AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘You’d better give me Aimee. Hanging onto her while talking to a patient might be going too far.’ Elene reached for the wriggling bundle he was holding.
As much as he wanted to hold onto his girl, he handed Aimee over. Elene had a point. ‘You realise everyone thinks you’re her mum.’
‘They’re not far off the mark,’ she said, and followed up with one of those stunning smiles that warmed him to the tips of his toes.
This was all wrong. He should not be feeling any warmth brought on by Elene. But he was. No denying the softening in his belly, the increased speed of his heart. The same feelings he’d known that night in Wellington. Being careful was paramount. Elene had been hurt before. He wouldn’t be the next guy doing that to her.
Taking her elbow, he led her towards the middle-aged man who lived in a tiny house with his wife and eight kids. ‘Gino, I heard you wanted to see me. This is Elene, a friend from New Zealand.’
Under Mattia’s fingers Elene’s soft skin felt like velvet, making him want more of her. About to whip his hand away, he paused. This astute woman would instantly know something was up if he let go abruptly. No, nothing was up, but he couldn’t deny there was some tightening going on beyond his belt.
Gino was giving Elene the once-over. ‘Ciao, Elene. Nice to meet you. The doctor’s one wonderful man for all the good work he does for people like me.’
‘That’s enough, Gino. Show me where this pain is.’
Elene was smiling at the other man, ignoring his attempt to divert the conversation to more basic needs. ‘I hear this unit does good things for lots of people.’
‘So you’re the doctor’s wife. Your daughter is the spitting image of him.’
The colour fled Elene’s cheeks. ‘No, not his wife.’
‘Excuse me, everyone. Can we get down to business?’ I’m the doctor around here, which means I’m in charge. Not that these two were taking the slightest bit of notice of him. About to step away from Elene, Mattia hesitated. Support her, man. Don’t leave her to deal with this. ‘Like I said, we’re friends. Now, Gino, what’s the problem with your surgery?’
Either Elene hadn’t heard him or she chose to ignore him. ‘I’m going to talk to Dr Ricco about putting in some hours here while I’m in town.’
‘You want to work here?’ Mattia asked before putting his brain in gear. It shouldn’t surprise him. Nursing was in her blood. She wouldn’t be able to walk away from patients in need. What’s more, they’d love her in here.
‘Why not? I’m sure you can always use an extra pair of hands. I have a current licence to nurse in Italy. I don’t need a visa since I’ve got dual citizenship.’ Her smile was devastating, no doubt designed to suck him in and get the answer she was holding out for.
‘You have?’
She nodded. ‘Mum thought it a good idea in case I decided to return to her roots.’
‘That could work out for everyone.’ Things were beginning to fall into place. Elene could move to Sorrento without any legal difficulties. But did he want her working here? It was one thing to show her what drove him to get up every day, quite another to have her working in his space. Or was it? He wanted her to move to Sorrento, so letting her into his domain was a given. Keep your enemies close, remember? Except he struggled to think of her as anything but a friend. Um, make that a woman who rattled his emotions, set his body humming and didn’t take him at face value. A woman he could all too easily get beyond liking—if he hadn’t already started down that track. ‘We’ll talk about it later.’
The expectation in her eyes didn’t falter. ‘I’ll hold you to that.’
‘Thought you might.’ He watched her wander away, presumably to give Gino some privacy to talk about what was bothering him. Elene was a great nurse; his patients in Wellington always had nothing but good words for her. Nothing would be any different here, so why was he hesitating? Because I feel vulnerable around her. And that was so alien it floored him.
‘Dr Ricco?’ Gino spoke loudly.
Vulnerable to a woman? To Elene? How was that possible?
‘Doctor?’ Louder still.
He reluctantly turned away from that tempting sight of Elene’s straight back, pert butt and the long hair swishing back and forth over her shoulders, and refocused on who he’d come to see in the first place. He definitely couldn’t have her working here. His patients would be in jeopardy every time he got distracted.
‘Sorry, Gino. What did you say?’ Over the phone, the nurse had mentioned the man’s reluctance to get out of bed and start working that new hip.
‘The nurse says I have to walk with one of those geriatric walking frames. I only had surgery yesterday. I need to rest.’
‘Not at all, Gino. The best thing you can do to help yourself is get out of bed and start moving. Not big steps or long walks, just back and forth across the room like the physio showed you, and the exercises.’
The man grimaced. ‘Won’t I damage the wound?’
Getting too cosy? That happened in here sometimes, and who could blame the patients? A comfortable, warm bed, meals at regular intervals and clean pyjamas—all things most people took for granted were luxuries for many of this unit’s patients.
‘Not if you follow the rules. There might be a little pain, which the nurses can give you something for, but if you don’t do this the thigh muscles will tighten and hurt far more later on.’
Gino sighed and sat up, grunting as no doubt that wound reminded him why he was here.
Mattia brought the walking frame closer. ‘Those exercises for tightening and relaxing your thigh muscles while lying in bed will have you back on your feet quicker than you can believe.’
‘Mattia, can you take a look at some results that’ve come through from the lab?’ a nurse called from the desk.
‘Sure. You take over here.’ Mattia crossed to the desk and studied the computer screen in front of him, then picked up the phone and dialled the pharmacy down the road. Next he visited Signora Esposito. So much for a quick drop by before hitting the road to Positano.
A glance across the ward had him smiling. Elene was now with Gino as he balanced awkwardly on the walking frame. ‘That’s it. One small st
ep, then another. See, you can do it.’
‘My legs are feeble,’ Gino grumbled before taking another step.
Elene told him, ‘You’ll be on crutches before you know it, and able to give the nurses cheek as you go past their desk.’
His progress picked up from a snail’s pace. ‘Why are nurses always so chirpy?’
‘Hassling patients is part of our job. No, don’t turn around. You can make it to the other side and back. That’s it. You’re doing great.’
Mattia sat on the corner of the desk and watched Gino hanging off every word Elene uttered, doing his best to impress her. Yes, they needed her here. Everyone except him, that was. Though that was getting harder to believe by the day.
* * *
‘I don’t think I could ever be brave enough to drive along this road.’ Elene stared at the car in front that had just cut across the front of Mattia’s vehicle. It wasn’t the first of the morning. ‘Look at all those dents in the bodywork.’
‘I was going to offer you the use of my car whenever I’m at work.’ Mattia laughed. ‘Not a good idea?’
‘Not if you want it back in pristine condition.’ She laughed too, then winced as a car coming in the opposite direction overtook and sent everyone sideways in avoidance mode. ‘That was close.’
‘That’s Italy. Toughen up and enjoy it. The driving does get a little chaotic on popular roads like this one, especially when tourists are thrown into the mix.’
‘I’ll take the bus or train while I’m here.’ Especially since she had a toddler to think of. She looked beyond the sharp bend they were approaching and gasped. ‘That’s so beautiful. All those houses painted pretty shades of yellow and pink and red and white, with the sea at the bottom. How they remain attached to the steep hillside is beyond me.’ This was what she’d wanted to see again. Also to wander along the streets of Positano and poke around in the shops, pick up some souvenirs to take home.
