‘What are you doing here?’ he demanded, feeling his heart squeeze in an extra beat as she crouched down beside him.
‘I just got off the bus and saw the crowd. Somebody said that a woman had gone into labour, so I came to see if I could help. I take it that someone has phoned for an ambulance?’
‘I did,’ Alison’s husband told them anxiously. ‘It’s taking ages to get here, though.’
Max bit back a sigh. With the amount of traffic on the roads that night it could be a while before an ambulance arrived. In the meantime, he and Lucy would have to deal with the situation. He turned to her, trying not to notice how pretty she looked in the light from the streetlamp, but that was like trying not to notice if the sun was shining. Every cell in his body seemed attuned to her as they crouched side by side on the pavement and his racing heart seemed to race that little bit faster. It was hard to appear the calm professional when his emotions seemed intent on doing their own thing.
‘We need to examine her but not here with everyone watching. Can you find somewhere close by which would give us some privacy?’
‘Of course.’ She looked around then pointed towards a row of shops across the road. ‘I’ll see if anyone has a room they will let us use.’
‘Great. Thanks, Lucy.’
‘No problem.’
She gave him a quick smile as she stood up. Max let himself bask in its glow for a second before he turned his attention back to Alison. There was a time and a place for everything, he reminded himself sternly, although maybe that wasn’t the best advice. He was trying to avoid getting involved with her, not staving off the moment until a later date!
Lucy could feel her heart racing as she hurried across the road and sighed. It wasn’t just the adrenalin rush from dealing with this situation that was causing it to happen. It was being with Max that made her feel so keyed up. Maybe she didn’t intend to get involved with him but it was proving harder than it should have been to stick to that.
She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she hurried into the first shop she came to, which happened to be a sweet shop. The shop keeper, an elderly woman, had been watching what was happening through the window and came hurrying to meet her.
‘Is that young woman all right? I’m on my own in here, otherwise I’d have gone out to see if I could help.’
‘She’s fine, or she will be if we can get her somewhere a little more private,’ Lucy explained. ‘She’s having a baby and the pavement isn’t the best place for that.’
‘Good heavens!’ the old lady exclaimed. ‘A baby? Really?’
‘Yes. I know it’s a lot to ask but do you have a room we could use? An ambulance is on its way but it could take some time to get here with all the traffic. It would be better if she could wait somewhere a little less public.’
‘Of course, dear. You can use the storeroom.’
The old lady opened a door and showed her the storeroom. Although it was full of boxes, it was warm and clean and would be perfect for their needs. Lucy thanked her and hurried back to tell Max the good news.
‘We can use the storeroom in the sweet shop. It’s ideal for what we need.’
‘Good.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I don’t think this baby is going to wait for the ambulance to arrive so let’s get her inside as quickly as we can.’
They helped Alison to her feet and then with Max supporting her on one side and her husband on the other, they led her over to the shop. They had to stop halfway when another contraction began and Lucy could understand Max’s eagerness to get her inside. The old lady had found some clean towels and laid them on the floor to form a makeshift bed and they quickly got Alison settled. Lucy helped Alison out of her underclothes and waited while Max examined her. The baby’s head was already crowning and she knew it wouldn’t be long before it was born.
‘It’s not going to be long now,’ Max confirmed, smiling at Alison. ‘It must be every child’s dream to be born in a sweet shop, I imagine.’
Alison laughed. ‘It’s not what I had planned, believe me.’
She broke off when another contraction began. Lucy beckoned to her husband and told him to sit down beside her and hold her hand. He still looked very shaky and the last thing they needed was him fainting. As soon as the contraction ended, she turned to Alison.
‘I want you to wait until you feel another contraction begin before you try to push this time.’
‘But I want to push now!’ Alison exclaimed.
‘I know you do, but you’ll only tire yourself out if you try to push too soon. You need to work with your contractions and use them to help you deliver your baby.’
Alison did her best to follow their instructions and in a very short time the baby’s head emerged. Lucy gently supported the head as it turned until it was once more in line with the baby’s body. After another couple of contractions first one shoulder and then the other were delivered before the rest of the baby slid out into her hands. Lucy laughed when the child let out an angry wail.
‘Congratulations! You have a beautiful little boy. And he obviously has a fine pair of lungs from the sound of it.’
She gently cleaned the baby’s face with one of the towels then placed him on Alison’s tummy, smiling when she saw the awe on the parents’ faces as they saw their son for the first time. She glanced at Max, wanting to share the moment with him, and was shocked by the emotion she saw in his eyes. He was staring at the child with such longing that she felt her heart ache, even though she had no idea what was going on.
There was no time to ask him either as the sound of a siren announced the arrival of the ambulance. The crew carried a birthing kit on board so once the cord had been clamped and cut, and the placenta expelled, Alison was placed on a stretcher and loaded on board. Lucy wrapped the baby in a blanket and placed him in his mother’s arms.
‘You did brilliantly, Alison. Not many women would have coped so well in the circumstances. You should be proud of yourself.’
‘Thank you. Although I wouldn’t have managed half so well if you and Max hadn’t been there,’ Alison told her sincerely.
‘It was our pleasure.’ Lucy ran her finger down the baby’s soft little cheek then climbed out of the ambulance. The crew closed the doors and that was that. She sighed as she watched the vehicle making its way along the road. ‘Talk about being in the right place at the right time.’
‘It was fortunate,’ Max agreed, but she could hear the grating note in his voice and once again found herself wondering about what she had witnessed.
Bearing in mind Max’s reputation as a womaniser, she would never have imagined that he would be keen to have a child of his own. However, there was no doubt about what she had seen and she had to admit that she was intrigued. She longed to ask him what was going on, yet at the same time she knew it could be a mistake to do so. Her emotions had been all over the place recently, so could she risk getting drawn into a situation she might not be able to handle?
It was the uncertainty that scared her most of all, the fact that she couldn’t answer that question with any degree of assurance. She sighed softly. In her heart she knew that it would be better if she left things alone rather than delve any deeper, yet it was hard to do that. The truth was that she hated to think that Max might be suffering and not be able to do anything to help him.
Max could feel the flood of emotions that had hit him as he had watched Alison’s baby being born swirling around inside him. He had honestly believed that he had come to terms with the fact that he would never have a family of his own, but he couldn’t deny the yearning he’d felt just now and it filled him with sadness. There was no point wishing for the impossible, no point at all hoping that a miracle would happen. He would never father a child and that was the end of the matter.
He turned to Lucy, trying to ignore the nagging ache in his heart. ‘I’ll give you a lift home.’
‘There’s no need. Really.’ She glanced along the road and shrugged. ‘There doesn’t seem
much point in you trying to find a way through all this traffic when it’ll only take me a couple of minutes to walk home from here.’
Max appreciated the sense of what she was saying, but all of a sudden he was loath to let the evening end there. Maybe it was foolish, but he knew that spending some time with her would help him deal with this sorrow he felt. ‘In that case, how do you fancy having a look around the market? It’s open until ten so there’s plenty of time left. I don’t know about you, but I could do with chilling out after everything that’s happened tonight.’
‘I’m not sure,’ she began, but he didn’t let her finish. The thought of sitting on his own in the flat with all these thoughts whizzing around his head was more than he could bear.
‘Please say you’ll come. We can wander around for a while and soak up the atmosphere. It will be the perfect stress-buster after such a hectic day.’
She sighed softly. ‘Anita was right. You can be very persuasive when you choose.’
Max laughed although he wasn’t sure if the comment had been meant as a compliment. ‘I won’t ask you why she said that. All I can say is that I’d really enjoy your company, Lucy.’
She hesitated a moment longer then shrugged. ‘All right, then, I’ll come. But what about your car? You can’t leave it here in case it gets towed away.’
‘Good point.’ Max frowned, hating to think that his plans might be scuppered by the lack of a parking space. His expression cleared as his gaze alighted on the sweet shop. ‘I know, I’ll ask the lady in the sweet shop if I can park it at the side of her shop. Hang on a moment while I see what she says.’
It took just a couple of minutes to arrange to leave his car in the alley next to the shop. Despite the lateness of the hour, there were still crowds of people milling about as he and Lucy made their way to the town square. The market stalls looked very festive with strings of brightly coloured lights hanging from their awnings. Max stopped when they came to a stall that was selling roasted chestnuts and sniffed appreciatively.
‘Now, this is what Christmas smells like to me. Mum always used to buy us hot chestnuts when we were kids and it really takes me back to my childhood whenever I smell them.’
‘I’ve never had chestnuts,’ Lucy admitted, grinning when he gasped in feigned horror. ‘Obviously, I was a deprived child, although don’t tell my mum I said that or she’ll have a fit!’
‘Your secret is safe with me. Cross my heart and hope to die,’ he promised with due solemnity, drawing a cross on his chest with his finger.
Lucy chuckled. ‘I don’t expect you to go to such extremes to guard my secret, Max.’
‘That’s a relief,’ he declared, grinning at her. He dug in his pocket for some change and bought two bags of chestnuts, handing her one of them. ‘Careful, they’re hot.’
Lucy grimaced as she juggled the bag from hand to hand. ‘You’re not joking. My fingers are already singed!’
‘Here.’ Max took the bag from her and popped it in his pocket. ‘We’ll share this bag first,’ he told her, lifting out a plump chestnut. He quickly peeled it and handed it to her, then peeled another for himself.
‘Mmm, this is delicious.’ She licked her fingers then held out her hand. ‘Can I have another one, please?’
Max laughed. ‘You made short work of that for someone who’s never tasted chestnuts before.’
‘There’s a first time for everything,’ she assured him cheekily, waggling her fingers under his nose.
Max chuckled as he peeled her another chestnut. They wandered around the market while they ate them, looking at the various stalls. Lucy stopped to admire some delicate glass ornaments, shaking her head when he suggested she buy one.
‘There’s no point,’ she explained, putting the ornament back in its box. ‘I’m not having a tree this year, and as I’m not going home, there’s no point buying one for my parents either.’
Max frowned when he heard the sadness in her voice. Even though it had been her decision to work over the holiday, he could tell that she was upset about not spending time with her family. It made him wonder once again what had happened to make her decide not to go home. It must have been an extremely painful experience if she preferred to cut herself off from the people she loved.
The thought lingered at the back of his mind as they carried on. When they came to a stall that was selling mulled wine, Lucy stopped.
‘Now, this is what reminds me of Christmas. Mum makes mulled wine every year on Christmas Eve. My sister and I always used to leave a glass for Santa to go with his mince pie.’
‘And did he drink it?’ Max asked, loving the way her eyes had lit up at the memory.
‘Of course—or at least somebody did.’ She grinned at him. ‘Dad reckons that Christmas isn’t the same since Laura and I stopped believing in Father Christmas, so let’s just say that I have my suspicions.’
Max laughed. ‘Well, I think you and your sister should reinstate the tradition. After all, you can’t prove that Father Christmas doesn’t exist, can you? Maybe he still pops in but doesn’t leave you any presents these days because you’re all grown up.’
‘That’s exactly what my dad said,’ she told him, rolling her eyes. ‘You men certainly stick together!’
‘Can I help it if we take a more logical view of matters?’ he said, spreading his hands wide open in a gesture of innocence.
‘Logical? You class hedging your bets in case Father Christmas actually does exist as an example of superior male logic? Oh, please!’
‘Until someone comes up with proof that Santa is a myth then I intend to keep a completely open mind on the subject,’ he declared loftily.
‘I suppose you feel the same about the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny?’ she retorted and he grinned.
‘But of course.’
She shook her head. ‘You are completely mad, do you know that?’
‘Not mad, just reluctant to let all the magic disappear from my life.’ He smiled at her. ‘There are worse sins than clinging onto the things that make childhood such a wonderful time.’
‘You’re right, there are,’ she conceded.
Max felt his breath catch when she smiled up at him. When she looked at him that way it was hard to remember that he was supposed to be acting sensibly and the temptation proved just too great. Bending, he placed his mouth over hers. Her lips were cool from the night air yet he could sense the heat beneath the chill and groaned. Kissing Lucy was like nothing he had ever experienced before!
His lips clung to hers, demanding a response, and a surge of delight rushed through him when he felt her kiss him back. He had no idea how long they would have stood there if the sound of laughter hadn’t reminded him that they were standing in the middle of the square with people milling about all around them. He drew back reluctantly, seeing the shock in her eyes, and knew that she was as stunned by what had happened as he was.
‘I suppose I should apologise, although I’m not sorry that I kissed you,’ he said truthfully. ‘I’ve been wanting to do it for ages.’
‘Have you?’ she whispered, her voice catching.
‘Yes.’ Reaching out he brushed his knuckles over her mouth and felt her shudder. There was a definite tremor in his voice when he continued. ‘There’s just something about you, Lucy, that draws me, even though I know how crazy it is.’
‘Because you don’t do commitment?’
‘No, I don’t.’ He sighed, wishing he could explain why he lived his life the way he did. He just couldn’t bear to think that she might view him differently if he told her the truth about himself. Would she consider him to be less of a man if she found out that he couldn’t father a child, he wondered, or, worse still, pity him? He had no idea and he wasn’t about to risk finding out.
‘I’m far too busy with my career to devote the time it needs to a long-term relationship,’ he explained, aware that he was taking the coward’s way out. Although his career was important to him, it wasn’t the real reason why he had avo
ided getting involved these past three years.
‘I understand, Max, and it isn’t a problem.’ She shrugged when he looked at her. ‘I’m not interested in having a long-term relationship either.’
‘You’re not?’ he queried, unable to hide his surprise.
‘No. I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to say that I don’t plan on getting involved with anyone again for a very long time, if ever. So don’t worry, Max. I’m certainly not holding out for the happily-ever-after, if that’s what worries you!’
Chapter Eight
LUCY couldn’t believe she’d said that. Panic gripped her as she ran the words through her head again. They sounded less like a statement than an invitation to have an affair, and that wasn’t what she wanted…
Was it?
Desire rushed through her as she recalled the heat of Max’s mouth when it had closed over hers. His lips had drawn a response from her that she’d been powerless to refuse and that had never happened before. Not once in all her life had she been swept away by passion, never had she felt such hunger or such need. Max’s kiss had aroused her in ways that no man’s kisses had ever done, not even Richard’s.
The shock of that discovery made her gasp and she saw Max look at her in concern. ‘Lucy? Are you all right?’
Lucy struggled to get a grip on herself. She had truly believed that she had been in love with Richard but how could she have been if his love-making had left her unmoved? ‘I’m fine. Just a bit tired after everything that’s happened tonight.’
‘We both know that isn’t true! At least be honest with me if nothing else. You’re upset because I kissed you, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, but not in the way you mean.’ She looked him straight in the eyes. Maybe she would regret this later but she wouldn’t lie to him. As he had said, the very least they could do was to be honest with each other. ‘I’m not upset because you kissed me, Max, but because of how it made me feel.’
The Midwife's Christmas Miracle Page 7