toxic too? Because I’m not going to get involved with someone who’s waiting for me to slip up or who’s out the door at the first sign of trouble wearing a gas mask.’
Luca, buoyed by the concession that she might actually be thinking of getting involved with him, placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed his thumbs against the polar fleece of the thick robe.
‘I’m not saying that this doesn’t scare me, that it’s not new territory, but as you said last night I can’t let an unhappy past, one that I can’t change, ruin a chance at a happy future. Neither of us can, Mia.’
Mia felt tears well in her eyes. This couldn’t possibly be true, could it? Could he actually love her back?
‘Oh, Mia,’ he murmured, drawing her against him. ‘Don’t cry, Mia. I love you.’
Mia shut her eyes tight as his accent washed over her like syrup and she allowed herself a moment to inhale the essence of him. Less than two months ago she hadn’t even known this man. Just last night she’d realised the utter depth of her feelings for him. And realised he couldn’t love her back.
Could she have been wrong?
‘This is just the near-death experience talking.’
She tried to break out of his grasp but Luca held her tighter. Her voice was muffled against his shirt but he heard every word.
‘No, Mia, no.’ He eased her gently back. ‘It may have been the jolt that removed the blinkers from my eyes, but this isn’t sudden. I’ve known deep inside, deep in my heart since that night in the on-call room, that you were special. That you were more than just another woman.’
The sincerity in his eyes and in his husky accented voice called to her on a primal level. She laid her head back on his chest as she allowed the possibilities to bloom. ‘I thought we were going to die last night and that I’d never get the chance to love you.’
Luca hugged her close as her words sang like an opera in his heart. ‘You love me,’ he said.
He’d hoped, he’d wondered, he’d wished. But to hear her say the words meant more than his next breath.
‘I didn’t want to,’ Mia murmured.
Luca chuckled as he stroked her hair. ‘Well, it’s just as well we don’t always get what we want.’
‘Oh, Luca.’ She pulled back and looked into his eyes, oozing love and joy. ‘I love you so much, I couldn’t bear anything to happen to us.’
Luca placed a finger across her mouth, shushing her, knowing what she was thinking. ‘I’m not your father, Mia. And you are not Marissa. We’re us and we won’t make the same mistakes.’
And then he lowered his head and drifted the sweetest, softest kiss across her mouth she’d ever experienced. Her eyes fluttered closed and she sighed.
‘Promise?’ she murmured against his lips.
Luca chuckled. ‘Promise.’
EPILOGUE
TWO weeks later a limousine carrying Luca in a tuxedo and a glamorously dressed but blindfolded Mia glided to a halt outside the Sydney Opera House.
‘We’re here,’ Luca announced.
Mia laughed. ‘Luca, for the last time, where are we going?’
‘Patience,’ he teased, kissing her nose. ‘Patience. Although we could just drive around in the back all night …’ he dropped a kiss behind her ear ‘… and christen the seats …’ His lips nuzzled her neck.
Mia laughed and pushed him away playfully. ‘Oh, no. No way.’
The door opened and Luca grinned at the chauffeur. ‘Okay, then, let’s go.’ He helped Mia out and once she was standing steadily he removed her blindfold.
Mia blinked as the illuminated sails of the Opera House filled her vision. She smiled at him. ‘We’re going to see a show?’
Luca smiled down at the woman he loved. ‘The ballet, actually.’
Mia looked at the tickets he thrust into her hands. She read the fancy printing several times before it registered. She looked up at him, the man she loved, so tall and handsome and so, so hers.
‘Swan Lake,’ she whispered, hugging the tickets close. ‘Oh, Luca … thank you.’
Mia beamed up at her Italian angel. She wasn’t sure when she’d stopped seeing the devil but tonight all she could see was a pair of luminescent wings and a bright golden halo.
And he was all hers.
* * *
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II BV/S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
First published in Great Britain 2012
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited.
Harlequin (UK) Limited, Eton House,
18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Harlequin Books S.A. 2012
Special thanks and acknowledgement are given to Alison Ahearn for her contribution to the Sydney Harbour Hospital series
ISBN: 978-1-408-97572-5
Table of Contents
Excerpt
About the Author
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Copyright
Table of Contents
Excerpt
About the Author
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Copyright