Page 22 of Twin Surprise for the Italian Doc

‘Why would she do that?’

‘Dunno.’ Matteo shrugged again. ‘She’s got some funny ideas, that one.’

‘I thought you liked her.’ Luke was still frowning.

Like...

What an insipid word. It wasn’t even on the same verbal planet as something that could begin to describe the feelings Georgia had evoked.

Evenlovedidn’t quite encompass the sense of promise and potential fulfilment that that connection had provided.

That connection that should never have happened because it had resulted in someonebeing cheated on.

‘I thought I did, too,’ he muttered. ‘Shows how wrong you can be about some people, I guess.’ He needed to stop talking about Georgia. It certainly wasn’t helping his determined effort to stop even thinking about her. ‘Hey, man. I’d better go. Early shift tomorrow.’

‘No worries. Let’s do it again next week.’

Matteo grinned back. ‘We might be doing it for real before long.Don’t forget you can’t get married unless I’m your best man.’

He stared at a blank screen for a long moment when the call had ended.

Marriage...

Children. A family of his very own. He’d always known that was going to be the very best part of his future. It had been no more than a pleasant daydream all through his twenties because he’d known he had plenty of time to play. To do all the thingsthat a devoted father and family man would never dream of doing.

Besides, he’d needed to play the field to make sure he found the perfect woman to share his life with. Because there would only ever be one woman he would marry and she wasn’t just going to be his wife. She was going to be the mother of his children.

How had all those years slipped past so quickly? He’d begun to feel the clockticking as he’d hit his early thirties and hehadbegun to take his relationships more seriously—when his hectic work hours had allowed, that was. He’d known that his dream of being a father instead of merely an uncle wasn’t going to happen all by itself. He had to make it happen.

And he had truly believed, just for the tiny blink of time that that competition had provided, that he had foundthe person he could make it happenwith.

But now that dream seemed further away than it had ever been and the reality check was laced with doubts. Sadness even. Maybe it wouldn’t even be as good as he’d believed it would be.

Because the woman he married was not going to be Georgia Bennett.

* * *

‘It’s just a bug or something, Sean. I’m fine. Unlock the door and let’s get back to station. Iwant to go home.’

‘Nope.’ Georgia’s partner leaned against the back of the ambulance. ‘I’m not going anywhere until you go and get checked out. You’ve been off colour for way too long. You’re tired all the time and you turned your nose up at one of Nico’s kebabs today. You have to be sick not to want the best kebab ever.’

‘I wasn’t hungry, that’s all.’

‘You’re off colour. You’ve been off colourfor weeks. Get back into ED and find a nice doctor. It’s quiet. Get a blood test or something.’

‘That would take ages. We’re off duty. It’s time to go home.’

‘Exactly. We’ve got all the time in the world. I’m going to let them know we’ll be delayed getting the truck back to station and then I’m going to get coffee and chat up some nurses. Page me when you’re done.’

And Sean walked off, thekeys to the ambulance still in his pocket.

Fifteen minutes later and Georgia was sitting in the office of Kathryn—one of the emergency department consultants who’d been only too happy to talk to her.

‘The bloods won’t be back for a few minutes yet, Georgie.’ Her gaze was thoughtful. ‘Are you sure there’s no possibility of you being pregnant?’

‘I’m sure.’ But Georgia bit her lip. ‘I mean,theoreticallythere is. I did have unprotected sex a while back but I haven’t missed a period.’

‘And your periods have been normal?’

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