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She waited for his answer while silently scolding herself. She needed to get some more imagination if she wanted to win this game.
‘Westerns,’ he said decisively. ‘All that testosterone, horses and guns blazing. Any boy’s dream.’
A testosterone-loving man. She wondered how much she should read into that. ‘My turn this time.’ As they came to an icy puddle on the pavement, he wrapped his arm further around her waist and pulled her towards his hip.
She felt oddly comfortable tucked under his protective hold. She lifted her head as she heard some people pass by on the other side of the street. From over there they would look like a couple in love, wrapped around each other on a cold winter’s night. A couple of young women walked around them on the pavement, both women’s eyes automatically running up and down Cooper’s body with unhidden admiration. Melissa smiled. Look all you want, ladies, this man is with me. From this position she raised her head, her nose brushing against his cold cheek, and looked straight into his magnetic eyes. The smallest of gestures. The most intimate of gestures. She wanted this night to last forever. Her brain pulled itself into focus. It was time for another question. ‘What do you like to read?’
He nodded in recognition of the question, taking a few seconds to decide on his answer. He let out a big sigh. ‘Is this the point I’m supposed to tell you I don’t read much? Because I fear I’m about to reveal a childhood secret.’
Her face lit up with a bright smile. ‘Then I think I will too, so go ahead.’
‘I love to read. I always have done. So it’s absolutely got to be any of the old-fashioned detective novels. But I mean really old, long before everything became so scientific and crimes were solved with DNA and microscopic evidence. I always loved them as a child. Even now as an adult I still sometimes pick them up. I love the characters.’
She gave him a curious smile. ‘Okay, now I’m intrigued. What’s so good about the characters?’
‘Everything. Their intelligence. Their wit. Even their complications. Sometimes even their mistakes. I loved them all.’ She was staring at him again with those luminescent eyes. Her chestnut curls were waving gently in the wind. It was all he could do not to reach up and run his fingers through her tresses. Then his hand would be at the back of her head and he could pull her towards him…
Her face was shining. ‘For me it was the classics, particularly Little Women, which I still read on occasion. The copy I have is so tatty and dog-eared that some of the pages are about to fall out. I still cry every time I read it. It breaks my heart when Beth dies.’
He watched. She was so caught up in what she was saying her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. Something tugged at his heartstrings. Something almost primal. When was the last time he’d felt this protective towards a woman?
She caught the expression on his face and it stopped her as she was about to continue. She sensed the deep emotions that were smouldering inside him. But what were they? Was it a memory? Or was it something more primitive, like lust?
They’d reached the marina and were now standing next to the barrier, looking out over the array of million-pound boats, all costing more than Melissa would earn in a lifetime. His arm was still locked firmly around her waist.
His voice cut through the darkness. ‘Let’s go with the dream theme. What would be your dream job?’
Instantly her voice caught in her throat. Missy had her dream job. Being a midwife was the only job she had ever wanted to do, and would ever want to do. But for some reason she wasn’t inclined to tell him that. He’d been coy about work earlier. He didn’t want to talk about it. So she intended to be coy too.
It was easier to stick with the sci-fi theme. ‘My dream job would be an astronaut.’ She waved her arm above her head. ‘To fly amongst the stars would be magical.’
‘And the reason you didn’t train at NASA?’ he queried playfully.
She heaved a huge sigh and turned, releasing herself from his grasp and leaning backwards against the railings. ‘What can I say? I failed physics at school and I think it was a basic requirement of astronaut training. So that put me out.’
‘What a shame,’ Coop said, standing directly in front of her and putting a hand on either side of her hips. He pulled her gently towards him. ‘I could have met you there.’ He lowered his face towards hers, his breath visible in the cold night air.
‘You’re telling me that was your dream job too?’ she whispered. Her face was only inches from his.
‘Absolutely. Just look at how much we have in common. We were obviously destined to meet.’ He ran his hands around her hips, cradling her bottom. She caught her breath at the intimacy of the movement. A word sang in her head. Destiny. She knew it was crazy but it certainly felt like that. What if somewhere, in some lifetime, this gorgeous man was indeed her perfect match? What if she hadn’t spoken to him? What if she’d gone home early? What if she’d been too scared to throw caution to the wind and leave with him—something she would never normally have done?
But everything about this felt perfect. She felt as if she was meant to be there, in his arms, at this moment. Everything about this just felt so right.
He gave her a slow smile. ‘See,’ he whispered, ‘we’re a match made in heaven.’ She moved closer, her hips pressing against his, her hands resting on his shoulders. She shivered. ‘It’s really cold out here.’ Her eyes met his.
‘We could go inside.’ His lips brushed against her ear. ‘You might have failed physics at school but how did you do at biology?’
Melissa’s heart stopped. ‘I got first prize,’ she said breathlessly.
The words hung in the darkness for a few seconds. Both knew where this was leading. Melissa could feel the heat between their bodies. She knew she should say no. She knew she should walk away. But she didn’t want to. She hardly knew anything about Coop. She didn’t even know his second name. But, then, he didn’t know hers. Most of all, she didn’t want to walk away. She wanted to have this one night of reckless passion with this mysterious stranger. She wanted to break free from the ‘sensible’ sign that followed her wherever she went. She wanted to follow her destiny. After all, who would ever know? She dropped her hand from his shoulder and placed her hand in his.
He led her wordlessly to the front door of the flats she had viewed earlier that year. They entered the lift and she stifled a gasp when he pressed the button for the top floor. Moments later he opened his front door into the flat of her dreams.
‘You bought the show flat?’ she asked in astonishment.
He nodded nonchalantly. ‘It seemed easier just to buy the one with the furniture included.’ He spread his arms out around the wide space. ‘I was never any good at that sort of thing anyway.’
He gestured towards her and she handed him her thick coat, which he hung in a nearby cupboard. Melissa walked in awe around the open-plan kitchen, running her finger along the black marble worktop, her heels clicking on the slate floor. Cooper turned and opened the blinds in the living area to show the view over the marina. If she’d thought it was stunning downstairs, up here it was breathtaking. The boats glistened, gleaming white against the black water. Her fingers automatically went up to touch the red curtains. They were thick and luxurious, just as she’d imagined. She pointed towards the sumptuous sofa that she’d admired from afar. ‘Can I?’
Coop looked puzzled. ‘Of course.’
She sank into the huge cushions, closed her eyes and let out a huge sigh. ‘Oh, it’s just as gorgeous as I imagined.’ She snuggled her shoulders deeper into the soft fabric.
‘What are you talking about?’
Her eyes flickered open. ‘I came to see this flat when it was the show flat for the development and I really, really wanted to do this.’
‘You wanted to sit on the sofa?’ His right eyebrow rose in amusement.
‘Well—yes, but the woman that was showing us around was a bear and I was too scared to touch anything. I think she could tell just by looking that I could never afford to stay anywhere like this.’
Cooper let out a laugh. It was deep, warm and rich. Not what she had expected.
Her train of thought hadn’t shifted. ‘So how can you afford this?’
He lowered his eyes slightly. ‘I came into some money and I earn a relatively good salary.’ He plumped down next to her on the oversized sofa.
Melissa nodded. She could tell when not to press him. She turned sideways to face him. ‘Whose turn is it to ask a question?’
He ran his finger down her arm, causing her skin to come out in tiny goose-bumps. ‘I’ve lost track,’ he whispered, leaning forward and twisting a finger in her chestnut curls, pulling her face towards his.
She expected his kiss to be light, gentle, and it was anything but. It was hard and passionate, instantly setting her body alight with desire. She felt the heat spreading throughout her being. Heat she hadn’t felt in months—no, heat like this she had never felt. His other hand came up and caught the other side of her head, cradling her face. He drew his head back from hers, looking her in the eye. ‘I didn’t have any plans like this tonight,’ he said sincerely, ‘but right now I’m going to ask you if you want to come through to the bedroom with me.’
Melissa went to speak but he placed one finger on her lips. ‘Shh. Missy, if you want to leave I won’t stand in your way. But I would really like it if you’d stay.’ His breath was slightly ragged now, as if he was trying to fight the fire building inside him.
Her heart was pounding. This was sexual chemistry like she’d never felt before. She reached her hands around his neck and whispered in his ear.
His eyes lit up with wild excitement. ‘What was that?’ he asked in amazement.
‘My next question,’ Melissa said with quiet assurance. ‘I just decided what I wanted to ask.’
Cooper looked at her with his steady brown eyes, a smile forming across his lips. ‘In that case, this takes me back to show and tell from school, and this answer is definitely a show.’ And he took her by the hand and led her to the white bedroom.
CHAPTER TWO
Eight weeks later
MELISSA had just finished zipping up her tunic when she heard the shouting at the top of the labour ward. Hurrying to pull her newly washed curls back into a ponytail, she straightened her tunic, and set off down the corridor at speed.
Melissa had been one of the sisters in the labour ward for nearly three years and when she was on duty she prided herself on the calm running of the ward. Today, though, the midwives station at the central point in the labour ward seemed to be in chaos. Melissa tried to make herself heard above the rabble surrounding her. Two junior doctors appeared to be having an argument, two midwives were trying to deal with telephone calls, one consultant was angrily trying to attract the attention of anyone at all, and in the midst of it all stood a man, holding an empty jug of water. He was holding it out gingerly, saying, ‘Excuse me, excuse me?’
Melissa shook her head, lengthening her last few strides as she reached the station. ‘Enough!’ Her hand thudded on the desk and immediately silenced her bickering colleagues. ‘You two…’ she pointed at the junior doctors ‘…take your discussion elsewhere. My midwives are trying to deal with telephone enquiries.’ She grabbed one of the passing nursing auxiliaries, ‘Fran, can you assist this gentleman, please?’ she asked, gesturing in the direction of the bewildered man.
Finally she turned to the consultant standing at the desk. ‘Dr Mackay, can I help you with something?’
He nodded and pointed towards the nearby room. ‘I need a set of notes for the lady in Room 4, Katherine Kelly. I’m not happy with her presentation.’
Melissa nodded and walked around to the other side of the midwives’ station and retrieved a set of case notes from the trolley. It was the same place where notes had been kept on the labour ward for the last twenty years. She handed him the buff-coloured folder. He took them with a sigh of relief, ‘Thank God you’re on duty today,’ he muttered as he turned and headed back down the corridor.
Melissa watched his retreating back with a smile on her face. Had that been a compliment? Dr Mackay was not famed for his compliments. He was nearing retirement and becoming increasingly grumpy with age. A new consultant had been appointed but Melissa hadn’t met him yet.
She waited until one of the midwives at the desk had hung up her phone. ‘Carrie, what’s going on in here today?’
‘Just what you’d expect. The new junior and senior doctors have started today and the place is in chaos. We seem to have more women in labour than usual and we’ve had a few late presentations with complications.’ She pointed in the direction of the midwifery suite. ‘Sister Baird is in charge of the midwifery side today—she can update you on the admissions. Jen Connell was in charge of the medical side—she’s still in Room 4 with the patient Dr Mackay just collected the notes for.’
Melissa nodded and set off towards the midwifery unit to touch base with her colleague. The labour ward was divided into two sides: the midwifery side, where women with routine pregnancies and routine labours were looked after by a team of midwives from start to finish; and the medical side, where women with high-risk pregnancies were looked after by a team of doctors and midwives. Both sides of the labour ward had a midwifery sister or senior midwife on duty at all times, along with a team of more junior midwives to help support all women through the labour process. Melissa had always worked on the medical side. She had been diabetic since childhood and in this hospital all women with diabetes were automatically under the care of the medical staff. Knowing how single-minded the medical staff could be made Melissa all the more determined that women like her had the best possible birth experience. The only way that would happen was if experienced midwives like her worked hand in hand with their medical associates.
She heard her colleague’s voice and pushed open the nearest door. ‘Hi, Andrea.’ Her colleague looked up from the foetal monitor she was watching. ‘Just letting you know that I’ll be taking over in the medical side. Let me know if there are any patients you need to discuss.’
Andrea tucked a stray piece of short blonde hair behind her ear and shot her a quick smile as she pressed a button on the monitor for a printout of the foetal heart. ‘Any word on our lady with the breech presentation yet?’
Melissa shook her head. ‘I haven’t had a report yet from Jen—I’m just going to see her. It was bedlam at the midwifery station when I arrived.’
Andrea gave her a big smile. ‘So you haven’t seen the new consultant yet? I believe he’s in with that patient. She arrived less than an hour ago, already in labour with a breech presentation. We had to transfer her over to the medical side.’
She crossed the room away from the patient she was dealing with and whispered under her breath, ‘He’s spent the last month covering all the outlying areas, but he’s here permanently now. Hunk, total hunk.’
‘What?’
‘You’ll see. Let me know how the patient does, will you?’
Melissa gave her a quick nod and ducked back out of the door. The three midwives she would be working with were waiting at the midwives’ station and she assigned them each to an area of the ward before going to take over from Jen.
‘Hi, Jen,’ she said breezily as she entered the room, crossing behind the curtains to join Jen and the patient. ‘I’m here to take over from you—can you give me a report?’
Jen looked up from the notes she had just finished writing and put her pen down. ‘Hi, Missy, that’s great. Thanks.’
The woman lying on the bed was pale and sweating. Her dark hair lay limp in a cloud around her white face. She was breathing shallowly, small rapid gasps, leaning forward at first and then sagging back against the pillows whenever another contraction took hold. As an experienced midwife Melissa could tell from the shape of the woman’s abdomen that the baby was in the wrong position.
Jen continued quickly, ‘This is Katherine Kelly. She’s twenty-two and this is her first pregnancy. She missed her last two antenatal appointments and presented in labour just under an hour ago. Her contractions were only four minutes apart when she arrived and it was noticed on admission that baby was in the frank breech position. Her blood pressure had also spiked so she was transferred through to the medical side.’ She handed the observation chart she was holding over to Melissa, who cast her eyes over it rapidly.
‘She’s 40 weeks’ gestation. We’ve just done an ultrasound to confirm the position and size of the baby. Everything looks normal. Her contractions are now two minutes apart. We are too late to turn the baby, and Dr Mackay had been considering Caesarean section, but thankfully our new consultant…’ she gestured into the corner of the room ‘…has plenty of experience of this type of delivery and is happy to take the lead.’
Melissa nodded, assimilating all the information she’d just been given. If Katherine had attended her last two antenatal appointments it was likely that the breech presentation would have been picked up beforehand and dealt with. Now it meant that the baby was going to come out bottom first instead of head first. Some congenital malformations could result in a breech presentation but the ultrasound must have ruled that out. This meant that all that was really left to do now was to assist the new consultant in the delivery of this baby.
She sat on the bed next to Katherine and took her hand. ‘Hi,’ she said, ‘I’m Melissa and very soon I’m going to help you have this baby.’ She turned to face Jen again. ‘Is the paediatrician on his way?’
Jen nodded. ‘He said he’d be here in the next five minutes.’
Melissa fastened the blood-pressure cuff around Katherine’s arm and set the machine to record every five minutes. She turned to face the new consultant in the corner of the room and stretched out her hand towards him. ‘Pleased to meet you. I’m Melissa Bell, one of the midwifery sisters.’
He looked up from the notes he had been checking over and her heart froze. Time stopped. Cooper. Cooper was the new consultant obstetrician?
Cooper—the man who’d said he did a bit of ‘this and that’. Cooper, the man who lived in the show flat overlooking the marina. Cooper, the man who had taken her through to the glistening white bedroom with the mahogany four-poster bed and…
Cooper ran one of his hands through his floppy brown hair and reached his other hand out to meet hers. ‘Pleased to meet you, Melissa. I’m Cooper Roberts.’ Not a flicker of recognition. His actions were as smooth as silk, the consummate professional.
He stood up from his chair and pushed the bed table he had been leaning on away from him. Melissa hadn’t moved. She stood rooted to the spot. The last time she’d seen this man they’d both been naked and he’d been trailing his tongue around every part of her body, awakening sensations she’d never felt before. Her brain was spinning so fast that she thought she might fall over. She wrenched her hand free of his, conscious of the electricity that had just shot up her arm, and grasped the bottom of the bed. Cooper moved effortlessly past her and sat down on the side of the bed to talk to Katherine.
‘Is there anyone with you?’
Katherine shook her pale head. ‘No, it’s just me. My mum lives miles away. I phoned her early this morning but I don’t think she’ll be here in time.’
‘Is there anyone else I can phone for you?’
Melissa was still in shock. She knew what he was doing and why he was doing it. A breech delivery could be traumatic and it would be better if Katherine had someone to support her. He spoke soft, reassuring words to Katherine, whilst resting his hand on her abdomen and explaining how the delivery would proceed.
‘If my baby is the wrong position, shouldn’t I have a Caesarean section?’
Cooper glanced at her chart. ‘From your history you’ve been in labour for more than twenty-four hours. Your waters have broken and we’ve already examined you and established that you’re fully dilated.’ He held her hand reassuringly. ‘If we’d known about the baby’s position in advance we may well have considered a Caesarean section. But you’re pretty far along now and the baby is ready to come out. There’s no reason to think there will be any problems.’ He gave her hand a little squeeze as another contraction clearly gripped her. ‘Do you feel the sensation to push yet?’
Katherine’s face crumpled and she nodded. She was clearly growing tired. ‘I just want this to be over.’ She started to sob.
The blood-pressure cuff round her arm automatically started to inflate again and Cooper’s eyes followed the reading carefully. The door opened and the paediatrician appeared, pushing a special cot to allow assessment of the newborn. He gave Cooper a quick nod. ‘Nice to see you again, Dr Roberts.’ Then shot a smile over towards her. ‘And you, Melissa.’
Melissa started. What was she doing? She had to get hold of herself. Cooper had managed to keep his composure without any problems. But it was claustrophobic being in a room with a man she’d seen naked. Naked.
There was that word again. She couldn’t get it out of her head. But if she closed her eyes for a second she could see his broad torso and muscular arms, all with a little smattering of dark hair that curled downwards towards…
‘Sister Bell… Missy?’
She spun abruptly, caught by the informal use of her name. That was what she’d told him to call her that night. His dark chocolate eyes were watching her carefully. He was cool and composed. His gaze never faltered. The ultimate professional. He expected her to be the same.
‘Are you ready to assist me?’
Melissa gave a quick nod, tearing her eyes away from his. She moved swiftly over the bed to help assist Katherine into the most appropriate position for delivery at the end of the bed. The semi-recumbent position would allow space at the end of the bed for the baby to hang. Cooper washed his hands and pulled on some gloves before positioning himself at the end of the bed, while Melissa remained at Katherine’s side, monitoring the recordings from the foetal monitor and blood-pressure gauge. Cooper swiftly examined Katherine again.
‘Okay, Katherine. The baby’s bottom is right at the cervix. On your next contraction you can start to push. We’ll let you know if you need to stop. Just let us know how you’re feeling.’
Katherine nodded tensely as the next contraction took hold of her body. Cooper continued to talk to her quietly but firmly over the next few minutes. ‘Good, Katherine, keep pushing. That’s the posterior buttock, now the anterior buttock.’ The baby’s legs were spontaneously delivered. He nodded swiftly at Melissa and the paediatrician to let them know that things were proceeding smoothly. ‘Take a deep breath again, Katherine. Things are going well.’
Melissa watched carefully as Cooper delivered the baby’s shoulders then checked the position of the arms and umbilicus. If the baby’s arms were extended, that could cause problems with the delivery.
‘Get ready, people, the baby’s arms are flexed so they’ll be delivered on the next push.’ He shot Katherine a big smile. He had managed to put the patient at ease and was clearly confident in his clinical abilities. ‘We’re nearly there now, Katherine, just another few big pushes.’
Katherine grimaced and gathered herself for the next push, gripping Melissa’s hand so tightly that she thought her bones might break. Melissa sat down on the bed, wrapping her arm around Katherine’s shoulders. ‘Do you know what you’re having?’ she asked, trying to distract her into letting go of her other hand.
Katherine shook her head fiercely. ‘I didn’t want to know. I wanted a surprise.’
Melissa nodded in understanding. Her view of the earlier ultrasound had revealed the baby’s sex but she wasn’t about to let Katherine know. She felt Katherine’s abdominal muscles begin to tense again. ‘Another big push now.’