Page 50 of Twin Surprise for the Italian Doc

A brief, soft kiss. As tender as that touch of his fingers on her face had been.

She could feel his breath on her skin when they finally broke that kiss and his words were no more than a sigh.

‘Ti amo, tesoro mio.’

Again, the words needed no translation. His eyes were telling her exactly what he’d whispered butmaybe he hadn’t intended her to understand them. Or even realise that they’d been audible.

How could she could tell him the truth now? If she said anything at all, it was more likely to be that she loved him as well.

And how could she say that when he didn’t know the truth?

It was wrong, too.

Everything about this situation was so wrong. Perfect but twisted. And Georgia had no idea how tofix it.

Something of her dilemma must have shown on her face but Matteo didn’t seem to be bothered. He was smiling at her.

‘I excuse you the dishes,’ he told her. ‘Go to bed,cara. You’re exhausted, yes?’

Georgia nodded. She swallowed hard.

‘Thanks, Matteo.’

‘For what? The food?’ He waved a dismissive hand. ‘It was nothing.’

‘It wasn’t nothing. It was...perfect.’

He was moving now. Collectingthe empty plates as if this was just a part of a normal, everyday life.

‘I’m glad you liked it. We’ll do it again. We have plenty of time before I have to go back to Luke’s apartment.’

Finally, Georgia could return the smile.

Plenty of time...

That was something else her mother used to say, too.

There’s plenty of time, love.

Give it time...it’ll be okay.

Time heals everything...

Therewas comfort to be found in those echoes of her mother’s voice.

Hope, even.

* * *

Teresa Martini’s lasagne had been a favourite for Matteo for as long as he could remember but it had just become even more significant in his life.

He’d taken a huge step towards his goal tonight.

He had been permitted to show Georgia a part of how he felt about her. The food he’d made for her hadn’t been rejected.He’d been allowed to share the miracle of feeling the new life stirring within her.

He’d kissed her even. A kiss of nothing more than tenderness because anything else at this point in time was unthinkable.

And even though nothing had been said aloud, he was quite certain that she had felt the same as he had—the profound depth of the connection between them. That she was thinking exactly whathe was.

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