The Italian Doctor's Wife

‘Does she now?’ He held her gaze for a long moment, his lush, dark lashes shielding his expression. ‘Then we must make sure that she has all the time she needs.’

Against her will, Abby’s eyes dropped to his firm mouth and she found herself remembering the rumour that had spread among the girls when she’d been at school.

That Nico Santini was a spectacular lover.

Shaken by her own thoughts, she looked away from him, her colour rising.

It was just the way that all women reacted to Nico Santini, she assured herself silently. He was much too powerful a personality to leave anyone feeling indifferent. At least she had more sense than to fall for him. She could admire him from a distance, but any more than that would have sent her running for cover.

Finally Nico’s eyes left her and he turned to the rest of the doctors. ‘I will see the baby and the parents straight away.’

Jack Gibbs, frowned slightly, clearly put out by that decision and by the fact that Nico had taken control. As paediatric cardiologist, all the children were referred to him initially and he very much considered it to be ‘his’ ward.

‘But the teaching round… We were assuming…’

‘If the mother has questions then I deal with those as a priority,’ Nico said immediately, his tone discouraging any argument from those around him. ‘In my experience it is counter-productive and cruel to leave the family worrying unnecessarily. It is important that they feel that we are all part of the same team. I’ll do the teaching round when I have answered her questions and, of course, everyone is welcome. Until then I will see the family with just the nurse who cares for them.’

He looked expectantly at Abby who was having trouble hiding her surprise. Agreeing to see the family so quickly suggested a sensitivity that she hadn’t thought him capable of.

‘They’re in the side ward,’ she said quietly, and he gave a brief nod.

‘Then let’s go and talk to them. Has she signed a consent form or do I need to go through that with her?’

‘Mr Forster did it before he left but I think she’d appreciate the chance to discuss the operation again,’ she said tactfully, as she tapped on the door and walked into the room.

Nico Santini walked straight over to the parents and introduced himself.

‘I will be your baby’s doctor for the operation. Once you are discharged you will see Dr Gibbs again. With your permission I would like to examine Thomas, and then we will talk. I am sure you have many questions for me.’

‘Well, yes, I suppose…’ Lorna gave a nervous smile and clasped her hands in her lap. ‘But I’m sure you’re too busy for questions—’

‘Not at all.’ Nico gave her a warm smile which softened the harsh planes of his handsome face. ‘At the moment I have nothing important to do,’ he lied smoothly, ‘and I am very happy to spend as long as you need in order to set your mind at rest. It’s important to me that you don’t worry. A worried mother means a worried baby and…’ he raised his hands expressively ‘…I don’t want either on my ward. Please, ask me anything you wish as many times as you need to. I understand that it can take a while to understand some of the things that we talk about. Hearts are complex things.’

Abby’s jaw dropped and she struggled to hide her surprise as she listened to him talk. She’d always thought that Nico Santini was one hundred per cent alpha male. She hadn’t imagined that there was a caring side to him.

But clearly there was.

She watched in fascination as he picked up Thomas with easy confidence, his hands swift and gentle as he examined the child. And all the time he spoke softly in Italian and the baby gazed up at him, his attention caught.

Even the baby can’t look away from the man, Abby thought wryly, standing quietly in the background as Nico finally returned the baby to the cot and sat down next to Lorna.

‘Please, feel free to ask me anything you wish.’

He inclined his dark head towards the young mother, listening closely as she blurted out all her worries. He was totally relaxed and attentive, nothing in his body language suggesting that there was a crowd of doctors waiting impatiently for him to finish so that he could do a teaching round.

‘Tell me why you feel guilty.’

‘He seems so well. I feel like a bad mother, deciding to make him have an operation that might—might…’ Tears bloomed in Lorna Woods’s eyes and Nico reached out and closed long fingers around her hand.

‘It is clear to me that you haven’t understood the explanations that you’ve been given so far and this is understandable. When a mother is told that her child is seriously ill, it is normal that she hears nothing more.’ He shrugged a broad shoulder in a totally Latin gesture. ‘I will explain, and you will ask me any questions you have. And then you will feel more reassured.’

Abby hid a smile. That was more like the Nico Santini she remembered. Accustomed to giving out orders.

You will be reassured or else…

Still, Lorna seemed to be hanging onto every word he said. And his hand.

‘I just feel perhaps we should wait. I know he looks a bit blue but he doesn’t seem that ill at the moment and I feel awful making him have this operation.’

Nico nodded, sympathy and understanding in his dark eyes. ‘But you are not the one making the decision, Lorna. The doctors here have made the decision that Thomas needs this operation and you are being a good mother by agreeing to it.’ He kept hold of her hand, his voice deep and level as he spoke. ‘Thomas has something called Fallot’s tetralogy, which basically means that there are a number of things wrong with his heart. Experience has shown us that if we delay the repair it puts a strain on one of the chambers of the heart. It can become enlarged and this may cause problems in later life. Also, repairing the fault early in life restores the oxygen saturation—the amount of oxygen in his blood. This is important for normal development.’

Lorna looked at her husband who shrugged his shoulders helplessly. ‘So you really think it should be done now?’

‘Definitely.’ Nico didn’t hesitate. ‘I have reviewed all his tests and I am convinced that it is totally the right thing to do.’

Lorna nibbled her lip and looked at him shyly. ‘Do you have children yourself?’

There was a long pause and Nico Santini glanced towards Abby, his dark lashes shielding his expression.

Confused by his sudden attention, she shifted slightly and felt herself colour.

Why was he looking at her?

He seemed to look at her for a long time and then finally he turned his attention back to Lorna. ‘If you are asking if I would recommend this operation for my own child in the same situation, the answer is yes. I can assure you that if Thomas were my child, I would have no hesitation in letting the operation go ahead. Do you understand the actual mechanics of the operation? What I will be doing?’

Lorna blushed slightly and exchanged awkward glances with her husband. ‘Sort of.’

Which meant no, Abby thought quickly, preparing to intervene. But Nico was ahead of her.

‘Maybe I will explain it again,’ he said smoothly, releasing Lorna’s hand and reaching into his pocket for a pad and a pen. ‘A drawing usually helps. Imagine the heart as four chambers…’

His pen moved quickly over the pad as he drew a diagram to illustrate his explanation.

‘One of the problems with Thomas’s heart is what we call a VSD—a ventricular septal defect. In other words, there is a hole between the two chambers here….’ He tapped his pen on the page to demonstrate what he meant more clearly. ‘I will put a patch on that. Here the artery is narrowed and I need to sort that out, probably by opening up the valve that leads into it.’

Nico continued his explanation and finally Lorna’s husband gave a weak smile. ‘You make it sound like DIY.’

Nico gave a brief nod. ‘In a way it is. I am a technician. Only I don’t always know exactly what will need to be done until I have a look at the heart.’ He gave another shrug. ‘You just have to trust me.’

Lorna bit her lip and he lifted an eyebrow.

‘There is something else you wish to ask me?’

‘You say we must trust you….’ Lorna hesitated and then took a deep breath. ‘Are you good?’

Nico seemed momentarily taken aback by the question and then he gave a wry smile and touched her cheek briefly with a long finger.

‘The best.’