The Motherhood Mix-Up

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

‘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?’

Leo looked round in surprise when Mia Adams cut in. He wasn’t used to being interrupted and didn’t appreciate her making suggestions. He opened his mouth to tell her that in no uncertain terms but she had already moved away. Leo frowned as he watched his team follow her to the office. They hadn’t waited for his permission; they had simply done her bidding and it was a shock, an unpleasant one, to realise that they preferred to follow her lead rather than his.

‘I’ll come back to see you later, Mrs Davies,’ he said politely, noticing for the first time that the woman was trembling. She gave him a wan smile as he moved away from the bed and Leo found himself wondering what was wrong with her. She’d appeared perfectly composed when he had arrived but obviously something had upset her.

His mouth thinned as he strode towards the office. It was Mia Adams’s fault, of course. Mrs Davies had picked up on the tension and reacted accordingly. Well, he intended to take Sister Adams to task and make sure she understood who was in charge before she upset any more of his patients.

‘A word, please, Sister Adams,’ he began as he entered the office.

‘Just a moment, Mr Forester.’ She barely glanced at him as she carried on issuing instructions to one of the nurses and Leo felt his temper leap up a couple more notches. He was the consultant and although he didn’t consider himself to be next to God in the pecking order, he did expect to be treated with due respect.

‘After you’ve sorted that out, Sally, can you take Mrs Davies a cup of tea? She’s a bit upset so sit with her, will you? It will help to calm her down if she has someone to talk to.’

Mia smiled at the younger nurse, giving no sign that she was worried about keeping him waiting, and Leo had to clamp down on the urge he felt to do something drastic, like shake her. Bearing in mind that he wasn’t a man given to violence on any level it was a surprise to find himself reacting this way. It was little wonder that he was caught flat-footed when she turned to him.

‘There’s something you wish to say to me, Mr Forester?’

Her tone was cool in the extreme and he saw several members of his team glance at each other in amazement. Nobody spoke to him this way. Nobody queried his decisions or interrupted him either. Nobody had ever dared—until now. Leo’s temper, which had been hovering just below boiling point, peaked and he glared at her.

‘Yes. Let me make this clear, Sister Adams. When I am with a patient I don’t expect to be interrupted. Do you understand?’

‘Perfectly. However, I think it’s only fair that I make my position clear too. The patients are my responsibility while they’re on this unit. That means that if I notice that someone is in pain or upset I shall do something about it.’ She paused, her emerald-green eyes meeting his across the desk, and if there was any hint of remorse in them Leo certainly couldn’t see any sign of it. ‘Mrs Davies was becoming increasingly distressed by the way you were speaking to your students. Naturally I took steps to resolve the matter.’

Mia held his gaze, wondering when the heavens were going to fall in on her. That Leo Forester was less than pleased by what she had said was obvious but she didn’t care. Nobody should be allowed to speak to people the way he had spoken to those poor students. Maybe other folk were willing to put up with his bad temper but she wasn’t, especially not after the havoc he had created in her life.

The claim he had made about Harry being his son had been on her mind constantly for the past twenty-four hours. Although she was sure it was a mistake, she couldn’t quite rid herself of the thought, what if ? What if he was right? What if Harry was his son and what if Noah was hers? What if the DNA tests proved it? Then what would happen? Her mind kept churning it all over but there were never any answers. How could there be? The situation was way beyond anything she’d had to deal with before. It made everything else that had happened in her life pale into insignificance. If Harry wasn’t her son, she had no idea what she was going to do.

Thoughts flashed through her mind at the speed of light yet it felt as though a lifetime had passed when she focused on Leo Forester again. That he was furiously angry was obvious and she decided there and then that the only way to deal with him was by fighting fire with fire. Maybe it was wrong to allow their personal issues to spill over into work but she refused to bow down before him on any matter. Harry was her son. She was responsible for the patients on this unit; they were both unassailable facts.

‘If you have a problem with the way I run this ward I suggest you take it up with the head of Nursing. I’m sure she will be happy to discuss any issues you care to raise.’

She picked up the file and walked around the desk, pausing when she came level with him. Even though several inches separated them she could feel the power of his anger like a living force and inwardly shuddered. Leo Forester would make a very bad enemy. It was a scary thought in view of what had happened.

‘Please feel free to use my office, Mr Forester. I shall make sure you aren’t interrupted.’

Mia swept out of the door, half expecting him to call her back, but surprisingly he didn’t. She made her way to the nursing station and logged into the patients’ records. Leo Forester was right: there was something missing from Anthea Davies’s notes. The woman had had an angiogram the previous week and the results needed to be added to her file. Mia made the necessary changes and printed out a fresh sheet and placed it in the file. Contrary to what Leo Forester thought, she was always thorough, always liked to be prepared to prevent any mistakes occurring.

She sighed as she went over to the cabinet and filed the notes in their rightful place. If only the staff at the fertility clinic had been as thorough she and Leo Forester would not be having to face such a potentially life-changing situation.

Leo was tied up in Theatre for the rest of the morning. However, as soon as he’d finished he changed back into his clothes and headed for the cardiology unit. Whilst he hadn’t been prepared to make matters worse by causing a scene, he had no intention of letting Mia get away with treating him that way. Maybe they did have issues, issues that none of their colleagues knew about, but he wasn’t going to let her make a laughing stock of him.

She was in the men’s section of the unit when he arrived, talking to one of his patients, a young man called David Rimmer who had a long history of heart problems. David had been born with several holes in his heart and had been in and out of hospital over the past twenty-two years. Recently, he had started to suffer from cardiac arrhythmia—an abnormal and rapid heartbeat—and he would be having cardioversion that afternoon. His heart would be stopped before an electric current was passed through it, hopefully shocking it back into its proper rhythm. Although Leo knew that David must be in a lot of discomfort, he grinned when he saw Leo approaching.

‘Seems you’ve met your match at last, eh, Doc? The buzz on the ward is that Mia gave you a real rollicking this morning. I only wish I’d been there to see it!’

Leo summoned a smile, not wanting the younger man to think he was at all put out to learn that he was the subject of gossip. ‘You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, David. It’s not always true.’

David laughed. ‘You would say that! Still, it’s nice to know that you’re human after all. It’s done wonders for your image.’

Leo frowned. How on earth could his run-in with Mia have improved his image? He glanced around the unit, feeling his surprise intensify when several patients smiled at him. Normally, he found that people were rather reserved around him, but not today. As he looked at the friendly faces turned towards him, he felt a sudden warmth envelop him. It was rather nice to be on the receiving end of smiles for once.

He cleared his throat, refusing to get carried away by such a ridiculous notion. He much preferred it that his patients should value him for his skills as a surgeon rather than as a potential friend. ‘I wonder if I might have a word with you, Sister?’ he said politely. Maybe he wasn’t out to win friends but there didn’t seem any harm in observing the niceties.

‘Of course.’ Mia’s tone was icily polite. She turned to the younger man and Leo couldn’t help feeling the tiniest bit irked when he heard the warmth in her voice as she wished David good luck. Obviously, he didn’t rate that level of concern.

The thought was irritating, although Leo was very aware that he was behaving completely out of character. Normally, he wouldn’t have cared a jot how people addressed him, as long as they weren’t rude, of course. Nevertheless, Mia’s distant approach stung. For a second he found himself wondering how it would feel if she addressed him with genuine affection in her voice before he dismissed the idea. It was never going to happen, not after the havoc he was about to create in her life.

He led the way into the office and closed the door. He didn’t want any interruptions, nothing and nobody to throw him off course. Maybe they were facing a very difficult situation but he needed to lay down some ground rules. Mia didn’t look at him as she walked around the desk and sat down. She appeared perfectly composed but Leo sensed her inner turmoil and for some reason the harsh words he’d been going to say seemed wrong. This was as stressful for her as it was for him; maybe he could afford to lighten up a little.

‘Before you say anything I want to apologise. I should never have spoken to you like that this morning.’

The apology caught him on the hop. Leo hadn’t expected it and found himself struggling to reply. ‘No, you shouldn’t,’ he said more sharply than he’d intended.

She gave a little shrug, her slender shoulders rising and falling beneath her navy cotton uniform, and he felt a flash of awareness shoot through him. For the first time since they’d met, he really looked at her, deliberately taking stock instead of simply forming an overall impression.

Her features were neat and regular: a firm little chin; a short straight nose; softly rounded cheeks. Her skin was very pale, almost translucent in the harsh glare of the fluorescent light overhead. Her hair was a soft mid-brown, caught neatly back from her face with a plain black clip. Her eyes were her best feature, a pure emerald green that seemed to glitter with an inner fire that fascinated him. Some people might have described Mia Adams as ordinary but not him, he decided. Not when he looked into those incredible eyes.

Leo took a deep breath, used it to shore up his world, a world that seemed to be falling apart around him. First there’d been the shock of discovering that Noah wasn’t his child and now this. He couldn’t be attracted to Mia Adams; he wouldn’t allow himself to be! However, as he looked at that ordinary little face and those extraordinary eyes staring back at him, he realised that he might not have a choice. There was something about her that intrigued him, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she had given birth to his son.

Mia bit her lip, wishing that Leo Forrester would say something. He was staring at her with the oddest expression on his face…

He suddenly spun round on his heel and strode out of the room, leaving her staring after him in confusion. She hadn’t expected him to let her off so lightly. Maybe she had apologised, and meant it too, but she’d been sure he would give her a dressing down. He’d have been perfectly within his rights to do so because she had overstepped the mark that morning.

Normally, she wouldn’t have dreamt of speaking to a consultant that way. But she’d not even tried to hold back as she had told him what she thought. Maybe this situation was unusual but she would be extremely lucky if he didn’t make a formal complaint about her and heaven only knew what would happen then. Staff had been sacked for less and the thought of losing her job was worrying. She would need every penny she could earn if it came to a legal battle over Harry.

Somehow Mia got through the rest of the morning and did the hand-over. It was after two p.m. when she collected her coat from the staffroom. Penny was at her desk; she looked up and grinned when Mia went in.

‘Well done, you! I hear you sent the redoubtable Leo Forester away with a flea in his ear.’

‘Don’t!’ Mia grimaced as she shrugged on her coat. ‘I suppose it’s all round the hospital?’

‘Of course. Suffice to say that most folk consider you to be a real heroine. Leo Forester isn’t exactly top of everyone’s Christmas card list,’ Penny added dryly.

‘I really shouldn’t have said what I did,’ Mia admitted. ‘It was a stupid thing to do.’

‘You’re only human, love. Which is more than I can say for the handsome Leo. Heaven only knows how he ever became a father. Oh, he’s gorgeous looking and everything, but he’s so cold. I mean, can you imagine him letting go enough to actually make love to a woman?’

Mia felt a tide of heat sweep up her face. She bent down to retrieve her bag from the locker, not wanting Penny to witness her reaction to the question. Maybe Penny couldn’t imagine it but she could. Only too well.

Fortunately the phone rang so she was saved from having to reply. Mia mouthed ‘Goodbye’ and left hurriedly. If the trains were running on time, she should be home just in time to collect Harry from school. She headed out of the main doors, pulling up the hood of her coat when she discovered it was raining. Afternoon visiting was under way and there were cars coming and going from all directions. She paused to allow an expensive sports car to pass through the gates ahead of her, sighing when it stopped and the passenger window rolled down. No doubt someone was going to ask her if she knew where they could park.

‘Get in.’

Mia jumped when a deep voice barked out the command. Bending, she peered into the car, feeling her heart leap when she saw Leo Forester behind the wheel. His expression was as bland as ever but she could see a spark of something in his eyes that warned her it would be a mistake to argue with him. Opening the door, she slid into the seat, buckling the seat belt as he pulled out of the gates. They drove in silence for several minutes before he spoke.

‘I think it would be best if we agreed to forget what happened today. Neither of us expected to find ourselves working together, but as there’s nothing we can do about it, we’ll just have to get on with it.’

Mia felt a rush of relief flood through her. ‘You don’t intend to make a complaint about me, then?’

‘Of course not.’

He sounded so surprised that she grimaced. ‘I thought you might, that’s all.’

‘Well, you can stop worrying. I won’t be making any complaints, not unless you do it again, of course. I don’t think my ego could take another battering.’

The hint of laughter in his voice was so unexpected that Mia stared at him. ‘I was sure you’d want to teach me a lesson.’

‘I probably would have done if circumstances had been different.’ His grey eyes met hers for a second before he returned his attention to the road but it was long enough to make Mia’s heart race.

She took a deep breath, calling herself every kind of a fool. Leo wasn’t interested in her, not the person she was. He was only interested in Harry. She had to remember that and not allow herself be duped into thinking that he cared about her feelings any more than she must care about his. It was the children who mattered, Harry and his son Noah. And his next words confirmed that.

‘I assume that you’re going to collect your son from school?’ He drew up at the traffic lights and turned to look at her. Mia steeled herself when she saw how solemn he looked. She had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.