His values.
Dante was not American. He came from a completely different world than she did.
How can you have family pride when you know nothing about the name you were born with?
Still, she couldn’t agree to marry him. Not now. She needed time to think and she wanted to talk to her friend and colleague, Aubrey, about it. She was so confused.
“We should go and talk to Mrs. Sanders. I’m sure she’s worried.” She turned and kept walking toward the room where Mrs. Sanders had got her broken wrist taken care of. Dante thankfully took the hint as he fell into step beside her.
Mrs. Sanders was lying in a bed, her wrist in a cast, and Shay could see the pain and worry etched on her face. She opened her eyes when they walked into the room.
“Please tell me you have word on my husband,” Mrs. Sanders said.
“I’m Dr. Affini and I did the surgery on your husband.”
“Were you told why he went to surgery?” Shay asked gently.
“He had internal bleeding?” Mrs. Sanders said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “That’s all I know.”
“Your husband had major lacerations to his spleen,” Dante said gently. “I had to remove it.”
Shay rubbed the patient’s shoulder as she began to cry.
“He came through the splenectomy well,” Dante said. “Dr. Prescarrie is our neurologist. He is going to check out your husband’s spine.”
“Why?” Mrs. Sanders asked, her eyes tracking to Shay and then back to Dante.
“He was complaining of loss of sensation before we took him into surgery,” Dante said. “Dr. Prescarrie will be able to determine if the paralysis is temporary and what damage was done to the spine. We take loss of function very seriously.”
“Oh, no. This is our thirtieth anniversary. Our kids surprised us with this trip to Italy. We’re on a tour, you see...”
“Were you with the tour company when it happened?” Shay asked.
Mrs. Sanders shook her head. “No, we were having some free time in Venice. We’re leaving for Tuscany tomorrow.”
“Give me the number of the tour operator and I’ll explain what happened. She can contact your family.”
“It’s in my purse over there.” She inclined her head. “Thankfully, I wasn’t thrown into the water. Our passports are in there too if you need them.”
Shay smiled and brought Mrs. Sanders her purse, holding it open so the patient could pull out the information. Shay took it.
“I’ll call the tour operator and they’ll take care of your belongings and everything,” Shay said. “Don’t you worry. Just rest.”
Mrs. Sanders nodded and clutched her purse with her good arm.
“Dr. Prescarrie will update you on your husband as soon as possible, Signora Sanders. For now you’ll stay in this room. Try to rest.” Dante patted the patient’s leg and they walked out of her room. Dante stopped at the nurses’ station to give instructions to the staff about Mrs. Sanders’s stay, before he headed back toward Shay.
“That was very good of you to say you’ll call the tour company.”
“Well, they’re so far from home.” Shay glanced down at the information in her hand. “Is there a place I can call from in private?”
“Sì, follow me.” Dante held out his arm and led her to another part of the hospital until they were standing in front of an office. “This is my office and you may use the telephone in there to contact the tour operator.”
He opened the door for her and flicked on the lights.
“Thank you, Dante.”
He shrugged. “Take your time, but before you go I want to finish our conversation.”
“I thought we were finished with that particular conversation.”
A small smile twitched his lips. “No, we’re not finished. Far from it. Besides, you have a test to go through, cara.”
Dante shut the door and walked away, leaving Shay alone in his office. She breathed a sigh of relief as she took a seat in his leather office chair and punched in the number. She was connected right away to the tour operator and she explained the situation to them. Everything was worked out. Their room in Venice would be held for them for as long as they needed and the tour company would contact the emergency contacts in their file.
The tour company would also contact the insurance and everything would be taken care of.
Satisfied, Shay disconnected the call and leaned back in Dante’s swivel chair. She closed her eyes and the baby fluttered around, feeling like a butterfly. Reminding her again that she was working a bit too hard.
The ob-gyn she’d seen in the United States had said she could do this work, but he had warned her to take it easy.
The only reason she had clearance to take this job was because it was less strenuous than the assignment she was originally on. Running a training and simulation program, as well as assisting a trauma surgeon in the operating theatre, should be a breeze.
The problem was, she hadn’t taken a break.
Her blood sugar was dropping and she needed to eat something.
Something decent.
And she needed rest.
Dante might think their conversation wasn’t over, but as far as she was concerned it was for the evening. She was going to head back to the villa she and her friend Danica were sharing, eat and get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day; she was going to run her first simulation.
She got up and found her way back to the small office she had been given on the other side of the hospital. She grabbed her purse and sweater. She headed toward the back door and from there it was a short walk to the house the United World Wide Health Association had rented for their staff.
If she had a moment, she’d talk to Dante again and tell him again that she wasn’t going to marry him.
Convenience or not, she was a big girl and could take care of herself.
She didn’t need his protection.
As she stepped outside she was blinded by flashing lights and a rush of people crowded her, pressing her back against the wall. She shielded her face, but she couldn’t understand what they were asking her.
She caught a few words, like prince and baby.
Then there was a roar and string of loud, harsh words and strong arms came around her, pulling her close, and she realized it was Dante, shielding her. She clung to him as he shouted at the group of reporters and ushered her back inside. Once they were back inside and the shouting from the mob of reporters was drowned out, she sighed in relief.
