Dr. Zinetti's Snowkissed Bride (6 page)

‘You've done the right thing. Because she is little and she has tiny airways, she is struggling at the moment.' Dino folded the stethoscope. ‘I can hear crackles in her lungs, which suggests that this could be bronchiolitis. It's a respiratory infection caused by a virus. It's quite common at this time of year. There's nothing you could have done to prevent it.'

She looked at him, desperate for reassurance. ‘You're sure?'

‘Positive. But in Abby's case it is quite severe so I'm going to run some tests and keep her on oxygen for now. I'm also going to contact the paediatric team because she's going to need to be admitted for a short time.'

‘She needs to stay in hospital? It's nearly Christmas.'

‘Hopefully it will only be for a few days.' Meg's voice was gentle. ‘She's having to work quite hard to breathe, and if she isn't feeding then we need to keep her here and give her some help. Honestly, it's the best place for her to be. Whatever treatment she needs, we can give it right here. You know you wouldn't be able to relax if she was ill like this at home. You'd be hanging over her cot, listening to her every breath and just worrying.'

‘Oh, yes, that's exactly what I've been doing.' The baby's mother looked dazed. ‘I need to phone my husband—he's gone into work. He didn't realise she was this bad—neither of us did.'

‘Why don't you do that right now? We're going to take
some blood samples,' Dino took the tray that Meg had already prepared. 'That will help us work out exactly what's wrong with her and how we're going to treat her.'

‘You're going to stick needles in her?' The mother looked appalled, her eyes full of tears. ‘I should be there for her, hold her…'

Dino took one look at her ashen face and knew that if she stayed, she'd probably pass out. He was about to say something when Meg spoke.

‘I think the most important thing right now is to call your husband. That's a bigger priority. You need the support. The weather isn't great out there so it might take him a while to get here. I'll hold Abby while Dr Zinetti takes the bloods.'

In one sentence she'd given the mother permission to leave and not to feel guilty. Admiring her skill, Dino waited while Abby's mother left the room. ‘You're so good with worried mothers.'

‘There's nothing worse than watching someone stick needles into your child. Can I ask why you're taking bloods? I got the tray ready just in case, but we don't usually do that for bronchiolitis. I thought it was a clinical diagnosis.'

‘I want to check her blood gases. She has marked chest wall retraction, nasal flaring, expiratory grunting and her sats are dropping, despite the oxygen.'

‘She's certainly a poorly girl.' Meg slid her hand over the baby's downy head. ‘All right, sweetie, we're going to do this together and Uncle Dino is going to get that nasty needle in first time and not miss.'

‘No pressure, then.' Dino ran his finger over the baby's tiny wrist and arm. ‘If I manage it first time, I get to choose the time and the place.'

‘For what?' She handed him a tourniquet.

‘For our first date.'

Her cheeks flushed, Meg squeezed the baby's arm gently. ‘I don't go on dates.'

Neither did he.
Usually. He wondered what she'd say if she knew he was every bit as wary as she was. For the past two years he'd kept his relationships superficial. It was a measure of how much he liked Meg Miller that he was willing to risk the next step. ‘Perhaps it's time you did.' Dino stroked his finger over the baby's skin, found what he wanted. Smoothly and confidently he slid the tiny needle into the vein. ‘There. First time. I win the challenge.' He murmured softly to the baby in Italian and glanced up to find her watching him.

‘I'm glad.' Her cheeks were flushed. ‘I would have hated you to have missed, but I don't want you to take that the wrong way.' Meg turned her head to check the baby's pulse and blood pressure on the monitor. ‘She really is very sick. I've rung PICU and warned them that they'll need to isolate her.'

Dino took the samples he needed and dropped them onto the tray, his eyes on the baby. ‘I'm still not happy with her breathing. She may have to be ventilated.'

‘Paediatric team on the way, including the anaesthetist.'

‘The problem with working with you,' Dino drawled, ‘is that you're so efficient there is no opportunity for me to impress you.'

‘You got the needle in first time—that impressed me. And anyway…' she pulled a sticker from a sheet in the notes and stuck it onto the form for the blood test, ‘…you don't need praise from me. You already have quite a fan club going, Dr Hot. I gather fourteen nurses have asked you to the Christmas ball so far. Is that all the bloods?'

This would have been the perfect moment to ask what he wanted to ask, but the situation was too tense to contemplate having a personal discussion. Later, he promised himself. Later, when they weren't working, he was going to remind
her that she owed him a date. And no doubt she would fight him all the way.

In the eight months he'd worked at the hospital he'd noticed that Meg didn't really socialise. She worked and then she went home to her son. On the few occasions she joined the rest of the mountain rescue team for a drink, it was either early, in which case she took Jamie with her, or it was late and she popped in quickly while her mother was babysitting. At first he'd wondered if her attitude was driven by financial concerns, but as he'd got to know her better he'd realised that there was a great deal more to Meg's hermit-like existence than an urge for thrift.

Someone had hurt her. Presumably Jamie's father.

Relationships,
he thought.
Complex and difficult.

He watched as she moved around the room, calm, quiet and efficient. When it came to work, she never failed to impress him. What surprised him was the difference between her confidence levels in a work or rescue situation and her confidence levels in a social situation.

Abby's mother arrived back in the room at the same time as the paediatric team and Dino pushed aside thoughts of Meg, briefing his colleagues as they transferred the sick baby to PICU. He was walking back to Resus when Meg grabbed him and dragged him into an empty cubicle.

‘About this date,' she whispered fiercely, her gaze flickering to the door to check no one was passing, ‘there is somewhere I really want to go and I'd really like you to take me.'

Astonished that it had proved that easy, Dino smiled. ‘
Molto bene
,' he purred. ‘Of course. Anything. Romantic dinner? Or something less public perhaps. I could cook for you. My place.'

Instead of reacting the way he expected, she chewed her lower lip nervously for a few seconds. ‘I want you to come to my house at eight-thirty on Thursday morning.'

Dino watched her carefully. He could see the pulse beating in her throat.
Feel her nerves.
‘I'm all for injecting variety into the dating scene,
belissima
, but isn't eight-thirty in the morning a slightly unusual time to eat dinner? Unless you're suggesting breakfast?'

‘Don't get any ideas. We won't be eating anything.' She pushed her hair out of her eyes and he noticed that her hand was shaking. ‘Look, I know you won't want to do this, but—' She sucked in a deep breath, like someone summoning up courage to do something they found terrifying. ‘—Thursday is Dad's Day at school and Jamie doesn't have anyone to take. I know you're not his dad but that doesn't matter because it just has to be an important man in his life, and I know you're not exactly important, but—'

Dino covered her lips with his fingers. ‘Meg, take a breath.'

‘Sorry. Look, I'm sorry I asked—just forget it.'

‘I'm glad you asked. And the answer is yes. Of course I'll go to Dad's Day with Jamie. I'd be honoured.'

‘You would?' She stared up at him, her breathing rapid against his fingers. ‘You'll go? Seriously?'

‘Yes. Of course. I think he's a great kid.' It took a huge effort of will to remove his fingers from her soft lips. An even bigger effort not to replace them with his mouth. ‘Just tell me what's expected of me.'

‘I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that you have to be incredibly impressive,' she blurted out, ‘so that Freddie stops telling him he's a loser because his dad doesn't want to see him.'

Dino felt anger flash. ‘Some kid is calling him a loser?'
Was that the reason for the tears he'd seen in her eyes earlier?
‘Someone is bullying Jamie?'

‘I don't think so. Not really. Hard to tell. The line between bullying and boy behaviour can be blurred.' She rubbed her
fingers with her forehead, her eyes tired. ‘I'm trying to stay calm and rational about it. But I've discovered that rational thinking goes out of the window when it's your child. Kids are really mean. And I know I have to get my head round it and in the end Jamie has to find his own way of dealing with it, but…' Her voice was thickened as she struggled not to break down. ‘He's so little, and when it's your child it feels
horrible,
you have no idea. I just want to go and find Freddie and yell at him, but I can't do that.'

‘Describe him to me,' Dino said coldly. ‘I'll do it for you.'

‘No.' With a tiny smile, she shook her head. ‘What I want you to do is make Freddie and his dad look as small and insignificant as possible, while making yourself look like a cross between Mr Incredible and Batman.'

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Does that mean I have to wear a tight red Lycra suit and a black cloak?'

She gave a choked laugh. ‘You'd be arrested. I don't know what's the matter with me. I don't really want to make Freddie and his dad look small, and I
hate
myself for having to ask you to go so that Jamie can be like the other kids. I've always taught him that he doesn't have to be like everyone else—that people are allowed to be individuals—and here I am playing some silly game of impressing people.'

‘Well, that's a great theory,' Dino drawled, ‘but I guess sometimes it's just nice not to have to fight the world on everything.' And that was what she did. He was sure of it. She was standing between the world and her child. ‘I'll do it, Meg. No problem. I can't promise red Lycra, but I do promise to help Jamie. Will you be there?'

‘No. Mums aren't allowed. I'll be outside, biting my nails.'

He took her hand in his and lifted it—and had a brief
glimpse of bitten nails before she snatched her hand away, her cheeks pink.

‘I thought you could pick him up from home…' She thrust her hands behind her back. ‘…in your Batmobile. That should attract some serious attention at the school gates.'

‘Particularly if it carries on snowing. The Lamborghini is a nightmare in the snow. I'm likely to crash right through the school gates if the conditions don't improve and that isn't exactly superhero behaviour, but I'll see what I can do. You really do want to give them the full treatment, don't you? In return,' Dino drawled, ‘you'll do something for me.'

The relief in her eyes was replaced by caution. ‘What?'

‘This isn't our date. Next time it's my choice. We go where I decide, when I decide. And it won't be at eight-thirty in the morning, Meg, so you'll need to book a babysitter.'

He'd been patient long enough.

‘M
UM
,
he was
awesome.
When he stripped off his jacket he was wearing this tight suit
just
like Mr Incredible, and he was all muscle, and Freddie's mouth was like this…' Jamie dropped his jaw to show her. ‘And he had a proper six-pack and everything and then he was telling us about the suit and he said that you need to wear that for speed so that you go as fast as possible when you're skiing. He wore it in the Olympics! You should have seen Freddie's face when Dino got out his gold medal. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish and his dad sort of spluttered a bit and went very red in the face and quiet.' Jamie chatted non-stop while he sprinkled glitter onto the Christmas card he was making. ‘And then he talked about when he worked as a mountain guide in Italy, where he comes from, and there was this avalanche…'

Listening to Jamie talk, Meg felt a rush of gratitude towards Dino. Whatever he'd said and done at Dad's Day, it had obviously been the right thing.

‘Don't use too much glue or the card will be sticky.'

He stared at the card dubiously. ‘Do you think Grandma is going to like this? We could have bought one.'

‘Home-made is better. She's going to love it. So what else happened?'

‘All the kids thought his Lamborghini looked
exactly
like
the Batmobile.' Jamie added stars to the card. ‘And he let me wear his Olympic medal.'

He'd let him wear his Olympic medal?
Wasn't that going a bit over the top?

‘So, anyway, I invited him over for pizza night, Mum.'

‘Who?'

‘Dino, of course.'

‘You invited him for pizza night?'

‘Yes. Pizza is Italian, isn't it? He told me he likes pizza.'

Trying to reconcile the smooth, sophisticated Dino she knew with a version that ate pizza, especially
her
pizza, Meg closed her eyes.

Feeling as though she was being sucked into quicksand, she picked up the tube of glitter. ‘He wouldn't want to come over, sweetheart. He was probably just being polite.'

Jamie's smile faded. ‘You mean he doesn't really like us?'

‘No, he likes us,' Meg said quickly, ‘of course he likes us. Especially you. I
know
he likes you a lot. I'm just saying that a man like Dino is busy, and he's probably got better things to do than eat pizza with us.'

‘So why did he say he's really looking forward to it? And it isn't just me he likes—he likes you a lot too, Mum. He kept asking stuff about you all the time while we were in the car. Do you think he wants to marry you and have sex? Is it because Grandma and I hung extra mistletoe from the door?'

The glitter slipped through her fingers. ‘No—no, I don't think that's what he's thinking and I don't think the mistletoe makes any difference. What do you mean, he was asking stuff about me? What kind of stuff?'

‘Mostly questions about what you do when you're not working. I told him I'm a lot of work, so when you're not working or out on a rescue, you're usually looking after me. Mum, there's glitter all over the floor.'

Meg started to clean it up. ‘Well, it's certainly true that I'm usually looking after you. Apart from the fact you eat enough for eight boys, you create masses of laundry. I couldn't believe the state of your rugby kit this week.' She kept talking so that she didn't over-analyse the fact that Dino had been asking about her. ‘Did you leave any mud on the field?'

‘Freddie tackled me. He pushed me right into the mud.'

Freddie again
. ‘Well, maybe Freddie won't be so quick to jump on you now he knows your best friend is a superhero.' She emptied glitter into the bin. ‘So what night did you invite Dino? Just so that I make sure there is some pizza for him to eat.'

‘Tomorrow, because it's a Friday and pizza night is always Friday. And he's expecting your extra-gooey chocolate cake. I told him it's the only other thing you can cook.'

‘Right.' This was a man who dined out in the finest restaurants. His favourite food was probably lobster. And she was giving him pizza and chocolate cake. In a house festooned with mistletoe.

 

‘Thanks so much for what you did yesterday.' In the middle of the constant bustle of the emergency department, Meg handed Dino a set of notes to sign. ‘You made Jamie's week. Actually, you probably made his year. The whole class is talking about your car and your Mr Incredible suit. I must admit I find it surprising you can still fit in a suit you wore when you were nineteen.'

‘It was a tight fit.' Dino scrawled his signature on the page. ‘I've filled out since then.'

She looked at his shoulders and then looked away again quickly. ‘I can imagine.'

‘Send this guy to fracture clinic. Did that man in cubicle 4 get transferred?'

‘They found him a bed on the medical ward.' She wasn't
going to think about his shoulders. ‘Dino, it was really sweet of you to tell Jamie that you love pizza, but you really don't have to torture yourself like that. I'm honestly not expecting you to come. I'll make some excuse—tell him you had some emergency or something.'

‘No, you won't.' Frowning, Dino rose to his feet and slid his pen into his pocket. ‘I love pizza. I'm looking forward to it. And I think Jamie is great. He has a good sense of humour and he's very observant about people. And I'm looking forward to your food.'

‘All right, that is
seriously
bad news.' Meg gulped. ‘I ought to warn you that I am not that great a cook. Pizza is about the limit of my repertoire, and I only manage that because Jamie's pretty good with toppings. He gives me a list and I buy them and then he just throws them on. He even tells me when it's cooked. If he left it to me, the whole thing would be burned.'

‘Are you trying to put me off?'

‘I'm just warning you that this isn't going to be a gourmet evening. I'm sure you're wishing you'd never said yes.' Of course that was what he was wishing. He must be desperate to back out. Why would a good-looking, single guy want to waste a precious evening off eating home-made pizza with a seven-year-old boy and his mother? ‘I know how persuasive Jamie can be and it was kind of you not to hurt his feelings but, seriously, it's OK. I'll handle it with him.'

‘What time does pizza night start?'

Meg stared at him. ‘Y-you're coming? Seriously?'

‘I wouldn't miss it. What time?'

‘Oh—er—indecently early. Six o'clock. Jamie goes to bed around eight so we have to eat around then. That's way too early for you, I'm sure, so maybe we should just—'

‘Six it is.'

She looked at him helplessly. What was this all about? Why
did he want to eat pizza at her house?
Why had he helped her child?
‘Dino—'

‘Would you mind talking to the relatives of the child who fell off his bike? They're worried about their son being discharged home. They need a head injury information sheet and some of your special brand of “I'm-a-mother-too” reassurance.'

‘Right. I'll do that.' He was behaving as if there was nothing strange about the fact that he was coming round for dinner. As if it were something they did all the time. She had no idea what was going through his mind. Unless it was the fact that her mother had yelled the word ‘sex' across the whole valley and he thought he may as well make the most of what was on offer. Perhaps he'd decided that the mistletoe was some sort of hint. On the other hand, a man like Dino wasn't exactly going to find himself short of offers or opportunity. Mistletoe or no mistletoe, he didn't need to settle for a girl who didn't paint her nails.

One thing she knew for sure—once he'd tasted her food, he wouldn't be coming back for more.

 

Dino pulled up outside the cottage and tried to remember when he'd last eaten a meal at six o'clock in the evening. Locking the car, he smiled.
Probably the same time he'd last eaten pizza.

Another fresh fall of snow had dusted the path and he saw a small pair of blue Wellington boots covered in pictures of Spiderman abandoned on the step.

As he waited for Meg to answer the door, he studied the wreath. It was a festive twist of ivy, pine cones and fat, crimson holly berries. Looking closer, he saw that it was just a bit haphazard, and suddenly had a vision of Meg and Jamie making it together, laughing at the kitchen table. A family preparing for Christmas.

He was eying the mistletoe thoughtfully when the door was dragged open and he was hit by light and warmth.

Jamie stood there, a grin on his face, Rambo wagging his tail by his side. ‘You made it. Come in.' Unselfconscious, he grabbed Dino's hand and pulled him inside. ‘You have to choose your topping. Pepperoni, olive, ham or mushroom. Usually I'm only allowed to pick three but Mum might let you have more as you're the guest.'

Dino followed him into the kitchen and found Meg, red in the face, making pizzas on a scrubbed wooden table.

‘Hi—you made it. That's great.' She looked flustered. White patches of flour dusted the front of her apron and the arms of her jumper. Her hair was clipped to the top of her head and tumbled around her face in a riot of haphazard curls.

Her eyes changed colour, he noticed, according to her mood. Tonight they were a deep, sparkling blue like one of the lakes on a summer's day. ‘I bought you something to drink.' He held out the bottle and she looked at it and gave a hesitant laugh.

‘Champagne? I don't know what you're expecting, Dino, but what we have here is a basic pizza with a few toppings. Nothing fancy.'

‘Champagne goes with everything.' He looked around him. Her kitchen was warm and homely, delightfully haphazard, like everything else in her life. At one end of the table there was a stack of papers and unopened post, which she'd obviously cleared to one side in order to make the pizza. Brightly coloured alphabet magnets decorated the door of the fridge and the walls were adorned with Jamie's paintings and photographs.

Intrigued, Dino strolled across the room to take a closer look. There were photographs of Meg and Jamie wrestling in the snow. One of Jamie in his school uniform, looking proud. Jamie and Rambo. Meg and Rambo. A family.

Something pulled inside him and suddenly he felt cold, despite the warmth thumping from the green range cooker that was the heart of the kitchen. This was what a childhood was supposed to be like. A million small experiences, explored together and retained for ever in the memory. A foundation for life. In comparison to the rich tapestry of family life spread around the kitchen, his own experience seemed barren and empty. His mother had paid expensive photographers to record various carefully selected moments and the subsequent pictures had been neatly catalogued and stored. Whatever artwork he'd brought home from school had been swiftly disposed of because his mother had hated clutter of any sort. The walls of his home had also been adorned with priceless paintings that no one could touch. His mother would no more have displayed one of his childish drawings than she would be seen without her make-up.

Pushing aside that bitter thought, Dino opened a glass-fronted cupboard and helped himself to two tall stemmed glasses.

As he popped the cork on the champagne, he realised that Meg was watching him as she shaped dough into rounds.

‘Sorry, we're in a bit of a mess.'

‘I like it.' He poured champagne into the glasses. ‘This is a lovely cottage. How long have you lived here?'

‘The house belonged to my grandfather. When he died my dad fixed it up and then they rented it to tourists for a while. Then I had Jamie and needed somewhere to live, so they stopped renting it out and it became mine. I love it here. The views are incredible, the walking is fantastic and in the summer we sail on the lake, don't we, Jamie?'

‘Grandma bought me my own boat. It's a single-hander.' Jamie climbed onto a stool. ‘Do you like boats, Dino?'

‘I've never had much to do with boats.' He put a glass
of champagne down next to her hand. ‘But I know I'd love sailing.'

‘Sometimes I capsize. That's the best part.'

Meg finished the last pizza base and gave a sigh of relief, as if preparing the food had been a test she'd faced and passed. ‘OK, guys, over to you.' She pushed two of the bases across the table towards them and picked up her glass. ‘Cheers. What do you say in Italy?'

‘Salute!'

Her glass made a gentle ringing sound as she tapped it against his. ‘
Salute.
To superheroes and pizza night.' She sipped the champagne. ‘Oh, that's so good. I've never tasted anything like it. Where did you get it from? Is it expensive?'

‘I picked it up last time I was home,' Dino avoided the question, putting the open bottle in the fridge. He looked at his pizza base. ‘I'm going to need some help here, Jamie. Do you have any advice for me?'

Jamie was holding a bowl of tomato sauce. ‘I can do yours for you if you like.'

‘That would be great, thanks. You obviously have more experience than me.' Dino sat down on a chair, watching Meg. Her face was pink from shaping dough and a few more wisps of blonde hair had escaped from the clip on her head. He'd seen her handle the most complex medical situations without working up a sweat, but here in the kitchen, she was definitely sweating.

‘OK, Jamie, I'm ready for tomato.' She pushed her pizza base towards her son. ‘You know what to do. Not too much or you'll make it soggy.'

Dino leaned across and helped himself to an olive. ‘So how was school today, Jamie? Any trouble from Freddie?'

‘Nope. Not today.' Jamie carefully spread tomato sauce on the three pizzas. ‘He wants to be my friend now.'

‘That's good.'

‘Not really. It's only because he wants a ride in your car.' Jamie picked up a bowl of grated cheese and Dino looked at Meg. She was staring at her son and there was so much love in her eyes that he felt something squeeze his insides.