‘She’s going to do a full examination, although she thinks it’s asthma and allergy combined. We’ll see. And now you need to relax.’ Josh’s voice was soft. ‘You’re in a state, Tasha.’
‘I’m fine.’ It was a lie. She’d desperately wanted a hug but was afraid that if someone touched her she’d start crying and never stop. ‘But I do find myself with a lot of free time on my hands. I thought...’ She hesitated, hating having to crawl to her brother. ‘You’re important. Can you pull a few strings here? Get me a job? The paediatric department has a good reputation.’
‘Tasha—’
‘Paediatrics is my life. My career. I’m good, Josh. I’m good at what I do.’
‘I’m not debating that, but—’
‘Yes, you are. You’re worrying I’ll mess things up for you here.’
‘That isn’t true.’ Josh stood up and walked over to her. ‘Calm down, will you? You’re totally stressed out. Maybe what you need is a break from hospitals for a while.’
‘What I need is a job. I love working with kids. I love being a doctor. And then there’s the practical side. I was living in a hospital flat so now I’m homeless as well as jobless.’ Tasha felt as though she had an enormous mountain to climb. ‘Resigning seemed like the only option at the time. Now I realise why more people don’t resign on principle. It’s too expensive.’
‘I can’t pull strings to get you a job at the hospital, Tasha. Not at the moment. We’ve spent a fortune opening a new paediatric burns unit. There’s a head-count freeze.’
‘Oh.’ Her stomach swooped and fell as another door slammed shut in her face. ‘No worries. I’ll sort something out.’ She tried to subdue the niggling worry that her last consultant wouldn’t give her a decent reference. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you. I shouldn’t have just shown up here.’ The list of things she shouldn’t have done was growing.
‘I’m glad you did. It’s been too long since I saw you. All you’ve done for the past three years is work. Since things ended with Hugo, in fact.’
Hugo? Shrinking, Tasha wondered why her brother had chosen that particular moment to bring up her disastrous love life. Could the day get any worse? ‘I love my work.’ Why was he looking at her like that? ‘What’s wrong with loving my work?’
‘No need to get defensive. Maybe it’s time to take a break. Rediscover a social life.’
‘Social life? What’s that?’
‘It’s part of work-life balance. You were going to get married once.’
The reminder scraped like sandpaper over sensitive skin. ‘A moment of madness.’ Tasha spoke through her teeth. ‘Do you mind if we don’t talk about it? Just thinking about Hugo makes me want to put my fist through something and at the moment I can’t afford to pay for the damage. Anyway, you’re a fine one to talk. You’re a total workaholic.’ But he’d spent the night with a woman.
Tasha wondered if he’d confide in her, but Josh was flicking through some papers on his desk.
‘How flexible are you?’
‘I can touch my toes and do a back flip.’ Her joke earned her an ironic glance.
‘The job,’ he drawled. ‘How would you feel about a break from paediatrics?’
‘I love paediatrics, but...’ But she was desperate. She needed something. Not just for the money but to stop herself thinking and going slowly mad. She needed to be active. ‘What do you have in mind?’
‘I happen to know a man in desperate need of twenty-four-hour nursing care for the next month or so. He’s asked me to sort something out for him.’
Tasha instinctively recoiled. ‘You want me to give bed baths to some dirty old man who’s going to pinch my bottom?’ She frowned at the laughter in her brother’s eyes. ‘What’s so funny about that? You have a sick sense of humour.’
‘What if I tell you the guy in question happens to be seriously rich.’
‘Who cares?’ Tasha thrust her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, wondering what Josh was finding so funny. Her brother was clearly enjoying a joke at her expense and she felt a flash of irritation that he could laugh when she was in such a mess. ‘What’s the relevance of his financial status? You think I’ll nurse him, he’ll fall in love and marry me, then I’ll kill him off and inherit his millions? When you suggested a job change, I didn’t realise you were talking about a sugar daddy.’
‘He’s too young to be your sugar daddy.’
‘And I’m not interested in marriage. I’m a cold-hearted career-woman, remember? I’m dedicating my life to my patients. So far my longest and most successful relationship has been with my stethoscope.’
‘This guy isn’t interested in marriage either, so you’ll make a good pair. Strictly speaking, he should be in hospital for at least another week but he’s creating hell so they’re happy to discharge him providing he arranges professional help. He needs someone medical to deliver quality care at home and he’s willing to pay premium rates.’ He named a figure that made Tasha’s jaw drop.
‘He obviously has more money than sense. What’s the catch?’
‘The catch is that he’s an athletic, super-fit guy who isn’t used to being stuck in bed. As a result his temper is somewhat volatile and he’s terrifying everyone who comes within a metre of him. But I’m sure you’ll cope with that. I’m guessing it will take you about—oh—five minutes before you point out his shortcomings.’
‘As jobs go it doesn’t sound appealing...’ But it was a job. And it was just for a couple of weeks. ‘I suppose it would give me something to do while I look for a more progressive paediatric department. A place where the patient takes priority over paperwork and protocol.’ Tasha frowned as she weighed up the pros and cons. ‘So basically I have to help Mr Grumpy Guy with his physio, say There, there when he’s cranky, feed him antibiotics and check he’s not weight bearing. Anything else I need to know? Like his name?’
Josh smiled. ‘His name, little sister, is Alessandro Cavalieri.’
Tasha felt the strength drain from her legs. Her heart pounded with a rhythm that would have concerned her had she not been too busy staring at her brother. ‘Alessandro? The Alessandro?’
‘The very same. His Royal Highness.’
She hadn’t thought it was possible for the whole body to blush. Suddenly she was a teenager again and sobbing her heart out. ‘The answer is no.’ The words stumbled out of her mouth, disjointed, shaky. ‘No! And don’t look at me like that.’
‘I thought you’d jump at the chance. You were crazy about him. He was all you ever talked about—Alessandro, Alessandro, Alessandro.’ Josh mimicked her tone and Tasha felt the flush of mortification spread from her neck to her ears.
‘I was seventeen,’ she snapped. ‘It may have escaped your notice but I’ve grown up since then.’ But not enough. Not enough to be cool and detached. Not Alessandro. No, no, no. The humiliation crawled over her skin.
‘I know you’ve grown up. That’s why I’m offering you the job. If you still felt the same way you felt about him back then, you wouldn’t be safe.’ Josh’s eyes teased her. ‘Oh, boy, were you dangerous. Teenage hormones on legs. You threw yourself at him. Being royalty, he travelled everywhere with an armed guard but the person he really needed protection from was you. Every time he turned round, there you were in another minuscule bikini. I seem to remember he told you to come back when you’d grown a chest.’
Tasha relived humiliation and discovered it was no better the second time around. Dying inside,