LITMIR.BIZ

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there was a twinkle in those eyes too so he knew she wasn’t going to yell at him again.

      He snapped on gloves and knelt in front of the woman. “All right. You’ll feel a little pressure as I check. You’re doing great.” Gabriella got the IV taped down, then moved to hold one of Trina’s knees.

      Then their eyes met in surprise, and the plan changed again. Because the top of baby’s head was clearly visible—as he’d guessed, nature had decided when this baby was going to be born. “Guess what, Mama? Baby’s decided the time is now. We can see the top of its head. Push hard next time you have a contraction.”

      “Oh, God! No! I’m...I don’t want it to be this way.”

      Gabby had turned to speak into the microphone around her neck, presumably to call Neonatal and get the troops ready, but now reached to squeeze Trina’s hand as she moaned again. “I know, I’m sorry. But, ready or not, here he comes. Breathe now, it’s going to be just fine. Give us a push, okay? Another one.”

      “Great job. Here he comes! I’ve got his head now.” He gently grasped the infant’s head, sliding his fingers up to hold the tiny shoulders. “Another push.”

      As the mother labored, Gabriella kept up her encouragement. “You’re doing an amazing job, Trina. Remember to breathe. Puff, puff, puff. One more. Oh, my, you’ve done it! He’s here, and so beautiful!”

      The baby was a good color and seemed to be under no stress at all, and the usual, spontaneous satisfaction hit Rafael square in the chest. He grinned at the mother then at Gabriella. Their eyes met for the briefest moment, but it was long enough to see she felt exactly like he did, which was that he wanted to pump his fists in the air that all had gone smoothly, despite the not-very-normal situation.

      “You can be front-page news if you want to be, Trina,” Gabriella said as she did a quick bulb suction on the baby before handing him to his mother. “I think you might be the first woman to give birth on the floor of the clinic midwife’s office.”

      Trina, obviously tired but now beaming, laughed. “Being on the front page is always one of my goals.”

      Something Rafael couldn’t imagine, and he’d be glad to have her take his place the next time it happened.

      Neonatal arrived to take the baby and get him cleaned up and swaddled.

      “Your body was obviously perfectly made for this, Trina, with baby coming so fast and easy, and with no complications at all.” Rafael had learned that it was always good to distract his patients with chitchat and jokes while he took care of post-birth necessities. “You might consider doing it another ten times or so. What do you think?”

      Predictably, Trina laughed at the same time she scowled at him. “Easy for you to say when you’re not the one who went through the pain or got your body all stretched out. Besides, every woman’s body is made for birthing babies, right? It’s our curse in life, though I have to say he just might be worth it.”

      He smiled at the happy, adoring look she was giving her baby, then glanced at Gabriella, wanting to enjoy her smile, too.

      Except she wasn’t smiling. Her eyes held the sadness he’d seen in them before. No, this time he’d even call it anguish, and her slender shoulders were slumped with the weight of something heavy but invisible. Seeing her pain, that same heavy weight seemed to settle in his own chest as it ached for her, and he knew that, damn it, he had to learn what was making her feel this way.

      To hell with keeping his distance. With keeping her safe from him. He might not have much to offer her other than the here and now and an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on, but he could at least offer that. Or whatever it was she needed from him.

      God knew, he was well acquainted with what it felt like to not have anyone close who particularly cared who you really were.

      Dios. He wanted, right then, to take her in his arms and kiss away that sadness. To whisk her off somewhere to talk about it right now, to find out the source and show her that, whatever it was, it would be all right. Except they were at work, caring for a new mother and a new life. Waiting wasn’t his strength, but patients had to come first.

      Gabriella must have felt that he was watching her, maybe even sensed the intensity and turmoil inside him at that moment, because she turned to look at him. Their gazes fused for a long moment of charged connection before she blinked, then turned away. He saw a smile force its way to her lips as her face became a smooth mask. She chatted with Trina as she was helped onto a gurney to transport her to a room, and cooed over the baby the neonatal team had placed back in its mother’s arms.

      Anyone who hadn’t been looking at Gabriella exactly when he had might have seen only the pleased, warm midwife caring for her patient. Giving them the kind of heartfelt attention and empathy any pregnant woman would be lucky to receive from her nurse.

      Gabriella seemed to be pointedly directing her attention to anywhere and anyone but him as she and a technician got the room cleaned up. Just before the new mother was wheeled out, she thanked him and he turned to smile at her, chucking the little newborn under his chin but still thinking of Gabriella busying herself behind him. He pondered how exactly to approach her. His phone rang, and the screen told him it was James.

      He stepped into the hallway, keeping an eye on Gabriella’s office door to make sure she didn’t escape before he had a chance to talk to her.

      “Hello, James, what’s up?”

      “Can you take a couple of days to go to a special destination?” James asked.

      “Depends on the destination.”

      “A sheikh friend and his wife and extended family are staying in Vail, Colorado. He came here to take care of some business in L.A., and they were planning to leave the U.S. day after tomorrow. Except it looks like she might be close to delivering earlier than expected. Any way you can head to the mountains to see what’s going on?”

      He didn’t have to ask why they didn’t just go to the local hospital or see a doctor there. He knew a number of Middle Eastern princes, and they didn’t “do” local hospitals without having some connection, along with a guarantee of privacy.

      “Any way they can get here?”

      “No. He’s worried, and doesn’t want her to travel. So, can you?”

      “Yes.” For the first time in half an hour he felt like smiling. “Though I’d need assistance, which means you’ll have to adjust Gabriella Cain’s schedule so she can come with me.”

      “Those are your terms?” A low laugh came down the phone line. “Fine. But I hope you know what the hell you’re doing, and why you’re doing it.”

      Rafael wasn’t too sure he knew either of those things, but he was going with it anyway.

       CHAPTER NINE

      SWOOPING DOWN THEN back up and around on the winding road that had been cut through sheer rock cliffs, the powerful rented sedan effortlessly handled the mountain curves Gabby was sure her own little car would have struggled with mightily. With any other driver at the wheel, she might have been a little nervous at the speed with which he was taking the sweeping turns, but Rafael’s supreme confidence was evident, just like it was at work. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

      She couldn’t help but wonder if her coming along on this work trip had been James’s idea or Rafael’s. Somehow, she had a feeling it was the prince wielding his powers of persuasion, which was a nice way to say he was manipulative. But how could she be sorry about that?

      She glanced at the man and his gorgeous profile, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

      “Spectacular, isn’t it, Gabriella?”

      “Yes.” And she wasn’t about to tell him she was thinking of his looks as well as the scenery. “But I’m

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