Lussuria (New Version) (5 page)

“No, I don’t have one. I use my phone for the time.”

That silenced him. He looks at my neck, and it makes me self-conscious that he’s scanning my skin which is ironic since I’ve just finished touching and scanning his. Feeling self-conscious, I place my hand over my bare skin. Shit, I wish I had put some jewelery on this morning.

“Would you perhaps like to go to dinner with me? You know, as a thank you for your kind help today and for seeing me at such short notice. I’m truly grateful.”

What the hell? Where has this come from? I can’t believe he has the audacity to ask me to dinner. Did I hear correctly? This is wrong on so many levels! He is officially a patient, I don’t do dates, and he is a stranger. This is never going to happen, even if I’m attracted to him.

I’m speechless.

“Oh, I’m sorry. No, I’d rather not.”

I look at my hands and hope he doesn’t press me again.

“Why? It’s just dinner. We can keep things completely professional, although I like the idea of getting to know you better.”

His voice seems upbeat and steady, and my mental vision is scanning the shelves of my inner library, trying to retrieve all those files from earlier.

“I have rules. I don’t see patients outside of the clinic, and I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

There. That’s truthful enough. Although, it does sound cold and sharp.

“Well, technically I won’t be your patient if I am to come back and see Mark.” He sounds confident as he rubs his thumb back over his eyebrow and places two fingers on his forehead.

“Please, Mr. Caruso, I can’t. I just can’t.”

I feel tears well up in my eyes again. God, I’m an emotional wreck today. My heart is racing again, and my fingers are tightening.

“Please, it’s Lucca, and you can’t, or you won’t?” His tone is softer.

I feel under so much pressure...

“Both!” I blurt out unintentionally. I did not mean it to sound so brusque, but unaffected, he persists.

“What can I do to change your mind, Doc?”

Why is he still going on about this?

“Nothing, it will never happen. Now, can I please go back to my unpacking if that’s all? And good luck next week with Mark. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

Should I be filing this?

Definitely, but I don’t have the energy right now.

I stand up and put my hand forward to shake his hand and bid him farewell—hopefully forever. I sigh, realizing that I sounded curt and abrupt. It’s unsettling, and I feel embarrassed about my tone, but I need to stand my ground here.

He doesn’t shake my hand.

I knew it. I’ve pissed him off with my rudeness and cold behaviour.

Instead, he leans over and places each of his hands on my slightly quivering shoulders, then kisses me on both cheeks. He is so close that his scent has intoxicated me. I’m spellbound by those crystal azure blue eyes.

“Until we meet again, Non ho mai visto tanta bellezza, si è davvero special.”

Overwhelmingly sexy.

Yep, spellbound.

I take a step backwards; I’m utterly bewildered and in a trance. The butterflies have woken up and are fluttering their wide wings in my stomach, and my sensitive area is pulsing with great speed. I feel discomposed.

This is too much ... too close ... too personal.

Blushing, I still feel the heat from his soft lips on my cheeks.

“Please, Mr. Caruso. I don’t think you need to thank me with such familiarity.”

I assess his face, and he looks wounded.

“I’m sorry if I intimidated you, but it’s...well, you know. It’s my way. It is custom and tradition.”

My stomach hits the floor. I have just insulted him and his traditions because of my insecurities. Oh dear Lord. I’m a horrible person.

“I’m sorry, Lucca. I thought you were trying to be overly friendly with me, and it’s just that I like distance. It’s just my way, but I’m sorry if I offended you. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“Doc, I understand. You don’t need to explain. I’ll let you get back to your business, and I really am thankful. But for the record, I love a challenge.”

He smiles at me and softly brushes his thumb over my cheek. I can’t help but stare straight into his eyes. I’m mesmerized. I don’t step back this time, careful not to offend him.

“Addio bella signora… Goodbye, lovely lady … that’s what it means.” He lifts his lip on the left side again – sexy dimple.

“Oh ... err ... eh … goodbye.”

“Have a safe flight and a nice trip wherever you’re going.” He moves a stray curl away from my face.

Electric shock frenzy! I think I’ve been electrocuted.

“Thank you. I hope I will.” I love that he says safe—it is my most important priority.

I watch him as he walks out of the clinic. He looks back over his shoulder and stares at me, cocking his head to one side; the dimple reappearing and a smoulder in his glance.

Once he has left, I slump down in my chair and rest my head in my hands on my desk. I take my fingers and stroke my cheek lightly where I still feel a tingly sensation from his kiss. This has been a very challenging day indeed. I’m exhausted, and my mind is racing with everything else I still have to do. I have a case to pack, see to my dog Doris, entertain the girls with chat tonight and call Granny back. I’m not looking forward to that.

That reminds me to check my phone.

Cammy – Granny is looking for you, call her x

I could throttle Cameron. If he knows she’s looking for me, why he can’t just deliver the message to save me all the blooming heartache.

Me – Hi, Granny. I’ve been busy at work, but I will call you when I get home.x

Hazel – OMG it’s nearly holiday-doliday time eeeek x

Hazel sounds high as a kite, maybe her pms has shifted.

Jane – Can you water my plants?

Heaven forbid I forget to water the plants.

Me – I’m thinking of you, Jane. Hope you feel better!

Granny – Call me darling x love Granny x

Rachel – Have a great holiday, hon. I’m so jealous, enjoy xxx

I smile, thinking at how lucky Cameron is to have such a sweet girlfriend as Rachel. She certainly is a treasure, and I know they are well suited.

After I finish typing up my notes and report on the system, I save them, tidy the desk and get organized. Next, I leave my files on the top of the filing cabinet for Mark with a post it on the front telling him that he may have a visit from Mr. Lucca Caruso next week. I leave his registration form at the top of the folders in a plastic binder. I water the plants as instructed and neatly tidy up the floor area.

I scan the partitioned areas and my eyes are instantly drawn to a piece of scrap white card sitting on the bed that I was using to assess Lucca Caruso. It must have fallen out of his shorts pocket. I walk over and pick it up.

Doc you made my day-

Voi siete la più bella donna intrigante che abbia mai conosciuto – You are the most beautiful intriguing woman I have ever met x

That is what he said to me when he knew I didn’t understand him. This is way more than custom or tradition and a kiss.

Sexy!

Holy shit.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I pull over at the supermarket in Uddingston and pick up two bottles of Pinot Noir for Samantha and myself, and four bottles of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc for Lucy, Carrie, Jessica and Hazel. I thought Hazel would want to spend her last night with Dominic before leaving him for two weeks, but she says they have spent all day together, and she has bedsores from all the love making.

Too many details.

I buy Mr. Carlin a small steak pie, boiled potatoes, carrots and broccoli. He’s such an old fashioned, plain eater, but I don’t care as long as he’s eating something. I pick up some dark Swiss chocolates and a bottle of Glenfiddich whiskey for his 7pm nightcap, last minute toiletries for my vacation, and some dog treats for Doris. I don’t bother buying groceries for Cameron. He’s a grown up after all, and Rachel surely won’t let him starve.

I eventually arrive at the home I share with Cameron and Hazel. I’m particularly lucky to have secured this house—a sandstone, semi-detached in Uddingston—thanks to added financial help from Granny and Grandpa. The money they gave me from my trust really helped me out, allowing me to put down a decent deposit. I remember having a battle with Granny as she assumed I would go back up north after I graduated from Glasgow University, but I wanted to be near my friends. I’m twenty minutes from Glasgow, and thirty-five minutes from Edinburgh, so it’s a great central location.

I can hear Doris barking excitably. She patiently waits every night for me to come home. I see her frantically wagging her tail and bouncing up and down at my large living room bay window; she’ll have those blinds down one of these days with her hyperactivity. I open the front door and barely get inside before Doris is on top of me, kissing me, burying her head into my neck and wrapping her long lanky legs around my shoulders. She is so very spoiled, but I adore her.

“How’s my girly? Have you been a good puppy today for Mr. Carlin? I’m going to miss my little cupcake.” I kiss her as I rub her face and massage her ears. She shuts her eyes while making a deep contented gurgling sound in her throat.

I walk into the kitchen and place my bags down. Doris starts tearing at them, obviously smelling the treats. “No, Doris, that’s naughty. Dinner first for you, my girl.” I scoop out her dried food, add some chopped chicken from the fridge, and give her fresh water.

“Hazel, you upstairs? I’m just going next door to give Mr. Carlin his dinner. Can you let Doris out?”

“Yeah, just out of the bath! I’ll be down shortly. By the way, old Ted is going off his rocker about Doris, so beware…”

My relationship with Mr. Carlin is very similar to that of mine with my grandpa. I have much respect for them both and care deeply about them, and there are only a handful of men I can say that I trust and respect. He lives directly next door and his layout is identical to mine, although his interior is somewhat dated and old fashioned. I unlock his front door and let myself in. As I lift the newspaper off his lap and set it on the coffee table, he grunts a little and wakes up quickly, startled by my presence.

“It’s only me. You okay for steak pie tonight? I’m just putting it in the oven. Did you have a good day? I hope you were doing your exercises.” I use a firm tone because I know he has not been doing them; I can tell by his range of movement.

“Lexi, I’m shattered. No wonder I fell asleep. That dog of yours is a bloody nuisance. You need to get her checked at the vets because she is far too hyperactive. I’m not getting any younger lassie. Cameron took her out for a long walk, and I thought she would sleep, but no, she just wanted to jump like crazy and rip my newspaper.” He sighs in exasperation.

“Mr. Carlin, she keeps you young. She just wants to play. I got a Weimeraner because they are loyal and naturally protective and that’s my priority. She makes me feel safe. Now, do you want steak pie or not?

“Of course, I thought you were going to starve me,” he grumbles. “Oh, before I forget, Elizabeth called looking for you, but that dog was barking and by the time I got to the phone, it had gone to the answering machine.”

I put the steak pie in the oven, and the potatoes and veg in the steamer before boiling the kettle to put out a pot of tea for Mr. Carlin. I walk into the long hallway and sigh lifting his torn slippers up from under the hall console table. That’s another trip to the department store to replace them. I need to get Doris another Nyla bone for this terrible chewing fetish.

I press play on the answering machine and hear my grandmother’s broad Scottish accent.

“Ted, this is Elizabeth. Can you please tell Lexi to call me? I’m worried sick because she has not returned my calls and it’s important. It’s regarding her safety, and I know she is avoiding hearing the truth, so please tell her to call.”

Oh damn, Granny is on a mission. If I put off calling her, she’ll turn up at Glasgow airport and I don’t want her to do that.

“Mr. Carlin, I’m going out to the sunroom to call my grandmother. I’ll just stay until I put your tea out. I’m having the girls coming over, so we need to use your parking bay if that is alright?”

“Yes, Lexi dear, just make sure that Hazel is not being too loud out the back. She has the highest pitched laugh and she keeps me awake.”

I giggle at this because it’s true.

Opening the kitchen window to allow fresh air in, I hear Doris out the back whining. I sit on the tartan shawl spread across the wicker alfresco set that sits in the sunroom. I lift my phone out of my blazer pocket and dial Elizabeth’s number, praying it’s good news.

“Alexis, we have been worried sick! Why didn’t you call?”

“I’m sorry. I was terribly busy today, moving into my new clinic, organising for my trip and seeing a new patient.”

“What’s your new office, I mean clinic, like? Grandpa and I would love to see it when we are down. Grandpa wants to know if you got the little something we transferred to your bank account for a small treat while you’re away.”

I feel like such a guilty granddaughter for avoiding her.

“Yes, Granny. It’s far too much, as always. Please, please stop doing this for me. I appreciate it, and I’m entirely grateful, but I don’t want you frittering away your retirement on me. I have a job, and financial security, so I would much rather you keep the money for yourselves.”

Independence.

“Alexis darling, have you thought this through, about going away? You know how anxious you get, and Hazel can’t hold your hand twenty-four hours a day.”

She sounds like an old strict school teacher sometimes.

“Yes, and I’ll be fine. Now, what did you need to tell me that was so urgent?”

“I know this is difficult for you, darling, but Michael Parks has been released from prison. Not that it makes a difference, darling, but I just thought you should be aware ... Alexis, are you there?”