The Princess and the Pediatrician

by Annie O'Neil

  ‘That you are.’ He tapped the side of his nose and, with a wink, added, ‘And you’re going to be escorted to the wilds of Florida by yours truly.’

  It was a nice turn of events, but... ‘Don’t you have work?

  ‘Not for the next forty-eight hours.’

  From inside the dressing room she could hear Grace singing. Also unusual... What was going on? ‘Oliver. This is weird. Nice weird, but...’ Her eyebrows drew together. ‘Why are you coming to Florida with me?’

  His smile broadened. ‘You’ll see.’

  * * *

  ‘You want me to what, now?’ Lia threw Oliver an uncertain look as they approached the clinic’s private airport.

  She held up the wig he’d just handed her, as if she’d just had an Aha! moment. The hair was as dark and curly as hers was blonde and straight.

  ‘This isn’t some untapped sexual fantasy you want fulfilled before you marry a blonde Scandinavian girl, is it?’ She gave her hips a rather too alluring swish.

  ‘No!’ Oliver waved his hands in protest. He was seeking discretion, not indiscretion. Although now that she mentioned it...

  No.

  Playing naughty dress-up was not the point of this trip.

  ‘Oliver? What’s going on?’ She glanced nervously over her shoulder. ‘I don’t want the clinic thinking I’m compromising a patient meeting with...you know...our sexy-sexy business.’

  He tried and failed to ignore the tug of response. He liked it that they had sexy-sexy business. But she looked worried. Maybe he should just tell her.

  No.

  The wheels were already in motion, her boss knew exactly what was happening, and now was as good a time as any for her to find out that he was a man who loved setting up surprises. The good kind. It was a big part of who he was, so she might as well know what she was marrying into before he slid the ring on her finger.

  An unwelcome chill slipped through him as he thought of his parents’ enormous, unwelcoming estate. The one they were still expecting him to move in to once he was married. That would be a surprise, too. One he still hadn’t figured out how to handle.

  Ignoring the discomfort that came from holding something that important back from her, he held up another wig and popped it on his own head. ‘We’re both going in disguise.’

  ‘Why? This is a legal flight.’ Her expression turned horrified. ‘Someone didn’t alert the press, did they?’

  ‘No. Absolutely not.’ He’d made sure of that.

  She scrunched up her face in confusion. ‘I’m happy you’re coming, but...wigs? I don’t understand. This is a simple business trip, Oli.’

  ‘There’s someone the hospital’s paediatrics team want me to check up on,’ he answered smoothly. Too smoothly.

  Lia didn’t miss it. ‘There’s something else.’ She narrowed her gaze. ‘What’s going on, Oliver Bainbridge?’

  He gave her a mischievous grin, ‘You’ll find out soon enough.’

  ‘And I need to wear this?’ She pulled on the wig, without bothering to tuck her blonde hair beneath the bonnet of dark curls.

  He laughed and pulled her to him for a kiss, enjoying the fact that she leaned into him as his lips met hers. It was a sign she was falling for him as much as he was falling for her.

  So why not tell her about the UK estate? Tell her how much having this baby with her meant to him? Or, more to the point, why not tell her he loved her?

  A knot of discomfort needled at his conscience.

  It was a difficult truth to acknowledge but, as much as he cared for Lia, and as happy as he was knowing their future would be a shared one, he was still protecting the part of his heart that had been hurt when his ex had made her decision about her pregnancy.

  He was going to have to find a way to lay that to rest. And soon.

  Lia looked up at him, sensing his tension. ‘Oli?’

  Her eyes had gone a deeper shade of blue. Dark with concern. With affection. And very possibly with love. The same slightly guarded love he felt for her. It was a hurdle they simply had to get over before exchanging those vows with one another.

  He couldn’t marry her with secrets held close to the same heart that beat for her and their child. He’d tell her. About everything. But for now, he hoped the grand gesture she was about to experience would tell her just how much he cared.

  He smiled, kissed his index finger, then popped it on her nose. ‘All in good time, my darling bride-to-be. All in good time.’

  * * *

  The journey to Orlando was uneventful, if he didn’t count Lia playing twenty questions with him for the entire flight.

  Luckily, he’d had practice in keeping secrets. He’d given presents to the children at his boarding school whose parents had been too busy to fly them home for the holidays. To draw out the fun, he would hide the gifts and play the whole thing out a bit like an Easter egg hunt.

  If his parents hadn’t demanded his presence for the annual holiday family photos, he would’ve happily stayed at school and played board games or read books to the younger children, because leaving those little sad faces behind had seemed ridiculous when he had known the last thing he’d be receiving at home was a warm welcome. He’d made the best of his childhood...but sometimes it had been tough finding the silver linings.

  ‘Hey.’ Lia tapped him on the knee as they rode in a limousine to the resort hotel. ‘You okay?’

  He swept her hand to his lips and gave the back of it a kiss. ‘Absolutely. Just taking a little trip down memory lane.’

  ‘Not a very nice one from the looks of it.’ She frowned.

  He dropped a soft kiss on her cheek, then tipped his forehead to hers. ‘Not to worry. All the memories will be good from now on.’

  She moved his hand to her stomach. ‘We’re going to give this one nothing but happy memories, right?’

  There was an urgency in her question that he felt in his marrow.

  It was their shared fear. That the childhoods they’d had—mired in tradition rather than love—would become their own child’s future...for better or for worse. Which was exactly why he’d been struggling with writing his wedding vows to Lia. He wanted them to show her that he had worked so hard to change...to be different. That he wanted more than anything to take a spear to his heart for her. Fight for her.

  The easiest way to communicate that was very simple. Three little words that meant the world. Three little words he had yet to say to Lia.

  ‘Hey.’ He gave her thigh a rub. ‘Did you get your vows written?’

  She crinkled her nose. ‘Sorry. Still working on them.’

  He gave his watch a dramatic tap. ‘Only ten more days!’

  ‘Ugh.’ Lia dropped her head into her hands. ‘Don’t remind me!’

  ‘Hey.’ He cupped her cheeks in his hands and turned her face so that he could look into her eyes. If she was having second thoughts about anything, she needed to let him know. ‘If you don’t want to do this—’

  ‘No.’ She put up her hands. ‘I mean, yes. I do want to do it. With all my heart. I—’

  She stopped herself, and by the way her cheeks coloured Oliver was sure she’d been about to tell him she loved him. He hoped that was true. With every fibre in his being.

  He was prepared to sacrifice so much for her and their child. His anonymity. His desire to step away from his ‘birthright’ duties. His quiet life which, once they were wed, he knew wouldn’t be quiet any more. But all that sacrifice would be for a much greater joy. Having a family of his own. To love and to cherish. To honour and protect. He would do all those things and more, but he had to know they were a team.

  Which made the fact he wanted to hear it from her a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

  ‘What is it that scares you the most?’ he asked her.

  She bit down on her lip, then admitted, ‘Th
at you’ll walk away.’

  The confession gripped his heart and then squeezed one painful beat after another out of it until he found his voice again and assured her, ‘That will never happen.’

  Deep down, he knew he did love her. That he did have the strength to confront his parents...make changes. To trust in Lia the way she was trying to trust in him. He just needed it all to rise through his past, heal it and surface.

  She gazed into his eyes for a moment longer and must have found the answer she was looking for, because she leant into a kiss that accepted the spoken and the silent promises.

  They could do this, he told himself as the driver announced they were at their destination. They could give themselves, and their child, the happiest of lives.

  * * *

  ‘Pretty luxurious,’ Oliver said as they entered the hotel’s penthouse suite.

  Lia agreed. ‘I don’t know what this patient does for a living, but she clearly does well if she can put us up here.’

  Together they scanned the place in disbelief. It was even better than he’d imagined when he’d booked it. He presumed Lia was used to luxurious hotel rooms, and he was certainly no stranger to them, but this was on another level.

  Floor-to-ceiling windows. Glass. Chrome. A huge rooftop garden with an infinity pool and a waterfall. Towering fruit baskets. A butler who offered a pet hire service in case they were missing their animals from home. A private chef who was on hand to make fresh sushi.

  They could have anything they desired—apart from a swim at the lake, which apparently had an alligator in it, but the staff were seeing about offering the gator ‘relocation services’.

  Lia shot Oliver an embarrassed look. ‘Er... I hope you don’t get used to this. My princess allowance won’t really go this far for our family holidays.’

  Oliver laughed and shook his head, as if to say a solid Don’t you worry. ‘I’d be happy with a picnic down at the beach. This is much more my parents’ kind of thing than mine.’

  As well as the ‘old money’ his father had inherited, his father’s work as a property mogul meant his parents were amongst the wealthiest couples in England. Something they rarely let him forget whenever they tried to pin down his plans for the family fortune once they were gone.

  He was happy with his treehouse and a life below the radar, thank you very much. Although a couple of nights splashing out for his future wife in a place like this wasn’t strictly a hardship.

  He hoped she wouldn’t be too cross when she found out there wasn’t really a patient.

  The phone in the suite rang and the butler answered it, speaking in a low murmur. When he’d finished, he approached Lia. ‘Your Highness—’

  ‘Oh, please, no,’ she corrected. ‘Amelia or Dr Trelleburg will be fine.’

  ‘Dr Trelleburg,’ he began again, with a deferential bow. ‘That was your hostess. She says you will have to forgive her, but she isn’t up to seeing you today and could she please delay your meeting until tomorrow morning?’

  Oliver hid his smile as Lia gave him a confused look then said to the butler, ‘Please let her know I’m happy to see her whenever it suits.’

  He finished the call and turned to leave.

  Lia stopped him and gave him a conspiratorial smile. ‘Any chance you could let me know who it is?’

  The butler stiffened. ‘I’m afraid I am not privileged to know that information.’

  ‘Oh. Okay, well...’ She gave Oliver a bewildered shrug. ‘I guess that means we can have that dinner date after all.’ She glanced at the retreating figure of the butler. ‘But do you mind if I go over the case notes for twenty minutes or so?’

  ‘Absolutely.’

  Oliver knew it was only a matter of time before she figured out that the case notes were from a surgery her mentor had done a year or so back on a cabinet member from the Costa Rican government but he needed to make a couple of quick calls.

  After he’d finished, he found Lia thoughtfully eating a peach out in the rooftop garden. He gave her a kiss, enjoying the taste of her lips mingled with peach juice. She pulled back and gave a huge yawn.

  ‘I’m so sorry. It’s not you, I promise.’

  He gave her hair a stroke and properly looked at her. She looked tired. Full-time work, wedding plans and being newly pregnant were obviously taking their toll. They had also spent quite a few late nights getting to know one another on a more intimate level.

  ‘What do you think about room service and a movie in bed?’ he suggested.

  She clasped her hands to her chest, practically melting with pleasure at the thought. ‘I would love that.’

  Within about ten minutes Lia was curled up in bed, her arm wrapped round Oliver’s waist as if he was her security blanket and fast asleep. Not quite the night he’d imagined, but every bit as perfect.

  * * *

  The next morning Lia pronounced herself well rested and full of beans.

  Just as she was about to start putting on her business suit he asked, ‘How do you fancy a little adventure?’

  She smiled. ‘I’d love to, but I’ve got to meet my patient.’

  His expression turned into one that made it pretty clear there was no patient.

  The penny dropped. ‘Oliver Bainbridge...what have you done?’

  ‘Nothing bad. Nate knows, so you’re all good on the work front.’

  ‘What did you tell him, exactly?’

  ‘That I wanted to surprise my bride-to-be.’

  ‘Will it require the wigs?’ She held up the dark wig with a finger.

  ‘Yes.’

  One short helicopter ride later, and Amelia let out a scream of disbelief.

  ‘Disney World?’ She gave a double-take, and felt her smile reaching from ear to ear. ‘I’ve never been to a theme park!’

  Oliver had clearly been panicking that she wouldn’t enjoy his surprise, and the look on his face turned to one of relief. He waved his hands. ‘Happy Hen Do!’

  Tears of joy sprang to Lia’s eyes. He’d organised all this for her? Never once in her life had she had a surprise anything, let alone a surprise hen do.

  She swept the tears away before they could fall, giggling and hiccoughing, not knowing which way to look. ‘How did you know I’ve always wanted to come here?’

  ‘I didn’t.’ Oliver was laughing, too. He handed her a tissue, using his thumb to edge away a couple of escapee tears from her cheek. ‘I just thought, if I was a twelve-year-old girl...what would I want to do for my birthday? I asked the internet, and then I asked a six-year-old, and between all three of us we came up with this.’

  ‘Élodie?’ she asked, instantly thinking of the lovely bond he shared with his recently discharged patient.

  ‘That’s the one,’ he said.

  She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a huge, happy, sloppy kiss. She pulled back, her smile disappearing as she did. ‘Hen dos are supposed to be with friends. I don’t really have any.’

  ‘Well...you’ve got me,’ Oliver said. ‘And a couple of extra people who’d like to think of you as their friend.’

  He pointed towards the VIP entrance, where they were headed, and there, holding hands, were Grace and Élodie. They waved enthusiastically. Élodie was already wearing the trademark ears. Grace was too, which instantly made Lia roar with laughter.

  ‘This is great!’

  She clapped her hands, finally connecting all the dots.

  ‘And we’ve got the wigs in case you want to go incognito,’ he said.

  ‘I don’t want to hide away from the world. You and I are going to be a family. So let’s start the way we want to continue.’

  It was as close to a declaration of love as she’d let herself come. Her heart was absolutely soaring. Maybe today would be the day she threw caution to the wind and told him she loved him.

  He lifte
d up his wig and gave her a questioning look. Her heart plummeted. Had she misread things so badly? ‘Or would you rather people not know we were together?’

  ‘No! God, no. The opposite. I’d shout it from the...’ his eyes scanned the area ‘...the top of that palace if you wanted me to. I just want you to be comfortable. Happy.’

  This was love. It had to be. They often communicated things without saying them, and this felt like one of those moments. Perfect synchronicity of their hearts and minds. Love.

  ‘I am happy. Ridiculously happy.’ She tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow. ‘Thank you. This’ll be the best hen party ever.’

  ‘Well, then... It’s not your kingdom, but shall we see what sort of magic we can whip up in this one?’

  He held out a hand as two ‘living’ cartoon characters appeared and rolled out an actual red carpet, whilst ‘Cinderella’ handed out tiaras to all the women and a toy sword to Oliver.

  Again, Lia’s smile stretched from ear to ear. ‘Wild horses couldn’t stop me!’

  CHAPTER TEN

  ‘THAT WAS THE BEST!’

  ‘The fastest one, for sure! I wish you could’ve gone on it, Lia.’

  Lia smiled. She did, too, but Oliver had gently suggested that being whipped around on a rollercoaster probably wasn’t the best of things for a pregnant woman to do. He was right, of course. She must’ve left her common sense at the gates when she’d entered the theme park!

  ‘I thought the one in the dark was the fastest,’ Élodie assured her. It was one they’d all gone on together.

  ‘And the scariest.’ Grace shook her head. ‘I’m pretty sure when I take these ears off there’ll be more grey in my hair than there was at the beginning.’

  ‘What did you think of the Peter Pan ride?’ Oliver asked. ‘It felt like we were flying along with them.’

  ‘It did, didn’t it? I wonder if Tinker Bell ever gets tired.’

  Élodie, Grace and Oliver’s banter continued unabated as they headed to the next ride while Lia just beamed. A few hours earlier she wouldn’t have believed having this much fun was possible. But being with Oliver was like having a special key to entire realms of happiness she’d never imagined, let alone experienced.