all of those damning predictions regarding her development.
He’d made a success of his life without the assistance of his family and at least Gracie had a father who loved her and would do everything he could to ensure she thrived.
‘I’m glad you have someone to make sure you do as you’re told. It will help your recovery.’ The clinic staff would operate, provide medication and follow-up treatment, including physiotherapy, but there were practical things Tom would require at home to smooth the transition from the clinic.
‘Don’t worry, Terri’s at the beach house now, adapting it for the return of the invalid. She even insisted on buying me slip-on loafers for the duration of my stay so I don’t have to bend down to tie my laces.’ The absolute horror on his face that he should be subjected to such an atrocity was comical. Rafael silently wished Terri good luck, hoping she would prove equally as stubborn as her father. She’d probably have to tie him down to prevent him from rushing his recovery.
‘Think yourself fortunate to have someone willing to take care of you. Not everyone does.’ He had a momentary lapse into self-pity, considering his options should he ever find himself in the same situation. There were no loving family members around for him to rely on. It was a sobering and ironic thought that he’d probably have to pay someone to provide that assistance.
If he’d stayed in San Sebastian, as his parents had wanted, and had never left Spain, he would’ve had every medical or child expert available to the eldest son of a duke. Therein had lain the problem. He’d never wanted to remain tied to that lifestyle, living off ancient connections to the royal family and trying to stay relevant by portraying himself like his playboy brother to the paparazzi.
This life of anonymity had suited him better, even though his family had seen his move to the States as a betrayal of his heritage. He hadn’t spoken to them since but as they hadn’t accepted him for who he was, he knew they would never acknowledge Gracie for being different either. She wouldn’t fit into the perfect family they preferred to parade for the cameras, neither would he subject her to those expectations.
He had played along for a while for appearances’ sake but Gracie wouldn’t understand that’s what she was supposed to do and she shouldn’t have to pretend to be someone she wasn’t. It was better for her to be loved for who she was, even if he was the only one in her life able to give her that unconditional love.
Unfortunately, that left him with no next of kin here if anything should happen to him. Tom should appreciate someone caring enough not to back away when he needed them most.
‘Not as fortunate as you, Doc, that’s for sure. Oo-ee!’ Tom’s appreciative whistle was lost on Rafael.
‘Excuse me?’ He cocked his head to one side, waiting for an explanation when he could see no reason why a successful pundit would exhibit the slightest bit of jealousy towards him.
‘Forgive me for speaking out of turn but if I had a wife who looked like yours, she wouldn’t be an ex.’ The bawdy laugh didn’t help unravel the mystery for Rafael, only deepened it. He had no idea how anyone here would know about Christina, but if they were acquainted with her they’d also be aware nursing anyone wasn’t in her DNA. Her job was strictly in medical research and she wasn’t hands on in any way unless she was in a club with her girlfriends in the early hours of the morning and looking for some male attention.
‘I think you must be mistaking me for someone else.’ He decided not to go down that dark alley and dismissed it to concentrate on Tom’s notes.
Unfortunately, Tom wasn’t so easily deterred from whatever it was he thought was going on in Rafael’s life.
‘I saw you this morning with your family when I came in. Beautiful. You’re a very lucky man. We weren’t good together, me and Jess, but I miss having that closeness with someone, you know?’
He didn’t know, staring at him blankly for some time before it dawned on him who his patient was referring to.
‘Oh. Oh!’ An image of him handing over the care of his daughter to Summer in the corridor popped into his head. He supposed to an outsider the mistake was understandable but it did knock the breath out of him that Tom had assumed her to be his wife and Gracie’s mother. Did she really appear so comfortable in either role?
‘Summer’s not my wife, she’s—’ What exactly was she? An employee? A co-worker? None of those titles accurately depicted how significant she’d become in their daily lives yet he couldn’t describe her as a friend either. Not when he was trying so hard to resist having her play a part in his personal life for his own sanity.
There was no discernible line between work and personal matters when Summer’s efforts with his daughter broke through any perceived barriers. He reaped the benefits at home with Gracie’s improved verbal and motor skills apparently honed by the time and energy Summer had put into working with Gracie.
However, with every achievement she accomplished, guilt took a bigger nibble at his conscience—that if he’d spent that time with her instead he could’ve been the one to further her progress. Except that would have prohibited them from moving to the island, having an income or helping countless people with his surgical skills.
He had to accept some things were out of his control. Including thoughts about Miss Summer Ryan, which seemed to be coming much more frequently and less about educational matters.
Contemplation about her current relationship status, how she was spending her evenings or if she liked him beyond her official capacity were not things he should be concerning himself with if he considered her only in her role at the day-care centre.
He wanted to get to know her but with that came a whole web of complications he couldn’t afford to get caught up in again. Investing emotionally in someone other than his daughter left him vulnerable to another rejection or worse, more heartbreak he could do without when he would still have to get up every morning and carry on for Gracie’s sake.
‘Summer’s my daughter’s nursery teacher,’ he filled in, unwilling to give his patient any further insight into his complicated personal matters. ‘Now, are you clear about what’s going to happen today in surgery?’
‘Could you run it by me again, Doc?’
‘I’m going to make a small incision in your lower back and insert a small tube that will act as a corridor for me to access the herniated disc with minimal tissue disruption to the surrounding area. We’ll use local anaesthetic and some mild sedation so you won’t feel anything.’ Sometimes there could be irritation afterwards caused by the operation itself but once the bone spur or disc material causing the pain was removed, patients usually felt an improvement.
‘That’s all I need to hear.’
‘I’m sure we’ll have you back on the football field in no time at all.’ He closed Tom’s file with a smile and tucked it under his arm.
‘I spend more time behind the sports desk these days but I appreciate the confidence.’
They parted on a friendly, firm handshake but the exchange had shaken Rafael. It wasn’t the fact someone had assumed Summer was part of his family that bothered him. No, it was that the idea wasn’t totally unappealing to him. Exactly why he should try extra-hard to push her out and prevent her from doing to him what every other person close to him had done and let him go without a fight.
Конец
