Midwives' Christmas Miracles: A Touch of Christmas Magic / Playboy Doc's Mistletoe Kiss / Her Doctor's Christmas Proposal

He spoke before he thought. ‘I’ll give you a lift home.’

She blinked. The shock on her face was apparent. Had he really been that unfriendly to her earlier?

‘You don’t have to do that.’

‘I know. But I will. You’ve had a bit of a baptism of fire today. I know you want to get home to Freya and the buses will be busy this time of day.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s only five minutes out of my way. We’ll go in ten minutes.’

The phone rang further along the ward and Hope Sanders, one of the other midwives, stuck her head out of one of the rooms. ‘Jacob? Can you come and take this call?’

He didn’t even give her a chance to respond before he walked swiftly along the corridor. He was impressed. Bonnie was doing a good job. He hadn’t even given a thought to where she might be staying. If she was worried about that—would she be able to focus on her work?

Hope handed him the phone. ‘It’s Sean Anderson. He wants to know if you can help in Theatre tomorrow.’

The call only took a few minutes. Jacob liked Sean, the new Australian obstetrician, and he was happy to scrub in on a complicated case. Hope waited for him to finish the call, her arms folded across her chest, leaning on the door.

‘What?’ he asked as he replaced the receiver.

‘How are you?’ she asked steadily.

He felt himself flinch. Hope was one of the few people he classed as a friend. She knew exactly what kind of year he’d had. ‘I’m fine.’

She nodded slowly. There was no way he’d get away with that kind of answer with Hope. ‘When do you get your test results?’

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He hated being put on the spot. ‘A few weeks.’

‘And you’re feeling well? Anything I can do?’

He shook his head and picked up some paperwork from his desk. ‘I’m fine, Hope. There’s no need to fuss.’

She gave him a tight smile. Hope was never bothered by his short answers or occasionally sharp tongue. She just ignored it and asked the questions she wanted to ask.

‘Did you reconsider my suggestion?’

‘What one?’ Hope made lots of suggestions. He should socialise more. He should do less hours at work. He should eat better. He should be more pleasant at work.

She raised her eyebrows. ‘About renting out one of your rooms?’ Oh. That one. Her latest suggestion was a bid to encapsulate all her suggestions: it would force him to socialise, he might work less if he had someone to go home to, someone who could cook, maybe.

‘Haven’t had a chance.’ He walked from behind the desk and gave her a cheeky wink. ‘Been too busy at work.’

‘Jacob...’ Her voice tailed after him but he was already halfway down the corridor. Hope was about to go into interrogator mode. He could sense it. It was time to make a sharp exit.

Bonnie was just finishing at the desk and he welcomed the distraction. If Hope saw him talking to another woman she was bound to leave him alone.

‘Good first day?’ he asked.

* * *

Bonnie blinked. ‘It’s not over yet. Come with me a second.’

She took another quick glance over her shoulder at the bustling labour suite. Her bustling labour suite. She hadn’t even started to make her mark here. They walked down the corridor together.

So many things needed organising to make the place run more efficiently. Once she had things running the way she liked and she knew the staff a little better she’d start to delegate some tasks. All of the staff she’d met today seemed fine. No one had even mentioned what they’d overheard this morning, but she was sure—by the time she came on shift tomorrow—all members of staff would know about it. That was the thing about hospitals. Nothing was kept secret for long.

She’d met seven midwives, two doctors and one other consultant who all seemed good at their jobs. The ancillary staff seemed great too. CRMU’s reputation appeared to be well founded. All the labour suite needed was its wheels oiled a little to help it run more smoothly.

She smiled. First day. After a bumpy start with Freya, and with Jacob, things appeared to be looking up. Good staff. A temporary promotion. Three healthy babies delivered while she was on shift. And another delivered in the back of an ambulance with a mother who appeared to be on the road to recovery.

Jacob had surprised her most with his offer of a ride home. At their first meeting he’d appeared a little detached. But at times today his mouth had betrayed him by turning up at the edges. There was a sense of humour in there somewhere. She’d just have to find a big spade to dig it out.

She pushed open the doors at the end of the ward and walked along to one of the side rooms between her ward and the special-care nursery. Both of them looked through the window. Holly had opened her eyes and was talking to one of the specialist midwives assigned to her. Her husband sat by her side holding the baby in his arms. Another midwife from the special-care nursery was there with the incubator. It was obvious this was the first time she’d got to see her baby.

The whole scene sent a warm glow around Bonnie’s body. Coming here was the best decision she’d ever made.

She met Jacob’s emerald gaze. There was a gleam in his eye. He knew exactly what kind of day she’d had. She kept her face straight. ‘No. It’s not been a good day.’

He raised his eyebrows and she broke into a beaming smile. ‘It was a great day. I think I’m going to like Cambridge Maternity.’

CHAPTER THREE

JACOB TAPPED HIS fingers on the wheel of the car while he waited for Bonnie. He’d already had a few curious stares from members of staff who obviously wondered who he was waiting on. Bonnie appeared two minutes later and jumped in the car next to him. ‘Sorry, just getting changed and sorting out a locker before we left.’ She gave him directions to the childminder’s house and looked around with a smile on her face.

‘I didn’t take you for a four-by-four guy. I thought you’d have something sleeker, more sporty.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Really? Why on earth did you think that?’

She laughed. ‘You’ve got that “I drive a flash car” look about you. Wouldn’t have thought there’d be much call for a four-by-four in the city. I’ve been surprised by how many I’ve seen.’

‘Haven’t you heard? It’s the latest fashion craze and I’m just following the crowd.’

She shook her head. ‘Yeah, yeah. Somehow I get the distinct impression you’ve never been a crowd follower.’

He tried to hide his smile. ‘I’m shocked. We’ve only just met and you’re trying to tell me I’m not a people pleaser.’

She started laughing again. ‘Seriously? You were a bit grumpy this morning. The staff seem quite intimidated by you. Are you always like that?’

‘You were late. That’s why I was grumpy.’ It was the best excuse he could give. The truth was he’d spent the last fourteen months being grumpy—and only a few select people knew why. Jacob had always been a completely hands-on kind of doctor. Some physicians who were Head of Department reduced their clinical time by a large amount. He’d never been that kind of doctor but had been grateful to use his position as an excuse for his lack of patient contact at times over the past fourteen months. That was the thing about some types of chemotherapy—at certain times in the cycle, patient contact just wasn’t appropriate. Particularly when you had to deal with pregnant women and neonates—two of the most vulnerable groups around. Grumpy probably didn’t even come close to covering his temperament and frustration these last fourteen months.

She shook her head as they turned into the childminder’s street. ‘I think you were grumpy long before I was late. I need to know these things. I need to know if staff won’t want to approach you about things. I need to know the dynamics of the labour suite.’

He liked her already. She was astute. It wouldn’t be easy to pull the wool over her eyes—exactly what he should want from the sister of his labour suite. He just wished she weren’t using her astuteness on him.

‘You haven’t mentioned what happens with the special clients. Do I get involved with those?’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘The special clients?’

She smiled. ‘Cambridge Royal is known for attracting the rich and famous. I haven’t had a chance to look over the plans for the general hospital. What happens if we get someone who wants a private delivery? It wouldn’t seem safe to have them in another area.’

He was impressed. She’d obviously done a lot of background reading. ‘You’re right. It wouldn’t be safe. It isn’t public knowledge but there are six private rooms just outside the doors to the labour suite, only a few minutes from Theatre. We don’t want anyone to know where our private patients are.’

She gave a little nod of her head. ‘Makes sense. Privacy, that’s what people want. Isn’t it? I guess we’ll need to talk about the midwifery staffing for those rooms.’

There was something so strange about all this. Everything about being around Bonnie made him feel out of sorts. He had looked at her CV and hadn’t understood at all why Valerie Glencross had thought she would be a suitable replacement for their ward sister. Then she’d been late.

But from the second her eyes had sparked and she’d given him a dressing-down in front of the staff he’d liked her. She was different. She’d proved more than competent at the roadside delivery. She was asking all the right questions about the ward and she was making all the right observations. Bonnie Reid was proving to be the most interesting woman he’d come across in a while.

She opened the car door as they pulled up outside the childminder’s. ‘I’ll only be two minutes, I promise, and Lynn will be able to give me a car seat for Freya. That’s the beauty of having a friend who is a childminder. She has a garage full of these things.’

Car seat. It hadn’t even crossed his mind. That was how far out of the loop he was when it came to children. He tried not to focus on her well-fitting jeans as she ran up the path towards the door with her auburn hair bouncing behind her.

What kind of crazy fool cheated on a woman like Bonnie? The guy must have rocks in his head. Jacob had never realised quite how much he liked that colour of hair.

He watched as she ran back down the path holding the hand of a little girl. She was like an identikit of her mother. Same colour hair and pale skin. It only took Bonnie a minute to arrange the car seat and strap her little girl into place. She was obviously a dab hand at these things.

‘Who are you?’ The voice came from the back seat.

The little pair of curious blue eyes was fixed on his in the mirror. She had a little furrow across her brow. It was like a staring contest. A Mexican stand-off. And Jacob had a feeling he was going to lose.

Bonnie answered as she climbed back in the car. ‘This is Mummy’s friend from work. His name is Jacob. He’s going to give us a lift back to the motel.’

He glanced in the rear-view mirror in time to see her shrink back into her seat a little. Was he really that scary? Bonnie had already mentioned the staff might find him unapproachable. He’d never really given it much thought.

‘Hmm...’ came the voice from the back of the car. She really didn’t seem too sure about it. Bonnie gave him directions to the motel and he flinched when it came into view. If this was the outside—what was the inside like?

‘Do you need a hand?’

‘No,’ she said too quickly, then her voice wavered. ‘Actually, could you give me a hand carrying the car seat in?’ She jumped out and unstrapped Freya, leading the way inside.

He followed them in, waiting patiently while she unlocked the door of her room. The first thing that hit him was the smell of damp. The really obvious smell of damp. He winced. How on earth did the motel owner think this was acceptable?

He looked around. ‘This will play havoc with Freya’s asthma.’ The words came out before he really thought about it.

Bonnie sucked in a deep breath and licked her lips. There was a sheen across her eyes, as if she was holding back tears.

She’d already told him how much this bothered her. But now, seeing it with his own eyes, he understood.

Bonnie’s pretty face was marred by a frown. He liked her. He hardly knew her but he liked her already. What was more she obviously had the skills that the labour suite badly needed right now.

And after what he’d seen today? He didn’t want to lose her from CRMU.

His brain was in overdrive. There was no way he could leave them here. Not now he’d seen it. Not now he’d smelled it.

This was about work. He was prioritising the needs of the labour suite above all others. That was what he was telling himself right now, but that was the only way he could make sense of the possibility that had just flown into his head.

‘You have to get her out of here. A child with asthma can’t possibly stay in an environment like this.’

This time she was blinking back tears. ‘What choice do I have?’ She sounded exasperated, her hand curled protectively around her daughter.

‘You can stay with me.’ The words were out before he even had a chance to think properly.

It made no sense. It made no sense whatsoever. He was a bachelor. After the last fourteen months he liked his solitude. His home was his salvation.

‘What?’ Bonnie straightened up. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, you and your daughter can stay with me—until you find something more suitable, of course. I have space in my house. You can stay with me.’

‘No. No, we can’t do that.’ She was shaking her head. ‘We don’t even really know you.’

A wave of embarrassment came over him. After his behaviour this morning it was understandable that she was wary.

He took a deep breath. ‘Look, Bonnie, I’m sorry about this morning. I know I came across as difficult.’ He shook his head. ‘But that’s just me. It probably wasn’t the ideal first meeting.’ He held out his hands. ‘But there’s absolutely no way I’m letting you spend the next few days here with your daughter. Not while her health is at risk.’

It took a few seconds for the initial shocked expression on her face to disappear. Her tense shoulders gradually relaxed and she nodded slowly. Relief. That was what she was feeling now. It was palpable in the air all around them. The frown had disappeared from her brow and her blue eyes were focused clearly on him.

‘You really mean it?’ She seemed really hesitant.

It was clear she couldn’t believe it. ‘Freya and I can stay with you for a few days?’ She glanced around her. ‘We don’t need to stay in this mouldy motel room?’

‘Just until you find somewhere suitable.’ From the expression on her face any minute now she would jump for joy.

‘Of course.’ Parts of his insides were doing strange twisting things. Making him think the word no but not letting it come out. This was work. They’d found a new temporary ward sister who needed a short-term solution for accommodation. It was logical. That was all.

‘That’s such a weight off my mind. Thank you, Jacob. Will your wife or partner be okay with this? The last thing I want to do is foist myself and a five-year-old on someone unexpectedly.’

Jacob gave the tiniest shake of his head. ‘No wife. No partner.’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘No time.’ He squirmed a little saying those words out loud. Most single guys would probably be delighted to declare their freedom to the world. But for some reason it made him sound so isolated.

‘And it won’t be too much of an inconvenience to you?’ Her voice rose a little at the end of the sentence, as if she were worried at any minute he might change his mind.

‘How much trouble can a five-year-old be?’ He was giving her a half smile as a whole surge of wariness swept over him. He had absolutely no experience with five-year-olds. He didn’t even know how to have a conversation with one. He tried to rationalise things out loud. ‘It makes sense. We need a ward sister to get on top of things in the labour ward. The last thing you need is for your daughter to be sick and to spend your time at work worrying about where you’re staying. It’s logical.’

She held out her hands. ‘You’ll need to give us a few minutes to pack. Thankfully we didn’t really have a chance to unpack last night.’

* * *

It was almost as if Bonnie went into automatic pilot. She started pushing things haphazardly into a large blue case, then sat on it to close it. Now he’d made the offer it was clear she couldn’t wait to get out of here—no matter how temporary the solution. And the truth was, he couldn’t wait to get out of here either.

‘Here,’ he said, gesturing her to move. ‘Let me. I’ll push down and you can snap it shut.’

It did only take her a few minutes. But by the time she was finished there were four bulging suitcases for the car as well as the car seat. He gave her a wink. ‘Just as well I brought my four-by-four and not my sports car. How on earth did you get down from the train with these?’

Something juddered through him. Had he just winked at her? What on earth was wrong with him? Since when did he do things like that?

This woman was having a strange effect on him.

But Bonnie didn’t seem to notice. She just looked a little sheepish. ‘It’s a bit hard trying to ram all your worldly goods into some suitcases. Particularly when your five-year-old wants to bring all twenty of her favourite cuddly toys.’ She sighed. ‘I’ve got some stuff in storage as well at my mum and dad’s. Once we find somewhere to stay I’ll send for it.’

He picked up the first two cases and carried them out to the car. All of a sudden he felt as if he’d put his foot in his mouth. He wasn’t trying to offend her. He’d spent the last year so focused on his treatment and keeping the department running that he hadn’t bothered much with social niceties. Maybe it was time to start paying attention again.

Bonnie went to pay her bill as he loaded the last two cases into the car. ‘You shouldn’t have paid anything. That place is a disgrace.’

She strapped Freya back in and climbed into the passenger seat. ‘Don’t. He wanted me to pay for the whole week because we’ve left early.’

‘I hope you refused.’

She gave him a wink. ‘Of course I did.’

He started the car with a smile. Just as well he hadn’t been driving. He’d have probably swerved off the road. She had seen the wink and had taken it as intended—in good humour. Thank goodness. He couldn’t afford to tiptoe around someone who would be staying in his house. He must have been crazy inviting her to stay. She must have been crazy to accept. Either that, or she was desperate.

And he already knew that she was.

He had to keep remembering that. Otherwise his mind might start to drift in other directions. He’d never shared his house with a woman before. Let alone a woman and child. He was used to his own space. This had disaster written all over it.

His stomach started to churn a little. This was the craziest thing he’d ever done. He knew that his house was tidy—Monday was the day his housekeeper came. He’d texted her earlier and asked her to pick up some food for him. His fridge was currently bare. It was hardly hospitable to invite a mother and child back with not even a drop of milk in the fridge.

There. That was better. A mother and child seemed a much safer thought than anything that involved the name Bonnie.

He pulled up outside his Victorian town house. It had just started to rain and Bonnie pressed her nose up against the glass. ‘Please tell me you only own part of that.’

He opened the car door. ‘Nope. It’s all mine. Including the ancient kennel in the back garden.’

He felt a little surge of pride in his heart that she liked his house. It was very traditional for Cambridge. Set in a residential area, in the middle of the city, the three-storey town house was just moments away from the river and college boathouses.

‘You have a dog?’

Freya. He’d almost forgotten she was there. She had that expression on her face again. The little frown line across her forehead. She was standing in the rain staring up at the bay window at the front of the house. He pulled her hood up over her head. ‘No. Sorry, I don’t. I just have a really old kennel.’

He popped the boot and lifted out the first two cases, then walked up the path and deposited them at the doorway while he fished for his keys. ‘Give me a sec,’ he said as he opened the door and turned off the alarm. ‘Go inside. I’ll get the other cases.’

The rain was getting heavier now and it only took a few seconds to wrestle the other cases from the back of the car and get inside. He closed the door behind him and breathed a sigh of relief.

Home was usually his sanctuary. The place he came back to after work or treatment, closed the blinds and ignored the world. Chances were, he wouldn’t get to do that any time soon. Thank goodness his treatment was over. Now he just had to wait for his results.

Bonnie had picked Freya up and carried her through the long corridor and turned left into the main lounge. He heard the little suck in of breath. What did that mean?

He dumped the cases at the door and followed her into the lounge. She spun around to face him. ‘Wow. This place is just yours? It’s gorgeous.’ She set Freya down on the floor and walked over to the fireplace. ‘This is just amazing. Does it work? Do you have a real fire on a winter’s night?’ She crouched down and touched the tile work around the fireplace.

He’d always been proud of his home, but for the first time he felt a little regretful. He touched the marble surround. ‘No. I’ve never had the chimney swept. It is apparently in working order. I just never got around to it.’ He pointed to the walls. ‘I do have the original cast-iron radiators. So don’t worry. You won’t be cold.’

She shook her head. ‘Oh, I’m not worried about being cold.’ She looked down. ‘The floorboards are gorgeous too. Are they original?’ She knelt down and ran her hand along the floor. He was learning quickly that Bonnie was a very tactile person.

‘I sanded them down. It took about a year to do the whole house.’

She nodded in approval. ‘I noticed the gorgeous geometric floor tiles on the way in too. I always wanted a hallway with those.’ She looked a little lost in her own thoughts, then gave a little shrug. ‘I’d be happy just to have a hallway right now.’

‘Those tiles were hidden under the ugliest shag-pile carpet you’ve ever seen.’

She gasped. ‘Really?’ Then shuddered. ‘What a crime to cover those up.’

‘It probably saved them from being ruined. I’ve had them all coated now with something that should mean they last the next hundred years.’

She took a look around her. ‘I’ll never be able to afford a place like this. You’re so lucky.’

Lucky. Now there was a word he’d never use to describe himself. Over the course of such an eventful day he’d realised how easy it was to be around Bonnie. Now it struck him how little she actually knew him. How little most of the staff at CRMU actually knew him. He could count on one hand the people he’d actually trusted with his secret. They knew how much he’d struggled this last year. How frustrated he’d been when he couldn’t deal with patients because of the type of chemotherapy he was undergoing. How much he wanted just to get back to normal and do his job the way he always had.

Lucky. Maybe he was lucky. His cancer was treatable. Other types weren’t. He’d managed to undergo his treatment quietly with only one day off work sick. Good planning had played a huge part in that. Having a cancer treatment team who were willing to allow him to start chemotherapy on a Thursday evening, which meant the after-effects didn’t really hit until the Friday night, meant he could still work, then spend most weekends in bed to allow himself to recover.

But he still didn’t feel lucky. His mother certainly hadn’t been. She’d had the same type of cancer that he had—non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It was generally thought that it wasn’t an inherited disease. But tell that to the families where more than one person had it. There was just so much still to learn about these diseases. So many genes in the body where they still couldn’t determine their purpose.

But his last treatment was finished now. In a few weeks’ time he’d have his bloods rechecked to see if the treatment had worked and his cancer was finally gone. The whole black cloud that had been hanging over his head for the last fourteen months would finally be gone. Maybe. Hopefully.

Bonnie was still walking around. She had a little look of wonder on her face. As if she really did love the place. She stood with her back to the bay window and looked across the room. A smile lit up her face. She was obviously seeing something that he didn’t.

‘This place must be so gorgeous at Christmastime. I can just imagine it.’ She spun around and held out her hands. ‘A huge tree at this window that everyone out on the street can see.’ She walked towards the fireplace again. ‘One of those green and red garlands for the mantel, with some twinkling lights.’ She turned back to the window. ‘And some old-fashioned heavy-duty velvet curtains around the window.’ She touched the white blinds that were currently in place and gave a little frown. ‘Do you change these at Christmas? It’s such a gorgeous bay window. You should make the most of it.’

He could almost hear the shutters clanging into place in his brain. He saw it. The pictures in her head that would never be in his. Never. He didn’t do Christmas—hadn’t since he was a young boy.

She couldn’t possibly know. She couldn’t possibly understand. He and his father had literally watched the life being sucked out of his mother. She’d died around Christmastime and the season celebrations had been a permanent reminder ever since. He hated Christmas. He’d always offered to work it, and since most of his colleagues had children they’d always been happy to accept his offer. He’d never hung a single decoration in his home. He didn’t even own any.

He could see her gaze narrow ever so slightly as she looked more critically now around the whitewashed room with white window blinds. Apart from the wooden floor, the only thing that gave the room some colour was the dark leather suite.

He’d always loved his house. It suited his needs fine. He didn’t want to accommodate anyone else’s opinions or tastes.

He walked back out to the hall. Away from the look of expectation on Bonnie’s face. Away from her smiling, overactive imagination. ‘I don’t really have time for Christmas, or to decorate. There’s not much point. I’m always on duty at the hospital anyway. Come on, I’ll show you both where your rooms are.’

He didn’t even wait to see if she was following him. Just picked up the first two cases and headed to the stairs. Bonnie still had that glazed expression on her face. She touched the banister. ‘This must be beautiful with tinsel wound around it.’

He swept past her on the staircase. ‘Not going to happen. Not in this house.’ He was done being subtle. She hadn’t picked up on the first clues. He was going to have to hang a sign saying ‘No Christmas’ above the mantelpiece. What did it matter anyway—by Christmas she wouldn’t be here. Not in his house anyway.

He paused at the landing, ignoring her puzzled expression and cutting her off before she had the chance to speak. ‘There’s three bedrooms on this floor—one of which is mine—and two bedrooms and a bathroom on the floor above. I think you and Bonnie might be better up there. More privacy for you both.’

More privacy for me too. He didn’t want to wander along the hall half dressed to find a little red-haired girl with her disapproving glare.

He started up the other flight of stairs before Bonnie really had a chance to reply. The housekeeper had definitely been in today. The doors of both rooms were open and he could smell the freshly laundered linen on the beds. He put the cases in the first room that had a double bed. ‘I’m assuming you’ll sleep in here and Freya next door. There’s a single in there. Bathroom’s at the end of the hall.’ He walked along the corridor and flicked the light switch in the white-tiled bathroom. He hadn’t really thought about it before. Just about everything in this house was white.

He watched as Freya walked suspiciously into the single room, her eyes flitting from side to side. She looked at the single bed covered in a white duvet, the chest of drawers, and then turned around and walked back to Bonnie, wrapping her arms around her waist and cuddling her tight.

Her actions gave Jacob a start. There was nothing wrong with this room. It was fine. Why didn’t she like it? He took a few seconds and looked again. Maybe the room was a little stark. Maybe it wasn’t exactly welcoming for a little girl. But how on earth would he know what a little girl would like? It wasn’t as if he’d had any practice. The kids he was generally around were only a few days or hours old.

‘Maybe you’d like to sleep in with your mum?’ He had no idea where that had come from. Chances were, he’d just committed some huge parenting faux pas. He was just struggling to understand Freya’s reaction to the perfectly acceptable room.

Bonnie looked up and shot him a grateful glance. ‘We’ll play it by ear. Thank you, Jacob.’

He gave a relieved nod. ‘Sorry, I didn’t show you the kitchen or the back sitting room. It has a more comfortable sofa—and another TV and DVD player.’ A thought darted into his brain. ‘The only place I’d prefer Freya stay out of is my office downstairs.’ The place was full of research about non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Statistics for everything, including the most successful forms of treatment. Freya wouldn’t be able to read any of that but Bonnie would if she followed Freya in.

‘Absolutely no problem.’ Bonnie had wound her hand through Freya’s hair and was stroking the back of her neck. Did she know she was doing it? Or was it just a subconscious act?