The Midwife's Marriage Proposal Read Free Page B

there I can’t bring myself to ask any of them.’
    â€˜Well I’ll be with you,’ Sally assured her, ‘and I’llmake sure that he answers all your questions and that you don’t feel intimidated. Let me know when you have another contraction because I want to listen to the baby’s heart.’
    Angela screwed up her face and sucked in a breath. ‘I’ve got another pain coming now.’
    Sally reached for the Sonicaid and the sound of the baby’s heartbeat echoed around the room.
    â€˜That’s sounding good. Remember your breathing. That’s it. Great …’ Sally coached her gently, timing the contraction, and when Angela finally relaxed again she stood up. ‘Right. I’d like to examine you and see how your labour is progressing, and then I’m going to hook you up to one of our machines just for a short while. Then we’ll find Mr Hunter.’
    And that was the bit that she wasn’t looking forward to.
    * * *
    Tom finished writing up a set of notes and glanced up to find Sally standing there.
    His whole body tightened and he rose to his feet, his eyes fixed to hers.
    For a moment they stared at each other, the clinical nature of their surroundings forgotten, tension pulsing between them like a living force.
    Then she dragged her eyes away from his and took a deep breath.
    â€˜I need to talk to you about Angela.’ Her tone was cool and professional, not a hint of the personal in her manner. ‘I’ve examined her and she’s four centimetres dilated, but it sounds as though she’s been in labour for a while. She’s very anxious. Her last obstetrician said that he was going to section her.’
    His brain registered the fact that she was talking aboutwork but the rest of his body was concentrating on something entirely different. His attention was caught by her seductively long lashes and by the fullness of her perfect mouth.
    He’d been the first man to kiss that mouth.
    The first man to—
    With a determined effort he pulled himself together. ‘I’m not planning to section her. I scanned her two weeks ago to measure the thickness of the lower uterine segment and I was perfectly satisfied that she’s a good candidate for vaginal delivery this time round.’
    â€˜Then you need to talk to her,’ Sally said calmly. ‘Because at the moment all she’s hearing is contradiction, and she has no reason to believe you are any more skilled than the last man she spoke to.’
    Tom frowned slightly. ‘I talked to her when I scanned her. She was fine.’
    â€˜She was confused and worried.’
    â€˜She didn’t say anything.’
    â€˜Verbally, perhaps not. But did you read her body language?’ Her eyes held his. ‘She finds doctors intimidating. She was afraid to question you.’
    Tom tensed, significantly discomfited by her implication that he’d been insensitive to the needs of a patient.
    But, then, why would Sally believe that he was capable of sensitivity?
    He gritted his teeth and took the criticism on the chin. ‘Believe it or not, I do try to interpret what women are feeling. I certainly don’t want them worried by anything I’ve said.’
    â€˜Well, she’s worried,’ Sally said flatly, ‘and at the moment she is totally convinced that what she needs is another C-section.’
    Tom inhaled sharply. ‘Caesarean rates have beensteadily increasing over the last two decades,’ he said harshly. ‘Eighty per cent of women can safely deliver vaginally after a previous section, providing they meet certain criteria.’
    Her gaze didn’t flicker. ‘I’m well aware of that.’ Her voice was smoky and soft and curled around his raw emotions like the smoothest silk. ‘All I’m saying is that she’d been told she was having another Caesarean and then you told her she wasn’t, and she didn’t