Twin Surprise for the Single Doc

by Susanne Hampton

  ‘And you don’t think you living here is ridiculous?’

  ‘No, that’s different.’

  ‘Not in my opinion. If you move in, then we’ll do it together and both risk our lives and general wellbeing!’

  Claudia shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him before she walked across the narrow passageway behind Patrick to the darkened room. Reaching for the light switch, Patrick discovered it didn’t work so he used the light of his phone to see the room. It was smaller and there was a single bed and what looked like a grey chest of drawers. He walked across to the window and lifted the blind to allow them to see the room properly. It took him three attempts to lift the damaged blind but when he did he could see another short electrical cable hanging down from the ceiling. There was no light fitting and again the globe was missing.

  ‘Looks like we both need light bulbs when we head to the store.’ He patted the bed, not daring to think about how many years the faded orange bedspread had gone without washing. It was stained and frayed in places along the hemline. Then he noticed the chest of drawers was actually a filing cabinet and he walked over and pulled open the top drawer. ‘Great, I can keep some of my patient files in here to work on in the evenings.’

  ‘Don’t be awful. You’re teasing me now.’

  ‘Not at all. If it’s good enough for you, then it’s good enough for me.’

  ‘You’re being stupid. You don’t need to babysit me.’

  ‘I’m not thinking of babysitting. In this part of town my role would be more bodyguard.’

  Claudia put her hands on her hips and shook her head. ‘It’s not that bad. I used to drive through here on the way to the studio every day. I never saw anything untoward happen.’

  ‘And what time was this exactly?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean did you drive through this street after dark?’

  Claudia thought back. ‘Not dark but early evening and early morning.’

  ‘Then you and I will spend one night here together and if everything is fine then we’ll discuss it again but I think you’ll find that after the sun goes down this isn’t a nice place to live. There are gangs in adjacent areas.’

  ‘I have an idea. Why don’t I ask a neighbour, or the business out the back? They’ll tell me what it’s really like.’

  Patrick ran his long fingers through his hair in exasperation. Claudia was as stubborn as she was beautiful and intelligent. ‘Let’s ask, but if you get the answer I expect then I hope you agree we should just leave.’

  Claudia didn’t agree to anything. She showed no emotion as they walked out of the house and along the sidewalk beside the fence to where they found the owner of the wrecking yard locking up for the day. He was pulling the tall wire fence closed and securing it with a heavy padlock. Claudia picked up speed so he didn’t leave before she had a chance to speak with him.

  ‘Excuse me,’ she called out. ‘I’m wondering if you could tell me a little about the area. I’m thinking about renting the house that backs onto your property.’

  Patrick watched as the man’s face fell.

  ‘Listen, lady, do you see the two dogs over there?’

  ‘Yes,’ Claudia answered, looking at the two heavy-set black guard dogs that were chafing at the bit, waiting for their owner’s signal to begin patrolling the yard.

  ‘They’re not here for their good looks. There’s not enough money in the world to make me live in this neighbourhood.’ He tapped his watch with his grubby fingernail. ‘Three o’clock every day I’m outta here. I’ve got some clients that look after the yard, if you know what I mean. I work on their cars and they make sure that my yard and my dogs are still here in the morning.’

  ‘Perhaps the dogs will look after me too. They’ll scare away anyone who thought to break into my place.’

  ‘Not a chance unless you want to live in my office. Sorry, miss, but you’re on your own if you move into that house. You’d be dead crazy if you did.’ He signalled to the dogs before he climbed into his utility and drove away. Immediately the dogs rushed towards the wire fence, gnashing their teeth and making Claudia jump back nervously.

  ‘So do you think you need a second opinion or can we leave now and find you other accommodation? Unless you want to wait and ask a not so friendly gang member his opinion.’

  ‘Okay, I get it. I suppose you may have a point,’ she said with a decidedly sheepish look upon her face.

  ‘May have?’

  ‘Fine, the man confirmed your suspicions about the suburb. And I concede the house is not as nice as the realtor described on the phone. I can’t believe he lied to me.’

  Patrick didn’t comment. There was nothing he needed to add except to ask her to get into his car while he locked up the house.

  A few minutes later they were on the freeway and heading towards Beverly Hills. ‘I’ll only stop at your home long enough to make some calls and secure another short-term rental,’ she told him. ‘I can make a reservation in a hotel tonight if necessary.’

  ‘Whatever you think is best, but my home is big enough for both of us.’

  ‘Thank you, Patrick, but I won’t get too comfortable. I’ll be leaving in a few hours.’

  It was only ten minutes on Freeway 405 and then three miles on Wilshire Boulevard before Patrick turned into a street lined with towering palms. The sweeping grounds of each of the palatial homes was perfectly manicured, and small gardeners’ vans were dotted along the street with men in wide-brimmed hats busily planting and trimming the gardens. They drove a little way to a slight bend in the road and then slowed. Heavy black electric gates slowly opened and Patrick drove the car inside and the gates closed behind them.

  He drove the car up the driveway to the front door of the double-storey white stucco mansion he had called home for two years. The property also boasted a tennis court, a heated swimming pool, spa and a four-car garage but Patrick didn’t mention any of it. Cosmetic surgery had been kind to him, he admitted, but equally he had worked hard in his new field and had been recognised as one of the best by Hollywood’s very particular clientele.

  He helped Claudia out of the car and then opened the front door. ‘Please go in; I’ll get your bag.’

  ‘I won’t be staying,’ she reminded him. ‘Perhaps you should leave my things in the trunk.’

  He smiled to himself. He wondered again if she had always been that fiercely independent or had circumstance made her that way? But, whatever the case, he understood she had every right to want to make her own decisions. He just hoped they didn’t include another dubious choice of realtor.

  ‘I’ll get your belongings in case there’s anything you need.’

  Claudia spun on her heel to take in the magnificent surroundings. The foyer had a large atrium with a stone water feature. The sound of running water echoed in the large open space. Looking past that to outside, she could see more gently moving water. It was, she assumed, an endless pool and a panorama of the Hollywood Hills formed a backdrop.

  ‘I will let you find your way around. The guest bedroom is on the ground floor, third door on the left, if you’d like to have a shower or a lie down. It might do you good to rest for a while. I can take you back to the hospital to visit the boys this evening.’

  ‘You’re being too kind. And too generous. It’s unnecessary, honestly.’

  ‘Claudia, it’s a big house. I live here all alone and you’re most welcome to stay here until you leave. I’d rather you were here than making friends in that neighbourhood! And, by the way, never recommend that realtor unless you really dislike someone,’ he said with a wink before he closed the door and left her alone.

  Claudia was more confused than she had ever been in her life.

  The most handsome, kind, considerate man wanted her to live with him. She owed her life to him. An
d she wanted to be with him more than anything, but she couldn’t. He had made it obvious he had feelings, not only by opening his home but also the way he kept reaching for her. But she wasn’t ready to take that leap of faith and trust again. He was a kind man and as much as she wished he was the father of her sons, he wasn’t. And she couldn’t risk them all falling in love with Patrick. What if he walked out one day—the way that the boys’ father had done? And turned her life upside down.

  She had to be sensible and see the world the way Harriet would. Put a practical filter across her decisions and stop being led by her heart.

  Certain and confused in equal amounts, she found her way to the guest bedroom and, kicking off her shoes, she sat on the bed. She suddenly felt a little tired and the bed felt very soft and comfortable so she thought she might just lie down for a moment. She told herself that she wouldn’t fall asleep but just close her eyes for a moment, then she would call another realtor and find another short-term lease. And that night she would stay in a hotel.

  * * *

  Patrick came home to a darkened house but in the light from the porch he could see Claudia’s suitcase still lying against the wall in the hallway. He turned on the lamp in the living room, unsure if she was at home or had caught a cab to the hospital. Quietly, he walked through his home and found her asleep on the bed. While it was still warm outside, the air-conditioning had kept the house cool and she was wearing a thin sundress so he pulled the throw rug up over her and closed the door. She was exhausted and he had no intention of waking her so he put a call through to the hospital to check on the boys. His call was connected to the neonatal resident.

  ‘Dr Spencer, I’ve just finished reading the boys’ notes for today. I did try to call Miss Monticello but had no luck getting through.’

  ‘It was a big day for Claudia and she’s taking a nap now so that’s why I’ve called. I will pass any updates on to her.’

  ‘Thomas is still progressing well, as he did from day one, and Luca’s PDA appears to be self-correcting. He’ll be having another echocardiogram tomorrow but Dr Wilson is confident no further treatment will be required. So please let Miss Monticello continue to rest. She can come in the morning to see them. Both boys are asleep and will have their gavage feed in another two hours. There’s no need for Miss Monticello to be here when the rest would do her more good.’

  Patrick thanked the young doctor and hung up the telephone before he ran upstairs to change into shorts and a T-shirt. He would take a dip in the pool later but first he would cook some dinner for the two of them. He knew it was stupid to think there would be anything between them after the next few weeks but she was getting under his skin and he couldn’t deny it.

  For some inexplicable reason, he didn’t want to let the dim future get in the way of a happy few weeks.

  Life was short and so he intended to enjoy whatever time he could with her. She challenged him and just being around her made him feel alive. Her accent and her very British mannerisms surprisingly made him think almost fondly of London and even fleetingly of his family. And, in a deep dark corner of his mind, he thought perhaps there was a chance, however slight, that she could change her mind and stay in the US.

  * * *

  Claudia woke to the smell of cooking. Her eyes struggled to focus and for a moment she forgot where she was until suddenly it came back to her. She had lain down for a moment in Patrick’s guest room. It was dark but she could feel the light weight of a throw rug over her. She didn’t remember pulling it up so assumed Patrick must have returned home and covered her. The curtains were billowing with the cool evening breeze and there was light creeping under the now closed bedroom door.

  Suddenly she sat bolt upright. She hadn’t called a realtor. She reached for her phone and discovered it was after six, in fact closer to seven.

  ‘Darn, bother, you silly cow,’ she said as she rubbed her forehead and silently continued berating herself for falling asleep. Now she would have to find a hotel as soon as she had visited Thomas and Luca. She swung her legs down and felt around for her shoes before she headed in the direction of the light. She would thank Patrick for his hospitality and get a cab to a hotel, check in with her bags and then head straight to the Mercy.

  There was no way she could accept his hospitality. Their relationship had already overstepped the boundaries of common sense.

  Moments later, Claudia stood in the doorway to the kitchen, watching Patrick stirring something that smelt delicious on the stovetop. Suddenly her heart felt lighter. But her head felt terribly confused. He turned to see her watching him and she felt very self-conscious. A tingling sensation crept up her neck and onto her face and she felt certain the blush had spread across her cheeks.

  ‘Well, hello sleepy-head. Did you have a nice nap?’

  His eyes twinkled as he spoke and she tried to ignore her increased heartbeat.

  ‘I did, thank you, but you should’ve woken me. I slept for far too long. I need to get to a hotel and then see the boys.’

  He lowered the heat underneath the pan and turned around to face her. He was wearing a tight white T-shirt and cargo shorts. His toned physique was cutting through both. His feet were tanned and bare on the large terracotta tiles.

  ‘I’ve checked on Thomas and Luca and they are both doing very well. They were sleeping when I called but,’ he said, glancing at the roman numerals of the large wall clock and then back to Claudia, ‘they will have been fed again and should be tucked in again for another four hours or so.’

  ‘I should have been there for that feed.’ She was angry and disappointed in herself. She was convinced her boys needed her more than she needed sleep.

  As if he sensed her self-reproach, he added firmly, ‘You can’t do everything, Claudia. The rest you had this afternoon was important. In fact, I told the neonatal unit that you wouldn’t be back to visit the boys until tomorrow.’

  Claudia was taken aback by his announcement and she felt her body tense. ‘Why would you say that to them without asking me? Whether I see my sons or not is not your decision to make.’

  ‘Well, in my capacity as a doctor it is. You need to get your own strength back, as I have said to you more than a few times. You’ll be no good to your sons if you run yourself into the ground the first day out of hospital.’

  ‘But I want to be with them.’

  He shook his head and turned back to the stove. While he admired her strength, he found her stubbornness in ignoring her own wellbeing frustrating.

  ‘I’m all they have in the world.’

  There it was again. Her reference to Thomas and Luca having no one but her.

  Patrick nodded his understanding of her need to be with them but he wanted to at least get some food into her so she could keep up her strength. ‘Then I’ll take you there after dinner.’

  ‘There’s no need for you to take me. I can do it after I book into a hotel.’ Her arms were crossed across her chest and her eyes were narrowed.

  ‘Claudia, I know you have a need for independence above all else, but you have to look after yourself. And since you don’t seem to understand the importance of taking care of yourself I’m more than happy to step up to do the job.’

  ‘I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself and my boys on my own. I’ll be doing that when I return to London in a few weeks.’ She felt her neck tense with the thought of depending on any man again.

  Her words cut through him like a knife. He wasn’t sure if that was her intention but, if it was, she had succeeded.

  ‘Point made,’ he replied as he returned to the task at hand. Listening to his heart had been something he’d successfully avoided for many years and it appeared, from Claudia’s reaction, it was something he needed to continue avoiding.

  Disappointment suddenly coloured his mood. The heat was still under the large pan of boiling water
so he dropped in the fresh pasta. ‘If you want to share dinner before you grab a cab then you’re welcome. If not, then I can help you out with your bag when the cab arrives.’

  Claudia looked at him as he turned his attention back to preparing dinner and wished they had met under different circumstances. Before she had been so badly hurt and disillusioned. He appeared to be everything she’d once dreamed of finding in a man...but she was no longer looking and she doubted she ever would again.

  He turned back to her for a moment. ‘I don’t want you to feel pressured, Claudia. That was never my intention.’ His reply was truthful, his voice gentle and low—almost a whisper. ‘I just wanted to help you...but I would never force you to do anything or stay anywhere you didn’t want to be.’ His voice trailed off.

  Claudia wasn’t sure how to respond. He had been a gentleman up to then and she doubted that would change...unless she invited him to alter his behaviour towards her. She started to wonder if perhaps she had overreacted. Once again since meeting him, she had been rude.

  The first time had been due to her aversion to men and now, looking back, she knew he didn’t deserve to be punished for another man’s mistake. At the time she couldn’t seem to help herself. But this time it was something else driving her to push him away. It wasn’t his fault she was starting to have feelings for him. She wished she had Harriet on speed dial to give her logical, solid advice but it would be selfish to pull her sister away from something far more important in Argentina to ask her whether she should stay for dinner, stay the night or stay for a month.

  No, she had to do this alone. She had to make a decision not based on another man’s behaviour or her own doubts and insecurities. She had to make a decision based on Patrick’s behaviour. And that had been nothing other than exceptional.

  Just as exceptional as his broad-shouldered silhouette looked while stirring the delicious-smelling pasta sauce.

  ‘If the invitation is still open, then perhaps I’ll stay for dinner. But only for dinner.’