Jamie’s lungs strained against a deep breath, all the while keeping tight hold of the eye contact. He wanted her to see the man he’d become.
After a measured exhalation he let himself savor the pain of his teeth grating across his lower lip. He turned to leave, then changed his mind, throwing the words over his shoulder as if it were the most casual thing in the world to lacerate the woman he loved with words.
“People change, Dr. Jesolo. Some of us for the better.”
* * *
Ten minutes later and the sting of his comment still hadn’t worn off. Perhaps it never would.
And hiding in the staff room with her friendly Aussie colleague had only made things worse. He was a messenger with even more bad news.
Jamie Coutts was not just back in her life—he was her boss.
“Wait a minute, Teo.” Bea held up a hand, hardly believing what she was hearing. “He’s what?”
Teo Brandisi gave Bea a patient smile and handed her the cup of herbal tea he’d promised her hours earlier in the busy shift.
“The big boss man. The big kahuna. Mayor of medics.”
“But you hired me.”
“He was out in the field. He hands over the reins to me when he’s away.”
“But—”
“Quit trying to fight it, sweetheart. He’s le grand fromage—all right? I wouldn’t be working here without his approval, so if you’ve got a bone to pick with him, I’m recusing myself. He has my back. I have his. You got me?” Teo continued in his broad Australian accent.
Bea shook her head and waved her hands. “No, it’s not that. I’ve nothing against Dr. Coutts.”
Liar.
She cleared her throat, forcing herself to sound more neutral. “I just don’t understand why he had to approve appointing you but not me.”
“Foreign doctor.” Teo pointed at himself. “We can’t just swan in and take all the choice jobs. Even though he’s English, he’s been qualified to practice here for over a year.”
He’d been in Italy for a year and she hadn’t known.
Well...she’d done a whole lot of things he didn’t know about, so fair was fair.
“My advice?” Teo was on a roll. “You have to suck up to people like James Coutts.”
“James?”
“Yeah... Why?”
Teo scrunched up his nose and looked at her as if she was giving proof positive she was losing her marbles. Maybe she was. And if Jamie was James, and she’d shortened her name to Bea, then the only thing that was clear was that they were both trying to be someone new.
A reinvention game.
Only games were meant to be fun. And everything about seeing Jamie again was far from fun. Confronting what she’d done to him was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever done.
“Anyhoo...” Teo continued. “James has got the whole British-reserve thing going on big-time.” A glint of admiration brightened his blue eyes. “The man’s like an impenetrable fortress. Impossible to read. Well done!” He clapped her on the shoulder. “A gold star to Dr. Jesolo for getting under the Stone Man’s skin!”
“The Stone Man?”
“Yeah. We all take bets on how many facial expressions he actually has. I’m going with three. Contemplative. Not happy. And his usual go-to face—Mr. Neutral. No reading that face. No way, no how.”
Bea hid her face in the steam of her tea for a minute. Her kind, gentle Jamie was an impenetrable fortress? That wasn’t like him. Then again...she was hardly the same. Why should he be?
“It’s most likely a fluke. That or he doesn’t like blondes?”
Teo gave her a sidelong glance as if he already knew the whole story. Could tell she was just making things up. Covering a truth she wasn’t yet ready to divulge.
“Fair enough.”
They stood in an awkward silence until Bea launched into a sudden interest in removing her herbal tea bag from her mug.
If Teo had known she was pregnant, she could have just blown the whole thing off as a bout of pregnancy brain. Not that she even knew if pregnancy brain hit this early. Sharp bouts of fatigue certainly had. And morning sickness. She’d never look at a hamburger the same way again! At least when she’d been on her brother’s yacht she’d managed to fob off the nausea she’d felt as seasickness. Now that she was up here in the mountains she couldn’t do that. It was meant to pass soon. And by the time her contract was up she’d be off to hide away the rest of her pregnancy somewhere else.
“So, on a day-to-day basis you’re my boss?” She kept her eyes on her tea, wincing at the note of hope in her voice.
“Nope. Dr. James Coutts is your actual boss,” Teo continued, after taking his shot of espresso down in one swift gulp.
Classic Italian. She would be amazed if he went back to Australia. He might be second generation in Australia, but the man had Italy in his bones.
“I step in when he’s out on rescue calls, like today. The fact I was on duty when we held your interview was just a coincidence.”
“So...he knew I was coming?”
The interview had been a week ago. Start date today. He’d had a whole week to come to terms with things and yet she was sure she’d seen shock in his eyes. The same shock of recognition that had reverberated through to her very core.
“He knew someone was coming, but he’s been tied up training the emergency squads.”
Her Jamie? Better-safe-than-sorry Jamie?
She’d always thought she was a solid rock until she’d met him. But no one had been more reliable, more sound than him.
“He’s pretty good about not breathing down your neck.” Teo pulled open a cupboard and began to look around for some biscuits. “And he lets staff make decisions in his absence. He’s a really good guy, actually. Don’t let the whole Dr. Impenetrable thing get to you.”
Her lips thinned. Jamie was better than a good guy. He was the kindest man she’d ever met.
Strangely, it came as a relief to hear his bitterness seemed to be solely reserved for her. Deservedly so. How she could have dumped him just to make good on an antiquated match between her family and the Roldolfos was beyond her now. Family loyalty meant altogether different things when your blue-blooded mother was trying to uphold hundreds of years of tradition. Pass the princess baton...even if it came at her daughter’s expense.
She heard Teo sigh and looked up to catch him lovingly gazing at a plate of homemade biscotti. Someone’s grandmother’s,
