Page 53 of Matteo

I ask him about his day so far, and he explains that he has a backlog of paperwork to get through. Then he shifts the conversation back to me and how my morning has gone.

Once we’re finished with lunch, we work on his list. I take down not only what he likes but also what he doesn’t like. I can’t hold back a chuckle over how much a doctor doesn’t like vegetables. He admits they usually need to be covered in some kind of sauce. It takes us a few minutes to find the frozen vegetables in a sauce his previous housekeeper bought that he liked. I add a half dozen to the order I’m working on.

Layla finishes her bottle and crawls all over Matteo.

I notice his lunch hour is almost up. “Now, am I going to need to do this again tomorrow, or will you stop and eat your lunch?”

Chuckling, he shrugs. “I can’t make any promises. My mother diagnosed ADD might kick in again. It’s not my intention to go without eating.”

I sigh. “Fine. I’ll make sure to bring more toys for her, so she doesn’t use you as one.” Layla has her hands buried in his hair and is gnawing at his ear. “Come on, sweetie. It’s time to go home. We have to let Matteo get back to work.”

When Matteo puts her in her car seat, she begins crying loudly and screeching, “Dada.”

“Damn, she needs her nap.” Matteo picks her up again and begins walking her around the room to soothe her.

“Matteo, it’s okay. She’ll cry it out and fall asleep on the way home.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not letting her cry. It’s better to get her to sleep now. The drive home is so short you’ll wake her up again when you try to get her out of the car to take her upstairs, and that will really piss her off.”

Layla is in a temper and fighting his soothing while at the same time clinging to him tightly. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m sorry. I know. I hate leaving you, too. I do. I wish I could stay home all day and play with you.”

I have everything packed and can only sit and watch Matteo walk her around the room, gently rocking her and speaking low. It takes more than twenty minutes before she calms down. In all that time, Matteo never checks the time or betrays any annoyance for the, at times, screeching and crying baby in his arms.

Once the crying has stopped, she babbles to him. He nods repeatedly as though he understands her and talks right back. At last, she puts her head down on his shoulder and sighs deeply—something she does when she’s given up fighting sleep. Maybe five minutes later, her eyes close. Matteo continues to walk her for another fifteen minutes, talking to her softly.

I’m a little embarrassed. It’s almost an hour after his lunch was supposed to be over. “I’m sorry. I don’t think this is a good idea after all. We took up so much time?—”

“Hey, no. I loved it. Even this part.” He runs a large, gentle hand up and down Layla’s back. “This is one of the perks of being the boss. No one is telling me to get back on the clock. With me trying to get through my backlog of paperwork, our on-call person agreed to come in today and tomorrow. And I hired someone who will start next Monday.”

Lifting one of Layla’s hands up to his mouth, he kisses it. I’m grateful as hell his eyes are on her because there’s no way I can hide what it does to me. It’s like he reached inside my chest and squeezed my heart with his bare hand.

The good thing about Layla is once she’s in a deep sleep, she won’t wake up in the middle of a thunderstorm or earthquake. Matteo gently puts her into the car seat. He watches her before he buckles her in.

I can’t identify the smile on his face as he looks up at me.

“She is mighty in her fury. I’m not as worried about her health as I was. Let me grab my stethoscope to listen to her. When you come in tomorrow, is it all right if I take blood for the workup I mentioned?”

I nod. “I would appreciate it. I’m a little worried since it’s been so long since she saw a doctor.”

A few steps take him back to his desk. His movements are fluid as he grabs it and wraps it around his neck. He sits down in front of the car seat. Pressing the stethoscope to her chest, he’s gentle. I see the doctor in him. Everything screams he’s done it a thousand times.

For fourteen years, he treated kids and lost some of them. I have no idea how he lasted as long as he did. I’m glad he isn’t doing it now. This is a man who feels deeply. Even the kids he didn’t lose made him ache at watching them suffer through his treatment—I have no doubt in my mind.

I’m so lost in thought I miss him saying my name.

“Are you all right?”

“What? Yes, I’m fine. Sorry. I’m thinking about whether to go shopping now or later. How does she sound?”

“She sounds excellent. The labs I run will take a few days. Once I have the results back and everything looks good, I’ll be happy.”

His smile is turning my brain to mush. Am I staring at him? “Great, okay. Well, I better get going. Don’t work too late.”

“I won’t. Let me carry Layla outside since you have so many things.”

I follow him out of the clinic. Willow waves as we pass her. I wave back with a smile.

“Matteo, you should have grabbed your jacket.” It’s cold today. I have the plain fleece jacket over the long-sleeve pink top I’m wearing. Since I was just coming to the clinic, I went with thicker leggings.

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