Page 56 of Twin Surprise for the Italian Doc

CHAPTER ELEVEN

GEORGIABENNETTHADbelieved that the lovemaking she had shared with Matteo Martini on that moonlit night in the Czech Republic had been the best she’d ever experienced.

She had been wrong.

The, oh, so gentle, heartbreakingly tender physical connection they’d inevitably shared when she’d led him to her bed that night had been something so extraordinary she was still stunneda week later.

Maybe it was due to the cathartic effect of talking about her childhood trauma for the first time. Of reliving such painful memories and then to find herself being cradled in arms that made her feel so safe.

She had definitely been about to tell Matteo the truth about her pregnancy right then because she had felt too drained to think about the consequences. She had still had tosummon her courage, however, and he must have sensed how difficult it had been because he’d tried to make her feel even safer. He’d told her that she didn’t need to say anything else and she’d let herself believe him. Let herself fall into that safety net of his arms a little further.

Just for that one night, she’d promised herself.

She’d tell him tomorrow.

But tomorrow was always another day.Until today.

Georgia had known it was different from the moment she’d woken up at the sound of the front door of the cottage closing.

Something suddenly seemed urgent.

She was out of bed as fast as it was possible to be these days. Down the stairs faster than she should have, although she kept a firm hand on the bannister to keep her balance. She actually threw the door open, thinking she mighthave a chance to catch Matteo before he drove away, but she was too late.

‘I’m too late,’ she whispered aloud. ‘What am I going to do?’

She paced the floor of the sitting room. It wasn’t too late. She could tell him tonight. She would make dinner and tell Matteo how much she loved him.

And then she would tell him the truth about her pregnancy.

He was leaving to spend a few days with his familyvery soon and that might be a good thing because it could give him time to get used to the news.

With the decision definitively made, Georgia felt calmer. Not calm enough to crunch data and start writing up the first conclusions to do with her research project, however. She felt restless. Every time she sat down to try and work, she would think of something else that needed doing. Like puttingthe rubbish out and wiping down the kitchen bench and then—oddly—taking every single thing out of the fridge so she could simply clean the shelves and put it all back again.

She was nervous, she decided, when she was dusting the top of the bookshelf in the sitting room—a task that hadn’t been done for so long it would have been easy to write her name in the film covering the wood. No. She wasimpatient. She was finally ready to do the thing she should have done a long time ago and the hours were passing too slowly.

She spent most of the afternoon out in the garage, which was used for storage rather than as shelter for cars. It had a few old pieces of furniture in there. And the chest freezer that there was no room for in the house. Over the last month or more, it had also been usedas a place to hide the fact that she was collecting so much baby gear. Two bassinets. Two car seats. A small mountain of baby clothes and nappies.

It needed sorting. To see what else she was missing.

By evening, that big task was completed and the house had never been so clean and tidy. Maybe the smell in the kitchen wasn’t on a par with Matteo’s lasagne but it would be good enough by the timethe steaks were sizzling and could add their aroma to the baked potatoes already in the oven.

Georgia’s feet hurt after all the pacing about she had been doing all day.

Her back hurt, too, which was hardly surprising.

Not that it mattered. She forgot about any pain the moment she heard the tyres of Matteo’s car crunching to a halt on the gravel driveway.

Until the moment that the handle ofthe door turned and he was stepping into the kitchen.

She couldn’t think of anythingbutthe pain then.

Because it had suddenly blossomed into a cramp that made her gasp aloud with its intensity. Made it imperative that she get hold of the back of that chair beside the little table so that she had some support and didn’t crumple to the floor.

‘Georgie?’She could hear the thump of Matteo’ssatchel hitting the floor. ‘Oh...no...’

He must be able to see what she was feeling—the rush of fluid down her legs that warned her that her waters had just broken.

The pain was still blinding her and Matteo was making it worse by making her move. Half-carrying her into the sitting room and then easing her onto the floor.

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