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if I m wrong, you tell me where I m wrong. How does that sound?
Allegra shrugged her shoulders. She didn t want to be having this conversation.
There was absolutely nothing he could do or say that would make her change her mind.
What I m guessing right now is that this operation you re talking about isn t just
new, it s still in the experimental stage. Now, I m not a doctor, but I ve had training as a
medic and medicine interests me. We get serious injuries in the Teams and I always
follow what s happened to my men after they ve been wounded. We get pretty good
medical care, some of the best available. I think I know a lot about leading-edge medical
treatment, but I ve never heard of a microwave beam that can target specific tissue and
spare intermediate tissue. So what I m thinking is that they ve done some animal
studies and they re trolling for human volunteers. Which, as you know, is insane for
elective surgery.
Allegra closed her eyes and bowed her head.
His voice was steady, even, reasonable. You know that, don t you, honey? You
don t have a life-threatening disease
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Not true! she said suddenly. This is life-threatening! I don t have a life anymore,
not in any sense of the word! I might as well be dead!
No, that s where you re wrong. He took both her hands in his and continued in
that slow, deep voice of his. You have a wonderful life. You re healthy, you re
incredibly talented, you re beautiful, you have friends who love you, you have He
stopped, as if biting back a thought. You have everything to live for. And in a few
years time, when they ve perfected the technique, when it s routine, then you can think
of having the operation.
Douglas had That Tone in his voice. How many times had she heard it?
Ms. Ennis, I don t want you to get your hopes up too much. Maybe you should start
preparing yourself to live with your condition. And then in a few years time, when the
technique has been perfected, we can talk again.
She didn t want to listen to the voice of reason. She knew exactly what she wanted,
and it was to see again now! She wanted that so fiercely that not even the thought of
dying under the surgeon s scalpel put her off.
It was no one s decision but hers to make. She didn t want to discuss it and she
didn t want any interference.
You know what? I m really hungry now, she said brightly. Really, really hungry,
and since you don t want me to cook, I guess that makes you Chef in Chief. A Senior
Chief Chef in Chief. She smiled, her brilliant fake stage smile, the one she could put on
at any time of the day or night. Performers learn the trick early and well. So get
cracking, Senior Chief.
Silence, then an exhalation of air, which in a lesser man would have been a sigh.
Okay. Lunch it is. She could hear him rising, the freezer door opening. A little swirl of
frozen air curled across the room.
You ve got an amazing amount of food in here, he rumbled. You could keep a
SEAL team well-fed for a month with what s here, and that s saying a lot. Let s see, the
sound of plastic containers scraping across the ice, we have, hmmm, looks like
minestrone. And here wow, one of my favorites eggplant parmesan. Frozen
sourdough bread, apple pie. This is amazing stuff. I hope it tastes as good as it looks. Do
you have a secret fairy who sneaks great food in during the night or something?
Better than a secret fairy. The Mancinos, Allegra smiled.
The what?
Claire s housekeeper s name is Rosa Mancino and she comes from this huge,
wonderful family. For years, I ve sung at their weddings and funerals and christenings
and graduation parties. Not to mention the wild, women-only divorce party Rosa s
niece had thrown after getting rid of the bum, as she d called her ex. Since, um, the
accident, I ve had to beat them off with a stick. The women come in turns to clean for
me and they always leave cooked food in the freezer. Francesca, Rosa s sister, is coming
in on Monday, as a matter of fact. All the Mancino women are great cooks, I m really
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lucky. And the men look after me, too, helping with repairs and things. As soon as the
snow stops, a Mancino will come around to shovel my sidewalk, you just wait and see.
I ll shovel your sidewalk and take care of repairs for you from now on, you don t
need them, Douglas said. Let the Mancino men know I m around now.
Oh. Right.
Allegra had no idea if she would actually do that. Would she? The Mancino men
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