Miracle for the Girl Next Door by Rebecca Winters

I’m dying, please don’t. I’m not a priest.”
    His chuckle permeated to her insides. “No, you’re not, grazie a Dio . But you are the woman I want to marry as soon as possible.”
    After a long silence, he heard hurtful laughter come out of her. “Me—marry you—” she mocked in a brittle tone.
    “Yes.”
    “It sounds like you’ve come to the rock bottom of your many excellent adventures. I thought you were the one person who wasn’t like everyone else, but I was wrong.”
    Like the lash of a whip, he felt her salvo. “That’s the first unkind remark you’ve ever made to me.”
    “Maybe it’s because even a dying farm girl doesn’t relish the idea of being the object of Valentino Casali’s pity.”
    She got up from the table hot-faced and made a dignified exit from the room. He hurried down to the front desk to pay the bill, then raced after her. When he crossed the parking south of the hotel he found her waiting for him in the cab of the truck with her hat on.
    They started back to Monta Correnti. He noticed she stayed close to the door so neither their arms or legs would brush by accident. “Pity comes in many forms, piccola ,” he began. “It depends on the point of view. I’m counting on yours to save me from myself.”
     
    Clara didn’t want to listen. Valentino had a way of twisting words and meanings until he threw her into a state of confusion. Maybe she was having some strange, distorted dream where the impossible was happening and everything was out of her control.
    “Before you consign me to my rightful place, which is a great deal lower than the angels, you need to know I called my doctor in Monaco. Among the things we talked about, he said I can be trained to help you do dialysis at home so you don’t have to go to the clinic. They have these new machines so you can even travel with them and carry on your activities.”
    She couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful, but not at Valentino’s expense.
    “Your mother can show me what kind of meals to make for you. I’m a good cook. I’ve had to be. The villa has a view of the town and valley from every window. Your family can visit all the time. You can visit them and still run the fruit stand if you want.
    “While we’re waiting for a kidney, we’ll do everything together like we did when we were at school. We’ll have fun. When was the last time you had fun? I know I haven’t had any. I have to reach back to those years with you to remember what it was like to enjoy a carefree day. Marry me and make me respectable. I need you so much more than you need me.”
    Oh, Tino. The issues with his father had robbed him of so much confidence. She’d never dreamed they were this serious.
    “Allow me to take care of you, piccola . Now that I’ve come home, I can’t be around my family, my aunt and cousins, without your help. Since you talked to me about my father yesterday, you’ve made me realize I have to try harder.”
    She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What about the woman in your life? I’m not talking about Giselle now.”
    “What woman?”
    “Don’t tease about this, Tino. It’s too important.”
    “I agree. I guess it’s confession time. There have been other women, but not as many as you have imagined. Even the few I had a relationship with didn’t inspire me to get married. I suppose I didn’t feel I could count on them for the long haul. If I’d wanted to make a lifelong commitment with one of them, I wouldn’t be here now.”
    “Even so—”
    “Even so nothing! What about the men in your life? Don’t tell me there haven’t been any because I wouldn’t believe you.”
    “No. I won’t tell you that, but my illness has changed everything.”
    “Then there’s no problem.”
    She sucked in her breath, trying to keep her wits about her. “Of course there is! You can’t just give up your racing and let your team down.”
    “You haven’t been listening to me. Though I haven’t