Her Brooding Italian Surgeon. Fiona Lowe

was life-support.

      She sipped her tea, trying hard to ignore the delicious tingling on her skin and the fluttering in her stomach that sitting so close to him had activated. Warrior Abbie raised her sword across the shield. She could do this. She could sit here for a few minutes and make polite conversation because, come midnight, Leo Costa would leave her hospital. The emergency was over and they’d resolved the issue of Maria’s care. She couldn’t imagine him staying in Bandarra very long before Melbourne called him home, and with his departure the status quo of Bandarra Base and her much-coveted quiet life would be restored. Yes, everything would return to normal. She smiled and breathed out a long, slow, satisfying breath.

      Leo sipped his tea, watching Abbie holding her cup close to her chest as if it were some sort of protective guard. An unusual cosy feeling of well-being floated through him—something he never experienced when he was in Bandarra. Could an apology really have that effect? Apparently so. He’d always prided himself on being fair and he hadn’t given Abbie the same consideration. He let the odd feeling settle over him. Today had been incredible. Not just the excitement of the ‘seat-of-your-pants’ surgery but working alongside Abbie. She had an air of self-containment that intrigued him. Those eyes intrigued him.

      She stared at her shapely ankles, which rested again on the coffee table, and sighed. ‘I could live without the todays of this world. We were lucky to have your expertise. Thanks.’

      He was used to gushing praise but the plain appreciation had an unambiguous authenticity which he appreciated. ‘I’m just glad I was here. These days I mostly do elective surgery, although I’m on the trauma roster at Melbourne City. Thankfully, I’m not always needed.’

      She turned her head to look at him and understanding wove across her face, joining her cute sun-kissed freckles. ‘But there’s nothing quite like the buzz of a good save.’

      He grinned. ‘Yeah, but you can’t actually go around wishing accidents on people or saying stuff like that or you sound macabre.’

      She chuckled. ‘You’re a surgeon; it’s a given.’

      He tried to look affronted but instead he joined in with her tinkling laughter. Abbie McFarlane had a straight-shooting delivery style that was as refreshing as it was unusual. He realised with a thud that apart from his immediate family, not many people spoke their mind to him any more.

      She returned her gaze to her feet and he fought the urge to caress her jaw with his fingers and tilt her head back towards him so he could look into her eyes. He wanted to dive into those eyes which had stared back at him so many times today from over the top of a surgical mask, expressing everything from fear to joy.

      Instead, he breathed in deeply, letting her intoxicating scent of fresh berries roll through him.

      ‘So is this a flying visit to Bandarra?’

      His libido crashed and burned as the familiar Bandarrainduced agitation spiralled through him. ‘Yesterday I would have said yes. I usually fly in and fly out because I’m frantic in Melbourne.’

      You keep telling yourself that’s the reason. It’s served you well for years. He shut his mind against the eminently reasonable voice he’d been silencing for almost as long. ‘Nonna’s CVA gave me a wake-up call and I want to spend a bit of time with her.’

      As if in slow motion, she moved her gaze from her feet to his face, her irises widening into a reflective pool. ‘Meaning?’

      ‘I’ve asked my secretary to set back my patient list for the month.’

      A shadow passed through her amazing eyes and her usually well-modulated voice rose slightly. ‘So you’re here for a few weeks?’

      ‘Yep. Family time.’ A jet of edgy unease tangoed with the flow of imposed duty. Spending time with Nonna was the right thing to do but the fact it meant spending a few weeks in Bandarra sent a shot of acid into his gut, eating at the lining. How the hell was he going to fill his days and stay sane?

      He leaned back and breathed in deeply, trying to relax his chest as he stretched his arms across the back of the couch. Immediately, his fingers itched to curl around Abbie’s alabaster neck and feel her softness against his skin.

       Getting to know Abbie would keep the Bandarra demons at bay.

      There was nothing quite like the thrill of the chase and the idea offered him the first ray of hope he’d felt since his father had demanded he stay. It would be the perfect distraction. ‘I’m looking forward to spending some time with you too, now we’re friends.’

      Her torso shot abruptly away from the back of the couch as if she’d been electrocuted and her eyebrows shot skyward. ‘Friends?’ The word sounded strangled. ‘That’s probably going a bit far.’

      Stunned surprise dumped on him like the cold and clammy touch of slime. He couldn’t even think of a time when someone had rejected his overtures and the feeling stung like a wasp—sharp and painful. His jaw tensed as he tried to hold on to his good humour. ‘Colleagues, then.’

      She gave a tight laugh. ‘We’re hardly colleagues.’

      Her words bit, devaluing his interpretation of the last fourteen hours and stripping bare the memory of the camaraderie and professionalism they’d shared. ‘What the hell do you call today, then?’

      ‘Long.’ She lurched to her feet, her gaze wavering until it finally rested on his left shoulder. ‘I have to do a final round, Leo, so I’ll say goodnight. Thanks for your help today and enjoy your holiday in Bandarra.’ She turned her back and walked away from him and towards the door.

      His jaw fell open at her abrupt dismissal of him and a curse rose to his lips, but it stalled at the sight of her baggy scrubs moving against a curvaceous butt. Lust collided with aggravation and shuddered through him. His palm tingled, his blood roared hot and he wanted to haul her back by those caramel curls, wrap her in his arms and demolish her prickly reserve with a kiss.

      For the first time in months his body came alive—every colour seemed brighter, every feeling more intense and he buzzed with the wonder of it. He didn’t know if it was the aftermath of the sheer rush of the emergency or the challenge of the very brisk Abbie McFarlane but, either way, if he had to stay in Bandarra he had to keep busy. Seducing Abbie McFarlane would be the perfect distraction. He clapped his hands as the seeds of a plan started to shoot. This was going to be too much fun and Abbie McFarlane didn’t stand a chance.

      Chapter Four

      ABBIE let Murphy, her Border collie, pull her along the path, totally oblivious to the usually soothing gnarled river redgums with their silver and grey bark. Not even the majestic sight of fifteen pelicans coming in to land on the blue-brown river water could haul her mind away from the fact that Leo Costa was staying in Bandarra.

      She gave a half-laugh tinged with madness that had Murphy looking up at her, his tawny-gold eyes quizzical. She’d been dreading Justin leaving, knowing that her workload would double. Now that seemed like a saving grace because she’d be so flat out virtually living at the clinic and the hospital that she’d never have any time in town to run into Leo. Who knew work would save her?

      The magpies’ early morning call drifted towards her and she heard a message in the flute-like song. Work had saved her before. Greg might have stripped her of everything else, but he hadn’t been able to take away her job. She’d survived and rebuilt her independence. Never again would she confuse lust with love, charm for affection, or control for care. Now she had the unconditional love of a dog, which she’d choose every single time over the pile of broken promises men left in their wake.

      ‘Come on, Murph, time for breakfast at the clinic.’ She broke into a jog, channelling all her energies into the run, driving away every unsettling thought of an onyx-eyed man with broad shoulders that hinted at being able to shelter those he loved from the world.

      The clinic was in the hospital grounds and housed in the original Bandarra