Italian Doctor, No Strings Attached. Kate Hardy

       Praise for Kate Hardy, who writes for both Mills & Boon^® Medical^™ Romance and Riva:

      ‘When you pick up a romance novel

      by Kate Hardy, you know that you’re going to be reading a spellbinding novel which you will want to devour in a single sitting, and A CHRISTMAS KNIGHT is certainly no exception.’ —cataromance.com

      ‘NEUROSURGEON … AND MUM!

      is a spellbinding tearjerker readers will want to read again and again. Written with plenty of sensitivity, understanding and heart, NEUROSURGEON … AND MUM! is the latest winner by this outstanding storyteller!’ —cataromance.com

      ‘SURRENDER TO THE PLAYBOY SHEIKH:

      I spent a lovely morning with this book, and I’d advise you to do likewise. Get it. You’ll love it. An unrestrained … Grade A.’ —goodbadandunread.com

      ‘PLAYBOY BOSS, PREGNANCY OF PASSION:

      this story features a strong heroine who gains strength from her family, and a hero who realises the importance of love and family before it’s too late. Add in their captivating romance and it makes for one great read.’ —RT Book Reviews

      About the Author

      KATE HARDY lives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, one bouncy spaniel, and too many books to count! When she’s not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her children’s schools. She also loves cooking—spot the recipes sneaked into her books! (They’re also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.) Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kate—something she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. She’s been writing Medical™ Romances for nearly five years now, and also writes for Mills & Boon^® Riva. She says it’s the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when she’s researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and it’s the perfect job!

      Kate’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com

       Also by Kate Hardy:

      Medical™ Romance

      ST PIRAN’S: THE FIREMAN AND NURSE LOVEDAY**

      A CHRISTMAS KNIGHT NEUROSURGEON … AND MUM! THE DOCTOR’S LOST-AND-FOUND BRIDE FALLING FOR THE PLAYBOY MILLIONAIRE†

       Mills & Boon^® Riva

      RED WINE AND HER SEXY EX*

      CHAMPAGNE WITH A CELEBRITY* GOOD GIRL OR GOLD-DIGGER?

      *Château Lefèvre linked duo **St Piran’s Hospital †The Brides of Penhally Bay

       Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Italian Doctor,

      No Strings Attached

      Kate Hardy

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      For Michelle

      CHAPTER ONE

       FACE the fear.

      Sydney faced the fear every single day of her life. Every day she made life-or-death decisions. Abseiling down the tower of the London Victoria hospital, to raise funds for specialist equipment for the emergency department, should be a breeze. She had a sheet full of sponsor signatures, with a large amount of money at stake. There was no question that she wouldn’t do it. How could she possibly back out now?

      But then she looked down. Over the edge. There was a white stone cornice and then … nothing.

       For two hundred and fifty feet.

      Back in the department, two months ago, this had seemed like a brilliant idea. Right here and now, she knew it was the most stupid, ridiculous thing she’d ever done. She sneaked another look at the edge, hoping that her fairy godmother was passing with some sparkly dust and the drop would look a bit less scary.

      It didn’t.

      And there was no way that she could make herself walk backwards over the edge. OK, so she had a harness on, and a hard hat. The ropes were belayed, or whatever the technical term was, and the experts weren’t going to let her fall. She knew that. All she had to do was go backwards over the edge and walk down the building.

      But she still couldn’t move her feet.

      ‘It’s OK, Sydney. You can do it. Just one tiny step back.’

      One tiny step backwards. Over the edge. She couldn’t even reply to the man who’d just spoken to her: the instructor who’d explained carefully to her just what she had to do to get off the top of the tower and go all the way down to the bottom. Her brain was refusing to process his name. Refusing to do anything.

      Oh, help.

      She couldn’t step back. Couldn’t step forwards, either, and let the team down.

      Why, why, why had she agreed to be the first person down? Whatever had possessed her? Why had she thought it would boost her confidence in herself? She must’ve been mad. No way could she do this. She was stuck.

      Then another man joined the instructor at the edge. ‘Hi.’

      She’d never seen him before. The part of her mind that wasn’t completely frozen in fear thought how gorgeous he was, with eyes colour of melted chocolate, dark hair, and an olive complexion. He reminded her a bit of an actor she had a huge crush on and her friends in the department were always teasing her about.

      ‘I’m Marco.’

      And his voice was even more gorgeous than his face: just the hint of an accent, incredibly sexy.

      He’d introduced himself to her. Now she was supposed to speak. But, just like her feet, her mouth was frozen and it wasn’t going to let any proper words out.

      ‘You’re Sydney, yes?’

      ‘Uh.’

      Clearly he took the little squeak of fear as meaning yes. ‘OK. What we’re going to do now is sing together, Sydney.’

      What? How on earth was singing going to help her frozen feet move?

      ‘How about Tom Petty’s “Free Falling”?’ he suggested.

      Not funny. So not funny. And just what any of her colleagues would’ve suggested. Clearly climbing people shared the same kind of dark humour as medics. Falling. Uh. She gave him a look of pure loathing.

      He grinned. ‘At least you’re not doing this face down, tesoro. That’s a bonus. And singing’s going to take your mind off it and help you down, I promise.’

      He sounded a lot more confident than she felt.

      ‘If I start, will you join in?’

      She managed a nod, and in return got a full-wattage smile. If her knees hadn’t been frozen, they would definitely have gone weak.

      ‘That’s great, tesoro. You’re going to sing with me. And you’re going to keep your right hand behind your back, holding the static line, and just take one tiny step back. You’ll feel yourself go down a little bit, but don’t worry, that’s fine—it’s just the tension in the ropes letting you move. The line’s going to take your weight. And then you move your right hand out to your side, and it’ll give you the slack to start walking down. If you need to stop, just move your hand behind your back