CHAPTER TEN

A LITTLE SLEEP and a lot of strong coffee and handling the conference call to the palace was no problem. Dom felt even more awake as the group conversation ended, knowing that there was now a team of experts at work drafting the statements and press releases.

His private chat to Giada after the palace business had lifted his spirits even further. She would be on a plane as soon as she could tomorrow so that she would be able to see her father on Christmas Day. It would, in fact, be the first time in many years that the three of them would be together as a family for Christmas and that was going to be something to celebrate.

But he couldn’t relax completely yet even if he was still on leave. There was something even more important to do and it was nearly eight a.m. Emilia could very well be at work already and Dom had to talk to her. He drained the mug of coffee on his desk, ran his fingers through his hair to try and comb it roughly, rubbed at his chin and decided not to worry about the stubble he had accumulated since yesterday, and got to his feet to open his office door.

Not that he could step out. Ayanna was standing in front of him. She had a laptop computer in her arms and...she didn’t look happy.

‘I’m so sorry, Dr di Rossi,’ she said. ‘But there’s something you’ve got to see.’

It was unwanted publicity about Max. Someone had recognised the world-famous neurosurgeon and started asking questions about why he was here at Seattle General and why was there so much secrecy surrounding his extended visit. There were photographs of him leaving the hospital, of him and Ayanna leaving the gala ball and one of his wife who’d died a couple of years ago, with her famous husband having been unable to save her from the brain aneurysm she had suffered. It was horrible publicity for Max and Dom winced at seeing such private information being spread.

‘This is my fault,’ Ayanna said miserably. ‘I was so focussed on keeping your family’s information private that it never occurred to me that the press would go after Max.’

‘It’s unfortunate,’ Dom agreed. ‘And I’m very sorry Max has to go through this but it could have been a lot worse.’ He smiled at Ayanna. ‘You did one part of your job extremely well. We’re going public with an announcement but it’s going to take some time to get everything in place. Giada won’t be back until tomorrow evening probably and we want the family to be together when the announcement is made so it’s planned for the morning of the twenty-sixth.’

Ayanna nodded. ‘I’ll be ready. Do you want a press conference set up?’

‘Yes. Thank you.’ Dom glanced at his watch. ‘I should go and check on my father and I expect Max won’t be far away. Have you heard the great news that my father’s awake now? That everything’s looking very good?’

Ayanna nodded again. ‘I’m so happy for you. I was so worried that he hadn’t woken up yet.’

‘Come with me,’ Dom invited. ‘And see for yourself. I’ll introduce you, because my father will want some input into how the press conference is going to be handled.’

It would have to be a very brief introduction, however, because Dom was increasingly impatient to go and find Emilia before she got caught up, for hours perhaps, in an operating theatre.

He didn’t even stop to sympathise with Max about the intrusion into his private life, when he came out of Roberto’s room with Ayanna a short time later. He just shook the neurosurgeon’s hand warmly.

‘Thank you, Max, for everything you’ve done for my father. My family is in your debt for ever. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have something urgent to do...’

So urgent, he had to stop himself running down the last corridor that led to the orthopaedic department. The receptionist said she hadn’t seen Dr Featherstone so far this morning but he could try the fracture room—a space that was already busy with the medical staff dealing with people who needed a new cast or urgent adjustments done in time for Christmas Day.

‘Emilia’s not here,’ her senior resident told Dom. ‘She’s been working about ten days straight but even then we had to force her to take a day off. She only agreed because she’s rostered on for Christmas Day tomorrow. Ah...here we are.’ He opened a drawer and picked up what looked like a bag of plastic leaves and berries. ‘We thought we’d run out of bits of mistletoe to stick on the casts today.’

‘Ah...okay...’ Dom knew about mistletoe but couldn’t see the point of putting it on a plaster cast. Weren’t you supposed to stand beneath it to kiss someone? Anyway, he was already planning his next step which involved charming Emilia’s secretary into providing the address of her boss’s apartment. He didn’t want to send a text message. What he wanted to say had to be done face to face. ‘Thanks, anyway.’

‘Hey...’ the younger doctor was grinning. ‘Take one of these.’ He put a sprig of the plastic leaves into Dom’s hand. ‘You never know when you might need one. Merry Christmas...’

Dom didn’t want to be rude so he smiled and shoved the plastic token into the back pocket of the jeans he was wearing. Emilia’s office was nearby and her secretary was quite happy to provide her address to a close colleague on the trauma team. A short time after that, Dom was moving fast towards the nearest exit of Seattle General. It might still be early in the day but it felt like time was starting to run out.

Emilia’s apartment block was within walking distance of the hospital. The sidewalks were damp and there was slushy snow filling the gutters but the sky was crisp and clear above. Dom filled his lungs with the cold air and kept his hands in the pockets of his jacket, walking as fast as he could past other pedestrians and across busy roads. He didn’t need to waste time trying to find Emilia’s name and doorbell on the bank of letterboxes in the entrance to her apartment block, because there was an elderly concierge in a small office right beside the automatic doors.

‘Could you tell me which box belongs to Dr Featherstone, please?’ he asked.

‘Third one down in the second row,’ the concierge told him helpfully.

Dom pressed the button, leaning closer to the small grill beside the button that would allow Emilia to ask who it was.

‘She won’t answer that,’ the concierge said.

‘Oh?’ Dom turned back. ‘Why not?’

‘She headed out real early this morning.’

‘Oh...’ It was more than disappointment that Dom could feel wash over him. There was anxiety there, as well. And a sinking feeling that he really might be too late. ‘Um...she didn’t say when she’d be back, did she?’

‘Nah...’ The elderly man scratched at his chin. ‘But she was carrying a whole load of stuff. Like she was going camping or some such.’ He shook his head. ‘She even had a pair of snow shoes, would you believe? I didn’t know what they were so I had to ask.’

It seemed logical to head back to the hospital until he could come up with a new plan but, as Dom turned a corner, he caught a glimpse of a view between the tall sides of central city buildings. The kind of view you could get from the roof of Seattle General with a glimpse of the waters of Elliot Bay in front of the impressive range of the Olympic mountains. The snow-capped peaks were reflecting this morning’s sunshine as if they were lit from within.

It made Dom remember taking Emilia up to the hospital roof to have that very private conversation.

It also made him remember what she’d told him that day they went jogging together in Discovery Park.

‘That over there...’ She’d been pointing at those very peaks. ‘That’s the Olympic National Park. If you want to clear your head and put your world to rights properly, then that’s the place to go... It’s my absolute favourite place in the world...’

She’d said something else, too. About how long it took to get there. Hours to drive, even if you took a ferry to cut off some of the road distance.

He took his phone out and, by the time he was back at Seattle General, he had sourced what he needed. An elite private helicopter service which promised discretion along with meeting every need of their clients. Dom had never blatantly wielded either his wealth or his royal status but this was a situation he’d never found himself in before.

And it was more than urgent now. It was beginning to feel almost a matter of life or death.

How lucky was she?

Emilia stopped and raised her face to the winter sunshine as she took in the spectacular view surrounding her. She’d had to walk further than usual to get to this trail because the road was partially closed and she’d been worried when she’d gone to sign in at the Visitors’ Centre that the trails might be closed as well but she’d been lucky. Not only were they open but, because it was the day before Christmas, it was unlikely there would be many other people out hiking.

So here she was, on her way to the top of this hill, feeling like the luckiest person on earth, as she took deep breaths of the icy, clean air, gazing across a snow-covered meadow at a forest of fir trees whose branches were drooping under the weight of snow. Beyond the forest, rocky snow-capped mountain peaks made a jagged horizon against the brightest blue sky Emilia had ever seen. She wanted to capture this moment for ever.

No...

What she really wanted was to share it. Because that’s what made moments like this truly perfect, wasn’t it?

And it had to be the right person. Someone who could understand how something like this could make you feel. How the sheer beauty of nature and the privilege of being able to become a part of it like this was enough to give you a huge lump in your throat and bring tears to the back of your eyes.

Someone who could make almost anything so much more meaningful. Who could share the thrill of facing what could seem an almost impossible medical challenge, like securing the airway and breathing of that man who’d fallen off the roof, and then share that blissful moment of success. Of knowing that you’d won. That you had the best job in the world and this was what mattered the most. This was who you were...

Yeah...someone who made the best moments even better.

But someone who made the not so good moments okay as well. Like when you did something stupid like cooking a turkey with the plastic bag still inside it. Or made your nervousness evaporate instantly with just a few words like, ‘Trust me, Emmy... I’ve got this...’

The picture-postcard scene of the mountains was blurring in front of her eyes and, to her astonishment, Emilia could feel her eyes overflowing. She actually had tears trickling down her cheeks for the first time since she had been a very young child.

Because she knew that it wasn’t just ‘someone’ that she needed.

It was one person.

The man she would love for ever, even if it was impossible for them to be together.

Dom...

The squeeze in her chest was so painful that Emilia opened her mouth to cry out into the profound silence of the mountains but, as she did so, she became aware of another sound. A distant, rapid thumping that was getting steadily louder as it got closer.

‘Wow...’

‘Impressive, isn’t it?’ The pilot’s voice was loud in Dom’s ears through the headphones. ‘Bit of a treat to get over here at this time of year.’

‘Do you know the Olympic National Park well?’

‘Sure do. Grew up in these parts and I’ve hiked every trail. Love the Grey Wolf Deer Loop and the Klahhane Ridge. Look...that’s Steeple Rock down on our left. You can see where it got its name from, can’t you?’

‘Mmm...’ The tall rock pillar was certainly distinctive. ‘What’s the building coming up?’

‘The Hurricane Ridge Visitor Centre. I reckon your friend will have picked the Hurricane Hill trail. It’s got everything you want on a day like this. Forest walks, snow, a good climb and the best view ever from the top of the hill.’

‘And there’ll be a place to land? Even if there’s snow?’

‘No worries. You might have to walk a bit. Can’t land too close to trees.’

‘I’ll walk as far as I need to.’

The pilot grinned at Dom. ‘Does she know you’re coming?’

‘How do you know it’s a “she”?’

His grin widened. ‘Just a hunch.’

Dom turned to stare down at the ground beneath them. ‘This park is massive. I just hope we can find her.’

‘If she’s not in the forest, it won’t be hard. You’ll see...people stand out against snow.’

Especially when they were wearing bright colours like the solitary figure standing on a ridge. A bright red anorak that was the same shade as that gorgeous ballgown had been. A shade of red that was going to be Dom’s favourite colour for the rest of his life.

‘Looks like this might be where you need to be, mate.’

‘Oh, yeah...’ Dom kept his gaze locked onto that small patch of red, even when it almost vanished behind flakes of snow stirred up by the rotors. He didn’t want to let Emilia out of his sight, for even a heartbeat.

She knew who it was, of course.

Getting dropped off by a helicopter into a remote wilderness area was something only somebody like a superstar or a prince would think of doing, wasn’t it?

But that was irrelevant.

Because Emilia couldn’t see a superstar or a prince walking towards her from the other side of this meadow as the helicopter took off again. She could just see a man. The man who, until very recently, she had known only as a colleague and rival—a person as ordinary as herself. And that was the man she had fallen in love with. That she’d been waiting for the chance to fall in love with for more than ten years...

She couldn’t wait any longer.

It was pretty much impossible to run in snow shoes but Emilia gave it a shot. So did Dom. They almost made it but somehow both managed to lose their balance at the same time, falling into the cushion of soft snow but close enough that it took only a roll to be in each other’s arms.

To hold. And be held.

To take turns to murmur, ‘I love you...’, ‘I love you, too...’ and ‘So, so much...’

And to kiss...

Dear Lord...had anybody ever kissed like this? For this long? The heat of Dom’s mouth and tongue was only increasing as the rest of Emilia’s skin grew steadily colder but it wasn’t until she shivered that Dom finally pulled back.

‘You’re cold... Here...take my coat...’

‘Don’t be daft. You need that yourself. We just need to start moving, that’s all.’

‘Where to?’ Dom was smiling as he pulled Emilia to her feet.

‘There’s a great view from the top of this hill.’

They eyed each other. They could turn this into a competition to see who could go the fastest in snow shoes with the blink of an eye. Emilia was up for it. She knew she would win so she gave Dom what she hoped was an inviting smile.

But he just laughed. ‘I like the view I’ve got right now,’ he said, bending his head to kiss her again.

‘Mmm...’ Emilia had to catch her breath when he released her. ‘We could go home but it’s a long drive. Do you need to call your helicopter to come back?’

‘Why would I do that when that would mean you’d be driving back alone?’ He held Emilia’s chin in his hands. ‘If I had my wish, it’s that you would never be alone ever again. That I will always be with you.’

‘You will...’ Emilia had to blink back new tears. ‘Even when you’re not with me, you’ll be in here...’ She touched her gloved hand to her chest, over her heart, in a gesture she had learned from Dom. ‘Always...but...’

A crease appeared between Dom’s eyes. ‘...but?’

‘But you have important things you need to do. Family things...’

‘Ah...’ Dom nodded. ‘Family. Sì...that is something I need to talk to you about, mio amore.’

By tacit consent, they started walking. Back down the hill towards the road.

‘You were right,’ Dom told her.

‘I always am,’ Emilia murmured as she threw a grin in his direction. ‘What about this time?’

‘You said that family is everything.’

Emilia swallowed. Hard. Her heart skipped a beat but she wasn’t going to buy into a fear that Dom was about to tell her he had to leave her to be with his family. She could feel the warmth of his touch, even through the thick wool of their gloves. She could hear the sincerity in his voice and she could see nothing but pure love in those beautiful, dark eyes.

‘I want you to be part of my family.’ Dom pulled Emilia to a halt again. ‘I want us to create a family of our very own but...most of all... I just want to be with you. For the rest of my life. I want us to challenge each other like we always have so that we can always be our best in whatever we do. I want to dance with you. And make love with you...’

He kissed her again and Emilia’s heart felt like it could split into a million pieces with how tender that kiss was. She wanted to tell him she felt exactly the same way but he wasn’t finished yet.

‘I used to think that being a doctor would be all I needed to be true to myself,’ he told her softly. ‘To be the person I always dreamed of being but that’s not true now. Because I know I could never be everything I could be if I don’t have you in my life.’ His face was serious now. ‘I know it won’t be easy for you to make such big changes in your life but...we have a wonderful new hospital in Isola Verde so you could still work. And tell me about it every day when you come home. I’ll be waiting for you if you’ll let me. Marry me, Emmy...please?’

There were so many things Emilia wanted to say to Dom but there would be time for that later. So much time. The rest of their lives kind of time. For now, there was really only one thing she wanted to say. That she had to say.

‘Yes...’ Her throat was closing up as joy created more tears but she hadn’t said quite enough yet.

‘Yes, yes...yes...’