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 for one more second before turning to open the door.
She watched him disappear into the hallway, and the air she’d been holding in her lungs whooshed out. She was in so much trouble here. No matter how many times she remembered his suspicions, no matter how often she reminded herself they had to keep a professional distance, she just kept forgetting.
And it clearly wasn’t her imagination that he kept forgetting, too.
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