Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,54

envy at their evident happiness. As the meal progressed, the conversation turned to Lucy and her new home. Once Daniela had heard that she had spent the previous evening with her mysterious neighbour – whose identity Lucy steadfastly refused to divulge – Daniela spent considerable time digging, not so much to find out who he was, but to find out how Lucy felt about him.

‘So am I right in thinking we’re talking more than just good neighbours?’

Lucy did her best to play down any developing feelings she might have towards David, but Daniela wasn’t a journalist for nothing and she managed to get Lucy to admit that she found him handsome, bright and good company. Reluctantly, Lucy repeated what he had said about his wife no longer living there and added the caveat that for all she knew, he might have been the guilty party responsible for the break-up. Daniela nodded sagely and gave her advice.

‘You’ve got to find out. Why don’t you ask him?’

‘I don’t know him well enough yet. Besides, if I start asking him that sort of stuff, it’ll sound as if I’m after him.’

‘And aren’t you?’

‘No… well, maybe. To be honest, I do find him very attractive, but nothing could ever develop between us as he’s from a completely different world from me. The shoes he was wearing alone probably cost more than my whole outfit. I’d never feel comfortable alongside a millionaire.’ Lucy saw that her friend was about to retort and did her best to change the subject. ‘Besides, I’m quite happy without a man at the moment. To be honest, I’m more concerned about my job.’

‘Why? Problems at work? I thought you said you’d cleared the air with Charles.’

‘It’s not Charles.’ Lucy’s voice tailed off and she glanced around but there was nobody within earshot. ‘And it’s not the work itself. I love the place. It’s got the most amazing state-of-the-art equipment and excellent facilities. I get on well with my colleagues, the director and with almost all of the patients, but I suppose it’s just this hang-up of mine. All men are supposed to be born equal but they aren’t. I’m finding the disparity between these over-privileged few and the millions of less fortunate people in the world increasingly hard to come to terms with.’

‘But didn’t you say your boss at MSF told you not to worry about that sort of thing?’ Daniela stretched out her hand and caught hold of Lucy’s, giving it a little squeeze. ‘I imagine you’re often doing life-saving work, I’m sure. It’s not as if you’re involved with the cosmetic surgery side of the clinic, after all.’

‘I know, but I still can’t get my head round the inequality of it all.’ She looked across the table and sighed. ‘And, if I’m honest, there’s something else. It’s all too easy. I go into work, I do my job, I stop for coffee, I work some more and then I come home again. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s stress-free – of course it’s not – but it’s so totally different compared to the daily struggle I’ve been used to facing.’

‘But isn’t it good to get away from too much stress?’

‘Well, yes, of course, but I felt so wedded to my job in Mabenta and I just don’t feel it here.’

‘And you miss the stress?’

‘It’s not that, really. Like I say, I like most of the patients – and I really wasn’t expecting to – but it’s something inside me. I honestly don’t know if I’m cut out for private medicine.’

‘So are you thinking of leaving? Going back to MSF?’

Lucy shook her head slowly. ‘I really don’t know.’ Apart from anything else, leaving the clinic might well mean losing her little house and, for that matter, her handsome neighbour – millionaire or not, married or not, adulterer or not. ‘Like I say, it’s my problem. I’ve got to figure it out.’

‘Please don’t go off and leave us, Lucy. I know you’re a great surgeon – Bruno never stops singing your praises – but if you really don’t feel right working at the clinic, why don’t you go down to the main hospital in Siena and see if they’re recruiting? I bet they’d jump at having you.’

Any further conjecture was interrupted as the door opened and Lucy’s face fell as Tommy walked in. Bella the dog ran across to greet him, tail wagging, but Lucy certainly didn’t feel the same way. After kissing his aunt and petting