Their One-Night Twin Surprise

by Karin Baine

  At least, she used to hate it. In the five years of working together it had grown on her and she’d missed it of late when things between them had become awkward, to say the least. Things weren’t going to get any easier between them once he heard her news.

  They’d both been hurt by people who’d purported to love them. Cal’s pregnant fiancée, Janet, had run out on him with the man who was apparently the real father of the baby she was carrying, leaving double the void in his life and double the hurt.

  Izzy knew the heart-stabbing pain of betrayal, thanks to Gerry, the man she’d thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. She’d put all her hopes and dreams into their relationship, believing he was the one who was going to give her the family and stability she’d never had growing up in the foster system, only to have everything cruelly snatched away from her when he’d been killed in a motorcycle accident.

  The only thing worse than losing someone she loved had been discovering he hadn’t been who she’d thought he was at all. A parade of nefarious debt collectors and loan sharks who’d bankrolled a gambling addiction she’d been oblivious to and a bank account emptied as a result of his addiction had merely fuelled the notion that she would never have anyone in her life who loved her unconditionally. The realisation that had sent her running to the one person in her life she knew she could trust.

  In Cal she’d found a kindred, wounded soul and she’d needed him to comfort her. They’d shared that one incredible night together but they both knew it could never be more than that when they were too raw to even think of getting involved in any sort of relationship. It was difficult enough going back to work as though nothing had happened between them when every erotic memory of sharing his bed was still so vivid in her mind.

  And that one night of seeking solace in Cal’s arms had ended in the life-changing consequences she was yet to tell him about. She didn’t know how he was going to react to the news he was going to become a father so soon after his break-up and, to be truthful, she didn’t want to lose his friendship if he resented the fact she was pregnant with his baby instead of Janet.

  ‘I’m perfectly fine,’ she bristled, as they ducked under the still spinning blades of the air ambulance.

  This pregnancy might have come as a shock, but she wasn’t going to let it get in the way of doing her job. The time would come soon enough when her bump would encroach on the limited space inside the chopper and prevent her from being as physically involved in the rescues as she was used to. At which point in time she’d probably have to become more involved in ground operations and hospital transfers, but not before then.

  She was sure the odd bout of nausea would pass soon now she was reaching the end of her first trimester. Although she’d been unaware of the little person growing inside her belly for most of that time. Since she and Cal had agreed to put their indiscretion behind them, it hadn’t entered her head that she might be pregnant and had blamed the stress of finding out about Gerry’s secret vice as the cause for her missed period. Now everything was going to change between them.

  Those tears, which never seemed far away, blurred her vision once more and she rested her hand on the slight swell of her belly to reassure her little bean it still had her, even if Cal decided he didn’t want to be involved. She needed to confide in someone and the closest she had to family was Helen, her childhood friend and the only person she’d had growing up who had seemed to genuinely care for her.

  Helen still lived in the Donegal area, where Izzy had spent the last of her teenage years before moving to Belfast to study nursing. She was a shoulder for Izzy to lean on when she needed one and though there was a vast geographical distance between them, hearing her voice would be enough to comfort her. Once she got over the shock herself, Izzy resolved to make that phone call. There was just one other person she had to inform first.

  ‘Seriously, though, are you sure you’re all right?’ Cal stepped closer, his frown wiping away all traces of joviality, his pale blue eyes full of concern.

  Izzy dropped her hand, so he wouldn’t guess her secret.

  ‘Low blood sugar, I expect. I haven’t eaten all day.’ A complete lie. Her blood was probably ninety per cent sugar due to the number of biscuits she’d been wolfing down lately.

  ‘Why didn’t you say? I’m sure we can do better than a cup of tea and a stale bun in the canteen. After what we’ve just been through we could probably do with something a lot stronger. Pub?’ He began to unzip his bright orange flight suit and let the sleeves drop to his waist, revealing the lean frame encased in a tight black T-shirt beneath the bulky protective layers.

  Izzy told herself it was pregnancy hormones making it impossible for her to drag her eyes away. That was the bonus side of her condition, being able to blame recent impulses, including an apparent spike in her libido, on the changes going on inside her body. Although her intimate knowledge of that hard body and the pleasures it could bring a woman was making her temperature rise steadily with every flashback of that night they’d spent together.

  It was a loss to womankind that because one of their sisters had been blind to what a great man he was, all the rest would be denied the privilege of getting close to him. Except her, of course, but then they’d agreed it would never happen again, no matter how physically compatible they’d turned out to be. It was ironic that they hadn’t wanted to complicate their relationship by getting romantically involved when they were now going to be tied together for the rest of their lives.

  Izzy watched him climb out of his suit and flash her that cheeky grin of his.

  ‘Enjoying the view?’

  ‘You wish,’ she shot back with just as much sarcasm before he realised how true his observation had been.

  Given the physical nature of their work, it was important to keep up their fitness levels, but Cal was the type who could never sit still anyway. His trim, nicely muscled physique wasn’t the result of hours spent at the gym. He wasn’t the slightest bit vain enough to spend time staring at himself in the mirror whilst he hoisted weights. No, this perfect specimen of the male anatomy was a pleasant result of his busy life as a doctor in the field and the manual labour he did in his vast garden in his spare time.

  She shivered as some particularly erotic memories sprang to mind of this handsome man with his tan, sun-bleached mop of hair and that mischievous glint in his eye, lying naked next to her.

  ‘Are you sure you’re all right? You’ve got that hungry look in your eyes again.’

  Izzy blinked away inappropriate thoughts and images of her colleague, her friend, and the one constant she’d had in her life here in Belfast before she’d screwed up and potentially lost him for ever too.

  ‘Just starved.’ Apparently for more than food. Not that he’d ever shown any interest in her as a woman apart from as another one of his mates until that night.

  It hadn’t been planned. Izzy had just needed to be with someone who cared about her. Through the tears and shared stories of heartbreak they’d found themselves kissing and searching for some feeling of peace. She didn’t regret anything. It had been a beautifully raw expression of their affection and compassion for one another. They simply should have taken adequate precautions for their evening as friends with benefits.

  ‘Let me get the paperwork out of the way and we’ll head to the pub before you get hangry. I know what you’re like when you’re so hungry you turn into a red-headed hulk.’

  If she’d had any doubts that he only saw her as a mate, they vanished. She was so completely friend zoned he didn’t expect her to take offence at that comment.

  ‘Do not,’ she huffed, regardless she knew very well her fiery temper reached boiling point when there was a lack of food close to hand. He hadn’t drawn a pretty picture of her when she’d created a sexy centrefold out of him. ‘I’m not keen on the pub idea either.’

  She worried he’d be suspicious if she sat i
n the bar nursing an orange juice instead of her usual glass of wine.

  ‘Dinner at that new Italian place, then? Although it’ll probably mean having to go home and get changed first. I’m not sure sweaty work clothes will fit their dress code.’ He was being unnecessarily concerned. Cal always managed to smell amazing no matter how stressful their shift proved or how energetic he’d been.

  ‘Hmm, I fancy something stodgy and greasy.’ She didn’t.

  ‘I’ll die of starvation if you make me go home first.’ She wouldn’t. However, if they went to that posh place and Cal changed the habit of a lifetime by not offering to pay the entire bill she’d be mortified because she couldn’t afford it.

  Even before she’d discovered there’d be a new mouth to feed in the future, she’d been struggling to cover the bills. Gerry had never officially moved in, but he’d used her place as a base when not travelling around the country as a pharmaceutical rep. It wasn’t that she was missing his financial contributions to household expenses, quite the opposite. He was the reason she had no savings left to furnish her nest now.

  She’d invited him into her heart and her home without the knowledge of his gambling habits. Gerry had had no family or friends either to call on for help and the cost of his funeral on top of his other financial mismanagement meant money was tight for her and nothing short of a miracle would change that now. Wages would have to stretch as far as possible and that would mean cutting back on luxuries like fancy Italian restaurants or any sort of social life.

  Izzy should have known better than to think she was sitting pretty at any stage of her life and keep herself protected. Being a kid bounced around the care system had taught her never to rely on anyone except herself and never to let her guard down. Once too often she’d imagined she’d found her forever home, only to be returned like an ill-fitting shirt. Too young, too old, too opinionated, too red, she’d been a nineties Anne Shirley, without the lovable Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert giving her a happy ending at Green Gables.

  Meals and board had been provided along with whatever basic material possessions she’d needed, but that all-important element had been missing, as it had for most of her life. Love wasn’t something given or received easily for her, even with Gerry.

  It had been a slow burn for them but eventually she’d learned to trust, to open up her heart and believe him when he’d promised her a future and a family together.

  Even though Cal knew about Gerry’s betrayal since it was the reason she’d been driven to his arms, the extent of her financial struggles was another secret she was keeping from someone she considered a friend. With good reason. He’d insist on riding in on his white steed, waving his fat wallet, to save her and she wasn’t going to be indebted to him or anyone else. She had to get used to managing on her own when she had errands to run or do the night feeds when she was exhausted beyond belief. The stakes were too high now for her to let anyone into that armoured heart again.

  ‘The “caff” it is, then.’ Cal took the lead from Izzy’s clues as to what she could afford, not necessarily what she craved. Which, at this moment, didn’t go beyond a chance to kick off her shoes and sit down with a cup of builder’s tea.

  * * *

  ‘Do you think they’re going to be okay?’ Izzy cradled the chipped mug in her hands, drawing comfort from the heat as a chill fluttered over her skin.

  ‘Who?’ Cal sawed off another chunk of sausage and popped it into his mouth. It had become a tradition to go for a meal when their shift had ended. Not only because they’d worked up an appetite, but they needed that time to come down from the adrenaline high and process what they’d gone through at the scene of whatever medical emergency they’d just attended.

  ‘Tara Macready and her baby—you know, the woman we just saved.’ She set her tea down and poked the sausage and bacon on her plate with a fork. A fry-up was the standard fare in this particular establishment, but the smell of grease was making her feel queasy again. Rather than make him suspicious she’d ordered her usual, but she’d only managed to nibble at the toast so far.

  ‘We did our best and they’re in the best place to recover.’ Cal carried on eating, but the image of the blood and knowledge of Tara’s condition wouldn’t leave her. Most people probably wouldn’t have realised she was pregnant, but Izzy would’ve noticed even if it hadn’t been in her notes. These days she was aware of every new change in her body and she’d recognised Tara had the same slightly swollen belly as she did.

  This kind of accident wasn’t an unusual sight, given the nature of their work, and it was vital they kept a certain detachment when attending these scenes. They weren’t supposed to take the emotional trauma home with them and usually she didn’t, other than a phone call to check up on a patient’s progress.

  This one was different as it was a mother and her unborn child in jeopardy. Perhaps they’d all be different now she was going to be a mother herself. The idea of setting off in the helicopter alone was making her question her own mortality these days. Until now she’d never worried about her own safety up there, but in the not-too-distant future she was going to have someone depending on her coming home from work day after day.

  The sound of cutlery clattering onto the plate made her jump and the touch of Cal’s hand as he settled it on hers didn’t help soothe her nerves.

  ‘They would never have made it at all if they’d gone by road and she might lose the use of her hand but they’re still alive. Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on in that head of yours today? You’re not yourself at all.’ It wasn’t that Cal didn’t have sympathy for them, but he knew, as well as she did, that they had to do their job and move onto the next one without looking back in case it affected future call-outs.

  That had taken some getting used to, although she’d had years of experience as a nurse in A and E. Cal too, a consultant in emergency medicine, had found those first cases difficult to walk away from at the hospital doors. They’d often talked into the wee hours about their day, much to his fiancée’s annoyance.

  These pregnancy hormones were making her feel as though she’d taken a step back, seeing everything in a new, terrifying light. Not that she had any intention of giving up her job. She loved being part of the team being whisked up into the air at a moment’s notice to save people in trouble. This was simply a blip and one she couldn’t wait to get over, along with this nausea.

  ‘Sorry. I’m not the best company at the minute.’

  He squeezed her hand. ‘You know I’m here for you anytime.’

  His misplaced concern caused her eyes to prickle with tears. Recently she’d suspected her eyeballs had been replaced by tiny hedgehogs, that was happening so often. He was so considerate it pained her, knowing she was about to turn his world on its head again.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, withdrawing her hand from the safety of his. It wasn’t going to do her any good to expect Cal to prop her up every time she had a wobble, no matter how comforting it was. They hadn’t planned this baby and whilst she was reconciled some way to the idea of becoming a parent there was no guarantee he would. There was every chance she would end up raising their child alone and she was fine with that. If that’s what Cal wanted.

  ‘Perhaps you came back too early—you know, after Gerry,’ he said softly with some hesitation, and she knew he was half expecting her to kick off at the suggestion. Which she usually did when anyone tried to tell her what to do, thinking they knew her better than she knew herself.

  She didn’t agree with him on this occasion either but she’d no other way to explain her current mood without spilling the beans about the baby.

  ‘You could be right.’ She pushed her plate away before she vomited.

  * * *

  Now Cal knew something really was wrong with Izzy. She usually fought him over the smallest difference of opinion, so daring to suggest something as huge as she’d returned to work too so
on warranted all-out war.

  Between that and her roller-coaster appetite he was beginning to worry about her. One minute she was eating everything in sight, including his emergency chocolate stash he kept for those occasions they didn’t have time for a meal break. The next she was sitting staring at her rejected fry-up as though she was about to burst into tears at any second.

  He hadn’t noticed until today how emotional she’d become, having taken her stoicism and ability to bounce back from any eventuality for granted. Caught up in the sorrow of his own break-up, he hadn’t seen past the front she’d been putting on since Gerry had died, accepting her assurances she was fine too easily. Probably because he didn’t want to over-analyse what had happened between them that night when she’d come to his place in a state about Gerry.

  He’d been committed to his relationship with Janet, even if she hadn’t considered it a priority, but when Izzy had come to him seeking support and comfort, any thoughts of his ex had been obliterated by his all-consuming need for her. Once he’d tasted desire on her lips, all those suppressed feelings he’d apparently been harbouring for her had been tangled in there right along with their limbs and tongues. He never considered that she might’ve been down in those depths of despair all this time.

  Yes, Janet had betrayed him in the worst possible way, stringing him along with that dream of his happy family, only to snatch it away for ever. It had been partly his fault, so desperate to set up a loving home like the one he’d grown up in he’d clung onto the wrong person, ignoring all her flaws in favour of the family he’d envisaged having with her. Now he was worried he’d taken advantage of Izzy when she was obviously still emotionally vulnerable.

  They’d been close for years and that bond had irritated their partners at times, but they’d only crossed the line that night when their relationships had forcibly ended. Ever since they’d fallen into bed together he’d found it difficult to rein those feelings back in and pretend nothing had happened. They’d agreed that was the best course of action, but it was impossible to put their indiscretion completely out of his head when he saw her every day and was reminded how incredible that time together had been. As though they’d finally stopped pretending their chemistry was nothing more than camaraderie and had expressed their feelings for one another physically.