From Passion To Pregnancy

His trip to gaúcho country had brought more than just a wedding and a night in a motel, it had once again emphasized the need for screening services in areas where medical facilities were few and far between. Even in the state of São Paulo, there were rural locations that were difficult to access. And then there were the favelas. Hospital Santa Coração had a clinic in the slum down the hill, which was run by Lucas Carvalho. But if the mobile unit was up and running, they could go into some of the other areas as well.

The hospital administrator opened a folder on his desk. “So basically a portable ultrasound machine and some blood draw equipment?” The man peered a little closer. “And, of course, the nurse. She is willing to settle for the stipend listed as long as we provide her with lodging. Check and make sure there’s a place available in the hospital housing division.”

“Okay. And if there’s not?”

The administrator made a sound in his throat. “We can’t afford to rent her an apartment in the city.” He shuffled through a stack of files on the right-hand side of his desk. “She’s from a little hospital in Rio Grande do Sul. No local relatives. Her father was a patient here a while back, and she’s anxious to do an estágio in oncology. With the hiring freeze it’s a little tricky…but if there are no units in the hospital you could always consider housing her yourself.” The man gave him a sly smile.

“I don’t think so.” That was all he needed. He’d just hope there was something available. “The hospital bigwigs would probably frown on that kind of arrangement.”

“I am the bigwig, but yes. It was a joke. Professionalism is the key, especially in this kind of situation.”

“Of course.”

Wait. He flipped through his own mental file drawer. Rio Grande do Sul—wasn’t that where his sister’s wedding had taken place a month ago?

“Who was the patient?”

“I’d have to check. The daughter’s name is Sara Moreira.”

A stream of shock zipped up his spine. He knew exactly who that was.

Tall with legs that wouldn’t quit, and expressive eyes that reflected every single second…

Deus, it couldn’t be.

She was applying for the job?

“Does she know who the request came from?”

Paulo’s head tilted. “It came from Marcos Pinheiro, since he’s the head of oncology. Why?”

What was he supposed to say? “Oh, remember that whole professionalism is key thing? It’s already gone way beyond that.”

And boy had it. Several times. In multiple positions.

He swallowed hard. That was probably the dumbest move he’d ever made. And if he admitted to it here and now, his project was dead in the water. She hadn’t been a nurse at his hospital at the time, so there had been no problem. Right?

When Paulo started to hand him the file, he waved it away. “I know who she is.”

He wanted to tell the man, hell, no, he didn’t want her. Standing next to her at that wedding had made something in his gut churn to life, just like when he’d worked her father’s case. After a few drinks, things had gotten out of hand, and the rest was history. A crazy sensual history he was better off forgetting.

But if he said he wasn’t willing to accept this particular nurse, he would have to explain why, and that could make for a very awkward conversation. It could also mean the death knell for this project, since no one else had responded to their request. Was he looking a gift horse in the mouth here?

He’d certainly enjoyed kissing that mouth.

He took a deep breath, hoping he wasn’t making a huge mistake. “I can give her a try and see if she works out.”

The administrator shook his head. “We’d need to be able to offer her three months, minimum, and six months is what she prefers. She wants the experience, Sebastian. She can’t get it in less time than that. Take it or leave it.”

In other words, his pet project was resting on the answer to this one question.

The question was could he keep his hands to himself for that long? Yes. Some mistakes did not bear repeating, no matter how pleasurable they had been at the time.

“Sure. Why not.”

He could handle six months of anything. After all, he’d lived in a household that had been pure hell during the time Natália had been undergoing her cancer treatments. He’d never told his sister what he’d found out about their father. And seeing the jerk at her wedding had made a slow boil start up in his gut. It had been part of the reason he’d dragged Sara to the bar that night. To avoid having to interact with the louse that had cheated on his mother and made her cry, who had said terrible things about his sister when she’d been ill.

The folder slid back to Sebastian’s side of the desk. “Take this down to Human Resources, then, and tell them that I’m okaying the transfer.” The man tapped his pencil on the paper in front of him. “But I’m keeping six months as the maximum, and I’m holding you to these figures. So, keep the costs down as much as you can.”

Time for a little last-minute haggling. “I want to be up and running in a week or two.”

“A week or two? The ambulance needs to be painted at the very least. I don’t want anyone mistaking it for an emergency vehicle, especially if you’re taking it into the favelas.” His lips tightened. “And no narcotics of any kind are to be carried onboard, understood?”

The favelas could be dangerous places on a good day, and if someone thought that they could find drugs inside it would be a recipe for a disaster.

“Understood. I’ll make arrangements for the painting.” He wasn’t going to tell the administrator he already had a body shop lined up. A friend of a friend who was giving him a huge discount on the job.

“If this goes well, it will be great PR for the hospital. So make sure everything runs smoothly. No snafus, got it?”

“I understand.” And if there were snafus with Sara? What if she expected to take up where they’d left off at the motel, once she found out she’d be working with him? Although the fact that she’d disappeared before he’d woken up made him think she wouldn’t. There’d been no sexy good mornings. No breakfasts in bed. Just an empty motel room.

There would be no snafus. Sebastian would do everything in his power to make sure they were able to work together. As long as she was okay with keeping things purely professional.

And if she wasn’t?

Then she might very well make his life difficult. Or at least his job.

So he had to make sure that didn’t happen.

No matter how hard it became. At least for the next six months.

* * *

Sara was elated. Even though part of her had been dreading this trip for the last week.

Would she run into Sebastian? It had been five and a half weeks since they’d found themselves at that motel together. But they’d both had far too much to drink. He probably didn’t even remember that night. Not that she’d waited around to find out.

What did it matter? She had the job! Carrying her small suitcase up the walkway toward the huge modern hospital, she felt like she was coming home. She’d spent almost a year of her life at this place while her dad had undergone treatment—first chemo, and then surgery to replace part of his femur with an internal prosthesis, a surgery she hadn’t even known existed before they’d come here. That was when she’d realized how insulated her little world was.

Her dad’s care had been first class. His doctors had saved his life. And Natália, the neonatal doctor who had shared her personal story of surviving the same type of cancer, had infused him with the will to try. Sara really believed that. The two had become fast friends over the course of their time there. And if she had to face Natália’s brother at her new post, well, she would grit her teeth and bear it. He hadn’t tried to contact her since that night, but that was understandable, since she’d been the one to sneak out at the crack of dawn.

Her stomach gave a twinge of nerves, the butterflies she’d felt for the last week developing wings of steel as they flapped around her belly. Her dad was worried about her being this far away from home, but at twenty-six it was well past time she found her own wings and flew away. Even if they were waging war inside her at the moment.

She was pretty sure that in the big city men made love to women and then went on about their lives—wasn’t that how things were depicted on television? Thank God she’d never told her father what had happened that night. He would have been firmly against her coming here if he’d known, and it might tarnish his perception of Sebastian. Instead, Sara had simply told him that she’d spent the night with a friend after having one too many drinks.

And she had.

Pushing a buzzer at the entrance, she gave her name to the person who answered. The glass door promptly clicked open and she pushed through it, wiping Sebastian Texeira from her thoughts. At least for now.

The service entrance was well lit, the marble fittings she remembered being in the main corridor were echoed even here. Employees were treated well. You could tell by the care put into the details. They probably had to attract and keep the best talent in the country, so they treated them right. And now she was here. Among the best of the best. A place she’d never thought she’d be. The fact that it was only temporary made her determined to get as much as she could out of the experience. Maybe she would learn something she could introduce to her own hospital back home.

She swung into the door marked “Administration”, where she was supposed to meet some of the members of her team. As soon as she entered the room, however, she stopped, her heart stumbling for a beat or two. Sitting in a beige leather chair, one ankle propped on his knee, was the person she had just shoved from her mind. The wings in her belly turned into chainsaws, slashing at her innards and turning them to mush.

“What are you—?” She tried again. “I’m sorry. I’m supposed to meet someone here.”

A someone who isn’t you.

His long legs uncurled as he stood upright. And he was much taller than she remembered, her neck having to tilt to look into his face, unusual for her. Of course, when you were horizontal, differences in heights didn’t—Stop it!

“I’m assuming that person is me.”

“Excuse me?” Shock streamed through her, washing away the saws, the wings and anything else that might still be cruising around inside her.

“Not who you were expecting?” His lips thinned, face turning grim. Other than that, not a hint of emotion flickered through those dark eyes. No “Hello, nice to see you again,” or “How have you been?”

So that’s how he wanted to play this. He was going to pretend he didn’t know her. Or maybe he wasn’t pretending. Maybe it had meant so little to him that he could just lock it away and hurl the key out into the universe. Something she should be doing as well. Maybe people here in São Paulo were like the hospital: cold and clinical. Wiped clean of anything that didn’t belong. Where she came from things were very different. She’d been a willing participant in his little game, so she was going to have to live with the consequences.

She’d wanted this job, had practically gotten down on her knees and begged her little clinic for the opportunity to come once she’d seen the ad go up on the staff bulletin board. So she’d better get over it or she was going to ruin everything.

“You’re in charge of the screening program?”

“I am. Partly because of your father.”

Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

“He made me realize that not everyone recognizes symptoms of illness before they’re advanced. I want to help change that by going into the poorer communities and working with people who wouldn’t normally come to the hospital.”

Her dad had made that happen?

And what about what had happened between her and Sebastian? Should she bring it up?

Why? So he could sit there and wonder if she was hung up on what had happened over the course of a few hours?

No way. If he could act like it hadn’t happened, then she damn well could too.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity.”

“That’s good. Staff at Hospital Santa Coração are already stretched thin. I couldn’t ask anyone to take this on pro bono.”

“I wasn’t aware this was an unpaid position. My understanding was that the estágio brought in a stipend. They quoted me a figure.” How was she going to support herself if she didn’t get paid?

“You’re right. It does. You were the only one to apply for the position…” He nodded toward another man in the room that she’d just noticed. That person’s eyes were studiously fixed on some document in front of him. “Did you want me to say no?”

He could have. He could have turned her down flat.

She swallowed. He’d said she was the only one who’d applied for the position. So, was she the only one who had raised her hand when he’d been looking for a sleeping partner at the wedding as well? The thought made her feel physically ill.

Doing her best to choke back the sensation, she drew herself up to her full height. “I guess you said yes.”

“And so did you.” His voice was soft as he said it, his glance studying her in a way that made her tummy ripple.

“Yes, and so did I. I actually thought I’d be working with Dr. Pinheiro, though.” So what if they’d slept together? It wasn’t like she’d had any expectations of that night other than what had happened.

But a motel? She’d never in her life set foot in one of those establishments and if anyone she knew found out…

They hadn’t. She’d crept out early in the morning, while it had still been dark and had asked the desk to call her a taxi, unable to look anyone in the eye. But she’d made it. And the experience had changed her in a way she didn’t quite understand.

She’d gotten over her ex-boyfriend once and for all.

“Marcos is the head of oncology. He signs all the request forms for the department. But this project is all mine.”

That made her swallow. She would be working with him? Only with him? If she had known that ahead of time, she might not have applied.

The other man looked up finally. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to ignore you. Dr. Texeira has found you a studio apartment in the hospital. Is that okay? Or would you prefer to make other arrangements?”

Like maybe get on the first plane out of here?

“The apartment will be fine, thank you. It doesn’t make sense to try to look for something else. I won’t have to worry about transportation to or from the hospital this way.”

Besides, the rents in many parts of the city were so high she wouldn’t be able to afford it on what she’d be making. And although it was comparable to her salary in Rio Grande do Sul, the amount wouldn’t go nearly as far here. A thought occurred. Would she have to travel to get to wherever they were going to do the screenings?

“Is there a metro that goes from here to the screening site?”

“No. We have a mobile unit. We’ll leave from the hospital together.”

“Leave? Together?” Okay, the way she’d separated the words gave them an entirely different meaning from his simple statement.

If he’d heard it, he ignored it, because he didn’t hesitate with his answer. “The hospital is converting an old ambulance for us. We’ll go to where our patients are, instead of waiting for them to come to us.”

The reality of the situation was creating a buzzing noise in her head. She had been told what the job opportunity was and had jumped at the chance. But then again, she hadn’t known at the time who she would be working with. And if what he was saying was true, they would be working together much more closely than she’d been expecting.

She’d assumed they would bump into each other periodically. Had even steeled herself for that possibility.

Get a grip, Sara! If it were any other doctor you wouldn’t have batted an eyelid.

But it wasn’t. It was Sebastian, a man she’d made passionate love with. Surely the hospital didn’t approve of workplace romances.

The incident had happened before she knew she was coming here, so that didn’t count, right? And since it was never going to happen again, it was a moot point.

And it was never going to happen again, even if Sebastian wanted it to. Although right now he looked all business. It didn’t matter. He might be able to play loose and easy with relationships, but Sara really wasn’t built that way, as was obvious from the way she kept obsessing over the same topic.

“Like you said, that will make it easy, then. I take it you live close by.”

He gave a half-smile. “Close enough.”

And what was that supposed to mean? She had no idea, but the sooner she got away from him the better. “Well, I guess I have some paperwork to fill out?”

“Yes.” He scooped up a file that was on a nearby table. “I have it right here. We can go over it together.”

Perfect. That was all she needed, to have to sit next to him and have him go over things. But she’d better get used to it if she was going to take the job. Because if what he’d told her was true, she was going to be sitting next to him day after day.

Until either the job was done. Or she was.

CHAPTER TWO

THE VEHICLE WAS PERFECT. But not too perfect, given where they’d be working.

Once an ambulance, but now painted a cool silver to reflect the fierce Brazilian heat, it was fully outfitted and ready to go. The hospital’s name was not emblazoned on the side, for fear that it would be a target for thieves who were looking for illegal drugs. In fact, there were little nicks in the paintwork and a dent marred one side. A picture of two hands, palms outstretched, was painted in muted colors. Nestled inside them were the words “Mãos Abertos.” The name was fitting since the hospital saw it as opening their hands to those in need. Below the hands was a mobile number that would ring through to a special cellphone that Sebastian would carry. Word would get around quickly about what the old ambulance did, and hopefully it would become a symbol of hope.

“What do you think?” he asked Sara, who stood a few yards away.

“It doesn’t look like a normal ambulance.”

“The hospital didn’t want it to. Besides, I’m hoping to take away some of the stigma—the fear of the unknown that comes with emergency vehicles.”

Like the time his teenaged sister had been hauled off to the hospital in a flurry of red lights and sirens, while he’d been left at home with his ailing grandmother, wondering if he would ever see her again. Her cancer diagnosis had devastated everyone. But she’d pulled through, thank God. It was one of the reasons Sebastian had gone into oncology.

To help people like his sister. He’d always felt that if she’d been diagnosed earlier maybe she wouldn’t have had to have an internal prosthesis in her arm. It was another reason why this mobile unit was his heart’s desire.

“So what will we do, exactly?”

“We’ll do things never attempted before.” Only when her teeth came down on her bottom lip did he realize how that sounded. He was doing his best to keep his cool, but failing miserably. He cleared his throat. “We’ll do screenings and teach people what to look for in themselves. We’ll check for enlarged thyroids, breast lumps, do pap smears, look for skin cancers. If we find something suspicious, we’ll refer them for testing.”

“To Santa Coração?”

That was one of the sticking points. Their hospital wasn’t part of the public sector, so the administrator would probably balk at them sending dozens of people their way. But Sebastian was already building relationships outside his hospital. Lucas Carvalho, who ran a free clinic inside one of the larger favelas, worked with a public hospital as well as Santa Coração. Lucas had agreed to partner with him and use the mobile unit as a springboard to expand his clinic’s reach. It was the perfect way to get started. Hopefully as time went on, Lucas could use this as a means to garner donations and grants from outside agencies, since he and his wife traveled with relief groups quite a bit.

“The sister hospital Dr. Carvalho works with is called Tres Corações. They’re willing to take up to fifty patients a month.”

“Fifty?” Her eyes widened. “You think we’ll refer that many people?”

“Probably not. It depends on how many are willing to be screened. The whole ‘ignorance is bliss’ attitude is the scourge of most health-care professionals.”

“Ignorance is death.” Her voice was soft, maybe remembering what Sebastian had once told her father when he’d tried to refuse treatment. Thank God the man had changed his mind—all thanks to his sister’s willingness to be vulnerable and share her own story with him. It was exactly what Sebastian was hoping would happen with this unit.

Sara pulled her hair over one of her shoulders, catching the long dark waves together in one hand, the ends sliding over the curve of her breast. It was something he’d seen her do at Natália’s wedding as well—he’d been fascinated by the way she’d kept twisting those silky locks. It had taken his mind off his best friend marrying Sebastian’s sister, something he still had trouble wrapping his head around.

She twisted the rope of hair tighter. Nervous habit? He wasn’t sure, but with her crisp white shirt and dark skirt she was the epitome of a professional nurse, but not quite what he was looking to put forth when they ventured into the neighborhoods. But he wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject without appearing to be dictating what she should and shouldn’t wear. It was just that climbing in and out of the back of the ambulance was going to be difficult enough as it was, and it was Sebastian’s hope to appear casual and approachable—engender trust where there was normally suspicion.

His gaze traveled down to her feet, where a hole at the toe of each shoe allowed a glimpse of pink sparkly polish, something that didn’t quite fit in with the rest of her attire. She’d had the same sparkly polish on at the wedding. He’d kissed each of those gorgeous toes of hers…

Her hair not being pinned up was another of those little idiosyncrasies. Maybe that’s what was with his continued fascination with it. His eyes traveled back up her bare legs.

He definitely didn’t want men ogling them as she got in and out of the truck.

Like he’d ogled them that night? And was still ogling them?

No, he was simply trying to decide how to best bring up the subject of their attire.

He’d worn jeans and a dark T-shirt today.

Her fingers twisted the rope of hair yet again and a corresponding knot in his throat formed and then squeezed shut. He swallowed to loosen it. “Do you want to see inside the vehicle?”

Time to get this show on the road and Sara out of his thoughts.

She nodded, moving around to the back with him. When he opened the doors and pulled down the steps he’d had installed for their patients, her brows went up.

“Maybe this isn’t the best thing to wear out on runs.” She released her hair, the locks tumbling free as her palms ran down the smooth line of her skirt.

Okay, here was his chance. “I think the more casual we are the better, if that’s okay. I want people to see us as allies rather than as authority figures. It’s why we put a few dents and dings in our vehicle.”

She seemed to think about that for a second. “That makes sense. I guess.”

Her slight hesitation over that last word made him frown. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Will people take us seriously?”

Professionalism was one of the things impressed upon students in medical school, and it was probably the same in the nursing sector. But he’d seen from Lucas’s own practice in the favela that his friend had fit in and become a fixture in that community. He almost always wore simple, even slightly tattered jeans. Maybe it wasn’t his clothing that did it, though. Lucas had been born in that very same favela. But Sebastian thought it went deeper than that, and he hoped to be able to build on Lucas’s success. Maybe they could be an example to other doctors who would then give their time and talents in other communities. Sebastian had taken a trip into the Amazon several years ago and had worked with a medical missionary who’d traveled to villages providing free health care. It had impacted him deeply.