of coffee. We can manage here, can’t we, Rosie?’
‘Well, if you’re sure.’ Gina turned away when the older woman nodded. Normally, she wouldn’t have dreamt of leaving the staff to settle in a new patient without her being present, but this wasn’t a normal situation, was it? A wave of hysterical laughter welled up inside her and she pressed her hand to her mouth as she made her way to the staffroom. Thankfully, there was nobody in there so she switched on the kettle then sank down on a chair as her legs suddenly gave way.
What twist of fate had brought Marco here to the very hospital where she worked? she wondered dizzily. It would be three years this Christmas since she had seen him last, three whole years since he had told her bluntly that he didn’t envisage them ever having a future together. His expression had been so cold that any protests she might have made had remained unuttered. What would have been the point of trying to convince him that they’d had something special, something worth fighting for, when he obviously hadn’t believed that himself? She couldn’t have made him love her, definitely wouldn’t have begged him to, so she had done what he had wanted and walked away.
Gina’s heart was heavy as she recalled that terrible period in her life. She had wondered in the beginning if once she had gone, he might realise that he missed her more than he had thought; however, as the weeks had passed, and he had made no attempt to contact her, she had accepted how foolish she’d been to hope for that. Marco may have enjoyed making love to her. He may even have enjoyed spending time with her for a short while, but he had never needed her as a permanent part of his life.
It had been hard to face that fact but at least it had made it easier to decide what to do when Lily was born. But now Marco was here and Gina knew that his reappearance in her life would have repercussions. It was bound to. Marco was Lily’s father. He had a daughter he knew nothing about.
CHAPTER TWO
‘RIGHT, everything’s sorted. One of the neuro team will be here shortly … Hello! Earth to Gina—are you receiving me?’
‘What?’ Gina jumped when Julie appeared in front of her. She took a quick breath, forcing the feeling of panic to retreat if not to actually disappear. The situation was way too volatile to hope that would happen.
‘Sorry, I was miles away,’ she said, getting up to spoon instant coffee into a couple of mugs. She added boiling water then reached for the sugar jar, deriving comfort from the familiar routine. Maybe that was the answer, she thought suddenly. Behave normally and Marco wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong. After all, there was no reason to tell him about Lily, was there?
‘Here, let me do that. I know I like my coffee sweet but three spoons of sugar is too much even for me!’ Julie edged her aside, tipping the offending brew down the sink before starting again from scratch. She treated Gina to an old-fashioned look as she handed her a fresh mug of coffee. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say the sight of our dishy new patient has knocked you for six.’
‘Rubbish!’ Gina gave a sharp little laugh, anxious to stamp on that idea before it could take hold. The last thing she needed was people speculating. ‘I’m just hungry, as I said. I didn’t have time to eat anything before I came into work, so it’s my own fault.’
‘I’ve got some sandwiches left. Here you go.’ Julie handed her a plastic container then leant against the work top while she drank her coffee.
‘Thanks.’ Gina forced herself to bite into one of the thick ham sandwiches even though the last thing she felt like doing was eating. Could she pull it off, make sure that Marco remained unaware of Lily’s existence? After all, he would only be in AAU for a short while; he would either be moved to a ward or discharged depending on what treatment he required. There was no reason why she should bring up the subject of their daughter.
Pain speared through her and she hurriedly took another bite of the sandwich. Their daughter, the child they had conceived together. She had truly believed that they had been making love when it must have happened, but that wasn’t how Marco had viewed it. It couldn’t have been. It had just been sex for him, pure and simple, and the fact that it had resulted in a beautiful, healthy little girl was incidental.
‘I’ve not dealt with a case like this before. It’s one of those things you read about but rarely experience.’
Gina looked up when she realised that once again her thoughts had been running off at a tangent. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Amnesia. Hopefully, he’ll recover his memory soon, but it must be really scary, not knowing who you are.’
‘You’re talking about Marco?’ Gina queried, then flushed when Julie looked at her in surprise. ‘That is his name, isn’t it? I think that’s what it said in his notes.’
‘Yes, that’s right. Marco Andretti. Apparently he’s a doctor, a trauma specialist, no less. I don’t know if that makes it better or worse, do you?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ Gina replied, struggling to follow what her friend was saying. ‘Are you telling me that he’s lost his memory?’
‘Hmm. Seems he had no idea who he was or where he was going when he was brought into ED. All the paramedics could tell them was that he was on his way from Heathrow when he was involved in an RTA.’
‘So how did they find out his name?’
‘One of the staff went through his pockets and found his passport—they got the details from that. They also found a letter confirming the time and date of an interview for the post of Head of Trauma care at the Southern Free. He must be pretty high up the ladder if he’s being interviewed for a post like that.’ Julie grimaced. ‘Not that it helps very much at the moment. It must be awful for him, mustn’t it? He’s all on his own in a strange country and he hasn’t got a clue who he is.’
‘So what’s going to happen next?’ Gina asked, her head reeling from what she had learned. Marco had come to London to attend an interview? She had never imagined that he would leave Italy and the news threw her so that it was hard to concentrate when Julie continued.
‘The police are going to try to contact his family. I expect he’s married. I can’t imagine a gorgeous hunk like him being single, can you? Hopefully, his wife will be able to fly over to be with him. One thing’s certain, though—he’s going to need a lot of support until he gets his memory back.’
Gina put the sandwich down after Julie left. Standing up, she went to the door. She could just see the end bay from where she stood although she couldn’t see the man who was lying in the bed there. So Marco had lost his memory? He didn’t remember who he was or anything about his life? She too had read about this kind of thing happening, but had never experienced it. Would he remember her? she wondered suddenly.
Her heart began to race. In one way it would be so much easier if he had forgotten about her, yet in another she couldn’t bear to think that those few weeks they’d spent together might have been expunged from his mind forever. Even though it was crazy to feel like this, she knew she had to find out.
She closed the staffroom door and made her way back to the ward. Everything was starting to settle down now as the patients adjusted to the idea that they were in hospital. There was open visiting in AAU and there were a number of friends and relatives gathered around the beds, but even they seemed calmer. It was always a shock when a loved one was rushed into hospital and people reacted in many different ways to the stress.
Gina had learned to cope with it all, the anger, the fear, the questions. It was rare that anything fazed her but she had to admit that her nerves were jangling as she approached the end bay. Marco still had his eyes closed and didn’t seem aware of her presence as she stood beside the bed, looking down at him. He had always been an extremely handsome man and nothing had changed in that respect. His body looked as lean and fit as ever beneath the thin hospital gown, his skin glowed with good health, his dark hair was lustrous and thick. Only the few strands of grey at his temples proved that time had passed, but even they did little to detract from his appeal.
Gina felt her stomach muscles clench as a wave of awareness rushed through her. Despite everything Marco had said and done three years ago, despite how much he had hurt her, she was still attracted to him!
Marco could feel the blood pounding inside his skull. He knew it was a result of the accident because the ED consultant had explained it to him. When the car he had been travelling in had collided with a lorry that had pulled out in front of them, he had hit his head and suffered a concussion. That accounted for the headache but did it really explain why he couldn’t remember who he was or where he’d been going?
He opened his eyes, gripping hold of the rails at the sides of the bed when the room swam sickeningly. Taking a deep breath, he forced the nausea to subside and focused on his surroundings. White walls, blue curtains, a familiar smell of antiseptic, which all added up to his being in hospital. He knew where he was. He also knew that it was somewhere he was used to being, too.
Marco frowned as he tried to make sense of that idea. Had he been ill recently, so ill that he had needed a prolonged stay in hospital? He didn’t think so. Apart from the headache, he felt quite well, not like someone who was recovering from an illness. So if he hadn’t been a patient, had he worked in a hospital in some capacity?
That idea seemed much more fitting. He closed his eyes again as he let it seep into his consciousness. He worked in a hospital? Yes, that was right. He knew instinctively it was true. And yet there was something odd about being here, something not related to the fact that normally he wouldn’t be lying in bed …
It was the voices, he realised with a start. Or, more accurately, the fact that they were speaking English. Although he understood what was being said, he knew that English wasn’t his first language. What was?
‘Dr Andretti. Can you hear me?’
Marco’s eyes shot open when a quiet voice spoke beside him. Turning his head, he saw a nurse standing beside the bed. She was small and blonde, her hair caught back at the nape of her neck with a dark blue ribbon that matched the blue of her uniform. Marco felt something stir inside him, something that felt almost like recognition. He had the strangest feeling that he had seen her before, but before he could work out where, she spoke again.
‘How do you feel?’
Her voice was soft, husky, and Marco felt a ripple of awareness run through him. The low, sweet tone of her voice was oddly soothing as it flowed along his taut nerves. For the first time since he had regained consciousness in the back of the ambulance he didn’t feel afraid.
‘I am not sure.’ His own voice sounded rough and he paused while he tried to work some moisture into his mouth. The nurse must have realised his dilemma because she reached for the jug and filled a glass with water. Bending, she slid her hand beneath his head and raised it a fraction while she held the glass to his lips.
‘Take a sip of this,’ she instructed, tilting the glass so that a trickle of cool water slid between his lips.
Marco swallowed greedily, frowning when she took the glass away, and she smiled faintly, her grey eyes filled with understanding. ‘You’ll be sick if you drink too much. You can have another sip in a moment.’
She gently removed her hand and he felt a wave of disappointment wash over him that owed nothing to the fact that he’d been deprived of the water. Why should it have felt so good to have her touch him like that? he wondered. And why did he want her to touch him again?
He watched as she placed the glass on the bedside cabinet, studying the gentle curve of her cheek, the sweeping length of her lashes, the upward tilt of her small nose. She was extremely pretty in a very English way with that fine, pale skin and those delicate features. Everything about her was refined, feminine, and he found it very appealing. He realised with a start that he was attracted to her, even though she was very different in appearance from Francesca.
The memory slid into his mind without any warning. He remembered who Francesca was, how she had looked … everything! Pain lanced through him and he closed his eyes, wondering if he could bear to go through the agony all over again. If this was what it felt like to get his memory back, he would rather forget!
Gina frowned as she looked down at Marco. His eyes were tightly shut and his hands were clenched into fists. Bending, she felt for his pulse, concerned in case he had taken a sudden turn for the worse. Head injuries were notoriously difficult to treat and it wasn’t unknown for a patient’s condition to deteriorate in the blink of an eye.
The thought sent a shaft of fear scudding through her. Gina’s fingers tightened around his wrist as she counted the life-giving beats. Julie should have put him on a monitor, she thought as she made a rapid calculation. He needed his blood pressure checked and his oxygen saturation levels monitored. You really couldn’t take any chances with an injury like this.
His eyes suddenly opened and she felt her own blood pressure zoom several notches up the scale when she found herself staring into their golden-brown depths. Was that recognition she could see in his gaze? Had Marco remembered who she was? The thought scared her and she let his hand drop back onto the bed, afraid that her touch would be the catalyst to make him regain his memory. She didn’t want that to happen until she had worked out what she should do about Lily!
‘I’d be happier if you were on a monitor,’ she said hurriedly, ashamed that she could think that way. It must be terrible for Marco to lose his memory and she should be doing everything she could to help him.
Everything except telling him about Lily and how the little girl had been conceived, a small voice whispered inside her head.
‘Just lie there and try to relax while I fetch it,’ she instructed as calmly as she could. She hurried away, afraid that he would realise something was wrong if she lingered. There was a spare monitor outside the office so she went to fetch it then hesitated, unsure if she should go back at that moment. Although she wanted him to recover his memory, maybe it would be better if she steered clear. He would be going up to Neurology soon and once he left AAU that would be the last she needed to see of him. When Rosie appeared, she called her over.
‘Can you set this up in the end bay for Dr Andretti? I want you to keep an eye on him, too. Don’t let him go to sleep. We need to check there’s nothing brewing.’
‘But ED said he was OK,’ Rosie protested. ‘He’s had a CT scan and it was clear.’
‘That may be so, but it isn’t unknown for a bleed to develop later,’ Gina said sharply. ‘That’s why he’s been sent here, so we can monitor what’s happening.’
‘Oh, I see. Sorry. I just assumed he was here because of losing his memory.’ Rosie looked so downcast that Gina instantly regretted being so brusque with her.
‘That’s certainly one of the reasons why he was sent to us, I imagine. Hopefully, someone from the neuro team will be here soon. I’ll give them a call and see what’s happening. But in the meantime, we’ll apply both belt and braces, i.e. put him on a monitor and do fifteen-minute obs.’
‘I understand.’ Rosie perked up a bit. She grinned as she manoeuvred the monitor out of the corner. ‘Not that it’s any hardship to keep an eye on him, mind. He’s definitely fit, despite his age!’
Gina laughed as the young nurse hurried away. Anyone would think that Marco was in his dotage if they heard that, whereas from what she had seen, he was in his prime. Her heart gave a little jolt at the thought and she hurried into the office to phone Neurology. They promised to send someone down within the hour so she had to leave it at that. There were other patients who needed her attention, after all; she couldn’t devote herself solely to Marco’s care even if she wanted to, which she didn’t.
She squared her shoulders. Marco had made his feelings perfectly clear three years ago and even though he may have lost his memory, she doubted if he had changed his mind. She hadn’t figured in his life back then and she wouldn’t figure in it now, with or without Lily.
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