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‘Kat was brilliant. I texted her and she rang me and told me to go straight to her flat. She met me there and put me to bed and looked after me until I was over the bug. And she was there for me through the divorce. Just like I was there when Pete—her partner—decided to dump her for someone who wasn’t, as he put it, “damaged goods”.’
‘He called her what?’ Theo shook his head in disbelief. ‘The way the men in your life have behaved, I’m surprised you’re even talking to anyone male.’
Madison smiled. ‘Not all men are bastards. Just as not all women are wonderful. People are who they are. Though I like to believe that people have a good heart, until proven otherwise.’ She shrugged. ‘So. Kat’s waiting for her prince to come. I tried that for a while—but I discovered that Prince Charming was too damn lazy to find his way to me.’
‘I’m not a prince,’ he pointed out. ‘And I hope I’m not charming.’ In his opinion, charming usually meant shallow.
‘You’re charming,’ she said, ‘but it’s more than skin deep with you.’
‘Thank you for the compliment.’ He inclined his head. ‘So, does Katrina vet your men?’
She smiled. ‘Sometimes.’
So maybe this was a way out without hurting her so much. Perhaps he should meet Katrina. Who, if she was as clear-sighted as Madison seemed to think, would see straight away that he was completely wrong for her cousin and talk sense into both of them. ‘Maybe it’s time we met.’ His eyes held hers. ‘I’d like to invite you both over to dinner. Talk to Kat, find out when she’s free and give me some dates—oh, and let me know if there’s anything she doesn’t like foodwise.’
‘You’re going to cook for us?’
‘Yes. And I’ll make you crème brûlée for pudding.’
‘You’re on. Does this mean…?’
She stopped, but he could read the question in her eyes and it felt as if someone had just punched him. Hard. She was hoping that asking to meet her family was his way of saying he was serious about her. That he was going to give their future a chance.
Part of him wanted him to wrap his arms round her, hold her close, and tell her that she meant more to him than he’d ever expected anyone to do. That he was completely serious about her. That he wanted to let go of the fear and promise her everything she wanted…
But letting go was the hard part. And he wasn’t sure he could do it. ‘It means that my heart’s overruling my head right now,’ he said softly. ‘I’m not promising anything, Maddie. Because I don’t want to make you a promise I might not be able to keep.’
She reached over and squeezed his hand briefly. ‘Thanks for being honest with me.’
‘It doesn’t feel as if I’m being honest,’ he admitted. ‘Even though I’ve told you things I’ve never spoken about with anyone else. I don’t know if I can give you what you want, Maddie. And I don’t know where we go from here. All I can suggest is that we…I don’t know. See where this takes us.’ He dragged in a breath. ‘I want to offer you more. I really do. But I don’t know if I can.’.
‘That’s honest. And I appreciate it.’
He couldn’t bear to see the pain in her eyes. He looked away and took refuge in something safe. Work. ‘We’d better get back to the ward before they send out a search party,’ he said lightly.
‘Yes. And I’ll have a word with Sanjay and Nita about those scenarios you suggested.’
Back on safe ground, he thought with relief.
And somehow—somehow—he’d find a way to sort everything out. For both their sakes.
CHAPTER NINE
‘YOU want me to sit in on your clinic?’ Nita went pink with pleasure.
‘Because I’m seeing some high-risk mums today and it’ll be useful experience for you. I would’ve invited Sanjay along, too, had he not been off sick with a migraine,’ Theo added, hoping that Nita would get the message. He was asking her along as a student, to give her experience with patients, not because he wanted her company in particular.
She was practically bubbling with happiness all the way down to the consultancy room. To his relief, she calmed down during the clinic and listened to the mums and asked intelligent questions.
Their final case that morning was a woman who’d been diagnosed with lupus before her pregnancy.
‘What do you know about lupus?’ he asked Nita.
‘It’s an autoimmune disease. It causes chronic inflammation in the skin, joints, blood and kidneys,’ she recited, ‘and it flares up in response to triggers, particularly stress. And it’s a complication in pregnancy.’
