A Family Made in Rome

by Annie O'Neil

  Annoyed with herself, she pulled her laptop from her bag and flipped it open. It only took a few seconds to come to life and she could see a stream of emails. She opened the first and leaned forward.

  What?

  Her eyes scanned that one and her finger automatically pressed for the next. This one contained details of scans. The next, measurements.

  He must know exactly what she was doing, because a few moments later his smooth voice asked, ‘Do I have your attention now, Dr Fraser?’

  He was toying with her. And, whilst he might sound like some kind of dreamboat, she so wasn’t in the mood to be played with.

  Her heart-rate was quickening. And her breathing. So much detail. So much information. Two precious little girls, connected at the heart and the liver.

  ‘How was this missed?’ she asked as she kept on reading, her mind pushing everything else away and focusing on the case in front of her.

  ‘The babies had their arms around each other in the scan at eleven weeks. It was a newly qualified sonographer who thought they were just hugging.’

  There was so much she could say right now, but what would be the point? Time had already been lost. ‘You have them with you now?’

  ‘I have them,’ he said reassuringly. He paused, and then continued. ‘After delivery I’m leading the separation surgery. I’d like you to lead a second team,’ he said.

  Her heart leapt in her chest. She didn’t care that it wasn’t anatomically possible, she would swear in any court that she’d just felt it.

  A smile crept across her face. ‘Of course you would,’ she said, trying to sound as confident as he had earlier. She needed to be a match for this man in every way. Surgeon’s rules: always believe you’re a match for any other one. ‘No one else has the experience of liver surgery on neonates that I do.’

  She was on her feet, flicking the phone to speaker, striding through to her room and dropping it on the bed as she pulled her suitcase from the top of the wardrobe.

  Giovanni Lombardi gave an amused laugh. It seemed to be his signature. She was trying to picture this Italian man with the tantalising voice in her head. The last thing she needed in a case like this was any distractions—particularly when preparation time was at a minimum.

  ‘There were a few others....’ he said, as if trying to keep her in her place.

  ‘Rubbish. You wanted the best. You’ve asked me. And, luckily, I’ve just made myself available.’

  She rattled off a whole list of demands. None of them were outrageous and she knew it. This kind of surgery was history-making. She was almost sure this hospital in Rome wouldn’t deny her anything. And for some strange reason—as crazy as this was—it made her feel as if she was grabbing a bit of control back from her day.

  He replied quietly with an assured ‘si’ to all her requests.

  ‘I pick my own team,’ she said as she threw random clothes into her bag. Her best work suits were at Louis’s—as were most of her everyday items. She was left with half-full cans of deodorant, tubes of toothpaste and bottles of shampoo. Ordinarily she would have collected all her things herself, but it looked as if she might have to ask a delivery company instead.

  ‘Of course you do. I have many staff you may feel are appropriate, but the assembly of any team is always down to the lead surgeon.’

  ‘Great. What about flights?’

  ‘I took the liberty of booking you a first-class flight tomorrow from Heathrow.’

  She froze momentarily. He was presumptuous. But of course he was. No surgeon in their right mind would say no to this surgery. But she had her own tricks up her sleeve.

  ‘Won’t be necessary.’ She grinned. ‘I have my own transport available. I’ll make arrangements right now. Expect me in Rome by early morning.’

  Even though he couldn’t see her, Autumn had a little fun by tossing her hair over her shoulder. Having a very famous billionaire brother was something she generally kept to herself. But she knew she could give Ryan a call and his company would file a flight plan and she’d be able to take off in a few hours. He was proud of her and her achievements, and he often helped her with travel arrangements when she needed to get to a place for work. He was one of the few people who understood her need to be in control.

  Ryan had gone the opposite way. He’d left home, got away from their parents and lived a crazy life. No rules. No regulations. But then he’d made a discovery—one that had made him a billionaire. And instead of running from control he’d started to embrace it—in a good way. Along the way he’d met the perfect wife and had the perfect family. He’d even employed a few old friends he trusted to be part of his company. But all his money had kept his feet firmly on the ground, and he never forgot to check on his sister. He’d do anything for her.

  ‘You will manage to get here by then?’ asked Giovanni Lombardi.

  ‘Absolutely,’ she said with confidence. ‘How about I meet you at the hospital at nine tomorrow morning?’

  ‘Nine a.m.,’ he agreed, although he certainly sounded a little bewildered.

  She kind of liked the fact she’d thrown Mr Smooth off his game.

  But it seemed he had a good recovery. ‘You understand, of course, that before we formalise things I’ll need to make sure that you’re the right fit for the team.’

  Heat rushed into her cheeks. That sounded completely personal. And it was. For a procedure like this, staff had to work in unison. It didn’t matter that she and Giovanni would have teams of their own. They still had to fit together.

  ‘I’ve never had a problem fitting in with a team, Giovanni.’ She used supreme effort to try and mimic his smooth way of talking. ‘Surely you can’t be that difficult?’

  The laugh she heard this time was deep and throaty. Every hair on her arms stood on end.

  ‘Bravo,’ he said. ‘Or should it be touché?’ There was a pause, and then he asked, ‘Don’t you need to clear this with your hospital?’

  ‘No,’ she answered quickly. ‘I am literally a free agent. I have a sponsor. So, although I’m based in London, as long as I don’t have surgical commitments and any current cases I am free to go to any case worldwide if it interests me and needs my skills.’

  ‘That’s a pretty unique arrangement,’ he said quizzically.

  ‘It is,’ she agreed. ‘But my sponsor gets credit in any research I publish, and in any publicity around the cases.’

  She could almost see him nodding, contemplating her words. ‘Understood,’ he said after a few moments.

  Autumn took a deep breath. The truth was, the timing of this couldn’t be better. She’d be away for four, maybe five months. It would give her a chance to move on. Louis too. She hoped he’d find someone who’d look at him the way he wished for. Someone to give him the connection that they’d never shared. The kind of connection that she’d just witnessed between her friends, which had made her feel lonelier than ever.

  Was there a chance that she could find that too? She gave a little shiver and pushed the thought from her head. She had long ago decided that lifestyle would never suit her. Too risky. Too much open to chance.

  She was about to get the opportunity of a lifetime with this surgery. All her focus needed to be on that. She’d arrange for a delivery company to pick up her things from Louis and bring them back to her flat. With her in another country, the process would hopefully be painless for them both.

  ‘Is there anything else you want to ask me? There’s still much to discuss about the case,’ said Giovanni.

  Autumn shook her head, forgetting he couldn’t see her. ‘No, I’d prefer to do that in person tomorrow.’

  ‘Then I’ll be delighted to see you at...’ he paused for a second ‘...nine o’clock tomorrow morning.’ That laugh came again. ‘I thought I might need to work harder to persuade you.’ His voice softened a little. ‘I’m glad you have no other press
ing cases. Because this family really do need you. We need you.’

  ‘And I’m happy to be invited,’ she said. ‘Until tomorrow.’

  He closed the call and Autumn collapsed backwards onto her bed. Had that really just happened?

  It was like a dream. A fascinating surgery. A chance to visit a beautiful country and work with other people. Time to build a relationship with the parents of these girls and for them to trust what she could do. The real possibility that she could improve the overall outcome for these babies.

  And Giovanni Lombardi had thought he might need to persuade her...

  Now it was her turn to laugh out loud. She stared out of her window at the stars in the dark sky. ‘What can I say, Giovanni? You had me at hello.’

  Copyright © 2021 by Scarlet Wilson

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  ISBN-13: 9781488075025

  A Family Made in Rome

  Copyright © 2021 by Annie O’Neil

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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