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“Mr. Ricci and Little Ms. Ricci, hi. What brings you in today?” There, that sounded normal. Totally normal.
Antonio flashed a sexy grin and sat forward to lean his elbows on his knees. “Just a check up to make sure the treatments are working.”
Yes, multiple treatments because little Rosie had an awful case of chronic severe asthma. They’d tried everything to get her attacks under control and it seemed over the past six months or so, something had worked. I nodded and turned my attention to Rosie.
“How have you been feeling lately?”
Rosie sat a little taller, clearly feeling like a big girl as she straightened her orange and blue jeweled crown with a shy smile. The little girl opened her mouth to answer, when a deeper voice intruded. “She’s had a bit of a chest rattle, but only after she’s been running around.”
I turned with a glare for the handsome chef. “It’s not your turn, Dad. First let Rosie tell me in her own words how she feels.” His nostrils flared at the challenge in my tone, and I arched my brows daring him to argue with me before I turned my attention back to Rosie. “Well, how have you been feeling?”
Rosie nodded and her big brown eyes focused on me, serious and thoughtful. “Sometimes it’s hard to breath when I play tag or kickball, but I’m fine when I play princess. Do you like princesses?”
I smiled at the question. It was no secret how much little Rosie loved princesses. “What’s not to like? Beautiful dresses, gorgeous jewels and parties all the time. Sounds like a pretty ideal life to me.” Especially compared to the childhood I’d actually had.
“Yeah,” she sighed wistfully.
The heat of Antonio’s gaze on the side of my face was distracting as hell, and I knew I had to get the appointment back on track. “What about when you’re sleeping, Rosie, do you ever wake up out of breath?”
She snuck a glance at her father and then back to me with a nod. “Sometimes. It’s scary at first, but then it goes away fast.”
“Are you having bad dreams or exciting dreams?”
Antonio sat up straight, as eager for the answer as I was. A slow grin bloomed across Rosie’s pale face. “Exciting!” She leaned forward as if she was sharing a secret. “Sometimes I ride dragons or fight giants, and one time I rode a whale to rescue the king!”
My eyes went wide at the tomboy princess before me. She had an active imagination that probably developed from all the time spent inside the walls of hospitals and doctor’s offices. “Well that explains it. Those exciting dreams of yours are no different from running and playing outside, so maybe try to dream about going for long walks around the castle grounds before bed, and leave the dragon rides for the daytime when someone can keep an eye on you, yeah?”
She let out a huff of disappointment and nodded. “Okay. I will. Promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that promise,” I told her and busied myself with checking her vitals and listening to her breathing.
“Do you hear the rattle? It’s slight, but it’s there.” Antonio’s question came from right next to my ear, and a second later I felt the heat of his body against my back. The scent of garlic and spices wafted to my nose, and I turned to glare at him.
“Can’t hear anything with you growling in my ear.”
He smiled and took a step back, not looking even a little bit sorry for invading my space. “I don’t growl, that’s just what my voice sounds like.”
I documented Rosie’s vitals, and straightened to standing. “Everything looks good, Rosie. I’ll let the doctor know that you’re ready for him.” I tried for a smile, but it faltered under the weight of Antonio’s glare. “Take care, Rosie.”
“You too, Nurse Gus!” she gave an energetic wave that only little kids could manage which I returned, and then I got the hell out of the exam room before I said something I might have to apologize for later.
Out in the hall, I let out a deep breath and turned to return the chart to the holder mounted on the wall. I felt Antonio behind me and I let out another deep breath, prepared for whatever perceived infraction I committed this time. Parents were the worst part of pediatrics.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Ricci?”
He blinked in surprise, but it didn’t stop the way his nostrils flared or the anger burning in his eyes. “Look, Nurse Thompson, I don’t appreciate-,”
“The name is Gus or August.” I cut him off just to, I don’t know, piss him off further or cool his anger.
Antonio mentally stumbled at the interruption and raked a hand through his already mussed hair to gather his thoughts again. Sometimes I watched him do that and wondered if he did it just to increase his sex appeal for his videos.
