Page 3 of Amadeo (Dark Legends #4)

Amadeo

Damn, just being in the same room with the Good Doctor was a bit too much for me.

I thought I could handle it. But then again, I had those thoughts when I wasn’t around her.

I wasn’t attracted to a woman who stared daggers at me.

Nooo. I didn’t need to get close to a vicious barracuda with sharp words as teeth.

What man needed to be dressed down by a smart, classy doctor with a high fucking IQ and legs that didn’t quit?

Not me. I like my ego just like it was. I knew I was what they called an eligible bachelor.

I mean I didn't need any insults about my personality.

Besides, hitting on the coma doctor? Nah, classless as fuck, right?

For days, I just kept telling myself to…

do my job . Do not make direct eye contact.

Pay no attention to the pure hotness of the way she walked, the way she moved.

Ignore those sexy long legs in those black slacks she always wore.

Ignore that cute derriere that swished so perfectly when she did that hotass walk.

Do not stare at her silky dark hair in the messy bun while imagining that same hair spread out on my pillow.

I snorted to myself. Dang, I had it bad for this chick with perhaps five degrees to her name.

I kept telling myself I could handle it.

But maybe it had gotten too obvious as I could see that Nurse Jocelyn knew I was attracted to Dr. Ribisi.

If by the looks and smiles she gave me were any indication.

So it was also embarrassing. How did I end up as a teen boy with a crush all the sudden?

What happened? I knew it was fruitless as they say.

No, not that but pointless, maybe? The woman had no interest in me whatsoever.

In fact, I had been convinced that she hated me.

Like real hate. In the recent week, I would catch her glaring at me.

Like why? I had never met her before two weeks ago. I don’t think I knew her or her family.

Maybe it was us Descalias in general. Then again, she worked at the Famiglia's hospital. So she knew the Omerta score. The Mafia mantra, don’t talk about it. Well, she wasn’t but if glares and growls could talk? She would never shut up.

Then today, she came over and smiled at me.

I swear to God, it felt like the sunshine had come out after a devastating storm had just rolled through.

Like the parting of dark clouds had caused a rainbow to light up my world.

Well, maybe that was too dramatic, but damn her smile had been like a beam of light in the total darkness.

I couldn’t ask or find out why she had given me that one smile after a week filled with a hundred frowns and glares. Deacon had chosen that very moment to sit up in bed. Talk about someone ruining the moment. Not that he could help it, I suppose.

I paused from staring at my phone to look over at him.

Same. Every day, the same. Out. Not present.

I couldn’t help but think of Valencia’s troll doll story.

It showed that he had been a great brother.

It didn’t add up with the terrible criminal who threatened to bomb women and children that were his own family.

Yes, that was exactly what he tried to do, according to Luca.

The Walkers handed over all the reports, videos and information on Deacon and his mother to Luca.

Our father had asked for it all after Deacon had become enemy number one by attacking Giovanni and his fiancée Glory.

I for one, just couldn’t imagine anyone being that stupid.

Did the man not look into who Giovanni was before he had his men go after that limo?

Suddenly, it occurred to me that Gio had been known as Legend with no discernible ties to the Descalia family.

He had hidden his true identity from our father and the world back then.

It had been useless in a way, Luca had said, because our father had known where he was for the last few years.

I wasn't happy when I heard that. I’d missed Gio.

Perhaps more than the rest of my family did.

He had always taken the time to teach me stuff, hang out with me.

To just be a big brother. Yes, I had three more but none of them were as close to me as Giovanni.

So when he left, I went into a dark time of my life.

I had what they call a chip on my shoulder.

My brothers had tried to reach me. All to no avail.

I resented the fact that the one who knew me so well, spent lots of time with me, could just walk away.

And he stayed away for almost ten years.

Sure, by the time he returned, I had gotten past my issues.

It had taken quite a few bad events and an ass whooping or two from Luca, but I got over it.

I never cared to go over those few years, cause I sure as fuck wasn’t proud of my actions.

Or proud of the guy I had been. I was young and stupid as they say.

Just a kid, Luca had reasoned when we talked about it later on.

But I’d been more selfish than anything else.

Some of the things I’d done weren’t great.

I still felt like I should have known better, but I was too wrapped up in being the coolest or the baddest. Truth was I had been neither. All I did was damage.

“Mr. Descalia?”

My head shot up as I stared at the sexy doctor. She stood so close that I again caught her light perfume. What was it? Not sweet like vanilla. Not musk. Maybe roses? No, not that either.

“Mr. Descalia,” she repeated it.

I chuckled. “That’s my father. Please call me Deo.”

“Dayo?” she asked as she tilted her head at me.

I nodded. “You know, like the old Jamaican song?”

She blinked at me while looking confused.

I scoffed. “Oh man, don’t make me sing it.”

She kept staring at me with a blank look on her face.

I let out a long breath and sang, “Day-o, day-o…Daylight come and me wanna go home. Day, me say day, me say day, me say dayooooh.”

Staring at me, she then did something unfuckingbelievable…she shook her head, turned around and walked away. Heading across the room, she went into the restroom then quietly shut the door.

Nurse Jocelyn was laughing loudly. “Oh, my God! That was freakin’ hilarious!”

Valencia even giggled as she nodded at the nurse. “Their whole family is like that.”

I shrugged even though I had to agree with Valencia.

The men in the family were funny and Zia was too.

Like I had just found out that Dante went to Chattanooga Tennessee for his honeymoon?

I asked Romeo about it and he said it had been a Moonpie thing.

I had to pause and think about it. Then I remembered his love for that snack when he was younger. Still, who went there for a honeymoon?

So maybe just Luca wasn’t humorous, but I think he was born with a scowl?

I snickered to myself. Then I paused as I heard an odd stomping on the floor.

Not loud, in fact it was very short and barely there.

Then it was followed by a snortlike sound.

I looked from the door to the smiling nurse and then to Valencia.

Nurse Jocelyn shrugged as she wiped a tear of laughter away. “Don’t feel bad. I don’t think I have ever heard her laugh.”

“How long have you known her?” I asked.

“About six months. There is no one better than her though. Doctor-wise I mean. She really cares about her patients. All the way.”

“But she doesn’t care about anyone else?” I halted and added with regret, “Oh man, I should not have said that.”

“Why not?” Nurse Jocelyn asked. “It’s true, pretty much.”

“Well, she seems nice and kind,” Valencia said in a light toned defense.

“Oh, she is.” Jocelyn nodded. “Like no doctor has ever treated the staff at the hospital better than her. She is more than considerate to everyone there…. has a standing pizza and fast food uber order for all the staff on the comatose floor. For the nurses, lab techs and janitors. She treats each shift to a meal. Can you imagine the cost?” Pausing, the nurse shook her head at me.

“That was a lame question. Of course, you can imagine it. Look who you are!” Then she slapped her hand across her mouth as if she had totally said the wrong thing.

Valencia smiled at her. “It’s ok. These guys aren’t easy to insult. In fact, all the Descalia men are funny, humble and real. So are their cousins. Rocky is such a sweet guy and Tito is…” She made a fist and tapped her chest over her heart. “Just the best.”

“I have seen that since I’ve been here. And Zia is the best!

” Jocelyn gushed. “Her food is addictive and I will be totally fat before I leave here I think?” She laughed, then she looked at me.

“I do want you to know that the doc is not as cold as she tries to put out there. I don’t know why she tends to cover everything with that iceberg act.

She also cares about all of the staff there.

Like she asks about their wives or husbands, kids and such.

She has a memory like a steel trap too. Knows all their names.

The names of their family members, I mean.

And like how old their kids are. Even I haven’t done something like that.

But what I mean to say is that she makes it a point to treat us all like human beings and not people beneath her like some of the doctors tend to do. ”

The bathroom door opened.

Nurse Jocelyn went silent now as she moved away from me and went over to check one of the machines by Deacon’s bed.

To be safe, I immediately raised my phone to stare at the screen.

There was just my wallpaper on it but I didn’t notice.

I avoided staring at Dr. Ribisi. I refused to be caught yet again.

I needed to do my job, yada yada…I repeated this do my job line a dozen times already today.

By the way, what time was it? I checked that on my cell.

I needed to get off this ride called pretend not to notice the sexy as fuck doctor while you are on guard shift .

“Mr. Descalia.”

There she was again. This was the third time she had come to me today. So odd too, when all she had done before was to avoid me. I needed to find out what this was about then go back into my turtle shell. I slowly looked up at her and asked, “Yes, Dr. Ribisi?”

“I need you to tell your father that I need to talk to him.” She sniffled a little.

I now stared right at her. Yes, I know. Dangerous as fuck to actually stare at this woman.

But I saw that her eyes sparkled a bit. Then I stared at that luscious mouth of hers seeing it twitch a little as if she fought a smile.

Suddenly, it dawned on me. The way she had flipped around and marched away to the restroom after I sang Dayo to her.

She had gone into the bathroom to laugh at my song!

I didn’t guess that was the sound I heard earlier.

Lowering my head to again look at my phone, I smirked and felt like I had a victory at last!

I got through that thick wall of dislike and reached the woman inside of her.

Then I cleared my throat and used my ultra serious voice to tell her, “Yes, ma’am. I am texting him now.”

“My mother was called Ma’am ,” she replied. “You can call me Gia.”

My head shot right up as I felt utter and complete disbelief. The woman Doctor of Ice was making a joke?

She shrugged and quipped, “But I don’t have a song. Certainly not one as great as yours.”

I now blinked at her. Stunned. That was the word.

I was stunned. “Um…” Then I burst into laughter.

For once, I had nothing witty to say. No pithy response.

No joke. It might be better if I just kept my big rap shut at this point.

So, with the silence is golden theory lined up, I simply gave her a grin.

Ping!

It was my phone. I looked down to see my dad’s text: ‘Bring her to my office. Tito is coming for his shift.’

I raised my gaze up to her. Damn, I shouldn’t look directly at her.

But she was just so damned lovely to look at.

She had those dark brown Italian eyes but with small flecks of gold within the brown.

And her eyes were what you would call luminous.

Like a bit larger than most. I knew I could get totally lost in just her eyes alone.

Then I had an unbidden or rather forbidden thought…

Did those flecks get brighter or larger when she climaxed—

“Deo?” she spoke.

I froze in my mid-forbidden as fuck thought and then swallowed heavily before I informed her, “My dad said to bring you to the study. He told me that Tito—”

“—is here,” a voice came from next to us as Tito stood in the doorway.

I shook my head and stood from the chair. “How someone your size can sneak up on someone like me is a total mystery.”

Tito smirked at me and said, “Practice young Jedi, practice.”

“So now you’re Yoda?” I asked. “Ok, the seat is all yours o’magnificent one .”

“Been a hard shift?” he asked with a chuckle. “Like too much happening?”

In fact, it had been, little did he know and hard being the keyword as well. But I got that he was teasing me. I leaned in close and told him quietly, “Deacon sat upright for a few seconds. So…” I motioned my head at Valencia. “It was tough for her.”

“Upright?” he asked in a hushed voice as his gaze shifted to Dr. Ribisi.

She slowly shook her head. “It was involuntary. He is not awake.”

“Oh...” He now looked over at Valencia. Seemingly to forget we even existed, he made his way over to her.

I smiled at this. The man was totally in love. Turning my head, I looked at the doctor. “Shall we go?”

Nodding, she replied. “Yes, thank you, Deo.”

I paused at her soft voice wrapping around my name and it made me hard as fuck. Her using my nickname had more of an impact on me than I ever guessed it would. Damn, I should never have sung that to her.