Free The Italian Surgeon's Christmas Miracle by Alison Roberts

still blocking that light was man-shaped but Amy wasn’t the least bit deterred.
    She could fix Luke Harrington, too, if he let her!
     
    An hour had ticked past and Luke realised he’d missed his dinner, but he wasn’t the least bit hungry.
    He’d been sitting at the kitchen table since Zoe had disappeared to chivvy the older children to bed and to read a bedtime story to Chantelle. The big house was quiet and, uncharacteristically, Luke allowed himself to continue sitting in his somewhat dazed state. He hadn’t noticed that Monty had slithered off his blanket at some point and was now under the table. It wasn’t until he felt the weight of a large, black nose on the shiny leather of his shoe that he was aware of how close the giant dog had become.
    He didn’t want to antagonise the creature by shifting his toes. One chomp and that leather might not be enough protection. Zoe should be back shortly and the dog would be under control. Hopefully.
    It was only partly due to Monty’s breath on his ankle that Luke didn’t feel alone. He didn’t really need to hear the odd, muted bump or giggle from overhead, either, to remember how many occupants this house had. The feeling of their presence was everywhere.
    Like a heartbeat.
    Slow and steady. Different to when Amy had been in the house. She had an air of vibrancy that increased the beat. Gave it a few unexpected ectopics, even.
    Luke found himself smiling unconsciously at the nice, cardiological analogy. Yes. The pulse of anything would increase and become a little erratic if Amy was around.
    Especially when she was provoked. Her fierce words still rang in his ears.
    Over my dead body!
    A ridiculous thing to say. Over-emotional rubbish. Except that, at the time, he’d had the disturbing idea that she’d really meant it. She felt that strongly about it.
    Had he— would he—ever feel that strongly about anything? Be prepared to lay his life on the line? To want something so badly that life would not be worth living without it?
    Of course not!
    But, curiously—and for the first time—Luke could feel envious of someone who did feel that way. Someone who could experience the euphoria of genuine passion. The notion was merely a flash, however. Easily pushed aside when recognised.
    Passion denied rational thought. It involved lows, as well as highs. Misery that counterbalanced any happiness. An uncontrollable roller-coaster that Luke would never step onto because he was rational. He had to be. His career demanded it.
    Why hadn’t he used his rational intelligence and walked away from Amy’s passionate outburst? He had certainly intended to. He knew there was no point talking to someone in that state and the only way forward was to create space until they calmed down.
    She’d managed to get under his skin, though, hadn’t she? Prodded some weak spot he hadn’t known existed and he’d been sucked into responding. Worse, he’d lost it to the extent of revealing that he was planning to demolish this house out of spite and he didn’t even intend to keep the proceeds.
    Zoe would tell him it was a mean thing to do.
    And, dammit! She would be right.
    It wouldn’t hurt to leave it for a few days, would it? Until after Christmas.
    For Amy’s sake.
     
    Zoe eventually came back to the kitchen.
    ‘Monty! Get back on your rug!’ Zoe gave Luke a scathing glance as the dog wriggled backwards. ‘You still here?’
    ‘Apparently.’
    ‘Robert said you were shouting at Amy before I got here.’
    ‘I never shout. If anyone was raising their voice, that would have been Amy.’ Luke frowned. How much had the other children overheard?
    ‘Robert says you’re gonna pull our house down.’
    ‘ Your house?’
    Zoe flushed. ‘Well, Monty lives here now and he’s my dog.’ Her voice rose defiantly. ‘You know what one of my mum’s boyfriends said to us once?’
    ‘Um…No.’
    ‘He had some stuff of Mum’s he wanted to keep. Like CDs. He said “possession is nine tenths