LITMIR.BIZ

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that a no?’

      ‘It’s a no.’

      ‘Because it’s okay—you’re a free man,’ she pressed on feverishly.

      ‘I get what you’re saying.’

      ‘I hope so, Sergio. Because if…if…’

      Her voice wobbled, and there was no chance to say what she felt she had to say because they were interrupted by the arrival of a brisk nurse and the consultant. In the doorway, another nurse was waiting at the ready.

      A room was now vacant but would not be for long, they were told on their way down in the lift.

      ‘Never rains but it pours,’ the consultant said wryly. ‘Three heavily pregnant women with sudden complications and a couple of tricky caesareans—in addition to the usual range of deliveries. And Siamese twins tomorrow.’ The consultant’s face brightened at the prospect of that. ‘You might have read about it recently? Right… Here we are… Nothing at all to worry about, Miss Sadler…’

      He patted her hand kindly as she was transferred to a bed in the darkened room, but his attention was already on the scanning machine, caught up in the routine of what he needed to do.

      Susie was keenly aware of Sergio next to her as she was prepped for the scan. She had not allowed him to go with her to any of her appointments. She wasn’t sure why, but somewhere in the back of her mind she thought that it would have felt like another little surrender to the overwhelming love she felt for him. She had to keep some precious distance between them—had to preserve a little bit of neutrality or else get completely lost.

      And she had always made sure to keep herself well covered. In fairness, she had increased in size, but not dramatically. But now, as her gown was opened so that the scan could begin, she was acutely conscious of the body she had so carefully hidden from him over the past few months.

      She sneaked a glance at him and he caught her eyes in the darkened room and held them.

      Now that she was lying on this bed it dawned on her that her pains had subsided considerably. Typical.

      He leaned down so that he was speaking quietly into her ear. ‘Stop thinking and just focus on the scan, Susie.’

      Susie reddened and looked away. She stared at the monitor and tried hard to ignore her protruding, rounded belly.

      Sergio, his gaze firmly fixed on the screen which had now been swivelled in their direction, marvelled that he could counsel her to stop thinking when he himself was caught up in a series of unwelcome thoughts.

      What the heck did she mean by telling him that it was perfectly okay for him to entertain another woman? Was it her way of reminding him that she, likewise, was entitled to the freedom to entertain other men?

      His eyes dropped briefly to her stomach, his first glimpse of her changed body, and possessiveness ripped through him.

      She wouldn’t look at another man now, but what about after the baby was born…?

      She was swollen with his child—was she already contemplating the prospect of getting back into shape and meeting his replacement?

      No. He refused to entertain that notion. Not here and not now.

      He fixed all his attention on the picture presenting itself on the monitor and forgot all about the nagging anxieties playing at the back of his mind as the consultant took them through everything they were looking at—including the strong heartbeat which announced that everything was all right and there had been nothing to worry about after all.

      ‘Always a good idea to get to hospital if you feel anything out of the ordinary,’ he said kindly when, half an hour later, the lights were switched on and the gown, thankfully, was put back over her stomach.

      ‘I panicked,’ Susie confessed.

      ‘Perfectly understandable,’ the consultant told her. ‘But everything seems to be in order. I should take it easy for the remainder of your pregnancy, though. Is there anyone staying with you—?’

      ‘I’ll be there,’ Sergio interrupted, and Susie looked at him, open-mouthed.

      He didn’t look at her. He didn’t have to in order to know exactly what she was thinking. That she wanted to preserve her independence and having him living with her under the same roof would be an appalling prospect.

       Tough.

      The consultant, already glancing at his watch, thinking ahead to his next appointment, was nodding and filling them in on the importance of making sure that she took it easy, didn’t do anything that required too much exertion. Telling them that everything was fine, but that the human body had a cunning way of letting people know when things might be wrong.

      And then, as fast as they had been swept up in the drama of the moment, they were on their own—free to leave the hospital.

      ‘What did you mean when you told the consultant that you would be staying with me?’ Susie asked abruptly.

      For a while, when she had been focusing on the grainy little image of the baby, she had been wholly consumed, but now she was back to her anxious thoughts. She folded her arms and stared at him.

      He might not have found someone else yet, but he would sooner or later—and how was she going to build up the strength to deal with that if he now intended to move in? She needed respite from his suffocating presence! The last thing she needed was to have him around all the time, reminding her that their relationship was not really a relationship.

      But of course he would want to move in. Anything to protect his unborn child.

      ‘Before we start on this conversation,’ Sergio said, anticipating her mulish rejection of his offer, despite what the consultant had said, ‘let’s do the next patient a favour and vacate the room. We can talk about it on the way back to your house—and before you tell me that you’re fine, and that there’s no need for me to drop you home, forget it.’

      ‘I wasn’t going to say that.’

      ‘Good. In that case, apologies for wrongly jumping the gun. And instead of thinking about my staying with you, and getting hot and bothered about the prospect, maybe we should both be happy that everything’s okay?’

      ‘Of course I’m happy.’ Susie flushed, aware that he was right. ‘Overjoyed. Even though I still feel like an idiot for rushing down here.’

      ‘Like Mr Wilkins said, it’s good to not take chances.’

      ‘He was being polite.’

      Heading towards the exit, Sergio controlled a frustrated smile. She always had an answer for everything. No one could ever accuse her of not being an everlasting source of challenge. If he pointed to the sky and told her that it looked blue, she would, given the right mood, argue that it was yellow, and she would continue arguing until she got bored and abandoned the conversation.

      He had long ago congratulated himself on having reserves of patience that far surpassed anything he might have expected. Especially since now that she was pregnant she could be prone to being argumentative about nothing in particular.

      ‘He’s probably cursing at having to waste his precious time,’ she rambled on, taking her time as she manoeuvred herself into his car. ‘Pandering to a hypochondriac…’

      As soon as they were both in the car, and he was slowly threading his way through the car park out into the busy road, she turned to him.

      ‘I realise, Sergio, that you’re worried I might end up back in hospital because I’ve done something to overtire myself, but there’s no cause for concern. I really am going to take things easy.’

      ‘What do you mean, you really are going to take things easy? I thought you already were?’

      ‘I’ve recently been doing some spring cleaning…’

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