Читать книгу: «200 Harley Street»

CHAPTER FIVE

WAKING TO HER alarm, Lizzie struggled to remember the last time she had enjoyed waking up way before dawn and looking forward to going to work quite as much as she now was.

Yes, it had only been a day, Lizzie thought as she dressed and tied back her hair and, yes, maybe she had got the job by pure default, but it was all so glamorous, and exciting. She was also incredibly impressed with the charitable side of the clinic as well as the care and concern that had been shown to Jessica—the work really was diverse.

As promised, her intercom buzzed at five minutes to four and Lizzie headed down to the car, sinking back into the leather for the impossibly short trip to the clinic.

She felt looked after.

Lizzie blinked at her own admission.

For the first time in an awfully long time she felt as if she was being looked after, rather than the other way round.

It was a guilty admission.

As she’d been growing up, Lizzie’s parents had doted on her.

Her mum would even warm her school uniform every morning in the winter. Lizzie had been wrapped in love by her parents.

Supported.

Stifled.

A bit, Lizzie conceded as she thanked the driver and stepped out of the warm car into the freezing morning. The pavement was icy and the air blew white as she let herself in.

Not stifled in any terrible way, Lizzie guiltily amended as she keyed in the security code to turn off the alarm. Her parents had been wonderful, supporting her in everything, but even her leaving home to do her nursing training had caused such a marked change to their many routines that it had been then, almost at that point, that Lizzie had been more a carer than cared for.

She had worried endlessly about them, telling herself not to as she’d prepared for a trip overseas with her boyfriend.

Her first.

It had never happened.

She had found out at the airport that her mother had had a serious fall and, to Peter’s displeasure, she had backed out of their trip and returned to her family, racked with guilt for even thinking of leaving, and had stayed to take care of her mother.

When her mother had gotten to the stage that she’d barely recognised her, and both her parents had gone into a home, Lizzie had realised that it was now or never and had made the move to London, much to her father’s distress.

Families, Lizzie thought as she turned on the lights and watched the glittering chandelier sparkle above her, were complicated—even the straightforward ones.

And as for the not so straightforward …

‘Ethan!’

He was crashed out on the sofa in Leo’s office and she was grateful to Leo for having had the foresight to tell her how to deal with this because otherwise she might have wondered whether it was best to leave Ethan and set up in another office.

‘Ethan!’ He stirred and, deciding there was only one kind way to wake him, Lizzie went off and made them both a coffee and then woke him as she always had when she had come to do his dressings—by turning on every light.

‘Lizzie …’

‘Like the old days, isn’t it?’ Lizzie smiled, handing him the coffee.

‘I was working.’

‘Hmm …’ Lizzie wasn’t convinced.

‘This time I actually was.’ Ethan almost smiled at her doubtful expression. ‘I had a conference call at three with a doctor in the Solomon Islands. I thought Leo’s office might be a better background than me at home …’ He watched as Lizzie turned on Leo’s desk lamp and checked all his investigation and prescription pads as Ethan took a grateful drink of his coffee. ‘How are you finding it?’ Ethan asked.

‘Interesting,’ Lizzie said. ‘I actually really enjoyed yesterday and the flat is amazing.’

‘Good.’

‘I really am grateful to you for putting me forward for the job.’

‘You don’t need to be grateful, Lizzie,’ Ethan said. ‘You deserve a break and after all you did for me I should be the one who’s grateful.’

‘I did nothing!’ Lizzie said. ‘Except dress your legs.’

‘And talk,’ Ethan said, and Lizzie paused, remembering how he had been so shell-shocked, so deep into himself, that she’d just wittered on about her family, her parents, what she was making for dinner. Just every little inane thing as it had come to mind and slowly he had started to converse.

‘You helped bring me back from hell.’

‘You’re still there, though,’ Lizzie said, and she turned her back and started pulling back the drapes so that Ethan couldn’t see the tears stinging her eyes. Yes, he had come a long way but there was still such a long way to go.

‘How come you’re in so early?’ Ethan asked.

‘Leo’s got surgery early. Marianna is coming in soon …’

‘Ah, the cloak-and-dagger stuff,’ Ethan said. ‘You might want to leave the curtains closed, then.’

Good point, Lizzie thought, turning around.

‘I think he keeps a red carpet in the cupboard in the hall,’ Ethan said, and Lizzie heard the slight trace of bitterness.

‘She’s lovely.’

‘I’m sure she is.’ Ethan shrugged. ‘Lizzie …’ Ethan was hesitant, he didn’t really know how to play this, but he had seen Leo yesterday, seen his fingers on Lizzie’s chin. As much as he had tried to deny it, Ethan had read the instant attraction, not just from Leo but Lizzie too. ‘I didn’t really tell you much about my brother …’

‘He’s been great,’ Lizzie said, taking a drink of her own coffee. ‘Of course, we didn’t get off to the best start …’

‘You soon get used to that sort of thing with Leo,’ Ethan said, and watched a dull blush spread on her cheeks as she resumed needlessly tidying Leo’s desk. ‘He’s a rake, Lizzie. He goes through women like …’ He glanced at the pad she held in her hands. ‘That new prescription pad will outlive his next conquest.’

‘That’s none of my business,’ Lizzie pointed out. ‘I’m here to run the clinic, not manage his sex life.’

‘I’m just letting you know. Leo is what he is …’ How did you describe a sun that burnt? ‘He’s an amazing surgeon, not that he uses it much …’

‘He explained all that.’

‘Leo likes the fast lane, there’s nothing more to him than that.’

Lizzie wasn’t so sure. Brilliant surgeon or not, you didn’t get to be where Leo was by chance and she was quite sure there was far more to Leo behind that very smooth exterior.

‘Lizzie …’ Ethan liked Lizzie and decided to get straight to the point. ‘He’s a bastard. Leo—’

‘Ethan,’ Lizzie broke in, ‘I don’t need a big brother looking out for me.’

‘Neither do I,’ Ethan said, and gave a wry smile. ‘I’ve told him the same thing many times.’ Yet she was right. He thought of Lizzie more like a brother would and he didn’t want her to get hurt. Ethan knew the damage Leo so easily wreaked and he could not stand that for Lizzie so he pressed on when, with anyone else, he wouldn’t have. ‘I’ve never known Leo serious about anyone …’ Ethan hesitated and then corrected his lie by omission. ‘Actually, there was one …’ Lizzie glanced up at the tentative note to his voice ‘… but they were never serious.’ God, Ethan hated talking about personal things and he certainly wasn’t going to tell Lizzie about Olivia. ‘All you need to know is that Leo—’

‘I get the message.’

‘Good,’ Ethan said. ‘So long as you do.’

They both fell silent as they heard a car pull up and a few moments later Leo stepped in.

His hair was damp and he smelt as fresh as if he’d just that second stepped from the shower and sprayed cologne on himself.

‘Bitching about me?’ he said, for his entrance.

‘It’s so very easy to do,’ Ethan responded.

‘Don’t believe a word,’ Leo quipped to Lizzie, but he was unusually rattled, a smidge jealous at the sight of Ethan and Lizzie gossiping over coffee, and not for the first time he wondered about the nature of their relationship.

‘I’ll get you a coffee.’ Lizzie headed off and Leo took off his heavy coat and hung it up.

‘Here again?’ he said to Ethan.

‘I had a conference call,’ Ethan said. ‘So you’ve got Marianna coming in for major surgery this morning?’

‘I do.’ Leo refused to be drawn; he knew how little Ethan thought of his work and that his skills could be far better utilised. Leo certainly wasn’t about to justify himself, especially not at this hour!

‘Have a look at this,’ Leo said, as Lizzie returned with coffee. ‘Hot off the press.’

‘Oh, my goodness!’ Lizzie smiled. There was a picture of Marianna wearing her eye patch and a white arrow pointing to the streak of fluorescein running down her cheek. There was an extraordinarily long piece about corneal scratches and how she would have to keep her eye covered and wear dark glasses. The Sirmontane royal spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the reports that Marianna had been scratched by the puppy Prince Ferdinand had bought her.

‘There’s even a photo of her puppy!’

She couldn’t help but laugh but a less than impressed Ethan limped off. He could hear them laughing and chatting through the empty clinic, hear their easy conversation as Lizzie set up for the surgery, and he wondered if he’d been clear enough in his warning.

No, he wasn’t overreacting and it wasn’t far too soon, he’d seen the way Leo had first responded to her.

They’d known each other close to twenty-four hours now.

For Leo, that could be considered contained!

Gwen arrived early too and then, a short while later, Marianna arrived via the basement, with her security, and very soon the procedure would be under way.

Marianna really was delightful.

‘Well done!’ she said to Leo as he marked her eyes with his purple pen for the procedure. ‘I read the article on the way here.’

‘Good, isn’t it?’ Leo smiled. ‘By the time most people are waking up to read it, you’ll already be done. I’ll let you know how many journalists we have calling to make an appointment with the ophthalmologist.’

‘Do you have one here?’ Lizzie asked, and Leo nodded.

‘He comes in twice a week. It works out great for this type of thing. They’ll all be ringing to make appointments, just trying to catch us out. They won’t, though.’

Leo really did have everything worked out, Lizzie was fast realising.

He was very good with Marianna. She lay down and he chatted with her easily as he put in an IV. Incredibly stoic, she asked for only minimum sedation.

‘You’re sure?’ Leo checked. ‘You can sleep through it.’

‘I’d really rather not.’

‘That’s fine,’ Leo said. ‘I’ll give you lots of local and just enough sedation to make sure you’re relaxed. You can always change your mind.’

‘Thank you,’ Marianna said, but Lizzie guessed she wouldn’t be changing her mind. Marianna was a woman who clearly liked to be in control at all times.

Leo and Lizzie set up for the procedure, chatting to Marianna as they did so.

‘How are you enjoying your work?’ Marianna asked.

‘Very much,’ Lizzie said, keeping a careful eye on their patient as Leo administered the sedation.

‘How are you feeling?’ Leo checked.

‘Good.’

‘Okay. I’m just going to put in the local anaesthetic around your eyes.’

‘The things we have to go through …’ Marianna said, as Lizzie wiped a few tears away and they waited for the anaesthetic to take effect. ‘I am hoping once the wedding is over the press will get tired of me.’

Leo’s eyebrows rose above his mask and Marianna smiled. ‘Yes, I know they will go crazy again when we have children but, like you, I have my secret weapons.’

‘Do tell.’ Leo grinned.

‘Marco.’

Leo laughed and glanced over at Lizzie. ‘That’s Prince Ferdinand’s younger brother. He’s a bit of a wild card—I can see he could help take the spotlight off the two of you.’

‘Ferdinand is much quieter.’ Marianna yawned, the sedation making her feel a little drowsy. ‘Marco is the one who makes the headlines.’

‘I haven’t heard much about him lately,’ Leo mused, checking around Marianna’s eyes to be sure they were numb before starting. ‘What’s he up to these days?’

Marianna didn’t answer. Lizzie wondered if she’d dozed off but, no, she was still awake, telling Leo that she couldn’t feel anything as he dabbed at the area with a needle.

‘We’ll start then,’ Leo said. He had worked with celebrities and royalty long enough to know when a question was deliberately ignored—whatever Prince Marco was up to, Marianna did not want it discussed.

‘Okay, keep your eyes closed, Marianna, unless I tell you otherwise.’

Lizzie had never seen such steady hands as Leo’s. He was incredibly precise.

Leo too was enjoying working with Lizzie. The mood in the room was relaxed and he knew Marianna was being well taken care of as he focused on her eyes, removing the smallest sliver of her upper lids. Even as he tied off one long suture, Lizzie could see the difference.

‘Less is more,’ Leo explained to Lizzie as he worked. ‘In this case we’re not trying to change anything, just enhance.’

‘Will there be any more procedures?’ Lizzie asked now that Marianna was dozing quietly as Leo worked.

Leo shook his head. ‘I’ve already zapped a few capillaries and I’m sure Marianna won’t mind me telling you she had some work done with the most impressive ceramist. I might have to pay him a visit.’

Lizzie smiled behind her mask, Leo needed no work done on his teeth, which were white and very even, but not so falsely perfect that she really couldn’t be sure if he’d had work done.

‘Have you ever thought of having anything done, Lizzie?’ Marianna asked groggily.

‘I have.’ Lizzie refused to look at Leo.

‘Have you had anything done yourself?’

It was Lizzie who chose not to answer this time.

‘That’s what I’m trying to work out,’ Leo answered for her.

It was all good-natured teasing, just the sort of idle chatter that took place during a straightforward procedure, and in less than an hour Marianna was sitting up, a little woozy but looking into the mirror as Leo outlined what he had done.

‘You will get a little bruising and swelling but not too much, I think.’

‘Will I be able to cover it with make-up?’

‘No make-up yet,’ Leo warned. ‘It’s going to look worse before it looks better. We’ll keep you here for today …’ He wrote his operation notes and gave Lizzie his instructions. ‘Lots of iced eye masks and if Marianna can rest in a recliner, that would be great. I’d like her head up.’

‘Sure.’

Lizzie watched as he wrote on a small card. She assumed it was the instructions but he clipped it to the operation notes.

‘Okay, call someone to help you take Marianna to the recovery area.’

It was nothing like anywhere Lizzie had worked.

She didn’t even have to push the wheelchair.

Charlotte was waiting in the sumptuous recovery room, which was more like a day spa than anything Lizzie was used to. She welcomed Marianna and they helped her into a chair and checked her obs and then, as Marianna slept, Charlotte showed Lizzie a few things—such as letting the chef know that they had a patient back from Theatre after twilight sedation.

‘Iced water.’ Charlotte read Marianna’s choices to the chef and Lizzie hid her amazement—you even ordered water here! ‘Could you send some chamomile tea in half an hour and I’ll let you know when she’s ready for breakfast. Poached eggs and salmon and brown bread, no crusts, no butter.’

‘I want to get my eyes done just so I can lie in that chair and have poached eggs and salmon brought up to me.’ Lizzie smiled. ‘But I’ll have butter, please.’

‘You can,’ Charlotte answered. ‘Leo lets us have one procedure a year on the house … it doesn’t have to be you, you can use it for a family member.’

Lizzie wondered if she should get a T-shirt with ‘I LOVE MY JOB!’ printed on the front.

‘Usually a patient who has had a blepharoplasty would just stay till around lunchtime but Leo wants Marianna here all day and you’ll take her back to the hotel this evening.’

‘Okay.’

There was a knock at the door and Gwen came in, smiling. ‘Have you got something for me?’

‘I do.’

Charlotte removed the little card from the patient notes and handed it to Gwen, who headed off. ‘It’s just a note to attach to flowers,’ Charlotte explained. ‘Gwen will have them sent to the hotel.’

‘Do all patients come home to flowers and handwritten notes from the surgeon?’

‘Leo’s Ladies do,’ Charlotte said with a smile. ‘I’ll leave you, then.’

Lizzie was completely unused to doing nothing at work but, for this esteemed patient, the head nurse was with her at all times and Lizzie found herself checking cupboards for something to do.

‘You can sit and read,’ Leo said, when he came in later in the afternoon to check in on Marianna. ‘You don’t have to pretend to be busy. You may as well enjoy the quiet times, it’s not always like this.’

‘Thanks.’

He went over and checked on Marianna.

‘I think I can go back to the hotel now,’ Marianna said, and Leo agreed. Really, she could have gone home a while ago but naturally Leo had wanted to make sure everything was fine.

‘Lizzie will see you back to your hotel. If you have any concerns at all, don’t hesitate to call me. Otherwise I’ll see you tomorrow.’

He gave his instructions to Lizzie before they headed off.

‘Don’t worry about coming back,’ Leo said. ‘Thank you for coming in so early. It all went very well. I’ll give you a call a bit later.’

‘A call?’

‘To make sure the transfer to the hotel went okay.’

Why else would he be calling her? Lizzie thought, trying to tame a sudden blush.

The hotel ensured everything went seamlessly too and, completely unseen by any prying eyes, Lizzie transferred her patient from Harley Street to a gorgeous suite at the hotel, where flowers were waiting from Ferdinand and, of course, from Leo too.

‘How sweet!’ Marianna said as she read the card and whatever Leo had written made her laugh. ‘He says my puppy really needs his nails trimmed. Leo is gorgeous, isn’t he?’

Lizzie didn’t really know how to answer. ‘He’s a great boss,’ she said. ‘Well, so far …’ And then her voice trailed off. Really, their start had been terrible, she’d been thinking of walking out on the job there and then, but in less than two days somehow all had been forgiven.

Not forgotten, though.

As she slipped eye masks into the fridge for Marianna to use overnight Lizzie recalled Ethan’s words this morning—he’d been warning her, Lizzie knew.

He didn’t have to.

Of course Leo was gorgeous and of course she fancied him, but there was no way Lizzie was going to add herself to the list of Leo’s Ladies. And anyway, she told herself, as if someone as stunning and delicious and as in demand as Leo Hunter might be remotely interested in her.

He was, though.

Lizzie swallowed and then corrected herself.

Leo Hunter would have been flirting from the cradle—those blue eyes, that slow smile certainly weren’t exclusive to her.

Two days in and Lizzie was in love …

With her job!

And she had every intention of keeping it.

She applied some ointment to Marianna’s eyes and made sure she was settled before saying goodbye then heading out to the street and into a taxi and home.

Lizzie was just sinking into the bath with the last of the champagne chocolate truffles and wondering if it was true that she could have a procedure done, and what she might choose if it was, when her phone rang.

Of course she had to race through to the lounge and stood naked and dripping wet as the very unruffled voice of Leo came on the line.

‘Did I disturb you?’

‘Of course not,’ Lizzie lied.

‘How was Marianna?’

‘Fine. Everything went well,’ Lizzie said, trying to tell herself she was freezing, that it wasn’t his voice that had her shivering and made her toes curl.

‘Good.’

There wasn’t much to say really. It had been a very simple procedure and just as she thought she was done thinking about Leo Hunter for the day, he made sure that he would spend the rest of the night and days to come perpetually lodged in her thoughts.

‘Did Gwen discuss the ball with you?’

‘The ball?’

‘There’s a charity ball for Princess Catherine’s next weekend. You’ll be attending as my guest.’

‘Me?’

‘Yes.’

Lizzie just stood there as Leo calmly explained that as head nurse it was right that she accompany him.

It was pretty ironic that she was naked and soaked as he invited her to such a prestigious event—a fish out of water was exactly how she’d be, and she knew it.

‘I don’t think you …’ How could she explain that she’d never been to a ball in her life, let alone on the arm of someone as glamorous as he? How could she properly explain to someone as sophisticated and worldly as Leo that she would stand out like a sore thumb? ‘I think I’m away that weekend …’ Lizzie frantically attempted.

‘I’m not asking you if you’d like to go, Lizzie,’ Leo said, and she realised that she might have witnessed his might but only now was she glimpsing his power. No one said no to Leo, unless they had an exceptionally good reason. ‘There’s an important work function coming up—I’m hoping you’ll be able to attend.’

‘Of course,’ Lizzie responded.

‘Good.’

He rang off then and instead of running back to her bath Lizzie headed to her wardrobe and then the computer and logged into her bank account.

She might be working in the most luxurious surroundings but her pay didn’t go in till next Thursday and … Lizzie winced as she saw the damage Christmas had wreaked on her credit card, and her mother’s hairdresser was booked for this weekend and she charged like a wounded bull.

Leo might call it a mere work function but it was the renowned Princess Catherine’s Charity Ball he was referring to. It wasn’t just that she had no idea what to wear that had her head spinning, it was also that she would be attending with Leo.

No, Lizzie didn’t sleep well.