Nonna has been watching me this whole time without comment, but at the mention of her, she pipes up, “Who are you calling? Who is that?”
“Just a second, Nonna,” I hiss at her.
“No doctors,” she says firmly.
“Fine!” I sigh and return to my conversation with Dean. “Anyway, I was just hoping… well, I thought maybe…”
“You want me to come to your house and check out Nonna.”
My cheeks grow warm. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sure you’re busy.”
“Not at all,” he says. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Where do you live?”
“Bensonhurst.”
He groans. “Okay, give me thirty minutes.”
I give Dean directions to the apartment and hang up the phone. Nonna is still watching me, but she doesn’t say anything until I hang up.
“Who was that?” she finally asks.
“A friend of mine.”
“A friend who’s a doctor?”
I hesitate. “Yes.”
Nonna considers this. “Is he handsome?”
This time I don’t have to hesitate. “Yes.”
“Well, he’d better be.” She shakes her head. “Or else I’m hitting him on the head with a frying pan.”
Thirty-one minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. I’ve been so worried about Nonna that it didn’t even occur to me to doll myself up for the handsome doctor showing up at my door. And honestly, I don’t care. I called him here because I don’t want my grandmother to have a heart attack and die. Not to flirt with him.
But on the other hand, I wish I weren’t wearing sweatpants and a tank top.
Dean’s face lights up in a grin when he sees me, in spite of my attire. Or maybe because of it. “Miss Loren,” he says. “A pleasure, as always.”
“Come in,” I mumble, barely able to look him in the eyes.
“Where’s Nonna?”
I jerk my head in the direction of the living room. “She’s in there. She looks okay, but she keeps rubbing her chest. I’m really worried.”
“Let Dr. Pourakis take a look.”
Dean strides past me into the living room, where Nonna is still in her chair. She hasn’t keeled over yet, and she took the time to get a frying pan from the kitchen. It’s lying next to her on the chair. She raises her eyes when Dean approaches her, and in spite of everything, a smile spreads across her face. “Okay,” she says. “I won’t hit you on the head.”
Dean cocks his head, confused. “Mrs. Mascolo?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m Dean.” He sits down on the sofa next to her. “Your granddaughter asked me to come by because she’s a little worried about you.”
“She worries too much.”
“Maybe. But she’s right to worry when it comes to chest pain.”
Nonna’s shrewd eyes look Dean head-to-toe. “You Italian?”
“Greek.”
She smiles. “Does your family call you Dino?”
He laughs at that. “Not too often. Sometimes. But you can call me Dino if you want. If you’ll tell me how your chest is feeling.”
“Burning. Just a little heartburn. Like I said, nothing to worry about.”