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‘I rescued her from the RSPCA.’
‘Yeah, but you and a pet?’
‘Since I was a little guy I’ve wanted a dog. Now that I’m settled it was time to do something about it.’
Isabella blinked, then laughed. ‘Do I need to point out this is a cat?’
‘Her name’s Chienne.’
‘Dog? You are so mean.’ She put her mug aside and picked up the cat to snuggle against her breast. Ah, chest. Nope, definitely breasts, the rounded shape filling her T-shirt perfectly.
‘That’s me,’ he muttered, and reached for a mug.
She rubbed her chin on Chienne’s head. ‘What was your real name before this mean guy got hold of you?’
‘According to the RSPCA, Waster was on the tag around her collar. I was not going to keep calling her that.’
‘So you came up with something even more original.’ Izzy blinked and looked down at her furry bundle. ‘I bet you’re spoilt rotten. Raphael has never been mean.’
A band of warmth wrapped around him. It felt good to hear that, and while nothing was wrong in his life, who couldn’t do with the odd compliment or two? ‘Cover her ears while I say that I’d prefer a dog but they need so much attention and given my erratic and long hours it wouldn’t have been fair to get one.’
Izzy began nibbling her bottom lip, which was new to him.
‘What’s up? You look like you’re not sure where you are.’
She blinked and reached for her mug to sip the steaming liquid. ‘I know exactly where I am, yet I feel kind of lost. Could be my brain hasn’t kept up with the rest of me and will be arriving later.’
‘Or it might be because this is the final move of your life.’ That’d be confronting for her. If she meant it. Except she’d tried that once before and look where that got her. Back here. Though not alone. I’m here. ‘I remember feeling a little bewildered the day I moved in here and dumped my few possessions on the table I’d ordered from the local furniture store, along with a lounge suite and a bed.’ The second bed in the room Isabella was using had arrived on Friday after a frantic phone call to organise that and a chest of drawers for her. ‘I struggled to believe this was my home.’ He tapped his chest with his knuckles. ‘And that I got to stay here until I decided otherwise.’
‘It’s real, isn’t it?’ Isabella seemed to be holding her breath.
Expecting the right answer from him?
Sorry, Izzy, but I only know what’s right for me, and I’m not sure I’ve got that right yet.
‘It’s as real as you want it to be.’
Her mouth quirked. ‘Back at me, huh?’ Then she hit the serious button. ‘No regrets?’
‘Honestly? No. Sometimes I think about how my life might have turned out if I’d let Cassie talk me into moving to Paris, but...’ He shrugged.
Izzy’s eyes widened at the mention of his ex, but she just stroked the cat.
Raphael filled his mug with coffee before topping up hers. Time to get on to something normal and ordinary. ‘I’m going in to see Haley and baby as soon as I’ve had this. Want to come?’ Gulp. That was not what he planned on saying.
‘Give me ten to take a shower, and fix up the face.’
It was going to take a fair amount of make-up to hide the shadows under her eyes, but he wasn’t saying. ‘There’s no hurry.’ Tell that to his taut body. He wanted to be doing something other than standing in his kitchen drinking coffee and smelling Izzy’s perfume instead of the coffee. But he’d have to be patient.
Oui.
‘I’ll introduce you to whoever’s about. You can also meet the three little guys I told you about a couple of weeks ago. They’re something else. Their mum wants a quick word with me too.’
She paused on her way out of the kitchen. ‘They’ve got to you, haven’t they?’
‘Just a little.’ He’d love to have a family of his own. There’d be no replacing the son he lost but could it be time to think about moving on?
No. He wouldn’t survive that sort of pain again.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘HELLO, HALEY,’ ISABELLA said to the happy woman cuddling her son in the single room where she’d been transferred after the birth. ‘How’re you feeling today?’
‘Isn’t Ryan the cutest baby ever?’ Haley’s eyes lit up. ‘I can’t believe I’m a mother.’
She’d soon get used to that with sleepless nights and nappies to deal with. ‘Believe me, you are. I saw it happen.’
‘So did I.’ Raphael laughed from the other side of the bed. ‘Can I have a hold?’ He held out his arms.
Haley reluctantly handed him over. ‘One minute.’
‘Then it’s my turn,’ Isabella said. ‘How are you doing with breastfeeding?’
‘Eek. That’s no fun. I can’t quite manage it yet, but I’ve been told that’s normal.’
‘Certainly is. You’ll soon get the hang of it. Don’t stress though. That only makes matters worse.’ She looked at Raphael. There was a look of relief in his expression. As though he didn’t quite believe the outcome of Haley’s labour would be so good. Which didn’t add up considering there were no complications. Or was he thinking about children, as in his own? Why not? Could be his biological clock was ticking? That wouldn’t be just a woman’s prerogative. Deep in her tummy she felt a twinge, as though her clock had come to life. Her mouth dried. That was not part of the plan to settle here. Not yet, not until she’d got all the other factors right. In the meantime she’d get her fix holding other people’s babies. ‘Time’s up.’ She held out her arms for Ryan, and laughed at Rafe’s reluctance to hand him over.
Haley was watching her son, hunger in her eyes, and Isabella couldn’t not pass Ryan back to his mum. ‘There you go. I’ll have another turn before we leave.’
‘Come and meet the triplets,’ Rafe said as they left the room.
The moment they walked into the nursery Isabella felt the same awe she’d seen in Raphael’s face when he talked about the three little boys. They lay in their cribs lined up side by side, blinking at any movement made by the two people leaning over them, s
miling and chatting as though the boys understood. Raphael went straight across and gazed down at the babies too, warmth in his eyes. But also a shadow of something else. Anger? Pain?
‘Hello, Raphael.’ The mum turned to him. ‘You didn’t have to come in on your day off.’ Her gaze shifted to Isabella. ‘I know you don’t get a lot of time to yourself as it is. Your partner must get fed up with you being called out all the time.’
He blinked and those emotions were gone. He was back to professional doctor mode. ‘Melody, it’s fine. I was coming to see another patient anyway. And this is Isabella Nicholson. She’s a nurse and midwife, and will be starting on this ward later in the week.’ Not his partner. Though he hadn’t actually put it into words, it was there. Raphael nodded at the man gazing down at the boys with a besotted look. ‘Isabella, this is Ollie, the doting dad.’
‘Hello, Melody, Ollie. Your boys are gorgeous.’ Isabella smiled. ‘Look at them. They’re so busy, moving their arms and kicking their little legs. You’re going to have your hands full when you get them home.’ Even the smallest boy, still attached to more monitors than his brothers, was staring up at everyone.
‘Aren’t we? And I can’t wait.’ Ollie grinned. ‘Antony’s taking a little longer to get up to speed, but really, we’ve been so lucky. These other two are already putting on weight. The sooner we’re all at home, the better.’
‘I don’t want to rush things,’ Melody said with a worried glance at Raphael. ‘What if I can’t cope?’ She looked to Isabella. ‘I’ve never had much to do with babies before. To have three at once is daunting. Not that I don’t want them,’ she added hastily. ‘We’ve waited too long for this as it is.’
Ollie brushed a kiss across his wife’s forehead. ‘You’ll be fine, sweetheart. With the folks dropping in to help and the daily visits from the district nurse, we’ll manage.’ He grinned. ‘You’ll soon be telling everyone to get out of the way and let you get on with looking after your boys.’
Raphael nodded. ‘You’ll be more tired than you’ve ever been, and there won’t be enough hours in the day, but you’ll manage. I promise. Even mothers with one baby for the first time go through the same concerns that you have. If you’d taken them home within a couple of days of them being born as usually happens when it’s only one baby, you wouldn’t have had time to think about all the things that need doing—you’d be doing them.’
