Page 41 of Bound By The Italian’s 'I Do'

‘It’s me.’

Silence.

‘I missed you last night.’

A long beat passed. ‘Did you get my message?’

‘I did.’ He hadn’t expected her to come. He’d hoped but his gut had told him not to hope too hard. He couldn’t understand why her message, when it had come, had still landed like a blow.

There were many things about his reactions to Issy that Gianni didn’t understand. Reactions and feelings he’d never felt before. They were growing stronger. The need to seek her out even if only to hear her voice gaining strength.

‘Ready to come out yet?’ he asked.

There was a slight hesitation before she said, ‘No. Not yet.’

Not yet? That was a huge improvement and his chest lightened to hear it. ‘That’s a shame. It’s a beautiful day.’

‘I know. I’ve been in the garden.’

‘Swimming?’

He swore he heard her laugh. ‘No. I don’t think it’s safe for me to swim without a lifeguard close to hand.’

‘That’s one less thing for me to worry about,’ he joked back. He resisted offering to be her lifeguard. One step at a time. After days of silence and her cold shoulder, her voice sounded markedly warmer. Softer. ‘Have you always been a lousy swimmer?’

‘No... I... It’s just been a long time. That’s all. And I was never that strong a swimmer.’

He sat down in the same spot as he’d taken the day before. ‘Tell me about it.’

‘About what?’

‘Swimming. Your life. Anything you want to tell me.’

‘What do you want to know?’ she asked doubtfully.

‘Everything.’

When she next spoke her voice sounded so close to his ear that he knew she’d sat down too and that her back was likely pressed against the door the same as his, like two bookends. ‘Be more specific.’

He wondered if her head touched the door too. She was so much shorter than him that it would rest lower than his. He wondered, too, why he’d always been inclined towards tall women before Issy. ‘Tell me about your job. You’re a nurse?’

‘I’m an auxiliary nurse, not a medical nurse.’

‘Is there a difference?’

‘About four years of education.’ Another quip? Things really were improving. He heard the smile in her voice as she explained, ‘My job is basically to make sure the patients are comfortable and to help them with anything they can’t do for themselves.’

‘You work with children?’

‘Yes. I’m on the children’s ward.’

‘You enjoy it?’

‘I love it.’

‘Is it not hard dealing with sick children?’

‘It can be. You have to stay professional but it’s hard not to build attachments. Especially with the really sick ones.’

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