The Italian Doctor

Lauren groaned in sympathy. ‘Really? Oh, poor you! But what are they like, all these men? Or shouldn’t I ask?’

‘Definitely not! I wouldn’t want you having nightmares.’

She smiled as the younger girl laughed. However, she couldn’t help glancing at Luke and was surprised by the expression on his face. What was it that she could see there? Regret? Apology? Neither seemed quite right.

She looked away, not wanting to fall into the trap of letting her mind start wandering again. ‘Anyway, Lauren, I do know how hard it is to make a stand, but it’s something you have to do. You can’t live your life for other people, you have to live it the way you want to.’

‘I know that. It’s just that I’m such a coward. I hate arguments and the thought of telling Mum that I don’t want to dance any more terrifies me because she’ll be so upset.’ Lauren sighed. ‘That’s why I was glad that I hurt my ankle. I was hoping that it might mean I wouldn’t be able to dance again.’

‘It would be a rather drastic solution to your problems, Lauren.’ Luke’s dry tone brought a touch of colour to the teenager’s face. ‘Wishing that you were permanently incapacitated isn’t the answer, believe me. As Maggie said, you have to stick to your guns.’

It was the first time that he’d called her by name since they’d been working together. Maggie knew that it meant nothing yet she couldn’t control the ripple that ran down her spine. She busied herself with the admission forms, not wanting to dwell on it. So Luke had called her Maggie—big deal! Yet it felt as though their relationship had shifted slightly and that bothered her a lot.

He went through the admission procedure in his usual thorough fashion and she had to admit that she was impressed by his attention to detail as he asked Lauren to explain what she’d been doing at the time of the accident. He noted everything down on the form then put the cap on his pen.

‘That’s been a big help. I like to know exactly what I’ll be dealing with. It’s vital that the ligaments are repaired in a way that won’t cause you any problems in the future even if you do decide not to pursue a career in ballet.’

His voice was firm as he continued. ‘However, the operation is only the first step, Lauren. You will be seeing a physiotherapist afterwards and will be given a series of exercises that you’ll need to do to get your ankle back to full strength. Please, don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. Being left with a permanently weak ankle would be too great a price to pay just to avoid telling your mother the truth.’

‘I promise I won’t be that stupid, Dr Fabrizzi,’ the girl muttered, looking so uncomfortable that Maggie knew she’d been contemplating doing just that.

What a good job that Luke had been astute enough to guess that, she thought as he stood up. But, then, he did appear to have a rare ability to relate to people and understand them. That thought certainly didn’t seem to gel with the image she’d formed of him. If Luke really was the arrogant, egocentric man she’d imagined him to be then surely he could never have been so perceptive about other people?

It was another unsettling thought and she was only too happy to brush it aside when he turned to her. ‘Seeing that Lauren has promised to be a model patient, I suggest we help her out now. How do you feel about persuading her mother that she’s not needed here?’

The suggestion made her smile. ‘Well, I’m willing to give it a shot, but it won’t be easy.’

He grinned. ‘No, it won’t, but I’m sure we can sort something out if we work together.’ He adopted a deliberately professional tone but his blue eyes were dancing with mischief. ‘In my opinion, this patient needs complete rest, Staff Nurse Carr. Would you advise Mrs Atkins that I feel it would be beneficial if Lauren didn’t have visitors for the remainder of the afternoon?’

‘Certainly, Doctor. I shall go and inform Mrs Atkins of your decision straight away.’

Maggie just managed to smother a giggle when he winked at her. He was obviously having difficulty keeping his face straight as well. Lauren was chuckling softly, a hand pressed to her mouth to contain her mirth. She looked a world removed from the unhappy teenager who’d been admitted a short time earlier, so Maggie had no qualms whatsoever about what they were doing. Lauren would benefit greatly from a breathing space away from her overbearing mother, in her view.

‘Thank you, Staff. You know where to find me if there’s a problem,’ Luke said with commendable aplomb as they moved away from the bed.

‘Oh, never fear! I’ll have you paged if there’s any backlash from this,’ Maggie retorted, following him down the ward. He paused to open the door for her and she felt her pulse skitter when she saw the laughter on his face. He looked so different when he laughed like that, she thought. It was like being given a glimpse of the real man beneath the handsome exterior, a warm, caring person whom she could learn to like a lot.

‘I’m always at your service, Maggie, although I would prefer not to have to deal with an irate mother if it could be avoided.’ There was an unashamedly coaxing note in his voice as he placed his hand on her arm. ‘So try your best to persuade Mrs Atkins that she isn’t needed here—for my sake?’

She took a deep breath. The touch of his hand was setting up a chain of reactions that ranged from a flutter beneath her skin to a tingle that was working its way right down to her toes. The temptation to see what other reactions it might cause was enormous but something warned her that would come under the heading of ‘Big Mistake’ and she tried to avoid making too many of those!

She moved away so that his hand fell from her arm, striving for a suitably light note to hide her confusion at the way she was behaving. ‘I’ll do my best, although I can’t make any promises, you understand.’

Luke’s smile appeared a trifle strained. ‘Your best is good enough for me.’

There was a moment when she thought that he was going to say something else but then his pager beeped. He frowned as he unclipped it from his belt and checked the display. ‘Theatre. I wonder what’s wrong. I’d better go and see. Page me if you have any problems, Staff.’

He was back to normal again, his tone coolly professional once more. Maggie sighed as he hurried towards the lifts, feeling the tension oozing out of her. It was good to be back on a firm footing again. She far preferred the status quo to any surprises when dealing with Luke.

She went to find Mrs Atkins, expecting to have a battle on her hands. However, the older woman accepted what she told her without question.

‘What did you say to her?’ Lauren asked in astonishment as her mother happily waved on her way out of the ward. ‘It just isn’t like Mum not to make a fuss!’

Maggie shrugged, although she had to admit to being surprised by Gloria Atkins’s easy acquiescence. ‘I just told her that Dr Fabrizzi had suggested you should rest. She seemed quite happy to accept it.’

‘Figures.’ Lauren gave a relieved sigh. ‘He sort of exudes confidence, doesn’t he? It’s no wonder that Mum’s decided he knows what he’s talking about. I just wish I could bottle some of his confidence and take it home with me when I leave here. Maybe I’d be able to stand up for myself then.’

Maggie didn’t say anything. Frankly, there wasn’t much she could think of to say. She left Lauren fiddling with the radio and went back to work. Doreen and Angela came back from lunch soon afterwards and then the other new admissions arrived. The afternoon flew past because they were so busy but several times she found her thoughts returning to what Lauren had said about Luke. It disturbed her because it made her question her own view of him once again.

Had she been wrong about him all along? Had she misread his confidence for arrogance? She couldn’t decide and that was the real problem, of course. She would need a lot more to go on before she was prepared to alter her opinion of him.

There was a party being held that night to which Maggie had been invited. One of the nurses from the surgical ward, who worked a different shift, had got engaged, and she and her fiancé had invited everyone round to their house to celebrate. Everyone was meeting up at the pub beforehand so it was a bit of rush to get ready once she arrived home.

She took a shower and washed her hair. She tried to avoid using a hair-dryer whenever possible because her hair was naturally curly and tended to frizz up. However, with time marching on, she had no choice but to use the dryer that night, which resulted in a frothy mass of curls which defied all her attempts to pin them up.

Sighing, she decided that she didn’t have the time to do anything else. She simply brushed her hair then left it loose. It didn’t look too bad, she decided critically after she’d slipped into a raspberry pink blouse and pair of silky grey trousers. The tousled look was a bit girlish perhaps but it could have been worse.

She slid her bare feet into a pair of high-heeled sandals then grabbed her bag and headed for the door. It was mid-August and the night was warm enough for her not to need a coat. However, she began to rue her choice of footwear before she’d gone very far. She wasn’t used to wearing such high heels and her feet were hurting by the time she arrived at the pub, a huge blister already forming on her heel where the strap had been rubbing. Still, the sandals looked a lot more glamorous than her usual sensible flatties so she would just have to grin and bear it.

‘Maggie! Over here. We’ve saved you a seat.’ Angela stood up and waved when she saw Maggie coming in. The pub was used a lot by staff from the hospital and it was packed that night. It had just gone eight and the middle shift had just finished work; quite a few of them had stopped off for a drink on their way home.

‘Thanks! What a scrum. Anyone would think we were all alcoholics if they saw how many hospital staff used this place,’ she declared pithily, squeezing into a gap on the wooden settle.

‘Not that any of us fall into that category, of course,’ Donna Parsons put in, rolling her eyes expressively. ‘We aren’t here for the drink but purely for the pleasure of each other’s company!’

‘Speak for yourself. I make no bones about the fact that I need a drink after the day I’ve had!’ Robin White, the newest houseman on the surgical team, picked up his pint glass and took a long swallow. ‘At one point I found myself wondering why I had willingly gone in for medicine as a career. I mean, I could have been a solicitor or an accountant or…or anything rather than a doctor!’

Everyone laughed, but Maggie could tell that Robin hadn’t been joking. Something had obviously upset him that day and she couldn’t help wondering what had caused the normally easygoing young doctor to feel like that.

‘So what happened?’ she asked under cover of the conversation.

‘What didn’t happen would be an easier question to answer!’ Robin set his glass on a coaster. His pleasant face looked unusually grim. ‘We had an emergency in Theatre. Jefferson was operating on this chap who had been thrown off his motorbike and suffered multiple fractures. He was a mess, I can tell you, and it was obvious that old Jeffers was out of his depth.’

Maggie sighed. Norman Jefferson had worked at Dalverston General for more years than anyone could care to count. It was rumoured that he’d refused to retire when he’d been offered the chance a few months earlier. There was no doubt that he must have been a skilled surgeon in his younger days, but those days were long past. Frankly, it was fast reaching the point where he was becoming a liability. Maggie knew that the surgical team had a tacit agreement to make sure that Jefferson was never left to deal with any difficult surgery by himself, but obviously the system had fallen down that day.

‘So what went on?’ she asked softly, glancing round to make sure that nobody was listening. Although everyone in the hospital was aware of the situation, she guessed that Robin would feel uncomfortable about the others hearing him criticise the older man.

‘Just about everything that could go wrong did so. Everyone was on pins as soon as they discovered that Jefferson would be operating. Normally, someone would have headed him off at the pass, so to speak.’

He gave her a grim smile. ‘It was just unfortunate that another casualty had been brought into A and E a few minutes earlier, needing urgent surgery. It meant that everyone was tied up when the motorcyclist was sent up to Theatre so there was nobody there to step in when Jefferson announced that he would deal with the case.’

‘Tricky situation,’ she murmured sympathetically.

‘You can say that again! Anyway, we were all keyed up, as you can imagine. It seemed to be going quite well at first and then somehow or other Jefferson nicked the femoral artery…’ Robin shrugged, not needing to explain the problems that had caused.

‘What on earth happened after that?’ Maggie exclaimed in horror, trying not to visualise the scene of chaos that must have ensued. She felt quite sick when she thought about the injured motorcyclist possibly bleeding to death on the operating table. ‘He didn’t—well, you know?’

‘Die? No, but it was a close call, I can tell you. Jefferson just seemed to go to pieces, he didn’t appear to have any idea what to do. I just grabbed the phone and rang for help—’ Robin broke off. A smile brightened his face as he looked towards the door. ‘Aha, here he is now, the hero of the hour!’

Maggie looked round and felt her stomach sink when she saw that Luke had come into the pub. She’d had no idea that he’d been invited to the party that night, although she should have guessed, she thought as she watched him making his way towards them. The staff at Dalverston General had taken to him in a big way, as was evident from the number of people who greeted him en route. It wasn’t just the staff from the surgical wards either—everyone seemed to know him and be pleased to see him.

Her brow furrowed. Everyone liked Luke. Everyone admired him. Robin considered him to be a hero, even. So how come she didn’t feel the same way about him as everyone else did? Why was her view so opposed to the general consensus? Exactly who was right? Her or them?

She took a deep breath, feeling her heart hammering against her ribs because the next, logical step scared her. She had a duty to find out who the real Luke Fabrizzi was.

CHAPTER THREE

‘HI, THERE. Sorry I’m late. I had trouble finding a cab.’

Luke smiled around the assembled group. His eyes seemed to linger a fraction longer on Maggie than they did on anyone else, but that was probably her imagination, she told herself sternly.

‘Dalverston night life isn’t much to shout about so taxis tend to be rather thin on the ground,’ Robin explained as he got up and edged past her. ‘Anyway, it’s my round so what will you have to drink?’

‘Beer, but only if they serve one that’s chilled.’ Luke laughed when there was a chorus of catcalls. ‘I know, I know. But it isn’t my fault that I have an uneducated palate and can’t appreciate the finer points of warm beer!’

‘We’ll have to attend to his education post-haste, won’t we, folks?’ Robin replied with a grin. ‘You can’t live in England and not learn to enjoy the delights of a nice pint of bitter!’

‘I don’t know if my taste buds are ready for it.’ Luke groaned. ‘I’ve only just learned to drink that revolting stuff you claim is coffee so have some pity. There’s only so much torture a guy can take!’

‘I suppose we shall have to make allowances a while longer, then,’ Robin declared as everyone laughed. ‘Anyway, sit yourself down and I’ll fetch the drinks.’

Luke turned to her as Robin hurried away. ‘Is there room for me or will it be too much of a squeeze?’

‘Of course not.’ She scooted along the bench to make room for him, feeling the shiver that raced along her nerves when he eased himself into the gap. His thigh was pressed hard against her own, his hip bumping hers when he tried to get comfortable.

‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to squash you.’

‘It’s fine…really,’ she said quickly, then hurried on when she heard how breathless she sounded. ‘I… I didn’t know you were coming tonight,’ she said, more for something to say than for any other reason. His nearness was having the strangest effect on her, making her whole body tingle with awareness. She didn’t like the feeling and was determined to nip it in the bud before it got worse.

‘No?’ He shrugged so that his shoulder brushed hers this time, sending another spiral of sensation flowing through her before she could stop it. ‘I never thought to mention it. It isn’t a problem, is it?’

‘Of course not! Why should you think I have a problem about you being here?’ Maggie heard the defensive note in her voice and bit her lip. She almost jumped out of her skin when he suddenly reached over and squeezed her hand. Her eyes flew to his face and she was stunned by the look of regret she saw there.

‘Because you and I got off on the wrong foot when we first met and it was all my fault.’ Luke’s fingers tightened around hers and her heart bumped up and down in her chest when she felt the gentle increase in pressure. ‘I can understand why you wouldn’t be pleased to see me after what I said to you that night at your grandmother’s house, Maggie. I was way out of line then and I apologise for it.’

‘I don’t know what to say.’ She was telling the truth because she was so surprised that it was hard to think straight. Whether it was the unexpected apology or the fact that Luke was still holding her hand which was causing the problem she wasn’t sure, but her thoughts seemed to be completely clogged up.

He smiled ruefully as he released her. ‘You don’t need to say anything because your face says it all. I can’t believe I actually said what I did that night. You must have thought I was the biggest jerk you’d ever met!’

Maggie felt the blush reach her hairline in two seconds flat. ‘Oh, well, you know,’ she muttered uncomfortably.

‘I do! Unfortunately.’ He laughed wryly. ‘It makes me cringe when I think about that night. My only excuse is that I had totally misread the situation. I hadn’t realised that you and I were in the same boat.’

‘What do you mean?’ She looked at him uncertainly but Robin arrived back with their drinks just then. He shook his head when Luke offered to let him have his seat back and moved to the other end of the table, squeezing into the space Angela had made for him. Everyone was discussing a film that had been on television that week; nobody seemed to be taking any notice of her and Luke. It lent a strange kind of intimacy to their conversation, a feeling heightened when he lowered his voice so that only she could hear what he was saying.

‘That your family is putting pressure on you to get married, like mine is. I heard what you said this afternoon and it was like a rerun of what’s been happening to me over the past few years. I can’t count the number of suitable women my mom has tried to fix me up with!’

Maggie couldn’t help laughing at the wealth of disgust in his voice. ‘It’s a nightmare, isn’t it? And the worst thing is that you feel so guilty about it. I mean, you don’t want to get married but somehow they make you feel that you’re letting them down.’

‘I know just what you mean.’ He picked up the chilled bottle of imported beer that Robin had bought him and took a swallow. ‘Mothers really know how to lay a guilt trip on you, don’t they? There’s all the little hints to begin with about how their friends’ children are getting married and how wonderful it must be to have a wedding to plan. Then things start to get really heavy and before you know it there’s the pointed comments about whether they’ll be too old to enjoy their grandchildren by the time they arrive…’

‘Or if they’ll still be around to see said grandchildren,’ Maggie put in, shaking her head in despair. ‘It’s an impossible situation, isn’t it? No matter how you try to explain that you’re perfectly happy the way you are, they don’t believe you. They think that we—and them—are missing out because we don’t want to get married.’

‘Exactly. I couldn’t have put it better myself. It’s so good to be able to talk to someone who understands, Maggie.’ He grinned crookedly. ‘Maybe it also means that you understand why I behaved like such an idiot when we met and can find it in your heart to forgive me?’

‘There’s nothing to forgive,’ she assured him, feeling her heart lift. It surprised her how pleased she felt to know why Luke had acted the way he had. She laughed when he offered her his hand.

‘Truce, then?’

‘Truce!’ she agreed, placing her hand in his. They let the matter drop after that, joining in the conversation as it flowed around the table. However, she couldn’t deny her relief that there was no longer any reason for her and Luke to be at loggerheads. Why she should be so pleased about the change in their relationship was hard to explain so she didn’t waste time worrying about it. Most likely it was because she hated being at odds with anyone.

They finished their drinks then moved on to the party. It wasn’t far to walk but Maggie was limping by the time they reached the house where her friends, Ruth and Greg, lived. The blister on her heel had broken and each step was pure torture as the sandal strap rubbed against it.

‘Are you OK?’ Luke put a steadying hand under her elbow when she stumbled as she made her way up the steps to the house.

She grimaced as she lifted her foot and showed him her heel. ‘A blister. I should never have worn these wretched sandals. I should have known they would rub.’

‘That looks really nasty. You’re going to need a dressing on it. Let’s see if Ruth has a first-aid kit and get you sorted out.’

‘Oh, I don’t want to be any trouble—’ she began, but he cut short her protests.

‘Doctor’s orders, Staff. No arguing, now,’ he said sternly but with a definite twinkle in his eyes.

Maggie laughed. ‘Oh, far be it from me to argue with you, Doctor.’

‘Well, that’s progress.’ His tone was wry as he helped her up the last step. ‘From what I overheard you saying this morning I didn’t think you would ever agree with anything I said.’

‘I’m sorry—’ she began

‘Only teasing.’ He held up his hand. ‘You had every right to say what you did. It wasn’t your fault that I made such a rotten impression when we met. However, that’s all in the past, isn’t it, Maggie? Let’s move on from there.’

She smiled, feeling her heart going pitter-patter inside her chest. Of course, it was relief at having ironed out their differences that caused it to react like that, she assured herself. But it was hard to believe that was the only reason so she didn’t dwell on it. ‘That sounds like a good idea to me, Luke. I’d like to think that you and I can be friends.’

He smiled but there was the strangest gleam in his eyes as he looked at her. ‘Friends it is, Maggie.’ He bent and kissed her lightly on the cheek then glanced round when there was a burst of exaggeratedly noisy coughing behind them.

‘I hate to butt in but Ruth wants to know what you two would like to drink,’ Angela announced with the biggest grin.

Maggie could feel herself blushing even though the kiss had been no more than a token to seal their new-found friendship. However, she knew that she would come in for a lot of teasing once the news got round that Luke had kissed her.

‘Would you tell Ruth that what we need more than a drink at the moment is a first-aid box?’ Luke appeared unfazed by Angela’s amusement but, then, why should it have upset him? Maggie thought. The kiss had meant nothing when all was said and done.

Her spirits plummeted although she had no idea why. It was a relief not to have to think about it when Angela immediately demanded to know why they needed first-aid equipment. Maggie showed her friend her heel then murmured her thanks when Angela offered to find her something to put on it.

Angela came back a few minutes later with a green plastic box and handed it to Luke. ‘Ruth said to tell you that there’s antiseptic in the bathroom cabinet as well if you need it.’ She glanced round as Robin called her. ‘Right, I’ll leave you to it, then. At least you two should know how to play doctors and nurses properly!’