"I"l give you the occasional one," Ava promised, running possessive ngers through his black silky hair and studying him. "You always felt like mine and now you are final y ..."
He kissed her and her head swam. She mut ered something about needing al her sleep with the party ahead: he ignored it. In the end she kissed him back and the excitement sizzling between them took over to send them soaring with the pa.s.sion their deep emotions had generated. Afterwards, Ava could never recal feeling happier or more secure and she could feel the past sliding back into its proper place. She had learned lessons from that past but she wanted her future fresh and free of regrets.
The next day the party was an amazing success. Ava wore the green velvet dress under protest, thinking it was far too fancy. Many of the guests arrived on coaches laid on by their employer. She presided as hostess over a select lunch and her ring was very much admired. Vito select lunch and her ring was very much admired. Vito talked of a winter wedding, Ava gave him a look and talked of a summer one and asked her sisters to be bridesmaids.
"You might be pregnant," Vito breathed when he got her alone again.
"Of course I"m not. Is that why you asked me to marry you?" Ava asked worriedly.
"Of course not. I"m marrying you because I can"t live without you, you lit le minx," Vito groaned. "I suppose I could wait until Easter?"
"No, I"l be a summer bride. We"ve got to be engaged at least six months to prove that we can live together,"
she told him seriously.
"Of course we can. The summer"s too far away."
They got married at Easter and she wasn"t pregnant.
Vito admit ed to being disappointed by that discovery and the idea of a baby took root. The idea of making a family gave Ava a warm, secure feeling inside.
"I don"t think it"s possible to love anyone more than I love you," Vito told her on their wedding night in Hawai .
And Ava knew she felt the same way and rejoiced in the fact that they could agree on some things.
EPILOGUE.
OLIVIA Barbieri was born after a short labour two years later, forcing her mother to ask for her recently won place at medical school to be deferred. She had her mother"s eyes and her father"s hair and even as a baby proved to be rather fond of get ing her own way.
Vito grew accustomed to being engulfed by dogs, child and wife when he came home and discovered much to his own surprise that he loved it. His castle had nal y become a home. Harvey had been joined by Freda, a cross terrier puppy tied up with string to the gates and abandoned one evening. Vito had put up less of a ght to that development than expected but the dogs slept downstairs in what used to be the boot room. From an early age Olivia displayed every sign of wanting to sleep there as wel and had to be strenuously reclaimed from her doggy companions. Ava had also become fast friends with her sisters and the three families regularly met up together.
Three years after their marriage, Ava commenced studying medicine. She had thought long and hard before reapplying to medical school but had come to the conclusion that she needed a strong career to focus on for the future. She knew it would be di cult to study and do work placements in hospitals at the same time as she had a young child but Vito was prepared to reduce his hours and work more from home so that he could be hours and work more from home so that he could be around to step into the breach. That same year, Ava had her conviction for drunk driving set aside as unsafe and she was content with that judgement.
On their fourth anniversary, Vito treated Ava to a second honeymoon in Tuscany although this time their daughter and her nanny came as wel . Long lazy days in the sunlight provided a welcome break from their mutual y busy schedules. Even before they ew home, Ava suspected that she was pregnant again and she was pleased for she wanted her children to be close enough in age to play together.
"I"m delighted but I had a.s.sumed we were only having one child, bel a mia," Vito con ded, wondering if he would ever get over the suspicion that he had put a wedding ring on a whirlwind.
"But you"re pleased?" Ava wrapped her arms round him, thinking that he was stil the most gorgeous guy she had ever met.
"Of course I am. I love you, I love Olivia and I"l love the new baby as wel ," Vito forecast with a grin. "My life just keeps on get ing bet er and bet er."
"Do you think another dog would enrich your life too?"
Ava asked, quick as a ash to take advantage of the right moment. "Marge has a nice lit le-"
"I"l think about it. Don"t force my hand," Vito warned his wife.
"Of course not."
"Of course not."
"And don"t look so sad. You know I can"t stand it when you look sad," Vito groaned in despair.
"I love you so much, Vito," Ava con ded. "I knew you wouldn"t say no!"
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II BV/S.a.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
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First published in Great Britain 2012.
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited.
Harlequin (UK) Limited, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR.
Lynne Graham 2012.
Lynne Graham 2012.
ISBN: 978-1-408-97438-4.
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