Page 57 of Twin Surprise for the Italian Doc

‘Don’t move,’ he told her.

Georgia covered her eyes with her hand. Shecouldn’t move even if she wanted to. How could this be happening so fast, with so little warning?

The first contraction had barely begun to fade when another one started.

She heard Matteo’s voice. Sharp, clipped instructions to the control room at the rescue base as he demanded an ambulance.

Shehadhad warning, she realised, groaning aloud.

That restlessness hadn’t been impatience to gether confession to Matteo over with. And that back pain hadn’t been simply due to too much time on her feet.

Her doctor had even warned her last week, when she’d gone in for her antenatal check, that this could happen.

‘It’s twins,’he’d reminded her.‘They’re very likely to come a bit early. Things are getting pretty crowded in there.’

Matteo was crouching beside her now, a stack of the towelsGeorgia had refolded earlier today in his arms.

‘The ambulance is on its way,’ he told her. ‘We’ll probably hear the siren in no time at all.’

‘I don’t think it’s going to get here on time.’ Georgia was frightened now. ‘I can feel something happening. Oh, my God... I have topush...’

‘It’s okay...we’ve got this...’ She could feel Matteo’s hands as she pulled her legs up. Ripping her clothingclear. Pushingback...?

Of course...he was trying to slow a precipitous birth to keep the baby safe.

Georgia tried to pant and slow things down herself but her body wasn’t listening. Another contraction and another overwhelming urge to push so hard that she had red spots dancing on the back of her eyelids and a roaring sound in her ears.

It didn’t drown out the sound of Matteo’s calm voice,though.

‘Almost there... You’re doing great... That’sit...’

And then another sound cut through the noise in her head.

The warbling cry of a newly born infant.

Georgia struggled to push herself up on her elbows.

‘It’s a little girl,’ Matteo told her. ‘And she’s gorgeous. Look...’

He was holding her baby in his bare hands. A tiny, wrinkled red face was screwed up, ready to emit another cry.

‘You’ve done it, Georgie...she’s okay. Everything’s okay...’

‘No...’ Georgia’s head dropped back to the floor. ‘It’s not over...Oh...’ It was her turn to cry aloud as a new contraction built. ‘It’s twins, Matteo...’

‘What?How could you not have told me that?’

What she hadn’t told Matteo was the least of her worries at this moment. This pain was unbelievably intense. Matteo’s voice blurredinto the sound of her firstborn crying. Her own cries. The faint background wail of an approaching siren...

* * *

Matteo had never been this afraid in his career.

He’d attended many births but this was so different, he felt like he had no idea of what he was doing.

He could see his hands doing all the things they needed to be doing but it was like watching hands that belonged to someone else.

His brain was detached.

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