The Christmas Marriage Rescue (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 4)

‘Look, sweetheart, you’re too young to understand at the moment.’ She kept her tone modulated and reasonable. ‘But you have to leave this to Daddy and I. We’ll sort it out together in our own way.’

Katy put her hands on her hips and gave an innocent smile. ‘You think so?’ And she turned on her heel and left the room.

Alessandro swore softly in Spanish. ‘I will speak to her—’

‘No.’ Christy shook her head. ‘She’s upset. I’ll talk to her later, when she’s had time to calm down.’

‘And what are you going to tell her? That this was your choice? I need to get back to the hospital.’ He gave her a long, burning look loaded with accusation and then strode out of the room. Christy stared after him, feeling numb. It was clear that he blamed her for the entire situation and the knowledge that he’d absolved himself of all responsibility should have stoked her anger. Instead, it left her feeling exhausted. She’d known Alessandro angry, she’d known him passionate but she’d never known him cold before now.

There was no hope for them. None at all.

And it promised to be anything but a happy and peaceful Christmas.

CHAPTER TWO

ALESSANDRO drove too fast, eyes narrowed, hands gripping the steering-wheel of his sports car.

He’d put her in the spare room, expecting to get a reaction, expecting her to throw herself into his arms. She hadn’t even blinked.

Until she’d walked out three months earlier, they’d never even slept apart. Now she was behaving as though separate beds were an everyday occurrence.

Clearly it was what she wanted.

He parked in his space, still thinking about Christy, oblivious to the biting cold or the wail of approaching sirens.

She’d looked more beautiful than ever. She was the only woman he’d ever met who could appear so impossibly slender and yet still manage to have curves in all the right places. The gorgeous blue jumper had brought out the amazing colour of her eyes and her silky soft hair had tumbled past her shoulders like a blatant taunt. Had she done that on purpose? She knew how much he adored her hair. And then there were her legs, long, slim and tempting in those ridiculously high heels. She looked sexy and alluring and nothing like the way that a respectably married mother of two children was supposed to look.

Had she already taken another lover?

Discovering the meaning of insecurity for the first time in his life, Alessandro climbed out of the car, battling against a burning desire to put his fist through something. An ominous expression on his handsome face, he slammed his way through the doors that led from the ambulance bay into the department and almost crashed into his colleague.

‘What are you doing here? We weren’t expecting you back.’ Sean Nicholson, the senior consultant in the A and E department and the leader of the mountain rescue team, took a step back, eyebrows raised in question.

Alessandro dragged in a breath and bottled up his temper. ‘We’re short-staffed,’ he said tightly. ‘And this seems as good a place to be as any.’

Sean’s eyes narrowed. ‘That bad, eh?’

‘Don’t ask.’

‘Doesn’t do to run away from women,’ Sean drawled. ‘They catch up with you in the end.’

Only if they want to, Alessandro mused, his temper still stewing and simmering. Clearly Christy wanted no more to do with him. She’d moved out, come home only because she wanted the children to have a family Christmas, and she had no qualms about sleeping in the spare room.

Sean thrust a set on notes into his hand. ‘Well, I’m not sorry you’re here. This place is starting to resemble a war zone.’

A bit like home, then, Alessandro thought bitterly, walking through to a cubicle to see the patient that Sean had given him, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Sean caught his arm.

‘Alessandro?’ Sean’s eyes were suddenly intent and thoughtful. ‘I don’t suppose Christy wants to come back to work, does she? Just for the two weeks leading up to Christmas? We’ve got six nurses off sick at the moment. The numbers just aren’t adding up.’

‘Christy?’ Alessandro frowned. ‘She’s a practice nurse…’

Sean raised his eyebrows. ‘Only for the last few years,’ he said, his tone mild. ‘Before that she was an A and E nurse, and a damn good one. I know it’s a long shot, but…’ He caught the dubious look on Alessandro’s face and gave a shrug. ‘Give it some thought.’ He walked off and Alessandro stared after him.

It had been years since Christy had worked in A and E. She’d carried on working in the department part time after Katy’s birth, but once Ben had arrived she’d given up completely for a few years and then taken a part-time job in the local GP practice.

Why would Sean think she could fill the gap in A and E? She’d be out of her depth, out of touch, unable to cope with the pressure—it was a ridiculous suggestion. Christy was a mother now. The children were her priority. There was no way she’d be able to cope with the demands of A and E.

He dismissed the thought instantly and buried himself in work. He worked through a long and busy night without taking a break and eventually arrived home at five in the morning.