The Baby of Their Dreams (Contemporary Medical Romance)

by Carol Marinelli

  ‘So you’re planning to have your house on the market, find another one and move, all with a new baby?’

  ‘It’s a baby,’ Cat said. ‘I’m not going to be working...’ She let out a sigh. ‘I haven’t got a clue, have I?’

  ‘Well, if anyone could do it all, then it would be you,’ Gemma said. ‘Though I just can’t imagine how I’d have managed when the twins were tiny. Just having people viewing the house when you’re trying to feed or you’ve just got...’ Gemma hesitated ‘...it off to sleep...’

  ‘You were about to say him.’ Cat smiled.

  ‘No, I wasn’t,’ Gemma refuted. ‘What I’m actually trying to say is that I wouldn’t count on getting too much done during those six months of maternity leave. It’s isn’t an extended holiday, Cat. If you are considering moving to somewhere bigger, it might be a good idea to start that ball rolling now...’

  ‘I guess.’ She sighed. ‘Even if the new place does need some work, I could do that while I’m...’ She stopped when she saw Gemma’s small eyebrow rise and then laughed. ‘Okay, I’m going to accept that I have no real idea as to the disruption this small person is going to make to my life when he arrives.’ Cat waited for Gemma to comment but she didn’t. ‘I want to find out what I’m having.’

  ‘Well, then, it’s good that you’ve got an appointment to see me this evening.’

  ‘Gemma!’ Cat protested, because now that she had made up her mind, she wanted to know straight away. ‘Tell me.’

  ‘No, I won’t tell you here and I’m serious about that. We agreed that catch-ups were for friend talk and my office was for official baby talk...’

  ‘Fair enough,’ she grumbled.

  ‘And speaking as a friend and not a doctor, have you—’

  ‘I need to get back,’ Cat interrupted. She didn’t want to get into that conversation with Gemma again, and explain that she still hadn’t spoken with Dominic.

  She knew, though, that she needed to contact him.

  Tonight, she decided, she’d deal with it tonight but almost immediately she changed her mind.

  It was surely better to ring around hospitals during the day. It would sound far more professional to any of his colleagues than calling at night, and she certainly didn’t want to create gossip for him.

  Gemma started to head to Outpatients, where she was holding antenatal clinics all day, and Cat would be her last patient. ‘I’ll see you at five. Hopefully I shan’t be running late. Come and have dinner after,’ she suggested. ‘We might even make it in time to see the twins before they go down for the night.’

  ‘I’d love that. I honestly don’t know how you do it,’ Cat admitted. ‘Do you feel like you’re missing out?’

  ‘Sometimes.’ Gemma nodded. ‘I worry more, though, that they’re missing out on me and so I completely overcompensate when I do see them and rot up all of Nigel’s routines. I know I’m lucky, though. I don’t have to worry about them while I’m here and I can concentrate on work, knowing that they’re at home with their dad.’ She gave her friend a smile. ‘You need your own Nigel.’

  Cat smiled back but the thing was, she didn’t want her own Nigel.

  She wanted...Cat halted her thoughts right there. Dominic wasn’t the man she thought she had met. And even if he was, it was supposed to have been a one-night stand. He had said to her face that he didn’t want to be tied to any one person or place. She couldn’t really imagine his reaction when he found out that she was having his baby.

  She didn’t want his reaction.

  Cat slowed down her walking. There was a flutter of panic in her chest as she remembered her last pregnancy and the disappointment of Thomas’s father, the silent suggestion of blame for daring to mess up his perfect life.

  She didn’t want that for herself again and she couldn’t stand it for her baby.

  Yet she had to.

  She was tired of the guilt that came with putting it off and she decided that, bar an emergency coming into the department, she wasn’t leaving her office until she had found out where he was working and had contacted him.

  Did she tell him outright? Cat wondered.

  Suggest that they meet?

  So deep in her thoughts was she that at first she didn’t notice the tall suited man walking alongside Andrew.

  He noticed her, though.

  In fact, at first sight she barely looked pregnant.

  She was wearing a tight dress and high boots and looked somehow sexy and elegant but then she turned to speak with one of the nurses and he saw the tight, round swell of her stomach and, attempting a detached professional guess, he would put her at...

  Yes, there was something that they needed to discuss. That was why he was here after all.

  He watched as she turned from the conversation she was having and startled as she glanced towards him, but then she gave a small shake of her head and strode on.

  Then she looked over towards him again and he watched as not only did her face pale but she stood frozen to the spot.

  Frozen.

  For a foolish moment Cat considered darting into a cubicle—it would be a futile game of hide-and-seek, though, because it would appear that she’d already been found.

  And so, as Andrew called her over, somehow she did her best to pretend that the walls of the emergency department weren’t shaking and that the ground wasn’t opening up between her feet.

  She walked towards him.

  Dominic.

  Her one-night stand.

  The father of her child.

  ‘Cat.’ Andrew beamed. ‘Did you have nice days off?’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘Excellent! I tried not to worry you, but on Friday one of the job share applicants pulled out and the other wasn’t interested in pursuing the position if she couldn’t be guaranteed regular part-time hours.’

  ‘I see,’ Cat said, even though she didn’t.

  ‘I’ve still got two more interviews to complete,’ Andrew went on, although Cat knew those two were really more of a formality and would be a rather poor choice. ‘However,’ Andrew said, ‘we had a late applicant. Cat, this is Dominic Edwards. He’s been working in Scotland for the last two years but we’re hoping to lure him back south of the border.’

  For now, Cat knew, she would simply have to go along with the polite small talk. Whatever the reason Dominic was here, whatever the outcome when she told him her news, at the first opportunity she would have a quiet word with Andrew. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to reveal to her colleague that Dominic was her baby’s father, but if she had to, then she would. There was no way this could happen.

  No way!

  Thankfully there was a call for help from one of the cubicles and Cat was just about to flee in relief and go and assist when Andrew halted her. ‘I’ll go,’ he said. ‘If you could carry on showing Dominic around.’

  ‘I can deal with the patient,’ Cat said. ‘You’re in the middle of conducting an interview.’

  ‘I know, but the patient happens to be my mother-in-law.’ Andrew rolled his eyes. ‘The interview has already been interrupted twice. My apologies again, Dominic...’

  ‘It’s no problem at all,’ Dominic said. ‘Take your time.’

  As Andrew walked off Cat stood there and she truly didn’t know what to say.

  She kept praying that the alarm clock would buzz, or that there would be a knock on the door to the on-call room and she’d find out she was having a bad dream.

  A vaguely sexy bad dream, though, because rather inappropriately, given the circumstances, she couldn’t help but notice how amazing he looked.

  When in Spain, the times that he’d had clothes on, Dominic had dressed smartly, though somewhat more casually than he was now. Today, on a Monday morning, he seemed too beautiful for the rather scruffy
emergency department. Dressed in a dark grey suit and tie, his hair was shorter than she remembered but it still had enough length that it fell forward. Clean shaven, he smelt as he had the last time she had seen him, the moment he had stepped out of the shower.

  The moment she had walked away and he hadn’t stopped her—in fact, he had held the door open.

  And, just like that day, she could feel his contained anger.

  ‘Has the cat got your tongue, Cat?’ he asked as she stood in silence.

  It would seem that it had because still she said nothing.

  ‘Well, I’ll make this very simple for you, then,’ he pushed on. ‘A, B or C?’

  Cat could feel her eyelashes blink rapidly as he sped through the multi-choice he had created just for her.

  ‘A—mine, B—not mine, or C—not sure.’

  ‘Dominic...’ she said, and how strange it felt to be saying his name while looking at him again. How odd it felt that he was here, terribly beautiful, terribly cross. ‘It’s not that simple...’ Cat attempted. But it was to him.

  ‘A, B or C, Cat?’

  She couldn’t meet his eyes as she delivered the answer. ‘A.’

  ‘Mine.’

  Yours.

  His.

  Dominic said nothing at first. He tried to stare her down but she refused to look at him as she now attempted to speak.

  ‘I was going to try to find out where you were working. Today, in fact,’ Cat said.

  ‘I don’t believe you for a moment.’

  She couldn’t blame him for that.

  ‘What time to do you finish work?’ Dominic asked.

  ‘I’ve got plans tonight,’ Cat said to his shoulder, because she still couldn’t meet his eyes.

  ‘Tough,’ he said. ‘Cancel them.’

  ‘I’ve actually got a doctor’s appointment.’

  He hesitated but he refused to be fobbed off. ‘What time is your appointment?’

  ‘Five,’ Cat said. ‘But my obstetrician is a friend of mine and I’m going there for dinner afterwards...’ She was floundering for excuses. She would far prefer to have had this conversation over the phone or via email. There at least she could have hidden from his angry gaze.

  And, yes, he was angry—even if she was doing her best not to see it, she could feel it from his stance and she could hear it in his terse voice.

  ‘I’m quite sure that your obstetrician friend will understand that you can’t make dinner because you’re going to be having a long overdue conversation with your baby’s...’ He halted and glanced over her shoulder, and Cat guessed that Andrew was making his way back.

  ‘Name somewhere,’ Dominic said, ‘and I’ll be there.’

  She hesitated a beat too long for his impatient mood.

  ‘Name somewhere,’ he said again, ‘or I’ll just keep right on talking until you do and your boss will quickly realise that I have a rather vested interest in this maternity leave position.’

  ‘Oliver’s,’ Cat said, referring to a small wine bar that a lot of staff at the hospital frequented. ‘It’s just down the—’

  ‘I’m sure that I’m capable of working it out.’

  The conversation ended as Andrew joined them again.

  ‘How’s your mother-in-law?’ Dominic asked politely.

  ‘Thankfully, she’s about to head off to the ward.’ Andrew gave a sigh of relief. ‘Would you like to come and take a look at the radiology department, Dominic?’

  ‘I’d love to,’ he said, and then he addressed Cat. ‘It was nice to meet you.’

  ‘And you.’ She gave him a tight smile.

  For the next couple of hours Dominic remained in the department, being shown around, observing a clinic and being introduced to staff. It was clear to Cat that Andrew had decided that he had the role.

  She was busy enough to avoid him and Dominic seemed fine with that for he made no attempt to catch her eye or talk.

  He did let her know, though, when he was leaving. She was sitting on a high stool, trying to write up some notes, but had just put her hands on her hips to curve her aching back and stretch it when he came in.

  ‘I’m heading off,’ he said, and Cat glanced around and saw that they were alone.

  ‘You don’t have to tell me your movements,’ she responded in a very crisp voice. Now that the shock of seeing him was starting to wear off, her own anger with him was making itself known and she let a little of it out. ‘You knew full well that I worked here. What on earth were you thinking?’

  ‘We’ll speak tonight,’ he said. ‘Take as long as you need for your appointment but don’t even think of not showing up afterwards. I want this sorted before we start working together.’

  ‘Working together?’ she checked. ‘I thought you were applying for the maternity leave position.’

  ‘I am but Andrew mentioned that you were short-staffed and wanted to know how I’d feel about doing a few locum shifts prior to commencing full-time.’

  ‘If you get the job.’

  ‘Why wouldn’t I get it? The interview went very well,’ he said. ‘I happen to be very good at what I do. Andrew seems to think I’d be an asset...’

  He’d be an emotional liability, though, Cat thought. Well, she’d soon see about him working here, she decided as Dominic stalked off, though she didn’t get a chance to speak to Andrew for the rest of the day.

  Instead, she sat in Gemma’s office at a quarter to six, having her blood pressure taken. Given who had just arrived on the scene, neither Gemma nor Cat were surprised to find that it was a smudge high.

  ‘I can’t believe that he’d just show up like that,’ Cat said as her friend undid the cuff.

  ‘Well, I think it’s a good thing that it’s all being brought to a head,’ Gemma said. ‘Go and lie down so I can have a feel.’

  They carried on chatting as Cat did so and she opened up her wrap-over dress.

  ‘Ooh,’ Gemma said as Cat’s stomach danced away while she lay there. ‘Someone’s wide-awake.’

  ‘I just grabbed a glass of orange juice,’ Cat said. ‘I think it’s woken him up.’

  Gemma examined her bump as they chatted and this evening she made an exception to their rule and was both doctor and friend.

  ‘He’s furious.’ Cat sighed.

  ‘Which makes two of you,’ Gemma said. ‘Ask him if he’s told his wife yet! That might knock him off his high horse a touch...’ Then she was kind. ‘Cat, you had many reasons for not telling Dominic. Given all you’ve been through and Mike’s reaction to the bad news, of course you’re protective of this baby...’

  ‘I just wanted to know it was okay before I said anything to Dominic.’ Cat admitted what Gemma already had guessed. ‘Then I wanted to get further along than I had with Thomas...’ She closed her eyes for a moment because tears were on the verge of spilling out. Getting past twenty-five weeks had been a huge milestone. ‘The last few weeks I’ve had no excuse, though.’

  ‘So why didn’t you tell him?’

  ‘It was supposed to be a one-night stand. I don’t want to discuss Thomas with a man I spent one night with. Do you know, I didn’t even particularly like him? I thought he was a bit mean and dismissive.’

  Gemma said nothing.

  ‘Arrogant,’ Cat said. ‘Chauvinist... He wouldn’t let me pay half for dinner.’ She mimicked a deep voice. ‘“Why would you ruin a perfectly good night?” He’s all the things I don’t want in a man.’

  Cat frowned as a blob of warm jelly was squirted onto her stomach. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘An ultrasound.’

  ‘I’m not due for one. Is there a problem?’

  ‘No problem at all,’ Gemma said, ‘I just thought it might be nice for you to have a peek at your gorgeous baby. I’m recording i
t,’ she added. ‘Maybe Dominic might want to see it too.’

  ‘Do you think?’ Cat frowned. She loved having Gemma doing her ultrasounds—all her ultrasounds with Thomas had been fraught affairs. Mike had actually taken the probe out of the radiologist’s hand once in an attempt to take over.

  ‘I think that it might be a very nice olive branch,’ Gemma said. ‘It must be a shock for him and this might help him get used to the idea. When things get tense between the two of you, this might serve as a little reminder that it’s your baby you’re discussing...’

  Cat nodded and looked over at the screen.

  It was a fun ultrasound. Gemma wasn’t taking measurements, just a brief check that all was okay, which it was, and then they took a lovely long look.

  There it was, opening its little mouth like a fish, and it was the most beautiful thing Cat had ever seen. ‘What am I having?’

  ‘You’re sure you want to know?’

  ‘I already know,’ Cat said. ‘I just want to hear it.’

  ‘You’re having a little girl,’ Gemma said, and Cat felt as if the examination couch had dropped from beneath her, a little like turbulence on a plane.

  ‘I was convinced it was a boy!’

  ‘I know that you were,’ Gemma said. ‘She’s beautiful. Look at those cheeks...’

  It felt so different to look at the screen and to know it was her daughter that she was seeing. There she was, wiggling, waving and content in her own little world.

  ‘Happy?’ Gemma asked as Cat lay there.

  Yes, she was dreading facing Dominic, yes, her life had been turned upside down and inside out but ‘happy’ was the right word.

  Here, now, seeing her little girl, Cat was exactly that—happy.

  ‘You’re going to be a brilliant mum,’ Gemma said, ‘and, no matter how awkward things are between you and Dominic, I’m sure that you’ll sort it out as best you can.’

  After Cat had stood up and done up her dress, Gemma handed her the recording of the ultrasound and Cat put it in her bag.

  ‘Good luck.’ Gemma smiled.

  ‘I’ll need it.’ She glanced at the clock. ‘He’s going to think I’ve stood him up.’