‘I’d like to see it,’ she said.

It was there, dominating the hall. Unlike the one she’d had two years ago, it was an expensive creation, but there at its heart was the same beauty and simplicity. Mary sat by the crib, her face radiant and tender as she watched over her child, while Joseph stood just behind, never taking his eyes from the two creatures that were his to love and protect.

‘He’s just been born,’ Tina explained. ‘And Mary is so happy that she has him.’ She added confidingly, ‘Mamma told me that.’

‘And he’s happy too,’ Alysa said softly. ‘Because he has his mother, and they make a family, even though-’ she spoke carefully ‘-he has another family as well. Because you can love more than one person, even more than one mother.’

‘Yes,’ Tina said firmly.

‘Now it’s time for you to go to bed,’ Drago said. ‘We’ve got a big day tomorrow, with lots of shopping to do.’

‘Why don’t you ask Nonna to take you up?’ Alysa said, indicating Elena.

They watched the old woman and the child climbing the stairs together, contented again in each other’s company.

‘I was afraid Tina might not be able to accept me,’ Alysa said in wonder. ‘But she did, from the first moment.’

‘She looked at you and just knew that we all belong together,’ Drago agreed. ‘A family. The kind of family I never dared to hope for again. Alysa, my love, my dearest, my future. Do you believe in miracles?’

‘I believe in this one,’ she answered at once in a voice so fervent that it was almost a prayer. ‘And I believe in all the others that we’re going to make together. I love you, and I believe you love me. I believe that your love will be with me for all eternity. And that is the greatest miracle of all.’

Lucy Gordon

Lucy Gordon cut her writing teeth on magazine journalism, interviewing many of the world’s most interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Richard Chamberlain, Sir Roger Moore, Sir Alec Guinness, and Sir John Gielgud. She also camped out with lions in Africa and had many other unusual experiences which have often provided the background for her books. She is married to a Venetian, whom she met while on holiday in Venice. They got engaged within two days.