Their Baby Surprise

Thoughts whizzed around inside his head. It was only when he realised that Rachel was waiting for him to answer that he pulled himself together. ‘It’s kind of you to offer, but I don’t expect you to give up your evening as well, Rachel.’

‘It’s not a big deal, Matt.’ She gave a little shrug. ‘And it isn’t as though I’ve anything better to do. In fact, I’d be glad to help, if I’m honest. It will stop me worrying about Ross if I have something else to think about.’

‘In that case, I’d be glad of your help. Thank you.’

Matt smiled up at her, feeling warmth ripple along his veins when she smiled back. She pulled up a chair and sat down beside him, leaning over so she could read what he had written. Matt felt his whole body grow tense when he inhaled her perfume but he was wise to the effect it could have after that morning and quickly brought himself under control. So long as he focussed on what he was doing, there shouldn’t be a problem.

With Rachel’s help they soon compiled a list of events and the times they had occurred. Anything hazy—such as what Ross and Gemma, their practice nurse, had been doing before they had arrived—they marked with an asterisk so they could check it later. By eight o’clock they had the bare bones of the report prepared and Matt was delighted they had accomplished so much.

‘Excellent!’ he said, leaning back in his chair and easing the crick out of his neck. ‘I thought it would take a lot longer than that.’

‘Two heads, et cetera,’ Rachel replied with a grin, and he laughed.

‘Too right, especially when the two heads are in tune with one another.’ Matt smiled back, feeling more relaxed than he had felt in days. Ever since Heather had told him that she was leaving Dalverston, it had felt as though his nerves had been strung out on a rack. However, after just an hour of working with Rachel he felt much better, so much better, in fact, that he was reluctant to let the evening end there.

‘How do you fancy going out for dinner?’ he suggested impulsively. ‘I don’t know about you but all this extra work has given me an appetite. I could eat a horse!’

‘I’m not sure if you’ll find horse on the menu anywhere in Dalverston,’ she replied lightly, although he saw a hint of colour run up her cheeks.

Did she think he was being presumptuous by asking her out? he wondered, then immediately dismissed the idea. Of course Rachel didn’t think that. They were colleagues and having dinner together wasn’t anything to get worked up about.

‘Hmm, good point. I’ll have to settle for a steak instead.’ He pushed back his chair, not wanting it to appear as though he was pressurising her to go out with him. It was her decision and he would abide by whatever she decided to do, although he really hoped she would say yes.

It was unsettling to realise just how much he wanted her to agree and he hurried on. ‘So long as it comes with all the trimmings, I’ll be more than happy.’

‘I have to confess that I’m hungry too,’ she admitted, standing up. ‘I can’t remember when I last had a decent meal—it must have been last week. I definitely didn’t cook anything for myself over the weekend.’

‘Me neither,’ Matt agreed, sliding the notes they had made into a folder. ‘The most I’ve managed is tea and toast for the past couple of days. My poor stomach must think my throat’s been cut.’

She laughed as she headed for the door. ‘It sounds as though we’re both in desperate need of some proper sustenance. How about that new place on the bypass? I believe they do excellent steaks there.’

‘Sounds good to me.’

Matt managed to hide his delight as he switched off the light and followed her along the corridor. It was just dinner with a colleague, he reminded himself, although he had to admit that it felt somewhat different to the usual staff outings he had attended in the past. For one thing, he and Rachel would be by themselves tonight and that was something that didn’t usually happen. Even when they had spent all that time planning the wedding, they hadn’t been on their own—Ross and Heather had been with them. This would be a whole new experience for them.

He took a steadying breath as he stopped beside the reception desk, determined that he wasn’t going to let himself get carried away by the thought. ‘I’ll set the alarm and follow you out. We can go in my car, if you like. That way you can have a glass of wine with your meal without worrying about driving home.’

‘Thanks, but it’s easier if we take both our cars. It will save all the hassle in the morning of getting here.’

It was on the tip of Matt’s tongue to tell her that he would give her a lift, but he sensed that would be overstepping the mark. ‘Fine. I’ll see you there, then.’

He waited until she had left then switched the phone through to their on-call service and set the alarm. There was only his car left in the car park when he went outside and he hurried over to it, shivering as a blast of icy wind blew down from the hills. The temperature had dropped over the weekend and it looked as though they were in for a really cold spell. Still, it wouldn’t be long before he got to the restaurant and warmed up, he consoled himself.

He started the engine, smiling at the thought of meeting Rachel there. Maybe it was only dinner with a colleague but it was good to know that he wouldn’t be spending the rest of the evening on his own. Was that her main attraction? he wondered suddenly. Was he so eager for her company because he was lonely?

He tested out the theory and discovered that it did fit. However, deep down he knew it was more than that. Loneliness didn’t explain the way he had responded to her recently, did it?

Chapter Four

RACHEL could feel butterflies flitting around her stomach as she entered the restaurant. It wasn’t very busy with it being a Monday evening and she had no trouble getting a table. She told the waiter that she was expecting someone to join her and sat down to wait, trying to control the frantic fluttering inside her. It was just dinner with Matt, nothing more, nothing less, and definitely nothing to get worked up about.

Matt arrived a few minutes later, looking big and imposing as he stopped to speak to the waiter. Rachel noticed several women glance his way and look a second time too as he made his way over to her. No wonder, she thought as he took off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair. He was an extremely handsome man and she wouldn’t blame any woman for finding him attractive.

‘This is nice.’ He looked around the restaurant with obvious pleasure. ‘It all looks very sleek and modern without being too stark and bare. Call me old-fashioned but I like a bit of clutter around the place.’

‘Me too, probably too much clutter,’ she agreed ruefully.

‘So you don’t go in for the minimalist look that Ross favours?’ Matt queried, loosening his tie. He undid the top button of his shirt as well and Rachel hurriedly averted her eyes when she felt those pesky butterflies start flapping even more wildly. She had seen Matt wearing a variety of outfits over the years they’d worked together, from the jeans he had worn on staff outings to the suits he preferred for work, so why was she reacting this way to a glimpse of bare tanned flesh?

‘No, it’s not my taste at all. As for Ross, well, he probably favours that style because it’s the complete opposite from what he grew up with.’

Rachel hurriedly dismissed the question. They were there to have dinner, not so she could analyse how she felt about Matt. He was a colleague and a friend, and that was all she needed to know.

‘Really?’ Matt sat back in his chair, obviously keen to hear more, and she continued, finding it easier to talk about such a safe topic.

‘We lived with my parents for a long time, you see, so Ross grew up in a house decorated according to his grandparents’ tastes. Mum is very much into chintz and frills and I think that’s why Ross rebelled and opted for something very different when he bought his own home.’

‘It must have been a help to have your parents on hand,’ Matt said quietly, and she nodded.

‘Oh, it was. Mum not only looked after Ross while I was studying but while I was doing my rotations as well. I don’t know how I’d have managed otherwise. The hours a newly qualified doctor has to work are horrendous.’

‘I remember how exhausting it was working such long shifts. My first post was as a junior house officer in A and E at a hospital in London—I don’t think I went to bed for three days solid at one point because I was on call.’

‘Thank heavens they’ve put a stop to young doctors working such terrible hours, although it’s no picnic for them even now,’ she agreed. ‘It’s madness to expect someone to function properly when they’re exhausted.’

‘It is. I certainly couldn’t have coped with looking after Heather on top of the hours I worked. Thankfully, I didn’t need to because Claire took care of all that. She gave up work when Heather was born so she could be a full-time mum.’ Matt sighed. ‘You’ve not had an easy time, Rachel, have you? You didn’t have that option.’

‘It wasn’t that bad,’ she protested, touched by the concern in his voice. ‘As I said, Mum and Dad were marvellous and once I’d completed my GP training, life became much easier. It was still hard work, of course, but at least I didn’t need to work such gruellingly long hours.’

‘When did you move out of your parents’ house?’ Matt asked curiously.

‘When Ross was about twelve. I was earning a decent salary by then and I was able to afford a mortgage. Mum still helped out if I needed a hand, but it was good to be independent at last.’