Their Baby Surprise Read online

  ‘Of course I don’t mind.’ He gave her a quick grin. ‘Let’s do it the civilised way and talk it all through over dinner.’

  ‘That would be lovely,’ she agreed, and he nodded.

  ‘Good. It’s a date.’

  He straight left after that but it was a couple of minutes before Rachel followed him from the room. It had been a turn of phrase, that was all, she told herself firmly as she made her way to the meeting room where the anti-smoking clinic was being held. It certainly wasn’t a date and she had to get that idea right out of her head. They were just two colleagues who planned on having dinner together while they discussed work-related issues. Yet even though she understood that she couldn’t help wishing that he had invited her out for a very different reason. To know that Matt wanted to spend some time with her would have meant a great deal.

  The afternoon flew past and before Matt knew it, it was time for evening surgery. He saw his first half dozen patients without encountering any major problems. Most people had come with the usual complaints that were the mainstay of any busy general practice—coughs and colds, ear infections and aching joints. He treated everyone the same, taking the time to listen to them and affording them the courtesy they deserved. He liked people and wouldn’t have chosen to do this job if he didn’t care.

  His next patient was a teenage boy called Adam Shaw. He came shuffling into the room, looking very ill at ease. Matt asked him to sit down and smiled encouragingly at him. ‘So what can I do for you today, Adam?’

  ‘I…well…um…’ Adam turned bright red with embarrassment. It was obviously an ordeal for him to explain the reason why he had come.

  ‘There’s no need to be embarrassed, Adam. I assure you that I won’t be shocked by whatever you tell me.’ Matt looked the boy firmly in the eyes. ‘Just spit it out and tell me what’s wrong.’

  ‘It’s down here, you see,’ Adam muttered, pointing to his groin. ‘There’s something…well, not right.’

  ‘In what way?’ Matt’s tone was businesslike because he knew it was the fastest way to extract the information he needed. At this rate they would still be sitting here at midnight!

  That reminded him of what he had planned for the evening but he managed to brush the thought aside. If he started thinking about Rachel and this dinner they were having, he would be in no better state than young Adam.

  ‘Can you describe your symptoms for me, Adam?’

  ‘I…um…I’ve had this sort of discharge,’ Adam explained, his face turning even more fiery. ‘And everything feels sort of swollen, you know.’

  ‘I see. Right, I’ll need to examine you so if you could just pop behind the screen and remove your trousers etcetera, I’ll be with you in a moment.’

  Matt gave the boy a couple of minutes to get ready then examined him. Adam’s testicles were indeed swollen and he admitted that he experienced discomfort every time he passed urine. Add that to what the boy had told him about there being a discharge and Matt was soon able to make a diagnosis.

  ‘It looks as though you have non-specific urethritis, Adam,’ he told the teenager once they were sitting down again. ‘The urethra has become inflamed and that’s why you have these symptoms. My main concern now is to identify the micro-organism that has caused it, although most cases of NSU are due to a sexually transmitted disease like chlamydia. If that is the cause in this instance it means I shall have to contact all your sexual partners and check if they require treatment too.’

  ‘Oh, no! I can’t believe this is happening.’ Adam put his head in his hands and groaned. ‘Will you have to tell my parents? They’ll go mad if they find out!’

  ‘No.’ Matt shook his head. ‘You’re seventeen so there is no need to involve anyone apart from the girls you’ve slept with. It’s imperative that they are checked out too because if it is chlamydia, it can have serious repercussions for them in the future. For you as well as it can cause infertility if it isn’t treated.’

  ‘I’ve only slept with one girl and that’s the truth, Dr Thompson. It was my first time and I thought it was hers, too, but apparently not.’

  Adam was obviously deeply upset by the idea that he had been misled. Matt gave Adam a moment to collect himself then carried on, wanting to get all the information he needed. He made a note of the girl’s name and address then collected some samples to send to the lab for testing. He then wrote out a script for erythromycin and told Adam to come back to see him in a week’s time when the lab results would be back. He would explain then that Adam would need to make follow-up visits for the next three months to make sure he hadn’t suffered a relapse.

  He made a note to check if Adam’s girlfriend was a patient at the practice and buzzed in his next appointment, glancing at the clock as he did so. Just half an hour to go until surgery ended and he and Rachel could enjoy that dinner they had planned. Maybe it was only a working dinner but that didn’t matter. Being with her was enough, probably more than he should allow himself given his parlous state of mind. However, he was only flesh and blood and he couldn’t help wanting to spend time with her even if he wasn’t sure if it was wise.

  Rachel made a quick trip to the bathroom as soon as her last patient had left. If she’d had any idea that she would be going out that night she would have worn something more glamorous than the sober grey suit she had put on that morning. There wasn’t much she could do about it now, so she washed her face, applied a fresh coat of lipstick and fluffed up her hair, wishing as she did every day that it would lie smoothly around her face instead of insisting on curling so riotously. Still, it was thick and glossy and that was something in its favour even if it refused to be tamed.

  She went back to her room and was just attempting to struggle into her coat when Matt appeared. He looked so big and handsome as he came striding into the room that her heart gave a girlish leap of delight. She could just imagine him striding across the deck of a pirate ship, or riding hell for leather across an open plain. He was real hero material from the top of his dark hair to the tips of his well-shod feet, she decided dreamily.

  ‘Need a hand with that?’

  He took the coat from her and slid it up her arms before she could blink, and she shivered when she felt his hands smoothing the collar into place. Even though there were several layers of clothing between his hands and her flesh, she could feel her skin tingling, tiny flurries of heat that scorched along her veins and made it difficult to think. It was only when he removed his hands that she was able to pull herself together and she sighed softly. She needed to keep her emotions under far tighter control if she wasn’t to make a fool of herself tonight.

  ‘Thanks. I just need to get my bag then I’m ready to leave,’ she told him, determined not to get sidetracked again. She bent over to open the bottom drawer of the desk, quite forgetting about her injured knee, and gasped when it suddenly gave way beneath her.

  ‘Careful!’ Matt grabbed hold of her arm and steadied her. He shook his head. ‘What did I say before about you asking for help, Rachel? Leave it. I’ll get it.’ Bending down, he retrieved the bag, grimacing when he discovered how heavy it was. ‘What on earth do you keep in this thing? It weighs a ton.’

  ‘Oh, just the usual things,’ she replied, making a mental note to be more careful in future. She was trying to remain on even keel and that wouldn’t be possible if at every turn Matt ended up touching her. Her heart lurched as she recalled the strength of his grasp as he had set her safely back on her feet and she hurried on. ‘The problem is that I never seem to get round to clearing out the clutter and just keep adding to it.’

  ‘You women and your handbags,’ Matt declared, rolling his eyes as she limped around the desk.

  ‘Look who’s talking,’ she retorted, glancing pointedly at his case. ‘You don’t exactly travel light yourself, do you?’

  ‘Ah, but the difference is that all I keep in here are essentials—pills and potions, etcetera.’ He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm as naturally as though it
had been part of their daily routine for ever and laughed, mercifully covering the tiny gasp that escaped her when she found herself pressed against the solid length of his body.

  ‘And that’s it? You’re willing to swear on oath that you don’t keep anything else in there?’ she retorted, doing her best to keep her emotions firmly leashed.

  ‘Of course,’ he declared loftily, pausing in the doorway to switch off the lights. ‘Everything this case contains is work-related.’

  They headed along the corridor at a snail’s pace, Matt adjusting his speed to accommodate the fact that she couldn’t hurry. Whilst Rachel appreciated his thoughtfulness it didn’t help one little bit. Each slow, deliberate stride he took brought his hip and thigh into even closer contact with hers and it was the sweetest kind of torment imaginable. Even though she was wearing heavy winter clothing, she could feel the power and strength of his body as clearly as though they had both been naked.

  Heat rushed through at the picture that instantly sprang to her mind and she bit her lip. The situation was going from bad to worse and she had no idea what to do about it. All she did know was that she mustn’t let Matt suspect how she felt or it could ruin everything. She would rather have him as a friend and a colleague than not have him in her life at all.

  They went to the same restaurant they had been to the previous night. Matt had suggested going somewhere different for a change but Rachel had claimed that she wasn’t dressed for anywhere too upmarket. To his mind she looked fine, more than fine, wonderful, in fact, although he forbore to say so. This was a working dinner, he reminded himself as the waiter showed them to their table. It wasn’t a date.

  The thought of what a real date might have entailed shimmered in front of his eyes like a mirage. If they had been out on a date, he’d have been able to tell Rachel how he felt, admit that he was attracted to her, maybe even confess his fears about getting hurt. And after dinner was over they might even have decided to continue the evening. It wasn’t as though they didn’t know one another, so it wouldn’t have felt as though he was rushing her if he’d invited her back to his house. They could have sat by the fire in the sitting room and drunk coffee, and then he would have kissed her, slowly, deeply, passionately.

  His body tingled as he imagined how sweet her lips would taste, like honeyed nectar. He would kiss her once then kiss her again and keep on kissing her until it was no longer enough for either of them. Even though Rachel had never chosen to have a long-term relationship, he knew that she would be a passionate and responsive lover, a tender and giving lover too. It was her nature to be generous and there would be no holding back. She would give herself to him with all the generosity of the person she was and he would bury himself in her softness, her sweetness, and allow it to heal him. He would become whole again in her arms, fearless and unafraid of the future. The thought was almost too tempting to resist.

  ‘I’m going to have the same as I had last night.’

  Rachel closed her menu and placed it on the table. Matt’s head whirled as he struggled to separate the mirage from what was actually happening. ‘Good idea. I think I will too.’

  He placed his menu on top of hers, forcing out the images that crowded his head. Rachel deserved to be loved and cherished, nothing less, and he wasn’t sure yet if he could do that. ‘So have you had any more thoughts about this new advisory service?’ he asked to distract himself from that strangely unsettling thought.

  ‘Just one. I was wondering if we should offer contraceptive advice as well.’ Rachel paused as though she hadn’t made up her mind about the benefits of such a service and Matt nodded encouragingly. He wanted to fill his head with as many new ideas as possible in the hope they would shut out everything else.

  ‘It would make a lot of sense. Dalverston has never had a proper family planning clinic and, in my opinion, it’s a huge oversight. Admittedly, the number of unplanned pregnancies in the town is relatively low compared to some other places, but they still happen. Kids need to understand that they have to behave responsibly, and not just to avoid getting pregnant either.’

  ‘STDs, you mean?’ Rachel queried.

  ‘Yes. I had a young man in tonight who’s a prime example of the value of such a service. It looks very much as though he’s caught some sort of sexually transmitted disease—probably chlamydia—and it was the first time he had slept with a girl too. Youngsters like him need to understand that they can’t afford to take any chances whether it’s their first time or their hundredth.’

  ‘I agree, although I suppose that must sound rather hypocritical.’

  ‘Hypocritical?’ He frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘That I’m hardly a shining example of how to behave sensibly seeing as I was a teenage mum myself,’ she explained wryly.

  ‘That’s just plain silly, Rachel. All right, so you didn’t plan on having Ross, but everyone is allowed to make one mistake in their lives.’

  ‘Thank you. And I have to confess that I wouldn’t change things even if I could. Having Ross was the best thing that ever happened to me. I know I worked twice as hard as I would have done if I hadn’t had to support him.’

  ‘There you go, then. You’ve nothing to feel bad about. In fact, I can’t think of a better role model for the kids than you.’

  Matt heard the husky note in his voice and picked up his glass of water, hoping that Rachel wouldn’t thank him for the compliment. If she did he might be tempted to hand out a few more and that would be the wrong thing to do. He had to remember that he wasn’t in a position to court her.

  The incongruity of the old-fashioned term should have made him laugh, yet it was the best way to describe how he felt. He wanted to court her, to woo her and charm her into liking him. He tried to remember if he had felt the same way when he had met Claire but it was too long ago to recall his feelings. His love for Claire had been both rich and fulfilling, but it had changed over the years they’d been married. Their passion had mellowed, the urgency they had felt in the beginning turning into a closeness that had sustained them both. But all of a sudden he knew that if he fell in love with Rachel it wouldn’t be the same. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t imagine the passion he felt for her growing weaker with time.

  Matt’s breath caught as he was forced to acknowledge the truth. Loving Rachel would be a very different experience from loving Claire. Admitting it seemed like the ultimate betrayal.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  RACHEL sensed a certain undercurrent bubbling away while they ate. It wasn’t anything Matt said, but a feeling she had that something was troubling him. To all intents and purposes he behaved exactly the same as normal but she was too sensitive when it came to him to miss even the smallest signs. The thought unsettled her so that when he suggested having coffee after their meal, she refused. It seemed wiser to bring the evening to an end rather than prolong it.

  They left the restaurant a short time later and walked over to where they had parked the car. There was a thick layer of frost on the windscreen and once Matt had settled her in the passenger seat, he got out a can of de-icer and set to work. Rachel huddled deeper into her coat, although it wasn’t the chill of the night that was making her feel so cold but the worry of it all. Had Matt sensed something amiss from her own behaviour, perhaps?

  ‘Let’s get this heater going.’ Matt got into the car, bringing with him a blast of icy air. He frowned when he saw her shiver. ‘You’re frozen solid! I should have turned on the engine instead of leaving you sitting here.’

  He sounded genuinely upset and she couldn’t bear to hear him berate himself when she was the one at fault. She had to get over this ridiculous crush and set everything back on a normal footing.

  ‘I’ll live,’ she said lightly, making a determined effort to sound upbeat. ‘I’ll have you know that I’m a lot tougher than I look!’

  ‘Oh, I don’t doubt it.’ He grinned at her. ‘I bet you tear up telephone directories with your bare hands for fun, don’t you?’

/>   ‘You’d better believe it!’ Rachel flexed her fingers and laughed, feeling easier now that their usual harmony had been restored. Maybe she had been reading too much into the situation, she thought, glancing at Matt as he drove them out of the car park. He’d probably been concentrating on the pros and cons of this new venture, making sure that it would be worth all the extra work involved. She had rather sprung it on him and maybe she should have given him more time to weigh it all up.

  ‘Look, Matt, if you have any reservations about this proposal of mine, please, say so. I know how stretched we are and offering a new service like this is bound to stretch us even more.’ She shrugged. ‘I don’t want to cause problems for everyone, believe me.’

  ‘You aren’t. As we agreed earlier it could end up saving us a lot of time. Add in the very real benefits to both the mums and their babies and it has to be a good idea. No, I can honestly say that I don’t have any reservations at all. It’s an excellent idea.’

  ‘Oh, right. Good. I’m glad you feel like that.’

  There was no doubt in her mind that he meant what he said and Rachel let the subject drop. They passed through the town centre and headed towards the outskirts of the town. Matt drew up at the side of the road when they reached the lane where she lived and turned to her.

  ‘I know you’ll think I’m fussing, Rachel, but are you sure you can manage tonight with that knee? I’d hate to think of you taking a tumble down those stairs of yours.’

  ‘I won’t,’ Rachel replied, swivelling sideways so she could look at him. Her breath caught when she saw the concern in his eyes but she refused to allow herself to get carried away. Matt was just being his usual kind and thoughtful self. She held up her hand as though swearing an oath. ‘I promise on my honour that I shall be extra careful what I do. Does that set your mind at rest?’

  ‘A bit, but I’d feel better if you would stay at my house tonight.’ He hurried on, obviously keen to forestall any objections she might make. ‘And before you say anything, you won’t be putting me out. Just the opposite, in fact. You’ll be doing me a favour.’