The Doctor's Runaway Bride

‘Tia, you are a stunningly beautiful woman,’ he ground out angrily, ‘and your blonde head shines like a beacon. It is very unusual to see a woman of your colouring in Italy and you attract no little amount of attention. You were putting yourself at risk.’

Without any warning her heart turned over. He thought she was beautiful?

No, that just didn’t make sense. She was as unlike Luisa as it was possible to be.

Before she had a chance to digest this piece of information, his hands closed over her shoulders like a vice. ‘I will talk to my family about their behaviour and you will promise me that you won’t walk around on your own at night again.’

‘I can’t promise and I don’t want you to talk to your family. There’s no reason to. It’s in the past now.’ Suddenly Tia felt exhausted. Too exhausted to talk any further. ‘It was all my fault, anyway. I am so far removed from a perfect Italian wife it’s laughable. Your family did what they thought was best and they were right. I’m the sort of person who needs space and independence. I’m not the sort of person who enjoys shopping, lunching and beauty salons.’

She swayed slightly and Luca’s grip on her shoulders tightened.

‘We shouldn’t be talking about this now.’ He scooped her up as if she weighed nothing, holding her firmly against his chest. ‘You’re not well. You look pale and worn out. You need to go to bed.’

Bed.

Just thinking about bed when she was held this close to him made her body start to tremble. She could feel the hard muscle of his chest through the fabric of his shirt and her fingers itched to touch him.

No.

‘Put me down, Luca.’ She wriggled in his arms and then groaned and buried her head in his shoulder as everything swam.

He ignored her efforts to escape, his expression grim as he negotiated the narrow staircase that led upstairs.

‘Where’s your bedroom?’

‘It’s none of your business,’ she protested weakly, wishing that being in his arms didn’t feel quite so good. But she fancied him so much that her whole body melted if he so much as looked at her. It wasn’t just that he was stunningly good-looking. There was something about him, an air of confidence and power, that was incredibly sexy.

Dear God, did she have no sense of self-preservation?

How could she still feel this way about someone who didn’t want her? How could her body still respond to him?

Luca shouldered open the few doors upstairs until he found what was obviously her bedroom and laid her gently on the bed.

‘Our problem is that we are both too alike, you and I,’ he told her, stroking the hair out of her eyes with gentle fingers and then checking her pulse. ‘We are hot-tempered and stubborn. Why didn’t you tell me that you felt ill? How long have you been in this state?’

Tia closed her eyes and fought back the waves of nausea. ‘I’m not in a state. I’m just pregnant,’ she mumbled, feeling drowsiness wash over her. She’d never felt so tired in her life. It was as if her body had turned off a switch and everything had shut down. She just had to sleep.

‘Go away, Luca,’ she murmured, fighting to stop her eyelids drooping. ‘I want you to go home to Italy and leave me alone.’

She saw his eyes darken, knew she ought to finish the conversation but her body betrayed her, slowly drifting into sleep mode before she could resolve the situation. Her eyelids closed and she was dimly aware of Luca standing up and of having blankets tucked around her. Then darkness claimed her.

CHAPTER TWO (#uf7e34d93-de31-5761-9f2d-b308f88592e0)

TIA awoke to the sound of rain thundering on the windows.

Remembering the evening before, she closed her eyes and gave a groan of mortification.

Luca.

She’d virtually passed out cold on the man. He’d carried her to her bed and…

Her eyes drifted to the clothes piled neatly on the chair in the corner of the room.

Her clothes.

Pushing back the duvet, she glanced down and saw that she was wearing one of Luca’s old T-shirts. She ran her fingers over the soft fabric, her sensitive nose picking up his elusive male scent, the same scent that had wrapped itself around her on all those hot, steamy nights together.

The mere thought of his lean, brown hands touching her made her heart flip against her chest and a devastating weakness spread through her body.

Luca…

She’d never felt about anybody the way she felt about him.

And he must have undressed her last night.

Where had he stayed? Here? In the cottage? Was he still here now?

Tia sat up suddenly and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, anger bringing her to life.

How dared he?

How could Luca expect to stroll back into her life as if nothing had happened when he was in love with another woman? How dared he put her to bed and undress her? He was in no position to play happy families.

Her feet hit the floor and the sudden movement made her stomach churn.

She made it to the toilet just in time and retched miserably, wondering dully why any woman chose to get pregnant.

‘You got up too quickly.’ Luca’s deep voice came from behind her and his long fingers lifted her hair away from her face.

‘Go away, Luca.’ She closed her eyes tightly, utterly humiliated that he should see her like this. Being ill was bad enough without having him witness it. ‘I want some privacy.’

‘I’m a doctor, cara mia,’ he pointed out, his voice surprisingly gentle as he handed her a cool flannel. ‘I see sick people every day.’

‘I’m not people,’ she said, wishing her stomach would settle. ‘Leave me alone so I can die in peace.’

He murmured something in Italian and lifted her easily to her feet. ‘You’re not going to die. You have morning sickness. It should go by the fourteenth week.’

Tia slumped against the wall and looked at him with dull eyes. She was already twelve weeks pregnant. ‘Another two weeks of this?’

He gave a faint smile, his dark eyes surprisingly sympathetic. ‘Have you been sick much?’

‘All the time,’ Tia mumbled, and his smile faded as he switched into doctor mode.

‘Do you have any pain when you are sick?’

‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘Relax, Luca. I’m fine. Just pregnant.’

‘You’ve lost weight.’ His dark gaze raked over her slender frame and she looked at him, exhausted.