From Venice With Love Read Free Page B

that you
threw
into the canal.’
    It was a totally unjustified accusation in the wake of an obvious accident. It was also an undeserved slap in the face given that he was trying so hard to help.
    But Charlotte didn’t care. She couldn’t afford to.
    ‘Please don’t concern yourself any further.’ She turned away and nodded to the pilot of the boat, who revved the engine. Waved at him imperiously enough to indicate that speed was of the essence and it was time to leave. ‘This is my problem and I will deal with it.’
    Nico watched the police launch speed away down the canal.
    He could walk to the venue in only a few minutes longer than the boat trip would take. He hadn’t actually told her that he was booked to attend the symposiumhimself so he couldn’t really take offence that he hadn’t been invited to share the ride.
    Besides…he needed a few minutes to try and get his head around this extraordinary development.
    She might not remember him but he remembered Charlotte Highton very well indeed. He’d been looking forward to seeing what that dynamic young doctor was like further down the track of her brilliant career.
    Not that she’d been his type when he’d met her all those years ago but he’d been able to appreciate her attributes. The soft femininity that had been such a delightful contrast to the skill and intelligence she’d radiated as a young clinician. The sparkle of a woman who’d had the world and most of its men at her feet.
    Now she was a female clinician who exuded power and control. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of softness.
    Or emotion, other than anger.
    Except…just for a moment there, when he’d told her that he’d met her before, Nico could swear he had seen real fear in her eyes. A vulnerability that had been so out of place with the external appearance of this woman that he’d thought he’d been imagining things.
    What he certainly wasn’t imagining was the stark contrast between the woman he remembered admiring in the past and the one he’d just encountered.
    What the hell had happened to Charlotte Highton?
    And what was she trying to hide?

CHAPTER TWO
    ‘C HARLOTTE…THERE YOU ARE ! Thank goodness…I’ve been seriously worried about what might have happened to you.’ The tall, grey-haired man was hurrying towards her. As he got closer, however, his step faltered and his eyes widened. ‘Oh, my goodness. What
has
happened to you?’
    The hotel Bonvecchiata had a water landing for gondolas and motorboats so Charlotte had entered the foyer moments after leaping out of the police launch. She knew she looked a fright but there’d been no chance to duck into a restroom and at least tidy her hair and sponge some of the mud from her clothing. Richard Campbell, the co-ordinator of this select symposium and the man who’d invited her to open it, must have been pacing the foyer as he’d waited anxiously for her to arrive.
    ‘Long story, Richard. I’m very sorry, but I got caught up in an emergency. A man went into cardiac arrest and fell off some scaffolding right in front of me. I had to keep up the CPR until the ambulance got there.’
    Charlotte was speaking quickly but her mind was working even faster. There were about fifty peoplewho’d been invited to attend this symposium. Where were they? Sitting in the conference room already, drumming their fingers on the tabletops and muttering about the substandard organisation of this gathering?
    Richard was an old friend. Charlotte felt terrible about letting him down like this by being late and he didn’t even know the worst of it yet. How was she going to tell him that she’d lost her presentation material?
    He’d noticed her gaze sweep the foyer.
    ‘They’re serving coffee and cake in the restaurant for everybody. As soon as I knew you were running late I put back the start time for half an hour. There’s a couple of attendees that aren’t here yet as well.’
    ‘Oh…’ Charlotte nodded. She had been given a