Italian Doctor, Sleigh-Bell Bride (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 6)

‘I didn’t know this much snow existed anywhere. In London we just have a tiny bit, never enough for a snowman. It’s all over the roads and the roofs and it’s higher than me.’ His tone was awed as he gazed around him. ‘Now I see why you had to use a four-wheel drive.’

‘The Ferrari is not designed for winter in the mountains.’ Stefano took another hairpin bend and slowed down. ‘We’re here.’

In her mind, Liv had imagined a tiny log cabin but the home in front of her was something entirely different. A traditional wooden chalet with a sloping roof buried under at least a foot of snow, it was sheltered to one side by tall fir trees and surrounded by a beautifully carved wooden balcony. Beneath them in the valley she could see the sparkling lights of the village and a church.

‘It’s stunning.’

‘The village is pretty crowded at this time of year, so being up here away from the hordes is a good thing. But we’ll go down tomorrow and I’ll show you around.’ He parked the car and switched off the engine. ‘Max will like it. Horse-drawn sleighs, ice skating—pretty much a child’s heaven.’

And an adult’s heaven too, Liv thought wistfully as she jumped down from the car. It was easily the most beautiful, peaceful place she’d ever seen. There was no sound apart from the soft crunch as their feet broke through the fragile crust of snow and the occasional muffled thud as lumps of snow fell from the heavily laden trees onto the ground below.

She breathed in, loving the smell of woodsmoke and pine trees. The cold air stung her cheeks and Liv gave a little shiver as she reached out her arms to lift Max down from the car.

‘Mum, have you seen the snow?’ Max was almost incoherent with excitement and Liv smiled.

‘I’ve seen it. In fact I’m standing in it and my feet are cold. Hurry up.’

Stefano swung two of the cases out of the boot. ‘Most of these snowdrifts are probably deeper than you are tall so don’t wander off.’

For a man who didn’t have children he was remarkably in tune with the way children thought. And then she remembered that he worked in the emergency department and was constantly exposed to the consequences of a child’s need to explore and push the boundaries.

‘Can we build a snowman now?’ Max bent down and started to scoop snow into his palms. ‘This is awesome.’ He straightened and Liv caught the mischievous look in his eye too late to avoid the inevitable snowball.

She gasped and closed her eyes as a freezing shower of snow smacked into her hair and trickled down her neck. ‘Oh my goodness, that’s freezing! Max you are in serious trouble now!’ Her eyes glinted and she stooped and gathered her own ball of snow while Max squealed in delighted terror.

Giggling like a child, Liv carefully lobbed the snowball into the middle of his back, where she knew it would cause the least damage in terms of wet and cold. Then she caught Stefano’s gaze and smiled. ‘Sorry. I’m as bad as he is, I know. It’s just that neither of us have seen snow like this before. It’s like waking up in the middle of a fairy-tale.’

But the best part of the fairy-tale was being here with him.

The door of the chalet suddenly opened sending shafts of bright light across the snow. There was a chorus of welcome and then suddenly there were people everywhere and they were engulfed by hugging, kissing, laughter and lots of unintelligible Italian.

Overwhelmed, Max dropped the snow he’d been holding and shrank against Liv. She slid an arm round him, feeling equally daunted by the noisy exuberance of Stefano’s extremely large family. Two big dogs bounded towards them and Stefano spoke a sharp command in Italian. Both of them skidded to a halt, sending soft snow showering everywhere. Then they whimpered and sat, watching him expectantly.

‘Are they friendly?’ Still holding onto Liv, Max gazed at the dogs in fascination and Stefano dropped to his haunches next to him.

‘Sì, they are friendly. Put your hand out and let them smell you.’

Max stuck his hand out and both dogs sidled towards him and licked him frantically, their tails sending more snow flying in all directions. ‘Ew!’ Giggling and cringing at the same time, Max jerked his hand away. ‘That’s so wet. It’s gross.’ But he was enchanted by the dogs, and the animals were enough to break the ice.

‘This is all a bit much for you, I’m so sorry.’ A dark-haired woman with a warm smile pulled Liv towards her and kissed her on both cheeks. ‘It’s just that we don’t see enough of Stefano. You’re very welcome. I’m his sister, Isabella.’ She smiled at Max. ‘The dogs are Leo and Angelo. Everyone else can be introduced at some other point. It’s freezing out here. Let’s go inside.’

* * *

Dinner was a noisy, lengthy affair with simultaneous conversations and much friendly argument and disagreement.

Stefano’s father, Bernardo, sat at the head of the table watching over the proceedings like a benign monarch. Occasionally Liv caught his warm, approving gaze and she wondered exactly what Stefano had said about their relationship.

‘In Italy we have a saying,’ Stefano told her dryly as he handed her a plate of food, ‘Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con i vuoi—which roughly translated means, Christmas with the family, Easter with who you like. Food is an important part of the Lucarelli family Christmas. I hope your appetite is healthy.’

But she wasn’t part of his family, was she?

Feeling slightly awkward, Liv smiled at his father. ‘I hope we’re not intruding too much on your celebrations.’

‘The biggest celebration is that my son has brought a lovely woman home for Christmas.’ He lifted his glass and Stefano said something soft in Italian but the older man simply smiled and drank deeply.

Captivated by his warm, demonstrative family, Liv ate and watched the family dynamics.

Stefano’s grandmother was in charge of the kitchen with Isabella and two of the female cousins were also roped in to help.