Page 44 of Sweet Summer Surprise

She hadn’t allowed herself to believe this could be possible. No matter how sweet their union, no matter how high she flew in his arms, how easily she laughed with him and walked with him and shared cozy silence, she’d been bracing herself for the pain of goodbye.

Matteo leaned into her field of vision and wiped the dampness from her cheek. “Talk to me, bella.”

A laugh burbled up. “Is this real? Or was there something funny in those brownies?”

His hopeful expression crumpled. “Damn. I screwed the pooch, didn’t I?” He sat up and hugged his knees. “I thought, since your kids will be impacted, I’d better tell them too.” He dropped his head onto his folded arms. “I feel like that guy who proposed on the Jumbotron and got turned down.”

She pushed upright and hugged him, resting her cheek on his hunched shoulder. “No, bello, you didn’t screw the pooch. You did exactly right.”

Slowly, he straightened and faced her. “Really?”

“Yeah.” It was difficult to speak through her mile-wide grin. “Telling the kids was so thoughtful of you. And sweet. And perfect.” She stroked his cheek. “And I love you too.” She sniffled hard. “Crazy, right? We’ve only known each other for two weeks.”

His smile shone brighter than the fireworks, brighter than the stars, brighter than anything she’d dared hope for. “When it’s right, it’s right. Sono pazzo di te.” He pressed his lips to hers.

“Wait,” she murmured into his kiss. “I know that one. You’re, um…”

He smiled into their kiss. “Crazy about you, bella.”

“Mom, they’re packing up. Can we go?”

She looked up to find Noah beside his sister, wiggling like a puppy. Clearly, seeing their mom kissing a new guy was not the traumatic experience she’d feared.

Olivia wheedled, “C’mon, please? The parents will be there. They’re Matteo’s friends.”

He chuckled against her temple. “We’ll be able to see them from my balcony.”

She raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Let’s go.”

Together, they packed up their gear and walked, arm in arm, through cool sand and fireworks-toasted ocean breeze, into the first night of their new life.