lungs.”
“Oh. Right. Fine.”
“Shane.” Her thick lashes dropped and a blush rose on her pale cheeks. “I’m all right now. You can put me down.”
Reluctantly, he laid her back in bed, then stepped away. “So, how are you doing?”
“Not so bad now.” On a sigh, she drew the covers up over her legs. “Though when I first woke up I was wondering if you’d thrown me out of that window last night rather than carried me. Is that for me?”
Shane glanced at the single red rosebud lying on the foot of her bed. When he’d walked into the room and seen her falling, he’d tossed it there. Now that he saw the two enormous bouquets she already had in her room, he felt more than foolish he’d brought it to her.
“There’s a stand downstairs that sells them,” he said with a shrug, and handed the flower to her. “The profits go to the children’s ward. For toys and games.”
“It’s beautiful.” Lifting the flower to her nose, she breathed in. “Thank you.”
The deep red of the rose against her smooth, creamy skin made his throat go dry. Dammit, anyway. What the hell was he doing here? It wasn’t as if this could go anywhere. He knew who the Barones were. Hell, anyone who lived in Boston had heard of them. What he made in six months was pocket money to Emily’s family.
“I haven’t even properly thanked you for saving my life.” She smiled at him, then extended her hand. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Like the rest of her, Emily’s hands were fine-boned and graceful. Her fingers were long and slender, nails neat and short. Her skin soft and cool.
The jolt of lust that shot through him had Shane quickly releasing her hand. “I should let you rest.”
“No, please stay.” Looking suddenly embarrassed, she lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so needy. It’s just that I…that you’re the only person who’s familiar to me. It’s a little overwhelming.”
“You still can’t remember anything?”
She shook her head. “Just what my parents told me. The doctor was hoping they might be able to help me by telling me about myself, that I worked as a secretary at Baronessa Gelati for my brother Derrick, that my mother and I had gone to lunch and shopping for my father’s birthday only a few days ago. That I live in an apartment in Brookline not too far from the plant. I like pasta and chocolate éclairs, and my nickname is Em.”
Closing her eyes, she laid her head back against her pillow. “It just made my head hurt.”
“So stop thinking.” He turned the chair beside her bed, then straddled it. “Just let your mind go somewhere else you’d rather be.”
“Like where?”
“How ’bout a quiet cove somewhere? No, keep your eyes closed,” he told her when she started to open them. “Or maybe an island in the Caribbean.”
“An island would be nice.” A smile touched the corners of her mouth as she shut her eyes again. “What does it look like?”
“Lots of tall palm trees. You can hear the fronds rustle in the balmy breeze and the waves lap on the shore. The water is so clear you can see a school of small yellow fish darting back and forth right off the shoreline. The sky is deep, deep blue.”
“There’s a puffy white cloud overhead.” Emily furrowed her brow in thought. “It’s in the shape of a butterfly.”
He watched her shoulders relax, the slow rise and fall of her breaths, then leaned forward and lowered his voice. “The sand is soft and warm against your back. There’s no one around for miles and miles.”
“You’re there.” Her voice was a little breathless. “You’re swimming.”
The thought of being alone on an island with Emily made his blood heat up. “The water feels great,” he murmured. “Maybe you should come in and join me.”
“I don’t know if I can swim. I—I can’t remember.”
“I’ll teach you if you—”
“Emily?”
Ripped from her island fantasy, Emily opened her eyes and watched as a young woman pushed open the door. When she hurried forward, Shane quickly stood and moved out of the way.
“Emily, thank God you’re all right.” The woman reached for Emily’s hand. “I’ve been so worried since Mama called. Daniel’s here, too, but I made him drop me off downstairs before he parked his car. Oh, sweetheart, you’re so pale.”
Her eyes were the same deep blue as the silk suit jacket and skirt she wore, Emily noted. Tall and slender, probably in her late twenties. She’d pulled back her mass of blond hair in a clip on top of her head, but several thick strands escaped in a riot of loose curls around her strikingly beautiful face.
A man entered the room then, around six foot, with brown hair and the same blue eyes as the woman’s. She knew this man was her other brother’s twin, but they were obviously too different in appearance to be identical. Though his clothes were casual—black slacks and a white polo shirt—he had an air of old money about him.
“Hey, Em.” His tone was easy, but there was concern in his steady gaze. “How’s the head?”
It was starting to throb again. “It’s all right.”
“Do you know who I am?” he asked carefully.
“You’re my brother. Daniel.” Emily studied the handsome man’s face, recognized the similarities between him and her father, then looked at the woman who was sitting on the side of her bed. With her hair and eyes, she looked more like their mother. “And you’re Claudia. My sister.”
Smiling brightly, Claudia gave Emily a gentle hug, then shot her brother a look. “I told you she’d know who we are.”
“Of course she knows who we are. Mom told her we were coming. The question is—” Daniel lifted a brow “—does she remember us?”
“Well, of course she does, silly. How can she not remember her own brother and—” Claudia went still, then narrowed her eyes. “Omigod, you don’t remember who we are, do you?”
Desperately Emily wanted to be back on that beach with Shane. Away from all the questions and the stares. “I—I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s just temporary.”
“Of course it’s temporary.” Claudia squeezed Emily’s hand. “We’re just so relieved you’re all right, that the firemen were able to get you out in time.”
“Shane found me.” Emily glanced over to where he’d been standing only a few moments ago.
He wasn’t there.
“Who?” Claudia looked over her shoulder.
“Shane. The fireman who carried me out of the building.”
“Where
