As Gemma listened to him she felt her throat begin to tighten with unshed tears as she recalled how those three years had been for her.
‘At first,’ he continued when Gemma remained silent, ‘no one seemed to know where you’d gone. Many of the staff at St Jerome’s had changed and moved on but Liam remembered that you’d gone to London and that he’d heard from someone that you were working here at Denby General. The rest you know.’
‘How did you feel when you knew I had a child?’ she asked curiously.
‘I was pretty devastated at first,’ he confessed. ‘It hurt to think I’d been replaced so quickly, but in the end I concluded that I was the one who had gone away and that maybe you’d been feeling hurt and vulnerable at the time…’
‘I did,’ she admitted, ‘but certainly not to the extent that I would have been looking for another relationship. I loved you, Stephen. You were my whole life but the last thing I wanted was for you to think that I’d trapped you into something you didn’t want or weren’t ready for. In the end I decided that I would bring up my baby on my own.’ She gave a little shrug. ‘Maybe that was wrong, I don’t know. I accept now that probably I should have told you, but at the time it seemed the right thing to do.’
‘And now?’ asked Stephen softly, his gaze moving from Gemma to Daisy where it rested for a moment before returning to her. ‘How do you feel now?’
‘I still love you, Stephen.’ As she spoke the words, she felt her heart lifting. ‘I have always loved you and I suspect I always will.’
He took a deep breath. ‘In that case, Gemma, don’t you think that you and I and this little girl have rather a lot of catching up to do?’
‘Yes, Stephen,’ she answered, a tremulous smile on her lips. ‘I do.’
At that moment Daisy stirred and opened her eyes again, but this time she stayed awake, watching Gemma. Turning her head on the pillow, she caught sight of Stephen.
Wonderingly she reached out one tiny hand and touched his face. ‘Seeven,’ she said, and his eyes filled with tears.
Daisy continued to improve, and a week after her discharge from Denby General Gemma felt she could leave her with Jill for an evening. At first she had almost been afraid to let the little girl out of her sight but gradually, as she realised there seemed to be no lasting effects from the recent trauma, she let go and when Jill offered to look after her she accepted Stephen’s invitation to dinner.
She dressed with care, choosing the type of clothes she knew he liked—the little black dress that showed off her tanned limbs to perfection, the wispy chiffon wrap and the minimum of jewellery. She wore a single gold chain around her neck, and in her ears the pair of simple pearl studs that Stephen had given her when they’d been together.
‘You kept them,’ he said, his admiring gaze coming to rest on the earrings after his appraisal of her appearance, from the black dress to the high-heeled sandals and her hair, which she wore loose so that with every movement of her head it lightly brushed her bare shoulders.
He took her to a restaurant near Covent Garden where they lingered over lobster salad, fresh strawberries and champagne. And it was there that he asked her to marry him.
Gemma thought she would remember that moment and the look in Stephen’s eyes for the rest of her life, but when she would have answered he leaned across the table and touched her mouth with his fingers. ‘No,’ he said, ‘not yet. Don’t give me your answer yet. I’ll tell you when.’
Later they strolled hand in hand, their fingers interlaced, along the Embankment, pausing at intervals to share a kiss until at last Stephen hailed a cab, which took them to his apartment. By the time the door closed behind them so great was their need and longing for each other that in their haste their clothes formed a trail from the door to the bedroom.
And it was every bit as wonderful as Gemma remembered as their desire, which had been steadily mounting all evening, finally exploded in a frenzy of passion as Stephen took her to that place that she’d visited only with him and where of late she’d despaired of ever returning. Their reunion had the element of a homecoming about it and when at last they lay together, satiated and utterly spent, he finally turned to her and said, ‘Give me your answer now, Gemma. Will you marry me?’
‘Oh, Stephen.’ Lifting her hand, she lightly touched his cheek then the corner of his mouth. ‘Yes,’ she said, feeling herself bubbling over with happiness. ‘Yes, of course I will.’
‘I’ll never leave you again,’ he murmured, drawing her into his arms once more.
‘I wouldn’t let you,’ she whispered with a sigh.
‘What about Daisy?’ he asked after a while. ‘What do you think she’ll make of having me around?’
‘Well, if that day in the park was anything to go by, I think she’ll be delighted,’ said Gemma with a smile. ‘She took to you instantly, Stephen, almost as if instinctively she knew you were her father.’
‘I can’t wait to be a proper dad to her—you know, taking her out, reading her bedtime stories, teaching her to swim and ride a bike. All the things that dads do…’
‘I’m sorry you missed the baby years,’ Gemma began, but Stephen stopped her by placing his fingers against her mouth.
‘Never mind,’ he said. ‘I more than mean to make up for it now. And besides, There’s always next time.’
‘Next time?’ Gemma raised her head and looked at him.
‘Yes.’ He grinned. ‘I can’t imagine you want Daisy to be an only child.’
‘Well, no, I suppose not, now you come to mention it…’
‘And this time we’ll have all the fun of trying.’ He was silent for a moment as if in anticipation of all that lay before them. ‘Where will we live?’ he asked at last.
‘I was wondering about that.’ Gemma moved onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. ‘Your loft conversion, wonderful as it is, doesn’t really have room for three, does it?’
‘No,’ he agreed with a grin. ‘It could be a bit cramped, especially when three becomes four.’
‘We’ll have to look for somewhere of our own.’ Suddenly the prospect seemed full of wonderful possibilities as Gemma visualised herself, Stephen and Daisy and maybe another baby in their own little house somewhere.
‘What about your mum?’ asked Stephen thoughtfully. ‘Will this mean she’ll have to look for another lodger?’
‘I think she might want to move to somewhere smaller,’ said Gemma slowly. ‘It wouldn’t have been right to move straight after Dad died, but now I think she’ll be glad to. She’s thinking of retiring soon and I know she wants to spend more time on her painting.’
‘We could help her find somewhere and get settled.’
‘Yes,’ Gemma agreed, ‘that’s the least I can do after all she’s done for me.’
‘And for Daisy,’ Stephen added.
‘Yes, and for Daisy.’
‘Talking of mothers,’ said Stephen, ‘mine is going to be over the moon at our news.’
‘I imagine it could come as quite a shock, discovering she has a two-year-old granddaughter,’ said Gemma.
‘Ah, but I think that’s a shock that will be easily overcome,’ said Stephen with a chuckle. ‘And I know she’ll be delighted to meet you at last,’ he added after a moment.
They fell silent, each reflecting on the past, then Gemma raised her head and looked at the clock. ‘I should be going, Stephen,’ she said reluctantly.
‘Do you have to?’ he murmured, easing himself closer to her.
‘I can’t stay all night,’ she protested.
‘Can’t you?’ he said hopefully, putting his arms around her and drawing her even closer so that their bodies, warm and relaxed, fitted perfectly together.
‘No, Stephen, I can’ t,’ she replied firmly. ‘Whatever would Daisy think if she woke up in the morning and I wasn’t there?’
‘True,’ he agreed. Gently he began caressing the soft skin of her shoulder and kissing the vulnerable hollow at the base of her neck.
‘What I have in mind…’ Stephen moved his hand from her shoulder until it cupped her breast ‘…is going to take rather longer than half an hour.’
‘Really?’ said Gemma as once more her body began to throb in anticipation. ‘So tell me, Dr Preston, what exactly do you have in mind?’
Lowering his head, Stephen whispered in her ear and what he said left her in no doubt as to his intentions.
‘Oh, well.’ She laughed, easing her body until it was beneath his. ‘In that case, I guess as long as I’m home just before Daisy wakes up, that’ll be just fine.’
‘That’s more like it,’ said Stephen with a chuckle. ‘After all, we do have a lot of catching up to do.’
‘I know we do,’ sighed Gemma dreamily as, arching her body, she slid her arms around his neck. ‘And really I guess There’s no time like the present to start.’
ISBN: 978-1-4603-5707-1
DR. PRESTON’S DAUGHTER
First North American Publication 2002
Copyright © 2002 by Laura MacDonald
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