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Elene smiled, as she did all the time now. ‘Bring it on.’
‘I hope there are plenty of spare beds in your house, Mattia, because we’ll always be visiting,’ her dad told him when they’d made their announcement to the family. ‘We are very happy for you both, but don’t think we won’t be coming over often to annoy you.’
‘You’re welcome. My family can’t wait to meet you all, too.’
‘About a wedding, Elene?’ Georgie, her sister, asked. ‘Where? Here or Sorrento?’
‘Here,’ she and Mattia answered together. They hadn’t discussed it but she wasn’t surprised at Mattia’s response. He really did want everything to be perfect for her. ‘You’re both bridesmaids, by the way.’
‘Like you had a choice.’ Georgie grinned.
‘Pa-pa-pa-pa!’ Aimee had her say.
Mattia’s chest exploded with love and he nearly smothered his girl with a hug. ‘Oh, man,’ he sniffed.
Jeff tapped a spoon against his glass. ‘Raise your glasses, everyone. Let’s drink a toast to the happy couple.’
‘Cheers, Elene and Mattia. And Aimee.’
Mattia held his arm out and wound it round Elene’s, their glasses held ready. ‘To my beautiful fiancée.’
‘To my man.’ Bubbles burst across Elene’s tongue as she sipped her champagne. This had to be the happiest moment of her life.
And then Mattia unwound his arm and took her free hand with his. ‘There’s one more toast I wish to propose.’
Elene stilled, instantly knowing. Her fingers tightened around Mattia’s.
He raised his glass. ‘To Danielle, without whom Elene and I would never have met up again. Without you, Danielle, we wouldn’t have our wonderful Aimee. Thank you,’ he croaked.
Tears spurted unbidden down Elene’s face. ‘Thank you, my dearest, bestest, most special friend. Thank you for trusting me.’
And for the first time since she’d held Danielle’s hand at the end she felt the pain leaving her. It wouldn’t go completely, but now she could live with it a little more comfortably.
Turning to Mattia, she said, ‘I love you.’
He leaned in to kiss her, ignoring the wisecracks in the room. ‘Ti amo.’
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Sue MacKay
ER Doc’s Forever Gift
Surprise Twins for the Surgeon
Baby Miracle in the ER
Her New Year Baby Surprise
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from One Night to Change Their Lives by Tina Beckett.
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One Night to Change Their Lives
by Tina Beckett
CHAPTER ONE
PEARLS WERE NOT her thing. Not anymore.
Adelina Santini dropped the necklace into its velvet lined jeweler’s box, snapped the lid shut and put it in the growing stack of things to donate to the hospital’s charity auction. Five years of marriage and the necklace and her wounded pride were the only things she had to show for it.
The bed had been stripped of sheets, pillows and the comforter—she’d jammed everything into the trash along with her wedding pictures. But even with brand-new bedclothes, she couldn’t face sleeping in that room. So she’d spent the last six weeks sleeping on the couch, and that was where she’d stay until she could decide what to do about the bed, about the house...about everything. Divorce papers were filed and her soon-to-be ex had moved in with the woman she’d caught him cheating with—the same day she’d walked in on them. Getting rid of those pearls—his wedding gift to her—was the first step toward leaving an ugly part of her past behind. At least she hoped so.
All she wanted was to was
h her hands of him and never see him again. But he was an EMT who regularly brought patients to her hospital. Unless she moved to another city, she would see him. Daily at times. So far, those encounters had been far from fun. There was no way she was going to let her distaste at seeing him drive her out of her job, though.
Abandoning her task for the hundredth time that week, she went to shower and get dressed for work. Right now, her job was her only salvation. The fact that she arrived before her shift started and left long after it was over was no one’s business but her own. With that thought, she stepped under the stinging flow of hot water and waited for it to wash away all her troubles.
A half hour later, juggling five boxes of items for the auction, she walked through the doors of the emergency room of Miami’s Grace Hospital and headed for the staff lounge to drop off what she’d brought. Five feet from the door, a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.
“Dr. Santini, could I see you in my office for a minute?”
Peering over the stack, her eyes widened as she saw she was right. Garret Stapleton, the hospital administrator, stood with one shoulder propped against a nearby wall, arms crossed over his chest. A hint of biceps made a rare flush of warmth go through her.
Lord, Addy, what is wrong with you?
Then he moved toward her, and she took a quick step back, the parcels teetering for a second. The heat in her face turned red hot.
“Let me help you with those.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got them. Just a few things for the auction.”
Why did he want to talk to her? Had she done something wrong? She’d been at this hospital for several years—longer than he had, in fact. And ever since her husband had walked out, her view of the world had shifted, opened up. That view now encompassed the sexy administrator in a way that made her cringe.
In her growing panic, the boxes tilted sideways, the jeweler’s container sliding off and falling to the floor. The lid popped off and the pearl necklace spilled onto the tile.
