The Doctor's Runaway Bride

‘No bed?’ Tia looked at her stupidly and Sharon grinned.

‘Tough one, huh? Personally I can’t imagine living with a man like Luca and having no bed, but I suppose it does make sense in a sort of twisted way. It seems to me that all you’ve shared so far is passion and none of the other things that you share when you’re developing a relationship with someone. Maybe if you knew him better you’d know whether he was the sort of person likely to have an affair.’

‘It isn’t always stamped on a man’s forehead, you know,’ Tia mumbled. ‘My poor mother thought my father loved her, was faithful, and then—’

‘Yes,’ Sharon interrupted her quickly, ‘but let’s not think about that now. You’re not throwing away the chance of a relationship with a man like Luca just because your father was less than perfect.’

‘But—’

‘Just give it a go, Tia,’ Sharon advised. ‘What have you got to lose? If you decide that it isn’t going to work, that you really can’t trust him, then go your separate ways. You won’t be any worse off for giving it a try.’

Tia stared at her. Wouldn’t she?

Maybe Sharon was ri

ght. On the other hand, she had an uncomfortable feeling that the more time she spent with Luca, the harder it would be to let him go.

‘But we’re so different, Shaz,’ she said simply. ‘Even forgetting about the Luisa thing, we’re different. For a start, he hates me working and you know that I need to work.’

‘I think once he gets to know you, he’ll understand why you need to work.’ Sharon’s face was suddenly serious. ‘You say that you don’t really know him, but how much does he really know about you?’

Tia felt her heart flutter in her chest. ‘Probably not very much.’

Sharon nodded slowly. ‘It strikes me that the pair of you have got too many secrets. Have you told him that you’ve always been scared of having children?’

‘Hardly.’ Tia gripped her mug tightly. ‘He’s Italian, Shaz,’ she croaked. ‘Italian men love children. How can I possibly tell him that I’m terrified of being a mother?’

‘I think what’s important is that you’re honest with each other, and I really think that you need to tell him what you heard his mother and Luisa saying the day of your wedding.’

‘No.’ Tia shook her head stubbornly. ‘Definitely not that. That is something that he needs to tell me himself.’

But would he?

CHAPTER FOUR

‘YOU’RE very quiet,’ Luca observed as he drove them both home. ‘Are you upset?’

Upset and confused.

Tia glanced sideways at him and then wished she hadn’t. Every time she looked at his mouth her stomach swooped in the direction of her shoes and she felt an almost desperate need for him to kiss her as only he could.

‘This whole situation is such a mess,’ she muttered, rubbing slim fingers over her forehead to ease the tension. ‘We don’t know each other, Luca.’

Luca’s gaze didn’t leave the road. ‘And there is a simple solution to that, as we have already agreed. We get to know each other.’ He turned into the lane that led to the cottage, pulled up and switched the engine off. ‘Have you considered what I proposed earlier?’

The smooth Italian accent was enough to melt a polar icecap and she felt her heart start to beat faster. It had always been like that with Luca. One look, one word had been all it took to set her on fire. He hadn’t actually needed to touch her to get a reaction, but when he had…

But could there really be more between them than a breathtakingly powerful attraction?

Or was Luisa the woman he really wanted?

‘I—I don’t know, Luca,’ she said finally, her head starting to throb with the stress of the situation.

He nodded slowly. ‘You are treating this like a major life decision, but perhaps you should look at it another way,’ he suggested, his voice calm and level. ‘Already you are expecting our baby. You owe it to our family to take some time to make this relationship work.’

Our family.

Tia felt a lump building in her throat. He made it sound simple and straightforward but, of course, it wasn’t.