‘If we get hungry later, surely we can order in?’ she
whispered, still against his mouth, kissing him until
she felt him respond and his hands lifted to her shoul-
ders so he could hold her steady while his kiss grew
fiercer and more demanding.
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THE HEART SURGEON’S BABY SURPRISE
But once inside, ushered up the stairs to a bedroom
that held a bed the size of a swimming pool and very
little else, all Grace’s doubts and inhibitions came
clumping down on her head and she looked around,
probably too wildly, thinking of escape.
‘Stop that!’ Theo ordered, coming up behind her and
clamping his arms around her, bending his head to kiss
her neck where the collar of her shirt left a bit of skin
showing. ‘Stop thinking at all and give yourself up to
sensation. Remember how you felt earlier when the
signals between us were so strong it’s a wonder the
PICU didn’t get an R rating.’
And while still nibbling at her neck—delicious
thrills stole from there to her thighs, via her nipples—
he undid the buttons on her shirt, easing it open so his
hands could grasp her breasts which seemed to have
grown heavy while her nipples were peaking and
rubbing irritably against the lace of her bra.
‘Delicious,’ he murmured. ‘Delectable Grace!’
And though she still felt awkward and not a little
afraid, she found herself relaxing back against him,
trying to ignore the sensations his hands were causing
as they ran lightly back and forth across her breasts.
Theo held the woman who’d inadvertently—surely
not deliberately—plunged him back into a black mood
and, holding her, he found himself relaxing, though not
totally relaxing, for sexual excitement was building,
hard and hot, so he had to remind himself of her pre-
vious bad experience, swearing to himself this would
be better for her—that he would think of her first…
‘Can we go to bed?’ she whispered, pressing back
MEREDITH WEBBER
107
against him. The hardness and heat intensified to the
extent he all but forgot the ‘think of her first’ scenario.
Turning her, he stripped off her shirt, then her bra,
and, seeing the full orbs of her breasts, the nipples pale
pink and peaked enticingly he forgot about it altogether
and suckled first one breast then the other, murmuring
about their beauty, his hands holding her still, although
she squirmed and bucked in reaction to his attention.
Finally she grabbed his head and pushed him away,
no words spoken as they both stripped off their clothes
and, locked together in their first naked kiss, collapsed
onto the bed.
She was beautiful. Full and firm, not just her breasts,
but all over, her tummy slightly rounded, her hips beau-
tifully fleshed, her legs, her thighs…
‘You are so beautiful.’
He had to tell her—he couldn’t keep his observa-
tions to himself—and then he watched as she coloured
deliciously, the blush rising from her upper chest to dust
her cheeks with dusky rose colour.
Did he mean it or was he just saying it? Grace de-
cided she didn’t care. She felt beautiful, and not only
because of Theo’s words but because of the way he was
touching her, loving her with his fingers and his lips.
She wanted, so badly, to love him in the same way,
wanted to touch him and learn about him through the
touch of her fingers and her lips, but she was too shy.
Repressed!
The hateful word came back to her—a word Paul
had spat at her one day—then as if he’d felt her mood
change, Theo was kissing her again, murmuring about
her beauty, urging her to touch him as he touched her,
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THE HEART SURGEON’S BABY SURPRISE
and slowly, tentatively, she ran her hands across his
skin, surprised to find how satiny the texture was, how
smooth, how satisfying just to touch.
‘Try lower,’ he whispered, and as his hand slid be-
tween her thighs and his fingers brushed lightly against
her sensitive nub, she reached for him and found him
hard and ready, and suddenly she wanted him, right
here and now, her desire so intense she was shaking.
‘Please, Theo!’ She was begging and he heard it, for
although he protested that he’d wanted to take it
slowly—for their first time together to be special—he
slid his fingers into her and must have felt her readiness,
moving so he lay between her legs, rising above her,
then sliding into her, both of them releasing huge sighs
of what sounded like relief before the rhythm of love-
making took hold of them and they were lost in the
momentum that grew and grew until she gave a gasp of
pure surprise and was lifted high above the world into
a place she’d never been before.
She was vaguely aware of Theo’s groan of release,
then he slumped on top of her and she held him tightly,
wanting his weight to anchor her, to return her to the
bed—to life!
CHAPTER SIX
SHE stayed the night although even as she drifted off to
sleep, after making love a second and even more satis-
fying time, she knew she should go back to her flat.
Otherwise she’d have to wake up early in the morning,
get a cab home so she could change for work. She
wouldn’t want to wake Theo to ask him to take her
because theirs was a practical arrangement and he was
already doing so much for her in helping her get
pregnant. Or he would be, she hoped, eventually!
Not to mention showing her how pleasurable making
love could be.
She sighed. They’d used protection but, remember-
ing the obvious agony Theo still felt over the loss of his
daughter, should she really be expecting him to help her
have a child?
Could a man who felt so deeply not get emotionally
involved with his own child?
Was she asking too much of him?
She sighed again and discarded difficult thoughts, re-
membering pleasure instead, snuggling up against his
warm body, glad he was deeply asleep so he wouldn’t
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THE HEART SURGEON’S BABY SURPRISE
realise how feeble she was being, needing reassurance
from the closeness of his body.
‘Coffee, sleeping beauty!’
He was standing over her, fully dressed but no less
gorgeous for the fact he had clothes on.
She tried to regrow her brain, which had apparently
dwindled into nothingness overnight. Checking her
watch seemed like a good idea—it would stop her star-
ing at him, and probably smiling stupidly!
‘Oh, Theo, look at the time.’ Now she was wail-
ing—her brain had certainly disappeared. ‘I’ll never
get home in time to change—I’ll be late for work. Oh,
Theo!’
He grinned at her.
‘And to think I thought I’d never see you flustered,’
he said, then he leant forward and kissed her on the lips.
Quickly she backed away, putting her hand to her
mouth.
‘Don’t! I must have dragon breath.’ But although
she’d protested, she was inordinately pleased by the
gesture—which was more proof that she’d lost her
brain.
Now he sat down on the bed beside her.
‘Sweet breath,’ he said. ‘Now, drink your coffee.
I’ve raisin toast or croissants downstairs if that will do
you for breakfast, and if you look in the bathroom
you’ll find a pristine pair of my jockey shorts, still in
the packet.’
His grin widened.
‘Think of the fun I’ll have all day, imagining you in
my undies!’
MEREDITH WEBBER
111
‘But I’ll still have to wear the clothes I wore yester-
day—what will people think?’
This smile was different. It was kind and gentle and
so sweet she wanted to kiss him—only she now knew
just how dangerous kissing Theo could be.
‘You wear a coat over your clothes so, really, who
will notice?’ He paused, the smile giving way to an
intent look she couldn’t really read. ‘And if they did,
would it matter?’
She stared at him, aware she hadn’t thought this
through. She’d just spent the night with another member
of the team. She wanted to keep seeing this man, and she
wasn’t entirely sure it was anything to do with procrea-
tion. No, that was wrong, wanting to see him again had
nothing to do with procreation. Although she did want a
baby, she just had to think more about Theo’s side of
things.
The thoughts jumbled through the space in her head
where her brain had been, pushing at each other, leaving
her so confused she lifted the cup of coffee and brought
it to her lips.
‘No one’s ever brought me coffee in bed before.’
Duh! What a stupid thing to say!
Now doubly embarrassed—by this admission as well
as by the intimacy that seemed to have developed between
them—she gulped down the rapidly cooling liquid.
‘I’d better have a shower,’ she added, as she replaced
the cup on its saucer, then she realised she was sitting
up in his bed, stark naked, and would be even more
naked, somehow, as she made her way to the bathroom.
Theo must have seen her concern for he leaned over
and kissed her once again.
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THE HEART SURGEON’S BABY SURPRISE
‘Coffee breath now, and you’re beautiful. You should
never feel shame about being naked in front of me, or
any man.’
He’d added the last bit because she was so darned
insecure, but as he said it Theo felt a definite twinge of
what could only be jealousy. This might be a ‘no emo-
tional attachment’ type of relationship but he certainly
didn’t want her parading around naked in front of any
other men. In fact, he was probably going to have to talk
to her about coming out of the shower cubicle in bra
and panties when male members of the team were
about.
Only there was no way he could say something like
that! And now he thought about it, he’d only once seen
her come out of the cubicle not dressed and that had
been the day all the cubicles had been full and he’d
yelled out for someone to hurry and she’d come out to
let him use the one she’d been in.
And when she’d emerged she’d been clutching all
her clothes in front of her so it wasn’t until he’d come
out he’d seen her in the bra and panties.
And lusted just a little…
He watched her scurry to the bathroom, and knew
she was trying not to scurry—trying hard to walk
calmly and nonchalantly—but her feet kept hurrying
her anyway.
She was so beautiful naked he wanted to be naked
with her again, but if he walked into that bathroom
they’d never get to work—well, not on time.
‘You realise,’ he said as he drove to work, from time
to time sneaking a look at the slight smile of satisfac-
tion still lingering on Grace’s face, ‘that even without
MEREDITH WEBBER
113
the fact that some of the women might realise you’re
wearing yesterday’s clothes, the people we work with
will soon realise we’re having an affair.’
She turned to him with the perplexed look that
always made him realise just how fragile her façade of
cool sophistication was.
‘How?’ she asked, and he laughed out loud.
‘One look at your face and Becky, who runs gossip
central in the unit, will know you’ve had satisfying sex.’
He paused, suddenly doubtful.
‘It was satisfying, wasn’t it?’
Had she read his uncertainty that she touched him
lightly on the forearm?
‘Very satisfactory,’ she murmured, colour rising del-
icately pink in her cheeks. ‘And I don’t think it will hurt
me to have people knowing, but you? They know you
better. In fact, they know you well enough for someone
to tell me that you don’t get involved with other mem-
bers of the team, so there’ll be talk about you making
an exception. And then you’ll be here when I’ve gone—
it will be worse for you.’
The colour had disappeared from her cheeks and
she was looking genuinely worried.
For him?
It seemed so, and although he hadn’t liked how he’d
gone, he spoke quickly, reassuring her it was none of
anyone else’s business and while they might talk among
themselves it was unlikely anyone would say anything
to either of them directly.
‘Which just goes to show how little you know!’
Grace muttered to herself as she made her way to Phil’s
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THE HEART SURGEON’S BABY SURPRISE
consulting room, after Becky, the unit secretary, had
greeted her with a beaming smile and an innocent-
sounding ‘Nice night?’ question.
But it had been a nice night. More than nice, in fact,
and though she’d grown back enough brain to cope
very coolly and efficiently with all the consultations
she was taking for Phil while he gave a paper at a con-
ference in Melbourne, deep inside she could still feel
echoes of the sheer delight that had transported her to
places far, far away.
Grace galaxy?
The consultations went well, three children to be
booked for operations later on, four follow-up cases and
finally an older patient, sixteen-year-old Kelly Groves—
no case file, just a note from Becky to say she was a
last-minute appointment.
Kelly came into the room on her own—well, a sixteen-
year-old didn’t need her parents with her—but one look
at her, at h
er rounded, slightly puffy face, suggested to
Grace that the teenager was on anti-rejection drugs.
‘You wanted to see Dr Park. I’m afraid he’s not in,
but can I help you?’ Grace offered as Kelly sat down,
clasping her shiny pink handbag in her lap.
‘Probably not, but I doubt if Dr Park could either.’
Kelly paused then gave an embarrassed half-shrug. ‘I
kind of told a lie to the secretary so I could get an ap-
pointment. I told her Dr Park had operated on me at
another hospital when I was a baby and that I was
visiting someone in the hospital so I thought I might say
hello to him and thank him. The thing is, I keep wanting
to know and I thought Dr Park, or even you perhaps,
might be able to help me to go on without knowing.’
MEREDITH WEBBER
115
Grace listened to the words and wondered if she’d
lost her brain again for they didn’t seem to be making
much sense. But the young woman was obviously
agitated so Grace prompted her.
‘Knowing?’ she said gently.
‘Knowing who has my heart.’
The words burst from Kelly’s lips, making even less
sense than the lead-up conversation had. The girl was
very much alive so she must have a heart.
‘Your heart?’
Kelly smiled.
‘Isn’t it weird?’ she said. ‘Wouldn’t you, like, want
to know, if it was you? I know it’s all about confiden-
tiality but I feel—I want to know if my heart’s working
for whoever got it, like if he or she is OK, and I
wondered if I could just find out that much.’
Grace stared at the girl. She had to have a heart or
she wouldn’t be there.
Light dawned.
‘You had a heart-lung transplant and your heart went
to someone else? Cystic fibrosis?’
Kelly nodded.
‘It’s a year ago and I’m fine but now I know I’m OK
I can’t stop thinking about the other person. At night I
dream about her—to me it’s a her because I can’t
imagine my heart in a teenage boy. I mean, how would
he feel—would he have girl feelings in his heart instead
of boy feelings?’
Grace wanted to assure Kelly that hearts didn’t really
feel emotions but something in her chest had ached
when Paul had jilted her.
Still, she had to try…
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‘You know other civilisations believe other organs
are the seat of our emotions—some think the kidneys,
or the liver—but, really, what we feel comes from what