My Italian Doctor

Chapter Twenty Three

My last days in Italy flew by in a flurry of work. George had been true to his word and messaged me the morning after we made up, but it was short and sweet. He had been so busy at the hospital and then things went from bad to worse. He got a phone call asking him to go over and help out after an earthquake in Asia.

"I wish I didn't have to go, but I do. They need help desperately and I can't not go when I know it will be the difference between people getting treatment or not. I'll make sure I am back before you leave for England."

"It's fine. I understand." I did understand, but it didn't mean I had to like it. I wasn't quite as selfless as he was. "We need to get used to the long-distance thing anyway, because I'm not expecting to be back from England overly quickly. Rylie thinks we will only be there a few days, but I can't see it being that easy. Especially in her condition, she shouldn't be travelling so close together."

"I wish I could talk more but I need to get packed and organise everything for Amiee too."

"Surely she isn't staying with the nanny all week?"

"No, she's going to stay with her mother, which is even worse. I need to make sure she has everything organised before she goes. At least if she was staying with the nanny, there would only be me to pack up."

"Let me know when you get there, ok?"

"Of course, I will. See you soon and it will be soon."

Other than messaging me to tell me he landed safe and sound, I hadn't heard a thing from him. I seemed to spend the whole time worrying about him. Checking the news regularly just in case there were any further earthquakes. I had even done research into the occurrence of aftershocks. I loved that he wanted to do good in the world. I just hated that he had to go to dangerous places to do it.

He had originally asked me to join him, but I couldn't risk missing my flight. Getting everything in England sorted was more important than missing him for a week and so was taking care of Rylie. It wasn't like I would be particularly useful in a disaster situation. I had no helpful skills. I would just get in the way and prove a distraction for George.

So instead, I stayed behind and pinned for him like the pathetic teenager he had turned me into. I guessed that I hadn't heard from him because the signal wasn't good where he was. The other option was that things there were so bad he hadn't had the time, but I was hoping it was a lack of signal.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Aurora seemed to be continuously checking up on me since I had confided in her that George was going away. It really wasn't necessary, but she did it all the same.

"I'm fine. Although my boss is such a hard ass and doesn't give me nearly enough time off."

"You can go now if you wish?"

"I was joking. If I wasn't here helping out, I'm not sure what I would do with myself."

"You could always go and have some fun."

"Alone. Or you could take some well-earned time off and come with me. We can get dressed up and hit the town." She seemed to ponder the idea for so long. It was like I was asking her to come and bury dead bodies with me, not go for drinks.

"Go on then. You do need cheering up after all."

"I told you, I'm fine. You don't need to use me as an excuse to go out and enjoy yourself."

"I suppose you're right. I will meet you at the house at eight."

I slopped off early from work that night and headed to my room to get ready. I wanted to be more like my old self. Putting a real effort into getting ready and dressing up. I couldn't overstate just how much I was looking forward to letting my hair down with Aurora. It had been so long since I had been out on a proper girl's night. The last one had been with Rylie the night I had seen Luca kissing Amelia. Up until then, it had been a great night. Fingers crossed my night with Aurora wouldn't end in as much drama as that night had.

With only two days left in Italy, I wanted to make the most of my time. Aurora was fun even when she was working, and I couldn't wait to see what she was like when she really let loose. We had become so close since I had been at the vineyard, and I was going to miss her while I was in England.

After I jumped in the shower, I set to work on my hair. Drying it with my head upside down for what felt like forever to give its normally limp existence some volume. Then moving on to curl my hair carefully. I took my time over it and sprayed a generous helping of hairspray once I was done. I already looked much more like myself from before, just from such a simple thing as putting some effort in with my hair.

I grabbed my make-up bag from the top of the drawers and started applying my primer. Step by step, I got closer and closer to the way I used to look before coming to the dusty, dirty vineyard. I had thought when I was young, not even that much younger, that my appearance was who I was. That if I didn't look good, then I wasn't worthy of anything. Since coming to the vineyard, I had truly realised that wasn't the case. I had a lot to offer, things that mattered, like my way with numbers and my work ethic. Aurora was responsible for me finally seeing that, and George, of course.

When George looked at me, his reaction never changed. Whether I was dressed up for a night out or in my working clothes covered in cobwebs and dust. It made no difference to how he saw me, and that meant the world to me. It had given me the confidence that I had been faking my whole life, but only finally possessed after I met him.

Being in Italy, and being with the people there, changed my whole outlook on life. They had changed me for the better. I had never really considered myself a good person, or a bad person, just a person. Since meeting George, I seemed to be swaying towards his good deed nature instead. I suddenly wanted to be a better person, and to make a difference in the world. Even if that difference was as simple as convincing Aurora to come out from behind her desk and enjoy herself for once.

"Wow, look at you."

"Right back at you." Aurora was an absolute knockout. Standing in the doorway of my room, she looked beyond amazing. Her cobalt blue dress hugged her extensive curves in all the right places and the v-neckline accentuated her breasts. The heels she was wearing added some much-needed height to her stature and elongated her legs.

"You about ready?"

"Just need to slip my dress and heels on, and I'm good to go." I got up from my position on the floor and headed to the wardrobe. Sliding the pale pink sequin dress up my legs to avoid messing up my hair. Aurora reached out and held my arm as I popped the rather high satin pink pumps on my feet.

"Don't forget your bag."

"Oh, yeah, shoot." I reached back and grabbed it from the bed before heading out of the door. We giggled like schoolgirls as we headed downstairs and said our goodbyes to Mamma. I could see the glint of pride in her eyes as she looked at Aurora, and it made my heart sing and sink in equal measure. It was lovely to see, but it just made me miss my own mum.

We turned the music up full blast with some really upbeat Italian music that I didn't understand a word of. Despite the language barrier, it helped get us both in the mood to party. I felt my phone vibrate against my leg from inside my bag and started digging around for it.

George: I'm back early. Can we meet up?

Emily: I can't tonight, I'm heading out with Aurora. I wish I had known sooner.

George: I've just touched down. Where are you going? I will pop in and see you, then leave you to your fun.

"George is back early."

"Do you want to call tonight off? I don't mind."

"No, of course not. He wants to know if he can pop by and say hi while we're out. Any objections?"

"Don't be stupid. Tell him to come by. We're going to Panorama. He should know it."

Emily: We're going to Panorama. We will be there all night, I think, so see you whenever you get sorted out.

George: I can't wait to see you, but I will go and get changed first.

I put my phone away and couldn't stop the smile that invaded my face. The night had already promised to be just what I needed and then had gotten even better. I couldn't wait to see him, to be able to lay my hands on him. Just to know he was back and safe.