From Venice With Love Read Free Page A

if he couldn’t believe she was who she’d said she was.
    He gave his head a sharp shake. And then he held out his hand. ‘Dr Nicholas Moretti,’ he told her. ‘Nico.We’ve met before. Twice, in fact. At St Margaret’s Hospital in London. And that night at The Cosmopolitan Club. It was a few years ago now…’ His voice trailed off. He was frowning and still staring as if he could barely recognise her. As if he couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing.
    Well…no surprises there. He was talking about a lifetime ago. She’d been a different person then.
    A person she couldn’t afford to be reminded of because it would only make this situation even worse. How incredibly unfortunate was this? To not only lose the protection she depended on but to meet someone who had known her back then? Before…
    Before her life had turned so sharply it had virtually doubled back on itself to take the path she was now on.
    For just a moment Charlotte could remember what it had been like at that crossroad.
    She could feel the fear.
    She didn’t remember meeting him. Oh…she’d felt the beat of familiarity when she’d seen him. She probably
would
remember him if she allowed her mind to go back to that time. To when she’d been the rising star of a prestigious London hospital and her academic brilliance had been enough to erase the shadows of a painfully shy youth. To when she’d had the world at her feet and she had been courted by albeit distant royalty and wined and dined at places like The Cosmopolitan Club.
    A time that it hadn’t even occurred to her that she might be reminded of today.
    Not only reminded of but stripped of any protection she would normally have to ward it off. How long had it been since she’d felt this vulnerable?
    To Charlotte’s
absolute
horror, she could actually feel the prickle of tears at the back of her eyes. Tears that could unleash weakness that might undo her completely. She blinked. Hard. She dragged her gaze away from yet another expression she could read in this man’s eyes. He had such an open face. He was probably a very nice person but she didn’t need anyone to be
concerned
about her.
    She could look after herself. And succeed. She’d learned that long ago.
    A police officer had come to stand beside them. This man who had an Italian name that matched his looks but who, curiously, spoke perfect English with an Irish accent, translated his query.
    ‘He wants to know if you need assistance of any kind.’
    A snort of something akin to laughter escaped Charlotte. She alone was the only person who could provide the kind of assistance she needed right now. Unless by some miracle a police diving team could be available within seconds and an even more impressive miracle would reveal a laptop that could survive total submersion.
    But a rapid conversation in Italian led to the police officer nodding and indicating, with a wave of his arm, that Charlotte should follow him.
    Nick was also following. ‘He’s going to take us to the symposium venue,’ he said briskly. ‘In the police launch. It will only take a few minutes.’
    Charlotte looked down at her ruined clothes. She couldn’t appear anywhere looking like this.
    ‘We will explain what’s happened.’ His hand was onher arm, guiding her through the crowd that was only now dispersing properly. ‘Please let me help if I can. I feel responsible for this unfortunate turn of events and I will do anything I can to put things right. Perhaps they can rearrange the order of the presentations. And do you have a back-up of your material?’
    Having a man step in and try and solve this problem was the last thing Charlotte needed.
    ‘Of course I do. It’s on a flash drive.’
    ‘Which is where?’
    Charlotte focused as the police officer offered her a hand to step into the speed boat. She ignored the hand, climbed aboard unaided and then turned back.
    She had to speak through gritted teeth. ‘It’s in the side pocket of the laptop case