“It’s no intrusion.”
“She hurt her ankle.”
Nico’s face swivelled to the little boy. “She is Maddie,” he corrected very gently, before turning his attention towards Maddie’s legs. “What happened?”
The little boy spoke again. “I bumped into her. She fell down.”
“Did she?” Concern shifted through Nico’s eyes as he moved towards Maddie. “Let’s have a look here.”
His fingertips guided the fabric of her maxi skirt up her leg, so he could inspect the damage. Maddie winced. Even from this vantage point, her ankle was badly swollen.
“I twisted it as I fell,” she said apologetically. “It’s just a sprain.”
“Perhaps.” He stood up, looking towards the house. “Are you able to carry Maddie’s basket inside, Jack?”
Jack nodded, concern obvious on his sweet little face. “Is she going to be okay?”
Maddie reached out, curving her fingers around Jack’s wrist reassuringly. “I’m going to be fine. I just need to rest it.”
“Go ahead and ask your father to call Alessia.”
“Who’s Alessia?” Jack and Maddie asked in unison.
There was a slight hesitation. “She’s…the local doctor.”
“No, Nico,” she rushed to contradict that. “I don’t need a doctor. Really, it’s nothing serious.”
“It may need to be set. You don’t know it’s not broken, do you?”
“Well, no, but I really don’t think it is. I’m sure it’s just that I twisted it.”
“Twisted ankles can still be broken. Come on.” He bent down, lifting her to his chest as though she were as light as half a feather. There was something about his protective instincts that spoke to her, and made her feel immeasurably safe and secure. He held her to his chest and her hands linked behind his throat, holding him there, her ear pressed to his heart, listening to it, her own slamming into the walls of her chest.
But at the door, she spoke quickly. “I really don’t want to interrupt you guys. I didn’t know you had company or I wouldn’t have come here. Could you possibly…drop me home?”
He stopped walking, fixing her with a look that was mocking at the same time it was somehow affectionate – affectionate in a way that caused a strong sense of longing to overtake her for a moment. But longing for what?
“You don’t want to meet my family?”
“Your family?” Alarm shunted along her spine. More people? “Who else is here?”
“Just my cousin and his wife and children.”
“Oh,” she nodded.
“And Jack you’ve already met.”
“I just don’t want to intrude,” she insisted.
“You’re not.”
She bit down on her lip, casting her eyes through the door. She could see only the beautiful piece of art that hung there, nothing else.
“If you really wish to go home, I’ll take you, but I’ll stay with you until the doctor’s been.”
“So either way I’ll be interrupting your afternoon?” She prompted with a shake of her head.
His grin was magnetic. “I like being interrupted by you.”