It was clear from the text conversation that Sofia wanted them to spend more time together. She’d promised Autumn that Giovanni would take them both to a favourite place of hers.
Papà and me take you here.
‘Where’s “here”?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘I think the picture she meant to send got lost somewhere along the line. Where do you think it is?’
‘I have no idea.’ Then he stopped and put his hands on his hips. ‘Wait—was Sofia wanting me to take you to a place she loves, or a place you want to see?’
Autumn shook her head. ‘She’s five, and her English is great, but honestly we didn’t type that many words.’
Of course. Giovanni bowed his head, trying not to laugh out loud. He sometimes overestimated his daughter’s abilities.
He gave a solemn nod. ‘In that case I’m going to make a few presumptions. I think Sofia was saying we’d take you somewhere, and as the father of a five-year-old I’m assuming it’s a place that she loves.’ He met her green gaze. ‘And I know exactly where that might be.’
The expression on her face told him that she was intrigued, and he decided not to give the secret away.
The more time he spent around this woman, the more time he wanted to spend around her. His sister Eleonora had asked a million questions about Autumn—some of which he hadn’t been able to answer. And that annoyed him. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know everything about her. But that thought overwhelmed him.
Sofia had spent the last week talking about Autumn. He shouldn’t be surprised that his daughter had decided to use his phone. She was bright. He was just glad that Autumn had realised immediately that it was Sofia.
‘How about we get changed and I’ll take Sofia’s stitches out this afternoon?’
He gave an immediate nod. ‘Sure—thank you.’ Then he paused a second. ‘Let me check on a couple of patients and I’ll meet you outside the locker rooms in half an hour.’
‘No problem.’
Half an hour later Autumn was standing outside the locker room in the softly draped green dress that clung to her curves. That had been his immediate thought when he’d saw her try it on in the shop. But now, up close, he saw the best thing about this dress was the way it brought out the colour in her emerald eyes.
‘Something wrong?’ she asked.
He blinked and shook his head. ‘No—sorry, lost in thought. Let’s go.’
They headed outside to his car, and as he drove through the streets he realised this was the first time that Autumn would see his home.
His skin prickled, and he felt oddly nervous as he wondered if he’d left socks or shirts lying in places he shouldn’t. Giovanni generally kept a relatively tidy house. But because his time was split between work and Sofia he didn’t often have visitors, so didn’t think much about how ready his house was for visitors.
As they pulled up outside the private gates of his villa on the outskirts of Rome, Autumn gave a light laugh as he pressed a button for them to open.
‘Nice.’ She glanced around the private neighbourhood. All the houses had similar gates and grounds. ‘Do you talk to your neighbours around here?’
He moved the car up the paved driveway to the front door and the gates closed behind them. ‘I know some of them,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Others keep to themselves.’
‘And you?’
He blinked, thinking about his answer. The truth was he pretty much kept to himself too. Some of the surrounding neighbours had known Anna. He didn’t really want to have conversations with them about her or be reminded of how much other people had found her to be a shining light. Or see the sympathy in their eyes when they looked at him.
He didn’t need pity. He and Sofia were doing fine. At least he’d always thought they were. But his connection and chemistry with Autumn was making him ask himself questions he wasn’t sure he knew the answers to.
Autumn opened the car door and stepped out, clearly admiring the ochre and pale orange villa. ‘Have you lived here long?’
‘A few years. I had an apartment in Rome to begin with, but when Anna was expecting we moved here.’
He saw Autumn swallow, and realised he was taking another woman into the home he’d shared with his wife. She wasn’t to know that all his memories weren’t good ones. Maybe, because of their kiss, she was feeling intimidated. He hated the thought of that.
‘Come,’ he said quickly. ‘I’ll show you around. Sofia will be dropped here from school in a few minutes.’
He opened the door and led her into the wide cream hallway. Giving her a guided tour only took a few minutes. The villa had four bedrooms, a study, two bathrooms and a kitchen and living room with glass doors looking out over a spacious garden. The doors took up the complete back wall of the house.
Autumn gave a broad smile as she stepped into the room. He pressed a button for the doors to concertina back.
‘Oh, wow. This is like something you see in those TV shows. You know...the ones where people are trying to decide if they want to live in another country?’ Then she gave a short laugh. ‘And, of course, the presenters show them something they fall in love with that’s way outside their budget.’
He laughed too. ‘Of course.’ Then he glanced around in surprise. He’d never thought of his home like that. ‘These doors weren’t here initially. I had them put in a few years ago.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Sofia was a toddler at the time, and no matter how many times she was told to stay away from the building work...’
Autumn nodded, getting it immediately. ‘You needed twenty sets of eyes in the back of your head?’
‘Fifty.’
The doors were wide now, and a gentle breeze blew in, bringing in scents of evergreen, wisteria, azaleas and poppies.
‘Coffee?’ he asked, standing in front of his machine.
Autumn turned and walked over, running her hand along the countertop. ‘You could fit my whole flat back in London into this big room. It’s amazing.’ She touched the silver machine, with its array of buttons and steam wand. ‘You don’t like to do things by halves, do you?’
He gave a pleased shrug as he lifted cups from the cupboard. Autumn made her selection of coffee and then walked outside to the garden. Humming to herself, she walked around touching a few bushes and flowers, then sat down at the table on the patio outside.
He carried out the cups. ‘I have to admit I was a bit worried about what we might find when we got here.’
She laughed and shook her head. ‘Well, I can assure you I don’t have any right to comment. I can tell you exactly what you’ll find back at my hotel room. Toothpaste on the sink and a pile of clothes on a chair that I should have sent to the laundry today.’ She shook her head. ‘No judgement here. In fact, I’m really impressed.’
‘I’m relieved. Sofia can be a one-girl destruction module when she wants to be. I have a woman who comes in to help out a few times a week, but sometimes Sofia wreaks havoc just after she leaves.’
‘Papà!’
Right on cue, Sofia came running through the main door and into the back room. Her eyes lit up like saucers once she realised Autumn was there too, and Giovanni’s heart soared.
‘You came! You got my message!’
Autumn grinned. ‘Yes, I got your message. Of course I came.’
Sofia threw her bag onto the sofa and continued to barrel out, almost straight onto Autumn’s lap.
He saw Autumn look back through the house and realised she was wondering who had dropped Sofia off. ‘My sister,’ he said, then clarified when he saw the widening of Autumn’s eyes. ‘Bella. She’s working this evening, so she’ll only come in if there’s an issue. If my car is here, she knows I’m home and she can just drop Sofia and go.’
He could almost see her sigh of relief. ‘Just how hard a time did Eleonora give you?’
A
utumn shook her head. ‘It’s nothing...she was fine.’ But she gave him a sideways glance. ‘Just a little scary.’
He laughed and leaned forward. ‘Does it help if I tell you she scares me too?’
Autumn took a sip of her coffee, and the smile she gave him reached up into her eyes. ‘Absolutely.’ She turned around to give Sofia her full attention. ‘Well, Ms Lombardi, are you ready to get your stitches out?’
Sofia nodded and Giovanni stood automatically. ‘Let me collect what you’ll need. Autumn, you know where the bathroom is so you can wash your hands.’
Five minutes later he’d opened a stitch removal pack on the carefully sterilised table. Autumn spoke gently to Sofia. ‘I’m just going to remove this dressing. It might feel a little tuggy while I take it off. There. Good girl.’
The wound was tight, and a tiny bit red around the stitches, as if they could have been removed already. Her body was ready for them to be gone.
Autumn’s face was right in front of Sofia’s. ‘I will have these out in a few moments. You just have to hold still. Do you want to stay standing—or do you want to sit on your papà’s lap?’
He could see the flicker on Sofia’s face and resisted the temptation to automatically pull her into his arms. He had to let her choose for herself, and from the determined set of her jaw he knew exactly what she would say.
‘I can stand here. I’m a brave girl.’
‘Yes, you are.’ Autumn nodded solemnly. ‘Then give me a moment.’
She was good. She was very good. Autumn removed the stitches in literally the blink of an eye.
‘You’re finished?’ asked Sofia in amazement.
‘All done.’ Autumn smiled, disposing of the tools and snapping off her gloves.
Giovanni leaned forward to look at the thin line on his daughter’s upper arm. Autumn’s prediction had been correct. The scar was neat and well-healed and it would fade with age. In a few years it would be barely noticeable at all.
‘I don’t think you need to cover it now,’ said Autumn. ‘Just try not to get into any more fights.’
Sofia dipped her head, looking sorry for all of two seconds before a grin lit up her face again and she clapped her hands. ‘Now we can go to my favourite place!’ She turned to Giovanni. ‘Can’t we, Papà? I promised we would.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘You promised that we would on my phone.’
‘You weren’t using it,’ she replied brightly. ‘You were in the shower.’
Autumn gave him a knowing smile. ‘No secrets here, right?’
He tried his best not to rise to the bait and turned his full attention back on his daughter. ‘You know you’re not supposed to use Papà’s phone without permission?’
Sofia looked innocent. It seemed as though his daughter had mastered that art from birth. ‘You were in the shower. I couldn’t ask. And I didn’t want Autumn to forget to take out my stitches.’ She said it so matter-of-factly that he almost wondered what point he’d been trying to make.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. ‘Okay, tell me where you want us to take Autumn.’
‘The pyramid!’ she exclaimed.
Of course. Just as he had suspected.
‘There’s a pyramid in Rome?’ Autumn looked amazed.
Giovanni nodded. ‘The Pyramid of Cestius. It’s Sofia’s favourite place.’
Autumn’s eyes were sparkling. ‘Is that where we’re going?’
‘As long as you want to.’
‘Of course! I can’t wait. I had no idea there was a pyramid in Rome.’
* * *
Giovanni made a quick call, and then it took ten minutes to get Sofia changed and all of them into the car. They drove for another forty-five minutes to reach Via Raffaele Persichetti.
Autumn hadn’t believed him when he’d said there was a pyramid until she actually saw the monument.
He parked the car and they walked up to it. Sofia raced ahead. The little girl could barely contain her excitement.
This afternoon had been illuminating. Autumn had seen around his home. He’d given her a whistle-stop tour of everything: the four bedrooms—Sofia’s had a large bookcase crammed with books and the room that was clearly Giovanni’s had rumpled navy bedding but was surprisingly tidy—the bathrooms, his study, and finally the kitchen and living space.
She’d felt a little nervous, but the house was breathtaking. It didn’t have the feel of a pristine show house. It was warmer than that. Elements of Giovanni and Sofia were scattered around the house, but Autumn hadn’t felt overwhelmed by the presence of another woman. There had been one photograph on a small corner table that she assumed was of Sofia and her mother, but it wasn’t prominently displayed. Autumn had felt comfortable.
The glass doors and the garden had taken her breath away. It was amazing that leaving the busy heart of Rome behind could reveal such a green and tranquil space. Her heart had been struck by how impersonal her own home was back in London. Sure, she’d barely lived in it for the last twelve months, but even before then had it really felt like home?
She looked sideways at Giovanni. He had his hands in his trouser pockets as they climbed the hill, the warm breeze ruffling his dark hair. Her stomach gave a little flip. What was she more scared of? The possibility of a relationship with him and his daughter, or the possibility that he might not want that at all?
She had to find out.
She swallowed, ignoring how dry her throat felt, and glanced at the monument they were approaching. ‘Why on earth is there a pyramid in Rome?’ she asked.
‘Because I wanted one!’ shouted Sofia, spinning around with her hands in the air.
Giovanni laughed, and when he spoke his voice was low. ‘Despite what my daughter says, this pyramid has been here a lot longer than she has. Most people think pyramids are only in Egypt, Mexico or India. This is the only ancient pyramid in Europe.’ He held his hand out towards it. ‘This pyramid is over two thousand years old and was built as a tomb for Gaius Cestius, a Roman senator and general.’
‘How high is it?’ asked Autumn as she stared upwards. The sun was glinting off the white marble slabs on the outside of the pyramid.
‘It’s over thirty-five metres.’
‘We can go inside.’ Sofia had appeared, and she was looking around, making sure no one could hear her.
‘We can?’ Autumn was surprised.
Giovanni nodded. ‘Yes, it’s open to the public. Usually only a few Saturdays a month, but I gave a friend a call and he said it’s fine for us to look inside today.’
They walked around to an entrance on the far side. Autumn shot him a curious look. ‘Do you have friends everywhere?’
He gave her a sideways glance. ‘I’ve looked after a lot of patients. And patients have families.’
She understood instantly. He wouldn’t give her details. A doctor would never break patient confidentiality. And not every patient story had a good outcome—Autumn knew that. But whoever this family member was, and however they had met Giovanni, it was clear they were willing to do him a favour.
As they neared the entrance Giovanni pointed to two spots on the ground. ‘They did some excavations here in the sixteen-hundreds. They think the pyramid was originally in the countryside, but as Rome grew it became surrounded by other buildings. An enclosure, columns, other tombs... They found two marble bases with fragments of the bronze statues that once stood on them.’
Autumn stopped and took a deep breath, looking all around her. Rome stretched for miles. She shook her head. ‘To think this was once the countryside,’ she said in wonder. ‘How on earth has it survived when so much else has been lost?’ Then she laughed, ‘Of course you have the Colosseum, and so much else in Rome. You seem especially good at looking after your famous artefacts.’
Giovanni held out his hands. ‘It’s not clear now, but this used to s
tand at the fork between two ancient roads. It was incorporated into part of the city’s fortifications, which is probably why it’s still here today.’
She loved this. She actually loved this. Exploring a part of the city she’d likely never have found for herself, with two guides who were enthusiastic and enjoyable to be around.
Sofia bounded up. ‘Come inside,’ she pleaded, tugging at Autumn’s hand.
It was like a warm wrap of wool winding its way around her heart. The heat. The warmth. The look in Sofia’s eyes. The way her heart expanded in her chest. It wasn’t just Autumn’s hand Sofia was tugging at...
Tears pricked in her eyes. The overwhelming surge was unexpected. She blinked the tears away. ‘Of course. I’d love to.’
She stepped inside the quiet space. There wasn’t much to see, but it wasn’t a visual experience—it was a completely sensory one. Both Sofia and Giovanni seemed to know this, and they both stood quietly beside her, letting her breathe in the cool air around them.
The inside of the pyramid wasn’t large—and it wasn’t entirely what she’d expected. It was a barrel-vaulted cavity. The inside walls were light. It was apparent that at one point there had been frescoes, but only a few scant traces remained—just a couple of angels in the curve of the ceiling. There might not be much to see, but the room was filled with reverence. The city noise outside just appeared to fade away. The room was silent. But nothing about it was creepy.
Autumn rubbed her arms. Sofia was staring happily around, as if she enjoyed the quiet of the place too. Every step echoed. This had been the resting place for someone for years before it was plundered. She closed her eyes for a moment.
‘You okay?’ An arm slid around her waist and Giovanni’s lips brushed against her ear as he whispered.
Her hand rested over his. ‘Yes,’ she said quietly. ‘Just taking myself back in time and wondering what this might have looked like two thousand years ago.’
The heat from his body was comforting in this cool air. She was happy to stay resting next to him. But then a little voice interrupted them.
Reawakened by the Italian Surgeon Page 12
