Hired: GP and Wife / The Playboy Doctor's Surprise Proposal (22 page)

‘Well, let’s hope for all our sakes, not least Siobhan’s, that it will all turn out fine.’ She felt her voice shake and fought to keep her emotions under control. Then the two sisters were in each other’s arms, crying as if their hearts would break.

Later, having cried themselves out, they broke apart, blew their noses and smiled at each other.

‘I needed that,’ Brianna said. ‘I have been holding it together for Niall and the children, but I feel so much better for letting it all out.’

‘Me too,’ Caitlin said. ‘I know you’re scared, Bri. I would be too in your shoes, even though I know you’re going to be fine. I hate to think of you going through all this. I feel so helpless. But we have to stay positive. Agreed?’

‘Agreed. Enough emotional stuff for the time being. Tell me, how did you get on with Andrew while you were away?’

‘Fine. He’s very…nice,’ Caitlin said evasively, but as Andrew had pointed out she found it difficult to hide her feelings, especially from her sister.

‘I was right,’ Brianna, said. ‘You fancy him!’

‘He’s good looking, I admit,’ Caitlin said reluctantly, then catching her sister’s eye, laughed. ‘Okay, he’s the sexiest man with the hottest body I have seen in a long time, but that doesn’t mean I fancy him.’

Brianna sighed. ‘I’m not sure I believe you, sis, but as I warned you before, don’t get your hopes up in that direction.’

‘I’m not!’ Caitlin protested, crossing her fingers behind her back. ‘I’ve told you many times before, I don’t think I’m the kind of woman who is destined for a long-term relationship. I’m not sure I want kids so what’s the point? Besides, if I want to get the chair of obstetrics then I need to concentrate on my career.’

‘Are you sure that’s still what you want? Didn’t coming out here kind of spoil that for you? Besides, Cat, there’s more to life than just work.’

‘I know that! I have my family, my friends as well. I’m not a recluse, you know. As for the job, they very graciously agreed to this six-month sabbatical. The Queensland Royal is a pretty prestigious hospital and the Dublin Women and Children’s likes their consultants to have international connections. Anyway,’ she said, returning to the subject she had been thinking about, ‘why shouldn’t I get my hopes up? Am I so ugly that you think a hunk like him wouldn’t be interested?’

Brianna laughed. ‘You know as well as I do that you are beautiful—it runs in the family after all.’

‘What, then? Has he been married? In a relationship? There’s no sign of a woman on the scene.’

‘There have been plenty on the scene, as you say, but not at the moment. Look, I don’t know how much he told you about himself.’

‘Not a lot,’ Caitlin admitted. ‘We mainly spoke about you guys—and work.’

‘You know his parents are from India originally, although Andrew and his sister were born here.’

‘I didn’t know he had a sister,’ Caitlin said surprised. ‘He never mentioned her. Is she here too?’

‘She was. Sadly she died after a difficult labour. She suffered an unexpected and catastrophic bleed after a stillbirth.’ Brianna shuddered. ‘I was on that day, in Theatre. It was awful. It broke everyone’s heart. His in particular.’ Brianna stopped and looked into the distance as if remembering.

‘How tragic. Poor Andrew. Poor family. It’s terrible that these things can happen even in this day and age.’ She thought back to his words about not being too involved with patients, but it was bound to be there in his mind every time there was an obstetric emergency.

‘He was very close to her. They were a close-knit family. Andrew was always the dearly loved only son, but when his sister died, his parents really started focussing on him. He became the centre of their universe. I’m surprised they haven’t moved to Brisbane to be closer but I guess the family business makes it difficult for them to leave Sydney.’ Caitlin waited for Brianna to continue. This was all very interesting and she felt a shock of sympathy for Andrew.

‘Although we’ve known Andrew for ages he never talks about his sister’s death. Or the rest of his family for that matter, although I know he visits his parents often. If his sister hadn’t died at the Queensland Royal, I doubt I would even have known about her.’ Brianna went on after a pause. ‘I tried to raise the subject once, thinking he might need to talk about it, and nearly got my head in my hands.’

‘Some men find it difficult to talk about the stuff that really hurts them,’ Caitlin said.

‘Sometimes I think it’s the reason Andrew won’t commit. Maybe he’s frightened the same thing could happen again.’

‘He’s a doctor,’ Caitlin argued. ‘He must know the chances of lightning striking twice are slim, to say the least.’

‘Ah, there you go, my dear sister. Assuming everyone thinks about things as rationally as you do. Where’s your heart, woman?’

But Caitlin was beginning to wonder if she could think rationally any more. Not least when it came to Dr Andrew Bedi. And as for her heart? She ignored the warning voice in her head. No, her heart was still safe. Being in lust wasn’t the same as being in love. Everyone knew that.

A
FTER
a fitful night tossing and turning, Caitlin gave up trying to sleep and instead got up early. It was so unlike her not to drop off as soon as her head hit the pillow. Perhaps it was concern for Brianna that had kept her from drifting off—because it certainly wasn’t because Dr Andrew Bedi kept drifting into her dreams. She was attracted to him, she acknowledged that much, but that was as far as it went!

He was beginning to occupy far too much of her thoughts, Caitlin told herself crossly. Normally totally focussed on her work, she shouldn’t be allowing that man to distract her—no matter how delicious he was to look at. As she let herself quietly out of the house, her thoughts once more turned to her duties. At least she could get a head start doing rounds of the labour suite and the antenatal ward before tracking down Patricia Levy, she reasoned. She had heard from one of the juniors that she was still in hospital, but due to be discharged later that day. Her baby was still in Special Care, making progress although still being ventilated.

Caitlin had been reluctant to leave Brianna, who still appeared under the weather, especially as Niall was off on another business trip, but her sister had insisted. ‘It’s only a touch of flu or something.’ She had dismissed both her sister’s and her husband’s concern the night before. ‘Away you go, both of you. You’ll just drive me mad if you hang about hovering over me. I’m fine, trust me.’

Caitlin found her patient on the antenatal ward listlessly packing her few belongings. When she looked up and saw Caitlin she gave her a wan smile.

‘How are you feeling?’ Caitlin asked.

‘Oh, I feel perfectly chucker,’ she replied. ‘I’m being discharged.’

‘How’s the little one?’ Caitlin asked.

Immediately tears sprang to Patricia’s eyes. ‘They say she’s holding her own.’ She sniffed. ‘But she’s so small and defenceless. I can’t bear to leave her here all by herself, but I need to go home and see my other kids. If Jack were here, he could stay with her while I’m away.’

Impulsively Caitlin hugged the distraught woman. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll keep a very good eye on her for you,’ she said. ‘And if there’s any change at all, we’ll call you.’

‘It’s only for a few hours,’ Patricia sniffed. ‘They’ve given me a room to stay in when I get back. But what if something happens while I’m away?’

‘Come on. Let’s go and see how she is,’ Caitlin said, trying not to look at her watch. She was due in Theatre, but she could see Patricia needed her right now. They took the lift up to the special care nursery. As before, it was a hive of activity with all the cots taken up. And, once again, there were anxious parents keeping vigil. Caitlin recognised one couple from a few days before. However, by the smiles on their faces, it appeared that their baby at least was making good progress. She followed Patricia over to her baby’s cot and wasn’t surprised to find Andrew’s dark head bending over the infant. He looked up at their approach and instantly Caitlin could make out the concern in his eyes. She felt her heart sink. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Patricia’s baby.

Gently Andrew sat Patricia down. ‘I’m afraid your baby took a turn for the worse a few minutes ago and we’ve had to put her back on the ventilator and sedate her again.’

Patricia looked up at him, stricken. ‘Is she going to be all right?’ she asked, her voice barely audible.

‘We’re doing everything we can,’ he said.

Caitlin caught his eye again. She read pity in his deep brown eyes. It didn’t bode well.

‘I can’t leave her now,’ Patricia said. ‘I’ll need to phone my mum and let her know.’

‘Give me the number,’ Caitlin offered. ‘That way you can stay here. I’ll phone from the duty room.’

Patricia nodded gratefully. ‘Tell Mum I’ll phone her as soon as I have news,’ she said, taking a deep breath. Her tears had dried up and there was new resolution in the squaring of her shoulders. ‘I need to be strong—for my baby,’ she said.

‘I’ll come back up and see you after my theatre list,’ Caitlin said, blinking away the tears. Then she turned and headed towards the duty room. She had just finished relaying the news to Patricia’s mother when Andrew came in.

Are you all right?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ Caitlin said, struggling to keep her voice under control. ‘How is Patricia’s baby?’

‘We’ve managed to stabilise her for the time being. She’s a little fighter. We’re doing everything we can. But all we can do at the moment is take each day at a time.’

‘I know we shouldn’t get emotionally involved, but Patricia has lost so much already. I don’t think she could bear it if her baby doesn’t make it.’

Andrew pulled Caitlin round to face him and looked directly into her eyes. ‘I promise you that if there is any way on this earth that I can pull this baby through, I’ll do it.’ Caitlin returned his look. His nutmeg eyes burned with determination. She believed him.

‘I know you will,’ she said quietly. ‘C’mon, let’s get back in there.’

Later, after leaving an anxious Patricia by the side of her baby’s cot, Caitlin made her way to the antenatal ward for rounds. Out of the ten women in the antenatal ward, most were doing well, although two needed to be taken to Theatre later that afternoon for elective sections. Neither woman was causing Caitlin much concern. The sections would be straightforward, and she was able to reassure both that they would be holding their babies in their arms later that day.

Glancing at her watch, Caitlin saw that she had just enough time for a quick bite before Theatre and made her way to the hospital canteen. Selecting a salad, she realised that wherever in the world you were, canteens stayed the same. She had just finished the last mouthful when Andrew plonked himself down beside her.

‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Busy morning?’

‘You could say that,’ Caitlin answered. ‘I’ve a list starting in a few minutes.’

‘Anything likely to cause problems?’

Caitlin shook her head and gave him a brief runthrough of her cases. ‘How’s baby Levy?’ she asked when she had finished.

‘She’s doing okay,’ Andrew said. ‘I’ll go and see her again before I leave today. By the way,’ he said as Caitlin picked up her tray, ‘I’m scheduled to visit the clinic up on the Sunshine Coast on Friday. I thought you’d like to come along as the visiting obstetrician. Like I told you, we take turns to go up once a week to see any referrals the GPs have. We find that having a paediatrician and obstetrician there at the same time works well. The paediatricians see any of the kids that they want a specialist opinion on, and you guys see the pregnant ladies as well as the gynae stuff. If there’s any problems with your pregnant ladies, one of us is about for a consult. The other specialties offer the same kind of service.’

‘I’d love to go,’ Caitlin said. ‘I’ll just need to make sure the labour ward is covered.’

‘Done,’ Andrew said. ‘I saw Dr Menzies earlier. He was scheduled to go with me, but he’s more than happy to cover for you to go in his place.’

Caitlin raised an eyebrow. ‘Don’t you think it would have been better for me to have asked him? Really, Andrew, I’d much prefer to speak to my colleagues myself.’

‘Hey,’Andrew said. ‘I didn’t mean to step on your toes. I just thought you’d like to come, and as I bumped into him I took the opportunity to check it out.’

Caitlin sighed, knowing that she was being unreasonable. Nevertheless, Andrew had to realise that she wanted to be seen as an equal part of the team. Not just some foreign doctor who swanned about the place, picking and choosing her cases.

‘I won’t do it again,’ Andrew apologized, but Caitlin could tell from the glint in his eye that he wasn’t perturbed in the slightest. It seemed as if Andrew Bedi was used to doing exactly as he pleased. ‘Remember I told you that I have a house up there I use at weekends. I often stay over for the weekend when I’m up there. It isn’t much, more like a cabin, but you’d be welcome to stay too.’

Caitlin’s pulse began to race. The thought of spending a night alone with Andrew seemed tantalisingly tempting but dangerous.

‘I don’t know about staying,’ she said slowly. ‘I’d really like to spend the time with Brianna. It feels like I’ve hardly seen her.’

Andrew shrugged. ‘No worries. It’s up to you, of course. It was just a suggestion. But I can understand you might not want to be alone with me overnight.’ This time there was a definite challenge in his dark eyes.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Caitlin retorted. ‘That’s got nothing to do with it.’ She returned his stare. ‘Anyway, I’m sure you’d prefer to have your house to yourself?’

She couldn’t help but ask the question. Despite herself, she was desperately curious about Andrew’s love life. She found it almost inconceivable that he wouldn’t have a woman somewhere.

But it seemed that Andrew wasn’t fooled by the forced casualness in her voice. He grinned, his teeth a flash of brilliant white against his dark skin.

‘Are you asking?’ he drawled. ‘What is it you’d like to know about my love life, Dr O’Neill?’

‘Of course I’m not the slightest bit interested,’ Caitlin said, flustered. ‘It was just a friendly question from one colleague to another. I’m assuming that we
can
be friends?’

He leaned forward. ‘I don’t know Caitlin. What do you think?’ he said softly. Then he smiled and stood up. ‘Let me know what you decide,’ he said. ‘If you decide to stay we can go in my car, if not, we’ll need to take two.’

He left Caitlin sitting, her heart thudding in the most disconcerting manner. She felt she had been thrown a challenge, but what exactly it was she had no idea. Somehow the only thing she felt sure of was that no man had ever made her feel like this before. Perhaps the safest course was to keep as far away from Dr Andrew Bedi as possible. And the safe course was always what Caitlin preferred.

‘Of course you should stay over,’ Brianna insisted when she and Caitlin were on the veranda, enjoying the evening breeze. The children were in bed, dinner had been cleared away, and it was the first opportunity the sisters had had to catch up. ‘Why shouldn’t you?’

‘Well, first off, the whole point of me being here is to spend time with you,’ Caitlin said, smiling at her sister. ‘We’ve missed so much time already. Secondly, it feels a bit strange, spending the night at Andrew’s place. A bit too familiar, if you see what I mean.’

Brianna smiled wickedly. ‘Putting the first reason aside for the moment, and remembering I don’t want people behaving differently around me, it’s the second that intrigues me. Don’t you feel safe around Andrew? C’mon, ‘fess up. What’s going on?’

‘Absolutely nothing is going on!’ Caitlin protested. Then catching her sister grinning even more disbelievingly, she laughed. ‘I can’t help it, Bri. There’s just something about him I find unsettling.’

‘Nothing to do with the fact that he’s gorgeous, has a body to die for, and is actually a really nice guy?’

‘And, as you keep reminding me, unavailable.’

‘Hey,’ Brianna said, growing serious, ‘I thought you weren’t looking for a serious romance.’

‘And I meant it. And somehow I don’t think that’s what Andrew wants either. Anyway, all of this is nonsense. I’m only here for a few months, and then it’s back to Ireland. I really want the professorship and nothing and no one is going to stand in my way.’

‘Hey, I’m not the one who’s stressing. If there’s nothing between you and Andrew, I don’t see why you don’t take him up on his offer.’

‘I’ll sleep on it,’ Caitlin conceded. ‘But you’re right, we’ve spent enough time discussing Andrew Bedi.’

For the next few days, Caitlin was kept busy. She loved the ambiance of the hospital. The staff all went out of their way to make her feel welcome and she was impressed by the standard of care the hospital offered. She saw Andrew several times during the day. Often he’d be in Theatre with her for the more complex cases, and she found that they had an easy understanding when they worked together. Patricia’s baby was improving every day. Caitlin was delighted when one day she found Patricia in the special care nursery, holding her baby in her lap. All the tubes had been removed and the blue tinge which had worried everyone so much had disappeared and had been replaced by a healthy pink.

Caitlin bent over the sleeping baby.

‘She looks great,’ she whispered.

‘I can’t believe how much she’s improved in the last few days,’ Patricia whispered back. ‘I’ll never be able to thank everyone. Especially Dr Bedi. He’s been in to see her every day, at least twice, and as for the nurses—nothing has been too much trouble.’

‘Have you decided on a name yet?’

‘Do you have a middle name?’ Patricia asked.

‘Yes, I do. It’s Colleen.’

‘Colleen,’ Patricia said, savouring the name. ‘Then that’s what I’m going to call her. Colleen—after you. It’s a beautiful name and I think it suits her perfectly.’

Caitlin was touched by the gesture. ‘I suppose you couldn’t call her Andrew.’ She laughed. ‘When do they think you’ll get her home?’

‘Colleen’s to stay in for another week or two. At least until she puts on some weight. I’ve taken a room close by and the my boys are coming to stay with me. I’ve missed them so much. This way, I’ll be able to see Colleen every day, as well as the other kids.’

By Thursday, Colleen had put on another two ounces, and Andrew told Caitlin he was confident enough about her progress to leave her in the safe hands of his colleagues while they were up north. On Friday morning they met as agreed at the hospital entrance. Caitlin was still undecided whether to stay the night at Andrew’s place, but had packed a small bag, just in case.

‘If you decide against staying,’ Andrew said, ‘I’ll drive you back. But you should make the most of the opportunity while you can.’ He grinned at her. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly safe.’

Caitlin chose to ignore him, throwing her bag into the small boot and climbing into the car beside Andrew. Although it was still early, the morning sun was already scorching. Before long, they had left the city behind. As they drove, Caitlin couldn’t stop herself exclaiming in awe and admiration. With the ocean on one side and mountains on the other, the scenery left her breathless. Andrew had let down the hood and Caitlin revelled in the cool breeze as they drove.