Amy Andrews – Their Baby Bond (страница 2)

‘Hell, Lou, don’t look now, but Will’s coming up right behind you,’ murmured Lydia.

Lou froze and cuddled little Terry closer. Today? He wasn’t due to start till Monday. She wasn’t ready for this. She was supposed to have the weekend to prepare. How was he going to react to her news?

‘Hello, Lou.’

Louise bugged her eyes at Lydia. Help.

Lydia bugged hers back, and nodded ever so slightly. It’s okay. I’ve got your back.

Will smiled at Lydia, who gave him a cool look. Oh, dear. He had counted Lydia as one of his friends. He and Lou had been out with Lydia and her husband, Gerry, many times, had been to dinner at their house on numerous occasions. Candy counted Rilla, Lydia’s third child, as one of her closest friends. But Lou and Lydia had always been really tight, and he’d known that Lou had been hurt when he’d left. And women stuck together.

He felt his heartbeat kick up a notch as Lou slowly turned. What would he see when she finally faced him? Would she still look as hurt as the day he had told her they couldn’t go on as they were? Or had she moved past that? To anger? Or contempt? Or maybe she’d be happy to see him? She’d smile at him and throw her arms around his neck?

Lou took a deep breath and slowly turned, bracing herself for his reaction, pulling Terry closer to her chest. ‘Hello, Will.’

Will’s thoughts stuttered to a halt. For a few seconds he wondered if he was having some kind of absent seizure. Or stroke. It took a few moments for the wiring in his brain to reconnect. He had heard about people being struck dumb and knew he was living their nightmare.

How naive had he been? The look on her face didn’t register. The amazingly large bosom where the little boy was snuggled didn’t register. He leant against the counter and took a deep breath. The only thing that registered was her enormous stomach. Pregnant? She was pregnant? He was completely speechless. In fact he was fairly certain he had his mouth open and was gaping like an idiot.

‘Close your mouth, Will,’ said Lydia, saccharine-sweet. ‘Don’t want to catch any flies.’

He glanced at her and saw the amusement and triumph in her eyes. Oh, yeah. Lydia definitely wasn’t keen on him. He ignored her, and struggled for a moment for something to say. The initial shock was waning, and he could feel the first spurt of a darker, stronger emotion. Anger? Jealousy? Possession?

Lydia’s smugness goaded him. ‘Jeez, Lou. You sure didn’t waste any time,’ he said, staring pointedly at Lou’s belly.

Lou gripped Terry even closer as she heard Lydia’s shocked gasp. She stared at him for a moment, stung by his words. ‘My office,’ she said, through clenched teeth.

Lou passed Terry to Lydia, feeling her friend’s hostility as a palpable force. If she didn’t get Will out of harm’s way Lydia was going to tear him to shreds. And the way she felt at the moment, with his insulting remark hanging between them, she might well let her.

He followed her, watching her plait sway and glide against her shirt. The urge to pull on it, flip her around, kiss her mouth and refamiliarise himself with those lips was strong, and he suppressed it with difficulty. Even if his life hadn’t been complicated, and there hadn’t been Candy to consider, Lou had obviously replaced him.

Lou pulled out her chair and glared at him as he sat opposite. How dared he? She was mad as hell, and battled to bring her temper under control. The very fact that being in this office reminded her of the number of times he had dragged her in here and kissed her made her madder.

‘I’m sorry. Was I supposed to sit around and pine for you all this time? Was I?’

He knew he had no right to feel so outraged. But he did. ‘Of course not,’ he snapped. ‘But, jeez, Lou. Did you even let my side of the bed get cold? Just how pregnant are you?’

‘I’m thirty weeks. And I don’t owe you an explanation, Will. You ended it. You left. You said you didn’t know when you’d be back. So I got on with my life. You were too involved with your own stuff for a baby. So I found someone who wasn’t.’

The baby chose that moment to give her a hefty kick, as if objecting to the lie. She placed her hand over the spot and rubbed it absently. Sorry, baby, but if he’s going to accuse me of being easy when he should know me better, then he can suffer for a bit.

Will followed the movement and felt another irrational streak of jealousy. She was carrying another man’s baby. He hadn’t been prepared for that. Her anger, her hostility—yes. But not how much it was going to sting knowing she had traded him in for someone else so quickly.

He shook his head to clear it. ‘Since when did you want a baby?’

‘I’ve always wanted one,’ she snapped.

‘You never told me,’ he said indignantly.

‘When was it ever the right time to tell you, Will? I’m a thirty-five-year-old woman. What makes you think I wouldn’t want one?’

He blinked. Good question. She was a paedatric nurse. A damn good one at that. She’d been wonderful with Candy. He sighed. ‘Who’s the father?’ Please, God, don’t let me know him. ‘Are you going to marry him?’

Lou felt herself getting sucked in to the lie further, and searched for a half-truth to assuage her guilt. ‘He’s … not on the scene any more.’ It’s complicated. She thought about Jan and Martin and clutched her swollen belly harder.

Will blinked. The surprises just kept on coming. ‘What do you mean? Doesn’t he know you’re pregnant?’

‘It’s not like that,’ she dodged, hoping she could keep the lies straight. ‘It was just a casual thing.’

Will narrowed his eyes and looked at her closely. Rubbish. There was something she wasn’t telling him. How badly had she wanted a baby? Had she used some poor, unsuspecting guy to accomplish her goal?

‘Lou, you didn’t just use some guy to get pregnant, did you?’

The baby kicked again. Did he really think her capable of such a cold-blooded plan? Anger simmered through her veins. ‘This is none of your business, Will. All you need to know is that I’m pregnant and I’ll be out of your hair in a month. I’m sure you and I can manage to be civil to each other in that time, right? Or is that going to be a problem?’

Four weeks. He’d been looking forward to coming back to his old job, knowing he’d get to see Lou every day. Because apart from their history she was the best damn nurse unit manager he’d ever worked with. Efficient, knowledgeable and resourceful. ‘No problem,’ he said emphatically, staring into her pretty face and blue eyes. ‘Who’s filling in for you?’ he asked.

‘Lydia.’

Oh. Great. Just what he needed. The friend from hell. ‘Excellent,’ he said.

There was a moment of awkward silence. ‘I suppose you’re here to familiarise yourself with the new computer system?’ she said, not seeing any point in continuing hostilities when they had to work together.

‘No, I have some other stuff to attend to first. I’m coming back this afternoon to get myself orientated with that. I actually came to see you. Check that we were … okay.’

‘And?’

‘I don’t know, Lou.’ He raked his hands through his hair. ‘You’ve thrown me for a bit of a loop, actually.’

Welcome to my life. ‘Well, back at you,’ she said.

The phone rang and Lou was grateful for the interruption. ‘Ward Two, Louise Marsden speaking.’

‘Everything okay?’ demanded Lydia.

Lou smiled. ‘Fine.’

‘Do you want me to come in and kick his butt?’

This time she laughed. Lydia would, she had no doubt. ‘Thanks, I have it under control.’ She hung up, still smiling.

‘Lydia?’

She nodded.

‘She doesn’t like me much these days.’

‘No.’

‘I wasn’t aware I’d done anything to upset her.’

Lou shrugged. ‘You didn’t. You left. You upset me. It’s enough.’

‘What else could I have done, Lou? Delvine was making it impossible. You were miserable. I wasn’t … we weren’t making you happy any more.’

‘You did what you had to do, Will. I understand that. But it still hurt.’

‘So I do the only decent thing and I’m the big bad wolf? That’s hardly fair,’ he grumbled. Women!

Lou nodded. ‘That’s what friends are for.’

‘Do they all hate me?’ he asked, feeling slightly apprehensive about working with a hostile staff.

She shook her head. ‘Only about seventy-five percent.’

The phone rang again, and it was the pharmacy checking on supplies. She replaced the phone and felt more on an even keel now the initial hostilities were over and they’d settled into polite chit-chat.

Will shook his head. ‘Candy’s going to flip when I tell her you’re having a baby. She was just lamenting only yesterday how she didn’t have a little brother or sister to play with. You’re going to be her favourite person … but then I guess you always were.’

Lou smiled, thinking about Will’s gorgeous eight-year-old daughter. ‘How is Candy?’

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Surprisingly so. I thought she might be more upset … withdrawn … But she’s amazed me. I’m lucky she’s so resilient.’

Lou loved the way his mouth, his entire face softened when he talked about Candice. Just as well I’m over you. ‘How long will Delvine be gone for?’ Harold Yates, the Medical Director, had filled Lou in on Will’s new circumstances. Delvine had found herself a rich property developer and had decided to relocate to Italy with him.