your life. The man is sex on a stick. He’s a walking female fantasy.’
Alice stared at her blankly, struggling to understand. ‘Rita, you’ve been married for twenty years and, anyway, he’s far too young for you.’
Rita gave her a suggestive wink. ‘Don’t you believe it. I like them young and vigorous.’
Alice sighed and wished she didn’t feel so completely out of step with the rest of her sex. Was she the only woman in the world who didn’t spend her whole life thinking about men? Even Rita was susceptible, even though she’d reached an age where she should have grown out of such stupidity.
‘He doesn’t look much like a doctor,’ she said frankly, ‘but I’m sure he’ll look better once he’s shaved and changed his clothes.’
‘He looks every inch a man. And he’d be perfect for you.’
Alice froze. ‘I refuse to have this conversation with you again, Rita. And while we’re at it, you can tell that receptionist of ours that I’m not having it with her either.’
Rita sniffed. ‘Mary worries about you, as I do, and—’
‘I’m not interested in men and both of you know that.’
‘Well, you should be.’ Rita folded her arms and her mouth clamped into a thin line. ‘You’re thirty years of age and—’
‘Rita!’ Alice interrupted her sharply. ‘This is not a good time.’
‘It’s never a good time with you. You never talk about it.’
‘Because there’s nothing to talk about!’ Alice took a deep breath. ‘I appreciate your concern, really, but—’
‘But you’re married to your work and that’s the way you’re staying.’ The older woman rose to her feet and Alice sighed.
‘I’m happy, Rita.’ Her voice softened slightly as she saw the worry in the older woman’s face. ‘Really I am. I like my life the way it is.’
‘Empty, you mean.’
‘Empty?’ Alice laughed and stroked blonde hair away from her face. ‘Rita, I’m so busy I don’t have time to turn round. My life certainly isn’t empty.’
Rita pursed her lips. ‘You’re talking about work and work isn’t enough for anybody. A woman needs a social life. A man. Sex.’
Alice glanced pointedly at her watch. ‘Was there anything else you wanted to talk about? I’ve got a surgery full of patients, Rita.’
And she was exhausted, hungry and thirsty and fed up with talking about subjects that didn’t interest her.
‘All right. I can take a hint. But the subject isn’t closed.’ Rita walked to the door. ‘Actually, I did come to ask you something. Although he doesn’t need your help, Gio wants two minutes to discuss the boy with you before he sends him out. Oh, and the police are here.’
Alice stood up and removed a bottle of water from the fridge in her consulting room. She couldn’t do anything about the hunger, but at least she could drink. ‘I don’t have time for them right now.’
‘If what Gio told me is correct, you’re going to make time.’ Suddenly Rita was all business. ‘They can’t go round behaving like that. And you need to lock the door behind you if you come in early in the morning. You might have been the only person in the building. You were careless. Up half the night with the little Bennett girl and not getting enough sleep as usual, no doubt.’
‘Rita—’
‘You’ll tell me I’m nagging but I worry about you, that’s all. I care about you.’
‘I know you do.’ Alice curled her hands into fists, uncomfortable with the conversation. Another person—a different person to her—would have swept across to Rita and given her a big hug, but Alice could no more do that than fly. Touching wasn’t part of her nature. ‘I know you care.’
‘Good.’ Rita gave a sniff. ‘Now, drink your water before you die of dehydration and then go and see Gio. And this time take a closer look. You might like what you see.’
Alice walked back to her desk and poured water into a glass. ‘All right, I’ll speak to Gio then I’ll see the police. Ask Mary to give them a coffee and put them in one of the empty rooms. Then see if she can placate the remaining patients. Tell them I’ll be with them as soon as possible.’ She paused to drink the water she’d poured and then set the glass on her desk. ‘Goodness knows if I’ll get through them all in time to do any house calls.’
‘Gio is going to help you see the patients once he’s discharged the boy. For goodness’ sake, don’t say no. It’s like the first day of the summer sales in the waiting room. If he helps then we might all stand a chance of getting some lunch.’
‘The letting agent is dropping the keys to his flat round here. He needs to get settled in. He needs to rest after the journey and shave the designer stubble—’
‘Any fool can see he’s a man with stamina and I don’t see his appearance hampering his ability to see patients,’ Rita observed, with impeccable logic. ‘We’re just ensuring that the surgery is going to be crammed for weeks to come.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘Because he’s too gorgeous for his own good and all the women in the practice are going to want to come and stare.’
Alice opened the door. ‘What exactly is it about men that turns normally sane women into idiots?’ she wondered out loud, and Rita grinned.
‘Whoever said I was sane?’
With an exasperated shake of her head, Alice walked along the corridor and pushed open the door of the room they used for minor surgery. ‘Dr Moretti, I’m so sorry, I’ve had a steady stream of patients and I lost track of the time.’
He turned to look at her and for a brief, unsettling moment Alice remembered Rita’s comment about him being a walking fantasy. He was handsome, she conceded, in an intelligent, devilish and slightly dangerous way. She could see that some women would find him attractive. Fortunately she wasn’t one of them.
‘No problem.’ His smile came easily. ‘I’ve just finished here. I don’t need anyone to hold my hand.’
‘Shame,’ Rita breathed, and Alice shot her a look designed to silence.
Gio ripped off his gloves and pushed the trolley away from him. ‘I think he’s safe to discharge. He wasn’t knocked out and his consciousness isn’t impaired. Fortunately he obviously drank less than his friends. I see no indication for an X-ray or a CT scan at the moment. He can be discharged with a head injury form.’ He turned to the boy, his expression serious. ‘I advise you to stay off the alcohol for a few days. If you start vomiting, feel drowsy, confused, have any visual disturbances or experience persistent headache within the next forty-eight hours, you should go to the A and E department at the hospital. Either way, you need those stitches out in four days. Don’t forget and don’t think it’s cool to leave them in.’
The boy gave a
