how surprisingly well it fit and how flattering it was and how Enzo just might think so, too, and why did even her simple uniform make her think about the man? Pathetic. What was wrong with her that she still caught herself feeling doe-eyed over a guy who’d wondered if she was trying to trap him or something?
Cool, professional relationship only. No fighting or kissing allowed. They’d done pretty well with that the past couple days. Surely after a few more it would feel as if their time together before had never happened?
Yeah, right. Whenever they were alone in a room, the low sizzle humming between them was very hard to ignore.
Nora poked her head into the locker room. “I have a British couple here to see the doctor. A Mr. and Mrs. Conway. You want to get started with them first?”
“Of course.” She ushered the middle-aged couple to one of the exam rooms. “Hello, I’m Aubrey Henderson, the nurse on staff today. Can you tell me what you’re here for?”
“I’ve been pecked by a bird,” the woman exclaimed. “By an awful dirty bird, and it hurts!”
“All right. Let’s have a look.” Aubrey was about to shut the door for privacy when Enzo appeared, filling the doorway with his big, irritating, masculine presence.
“Mind if I stay?” he asked. His face was impassive, but she could see a glint of amusement in the depths of his dark eyes at the woman’s dramatic statement. “I need to evaluate how our American nurse is doing.”
“Of course,” Aubrey said before the patient could answer. And was that what he really wanted, or was he there to just rattle her again, knowing this was probably not a serious situation? “This is Dr. Affini.”
“I’d like to see what the doctor thinks about this!” the woman exclaimed. “I’ve probably got some disgusting disease.”
“Mrs. Conway, why don’t you sit on the table here and show me where it hurts? Sir, you can sit in one of these chairs.”
“Right on the top of my head, that’s where it hurts! Bleeding, too.” She held up a tissue with some specks of blood on it, waving it first at Aubrey, then Enzo. “What if I’ve been exposed to some terrible bird infection?”
Aubrey donned gloves and gently pushed the woman’s hair aside to find a small, reddened indentation. “I can see this probably hurts. But I don’t think it’s too serious. Let me get some antiseptic to clean it with.”
“Not too serious? You’ll change your mind when I tell you the story.” The woman sat straighter and waved her hands. “I’m minding my own business on a park bench in that big main square where the basilica is. Pigeons were walking around, and I pulled a little treat from my purse to give to one. Then this great, giant black bird dive-bombs me from the sky and grabs the treat from the pigeon!”
Aubrey pulled the cotton and antiseptic from the cupboard, and, when she turned, saw Enzo’s eyes dancing and his lips obviously working to not smile at the dramatic recitation. Feeling her own mouth dangerously quiver, she quickly turned back to her patient to keep from looking at him. “And then? How did your head get pecked?”
“So I pull another treat from my purse, and the nasty black bird takes it, drops it, then scares me to death when he suddenly flies up, flapping his great wings in my face as he does. Lands there, right on my head! I shrieked, of course, and jumped up, and it pecked me. Hard! Why, I’m lucky it wasn’t my eye he put out.”
Aubrey glanced at Enzo. Fatal mistake, as his expression clearly showed he wanted to laugh, and a chuckle bubbled in her own chest when she saw how he was struggling.
Turn away. Do. Not. Look. At. Him.
She quickly turned to the woman’s husband, who appeared more weary than worried. “Did you see what kind of bird it was?”
“Some black bird. Don’t know what kind, I’m not a birdman. Especially Italian birds. Medium sized. Yellow beak, I think.” He turned to his wife. “You brought it on yourself, you know. Who gives a pigeon mints to eat? The bird that pecked you was probably so shocked and ticked off, it felt it had a right to attack.”
“Well, I never!” The woman looked beyond insulted as she flung her hand toward her husband. “And this is the kind of support I get after giving him thirty years of my life!”
Oh, Lord. Aubrey held her breath. Dang it, she would have been fine if not for Enzo’s unholy grin. She would.
“I...I think I’ve cleaned it well, Mrs. Conway,” she said.
“What do you think, Doctor? Don’t you think I may get some nasty infection or disease? A filthy bird in a filthy square full of filthy people is bound to have given me something awful. Don’t I need an antibiotic or something?”
Aubrey was impressed at how carefully he looked at the tiny wound, since he knew as well as she did that it was nothing. “Nurse Henderson has done a good job of cleaning it, Mrs. Conway. I’m sure you’ll be fine, but if you have any problems with it, be sure to stop back and we’ll take another look.”
“We’re leaving tomorrow anyway. Thank heavens for that. And what a waste of time to come here for help.” Looking miffed and completely unsatisfied, she slid off the table, and Aubrey led her back out to the lobby, making sure to not look at Enzo as they passed. The woman’s parting words before she walked out the door had Aubrey holding her breath hard again when she went back to the room to be sure it was clean for the next patient.
Enzo appeared again in the doorway. “Ah, she’s the kind of patient that makes this job worthwhile. A pick-me-up from the more serious stuff we deal with, don’t you think?”
Aubrey couldn’t hold it in another second, and she pressed her hands against her mouth to subdue the laugh that spilled out. “That’s for sure. You know what she said when she left?”
He folded his arms across his chest. “What?”
“She said, ‘What does that doctor know about birds? He’s obviously a quack.’”
His sexy laughter joined hers, and she quickly pulled him into the room and shut the door behind them. “Shh! They might have come back for something! What if they hear us?”
“Hear us what?”
She looked up into his eyes, still filled with mirth, but something else, too. That dangerous glint that made her heart flutter and her skin tingle.
She drew in a deep breath. “What is it with you? One minute you’re unpleasant, and the next you’re throwing out sexual innuendos. Didn’t we agree we had to be professional with one another? I think I’m holding up my end here.”
“I also said I didn’t think we should work together because I knew I’d have problems with that.”
Oh, my gosh. Why did he keep saying things he shouldn’t in that deep, rumbly voice that sent a warm flush across her skin, reminding her of their first day and night together?
“Enzo.” After his name, words seemed to dry up on her tongue and she just stared at him.
“Yes?” He took a step closer. He smelled wonderful, and his body heat seemed to envelop her. He obviously knew what unwelcome thoughts had suddenly crowded her brain, because his gaze settled on her lips.
Which parted involuntarily, and her own small movement toward him that brought her nearly against his chest was completely involuntary, too, and when his arms wrapped around her and his head lowered toward hers all protest and common sense left her mind as her eyes drifted closed in breathless anticipation.
“Dr. Affini? Aubrey?”
Her eyes snapped open to see his, dark and dangerous and full of heat, staring right back at her. Time seemed to halt for several heartbeats until they both managed to gather their wits at the same time. She stepped back as he let her go, his chest lifting in a deep breath.
“Saved by Nora.” He stared at her