The Doctor and the Debutante. Anne Fraser

experienced since they’d made love deepened. But under the glow she felt a shiver of unease. What would he think of her when he found out she hadn’t been honest with him? She wasn’t who he thought she was. Reluctant to spoil the mood, Alice raised herself on her elbow and looked down at him. ‘Why did you decide to become a doctor?’ she asked.

      He sat up and pulled her head against his chest where she could hear the strong beat of his heart. One of his hands was in her hair, the other softly caressing her neck. Everywhere he touched her sent stabs of desire coursing through her body. She hadn’t known that a simple touch on her skin could drive her wild with longing.

      When his answer came his voice was deeper than ever.

      ‘A few years ago, I had a friend. A girl, Rosa. We had played with each other since we were children.’ His hands paused on her skin and he took a deep breath.

      ‘Her house was next to mine. We were always together. At school. After school. While we were growing up. Soon she was no longer a little girl but a beautiful woman.’

      A stab of jealousy so strong it took her breath away ripped through Alice.

      ‘Did you love her?’ she asked, trying to keep her voice casual.

      Dante laughed. ‘Sì, I loved her, but we were never lovers. She was like a sister to me.’ His voice grew sombre again. ‘I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but she always knew what she wanted to do. To be a nurse.’ He paused and Alice knew he was remembering. ‘I stayed on the farm and she went to university. The first holiday she came back, it was as if we had never been parted. She was so excited with what she was learning. She was lit up inside. But after a few days she got sick.’

      Dante’s voice was like sandpaper. Alice held her breath and waited for him to go on.

      ‘Everyone thought it was flu. No one was worried. Her mother phoned the doctor. He told her it wasn’t a problem, to give Rosa painkillers for the headache and fever. By the time she came out in a rash, it was too late.’

      ‘Meningitis?’ Alice whispered.

      ‘Sì. It was before the time they vaccinated against it. We called the ambulance. I knew it would take too long. I didn’t want to wait. We were losing her.’

      He paused again and swallowed. ‘We put her in the car and I drove as fast as I could. But it was too late. By the time we got to the hospital, she was unconscious. I would have given my life for her, but I wasn’t able to do one thing to save her. It is why I became a doctor. I will never let anyone die because I didn’t know how to help them.’

      ‘I’m so sorry, Dante.’

      ‘You are like her in many ways. Kind and honest.’ Another spasm of guilt ran up Alice’s spine. She had to tell him.

      ‘You are different from other women.’ There was a note of bitterness in his voice that puzzled Alice. ‘You don’t care about material things. Clothes. Money. What other people think of you.’

      Alice’s heart felt as if it were slowly being encased in ice. When she told him the truth about herself, he would see that she wasn’t the woman he thought she was. She couldn’t bear that. Was there any point in telling him? In two days she would be gone.

      Propping herself on her elbow, she gazed down at his beautiful face. He was smiling.

      ‘You don’t really know me, Dante,’ she said softly.

      ‘I know enough. But there is more to learn, I think.’ The look in his eyes as they travelled across her body set nerve endings she’d never even known she had on fire. He pushed her back down on the bed and nibbled her ear. ‘You could stay in Florence longer,’ he murmured. ‘Don’t you have more time before you have to go back to university?’

      Alice felt her heart plummet down to her toes. Was that all he wanted from her? Just another few days of a holiday romance—and then what?

      Almost as if reading her mind, Dante pushed himself up on his powerful arms and gazed down at her. ‘Or maybe longer than that. You could stay with me,’ he said softly.

      It was as if someone had dropped ice cubes down the back of her neck. He couldn’t know how impossible it was for her to do what he was asking. When he found out who she truly was, he would feel differently about her and she couldn’t bear that. Already she knew she was falling in love with him and the longer she stayed the harder she would fall. The thought terrified her. She had to leave before she got in any deeper. No matter how much she wanted to stay with him—more than anything she had ever wanted—there could never be a future for them. Her father needed her. She had her life and shallow though it was, it was the only life she knew.

      Not that Dante was suggesting anything more than a few more days together.

      She ran her fingertips across his chest down towards the silky hair of his abdomen. He drew a sharp breath as she let her hands travel lower. With him she felt no shyness, only a sense of wonder at the power her touch had over him.

      In response he brushed his hand along the inside of her thigh and her bones turned to mush. ‘Amore mio,’ he growled, ‘I can’t think when you do that.’ His hands travelled higher up her thigh and he groaned. ‘That’s enough talking for now. We’ll talk more tomorrow.’

      But Alice already knew there would be no tomorrow for them. She knew with heart-breaking certainty that they only had a few hours. She would have to make the most of every second.