Читать книгу Medical Romance December 2016 Books 1-6 - Sue MacKay, Carol Marinelli - Страница 36
ОглавлениеIF HE DIDN’T love his friend so much he’d be annoyed by the permanent smile that seemed to have fixed itself to Oliver’s face. Even sitting at a desk swamped with paperwork, Oliver still had the smile plastered on his face.
‘Sebastian!’ Oliver jumped to his feet, strode around the desk and engulfed Sebastian in a bear hug.
Sebastian returned the hug and leaned back. ‘You’re engaged? Do I get to meet the lucky lady?’
Oliver slapped his arm. ‘You get to be my best man!’ His smile wavered for a second. ‘Are you here for the announcement tomorrow? I thought I would have heard from you.’
Sebastian gave a brief nod. He pushed his hands into his pockets and looked at Oliver. ‘Not just that. It seems you and I are about to experience some changes together.’
Oliver’s brow furrowed at the cryptic line. ‘What do you mean?’
Sebastian glanced around. There was no one hovering near the door. Oliver’s office seemed private enough. ‘We’re both about to be fathers.’
For a few seconds Oliver’s expression was pure surprise. ‘Theresa’s pregnant? Congratulations. I had no idea—’
Sebastian held up his hand to stop him. Of course he was surprised. He knew Sebastian’s real feelings about that engagement.
He shook his head. ‘It’s not Theresa.’
Oliver paled. ‘It’s not?’
They were good friends. He’d experienced Sebastian’s parents. He knew exactly how focused and overbearing they could be. They’d spent many hours and a number of cases of beer contemplating the pressures of being an heir, along with Sebastian’s personal feelings and ambitions.
The grin that spread over Oliver’s face took Sebastian by surprise. He let out a laugh and walked back around the desk, pushing his wheeled chair back, putting his feet on the desk and crossing his arms. ‘Oh, this is going to be good. Tell me all about it.’
Sebastian shook his head and leaned on the chair opposite Oliver. ‘You find this amusing?’
Oliver nodded. ‘I find this very amusing. It’s only taken you thirty-one years to cause a scandal. I hope it’s a good one.’
Sebastian made a face. ‘You might change your mind when you find out the rest of it.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Sebastian shook his head again. ‘Is everything set for the board meeting tomorrow?’
Oliver nodded. ‘It’s just a formality. They’ve already agreed to twin the hospitals and develop the training programme. You realise as soon as it’s announced there’ll be around forty staff queued outside my door trying to get their name on the reciprocal swap programme?’
Sebastian took a deep breath. Was there even a chance in a million that Sienna might consider something like that?
He was still smarting about her reaction earlier. What was wrong with making the heir to the Montanari throne legitimate? It made perfect sense to him.
Why was she so against it? He’d still felt the chemistry in the air between them—even if she wanted to deny it. He could admit that the timing wasn’t great. But he’d dealt with things as best he could.
At the end of the day it was his duty to marry the mother of his baby. Maybe he could work on her, get her to reconsider?
‘I plan on being around for the next few days—maybe longer.’
Oliver glanced at him. Sebastian’s visits were usually only when he flew in and out of the UK on business and usually only lasted a couple of hours.
‘Really, why?’
He’d picked up a pen and was scribbling notes.
Sebastian lowered his voice. ‘Because I have to convince the mother of my child to marry me.’
The pen froze and oh-so-slowly one of Oliver’s eyebrows rose. ‘Say that again?’
Sebastian sat back in the chair and relaxed his arms back. He felt better after saying it out loud. It didn’t seem quite so ridiculous a thought.
‘Sienna—the mother of my child. I have to convince her to marry me.’
The pen flew past his ear. Oliver was on his feet. ‘What? What do you mean, Sienna?’ His head turned quickly from side to side. ‘I mean, you? Her? The baby? It’s yours?’ It was almost as if he were trying to sort it all out in his mind. Then his eyes widened and he crumpled back down into his seat.
‘Oh, no.’ He looked as if he were going to be sick on the desk. ‘How did you find out?’ He didn’t even wait for an answer. His head was already in his hands.
Sebastian gave a nod, reached over and clapped the side of one of Oliver’s hands. ‘Yep. It was you. You phoned about Ella and mentioned Sienna and how pregnant she was.’
Oliver’s head shot back up. ‘I thought you’d gone quiet when we spoke but I just assumed it was because you were surprised when I said Ella was pregnant.’
‘It wasn’t Ella’s pregnancy that surprised me.’
Oliver ran his hand through his hair. ‘Yeah, obviously.’
He wrinkled his nose and a smile broke out on his face. ‘You and Sienna, really?’
Sebastian was curious. ‘What’s so strange about me and Sienna?’
Oliver threw up his hands. ‘It’s just...it’s just...she’s so... Sienna.’ He shook his head and laughed. ‘Your parents will hate her. She’d be their ultimate nightmare for a queen.’
Sebastian felt a little flare of protective anger. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Oliver shrugged. ‘Where will I start? She’s a surgeon. She’s always going to be a surgeon. Sienna would never give up her job—she’s just too good and too emotionally connected. Surgery is in her blood.’ He was shaking his head. ‘As for tactfulness and decorum? Sienna’s one of the most straight-talking doctors I’ve ever known. She doesn’t take any prisoners. She wouldn’t spend hours trying to butter up some foreign dignitary. She’d tell them exactly what she expected of them and then move on to dessert.’ He tapped his fingers on the table and stared up to the left for a second. ‘It’s almost like you picked the person least like your mother in the whole world. Except for looks, of course. Your mother was probably born knowing she’d one day be Queen. I bet even as a child Sienna never played dress-up princesses or looked for a prince. She’d have been too busy setting up her dolls’ hospital.’
Sebastian had been about to interrupt, instead he took a breath. Oliver had absolutely nailed it.
Sienna was a career woman. His mother had always taken a back seat to his father in every way.
Sienna hadn’t been scared to shout at him. He’d never heard his mother raise her voice in her life.
Sienna hadn’t been afraid to be bold and take him up on his proposition. Her comment How about you listen to it all night instead? had haunted his dreams in every erotic way possible. His mother would have a heart attack if she ever knew.
Just as well Sienna was a doctor really.
The reality of his future life was starting to crash all around him. Sebastian didn’t panic. He’d never panicked. But he felt wary. If he didn’t handle things well this could be a disaster.
Could Sienna McDonald really be the future Queen of Montanari?
He leaned back and folded his arms. ‘She’s the mother of my child. Montanari needs an heir. It’s my duty to marry her.’
Oliver raised his eyebrows. ‘Please tell me you didn’t just say that?’
When Sebastian didn’t answer right away, Oliver shook his head. ‘More importantly, please tell me you didn’t say that to Sienna?’
Sebastian ignored the comment. ‘Montanari needs change. Sienna will be just the breath of fresh air it needs. Who couldn’t love her? She’s a neonatal surgeon. She eats, breathes and sleeps her job. People will admire her intelligence. They’ll admire her dedication. I know I do.’
Oliver started tapping his fingers on the table again. ‘And what does Sienna have to say about all this?’
He was good. He was too good. He clearly knew Sienna well.
‘Let’s just say that Sienna and I are a work in progress.’
Oliver let out something resembling a snort. He stood up again. ‘You’re my oldest friend, Sebastian, but I’m telling you right now, I’m not choosing sides. She’s one of my best doctors. Upset her and you’ll upset me.’ He gave a little shudder. ‘She’ll kill me when she finds out it was me that told you.’ He leaned against the wall for a second. ‘Why didn’t she tell you herself?’
Sebastian shrugged slightly. ‘Timing, she says. I’d just got engaged.’
Oliver rolled his eyes then narrowed them again. ‘And why didn’t you tell me that you’d got in a compromising position with one of my doctors?’ He wagged his finger at Sebastian. ‘Can’t trust you for two minutes. I’ll need to rethink this whole hospital-twinning thing. Can’t have us sending all our doctors over there to get seduced by Montanari men—royal or not.’
Sebastian stood up. ‘I have a baby on the way. My priorities have changed.’ He headed to the door. ‘I’ll see you at the board meeting tomorrow—and for the press announcement.’
Oliver gave a nod. He tipped his head to one side. ‘So, what’s your next plan?’
Sebastian shot him a wide smile. ‘Charm. Why else be a prince?’
* * *
Sienna stuck her head outside the doors to the paediatric ICU, then ducked back inside, keeping her nose pressed against the glass. The tinsel taped to the window tickled her nose and partially blocked her view.
‘What are you doing?’ asked an amused Charlie Warren, one of her OBGYN colleagues.
‘I’d have thought that was clear. I’m hiding.’ Her ever-expanding belly was stopping her from getting a clear view.
Charlie laughed. ‘And who are you hiding from?’
‘You know. Him.’
‘Him, who?’
Sienna sighed and turned around, leaning back against the door.
‘Sebastian.’
Charlie nodded slowly. ‘Ah...now I see.’
Sienna brushed a lock of loose hair out of her eyes. ‘I see the Teddy’s super-speed grapevine is working as well as ever. He’s been here less than twenty-four hours.’
Charlie leaned against the door with her and gave her a knowing smile.
‘What are you grinning at?’ she half snapped.
She’d always liked Charlie. They got on well. All her colleagues had been so supportive of her pregnancy. She stared at him again.
‘There’s something different about you.’
‘There is? What?’ He had a dopey kind of grin on his face.
She pointed. ‘That. You’ve got the same look that Oliver is wearing.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
She poked her finger in his chest. ‘Oh, yes, you do. What’s her name?’
She was definitely curious. She’d spent the last week so wrapped up with preparations for Christmas and trying to keep her energy up that she’d obviously missed something important. Charlie was a widower. For as long as she’d known him there had been veiled shadows behind his eyes.
They were gone now. And it made her heart sing a little to see that.
He gave her a sheepish smile. ‘It’s Juliet.’
Sienna’s mouth dropped open. ‘No.’ Then she couldn’t help but grin. ‘Really?’ She got on well with the Aussie surgeon who’d performed in-utero surgery to save the life of a quad born at Teddy’s last week.
His smile said it all. ‘Really.’
She leaned against the door again. ‘Oh, wow.’ She flicked her hair back. It was really beginning to annoy her. ‘First Oliver and now you. Lovesick people are falling all over the place.’ She gave him a wicked glare. ‘Better phone Public Health, it looks like we’ve got an infectious disease here.’
He nodded. ‘Don’t forget Max and Annabelle. This thing is spreading faster than that winter virus.’ He gave her a cheeky wink. ‘And from what I saw this morning at breakfast, others might eventually succumb.’
Heat rushed into her cheeks. She’d come in early this morning and walked along to the canteen for breakfast. She’d barely sat down before Sebastian had ambushed her and sat down at the other side of the table with coffee, toast and eggs.
It had been excruciating. She could sense every eye in the canteen on them both and it had been as quick as she could bolt down her porridge and hurry out of there.
Normally she loved breakfast in the canteen at Christmas time. Christmas pop tunes were always playing and the menu food got new names like Rudolph’s raisin pancakes or Santa’s scrumptious scrambled egg.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said defensively to Charlie, who was obviously trying to wind her up.
He laughed as he pulled open the door and looked out for a second. ‘He seems like a nice guy. Maybe you should give him a chance.’
She laid her hand on her large stomach. ‘Oh, I think it’s pretty obvious I’ve already given him a chance.’
He just kept laughing. ‘Well, he’s on the charm offensive. And he’s winning. Everyone that’s met him thinks he’s one version of wonderful or another. Including Juliet’s daughter.’
‘He’s met her daughter?’
Charlie nodded. ‘She loves him already. He gave her some kind of doll that the little girls in Montanari love. A special Christmas one with a red and green dress. She was over the moon.’
Sienna wrinkled her nose. ‘You shouldn’t let her speak to strangers.’
Something flashed over Charlie’s face. ‘If I didn’t know any better, Sienna, I’d think you were a woman reaching that crabby stage just before she delivers.’
She shook her head fiercely and patted her stomach. ‘Oh, no. No way. I’ve got just under six weeks. This baby is not coming out before then.’
‘If you say so.’ Charlie stuck his head out of the door again. ‘Okay, you can go. The coast is clear. Just remember to be on your best behaviour.’ He held the door before her as she rushed outside. ‘And just remember... I recognise the signs.’
* * *
The coast wasn’t clear at all.
Sebastian was waiting outside the unit, leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
‘I’m going to kill Charlie with my bare hands,’ she muttered.
It didn’t help that he was looking even sexier than before. When he’d joined her this morning at breakfast he’d been wearing a suit and tie. Something to do with a business meeting. She hadn’t really been paying attention.
Now, he’d changed into jeans, a leather jacket and a slim-fitting black T-shirt. His hair was speckled with flecks of snow.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked as she made her best attempt to sweep past.
Sebastian was having none of it. He fell into step beside her. ‘Waiting for you.’
She stopped walking and turned to face him. She wanted to be angry with him. She wanted to be annoyed. But he had that look on his face, that hint of cheek. He was deliberately taunting her. They’d spent most of the weekend in Montanari batting smart comments back and forth. This felt more like sun-blessed Montanari than the snow-dusted Cotswolds.
She stifled her smile. ‘This better not get to be a habit. I’m busy, Seb. I’m at work.’
His grin broadened and she realised her error. She’d called him Seb again.
‘When do you finish work?’
‘Why?’
‘You know why. I’d like us to talk—have dinner maybe. Do something together.’
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He shifted a little on his feet but ignored it.
‘Aren’t you going to get that?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m busy.’
‘How long—exactly—have you been standing out here?’
He smiled. ‘Around two hours.’ He lifted one hand and shrugged. ‘But it’s fine. The people around here are very friendly. They all like to talk.’
‘Talk is exactly what they’ll do. You might be a public figure, Seb, but I’m not. I’m a pretty private person. I don’t want anyone else knowing about our baby.’
The look on his face was so surprised that she realised he hadn’t even considered that.
How far apart were they? Had he not even considered that might put her under stress? Not exactly ideal for a pregnant woman.
And it didn’t help that wherever Seb was, men in black were permanently hovering in the background.
He’d already made the assumption that she would want to marry him. Maybe he also thought she would be fine about having their baby in the public eye?
Oh, no.
She gave a sway.
‘Sienna? What’s wrong? Are you okay?’
He moved right in front of her, catching both her arms with his firm hands. He was close enough for her to see the tiny lines around his eyes and the little flecks in his forest-green eyes.
‘You’re a prince,’ she breathed slowly.
He blinked. There was a look of amusement on his face. ‘I’m a prince,’ he confirmed in a whisper.
‘I slept with a prince.’ It was almost as if she were talking to herself. She knew all this. None of it was a surprise. But all of a sudden things were sinking in fast.
Before, Sebastian Falco hadn’t featured in her life. Apart from the telltale parting gift that he’d left her, there was really no sign of any connection between them. No one knew about their weekend together. No one knew that they’d even met.
When she’d come back, it was clear that even though Oliver was Sebastian’s friend, he’d had no idea about their relationship.
That was the way things were supposed to be. Even though, in her head, she’d known she should tell Seb about the baby, once the engagement was announced she’d pushed those thoughts away.
She’d pushed all memories of Sebastian and their time together—the touch of his hands on her skin, the taste of his lips on hers—away into that castle of his that she’d never seen.
A castle. The man lived in a castle. Not in the mountain retreat he’d taken her to. Her stomach gave a little flip as she wondered once more how many other women had been there.
‘Sienna, honey? Are you okay? Do you want to sit down?’
Honey. He’d just called her honey as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do.
He wanted them to get married. A prince wanted to marry her.
Most women would be happy. Most women would be delighted.
Marry a prince. Live in a castle. Wasn’t that the basis of every little girl’s favourite fairy tale?
Not hers.
She wasn’t a Cinderella kind of girl. Well, maybe just a little bit.
She definitely wasn’t Rapunzel. She didn’t need any guy to save her.
And she so wasn’t Sleeping Beauty. She’d never spend her life lying about.
She looked around. They were three floors up. The glass atrium dome above them and the Christmas decorations directly underneath them. People flowed all around them. The Royal Cheltenham Hospital was world renowned. People begged to work here. Posts were fiercely contested. Three other surgeons she respected and admired had interviewed for the job that she’d been appointed to.
That had been the best call of her life.
She sucked in a breath. Teddy’s was her life.
She loved her job, loved the kids, loved the surgeries and loved the people.
A gust of icy wind blew up through the open doors downstairs. The chill felt appropriate.
The kids’ book character in front of her right now was threatening all that.
Would she really get any peace once people found out her child was the heir of Montanari?
Her hands went protectively to her stomach. ‘What happens once he or she arrives?’
He looked confused. ‘What do you mean?’
So much was spinning around in her head that the words stuck in her throat. After her childhood experiences she’d always vowed to be in charge of her own life, her own relationships and her own destiny.
Finding out she was pregnant had only made her sway for a second or two, then it had just put a new edge to her determination to get things right.
She’d made so many plans this Christmas—almost as if she were trying to keep herself busy. Carolling. Helping on the children’s ward. Wrapping presents for army troops stationed away from home. Oh, her house was decorated as usual, and she opened the doors on her advent calendar every day. But she’d pictured spending this Christmas alone so was scheduled to be working over the holiday. She hadn’t counted on Sebastian being around.
Seb was still standing straight in front of her, looking at her with concern in his eyes. He reached up and brushed her cheek with the gentlest of touches—the most tender of touches. It sent a whole host of memories flooding through her.
Seb. The man she’d shared a bed with. The man who kissed like no other. The man she’d thought was someone else entirely.
The man who’d thought he could walk in here and sweep her off her feet.
She shivered. She actually shivered.
‘What are the rules in Montanari? Did you propose to me because an illegitimate child can’t inherit the throne?’
He shook his head. ‘No. No, of course I didn’t. And no. There’s no rules like that in Montanari. I’m the heir to the throne, and my firstborn son, or firstborn daughter, will be the heir to the throne once I’m King.’ He gave an almost indiscernible shake of his head. ‘But let’s face it, it would be much better if we were married.’
‘Better for who?’
He held up his hands, but she wasn’t watching his hands, she was watching his face.
‘Better for everyone. I have a duty—a duty to my people and my country. I want to introduce our son or daughter as the heir to the throne.’ His gaze softened. ‘And I’d like to introduce you as my wife.’
She had an instant dual flashback. One part caused by his word ‘duty’. An instant memory of just exactly how both her parents had felt about their ‘duty’ and the look of absolute relief on her father’s face as he’d packed his bags and left. The second part was caused by the first. A memory from months ago—those first few weeks when apparent morning sickness had struck at any second of the day or night. She wanted to be sick right here, right now. Right over his brown boots.
Duty. A word that seemed to have an absolute chilling effect that penetrated right down to her soul. Every time she heard people use the word in everyday life she had to try and hold back her instant response—an involuntary shudder.
Her insides were curled in knots. He’d just told her he wanted to marry her—again.
But not for the right reasons.
It didn’t matter that her back had ached these last few days, she drew herself up to her full height and looked him straight in the eye.
It was almost like putting blinkers on. She wouldn’t let those forest-green eyes affect her in the way they had before.
‘I have a duty. To myself and to my child. We aren’t your duty. We belong to ourselves. No one else. Not you. Not your parents. Not your people. I spent my childhood watching two people who should have never got together barely tolerate each other.’ Fire was starting to burn inside her. ‘What did you get for your eighteenth birthday present, Sebastian?’
The question caught him unawares. He stumbled around for the answer. ‘A car, I think. Or a watch.’
‘Well, good for you. Do you know what I got? I got my father packing his bags and leaving. But that didn’t hurt nearly as much as the look of complete relief on his face. As for my mother? Two months later she moved to Portugal and found herself a toy boy. I can honestly say I’ve never seen her happier.’ She pressed her hand to her chest. ‘I did that to them, Sebastian. I made two people who shouldn’t have been together spend eighteen years in what must have been purgatory for them.’ She shook her head fiercely. ‘I will never, ever do that to a child of mine.’
Sebastian pulled back. He actually pulled back a little.
She’d done it again. Twice, in the space of two days, she’d raised her voice to Sebastian in a public place. Perfect. The talk of the steamie again.
But she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t finished.
There was no way Mr Fancy-Watches-For-His-Birthday could sweep in here and be part of her and her baby’s life.
While she might have had a few little day dreams about the guy who was engaged to someone else, her reality plans had been way, way different.
This was why she’d negotiated new hours for the job she loved. This was why she’d visited four different nurseries and interviewed six potential childminders. This was why she’d spoken to her friend Bonnie—a fellow Scot who’d transported to Cambridge—on a number of occasions about how best to handle being a single mum.
This man was messing with her mind. Messing with her plans.
She didn’t need this now. She really didn’t.
She held up her hand. She knew exactly how to get rid of him. And not a single word would be a lie.
‘I don’t want this, Sebastian. This isn’t my life. This isn’t my dream. I will never, ever marry a man out of duty.’ She almost spat out the word.
She lifted her hands towards the snow-topped atrium. ‘When, and if, I ever get married, I’ll get married to the man I love with all my heart. The man I couldn’t bear to spend a single day without in my life. The man who would walk in front of a speeding train for me or my child without a single thought for himself—just like I would for him.’ She took a few steps away from him. She was aware that a few people had stopped conversations around them to listen but she was past the point of caring.
‘You don’t know me, Sebastian. I want the whole hog. I want everything. And this, what you’re offering? It doesn’t even come close. I want a man who loves and adores me, who will walk by my side no matter what direction I take. I want a man who can take my breath away with a single look, a single touch.’
She could see him flinch. It didn’t matter she was being unfair. Sebastian had taken more than her breath away with his looks and touches, but he didn’t need to know that, not right now.
‘I want a husband who will be proud of me and my career. Who won’t care that I’m on call and he might need to reorganise his life around me. Who’ll help around the house and not expect a wife who’ll cook him dinner. Public Health may well have to do investigations into my cooking skills.’
She was enjoying herself now, taking it too far. But he had to know. He had to know just how fast to run.
‘I will never accept anything less. I’ve been the child of a duty marriage. I would never, ever do that to my child. It’s a form of torture. Growing up feeling guilty? It’s awful.’ She pressed her hands on her stomach again. ‘My child—’ she emphasised the word ‘—is going to grow up feeling loved, blessed and, above all, wanted. By me, at least. There will be rules. There will be discipline. But most of all, there will be love.’
She walked back up to stand right in front of him. ‘Whoever loves me will know how much I love Christmas, will want to celebrate it with me every year. Will know the songs I love, the crazy carols I love to sing. They won’t care that I spend hours wrapping presents that are opened in seconds, they won’t care that I buy more Christmas decorations than there is space for on the tree, they won’t care that I have to have a special kind of cake every Christmas Eve and spend a fortune trying to find it. They’ll know that I would only ever get married at Christmas. They would never even suggest anything else.’
She took a deep breath and finally looked at him—really looked at him.
Yip, she’d done it. He looked as if she’d just run over him with an Edinburgh tram. This time she lowered her voice. ‘You might be a prince. You might have a castle. But I want the fairy tale. And you can’t give it to me.’
And with that, she turned and walked away.
