LITMIR.BIZ

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there someone we can call for you?’ Kieran asked. ‘And maybe your partner can explain to your client.’

      Pippa shook her head. ‘He left me when we found out I was pregnant. He doesn’t want a baby to complicate things. But I couldn’t bring myself to have a termination. And…’ She shook her head, choked by tears.

      ‘How about your mum?’ Judith asked gently. ‘Or a good friend?’

      ‘My mum’s in Lincolnshire. I can’t drag her all the way up to London.’ Pippa wiped her hand across her eyes. ‘There’s my best friend. Except she’s busy and—’

      ‘If my best friend was in hospital, pregnant and ill and scared, I’d be there for her,’ Judith cut in. ‘It wouldn’t matter how busy I was.’

      ‘Sorry, I’m not usually this pathetic,’ Pippa said.

      ‘Hey. You’re not feeling well, and your hormones are all over the place,’ Kieran told her. ‘So you’re not being pathetic at all.’

      ‘How did I get it?’ Pippa asked.

      ‘You’re more likely to get it in pregnancy because urine moves more slowly from the kidney to the bladder, due to hormone changes. As your uterus gets bigger, it puts more pressure on your ureters—they’re the tubes that connect your kidneys to your bladder. And that means it’s easier for germs to grow.’

      ‘So it’s not something I did?’

      ‘No,’ Kieran reassured her.

      ‘Is the baby going to be all right?’

      Judith nodded. ‘There’s a risk you might go into labour early, but you’re thirty-five weeks now, so your baby’s got a good chance.’

      ‘But you need to tell us if you feel any tightening around your uterus or stomach cramps or a low ache in your back,’ Kieran added. ‘We’ll test another urine sample forty-eight hours after we start giving you the antibiotics, and you need to have a sample tested every time you see your midwife. It might come back, so you’ll need to take antibiotics for about six weeks after you have the baby, and your GP should book you in for a check six weeks after that so we can make sure you’re not going to have any more problems.’

      ‘A week.’ Pippa shook her head. ‘I can’t stay in bed for a week. I really can’t.’

      ‘Up to you,’ Kieran said. ‘But if we don’t treat you and you end up with sepsis—that’s infection in your blood—you’ll be here for a lot longer.’ If she survived. Not that he was going to frighten her by telling her that now. He’d wait until the infection cleared.

      ‘I’ll call your friend,’ Judith said. She squeezed Pippa’s hand. ‘You’ll be fine. I promise.’

      When the test results came back, Kieran called Judith into his office. ‘Well spotted,’ he said, passing the results to her.

      She read them swiftly. ‘Klebsiella. You were right.’

      ‘No, you were right. You said it wasn’t E. coli. So we can start her on IV antibiotics. I’d like Daisy to do her obs at least four-hourly.’

      ‘Sure. I’ll go and see her.’

      As she reached the door, Kieran said softly, ‘Hey.’

      Judith paused and looked round. ‘What?’

      ‘Don’t doubt yourself. You’re doing a great job.’

      ‘I…’ Colour washed into her face, and she muttered something he couldn’t catch before she left his office.

      Stop wishing, Kieran thought. She’s not yours, she’s not going to be yours. You just work together. Leave it at that.

      Except his heart most definitely wasn’t listening.

      The following Wednesday night, Tess looked dubiously at her brother. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to leave Charlie.’

      ‘It’s only for a couple of hours. He’ll be absolutely fine. He likes Rosemary, she used to be a childminder before she retired so she knows everything there is to know about babies, and I’ll keep my mobile phone switched on so she can get us if she needs us.’

      ‘I thought you weren’t allowed to use mobiles in hospitals?’

      ‘It’s in the hospital social club. Different building,’ Kieran explained. ‘Come on, Tess. It’ll be fun.’

      The doorbell rang, and he saw the panic in Tess’s eyes. He sighed inwardly. ‘Look, if you really don’t want to come, I understand. But it’d be nice for us to go out and let our hair down. Just for a couple of hours. We don’t have to stay late.’

      ‘I won’t know anyone.’

      ‘You’ll know me.’ He wrinkled his nose at her. ‘Anyway, it’d be a waste of good lippy if you stay in now.’ Lipstick that he’d bought her on the way home from work, hoping it would tempt her into making an effort with her appearance.

      ‘I look a frump.’

      She certainly didn’t dress as fashionably as she had before Charlie’s arrival, but no way could anyone call Tess Bailey a frump. He’d once teased his kid sister that she’d manage to look great in a bin bag. ‘Course you don’t. And you’re going to be on the arm of the best-looking man in the hospital.’

      She pursed her lips. ‘I thought I was going with you.’

      Kieran grinned. That was more like the old Tess—teasing and keeping her big brother in his place. ‘You are. Come on, let’s get Rosemary settled.’

      Tess had an enormous list of things to check, but finally Kieran and Rosemary persuaded her out of the door. And when they got to the hospital social club and Tess froze, Kieran slid his arm round her shoulders. ‘You’re going to enjoy this,’ he said, hugging her. ‘And if you’re a very, very good girl, I might even let you buy me a pint.’

      ‘Oh, you,’ Tess said, but to his relief she let him usher her into the building. They handed over their tickets, Kieran bought them both a drink, and they found a quiet table at the side of the room.

      The little room filled, then the hubbub stopped, the lights dimmed and the spotlight lit up the stage.

      Kieran’s jaw dropped. Judith looked incredible. She was wearing a little black dress and high heels, her hair was loose, she was wearing just enough make-up for him to notice, and his body went straight into caveman mode. His mind followed. All he could think about was rushing onto the stage, yelling ‘Mine!’ and carrying her off somewhere very private.

      And then she started to sing.

      Her voice was amazing. Husky and soft. And he felt as if his bones were melting as he listened to her. She looked and sounded like an angel. And he wanted her. Badly.

      It was different, tonight, Judith thought. Something was different. She couldn’t put her finger on it but…

      And then she glanced round the room and saw him.

      Out of his suit and white coat, Kieran Bailey was gorgeous. Dark trousers, what looked like a silk shirt—a mixture of purples and blues and greens. All he needed was the earring and a trace of stubble, slightly longer hair, a hat and boots, and he’d be the perfect pirate.

      She almost stumbled over the words of the song, despite the fact that she knew it well. Kieran the pirate king. Carrying her off to have his wicked way with her on his ship. Her libido rose and she panicked inwardly. Please, no. She wasn’t going to let herself fall for him. She wasn’t going to get involved with someone who wasn’t free.

      Then she saw the woman sitting quietly at the table with him. Holding onto his arm very tightly, as if to advertise to everyone that he was hers. Like Kieran, she had dark hair, but her skin was much fairer. She was pretty, though she looked slightly tired and washed-out. But, then, Kieran had smelled

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