Heart and the City Read online

  Heart and the City

  Love Medicine - Book One

  Cecilia Fyre

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to others. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Published 26 May 2020

  © 2020 Cecilia Fyre

  Cover: Lyss Em

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Thank you!

  About the Author

  Also by Cecilia Fyre

  1

  Lea stepped out of the elevator and heard a weird, humming sound. No, not humming. Purring. Looking around her she spotted a black cat in the crevice under a nearby radiator.

  “Hey, who’re you?” she murmured.

  Big, green cat eyes stared at her out of the gloom, the jet-black body obscured in the shadows.

  “Are you running away?” She crouched down and held out a hand. For a moment the cat looked like it was going to hiss at her. But then it slunk over, belly close to the marble floor. It was still purring.

  Truth be told, Lea wasn’t really a cat person. She preferred dogs. Or maybe, in the tiny New York apartments, a cockatiel would be nice. Though this kitty was pretty cute. Its coat was fluffy, and it was a little on the chubby side. Well cared for, certainly. Of course, it would be, in this swanky Little Italy apartment building where the cheapest unit cost well over three million dollars. And whoever the cat belonged to was probably looking for it. So Lea braced herself and picked it up.

  The elevator servicing the apartments on this floor was hidden away in a nook at the end of the hallway. As Lea stepped out from that little space now, the cat hanging relaxed in her arms, the door at the opposite end of the hallway opened. A man peered through it. “Carl? Man, if you slipped out, I’ll…shit…oh.”

  He spotted Lea and opened the door wider. She felt foolish asking since he had pretty much confirmed it. "He yours?" She nodded at the cat in her arms, who had wriggled onto his back, head lolling, looking at her with those weird, slitted eyes.

  “Yeah, he is,” the man said. “Little fucker… sorry.”

  She hid her smile as the color rose in his face. "Did he give you the slip?"

  He nodded. Lea walked the length of the hallway, taking the opportunity to study him. Brown hair to just over his ears, tousled and standing up in places like he'd just woken up. His eyes were very blue, slightly slanted, and returning her gaze openly. Nice cheekbones that gave his features a certain finesse. He had boyish good looks that could only be helpful in his line of work. He wore a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants, and despite his handsome face, his smile was a little shy and very ordinary. Lea already knew who he was.

  Despite what she might have said to Carmine about not caring for the famous people living in his building, now that she found herself face to face with one her heart jumped in her chest and her hands that were still clasping the cat began to sweat.

  When she reached him, she held out her arms, uncertain of what to do. He smiled again, then disentangled the furry creature from his cozy spot.

  “Thanks a lot.”

  Lea returned his smile. “No problem.”

  He wrestled for a moment with the cat, who was trying to crawl onto his shoulder. Once the cat had settled, looking very much at home, he extended his hand. “I’m Ricco.”

  Lea was about to say, I know, but then decided against it. She shook his hand. “I’m Lea. Nice to meet you.”

  Ricco gestured behind himself. “D’you wanna come in for a coffee? Thanks to you my afternoon won’t be wasted looking for this monster now.” He patted the animal, who purred.

  Lea shook her head. She could’ve kicked herself. “I’m sorry, I can’t. My shift starts in less than an hour.” She glanced at her watch. She’d rushed out to run some errands she’d forgotten about all week and was running late now.

  "Oh, okay… maybe another time." He seemed disappointed, but Lea found that hard to believe. Why'd he care one way or another?

  She banished the cynicism. “Definitely.”

  Ricco was still looking at her, and the intensity of his gaze made Lea feel uneasy. He seemed to notice and lowered his eyes, retreating into his doorway. Lea turned to retrace her steps to the door furthest from his.

  “See you later,” he said. Lea glanced around and he gave her a one-handed wave. She waved back and began to dig in her bag for the house keys. His door fell shut. Lea inserted her key into her own door, then stopped and glanced back down the corridor. Her heartbeat rather fast and her hands shook. She couldn't understand why that should be so. She'd never cared a fig about celebrities.

  2

  “You can fuck off, you asshole!”

  The voice in the hall was so loud, so penetrating that Lea froze by the door, a mug of tea in her hand. She waited, listening hard. Another voice now, male, lower. She couldn’t make out any words. Lea considered. Back in London, in her ex-council block flat, opening the door on a domestic argument would’ve been the last thing on her mind. But this was one of the most high-end apartment buildings in Lower Manhattan, not Clapham Common. And Lea thought she knew who that second voice belonged to.

  She put her tea on the hall table and opened her apartment door.

  Before she could get a look at the two people arguing she was roughly shoved aside by a tall, leggy woman with a face like thunderclouds. Stalking past she threw one scathing look behind herself; ignoring Lea. “Piss off, you loser!”

  As she turned again her eyes alighted on Lea. She gave a derisive snort. Then she raised one hand over her shoulder, middle finger outstretched. Stunned Lea glanced down the hall. There stood Ricco in his front door. He looked… well, Lea didn’t know what he looked like, exactly. Embarrassed? Upset? Relieved? Amused?

  A bit of all of the above?

  The ping of the elevator announced the departure of the angry woman and Lea had a sense of anticlimax.

  “You okay?” Ricco asked.

  Lea felt touched he’d ask if she was okay when he’d been the one getting read the riot act. She moved toward him. “I’m fine. Are you, though?”

  There was a bloody scratch high on Ricco's left cheek. Lea scanned his face. His expression was pinched like he was in pain. He was very pale. Lea frowned. What had that woman done to him? She indicated the scratch. “Did she do that?”

  Ricco raised his hand and touched the spot. He winced. “Must’ve been Carl. He hates fighting. As a matter of fact, so do I.”

  Lea asked, “Want me to look at that? It’s pretty close to the eye.” And then, when he hesitated, she added, “I’m a doctor.”

  “Ah.” His expression cleared. “Sure, thank you.”

  “Just give me a sec.”

  Lea went back into her apartment, grabbed the keys from the hall table and her kit bag from the floor by the shoe rack, then pulled the door closed behind herself.

  She followed Ricco into the penthouse, looking around curiously as they climbed a mahogany staircase. She tried to focus on the task at hand – if she was to look at his injury, minor as it appeared, she should keep that curiosity in check, at least for now.

  The penthouse was expensively furnished, but Lea’s first thought was still, 'Stereotypical bachelor pad'. There were no knick-knacks and apart from the two large charcoal sofas strewn with pillows the place looked almost uninhabited. A large stereo system stood in a corner, but no TV was
in evidence. Carmine had mentioned that Ricco had a son, but there were no toys lying around. So the kid must either be older or didn't live with his dad. Lea hadn't pressed her landlord for details.

  At the top of the staircase, Ricco turned to her. “Where, uh, d’you want me?”

  Lea considered, then indicated the sofas standing at right angles in the middle of the room. “There, so we got lots of light. Sit in the corner so I can face you.”

  He obliged and led the way over. Lea sat and looked at the scratch on his cheek. It was just below the eye, but it was really superficial and had stopped bleeding. She pulled iodine, cotton swabs, and small band-aids from her kit, then put on disposable gloves.

  “Bit of a close call with the eye, but hardly needs my attention,” she said. “Seeing as I’m here though…”

  He grinned as she tilted his head toward her. “Bill me only for your time, then.”

  She looked at him, confused. Then it dawned on her. A joke. “I’m not even a private doctor. I work in A&E… I mean, an ER.”

  “Are you from England?” he asked. “I thought I caught the accent. Nice.”

  Lea smiled. She was used to it by now, people here got that excited gleam in their eyes. But from Ricco, the comment gave her butterflies. "I came over from London a few weeks ago."

  “Oh wow.” He tried to look at her but she clicked her tongue and nudged his cheek. He turned his head back. “Sorry. Do you think you’ll stay?”

  “It’s very early days, but I’d like to if I can.”

  “Won’t your family miss you?” He sounded genuinely interested and she found that she didn’t mind sharing personal details with him.

  “My mum died a few years ago. That was all the family I had.”

  “Boyfriend, then? Husband?” He grinned but held still. “Girlfriend, maybe?” He said all of it in a droll way that conveyed the fact that he was joking. Lea had to grin as well.

  “None of those, if you have to know.” She dabbed at the cut a little harder than necessary, and he winced. “Are you always this nosy?”

  He shrugged, still grinning. “Guess so.”

  Lea chuckled and placed a small band-aid on his cheek. "There, all done."

  “Thanks a lot. Hey, you got time for that coffee now?” he asked. “Since you don’t wanna bill me that’s the least I can do.”

  “Sure,” she said as she pulled off the gloves.

  He glanced at the gloves and used cotton swabs. “I got no medical waste bin.”

  “Household waste is fine.” Lea smiled and replaced the unused supplies in her bag.

  “Over here.” He went into the kitchen and pointed at a cupboard. Then he turned to the gleaming espresso machine. “Latte? Espresso? Americano?”

  “Latte please,” Lea said. “Two shots.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, you’re a doctor, all right. Two-shot latte coming up. Half fat milk okay?”

  “Sure.” Lea disposed of the rubbish in a trashcan under the kitchen counter. “Do you mind if I go and wash my hands? Feels wrong not to.”

  Ricco motioned through a rounded archway leading deeper into the apartment. “Down that way, first door on the left.”

  As she followed the hallway Lea looked at the photographs on the walls. Several of them showed a dark-haired boy, growing bigger in each photo. That had to be Ricco's son. In the last picture, he was clearly a teenager. There was the answer to one of her many questions.

  She washed her hands in the marble-tiled guest bathroom. Looking into the mirror she tucked a wayward strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Today was her day off, and the quick bun she’d made at the back of her neck looked like she’d slept on it. Frowning, Lea quickly redid it, coiling her long tresses into a tidy knot at the nape of her neck. She gave it a critical look. Still not amazing. Ugh, get a grip. You’re just having coffee with a neighbor.

  She stuck her tongue out at her reflection and left the bathroom.

  In the kitchen, Ricco was putting the finishing touches on two steaming mugs. He handed one to her.

  “Thanks.” Lea savored the aroma wafting from the frothy milk. “That’s wonderful. I’ve always wanted one of these machines.”

  “This one’s awesome. Saves me running to Starbucks every five minutes, that’s for sure.”

  Lea looked around. Now that she was done patching up Ricco’s cut she could be a little curious. There were more photographs hanging behind the dinner table, and she moved closer to inspect them. “Did you take these?”

  “Most of them,” Ricco replied. “That one there, with the soldiers, that was in Malta. My grandma is from there, and I went for a film project, years ago. That one,” he pointed at one Lea couldn’t take her eyes off. “That’s an old girlfriend.” The picture was large, a black and white photograph of a naked woman tied to a bed, covered in what looked like blood and shimmering black in the monochrome.

  “Quite the thing to have in your living room.” Lea forced her eyes away from the image of the gorgeous woman, a little embarrassed. “The current one, is she in any of the photos, too?”

  He looked confused for a moment, but then it clicked. “Oh, Pearl… I mean, no. And she’s not current, not been for a pretty minute.”

  “She’s got a bit of a temper.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, she does.”

  His gaze wandered to the roof terrace, a wistful expression making his profile look more mature than it had so far. Lea wondered what had happened there with that woman. The beautiful, unusual photography had been a revelation. Ricco Como was more than just a handsome face.

  “I’ll say this before it drives me mad,” she blurted out. “I know you’re famous. I mean… I just didn’t want you to think I was pretending I didn’t,” she added lamely.

  Ricco looked at her, and his eyes were much darker. He didn’t say anything. Lea pressed on. In for a penny… “Carmine, my, well, landlord for now, I suppose. He told me you’re an actor, and that you’re on a post-apocalyptic show with motorcycles. I don't watch much TV, so I haven't seen it. It's just really weird, I've not met any famous people before." She was babbling and found it hard to stop. "Just so you know, I didn't offer my help because you're a celebrity. And I don't even know why I said all this."

  Ricco smiled. “No need to apologize. A bit of honesty is refreshing.”

  “Sure thing, I—” She interrupted herself when he suddenly went pale. “Ricco, are you okay?”

  He had closed his eyes and gripped the back of the nearest chair hard, swaying on the spot. Lea took the coffee mug from him as it tilted precariously and put both mugs on the dining table. Then she steadied him firmly by the upper arm and led him to the sofas. “Here. Sit.”

  Ricco did as he was told. Lea sat next to him, regarding him. His face was entirely bloodless, and he pressed the palm of his hand hard against his right temple, groaning.

  “What is it?”

  He squinted at her, his right eye unable to focus. “Migraine. I felt it coming since this morning, but I took a pill and thought it’d pass.”

  Lea placed a hand on his shoulder. He lowered his head with a groan. His pain pierced her heart. “You got your medication up here somewhere? I’ll get them for you.”

  “Diclofenac, in the kitchen,” he murmured. “Right-hand top cupboard.”

  Lea got the pills and a glass of water. She shook two tablets from the bottle. “Take these now, then rest until they take effect. And you should eat something with them soon, too.”

  Ricco took the pills and nodded. "I know, they make my stomach hurt. I only got them a few weeks ago. The new neurologist prescribed them."

  Ricco threw the pills back with a wince and washed them down with some water. Then he stretched out on the sofa, and Lea grabbed a cushion for his head. There came a purring sound from down by Lea’s feet.

  “Look who’s here,” she said.

  The cat jumped onto the sofa and curled up by his side.

  “Carl knows when I’m in pain. He doesn’t like to
cuddle much, but he always comes when my head hurts.”

  "He's a good friend, then. You call him Carl? An unusual name for a pet.”

  “It’s short for Carl Bernstein. The other one’s Bob Woodward, I got no idea where he is.” Ricco groaned and buried his face in the sofa cushions. Lea regarded the large windows, trying, and failing, to spot anything that would allow her to darken the room. “Maybe you should go to bed? It’s awfully bright in here.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll be fine once the meds kick in.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  He nodded, curling up around the cat. “Yeah… thanks for your help.”

  “No problem. I’ve got to be at the hospital soon.” She didn’t like the idea of leaving him like this. “Will you be okay on your own?”

  “Sure. I’m used to it.” It came out in a flat tone, and Lea didn’t have a response.

  Instead, she retrieved their mugs from the dining table, washed them in the kitchen sink, and placed them on the draining board. When she returned to the sofa to get her medical bag Ricco lay very still with his eyes closed, looking paler than ever.

  Lea shifted the cat and sat down by his side again. Opening the kit she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “I’ll write down my mobile… I mean, my cell phone number for you. Just in case you need anything, okay?”

  Ricco opened his eyes a crack and gave her a lopsided smile. “Thanks. You’re so nice.”

  “Oh, that’s just the Hippocratic oath, it pokes through sometimes,” she said, trying to lighten the mood. “Don’t let it fool you.”

  Ricco gave a weak chuckle, which he quickly stifled with a groan, pressing his hand against the side of his head again. Lea frowned, placing her own hand on top of his. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”