The Motherhood Mix-Up

‘And that is?’ Leo Forester raised a dark brow. His expression was as bland as ever but Mia could see a nerve tic in his jaw and realised, with a start, that he was nowhere near as composed as he was pretending to be. The thought was comforting for some reason and her tone softened.

‘That Harry isn’t told anything about this. He’s only five and it will just confuse him if he’s told that Chris might not be his daddy.’

‘I have no intention of telling him or Noah anything until we get the results of the DNA tests.’

Leo Forester put his cup down with a clatter and Mia realised, with another start that he’d had to put it down because his hands were shaking. Maybe he did prefer to keep a rein on his emotions, but beneath that cool exterior there was definitely passion brewing. It made her wonder what would happen if he ever let himself go.

Mia pushed that thought aside. What Leo Forester did or didn’t feel was of no consequence, except where it concerned Harry, of course. She needed to make it clear that any hopes he was harbouring about claiming her son as his own were never going to come to fruition.

‘I shall arrange to have a DNA profile done on Harry. Once I receive the results, I’ll contact you. Obviously I’ll need an address or telephone number where you can be reached.’

‘I’ll give you my card.’ He took out his wallet again and pulled out an ivory-coloured card. He didn’t hand it over immediately, however.

‘It seems pointless you having to go to all the trouble of finding someone to carry out the DNA tests, Mrs Adams. Why don’t you leave me to make the arrangements?’

‘Thank you but I’d prefer to do it myself,’ Mia said shortly, and he frowned.

‘Because you don’t trust me not to pull some sort of a stunt so that the results come back in my favour?’

Mia heard the irritation in his deep voice but it didn’t bother her. There was too much at stake to worry about his finer feelings, if he really had any, of course. It was disappointing to wonder if she’d been wrong about him. Maybe what you saw was what you got and in this instance it appeared that the handsome Leo Forester was a very cold fish indeed.

‘Yes.’ She took the card off him, annoyed that she should waste even a second thinking about him. Leo Forester had come into her life uninvited and definitely unwelcome and the sooner she got rid of him, the better. ‘I have no intention of allowing you to pull the wool over my eyes, Mr Forester. Whilst I feel very sorry for the plight you find yourself in, it really isn’t my concern. The only person I’m interested in is my son.’

She stood up, picking up her bag and looping the strap over her shoulder. Leo Forester stood up as well and for a moment she thought he was going to stop her again when she tried to leave. However, in the event, he merely stepped aside so she could pass.

‘Thank you,’ Mia murmured politely. She made her way to the door, curbing the urge to run. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how scared she felt, how fearful of the future. Harry was her son. She repeated the mantra as she reached for the handle, hoping it would help her maintain her control. For some reason it seemed important that she shouldn’t let Leo Forester know how terrified she was.

‘Aren’t you forgetting something, Mrs Adams?’

Mia had actually opened the door when he spoke and she paused reluctantly, wondering if he had done it deliberately, almost let her escape before calling her back, like a cat playing with a mouse. She glanced round, smoothing her face into a carefully neutral expression. He might enjoy playing games but she had no intention of being party to them.

‘I don’t think so.’ She shrugged. ‘What else is there to say until the results of the DNA tests come back?’

‘Obviously, I need an address or, at the very least, a phone number where I can contact you.’

‘Why would you want to contact me?’ Mia countered. ‘You and I have nothing further to discuss, Mr Forester. As I’m sure the DNA results will prove.’

Mia walked out of the door, half expecting him to call her back again, but he didn’t. She made her way along the corridor, shaking her head when Dr Khapur’s secretary jumped up and told her that the doctor wanted to speak to her. She didn’t want to speak to him. Not right now, anyway. At some point she would need an explanation as to why she’d been involved in this ridiculous affair but not right now. Right now all she wanted to do was go home and see Harry. Her son, not Leo Forester’s.

Leo cursed himself as he strode along the corridor. He had made a complete and utter hash of things and ended up making an already difficult situation worse. Wrenching open the door, he stepped out into the street, wondering why he had allowed Mia Adams to get to him that way. He knew what had to be done; he should do because he’d gone over it enough times. However, all the careful arguments he’d rehearsed, the calm and rational statements he had planned, had simply melted away. He had taken one look at the fear on Mia Adam’s face and bottled it. Hell!

There was a taxi dropping off a fare at the corner. Leo flagged it down and gave the driver the address of the hospital. He was due in Theatre at two and it was almost that now. The taxi dropped him off outside the main doors and he hurried inside, nodding briefly to the porter.

Although he divided his time between his private practice in Harley Street and his NHS commitments, he was well known at the hospital, if not well liked. He was a hard taskmaster and he knew that the members of his team admired rather than liked him. It had never worried him before but as he made his way up in the lift, he suddenly found himself wishing that he had a better rapport with the people he worked with. If he had taken the trouble to develop his social skills, maybe he would have had better luck convincing Mia Adams to trust him.

Leo’s mouth compressed as he stepped out of the lift. He wasn’t given to such foolish thoughts normally and it was irritating to be beset by them today. The sooner he got himself in hand, the better. Mia Adams might be hoping this situation would go away but he knew it wasn’t that simple. This was just the beginning and there was going to be a lot more upset before this matter was resolved. It wasn’t only him and Mrs Adams who would suffer either. There were two little boys whose lives were going to have to change.

Mia was on duty the following morning. She took Harry to the school’s breakfast club and left him happily demolishing a bowl of cereal then walked to the station. It was almost three years since she had moved to London. Chris had been offered a job with a leading firm of accountants and they had decided it was too good an opportunity to miss. The fact that Chris had been confined to a wheelchair following a climbing accident in his twenties had severely restricted his job options; however, the firm hadn’t seen it as a problem.

Chris had loved the job and enjoyed every minute of his working life. Mia knew that moving to the city had been the right thing to do but she couldn’t help wondering if she should move back to Kent at some point. Harry would not only benefit from all the fresh air and open spaces to play in, he’d be able to spend more time with his grandparents. The downside, of course, was that she would have to give up her job and she doubted if she would find another that would allow her to spend so much time with Harry.

As a senior sister, working as part of the bank of nurses at The Princess Rose Hospital, she could pick her own hours. She had worked mornings when Harry had been at nursery so she could be home in time to collect him at lunchtime. Now that Harry had started school, she had increased her hours and was thinking about going full time soon—heaven knew they could do with the extra money. However, as it would mean Harry having to stay at the after-school club until she got home, she had decided to leave the decision until after Christmas. Harry would have settled into school by then and she’d feel happier about leaving him for longer.

The train was late as usual and she had to run to reach the hospital in time for her shift. Penny Morrison, who organised the bank nurses, grinned when Mia came panting into the office.

‘Either you’re in training for the next London Marathon or the train was late. My guess is that it’s the second option.’

‘You’d be right too.’ Mia hung her coat in her locker then took a comb out of her bag and tidied her hair. ‘I wish they’d invest in some new trains. I mean, they wouldn’t break down as often if they weren’t so old, would they?’

‘Ah, but new trains cost money and nobody has any these days, or so they claim.’

Penny picked up the spreadsheet she used to sort out where everyone was working. There were fifteen bank nurses and they covered all the departments as and when they were needed. It was a system that worked well and had reduced the high costs of hiring agency nurses to provide cover.

‘Right, you’re down for Cardiology this week. The ward sister has sprained her ankle and she’s off sick. You might end up there a bit longer, in fact.’

‘Fine by me. I’ve not covered Cardiology before so it will be nice to do something different,’ Mia agreed. ‘Anything I should know beforehand?’

‘Not really. Oh, apart from the fact that one of the consultants is a bit of a tartar so watch your back.’ Penny rolled her eyes. ‘Jackie was there a couple of weeks ago and she’s refused to go back if he’s on duty.’

‘Heavens! He sounds a real sweetheart, I don’t think.’ Mia grimaced as she took her ID out of her bag and clipped it to the pocket of her navy uniform top. One of the other nurses arrived just then so she left Penny to deal with her and made her way to the third floor where the cardiology unit was situated. Everything looked very peaceful when she arrived and she grinned at the staff nurse who’d been holding the fort until she got there.

‘Either all your patients are extremely well behaved or you’ve sedated them. Which is it?’

‘Neither.’ The staff nurse grimaced. ‘They’re simply too scared to kick up a fuss.’

Mia laughed. ‘You don’t look that scary to me.’

‘Oh, it’s not me who’s terrified them into submission.’ The younger woman looked over Mia’s shoulder and groaned. ‘Here’s your culprit now. And that’s my cue to beat a hasty retreat. Good luck. You’ll need it!’

Mia looked round, the smile still lingering on her lips as she looked at the man walking towards her. He was tall with dark hair lightly threaded with silver and chiselled features…

All of a sudden the room started to whirl, spinning faster and faster until she felt quite giddy. What on earth was Leo Forester doing here?

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_a1f94064-59cf-5981-841c-db03e6f6372b)

‘THESE NOTES ARE incomplete, Sister. Make sure the file is updated before I return for my afternoon round. I shouldn’t need to remind you that it’s your job to ensure that all the information I require is available.’

Leo handed the file to Mia Adams. He turned to the two new F1 students who had joined his team the previous week, ignoring the wary look that passed between them. Maybe he had been rather hard on Sister Adams but he wouldn’t tolerate incompetence in any shape or form.

‘Mrs Davies will be having bypass surgery tomorrow. What needs to be done beforehand to ensure the operation goes smoothly?’ he demanded, ignoring the voice in his head that insisted he was being unreasonable. So what if Mia Adams had taken charge of the unit only that morning? As ward sister, it was her responsibility to ensure that everything was up to date. Far too many errors occurred because staff had omitted some vital piece of information.

The thought reminded him rather too pointedly of the error that had been made over Noah. Finding out that the child he had believed to be his son had no biological connection to him and Amanda had been a terrible shock and he still hadn’t got over it. He loved Noah with all his heart and there was no way that he was prepared to give him up, but he still needed to find out the truth, prove that Mia’s child—Harry—was his real son. After that, well, he had no idea what would happen. It all depended on what Mia Adams decided.

The thought that so much was hanging on her decision wasn’t easy to accept. Leo was used to running his life his own way and rarely made allowances for other people. It was little wonder that his tone was brusquer than ever when the students failed to answer. He didn’t want to be beholden to Mia Adams, but he might not have a choice.

‘I fail to see why you’re finding it so difficult to come up with an answer.’ He pinned the unhappy pair with an icy stare. ‘This is something you should have covered in your first year as students. If you can’t answer a simple question like this then you are of no use to me.’

‘May I suggest we take this into the office?’