Книга - Their Newborn Baby Gift

Their Newborn Baby Gift
Alison Roberts


Can an abandoned baby……melt the surgeon’s frozen heart?In this Hope Children’s Hospital story, paediatric heart surgeon Ryan Walker knows that shy receptionist and neonatal ‘baby cuddler’ Evie Cooper is off-limits for a jaded playboy like him! But when they discover an abandoned newborn they must work together to care for her. Ryan will do everything he can to mend baby Grace’s heart—will he lose his own to Evie in the process?







Could an abandoned baby...

...melt the surgeon’s frozen heart?

In this Hope Children’s Hospital story, pediatric heart surgeon Ryan Walker knows that shy receptionist and neonatal “baby cuddler” Evie Cooper is off-limits to a jaded playboy like him! But when they discover an abandoned newborn, they must work together to care for her. Ryan will do everything he can to mend baby Grace’s heart—will he lose his own to Evie in the process?

Hope Children’s Hospital miniseries

Book 1 – Their Newborn Baby Gift by Alison Roberts

Book 2 – One Night, One Unexpected Miracle by Caroline Anderson

Look out for the next two books, coming soon:

Book 3 – The Army Doc’s Christmas Angel by Annie O’Neil

Book 4 – The Billionaire’s Christmas Wish by Tine Beckett

“...Ms. Roberts has delivered a captivating read in this book where the chemistry between this couple was intense and makes the romance all the better....”

—Harlequin Junkie on Twin Surprise for the Italian Doc

“...a really good read in this book filed with tough obstacles for the character to overcome, but obstacles they overcame with plenty of courage; the chemistry was strong and had me loving these two together, as they work to get their friendship back and then make things even better between them....”

—Harlequin Junkie on The Doctor’s Wife for Keeps


ALISON ROBERTS is a New Zealander, currently lucky enough to be living in the South of France. She is also lucky enough to write for the Mills & Boon Medical Romance line. A primary school teacher in a former life, she is now a qualified paramedic. She loves to travel and dance, drink champagne, and spend time with her daughter and her friends.


Also by Alison Roberts (#u23fa2a59-e0ea-5417-bdc5-e4abf167eecd)

The Shy Nurse’s Rebel Doc

Rescued by Her Mr Right

Hope Children’s Hospital collection

Their Newborn Baby Gift

One Night, One Unexpected Miracle by Caroline Anderson

And look out for the next two books

The Army Doc’s Christmas Angel by Annie O’Neil

The Billionaire’s Christmas Wish by Tina Beckett

Available December 2018

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).


Their Newborn Baby Gift

Alison Roberts






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


ISBN: 978-1-474-07541-1

THEIR NEWBORN BABY GIFT

© 2018 Harlequin Books S.A.

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


Contents

Cover (#u56c79ea6-2a1e-5269-8424-61b6ac6cc009)

Back Cover Text (#udd58ed0c-80c6-57ac-b28d-59b606fcd573)

About the Author (#ufd160986-1d01-5f9a-8706-816486eab0e1)

Booklist (#u63bc506e-7044-524d-8de5-0e699904556f)

Title Page (#u07496220-c771-5f79-a231-ecad18e3dd28)

Copyright (#uaaf2c7d0-f9d2-5904-bbbc-c0a335b90714)

CHAPTER ONE (#udad4d4e1-e056-56ae-9209-a8b208195344)

CHAPTER TWO (#ua1a009e2-2679-5f3f-94f0-375009a7addb)

CHAPTER THREE (#u963cb8cf-4c8e-51bb-88e2-f4e30f9fab7c)

CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)


CHAPTER ONE (#u23fa2a59-e0ea-5417-bdc5-e4abf167eecd)

THERE WERE TIMES when Evie Cooper wished she could clone herself, and this was definitely one of them.

As if it wasn’t enough that she felt responsible for the success of this evening’s gala opening for the Hope Children’s Hospital, she was getting bombarded by seemingly urgent text messages from home.

Have you picked up the new test sticks for my blood sugar monitor?

She texted back to her father.

Yes. But I won’t be home till late tonight. Have you got any left?

Think I’ve got one.

Evie briefly considered sending a message that, next time, it might be a good idea to let her know sooner that he was running out but she was distracted by her colleague, Michelle, who was looking flustered.

‘The caterers have arrived. They’re asking for you.’

‘Tell them to get set up in the conference room. I’ll get there when I’ve got a minute.’

Her phone beeped again.

Where are my skinny jeans?

She texted back.

No idea.

I put them in the wash DAYS ago! I have to wear them tonight for the school disco!!

Evie didn’t respond. A couple of very anxious-looking people were approaching her reception desk.

‘Welcome to ICU.’ She smiled. ‘You must be Mr and Mrs Taylor? Baby Cameron’s grandparents?’ She’d been warned they might turn up.

The man nodded. ‘We’re so worried about the little chap. We’re hoping to get to see him.’

‘I understand.’ Evie nodded sympathetically. ‘Let me see what I can do. Your daughter’s in with him, of course, but it’ll depend on how well he is whether anyone else can go into the unit.’

‘But we’re his grandparents.’ The woman pressed a tissue to her nose. ‘We need to see him.’

‘I know.’ Evie kept her smile in place. ‘I understand completely. But we have a lot of very sick babies in our Neonatal intensive care unit and we have to make sure our staff aren’t distracted in any way from doing their job. Please, take a seat in the waiting area. I’ll talk to the doctor who’s looking after Cameron.’

She put her phone on silent as it beeped again in her pocket. Her sister was fourteen now, for heaven’s sake, not five years old—as she had been when their mother had died. Evie had too many other things to sort right now. Stella was old enough to sort her own laundry.

It took some diplomacy to appease the Taylors and it was Evie who came up with the idea of Cameron’s mother taking a photograph of her premature baby and then coming out to the waiting area to talk to her parents-in-law for a few minutes.

Surely things would settle down now, long enough for Evie to dash over to the other wing of the hospital? As the head of the committee organising the gala function tonight, she wanted to make sure that the decorations in the conference room had been completed and that there were not going to be any last-minute glitches. What if the time-lapse video that had captured every stage of building this amazing new hospital wasn’t already installed in the data projector, for example?

But Michelle was looking wide-eyed enough to suggest that something major had cropped up.

‘There’s people here from Chat Zone,’ she whispered.

Evie frowned. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

‘It’s the society magazine that’s giving all the others a run for their money. They’re covering the gala tonight. Someone at main Reception has pointed them in your direction.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know.’ Michelle grinned. ‘Maybe because you know so much about everything around here? Can you talk to them?’

‘I haven’t got time. We’re expecting that new neonatal cardiac surgeon to arrive any minute. The Australian guy?’

‘Ryan Walker.’ Michelle nodded. ‘I can look after him. And ICU Reception for you. Go on, it’ll only take a few minutes and...and the photographer is pretty cute. And we don’t want Hope Hospital to get a bad write-up, do we?’

Maybe Evie could kill two birds with one stone. Take the journalist and her photographer to the conference room and check out the decorations and everything else while they set themselves up to record one of the most glamorous evenings that would happen in Cambridge this year.

But that wasn’t what this pair were after.

‘We’ve got plenty of time to do the actual event,’ a pretty blonde, who introduced herself as Pippa, assured her. ‘What we want is more background. Especially for the high-profile parts of the hospital like the neonatal intensive care unit.’

They both looked no older than her brother, Peter, who was in his last year of school. Evie suddenly felt a lot older than her twenty-eight years. She wanted to suggest that they could have done their homework in a more timely fashion. Instead, she drew in a deep breath and smiled.

‘I haven’t got long,’ she warned. ‘But I’ll do what I can to help.’

Because that’s what everybody expected of her, wasn’t it? And because that’s what she did. Always had and probably always would.

‘Can I get a shot inside the unit?’ the photographer, Jason, asked. ‘I’ve heard that it’s a world-class facility.’

‘ ICU is actually two units,’ Evie told him. ‘It’s a pod system, with PICU—that’s paediatric intensive care—on one side and NICU—neonatal intensive care—on the other. They share a central staff station and service areas. There’s room for growth with additional pods in the future if necessary.’

She took them as far as the entry-controlled glass doors so that Jason could get some pictures of the banks of monitoring equipment, the transparent, oval cribs and the incubators. The doctors here were wearing pale blue scrubs. The scrubs of the nurses and ancillary staff had a teddy bear print. Everybody was clearly focused on their tiny patients. Even at the central staff station, every patient was under direct observation or being carefully monitored via video cameras and data recordings from the wealth of the best equipment available.

‘Every detail was chosen by our CEO, Theo Hawkwood.’ Evie was so proud of these units. ‘Even tiny things have had to meet the highest standards. Like all those windows to provide natural light and ceiling soffits and baffles to reduce echoed sounds. That paint colour on the walls? You wouldn’t believe the amount of research that went into finding one that doesn’t interfere with an observer’s perception of skin colour.’

‘I love the floor,’ Pippa said. ‘Those inserts in the wood look like rays of sunshine coming from the central station.’

‘The flooring’s state-of-the-art, as well. It has to absorb sound but also be good for infection control, maintenance and moving equipment. The inserts are aesthetic, of course. It is like a big sun, isn’t it?’

‘Only a private hospital with some serious financial backing could achieve something like this.’ Pippa nodded. ‘Mr Hawkwood’s used his private fortune to build Hope Hospital, hasn’t he?’

‘It’s certainly the realisation of a dream he’s held for a long time,’ Evie said smoothly. Not that she was about to start discussing her boss’s personal business. ‘But we don’t simply take private patients. The mission of Hope Hospital includes pro bono cases and a focus on funding cutting-edge paediatric medical research that’s going to benefit everybody. We also have some outstanding conference facilities which are going to attract collaboration from the best brains in the medical world.’

‘His wife died, didn’t she?’ It was no surprise that someone from a society magazine would be more interested in a personal story than hospital architecture. ‘I read that she got killed by a drunk driver, when she was out walking with their daughter, about five years ago. That’s where the name Hope has come from, yes?’

Evie smiled. ‘But it’s also a wonderful name for a children’s hospital, isn’t it? If you came here with a really sick child, hope is the best gift we could give you. Mr Hawkwood hasn’t just been involved with every detail of building this amazing hospital—he handpicks the staff that get employed here, as well. People are coming from all over the world to join our team. We’ve got a new neonatal cardiac surgeon arriving today, in fact, from Australia. Which reminds me...’ Evie glanced at her watch. ‘I really need to check to see if he’s here yet. And get over to the conference centre.’

‘We’ll come with you.’ Pippa smiled. ‘But let’s get a quick shot of you out by the reception desk.’

‘No...’ Evie shook her head sharply. ‘No photos of me, please...’

Good grief. Imagine if a picture of her, in her plain working outfit of this old skirt and jacket, got published alongside everyone in their gorgeous cocktail dresses and tuxedos at the gala? And that was another reminder. At some point, she had to find time to get out to the car park, retrieve her dress and shoes and do something to smarten herself up so that she could attend the gala herself.

Michelle seemed happy to have a photograph taken. She was still smiling as she handed Evie a handful of paper notes.

‘There’s been lots of calls,’ she told Evie. ‘Sounds like you’re needed in the conference room. Mr Hawkwood is there already, I think.’

‘I’m heading there right now. Has Mr Walker arrived?’

‘No. No sign of him. No messages, either.’ Michelle looked unimpressed as she looked up at the clock on the wall. ‘It’s getting late. Hey—don’t you need to get changed soon? You can’t miss the gala.’

‘Yeah... I’ll get there.’

Hope Children’s Hospital had been built with two wings on either side of a round, central building that had been publicly praised as an echo of Cambridge’s famous twelfth-century round church and it was positioned to be filled with natural light from walls of windows and for the upper floors to take advantage of the stunning views over the city of Cambridge. The intensive care units were on the top floor of the right wing, and the largest conference room was at the same level in the left wing.

It was already dark as Evie took her visitors across the top floor of the hospital, giving a rapid rundown of where other areas were located, like the theatre suites and wards, laboratories and research suites, but they seemed distracted.

‘Look at that view,’ Pippa breathed. ‘You can see pretty much the whole of Cambridge.’

‘Wait till you see the gala venue.’

Evie knew that the view from the glass wall of the huge conference venue would be breathtaking. The sparkle of the city’s lights laid out below was going to be the perfect backdrop to tonight’s event.

But Pippa wasn’t thinking about the view when they arrived. ‘That’s Mr Hawkwood, isn’t it?’ She looked delighted. ‘Do you think he’d have time for a quick interview?’

‘I’ll check. Stay here for a moment.’ Evie eyed the long tables covered in crisp, white linen as she walked past. One was laden with champagne flutes that were gleaming under the lights and another was being set up with silver platters of delicious-looking finger food.

‘Evie...’ Theo Hawkwood was walking to meet her. Tall and charismatic, the former paediatric surgeon was so passionate about Hope Hospital, it was easy to forget how young he was to hold such a prestigious position. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. I wanted to thank you in person. I hear it’s largely down to you that all this has come together.’

‘It was a team effort, Theo.’ Being in the spotlight made Evie feel distinctly uncomfortable. ‘Everybody’s worked very hard.’

‘I don’t know how you do it.’ Theo smiled. ‘On top of your job and those extra duties...’

Evie dismissed the question of how he knew about those ‘extra duties’. This was his hospital and Theo had kept his finger on its pulse from the moment its doors had opened several months ago.

‘I had a good training ground. My brothers and sisters were all very young when Mum died so I had to step up to control the chaos.’

It was an automatic gesture to touch the necklace she always wore when she thought of her mum. A gift to celebrate a wedding anniversary, her father had said he’d chosen the topaz stone because it reminded him of the colour of her mother’s eyes. The hazel eyes that Evie had inherited. Heart-shaped and set in an antique-style gold filigree, Evie had worn the necklace every day since her mother had died. It had become her touchstone in those early years when she’d been trying to hold her family together.

Not that she’d been able to control everything, of course. Maybe keeping so busy now, all these years later, was a way of burying regrets—like having to give up her dream of being a nurse. She still got to work in a hospital and that was enough. Working in this hospital was a dream come true and she had Theo to thank for this opportunity. The flash of sympathy in his gaze reminded her that they’d both dealt with tragedy in their lives but he was the one who might have to deal with more memories than she would tonight.

‘There’s someone here from Chat Zone,’ she warned him. ‘The magazine?’

He nodded. ‘I’ve heard of it.’

‘They’d love to talk to you, but—just a heads-up—they might want to cover some personal ground.’

‘Everything about Hope Hospital is personal to me,’ Theo murmured. ‘I’ll talk to them. Briefly...our guests are starting to arrive.’ He turned away. ‘I’ll see you later, of course.’ A backward glance took in her outfit. ‘You are coming, aren’t you?’

‘Just a couple of little things to sort first,’ Evie assured him with a rueful smile. ‘Like finding my dress.’

She avoided the group being offered a welcoming glass of champagne. She recognised Marco, one of their surgeons, and his department’s boss, Alice, who was looking stunning in a sparkly blue dress. Naomi, a physiotherapist, was just behind them and the pale silk of her gown against her dark skin was so eye catching, it was no wonder that Jason already had his camera pointing in her direction. Evie sped towards the exit that would take her through the kitchen area. Luckily, checking that the caterers were happy was on her list of things to sort because she really didn’t want anybody else to notice that she wasn’t dressed remotely well enough to belong here.

Finally, thirty minutes later, she had the chance to do something about that. She hurried down the stairs, rather than wait for an elevator, out through the main reception area and into the chill of the autumn evening. Then she headed for the rear of the building, past the ambulance bay and the bank of huge wheelie bins for rubbish and into the car park where her practical little hatchback was close to the hospital end of the first row.

The pools of lighting here were designed for the safety of both vehicles and people so it was easy to spot the couple getting out of a car near to where she was heading. They were clearly going to the gala because the man was dressed in a tuxedo and the woman hanging off his arm was shimmering in a silver sheath dress, so low cut that Evie knew she had to be freezing. She was wearing silver stiletto heels as well and Evie had a moment of envy for anyone who could walk in heels like that. She’d tried it as a teenager—who wouldn’t when you were only five feet two—but it had felt as ridiculous as trying to walk on stilts.

She could hear the woman giggling as the distance between them closed and she seemed slightly unsteady on her feet. Was it the shoes, or had this couple been enjoying a pre-gala drink somewhere? Her gaze shifted to the man, wondering if he was someone she knew, and then it caught in a flash of complete astonishment.

She didn’t know him but he had to be the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen in her life. Even with his partner’s choice of footwear, he was still a couple of inches taller than she was and the outer edge of the pool of light behind him seemed to have turned his hair into a tousled, golden halo.

He didn’t notice Evie. Why would he when he had someone who looked like a supermodel leaning against him? They were so close now that she could smell the woman’s perfume and hear her breathless request to be kissed.

‘We’re late enough already, Tiffany.’ The man’s voice had an edge of impatience and an accent that she couldn’t quite place.

‘No...’ The woman tried to step in front of him and wobbled on her heels. She flung an arm out to steady herself just as Evie stepped within range. As a solid object that could be pushed against, the woman saved herself from falling by shoving Evie. It was Evie who was sent flying and she landed hard on the cold asphalt.

‘Oops... My bad...’

Evie could hear the woman giggling again as she pushed herself up on her elbow. Yep, she’d definitely had a drink or two already.

‘I’m so sorry about that. Are you all right?’

It wasn’t a feminine scent she could smell now. It was something very, very masculine. Subtle but powerful at the same time, like the strength she could feel in the hand that was around her arm, helping her to her feet. This man was in control. He was also...annoyed? No surprises there. He was about to be even later arriving at the gala, wasn’t he?

‘Thanks,’ Evie muttered, pulling herself from his grasp. ‘I’m fine.’

But he didn’t release his hold on her arm immediately. His gaze was searching her face. ‘You sure about that? You had quite a bump.’

It was the fright of the fall that had to be responsible for the way her heart was thumping right now, not the fact that an incredibly good-looking man was holding onto her and looking as if...as if he could see past any attempt to brush off what was now an acute embarrassment. She must have looked like a complete idiot sprawled on the ground in front of this glittering power couple who were off to rub shoulders with the medical elite of the district.

And she wasn’t just dressed in her boring work clothes, she was now covered in grime, half her hair had escaped from the pins that held it in a tidy knot and she knew that she had a rip in her skirt because she’d felt it happening when she’d fallen. She felt like Cinderella and the wannabe princess was looking way more annoyed than her prince. She tugged at the man’s other hand.

‘We’re late, darling,’ she reminded him. ‘And I want some more champagne.’

The demand, even the tug, hadn’t broken the scrutiny the man was still giving Evie and this was suddenly more than embarrassing. She could feel colour rushing into her cheeks and she wrenched herself free of the touch that was now burning her arm.

‘I’m fine,’ she said again. ‘Enjoy your evening.’

It wasn’t far to her car. Evie opened the door, leaned in to pull out the bag that contained her dress and shoes but paused as she straightened, her attention caught by the car that was parked alongside.

Flashy. That was the only word for the low-slung bright red sports car, and she knew instantly who had arrived in this vehicle. Good grief...she could actually see the silver-sheathed woman in the passenger seat, probably with her hand on her chauffeur’s knee, doing her best to distract the man with that intense, discomforting stare who would no doubt continue to concentrate on the road ahead. Until he was ready to play, that was...

They would be amongst the gathering at the gala, along with all the other polished, successful people associated with Hope Hospital. Even if she got changed and tidied up her hair, Evie was still going to feel out of place there. A Cinderella who had a slightly incompetent fairy godmother?

With a sigh, she dropped the bag back into the car.

Her job there was done. She really didn’t want to go the gala now.

But she wasn’t expected home until late, either, and that provided an unusual window of freedom.

Evie turned back towards the hospital buildings. She knew exactly where she wanted to be right now.

And who she wanted to be with.


CHAPTER TWO (#u23fa2a59-e0ea-5417-bdc5-e4abf167eecd)

MAYBE IT WAS the jet lag.

Or perhaps it was that his new life was not beginning quite as smoothly as he would have liked.

Ryan Walker arrived at Hope Children’s Hospital’s opening gala alone. His companion for this event had started to feel unwell by the time they’d entered the main building of the hospital. Ryan had offered to drive her back to her hotel but Tiffany had sobered up enough to be embarrassed about her behaviour and had insisted on calling a friend to collect her. It was with a sigh of relief that Ryan took an elevator to the top floor. He wouldn’t have wanted to meet any of his new colleagues with an inebriated woman hanging onto his arm. It was embarrassing enough that she’d knocked over that cute little blonde in the car park.

He hoped that stranger was all right. Oddly, he found himself still thinking about her as he stood for a moment to observe the crowded event. Maybe it had been her petite size that had made him feel like she might need looking after. Or maybe it was the way she’d been so keen to get away from him given that Ryan wasn’t used to women reacting that way to his attention. He’d taken a second glance as he’d left the car park, only to see her getting into the car next to where he’d parked his rental. A staff car parking area, so maybe he’d see her again somewhere and could apologise again?

He hoped so. In the meantime, he was here to introduce himself to as many people as he could and a good place to start was obviously the man who was in charge. It was lucky that he could recognise Theo Hawkwood so easily after the video call conversations they’d had. And how flattering had it been that he’d been headhunted to join the team of this new centre of excellence that was just getting off the ground?

‘Theo...’ Ryan extended his hand. ‘It’s so good to meet you in person, at last.’

‘Ryan... So glad you could make it. I was hoping to give you a tour of the hospital today but it’s been a bit crazy, thanks to this event.’

‘No worries. My flight got held up in Singapore so I didn’t have the chance to get here earlier. I’ll look forward to a tour tomorrow. I’ve still got a day or two before my first theatre list, yes?’

‘Of course. Come and find me first thing in the morning. In the meantime, let me introduce you to a few people.’ Theo turned to the man next to him. ‘Starting with Marco Ricci, one of our general paediatric surgeons. Marco, this is Ryan Walker, our new neonatal cardiac surgeon.’

‘Delighted.’ Marco shook Ryan’s hand. ‘Can I find you a drink?’

Ryan shook his head. He was still unimpressed with Tiffany’s earlier behaviour. Who would have expected cabin crew to let their hair down quite that much on a night off? And, with that thought, he was reminded again of the woman who’d been knocked over. Not really blonde, exactly—more like a pale redhead. Different...

There were a lot of people who wanted to talk to Theo and Ryan found himself left with Marco.

‘That’s Alice Baxter.’ Marco pointed out a slender woman with strikingly pale blonde hair. ‘My boss.’

Ryan’s eyebrows rose at something in his tone. ‘Oh?’ Good grief, this hospital had only been up and running for a short time. Were there politics going on already?

‘She’s bossy.’ But Marco’s smile was charming enough to suggest that this might not be a criticism. ‘I’m waiting to find out if she’ll loosen up a bit after a glass of champagne, perhaps.’

‘So who else is here from the surgical team?’

‘Hmm...’ Marco looked around. ‘Finn Morgan should be here, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he isn’t. I’ve never seen him at a social event.’

‘Are there a lot of them?’

‘Not really. But I’m sure there’ll be more as we get closer to Christmas. So, what would you like to know about Hope Hospital?’

‘Tell me about ICU,’ Ryan said. ‘I can do my best in Theatre but the standard of aftercare is obviously critical to the best outcome.’

‘Oh, you’ll be impressed. Come with me and I’ll introduce you to the head of the department. She’ll want to meet you, as well. I think I spotted her a while back, on the other side of the dance floor.’

Ryan followed Marco, smiling at people as they nudged their way through the crowd and pausing to provide his name to a woman with a photographer who’d just snapped his picture. His work with children’s charities made this a familiar environment and no doubt he’d be meeting some of these people again soon enough. He already had tickets to a charity ball in London in a few weeks’ time. He was happy enough to be starting his new position with a party but what Ryan was really looking forward to was the peace and quiet of an operating theatre and being able to focus on what he did best.

Mending broken little hearts.

* * *

It felt peaceful already.

The main ICU reception area was not staffed at this time of night. Administration tasks could wait until normal working hours and visitors were restricted so Evie’s work station was deserted and the lights dim.

That wasn’t where she was heading, however. Behind Reception was a corridor that led to the staffroom, departmental library, overnight bedrooms, changing rooms and showers. She used her coded lanyard to gain access to the female changing rooms and paused by the shelves just inside the door, choosing her size in the teddy bear printed scrub trousers and tunic top. Getting changed, she realised just how bad the rip in her skirt was. Maybe she would ask Janine, the nurse manager who was on tonight, if it would be okay if she wore the scrubs home tonight.

Moving towards the mirrors, Evie found a hairbrush in her bag and dealt with the mess of her hair, brushing it smooth and then braiding it into a simple plait to hang halfway down her back. It was only as she looped the tie around the end of the braid that she realised what was odd about her reflection and she froze in horror.

Where was her necklace?

Her touchstone?

Desperately, Evie tried to think of where she might have lost it. Not long ago, that was certain, because she remembered the feel of it below her fingers when she’d been talking to Theo.

Her fingers were resting on bare skin now, the image of Theo in his tuxedo in her mind. Then she remembered another figure in a tux. Helping her up from the ground. That fall had done more than rip her skirt, obviously. Somehow the necklace must have caught and the chain had been broken.

Evie breathed out slowly, resisting the impulse to change back out of the scrubs and go looking for the necklace right now. It was a staff car park and the only value of the jewellery was sentimental so if someone found it, surely they would hand it in to the main reception desk? And if nobody had noticed it in the dark, which was more likely, it would still be there when she went back to her car.

This time was precious, too, because it was Evie’s favourite thing in the world to do and she knew that others appreciated her efforts.

She was good at it, as well.

Janine gave her a smile of welcome that made her feel special as she buzzed herself through the main doors of the ICU.

‘It’s our baby whisperer. No way... I was just saying that it was a shame you were busy at the gala tonight.’

‘I decided I’d rather do some cuddling. Is that okay?’

‘Are you kidding? You must have known you were needed. Baby Alfie’s mum had to go home to the rest of the kids and he just won’t settle. Come right this way...’

Beside each oval crib or incubator here was a comfortable chair with a padded seat and back but designed to look like an old-fashioned rocking chair, complete with rockers. It was a distinctive touch that added to the unique atmosphere of this high-tech unit, rather like the sun rays set into the flooring, and it was much loved by the stressed parents who spent time with their babies here. Staff rarely had the time to sit for long to comfort the tiny patients whose parents couldn’t be here and Alfie was a prime example. Born early enough to need his breathing carefully monitored but not in need of any major interventions, his distressed whimpering had not been silenced by ventilation tubes or sedation and all he really needed at the moment was a cuddle.

Evie settled herself in the chair and Janine took the tiny bundle, swaddled in a blanket with a woolly hat on his head, and put him into Evie’s arms.

‘He’s been fed and changed recently so he just needs to sleep,’ Janine whispered. ‘Work your magic, Evie.’

The magic needed to work both ways tonight, Evie thought, stroking the tiny screwed-up face with a gentle finger.

‘Shh...shh...shh...it’s okay, Alfie... Everything’s okay...’

She cradled the baby, rocking slowly in the chair and making soft, soothing and often nonsensical conversation with this tiny person.

Around her, staff members worked quietly with the more serious cases under their care. A doctor came for one of them and Evie noticed an incubator being wheeled away, probably to the procedures room. She sent silent good wishes along with the entourage.

The beeping of the equipment was muted, voices were kept low and the lighting was as dim as it could be to still allow staff to work. Alfie’s whimpering was already becoming just the occasional snuffle and squeak and Evie closed her eyes, aware of nothing more than the weight and warmth of this precious bundle.

It was a kind of meditation and she could actually feel her own heart rate and breathing slowing. The stress of an overly busy day, the never-ending pressure from her family, even the fright of that fall in the car park and that disconcertingly intense scrutiny that stranger had given her were receding as noticeably as an outgoing tide.

This was Evie’s time.

But, like all good things, it had to end. Whatever crisis had occurred in the unit had been dealt with and Janine finally returned. Alfie had been sound asleep for a long time but Evie would have stayed there much longer if she could have.

‘You need to go home.’ Janine smiled. ‘You’ve got work in the morning, remember? And Alfie needs to sleep on his apnoea mattress. Just in case.’

‘Of course.’ Evie’s arms felt empty as Janine lifted the baby. ‘Anyone else need a cuddle?’

Janine shook her head. ‘Next time.’

Evie watched as Alfie was settled into the incubator and the monitors checked and then she followed Janine back to the central station.

‘Would it be okay if I brought the scrubs back in the morning? I had a bit of an accident with my skirt and it’s not really wearable.’

‘Sure. No problem. And thanks, Evie. You were a real help tonight. I hope you don’t regret not going to the gala.’

Evie shook her head. ‘Things like that aren’t really my thing, you know? I’m too much of a homebody.’

‘You’re a treasure,’ Janine told her. ‘Go home and sleep well.’

* * *

The delicious grounding that baby cuddling had provided took a hit as Evie went out into the cold night air. Her coat on over the borrowed scrubs, her work clothes stuffed into her shoulder bag, she walked into the car park with her head down, searching for a metallic glint against the asphalt.

How was she going to confess to her dad that she’d lost the treasured keepsake? Oh...and had she put that pack of blood glucose testing strips in her bag? Evie had to pause for a moment and fish under the wadded clothing to feel for the outline of the box in her bag. Her brain was jumping back into reality fast now. Was Stella home from her school disco yet? Had Bobby done his homework? Had anybody washed the dishes?

The box was there. With a sigh, Evie carried on but she knew the search was pointless. She was past the spot where she had fallen now. Almost at her car, in fact. Finally raising her gaze from ground level, she became instantly aware of two things.

The first was that the flashy red car was still parked alongside hers.

The second, and far more alarming thing, was that the man who presumably owned the car was leaning against it. Watching her.

Waiting for her?

And then Evie gasped as she noticed a third thing. Below the white cuffs at the bottom of the black sleeves of this man’s tuxedo, something was dangling from his hand. A gold chain. A gold chain that had a heart-shaped topaz.

‘I’m thinking this might be yours?’

He was smiling at her, but the generous curl of his lips didn’t match that intense stare and Evie couldn’t smile back.

Who was this man?

A complete stranger but she recognised something about him.

No. It was something she was recognising about herself. Heavens...had it been that long since she’d experienced a real physical attraction to anybody? So long, it took a moment to interpret that odd sensation that started deep in her belly and then spread like wildfire through her veins.

Any smile she might have dredged up was nowhere to be found now.

She’d felt like this once before, hadn’t she? And look how well that had ended up. She’d kept herself safe ever since and that wasn’t about to change now.

‘It is, indeed,’ she said, her tone clipped. ‘I realised it must have broken when I...um...fell over.’

‘When you were pushed over, you mean. I must apologise again. My...ah...companion was a bit over the limit.’

‘Mmm...’ Evie wasn’t about to excuse the woman’s behaviour. Where was she, anyway? A quick sideways glance told her that nobody was sitting in the car waiting for him.

‘The least I can do is have it fixed for you.’

‘No.’ Evie stepped forward, her hand outstretched. ‘That’s really not necessary. But thanks for the offer.’

He seemed reluctant to let the necklace go so Evie had to try and take it from his hand. The instant her fingers touched his, however, the awareness of skin against skin was electric and she instinctively snatched her hand away again.

Wow... Now she remembered the way his grip on her arm had started to burn and that had been with a protective layer of clothing between them. That touch had been...had been like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

It had happened so fast it was no more than a slight hesitation but if she didn’t cover it up just as fast, this was going to get awkward.

Okay...it was awkward already and it had only taken a heartbeat. Had he felt that jolt as well or was he just aware that she had. Why couldn’t he just reach out himself and hand her the damn necklace?

Evie couldn’t look up and meet his gaze. Because she knew he was staring at her and she also knew that he would be able to see exactly why she’d had to snatch her hand away.

He wasn’t even saying anything to diffuse the weird tension that had sprung from nowhere.

It was only another tiny moment of time. Just enough to suck in a single breath but the silence seemed charged.

And then it was broken.

Not by this man saying anything. Or Evie saying anything. Or the footfalls of anyone else arriving in the car park. It was broken by another sound. High-pitched and wobbly. Like a kitten mewing.

Except that Evie spent enough time around babies to think it was very unlikely to be a kitten.

‘Did you hear that?’ Her head turned so that she could look in the direction the sound had come from—that bank of wheelie bins tucked out of sight at the back of the hospital. The bin on the end was one of those wire mesh ones that took folded cardboard for recycling but someone hadn’t bothered to squash one of the boxes and put it in the bin. This box was tucked between the recycling bin and a solid bin but it was poking out far enough to make it easily noticeable.

Another tiny mew cut through the still air and Evie turned her whole body now, her necklace completely forgotten. She was aware that the stranger was following her as she ran towards the box but it didn’t matter. Any tension between them had been forgotten along with the necklace, in the face of something far more concerning.

* * *

Ryan dropped the necklace into his pocket with a sigh as he followed this suddenly rather irritating small woman.

He wanted to get to his bed and sleep off his jet lag so he could be on form for his first day on the new job tomorrow. When he’d spotted the glint of jewellery on the way back to his car, he’d known instantly that it probably belonged to her. It had been a surprise to find the car that he’d seen her open was still there, parked alongside his, so he’d been waiting and thinking about what to do. Take the necklace into Reception? Hang onto it in the hope of seeing her somewhere around the hospital? He’d certainly recognise her easily. He’d finally come up with the solution of tucking it under the windscreen wipers of her car when he’d seen her coming into the car park, her head bent as she walked slowly, clearly looking for her lost property.

Why hadn’t he said anything? Or walked to meet her? What had been with that odd urge to simply watch her getting closer to him? To let the anticipation build until she noticed him and met his gaze?

And what on earth could explain that really weird moment when she’d touched his hand and jerked away as if it were a hot coal? He’d felt the heat, as well.

She was ahead of him so she reached the box first, crouching down beside it. She was wearing scrubs under her coat so he assumed she was a nurse at Hope Hospital and that was a pleasing thought. He’d probably see her again, then...

‘Oh, my God...’ She was peering into the box. ‘I knew it had to be...’

‘What?’ Ryan crouched beside her. ‘Good grief...a baby?’ He lifted the box, moving to where he could catch some light from the nearest lamp. He didn’t like the colour of the baby’s face and it was clearly in some respiratory distress because it could barely summon the strength to cry. Without hesitating a moment longer, he began striding towards the back entrance of the hospital.

‘Where are you going?’ She was almost having to run to keep up with him.

‘I need to examine this baby properly. It’s not well.’

‘You need to examine it?’

‘I’m a doctor here. Or I will be tomorrow.’ He kept moving. ‘My name’s Ryan Walker.’

‘Oh... You’re the new surgeon? The Australian?’

‘Yep.’ Ryan had reached the door. Unlike the main entrance, this one needed a security pass to open it from the outside.

‘I’ll do it. I’ve got a card.’ She leaned past him. ‘I’m Evie Cooper. I work here.’

‘Where’s the emergency department? Oh, I don’t suppose there is one, with this being a private hospital?’

‘I work in Intensive Care,’ Evie told him. ‘Let’s take him there.’

Ryan nodded as he followed her inside. ‘Lead the way. And let’s hurry.’


CHAPTER THREE (#u23fa2a59-e0ea-5417-bdc5-e4abf167eecd)

JANINE LOOKED SHOCKED, as well she might, when Evie hurried into the neonatal intensive care unit accompanied by a man in a tuxedo who was carrying a cardboard box. One of the intensive care specialists, Susie, was sitting beside Janine at the central station and her jaw dropped as well.

‘A baby’s been abandoned in the car park,’ Evie explained. ‘A neonate.’

‘I’ll take him.’ Susie was on her feet now.

‘Procedure room?’ Janine asked.

‘I’d like to examine him myself,’ Ryan told them. ‘I don’t think this baby is well. And I don’t think it’s simply hypothermia.’

Both the women behind the desk stared at him.

‘This is Ryan Walker,’ Evie said. ‘Our new neonatal cardiac surgeon?’

‘Oh...’ Susie blinked. ‘Pleased to meet you. You’ve been at the gala, I guess.’

‘Yes.’ Ryan’s smile was tight. He clearly didn’t want to waste time on introductions. ‘Where is this procedure room?’

‘Right this way.’ Janine was back to her normal calm efficiency in the face of any emergency.

There was no real reason for Evie to go with them but nobody stopped her and she didn’t even pause to think about whether it was appropriate. She was the one who’d heard this infant and discovered him. She was already involved. Connected. Worried sick, even.

‘I’ll get the heaters on,’ Janine said, as soon as they entered the clinical space, which was equipped with everything they could possibly need, including ventilators and an empty, state-of-the-art incubator. ‘Where did you find him? Just out in the open in the middle of the car park?’

‘No. He was kind of hidden between the wheelie bins near the ambulance bay,’ Evie said, and the squeeze around her heart was almost painful.

Ryan put the box down and then reached inside to carefully lift the baby out. It was wrapped in a piece of clothing as a blanket. A well-worn hoodie.

‘It’s a girl,’ Susie murmured. ‘And very recently born. Within the last hour or two, I’d say. Oh, my...is that a hair tie on the cord?’

‘How long has she been outside, do you think?’ Janine had switched on both overhead and mattress heaters. ‘It’s freezing out there.’

‘It has to be more than half an hour,’ Ryan said, stripping off his tuxedo jacket and throwing it into a corner of the room. He started to roll up his shirtsleeves, stepping towards the sink to wash his hands. ‘I was standing not far away for at least that long and I would have seen somebody leaving the box.’

He turned his head to glance at Evie, which made her blink and then catch her bottom lip between her teeth. He’d been standing in the car park for at least half an hour? Waiting for her so that he could return the necklace?

Wow...

It made her feel...special?

More than that...it reignited that sensation in her belly and gave her a disturbing flashback to that moment when her fingertips had touched his hand. This had to stop, right now. It was worse than simply finding a man attractive. This Ryan was a doctor and that put him completely out of her league even if she was prepared to consider getting close to someone. She’d been taught that lesson long ago. And she wasn’t interested in getting close to anyone, anyway. So much safer not to.

But she couldn’t look away from this someone, despite her best efforts. This was her first proper glimpse of the man in strong lighting and it stole her breath away. Tanned skin on muscled forearms was dusted with golden hair and there were matching streaks of gold on his head. He looked like someone who spent all his spare time on a beach, which was not unlikely given that he had come from Australia. Something like surfing was probably a normal hobby over there. He had blue eyes, she noticed as he turned back to the table. Very blue eyes...

With an actual, physical wrench, she dragged her gaze away from him. It snagged on the empty box that had been the baby’s only shelter from the chilly autumn night. Except...it wasn’t quite empty, was it?

‘There’s a note in the box,’ Evie said.

Only Janine glanced in her direction. Ryan and Susie were completely focused on the baby, checking her out from head to toe.

‘What does it say?’

‘“Please help my baby. Find her a mum who can look after her because I can’t.”’ Evie’s voice choked up. ‘It looks like it was written by a kid... Oh, I hope she’s okay...’

‘They’ll find her,’ Janine said. ‘Or maybe she’ll come back to find us.’

Evie swallowed. ‘I don’t know about that. How desperate would you have to be to leave your baby and run away?’

She put the note back with the box and the hoodie—the only items they had that might provide a clue to the mother’s identity and perhaps her whereabouts. Where had she given birth? And had she been all alone? How frightening would that have been?

Evie took a step closer to the table where the doctors were examining the tiny baby. She was so tiny. Naked and vulnerable. She had stopped crying for the moment and, while her body was squirming under the attention of professional hands, her eyes seemed to be trying to focus on the nearest face—as if she was searching for someone she recognised.

‘I can’t see any obvious major abnormalities,’ Susie said. ‘But I’d only give her an Apgar score of about six. Seven at the most. Her respiratory effort is down and her colour’s off. Look at her legs.’

Evie looked as well. While the baby’s upper body was quite pink, her legs were very pale and the tiny toes had a distinctly bluish tinge.

‘Differential cyanosis,’ Ryan nodded. ‘Let’s check the peripheral pulses.’

His hands looked huge against the tiny body under the warmth of the lamps. Clever-looking hands, Evie thought, and so gentle as he felt for the different pulses. Brachial at the elbow, radial in the wrists and femoral in the groin.

Janine, standing close to Evie, let her breath out in a sigh. ‘Poor little mite,’ she murmured. Oh... I’d better call the police, hadn’t I? And Social Services?’

‘It can wait for a bit. I want to know what’s going on here.’ Ryan’s face was creased with concentration and then his frown deepened. He put his fingers on the baby’s chest, very softly, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Was he feeling for the way the heart was moving?

His eyes snapped open. ‘Stethoscope?’

Susie pulled hers from around her neck and handed it to him. Evie caught the glance she gave Janine that suggested they might be lucky in having a cardiac specialist on hand.

‘Femoral pulse is absent,’ Ryan said, as he warmed the bell of the stethoscope in his hand. ‘And the radial is weak.’

It had to be hard to hear any heart sounds with the warbling cries the baby was making again. Maybe that was why Ryan cupped the tiny head with one hand, his thumb offering a comforting stroke over the whorls of dark hair. Watching him do that melted something deep inside Evie, maybe because it was so tender and suggested a concern that went beyond anything purely professional. Then he nodded once and straightened and it was clear that his only thoughts were clinical.

‘Systolic murmur,’ he said.

‘Congenital heart condition.’ Susie nodded. ‘What’s your guess? A ventricular septal defect, maybe?’

‘Could be. Or a hypoplastic left heart. Or coarctation of the aorta. We need to get some ECG dots on and do an ultrasound.’ He looked down at the baby and his mouth curved in a poignant smile that made Evie’s heart skip a beat on top of that melting sensation.

‘You’re having a bit of a rough start at this game of life, aren’t you, sweetheart?’

‘She needs a name,’ Janine said. ‘Even if it’s just temporary.’

‘Grace...’

Everybody’s heads turned and Evie blushed. The name had just popped out before she’d stopped to think.

‘It was my mum’s name,’ she added. And she’d been thinking of her mother just before she’d found the baby, hadn’t she? Her mother’s necklace, anyway.

‘I like it,’ Susie said. ‘Grace it is.’

‘Can she stay here?’ Ryan asked. ‘What’s the protocol at Hope Hospital for treating abandoned babies?’

‘I have no idea. It’s not something you expect to happen, is it?’ Janine shook her head. ‘I’d better get hold of Theo and let him know what’s happening. He might not have left the gala yet and he’d better be the one to handle police involvement and any media coverage, etcetera.’

‘I could do that,’ Evie offered.

‘Oh, please do,’ Janine said. ‘You’ll know all the numbers needed. But don’t you need to get home to the kids?’

‘I’ll call and make sure everything’s good. And then I’ll stay as long as I can.’ Evie took one more look at the baby. She didn’t want to leave.

What she really wanted to do was to pick up this baby and cuddle her—more than she’d ever wanted to cuddle any of the babies here.

She’d found this one. And she’d named her.

The feeling of connection was rapidly getting stronger.

Ryan seemed to sense her hesitation. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said softly. ‘We’ll take good care of her while you’re gone.’

As if to underline the promise, he touched baby Grace’s hand with his forefinger and she saw the tiny fingers curl around his. That image stayed in her mind with startling clarity as she headed out to the reception area and the phones she needed to use.

* * *

There was so much to do to stabilise this baby’s condition and the medical team was very busy for quite some time. Inserting an umbilical arterial catheter was always a challenge but delicate procedures with such small vessels were precisely what Ryan Walker was so good at.

‘I’ll take a sample of blood. Is there any way we can get an arterial blood gas measurement immediately?’

‘Yes.’ Susie took the syringe containing a tiny amount of blood. ‘We’ve got a small lab here and I can run this one myself. If we need anything else, there’ll be a technician on call all night.’

‘I want to get a Foley catheter in as well, to monitor renal perfusion and urine output. And do we have a portable ultrasound?’

‘Yes. Do you want me to call in an ultrasound technician?’

‘No. I’ll do it myself.’

‘Do we need to put Grace on a ventilator?’

‘Not yet. But we’ll keep a close eye on her oxygen saturation levels. We’ll need the go-ahead for any further invasive procedures, won’t we?’

‘Theo’s on his way,’ Janine told them. ‘He’s with the police at the moment. And the security team. They’re having a look at the CCTV footage that covers the car park area.’

Theo Hawkwood arrived as Ryan was completing his ultrasound examination.

‘Are you okay to be doing this?’ he asked Ryan. ‘It’s a bit of an unexpected start, isn’t it? How’s the jet lag?’

‘No problem,’ Ryan assured him. He had forgotten he’d even been weary, in fact, faced by the adrenaline rush of this case.

‘What are we dealing with?’

‘Looks like quite a severe coarctation of the aorta. Along with a ventricular septal defect, although I don’t think that’s overly significant.’

‘She’ll need surgery?’

‘Possibly. We’ll start some medication and I’d like to do an angiographic study as soon as possible, when we’ve got a full team available for the catheter laboratory. I could do a balloon angioplasty as well, which would be a bridge to surgery, if it wasn’t enough by itself. Unless...’ Ryan looked up to meet Theo’s gaze. ‘Can we treat her here or do we need to transfer her to a public hospital?’

Theo shook his head. ‘We’re set up to take a percentage of pro bono cases. Someone has entrusted her to our care and I want Hope Hospital to do everything possible to help.’

‘What did the police say?’

‘They’ve got the CCTV footage. We can’t get a good look at the girl’s face but it’s a start. And they think there must be other people that will know something. She couldn’t have given birth entirely by herself, surely?’

‘It’s not an unlikely scenario,’ Janine said. ‘Especially if the girl was hiding her pregnancy. Poor thing,’ she added. ‘I can’t think of anything worse.’

‘The police are out in the waiting area at the moment. They want the box and any other evidence that might help. I understand there’s a note?’

‘Yes. It doesn’t say much. Just that the mother isn’t able to care for the baby.’

Theo nodded. ‘Someone from Social Services is coming as well. They’re going to take care of registering the baby and signing her over to our care for now.’

‘We’ve given her a name,’ Janine told him. ‘Grace.’

He smiled. ‘Nice. I like it. A name with meaning. Like my Hope.’

‘Your Hope?’ Ryan raised an eyebrow. ‘You mean this hospital?’

‘It was the name of my wife,’ Theo said quietly. ‘And building this hospital had been a dream for both of us.’

‘Grace was Evie’s choice,’ Susie said. ‘Apparently it was her mum’s name.’

Ryan was watching Grace’s ECG trace on the monitor screen again. Evie hadn’t hesitated to offer that name for this baby. The memory of her mother had to be very strong. He’d noticed the way she’d been watching the baby during their assessment of her, too. Did she always bond with her patients so completely? Or maybe it was because she was a mother herself? Hadn’t someone said something about her having kids at home?

She hadn’t wanted to leave the room, either. Oddly, despite his total focus on everything that still needed to be done after that, he’d also noticed her absence. There was certainly something about her that was different, and it wasn’t just her unusual hair colour. Something that interested him. She was completely off limits, though. That comment about her having kids at home had been a red flag. A whole ring of red flags, in fact, that had her penned in its centre. Women who wanted kids were enough of a problem. One who already had them was someone who inhabited a planet Ryan was never going to visit.

Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to find her out in the unit’s reception area, when they’d finally settled baby Grace into a space where she could be monitored continuously until the catheter laboratory was available first thing in the morning. He’d been offered one of the overnight rooms here and he had to pass the reception area on his way to find it.

‘You’re still here,’ he said to Evie. ‘You’re not actually on duty, are you? You must have been on your way home when I met you in the car park?’

She nodded. ‘I was just waiting. To hear an update on Grace...’

The weariness that had been banished by the need for action had come back with a vengeance but Ryan pushed it aside as he pulled out a chair to sit down beside Evie.

He’d seen many faces that looked like this but only on parents who were waiting for news on their sick babies. Desperate faces that could make it very hard to stay professionally distant but that was another one of Ryan’s skills and he knew exactly how to deal with it. By providing whatever information he could and being very honest about his opinions without letting emotion cloud any issues.

‘Grace has a coarctation of her aorta.’ He could see that his words hadn’t triggered any more than superficial recognition. Was Evie only a junior nurse, perhaps? ‘It’s a narrowing of the main blood vessel that comes from the heart,’ he added.

‘Sounds serious.’ Evie’s eyes had darkened.

Hazel eyes, he noticed, which were just perfect framed by that dark blonde hair with its distinct auburn tint. Very expressive eyes, as well. He wanted to offer reassurance now. Comfort, even.

‘It’s a relatively common congenital heart defect,’ he told her. ‘And we have a few things we can do to treat it. She’s going to stay here as well so I’m taking over her case. I’ll do whatever I can to help her.’

‘Like what?’

‘We’ve started some medications. A prostaglandin that can temporarily maintain the patency of the ductus arteriosus. Do you know what that is?’

Her nod was thoughtful. ‘It’s a little vessel that lets blood bypass the lungs until the baby is born, isn’t it? And then it should close. That’s often when congenital heart problems become obvious, isn’t it?’

‘Yes. Or they can become rapidly much worse, which is why we’re going to try and keep it open. We can use inotropic agents to deal with heart failure symptoms as well. And tomorrow morning, after I’ve had some sleep, we’re going to take Grace to the cath lab. I may be able to open the narrowed area of the aorta with a balloon. She’s probably going to need surgery but I’d like to make sure she’s completely stable before that happens.’

Evie nodded again. And then she smiled at him. ‘Sounds like you know what you’re doing, Mr Walker.’

Wow...that was some smile...

‘Ryan, please...’

‘I’m glad you were here.’

He could see something other than anxiety in her eyes now. Hope. Along with trust. He liked that. He’d better make sure he didn’t do anything to make it vanish.

‘Me, too...’ He smiled back at her. ‘It’s not every job that starts with a roller-coaster like this. A glitzy party, an abandoned baby...a partner in her rescue.’ He stood up and held out his hand. ‘It was nice to meet you, Evie. Unforgettable, in fact.’





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