Wish Upon a Star

To remind him that the mother of his children was also a living, breathing sexual woman.

If she was going to follow Jake’s advice and fight, then what better place to start than at a party?

Ben frowned. ‘But if you go out then it means you can’t read my story.’

‘I’ll read your story.’ Katy elbowed her brother hard and beamed at both of them. ‘Sounds great! A lovely, family day. Christmas tree followed by Snow Ball. Can’t wait.’

Alessandro’s dark gaze slid towards his daughter. ‘You don’t mind having a babysitter again?’

‘Mind? Why would we mind?’

Ben opened his mouth but closed it again in response to his sister’s quelling look.

Why was he suggesting the party? Christy wondered. Was Alessandro suddenly keen to mend fences, too?

But then she remembered that, apart from that one passionate kiss at the hospital, he hadn’t once laid a finger on her. It was so unlike him that the only possible explanation was that he just didn’t find her attractive any more.

&

nbsp; But Jake was right and she wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

She bit her lip and mentally ran through the contents of her wardrobe.

The situation merited something new. Something sexy and feminine. There was a little boutique not far from the hospital. If she spoke to Nicky and skipped food, she should just about have time at lunchtime.

Alessandro poured himself a coffee and ran a hand over his rough jaw. ‘I need to go and shave,’ he said gruffly, ‘I’ll see you at work.’

The heavy snow had played havoc with the roads and pavements and A and E was crowded with people who had slipped on the ice.

‘Show me another Colles’ fracture and I’m resigning,’ Nicky groaned as she carried a pile of X-rays towards fracture clinic. ‘I wish people would just stay at home and watch television. I can’t remember when I last ate and I am starving. ‘

At that moment the ambulance hotline rang and Nicky scooped up the phone, tucking the X-rays under her arm as she listened and asked questions.

‘Child swallowed mother’s iron tablets,’ she called out as she replaced the phone, ‘ETA five minutes. Will you and Alessandro take this one because I must get round to fracture clinic.’

Christy nodded and Alessandro came striding down the corridor in a dark suit that emphasised the width of his shoulders.

‘He’s been upstairs with the powers that be, arguing for more staff,’ Nicky muttered as he strode towards them, ‘and judging from the black look on his face, he didn’t win. Can’t imagine why. He always intimidates me when he’s in one of his cold moods.’

‘Two sides to a coin,’ Christy muttered, and Nicky frowned.

‘Sorry?’

Christy shook her head. ‘Nothing.’ But she knew that underneath his sometimes remote, chilly exterior was a boiling, red-hot passion capable of erupting with volcanic force.

‘Despite having lived in this country for the past twelve years, sometimes I still think there is a language barrier,’ Alessandro growled, and then switched into a flow of rapid Spanish that was incomprehensible to all except Christy.

Nicky blinked and turned to Christy. ‘All right, you’re married to the guy—translation, please.’

Christy smiled. She knew enough Spanish to have picked up the gist of his tirade and most of it wasn’t polite. ‘He’s basically saying that they weren’t that sympathetic but he told them that we need more staff or the unit will have to close,’ she said smoothly, choosing to leave out the blunter aspects of Alessandro’s invective.

Alessandro lifted an eyebrow in mockery. ‘Selective translation, querida?’

‘My Spanish isn’t good enough,’ Christy lied, but her eyes twinkled. ‘There were several words that I didn’t recognise.’

Alessandro stared at her for a long moment and her heart rate started to increase.

Nicky cleared her throat. ‘I hate to interrupt this little multi-cultural interlude but if you’d stop gibbering in a foreign language for a moment, I might be able to hand over the details of this child and get to X-Ray before some sad patient complains about the level of service in this place. I don’t want to be tomorrow’s headlines in the tabloids, if it’s all the same to you. Call me fussy, but “Patients Abandoned by Killer Nurse” wouldn’t make my mum’s day.’