Valentino's Pregnancy Bombshell

by Amy Andrews

  The knot of nerves in her belly twisted even tighter.

  Today, if all went according to plan, was probably going to be quite emotional. And she’d cried in front of Valentino once too many times as it was.

  ‘I think he’s already in his office.’

  Paige shot a nervous look towards Harry’s office. Valentino’s office. She wanted to go in, was eager and excited on one hand but scared and nervous too. What if they got no result?

  ‘Go,’ Greg urged, squeezing her arm again. ‘It’ll be fine.’

  Paige took a deep breath and nodded. ‘Come on, McKenzie,’ she said, crossing the room to her daughter and crouching down next to her. ‘Let’s go and see Dr Valentino,’ she said as she signed.

  McKenzie smiled at her and took her hand and they headed for the door behind which lay a whole new life. Paige knocked lightly and entered at Valentino’s command.

  Valentino looked up from a pile of charts on his desk as Paige’s deer-in-headlights eyes sought his. He knew all about the squall of emotions going on inside her. Had seen it on hundreds of parents’ faces as the big moment arrived.

  She looked tired, dark shadows beneath her incredibly huge eyes making them appear even more stark in her face. Her clothes, as usual, were two sizes too big, skimming the bony angles of her body, hanging instead of hugging. Had she eaten any of the goodies he’d had delivered to her house every day for the last few weeks?

  ‘Paige,’ he said, standing, denying the dictates of his body urging him to go to her. He transferred his attention to McKenzie instead. ‘Hello, there.’ He grinned. ‘Are you ready?’ She nodded and he signed, ‘Come in.’

  Paige held fast to her daughter’s hand and didn’t move. ‘You don’t have to do this. Ellen will be in soon. You have surgery.’

  She didn’t know why she was so resistant to Valentino switching on the implant. A few weeks ago she wouldn’t have cared less had it been a trained monkey. But this man, this sexy Italian playboy surgeon, was different. There was more than a professional connection between them, no matter how they tried to avoid it.

  There was intimacy. And Paige knew from bitter experience that intimacy left you vulnerable. Something she swore she’d never be again when it came to men.

  She doubted it would have mattered had she not slept with him. But she had. And while he was obviously a pro at separating himself from that, standing before him now, she knew she couldn’t.

  Valentino shrugged. ‘I had a cancellation.’

  Paige frowned as she searched her memory for this week’s theatre cases. ‘Who?’

  ‘Paige.’ The reproach in his voice was heavy. ‘You’re off duty, remember?’

  ‘I know. It’s just…’ Paige didn’t understand why she just couldn’t let it go. Why she was resisting. ‘That’s why we have two audiologists so the surgeon is free to operate.’

  ‘And miss the pay-off? This is the best part of my job, Paige. That moment when my patient hears something for the first time. It’s what makes it all worthwhile.’

  Paige felt humbled by his response. And petty for equivocating. Every day since McKenzie’s surgery tempting edible treats had arrived on her doorstep. From flaky pastries to scrumptious pizzas to the richest of chocolates. All from Valentino.

  She’d been trying to dismiss him as a charming, love-them-and-leave-them pretty boy but how could she when confronted not only with his gifts but his heartfelt words? He was a great surgeon, good with his patients, excellent with their mothers and obviously emotionally invested in the gift he gave.

  After everything he’d done for her, could she really deny him the rewards?

  McKenzie spied the low kiddy table strewn with puzzles and tugged on Paige’s hand, dragging her into the office. Paige let an eager McKenzie go and shut the door behind her.

  ‘Why don’t you sit down with McKenzie while I get set up?’

  Paige nodded and walked on wobbly legs to the table, sitting on the child-size chair beside her daughter.

  ‘Has she had any repetition of those earlier dizzy episodes?’ Valentino asked as he tapped away at his computer.

  ‘No.’ The first few days post-op Paige had noticed McKenzie would stagger a little on standing. She hadn’t been concerned, knowing it was directly attributable to the disruption of the inner ear and they’d settled quickly.

  Valentino pressed one last key on the laptop and glanced at Paige. ‘Okay. Ready. Let me check how the wound’s doing first.’

  He got up from his desk and took the seat on the other side of McKenzie. He tapped her hand and when she turned to him he signed and said, ‘How is your ear, McKenzie? Can I have a look, please?’

  McKenzie nodded her agreement and cocked her head to allow him access. He lifted the angelic curls that covered her right ear out of the way to expose the small shaved area where he’d operated. Two weeks ago there’d been some slight swelling over the bony area behind her ear but now it looked normal. ‘It’s healed beautifully,’ he murmured.

  He let her hair flop back over the site. ‘Okay, then,’ he said to Paige, but signed for McKenzie’s benefit. ‘Let’s fit the external component.’

  Paige nodded, apprehension swirling in her gut. ‘Dr Valentino is going to fit your new hearing aid,’ Paige signed.

  Not that it was the type of hearing aid that McKenzie was used to but having worn them most of her life it was the simplest way to explain it to a three-year-old.

  McKenzie kept playing as Valentino fiddled with the external component, fixing it directly over the area where he’d implanted the internal part. It was a small circular unit that consisted of a microphone, a speech processor and a transmitter. It linked magnetically to the internal mechanism, which consisted of a receiver and a stimulator.

  He then retrieved his laptop from his desk, and set it up at a smaller desk directly behind where McKenzie was sitting. He fiddled some more, plugging the external component into the laptop via a long cord.

  ‘Okay, you know the drill now,’ Valentino said. ‘I’m going to run the neural response telemetry first. It should take about ten minutes. She won’t be able to hear this.’

  Paige nodded. She knew that Valentino would pick a few of the electrodes now implanted into McKenzie’s cochlear to stimulate via the computer. He would get a reading back which told him that the auditory nerves had responded.

  Unlike hearing aids that magnified sound, the cochlear implant directly stimulated the auditory nerves inside the inner ear.

  The minutes seemed like hours as the silence in the room built. The urge to drum her fingers on the table was like an itch and she deliberately tucked her hands in her lap.

  Valentino nodded. ‘Buon. Good,’ he murmured. ‘The nerve is responding perfectly so we know the implant’s working.’

  A rush of adrenaline kicked in at Valentino’s confirmation and Paige gripped the table as she gave him a tight smile. She’d been having nightmares that they’d get to this point only to find the implant was a dud.

  The first hurdle had been surpassed!

  Valentino saw the slight sag to her shoulders and a flicker of relief light her profile, and despite the battle raging inside over professional distance he reached out and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze before returning his hand to the keyboard.

  ‘Okay, I’ll switch it on now. Yes?’

  Paige nodded. This was it. This was the moment. One or two clicks of the mouse and her daughter should be able to hear sound.

  Paige looked so tense Valentino wondered how much longer she could go before she snapped in two. ‘It’s important not to expect miracles,’ he murmured gently. ‘A lot of children don’t react—’

  ‘I know that,’ Paige interrupted. Just do it!

  ‘I know.’ He nodded. ‘But I’m going to go through it anyway. It’s different when it’s your own child.’ He waited for her to protest and when she didn’t he continued. ‘McKenzie may not do anything at all once it’s switched on. That’s common. It’s hard to know wit
h little ones what they’re hearing, particularly if they’re pre-verbal or have been deaf all their lives as McKenzie has. They don’t even know what sound is.’

  He stopped and checked that Paige was with him and then continued. ‘I have it on very low so sudden noise doesn’t frighten her, but she could cry. That’s quite a common reaction.’

  Paige nodded again, pleased suddenly that Valentino had taken the time to mentally prepare her for the range of possibilities, even though she knew them back to front. The fantasy in her head was very different from what would probably happen so it was a good reminder.

  ‘Yep. Okay.’

  ‘This is just the first step. It’s going to need several mapping sessions as well as intensive speech therapy to train McKenzie’s brain to recognise the sounds she’ll hear as speech and to learn to talk herself.’

  Paige nodded again. ‘I know.’ She was prepared for the long haul.

  ‘Why don’t you sit opposite her and then we’ll start.’

  Paige rose and moved to the other side of the table. McKenzie, engrossed in her puzzle, didn’t even notice.

  Valentino clicked the mouse a couple of times. ‘It’s on. Why don’t you try calling her?’

  For a few seconds Paige wasn’t capable of speech. Of anything. She’d been looking forward to this moment for the last two years and now it was here she was totally overwhelmed. Just like that. One click and a whole new world for McKenzie. It seemed like such an anticlimax. Surely it should at least be heralded by trumpets. Or angels?

  A swell of emotion rose in her throat and stuck there, her heart beat like an epileptic metronome, her lungs couldn’t drag air in and out fast enough.

  ‘It’s okay, Paige,’ Val murmured as he watched her emotional struggle. ‘Take your time.’

  Paige glanced at him. He was smiling at her encouragingly and she swallowed hard. He was obviously well used to the raw emotion of the moment.

  ‘M-McKenzie.’ Her voice shook and she cleared her throat. ‘McKenzie, darling, can you hear me?’

  McKenzie played on, blissfully ignorant to sound or to her mother’s turmoil. Paige flicked her gaze to Valentino.

  ‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘Keep on going. I’ll keep adjusting it louder.’

  A part of Paige was desperate to gesture to McKenzie, gain her attention. This was the biggest test of both of their lives and Paige couldn’t believe how much she wanted her daughter to pass. But pre-empting the process by letting McKenzie know she was speaking to her was pointless—they were after an uncoached reaction.

  ‘McKenzie? I love that puzzle you’re doing, sweetie. It’s just like that one we have at home with the koalas, isn’t it?’

  The silence in the room reached a screeching crescendo. She raised her eyes to Valentino, her heart beating so loudly now in the utter silence she thought it might explode out of her chest. ‘Nothing.’

  The air of helplessness in the word was heartbreaking and surprisingly Val felt Paige’s anguish deep in his gut. When had this little girl and her mother become so personal?

  He shot her his most comforting smile. ‘The telemetry is telling me her nerves are being stimulated. You know sometimes it can take a few weeks for kids to recognise any useful sound.’

  Paige nodded, her lips pressed tightly together. She did know. But still she felt gutted.

  ‘I’m going to try clapping.’

  ‘Okay.’ Paige tried to keep the dejection out of her voice and failed.

  Valentino gave three loud claps. Paige watched as her daughter startled and swiftly turned her head in the direction of the offending noise. She gasped as tears rushed to her eyes.

  She’d heard! McKenzie had really heard.

  After three years of living in a world where no noise existed, McKenzie could actually hear.

  If someone had asked Paige to describe the emotion threatening to suffocate every cell in her body she wouldn’t have been able to. She was totally overwhelmed. It was a miracle.

  A miracle!

  Valentino grinned at McKenzie. ‘Hello. Did you hear that?’ he signed, and clapped again. ‘Clapping,’ he said, and did it once more.

  McKenzie swivelled her head to look at her mother. The expression on her face was one of pure wonderment. She pointed to Valentino and clapped.

  Paige laughed through her tears, dashing them away with the backs of her hands. Her daughter looked like she’d just invented clapping. Like she was the only person on earth who could hear! And Paige knew exactly how she felt.

  ‘Well, I think that was fairly definite, yes?’ Valentino smiled.

  Paige nodded wildly, even though her face was threatening to crumple. Her deaf daughter could hear. It was simply the most amazing thing she’d ever witnessed. Even though she’d been present through so many activations in her two years with Harry, this time it was simply incredible.

  She rose from her chair and in three paces was by McKenzie’s side, picking her up, kissing her face, rocking from side to side. She wanted to spin and twirl, dance like a mad thing, but was aware of the cord attaching McKenzie to the laptop.

  Still McKenzie rocked enthusiastically and giggled, holding tight to her mother’s neck, enjoying the ride. Paige laughed too, giddy with joy and hope, lighter than air.

  ‘It’s amazing. Amazing, amazing, amazing!’

  Valentino chuckled. ‘Yes, it is.’

  Paige slowed and pulled McKenzie against her for a long hard hug. Valentino was watching them with a big smile, dimples on high beam. Even sitting in his chair, he looked big and broad. His long bronzed fingers rested against the keyboard.

  Fingers that had given the gift of hearing to her daughter.

  ‘Thank you Valentino. Thank you,’ she said over McKenzie’s head. ‘I don’t know how I could possibly thank you enough. Words just seem…inadequate.’

  Valentino dismissed her words with a quick wave of his hand. McKenzie’s reaction, Paige’s reaction, had been thanks enough. He grinned at her. ‘I have a great job, don’t I?’

  Paige grinned back. ‘Yes, you do.’

  McKenzie squirmed and Paige realised she was still holding her tight. ‘Sorry, darling,’ she said, lowering her to the floor. McKenzie went back to her puzzle as if nothing momentous had happened and Paige laughed again.

  Valentino adored the sound. It was quite melodious and he realised he hadn’t heard her laugh, truly laugh with joy and abandon, until now. He guessed she hadn’t had a whole lot to be happy about in the last three years. He was glad to have been instrumental in it.

  ‘I like hearing you laugh,’ he murmured.

  Paige dragged her gaze away from her daughter, sobering a little. He was staring at her mouth and there was intenseness in his espresso depths. Her stomach muscles undulated as if he’d brushed seductive fingers against her belly. ‘It’s nice to have something to laugh about for once.’

  Valentino nodded. ‘Shall we continue?’

  Paige drew in a suddenly husky breath. ‘Please.’

  That evening Paige flopped down on her couch utterly exhausted. Who’d have thought excitement could wear you out? They’d spent the rest of the day at her parents’ place, watching McKenzie like a hawk, engaging her as much as possible, trying to gauge the extent of her new-found ability.

  On the whole there were no major changes to indicate anything had changed. McKenzie didn’t seem to respond to their voices but Paige had no doubt now that would come. Towards the end of their visit, however, McKenzie did, very obviously, hear the crash when her grandfather accidentally dropped a metal bowl on the kitchen floor, turning instantly towards the sound and running to the kitchen to check it out.

  They spent a hilarious hour dropping as many non-breakables on the floor as possible and revelling in McKenzie’s amazed reactions. It was like watching her discover the world for the first time and Paige seriously doubted she’d ever tire of it.

  There was a long way to go. She knew that. But today had been a resounding success and as she proppe
d her feet up on the lounge, McKenzie tucked up safely in bed, Paige could honestly say she was content.

  She sighed and shut her eyes, weary beyond belief but with a smile on her face. This had been an absolutely fantastic day!

  The sharp peal of the doorbell startled her. Who on earth could that be at…she checked her watch…eight o’clock? She groaned. It was only eight o’clock? It felt like three in the morning.

  Paige struggled out of the chair, a feeling deep down in her gut intensifying the closer she got to the door. It couldn’t be? Could it?

  She eyed her standard trackpants and baggy top and briefly wished she was wearing something different. More…feminine. But a spurt of irritation overrode it. She wasn’t dressing to please him. And if he was going to keep turning up on her doorstep unannounced then he could take her as he found her. At least she had showered. She yanked open the door.

  Valentino smiled down at her. ‘Minestrone!’ he announced with a flourish.

  Her irritation dissipated instantly. She couldn’t be cranky with him. Not after today. And he was wearing blue jeans and a snug-fitting T-shirt, his damp hair curling on his nape. ‘Are you trying to make me fat?’ she grouched.

  He lifted the lid off the bowl and brought it close to her face. Mouth-watering aromas wafted her way. ‘Yes, tesoro. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.’

  Paige’s stomach grumbled as the smell enveloped her in a warm cocoon. Every day for the last three weeks some sumptuous dish or other had been delivered to her doorstep. It seemed tonight was to be no different.

  Except for the personal delivery.

  ‘Let me guess. Mrs Agostino at the deli?’

  Valentino gasped and clutched at his chest, feigning injured pride. ‘Made it myself. One of my mamma’s recipes.’

  A man who could cook? Arnie had been the laziest man on the planet. Charming but utterly useless. She hadn’t noticed it in the beginning but then their lives had taken a dive and Arnie had not risen to the occasion.

  Just when she thought he was like her ex, Valentino went and did something that surprised her. Paige opened the door wider. ‘Come in, then.’