Read Online Knight on the Children's Ward by Carol Marinelli - Free Book Online Page A

floral carpet, cheap blinds dressed the windows, and not a single thing matched.
    The kitchen was a mixture of beige and brown and a little bit of taupe too!
    There was a party going on upstairs, and an argument to the left and right. Here in the centre was Annika.
    She didn’t belong—so much so he wanted to grab her by the hand and take her back to the farm right now, right this minute.
    â€˜I’ll start dinner.’
    She poured some oil in a large wok, turned the gas up on some simmering water, and then glanced over and gave him a nervous smile, which he returned. Then she slipped on an apron.
    And it transformed her.
    He stood and watched as somehow the tiny kitchen changed.
    She pulled open the fridge and put a little meat in the wok. It was rather slow to sizzle, so she pulled out of the fridge some prepared plates, and he watched as she tipped coils of fresh pasta into the water and then threw the rest of the meat into the wok. Her hair was in the way, so she tied it back in a knot. He just carried on watching as this awkward, difficult woman relaxed and transformed garlic, pepper, cream and wine. He had never thought watching someone cook could be so sexy, yet before the water had even returned to the boil Ross was standing on the other side of the bench!
    â€˜Okay?’ Annika checked.
    â€˜Great,’ Ross said.
    In seven minutes they were at the table—all thosedishes, in a matter of moments, blended into a veal scaloppini that was to die for.
    â€˜When you said dinner…’
    â€˜I love to cook…’
    And she loved to eat too.
    With food between them, and with wine, somehow, gradually, it got easier.
    He told her about his farm—that his sisters didn’t get it, but it must be the gypsy blood in him because there he felt he belonged.
    â€˜I’ve never been to a farm.’
    â€˜Never?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜You’re a city girl?’
    â€˜I guess,’ Annika said.
    She intrigued him.
    â€˜You used to model?’
    â€˜For a couple of years,’ Annika said. ‘Only in-house.’
    â€˜Sorry?’
    â€˜Just for Kolovsky,’ she explained. ‘I always thought that was what I wanted to do—well, it was expected of me, really—but when I got there it was just hours and hours in make-up, hours and hours hanging around, and…’ she rolled her eyes ‘…no dinners like this.’ She registered his frown. ‘Thin wasn’t thin enough, and I like my food too much.’
    â€˜So you went to Paris…?’
    â€˜I did.’
    â€˜What made you decide to do nursing?’
    â€˜I’m not sure,’ Annika admitted. ‘When my father was ill I watched the nurses caring for him…’ It was hard to explain, so she didn’t. ‘What about you? Are you the same as Iosef? Is medicine your vocation?’
    â€˜Being a doctor was the only thing I ever wanted to be.’
    â€˜Lucky you.’
    â€˜Though when I go to Russia with your brother, sometimes I wonder if there is more than being a doctor in a well-equipped city hospital.’
    â€˜You’re not happy at work?’
    â€˜I’m very happy at work,’ Ross corrected. ‘Sometimes, though, I feel hemmed in—often I feel hemmed in. I just broke up with someone because of it.’ He gave her a wry smile. ‘I’m supposed to be sworn off women.’
    â€˜I’m not good at hemming.’
    Ross laughed. ‘I can’t picture you with a needle.’ And then he was serious. ‘Romanys have this image of being cads—that is certainly my mother’s take. I understand that, but really they are loyal to commitment, and virginity is important to them, which is why they often marry young…’ He gave an embarrassed half-laugh. ‘There is more to them than I understand…’
    â€˜And you need to find out?’
    â€˜I think so,’ Ross answered. ‘Maybe that is