The Motherhood Mix-Up
Page 17
Mia stood up, her legs trembling as she went over to the desk where the registrar was talking to one of the nurses. It was a question of trust, wasn’t it? Quite simply: did she trust Leo enough to believe that he would never try to hurt her and Harry?
‘Excuse me,’ she said, feeling a rush of warmth run through her and chase away the chill that had invaded her for the past few days. She did trust him, trusted him to do what was right for Harry, trusted him to do what was right for her too. It was hard to speak when there were so many emotions welling up inside her. ‘C-can I see Mr Forester?’
‘If you want to, although I warn you he’s not in the best of tempers, although I expect you’re used to that.’ The registrar grinned. ‘I never believed the stories about him before but I do now. I’m only glad I don’t work for him!’
Mia didn’t say anything as he led her to the end cubicle and left her there. The curtains were drawn and she took a quick breath before pushing them aside. She was probably the last person Leo wanted to see but tough. She needed to make sure he was all right and then...
What?
What did she intend to do? Talk to him? But would he want to talk to her? Leo would be well within his rights to refuse to have anything to do with her after what she’d said to him. She could, in fact, make the situation worse by attempting to discuss what had happened and that was the last thing she wanted. Although she wasn’t foolish enough to think that they could pick up where they had left off, she wanted them to be friends at the very least. But would Leo want to be her friend? That was the big question.
Mia stood there, gripping the curtain as she debated the idea. Could a man and a woman ever be just friends after they’d been lovers?
* * *
Leo swung his legs over the side of the bed. He’d had enough of hanging around. Maybe that young registrar was only following procedure but he knew he was fine.
He slipped his feet into his shoes, groaning when his ribs gave him gyp. No doubt he’d have a mass of bruises from the combined force of the seat belt locking and the airbag deploying but what was a bit of physical discomfort compared to this inner agony he felt? He had to see Mia and convince her that she could trust him!
He thrust back the curtain and came to a dead stop when he was confronted by the very person he longed to see. Whether it was shock or relief, he had no idea, but there was no way that he could play it cool. That was the old him, the man he’d been pre-Mia, and he was a completely different person now.
He hauled her into his arms and kissed her right there in the middle of ED, uncaring that there were people watching them. He loved her, he wanted her, and by heaven he was going to make her understand that if he had to stand here all day and kiss her!
There was a moment’s hesitation and then she was kissing him back and Leo knew it was going to be all right, that miraculously they could sort out this whole stupid mess. Mia loved him as much as he loved her and they could take on the world and win so long as they took it on together.
He drew back, his breath coming in spurts that were only partly the result of his bruised ribs. ‘I had no idea what Amanda was planning. You have to believe me, my darling. I would never have tried to trick you and take Harry from you.’
‘I know you wouldn’t.’ Her breathing sounded strained too and he smiled as some much-needed confidence came roaring back.
‘Good.’ He rewarded her with another kiss then looked round, grimacing as he realised the attention they were attracting. ‘Shall we take this somewhere a little more private?’
‘Please.’
She didn’t protest as he caught hold of her hand and led her from ED. They passed Rob on the way out but he was too stunned to object when Leo informed him that he would come back later for the results of the tests. It took just a few minutes to reach the consultants’ lounge, which was mercifully empty. Leo closed the door and leant against it.
‘So where do we go from here?’
‘Where do you want to go?’ she countered, looking at him with so much love in her eyes that he trembled.
‘Nowhere that you won’t be,’ he growled, pulling her into his arms and kissing her with undisguised hunger. He leant his forehead against hers, feeling uncharacteristically bashful about revealing the true depth of his feelings, although maybe it was understandable. After all, it would be the first time he had told a woman that he loved her.
‘I love you, Mia. I want to spend my life with you and build a future for us and the boys, if it’s what you want too. Do you?’
‘Yes. It’s what I want more than anything. If we can do it and not harm the boys in any way.’
He stroked her cheek, understanding her fear. ‘There’s no reason to think they’ll be unhappy about it. We’ve seen how well they get on and I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to be part of a family.’ He looked into her eyes. ‘But we’ll take it slowly, make sure they’re completely comfortable with all that we have to tell them, make sure they understand how much we love them too. OK?’
‘Yes. It’s more than OK,’ she murmured, reaching up on tiptoe to kiss him.
The kiss lasted several minutes and only ended when Leo’s pager bleeped. He sighed as he checked the display. ‘Theatre’s paging me. I’ll have to phone and cancel. It wouldn’t be a good idea to operate at the moment.’
‘Because of your accident?’ she said anxiously.
‘No, because admitting how much I love you has left me with very shaky hands.’
He held them out for her inspection and she laughed, loving the fact that he could admit to his vulnerability, simply loving him. He made the call then arranged to go back to ED and meet her later, once all the results were back, not that he expected there to be a problem, he assured her.
Mia went back to the cardio unit and spent the rest of the morning feeling as though she was floating several inches above the ground. Leo loved her and, in time, they would be together: him, her and their boys. Maybe a mistake had brought them together, but the result couldn’t be more perfect.
Two years later...
‘Now take turns. And don’t push the swing too high. We don’t want Grace falling off.’
Leo waited until he was sure that Harry and Noah understood then went and sat down on the grass. They were spending a week at the cottage and the weather had been perfect. Long sunny days followed by gloriously warm nights. Taking hold of Mia’s hand, he sighed in contentment. Life was wonderful and it was all thanks to her. Raising her hand to his lips, he smiled up at her.
‘Have I told you lately how much I love you?’
‘Oh, not since about eight o’clock this morning.’
‘Very remiss of me. It’s enough to make you instigate divorce proceedings.’
He laughed as he kissed the inside of her wrist, sure enough of their relationship to joke about it. They had married a year ago, as soon as they had discovered that she was expecting Grace. It had been right for many reasons, the main one being that Harry and Noah were comfortable with their relationship.
The DNA tests had confirmed what they had already known, that Harry was his child and Noah was Mia’s, so once the time had felt right they had sat the boys down and explained what had happened, answered their questions and assured them that even though they had different mums and dads than they’d thought, it made no difference. He and Mia loved them both and amazingly the boys had accepted it.
It had been so much simpler than he’d feared, but then most things were simpler now that he had Mia there, loving and supporting him. When little Grace had been born some eight months later it had been the icing on the cake and the boys had been as thrilled as them. Harry and Noah loved their little sister to bits.
As for Amanda, either she had taken his warning to heart or, more likely, changed her mind again about being a mother. Rumour had it that she had split up from th
e man who she had been hoping would become Noah’s new daddy. Apparently, he’d been very keen to be a father and Amanda had hoped that providing him with a ready-made son would satisfy his longings.
Leo had no idea what had really happened and didn’t care. He was simply glad that he hadn’t heard from her, although as a precaution he had taken legal advice if she did try to sue for custody of Harry or Noah in the future and he was confident that she wouldn’t win if it came to a court case. Now he lay back on the grass, feeling the warmth of the sun seeping into his pores.
This was how his life felt every day, filled with warmth and love. He had Mia and their family. He had it all.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781460320709
Copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Taylor
First North American Publication 2013
THE MOTHERHOOD MIX-UP
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