‘So, who have we got?’ she asked, unclipping the notes from the foot rail. She glanced at the patient’s details. Name: Marco Andretti. Age: thirty-seven. Address: Villa Rosa, Florence, Italy. Just for a moment the full impact of what she was reading didn’t hit her and then all of a sudden her heart began to pound. It had to be a mistake! It couldn’t be her Marco….
Could it?
Gina took a deep breath as she forced herself to look at the man lying on the bed. His eyes were shut and the right side of his head was swathed in a thick white dressing but neither of those things mattered. As her eyes drank in the olive-tanned skin, the elegant nose, the chiselled jaw and sensuous curve of his mouth she felt panic assail her. It was Marco. There was no mistake about that!
‘Gina? Hey, are you OK?’
Gina jumped when Julie tapped her on the arm. She knew there was no point claiming that she was fine because her friend wouldn’t believe her. ‘I … urn … I feel a bit queasy, that’s all. I expect I’m hungry.’
‘Probably because you worked straight through your break.’ Julie made flapping movements with her hands. ‘Go on, scoot! You go and make yourself a cup of coffee. We can manage here, can’t we, Rosie?’
‘Well, if you’re sure.’ Gina turned away when the older woman nodded. Normally, she wouldn’t have dreamt of leaving the staff to settle in a new patient without her being present, but this wasn’t a normal situation, was it? A wave of hysterical laughter welled up inside her and she pressed her hand to her mouth as she made her way to the staffroom. Thankfully, there was nobody in there so she switched on the kettle then sank down on a chair as her legs suddenly gave way.
What twist of fate had brought Marco here to the very hospital where she worked? she wondered dizzily. It would be three years this Christmas since she had seen him last, three whole years since he had told her bluntly that he didn’t envisage them ever having a future together. His expression had been so cold that any protests she might have made had remained unuttered. What would have been the point of trying to convince him that they’d had something special, something worth fighting for, when he obviously hadn’t believed that himself? She couldn’t have made him love her, definitely wouldn’t have begged him to, so she had done what he had wanted and walked away.
Gina’s heart was heavy as she recalled that terrible period in her life. She had wondered in the beginning if once she had gone, he might realise that he missed her more than he had thought; however, as the weeks had passed, and he had made no attempt to contact her, she had accepted how foolish she’d been to hope for that. Marco may have enjoyed making love to her. He may even have enjoyed spending time with her for a short while, but he had never needed her as a permanent part of his life.
It had been hard to face that fact but at least it had made it easier to decide what to do when Lily was born. But now Marco was here and Gina knew that his reappearance in her life would have repercussions. It was bound to. Marco was Lily’s father. He had a daughter he knew nothing about.
CHAPTER TWO
‘RIGHT, everything’s sorted. One of the neuro team will be here shortly … Hello! Earth to Gina—are you receiving me?’
‘What?’ Gina jumped when Julie appeared in front of her. She took a quick breath, forcing the feeling of panic to retreat if not to actually disappear. The situation was way too volatile to hope that would happen.
‘Sorry, I was miles away,’ she said, getting up to spoon instant coffee into a couple of mugs. She added boiling water then reached for the sugar jar, deriving comfort from the familiar routine. Maybe that was the answer, she thought suddenly. Behave normally and Marco wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong. After all, there was no reason to tell him about Lily, was there?
‘Here, let me do that. I know I like my coffee sweet but three spoons of sugar is too much even for me!’ Julie edged her aside, tipping the offending brew down the sink before starting again from scratch. She treated Gina to an old-fashioned look as she handed her a fresh mug of coffee. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say the sight of our dishy new patient has knocked you for six.’
‘Rubbish!’ Gina gave a sharp little laugh, anxious to stamp on that idea before it could take hold. The last thing she needed was people speculating. ‘I’m just hungry, as I said. I didn’t have time to eat anything before I came into work, so it’s my own fault.’
‘I’ve got some sandwiches left. Here you go.’ Julie handed her a plastic container then leant against the work top while she drank her coffee.
‘Thanks.’ Gina forced herself to bite into one of the thick ham sandwiches even though the last thing she felt like doing was eating. Could she pull it off, make sure that Marco remained unaware of Lily’s existence? After all, he would only be in AAU for a short while; he would either be moved to a ward or discharged depending on what treatment he required. There was no reason why she should bring up the subject of their daughter.
Pain speared through her and she hurriedly took another bite of the sandwich. Their daughter, the child they had conceived together. She had truly believed that they had been making love when it must have happened, but that wasn’t how Marco had viewed it. It couldn’t have been. It had just been sex for him, pure and simple, and the fact that it had resulted in a beautiful, healthy little girl was incidental.
‘I’ve not dealt with a case like this before. It’s one of those things you read about but rarely experience.’
Gina looked up when she realised that once again her thoughts had been running off at a tangent. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Amnesia. Hopefully, he’ll recover his memory soon, but it must be really scary, not knowing who you are.’
‘You’re talking about Marco?’ Gina queried, then flushed when Julie looked at her in surprise. ‘That is his name, isn’t it? I think that’s what it said in his notes.’
‘Yes, that’s right. Marco Andretti. Apparently he’s a doctor, a trauma specialist, no less. I don’t know if that makes it better or worse, do you?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ Gina replied, struggling to follow what her friend was saying. ‘Are you telling me that he’s lost his memory?’
‘Hmm. Seems he had no idea who he was or where he was going when he was brought into ED. All the paramedics could tell them was that he was on his way from Heathrow when he was involved in an RTA.’
‘So how did they find out his name?’
‘One of the staff went through his pockets and found his passport—they got the details from that. They also found a letter confirming the time and date of an interview for the post of Head of Trauma care at the Southern Free. He must be pretty high up the ladder if he’s being interviewed for a post like that.’ Julie grimaced. ‘Not that it helps very much at the moment. It must be awful for him, mustn’t it? He’s all on his own in a strange country and he hasn’t got a clue who he is.’
‘So what’s going to happen next?’ Gina asked, her head reeling from what she had learned. Marco had come to London to attend an interview? She had never imagined that he would leave Italy and the news threw her so that it was hard to concentrate when Julie continued.
‘The police are going to try to contact his family. I expect he’s married. I can’t imagine a gorgeous hunk like him being single, can you? Hopefully, his wife will be able to fly over to be with him. One thing’s certain, though—he’s going to need a lot of support until he gets his memory back.’
Gina put the sandwich down after Julie left. Standing up, she went to the door. She could just see the end bay from where she stood although she couldn’t see the man who was lying in the bed there. So Marco had lost his memory? He didn’t remember who he was or anything about his life? She too had read about this kind of thing happening, but had never experienced it. Would he remember her? she wondered