Sofia nodded, and Autumn pulled up the edge of the soaked cotton swab. Underneath was an angry, jagged tear. Careful stitching would be required, and there was a possibility of some scarring.
A nurse wheeled in a trolley, as if she’d read her mind. She gave Autumn a curious stare, then glanced at her name badge. ‘Ah, the paediatric surgeon. Welcome.’
‘How do you know each other?’ asked Giovanni’s sister sharply, her head flicking between Sofia and Autumn.
‘We went to dinner together,’ said Sofia merrily, ‘With Daddy.’
The hostility in the room seemed to move up a few notches.
‘Can you call Giovanni, please?’ his sister demanded.
Autumn took a deep breath and decided to start again. She took off her gloves and held out her hand to the woman. ‘Hi, I’m Autumn Fraser. I’m a paediatric surgeon working with your brother. I’ve only been here a few weeks, and the first day I arrived your brother and Sofia took me out to dinner to help familiarise me with the area and, I think, to keep me awake after I’d had a very early start.’
The woman blinked. Then she held out her arm, shaking Autumn’s hand. ‘Eleonora. I’m Giovanni’s sister.’ Her other hand stroked Sofia’s hair fondly. ‘I help him out with Sofia.’
Autumn gave Eleonora a warm smile. ‘It’s lovely to meet you. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances. But let me assure you...’ she nodded to Sofia’s arm ‘... I will take good care of Sofia for you.’ She paused, letting Eleonora consider her words. Then, ‘The surgery that Giovanni is currently involved in is very delicate, and I’m not sure another surgeon could take his place right now.’
There was a flicker of annoyance on Eleonora’s face. Or was it worry? Autumn didn’t know her well enough to tell the difference.
She turned to Sofia. ‘I’m going to clean up your arm, then put a couple of stitches in. Are you okay with me doing that?’
For the briefest moment Autumn thought she saw a little falter in Sofia’s confidence, but then she tilted her chin up towards her.
‘Can we have gelato after?’
Autumn was careful in her response. ‘If your Aunt Eleonora says it’s okay, then I’d be happy to get you a gelato.’
After another few seconds Eleonora gave a sigh. ‘Okay, then. But you have to let Giovanni know as soon as his surgery is finished. He likes to be notified of anything about Sofia at once.’
‘Of course.’
Autumn spoke to one of the nurses, first asking her to leave a message for Giovanni, and second to get some extra supplies, before washing her hands again. She cleaned the wound and used a numbing spray on the area before injecting a little local anaesthetic prior to doing the stitches.
Sofia only gave the slightest flinch, and it only took a few minutes to line up the ragged skin and place the careful stitches. Once she’d dressed the wound, she did a quick check to ensure Sofia’s tetanus shot was up to date.
‘How about that gelato?’ she said as she snapped off her gloves.
Eleonora glanced at her watch. ‘It’s too late to return to school. I suppose gelato would be okay.’ She picked up Sofia in her arms, turning slightly away from Autumn. ‘I’ll take you.’
‘No,’ said Sofia quickly, a stubborn tone in her voice. ‘Autumn said she would take me. She promised.’
Autumn suddenly felt like a pawn in a game of family politics.
‘Sofia!’ Giovanni rushed through the curtains, his face stricken.
‘Papà!’ Sofia yelled happily.
Autumn stood to the side as rapid Italian flew between the three family members. She was about to retreat discreetly when she felt a firm hand on her arm.
‘Autumn, thank you so much for taking care of Sofia for me.’
‘No problem. What about your surgery? I didn’t expect you to be out for another few hours.’
He gave her a sorry look. ‘Turns out we didn’t even get started. There was a problem with the baby’s clotting factor. We had to delay. Thank goodness we hadn’t anaesthetised.’
Autumn pressed her lips together. From the dark furrows on Giovanni’s brow she could see someone would clearly be in major trouble about this.
Eleonora started talking again and gave Autumn a sideways glance. But Giovanni waved one hand and started talking over her. Autumn shifted her feet uncomfortably. Why did she feel as if this was an argument about her?
Giovanni seemed to finish speaking abruptly. He walked over and kissed his sister on both cheeks, talking to her in a low voice. A moment later Eleonora kissed Sofia once more, before disappearing out through the curtains.
‘Gelato?’ asked Giovanni brightly.
Sofia was already clapping her hands, her injury forgotten.
Autumn hesitated for a second. But she wasn’t on the clock here. Unless something happened with the twins, no one would page her. Anyhow, she’d be with Giovanni, and they would page him too.
‘Gelato sounds good.’
‘Yay!’ Sofia was still clapping. She tugged at the edge of Giovanni’s scrubs. ‘You can’t wear this for gelato, Papà.’
‘You’re right. I can’t. We’ll head up to the locker room.’
Giovanni kept hold of his girl tightly. Autumn could see the relief in his face. She wasn’t sure what his thoughts had been when he’d got the message about Sofia being in the emergency department, but from the way he’d burst through the curtains she assumed his heart had been in his mouth.
What was strange for her was the fact that her heart had been in her mouth too when she’d got the message about Sofia. There had been a distinct moment of panic. Autumn had been a doctor too long, and seen too many sights she couldn’t un-see, for her head not to sometimes go to the worst-case scenario.
When she’d seen Sofia sitting awake and alert on the cubicle trolley, she’d breathed a huge sigh of relief. And her relief could only have been a fraction of Giovanni’s.
They’d reached the locker rooms and Giovanni reluctantly set Sofia back down on the floor. The little girl automatically slid her hand into Autumn’s. ‘I’ll come with you,’ she told her. She wrinkled her nose at the sign on the men’s locker room. ‘That one is always stinky.’
Autumn burst out laughing. ‘Okay, come with me to the non-stinky room while I get changed. Meet you in five, Giovanni,’ she said over her shoulder as she pushed open the door.
Her locker held the white capri pants and the white shirt with pink flowers she’d bought with Giovanni the week before, and Autumn set them down on the bench as she pulled out her toiletries.
‘This is pretty,’ said Sofia as she held up the blouse.
‘Thank you,’ said Autumn as she took off her scrubs and held out her hand for the shirt. ‘I bought it in a shop that your papà took me to.’
‘Auntie Marie’s?’
Autumn blinked. ‘Marie is your auntie too?’
Sofia smiled. ‘I call her that. Auntie Eleonora and Auntie Bella shop there too.’
Autumn gave herself a final spray of perfume and slicked on some lipstick. ‘Okay, ready for gelato?’
She held out her hand to Sofia. It seemed like the natural thing to do, even though she wasn’t really used to children this age. But Sofia reacted well, and as they walked out Giovanni was waiting, in a white open-necked shirt and light trousers.
He rubbed his hands. ‘Our favourite place?’ He smiled at Sofia.
‘Yes!’ she shouted.
He winked at Autumn. ‘Let us take you to the best gelateria in Rome.’
* * *
All Giovanni could feel right now was relief. He was glad Sofia had only requested gelato, because he probably would have agreed to anything. When he’d been in Theatre and had got that message, his heart had pounded so much he’d thought he might die.
His staff were intelligent enough not to have passed on the mess
age about his daughter when he was in the middle of surgery, but as soon as his surgery had been cancelled one of the theatre nurses had quickly come in and whispered in his ear.
He’d taken off like a rocket. And he’d never been so glad to see Autumn in a cubicle. It had given him instant reassurance that Sofia was in good hands.
He took a breath for a moment. That was an unusual thought for him. Usually no one was good enough for his daughter. He remembered one night when her temperature had soared, and he’d thought the doctor in the emergency department too inexperienced and had demanded his superior.
He cringed now at how ridiculous that seemed. But thankfully his colleagues had forgiven him and Sofia had been fine.
It was odd, though. Because he frequently took referrals from other hospitals, with parents who demanded ‘the best’ to assess their child, often not accepting the opinion of their local surgeon who, most times, would make the same recommendation for their child. Being a parent had made Giovanni understand that behaviour, and he looked at Autumn curiously. How did she feel about those kind of referrals?
A taxi dropped them in front of Regallo’s and they jumped out. Sofia dashed to her favourite seat at one of the white metal tables.
He pulled out a chair for Autumn and waited until she was seated. ‘What’s your favourite flavour?’ he asked.
‘Raspberry,’ answered Autumn, with a broad smile on her face.
She was wearing the clothes he’d bought for her last week, and she looked fabulous. He nodded.
‘What’s yours?’ she asked.
‘Melon.’
‘What?’
He shrugged. ‘I can’t explain it. It’s always been my favourite since I was a child.’ He nudged his daughter. ‘And, Sofia, do you want to tell Autumn what your favourite is?’
‘Chocolate and banana,’ his daughter said without a moment of hesitation. ‘With sauce.’
Autumn smiled. ‘This gelato sounds like it might be fun.’
They ordered, and as soon as the gelato arrived Sofia was engrossed.
‘Thank you,’ said Giovanni.
Autumn looked up, spoon in hand. ‘For what?’
‘For looking after Sofia today.’
Autumn looked surprised. ‘Of course. No problem at all.’ Her mouth gave a tiny pull. ‘She will likely have a tiny scar. But I hope it will fade with time. I never asked her about the fight where it happened, though.’
Giovanni gave Autumn a careful look, then aimed his eyes at his daughter. She caught on immediately.
‘Sofia,’ said Giovanni carefully. ‘Do you want me to tell me why you were fighting at school today?’
Sofia’s spoon paused midway to her mouth. She sighed and rested it at the edge of her dish. ‘It was Enzo, Papà,’ she said. ‘He’s mean to everyone.’
‘Was he mean to you?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘He tried to be. I wouldn’t take it.’ Sofia waved her hand, flicking chocolate sauce everywhere.
Autumn gave a little signal with her finger and Giovanni realised she wanted to take over the questioning. He watched as she leaned down so her head was level with Sofia’s.
‘So...tell me what he did?’
Sofia turned her full attention to Autumn. ‘He stole my friend’s cioccolato. I shouted at him and he pushed me into the fence.’
Giovanni bristled. And he saw that Autumn was automatically defensive.
‘That’s how you got hurt?’ she asked.
Sofia nodded. ‘But so did he.’ She picked up her spoon again.
‘What does that mean?’ Autumn’s tone was gentle, but curious.
Sofia grinned. ‘I kicked him in the leg. Twice.’
Autumn pressed her lips together and glanced at Giovanni. The temptation to jump in was strong. This was his daughter. It was up to him to enforce what was right and what was wrong. But something made him stop.
Autumn put her hand on Sofia’s. ‘Do you think there might have been any other way to sort this out? One that meant you didn’t end up with stitches and Enzo didn’t have a sore leg?’
Sofia frowned instantly, her bottom lip pouting, but after a few moments she gave another sigh. ‘I could have talked to the teacher...’
Autumn smiled. ‘You could have. And that might have saved a visit to the emergency department.’ She put her hand on her chest, where her heart was. ‘I got a real fright when someone told me you were in the emergency department.’ Her eyes met Giovanni’s. ‘I know your papà did too.’ She lowered her voice. ‘And I bet that Aunt Eleonora was upset about the call from school too.’
Sofia’s shoulders slumped a little, as if her initial bravado was finally fading.
‘Lots of people worry about you, honey. Everyone wants you to be safe.’
It only took a few moments for Sofia’s doleful eyes to meet Giovanni’s. He was completely and utterly biased, and he knew it, but his daughter could break his heart with one glance.
‘Sorry, Papà,’ she said quietly.
He did his best to stay silent for a moment. He was impressed by how Autumn had handled things. Was this a woman’s touch with his daughter? He was much too fiery. His first reaction on hearing that a little boy had caused scarring to his daughter had been to want to yell at the world. Rage had raced through him. Then his rational brain had kicked into place within a few seconds, but he was conscious of his initial fierce protectiveness of his little girl—his whole world.
It had been a childhood spat. The kind that the school would handle on a regular basis. This one had just had unfortunate consequences. He was sure if he checked his phone there would be a call from one of the teachers. He would deal with that later.
‘I’m glad you’re safe,’ he said throatily, trying to hide the emotion welling in his voice as he reached over and rubbed the top of her unaffected arm.
‘Will you take my stitches out?’ Sofia had turned to Autumn again.
This time Autumn looked a little nervous. It was clear she thought Giovanni would want to supervise that action himself, but he shook his head. ‘We’ll invite Autumn round next week and she can take them out for us at home.’ He raised a questioning eyebrow. ‘If that’s okay with you?’
‘Of course,’ she agreed quickly, and then she tilted her head slightly and she gave him a quizzical look.
‘I’m glad you were there today,’ he admitted. ‘I think my hands might have been—how do you put it?—all fingers and thumbs if I’d tried to stitch my own daughter.’
Autumn gave him a gracious nod. They both knew that a doctor wasn’t really supposed to treat a member of their own family, but they also knew it happened all the time.
‘I was glad I was there and able to help.’ She touched the top of Sofia’s covered arm gently. ‘I think you’ll have a little pink scar that will fade to white in time. You probably won’t even notice it when you’re older.’
She gave her a soft smile, and something shifted inside Giovanni. He’d been trying so hard to put their time together at the rooftop bar in a safe place. It had been an exception to his rule of not mixing his personal life with his professional life. When he’d dated colleagues before, it had never been someone in his team or involved in his surgeries. He also didn’t introduce potential girlfriends to his daughter.
But it seemed he’d spent the last few weeks throwing all his rules out of the window. Today was an exception.
That was what he was currently trying to tell himself as he watched Sofia and Autumn together. They talked easily, but he could tell Autumn felt just a little awkward. Maybe she wasn’t used to kids Sofia’s age, and that was fine, but she was making an effort. And Sofia liked her. In fact, Autumn appeared to be his daughter’s favourite topic of conversation.
He could only imagine the phone call later from his sister, Eleonora. He sensed she hadn’t quite approved, but Giovan
ni had spent years doing battle with his feisty sisters, so that was nothing unusual.
Sofia put her hand up to Autumn’s ear and whispered something to her conspiratorially, and they both looked at him and laughed.
‘What?’ he asked indignantly.
Sofia giggled and pointed her finger at his chest. There, on the pale blue shirt, was a stray drip of chocolate sauce. He groaned as he picked up a napkin, knowing it was stained for life.
‘How did I get chocolate sauce on my shirt when I didn’t even have any?’
Sofia’s head bent next to Autumn’s and the two of them started laughing again.
Giovanni’s throat dried. It hit him in an instant. How much his daughter was missing by not having a mother. It wasn’t that he’d never thought about it before—of course he had. But he’d convinced himself that his sisters filled that gap in Sofia’s life, and up until this point had considered himself lucky.
He’d always done his best to be everything his daughter needed, but right now the simple moment of seeing the connection between her and Autumn made him feel like a failure.
It was like a punch to the gut.
He’d got this wrong. Sofia was bonding with Autumn—a woman he barely knew. He had no idea what she thought about kids—what she thought about him. He was allowing his daughter to see something that might not exist. This simple act of bringing Autumn with them for ice-cream might become a whole lot more in a five-year-old’s head.
He should have known better.
That was his job.
To protect his daughter.
He stood up sharply and both Autumn and Sofia looked up in surprise. ‘I’ll just pay, then Sofia and I need to head home. I’ll drop you back at your hotel, Autumn.’
He couldn’t pretend that he didn’t see the flash of hurt in her eyes. But he’d think about that later. Right now, he needed to get out of here. Process what had happened today and work out what on earth was currently going on in his life.
Because one thing was clear.
Giovanni didn’t have a clue.
CHAPTER SEVEN
AUTUMN PULLED HER clothes out of the large carved wooden wardrobe. It was the kind of luxury item normally spotted in a country house, but here it was in the middle of her hotel room in Rome.
Reawakened by the Italian Surgeon Page 10